Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20020526.htm

1 AND 2 SAMUEL: GOD'S SOLUTION TO PROBLEMS IN OVERSIGHT
Part XXIX: Learning To Keep Our Emotions SUBJECT To GOD'S WILL Under Duress
(1 Samuel 24:1-22)
  1. Introduction
    1. Emotions are a gift from God to us, the spice of life in our human experience.
    2. However, emotional "spice" is not to control a leader if he expects to live free of sin under duress!
    3. David learned this lesson in 1 Samuel 23-24, and observing the account tells us much about staying on a godly emotional equilibrium for blessing in oversight where duress stretches our emotions to the limit:
  2. Learning To Keep Our Emotions SUBJECT To GOD'S WILL Under Duress, 1 Samuel 24:1-22.
    1. We learned in 1 Samuel 23:19-29 coupled with Psalm 54 how David learned to trust entirely upon the Lord when he could not save himself from his lethal persecuting enemy in Saul (the last lesson).
    2. However, the emotional trauma of David's flight from Saul put David in the position of slipping down to Saul's level of selfish ambition in tempting David to take godless vengeance against him! God's correction of that emotional drift in David is revealed for us in 1 Samuel 24:1-22 as follows:
      1. Following his emotionally harrowing (23:26) escape from Saul in 1 Samuel 23:19-29, David's trust in God for help from Saul could have been clouded with an emotional yearning for revenge against Saul.
      2. However, Scripture taught David revenge was God's concern, not his, cf. Deuteronomy 32:35.
      3. Accordingly, God arranged events to put David into the crucible of faith regarding the temptation to take such revenge to learn to keep his EMOTIONS subject to God's WILL (1 Samuel 24:1-7):
        1. After Saul had finished fighting the Philistines who had interrupted his pursuit of David (1 Samuel 23:26-28), he returned to take up his pursuit of David again, 1 Samuel 24:1-2.
        2. In the process, God arranged for David and his men to hide in a cave near some sheepfolds while Saul entered the cave to relieve himself, 1 Samuel 24:3.
        3. Accordingly, David's men encouraged him to kill Saul, claiming this event was a fulfillment of God's promise to him to deliver his enemy into his hand, 1 Samuel 24:4a,b.
        4. Knowing Scripture forbade him from taking vengeance by killing Saul, David still had enough will for vengeance to cut off a corner of Saul's outer cloak, 1 Samuel 24:4c; The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, vol. IV, p. 2814, s. v. "SKIRT."
        5. However, David's conscience caused him great GUILT for expressing his ATTITUDE of sinful vengeance, for Saul, as wicked and oppressive as he was, was still GOD'S anointed king, 1 Sam. 10:1: to do a disrespectful thing like cutting off the corner of Saul's robe was to disrespect one God had anointed in violation of the spirit of Exodus 22:28! David's subjection to FEAR caused by Saul's pursuit of him had cornered him into an evil ATTITUDE, a SIN against GOD!
        6. Hence, David expressed his repentance, telling his men he was wrong to do what he had done with Saul's robe, and kept his men from harming Saul, 1 Samuel 24:6-7.
      4. Realizing his need to control his emotions relative to SAUL, David sought to neutralize the emotional tension between himself and Saul to make it easier to control his emotions regarding Saul, 24:8-22:
        1. David spoke to Saul from a distance to announce his good intentions in sparing Saul's life, and to admit to Saul of his cutting off Saul's garment corner piece, 1 Samuel 24:8-11.
        2. Then upon claiming he was leaving the issue of his differences with Saul for God to judge (1 Samuel 24:12-13, 15), David urged Saul no longer to view him as a threat, 1 Samuel 24:14.
        3. Saul was thus moved to feel shame for pursuing David, and asked David not to cut off his descendants after he became Israel's next king, 1 Samuel 24:16-19, 20-21.
        4. David promised not to destroy Saul's line when he became king, but still kept his distance from Saul by returning to the stronghold out of his awareness of Saul's instability, 1 Samuel 24:22.
Lesson: David found he had to keep his EMOTIONS subject to his MIND so he could do GOD'S WILL under STRESSFUL conditions and thereby avoid eventual, counterproductive SIN (Pr. 16:32)!

Application: (1) Even when oppressed, we must NOT become so emotionally affected that we are led into SIN by our emotional response to that stress! (2) Revering GOD and putting His WILL above our EMOTIONS is KEY to maintaining administrative stability resulting in God's leadership blessing!