Devotional on 1 Samuel 26
Take a quiet moment to read 1 Samuel 26 in your preferred translation. The quotations below are from the New International Version.
• Geography. The “hill of Hakilah, facing Jeshimon”
(v. 3) rises in the arid badlands south-east of Hebron. Archaeologists
have mapped its ridges and caves; it is barren, wind-scoured, and offers
clear sight-lines—ideal for a lookout.
• Political climate. Saul is still king by public
title, David by divine promise. Two anointed men occupy one land, and
the tension runs through every verse.
• Ziphites again. These border-people (cf. 23:19)
choose the security of Saul’s favor over the risk of harboring a
fugitive. Their repeated betrayal reminds us how fear shapes
alliances.
David scouts the camp, then descends with Abishai. The narrator repeats “Saul was lying inside the camp with the army encamped around him” (v. 5) to stress the human impossibility of reaching him. Yet two men walk straight to the center.
Hebrew note: verse 12 says וַיהוָה הִפִּיל תַּרְדֵּמָה (“the LORD had caused a deep sleep” – tardēmâ) to fall on them. The same rare word appears when God puts Adam to sleep (Gen 2:21) and when He seals covenant with Abram (Gen 15:12). In Scripture, tardēmâ signals that God alone is acting while humans lie powerless.
Abishai whispers, “Let me pin him to the ground with one thrust” (v. 8). The verb “pin” (’akev) is the same root as “Jacob”—a word-play implying a grabbing of the heel, a shortcut. David refuses shortcuts.
David speaks three convictions:
1. Sacred office matters. “Who can lay a hand on the
LORD’s anointed (māshîaḥ YHWH) and be guiltless?” He separates
Saul’s behavior (unjust) from Saul’s office (still holy).
2. God alone judges timing. “Either his time will come…
or he will go into battle and perish.” David trusts divine process,
echoing Deut 32:35 and foreshadowing Rom 12:19.
3. I will not. Personal agency remains: “But the LORD
forbid that I should…” Restraint is an act of worship.
Early interpreters saw here a pattern for Christian ethics.
• Augustine: David prefigures Christ, who refused to call angels against
those arresting Him.
• Calvin: Civil authorities may be flawed, yet rebellion is not the
church’s tool; prayer and witness are.
• Wesley: The “meekness of wisdom” is stronger than drawn swords.
David takes two objects:
• Spear – symbol of royal power and military
right.
• Water jar – symbol of life in the desert.
At dawn he calls across the ravine to Abner, Saul’s general. By holding the spear high, David proves both skill and restraint; by holding the jar, he proves he could have ended Saul’s life-supply as easily as his breath.
Literary device: irony. Abner, whose name means “father of light,” sleeps in darkness and must be awakened by his enemy to his dereliction of duty.
• Saul’s words: “I have sinned… I will not try to
harm you again” (v. 21). This is his third sorrowful speech (cf. 15:24;
24:17). It sounds humble, yet nothing truly changes. Emotion is not
repentance.
• David’s words: He pleads that righteousness “be
rewarded” by the LORD (v. 23). David does not demand vindication from
Saul; he looks upward.
David’s final sentence is poignant: “May your life be valued highly in the eyes of the LORD” (v. 24). He blesses the man who hunts him. Jesus will later say, “Love your enemies… pray for those who persecute you” (Matt 5:44).
1 Samuel 26 sits between Advent and Easter in biblical
theology:
• Like Jesus in the wilderness, David rejects a devilish shortcut to
power.
• Like Jesus in Gethsemane, he enters darkness while friends sleep, and
chooses the Father’s will over the sword (John 18:10-11).
• David’s patience leads to a throne not snatched but
received—foreshadowing the path of the cross before the
crown (Phil 2:5-11).
• Ancient camp formations: Kings slept inside a ring
of soldiers; breaching it was unheard of. The text magnifies God’s
intervention.
• Honor-shame culture: By sparing Saul twice, David
piles “burning coals” (Prov 25:21-22) upon his honor, urging him to
right relationship without public humiliation.
• Desert survival: A water skin was priceless; to lose
it at night could mean death by noon. David risks his own need for
Saul’s sake.
Suggested cross-references for meditation:
• Romans 12:17-21 – overcoming evil with good
• 1 Peter 2:21-23 – Christ’s example of suffering
• Psalm 54 – the prayer David wrote “when the Ziphites went to Saul”
(title)
Hymn suggestion: “May the Mind of Christ My Saviour” (Katie Barclay Wilkinson, 1913). Sing stanza 3 slowly: “May the peace of God my Father / Rule my life in everything…”—a fitting refrain after a night beside a sleeping king.
Lord of David and Lord of us,
You hold every spear and every breath.
Save us from grasping what You wish to give,
teach us to honor even those who wound us,
and keep us awake to Your purposes while the world sleeps.
May our restraint display Your greatness,
until the day Your kingdom comes in full.
Through Jesus, the true Anointed, we pray. Amen.