The Suffering King
For Meditation
Last week the spotlight swung to David who showed a magnificent display of courage and faith in his first real public act as king-elect. After David kills Goliath, he becomes a hero in Israel and is given a high position in Saul’s army and court. Very soon after, however, Saul becomes consumed by jealousy and paranoia, and becomes fixated on destroying David and protecting his power. So David is forced to go on the run, living as a fugitive and hiding out from the murderous pursuits of Saul.
Sometimes the chapters of 1 Samuel 22-26 are called David’s “wilderness years.” Instead of finding himself in a position of power and glory, David finds himself living in caves. Literally David is living in caves, but it is also a season of figurative cave-dwelling, as David finds himself in a place of doubt, confusion, despair and sometimes hopelessness. Though the 1 Samuel text is sparse on emotional details, we know this is how David is feeling because many of the Psalms are written by David during this season (check out Psalm 57 and 142 as examples). In fact, just as many chapters are given to David’s wilderness years of suffering as are given to his later years of kingly glory. What do we make of this strange season of David’s life?
These chapters teach us so much about what is a key mark of the Christian life: suffering. It is a mark of David’s life as king, and it is later a key aspect of the life of Jesus, the one to whom David points. But is also a mark of those who follow the King, as hard as that may be for modern American Christians to accept. The story of David’s wilderness years teaches us about the reality of suffering in the life of the Christian, but also the temptation we often face to “fast-forward” through suffering to get to the glory, as David is tempted to do several times by killing Saul prematurely. But we’ll learn what it means to wait on God even in our suffering, entrusting ourselves to his goodness and sovereignty even when we can’t understand what’s happening.
In preparation for this Sunday, read Psalm 142 and reflect on David’s experiences in the caves as you read.
1 Samuel 22:1–2; 24:1–10
1 David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him there. 2 All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their commander. About four hundred men were with him.
1 After Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, “David is in the Desert of En Gedi.” 2 So Saul took three thousand able young men from all Israel and set out to look for David and his men near the Crags of the Wild Goats.
3 He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave. 4 The men said, “This is the day the Lord spoke of when he said to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.’” Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.
5 Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. 6 He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the Lord.” 7 With these words David sharply rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way.
8 Then David went out of the cave and called out to Saul, “My lord the king!” When Saul looked behind him, David bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground. 9 He said to Saul, “Why do you listen when men say, ‘David is bent on harming you’? 10 This day you have seen with your own eyes how the Lord delivered you into my hands in the cave. Some urged me to kill you, but I spared you; I said, ‘I will not lay my hand on my lord, because he is the Lord’s anointed.’”