Day 1217: Worldly grief - 1 Samuel 24 vs 16 – 25:3

16 As soon as David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” And Saul lifted up his voice and wept. 17-18 He said to David, “You are more righteous than I, for you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil. And you have declared this day how you have dealt well with me, in that you did not kill me when the Lord put me into your hands. 19 For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away safe? So may the Lord reward you with good for what you have done to me this day.

20-21 And now, behold, I know that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand. Swear to me therefore by the Lord that you will not cut off my offspring after me, and that you will not destroy my name out of my father's house.” 22 And David swore this to Saul. Then Saul went home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.

25:1-3 Now Samuel died. And all Israel assembled and mourned for him, and they buried him in his house at Ramah. Then David rose and went down to the wilderness of Paran. And there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. The man was very rich; he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. He was shearing his sheep in Carme. Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife was Abigail. The woman was discerning and beautiful, but the man was harsh and badly behaved; he was a Calebite. 1 Samuel 24:16-25:3 English Standard Version

For anyone witnessing Saul's tears that day, it must have seemed as if he'd been truly humbled by David's sparing of his life, and that he repented deeply of his earlier actions. But that was not the case. Chapter 26 will recount another episode of Saul pursuing David with the intention of killing him, and of David, once again sparing Saul's life, It seems that Saul was showing what the apostle Paul called 'worldly grief'. In 2 Corinthians 7:9-10 he says: “I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.”

Saul's self interest is seen in his appeal to David that, when God made him King over Israel, that David would not “cut off his offspring after him, and that he would not destroy my name out of my father's house.” Worldly grief is more preoccupied with it's own affairs than the Lord. It's when one feels sorry for himself, more than for the actual wrong he has done. Yet such a person can be close to knowing God's way! What does Saul say that shows us this? (vs 19)

“If a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away safe?” How close this is to what Paul says of the Lord who not only lets his enemies go away safe, but who died for them to make it possible. It was “while we were still weak, that at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person - though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die. God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:6-8)

David saw through Saul's words and, when they parted company, he didn't go with Saul, but with his men went to their stronghold. We then read of the sad death of Samuel. Though there are two book in the Bible with his name, it’s believed by many that the prophets Gad and Nathan were responsible for completing the works. Naming the books after him are a sign of the the honour he was held in.

So we come to the next incident in David's life which will involve a rich man named Nabal, and his wife Abigail. We're told that Nabal was a Calebite. The GotQuestions site reminds us that Caleb was of the tribe of Judah, and a God fearing man. It goes on to say that godly parents or ancestors are no guarantee of godly offspring. Saul had a good start, but his life went off the rails. Nabal had a good heritage, but he cared nothing about his soul. Worldly ways, like worldly grief, leads to death. May God grant us to grieve over our sins in a way that leads to repentance, and which will lead to salvation without regret.