Where Honor Is Due (Day 2)
When David finished saying this, Saul asked, “Is that your voice, David my son?” And he wept aloud. “You are more righteous than I,” he said. “You have treated me well, but I have treated you badly. You have just now told me about the good you did to me; the Lord delivered me into your hands, but you did not kill me. … May the Lord reward you well for the way you treated me today. ––1 Samuel 24:16-19
So David gets harassed, chased, terrorized, and threatened by Saul for years, hiding in caves and forests, even taking refuge in the Philistine city of Ziklag. Yeah, those same Philistines who have been the sworn enemies of Israel for a good bit of time. (That’s like a Spartan fleeing to Persia for protection.)
So when Saul finally meets his violent end, what is David’s reaction? A party? Huge festival? Dancing along with the killing and eating of the fatted calf?
Nope. Take a look at what actually happened.
Then David and all the men with him took hold of their clothes and tore them. They mourned and wept and fasted till evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the army of the Lord and for the nation of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.
––2 Samuel 1:11-12
And there’s more. David actually hears the news from an escaped enemy prisoner—an Amalekite—who came upon a mortally wounded Saul, and finished him off at Saul’s pleading. Put him out of his misery, so to speak. So a reward for this guy for bringing David the news?
Nope. Here’s what David says:
David asked [the escaped Amalekite], “Why weren’t you afraid to lift your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?”
Then David called one of his men and said, “Go, strike him down!” So he struck him down, and he died. For David had said to him, “Your blood be on your own head. Your own mouth testified against you when you said, ‘I killed the Lord’s anointed.’” ––2 Samuel 1:14-16
David isn’t seeing these circumstances through worldly eyes, but through the Lord’s. Remember, position over condition: Despite all the misery and mistreatment Saul directed at David, his immediate response to his king’s death is to honor him.
As God’s men, does this mean we let an abusive boss roll over us? No. And that’s not the message here with David. It means that God wants us to always see the world as He sees it, not as we see it. Why? Because looks can be deceiving. David saw Saul’s position as king more than he saw Saul’s very flawed condition. As David did, so we should do too. Choose position—pray that you can see even the negative people in your life just as God sees them. When you start to see them as the Father sees them, honor is possible.
Father, give me the ability to give honor where You see it warranted, not where I see the need for it.