Why do we as Christians sometimes make such a mess of things in our lives and in the lives of those around us? I believe the answer lies in studying David when he was known as “A man after God’s own Heart” (1 Samuel 13:13-14) before he was actually crowned king. Yes David sinned, but he recognized the fact that The Lord God of Israel was always to be in charge of his life.
To us as Christians, Jesus is not only to be our Savior, but He is to be truly The Lord over ALL of our life in ALL of our situations.
In my previous posting entitled ‘Five Stones of David’, I pointed out that there are times in our lives that we are not to sit idly by and think the Lord is going take care of everything. We must prepare and take action, then we can know that The Lord will then bless our plans and actions.
What I would like to do now is point out times in David’s life where he made sure that he did not take action and allowed The Lord to handle the situation. Once was in a cave and once was with a jug.
You may ask, “How do you know when to act and when not to act?” Those kind of answers only come with studying the Bible and by constant prayer. Sometimes fasting has to become part of the equation. Once we say we make Jesus The Lord of our life, we must truly make Him Lord every day in every situation.
David had two golden opportunities to take the life of the man who desperately was trying to kill him. But David refused to because he knew The Lord would take care of Saul in His own timing. David rested in the fact that he was anointed to eventually be the King of Israel (1 Samuel 16:1, 12-13), but Jehovah was the ultimate King and it would be by Jehovah’s hand of when that would take place.
Fellow Christian, let’s always seek the Lord’s face and do it ‘The Lord’s Way’. A very famous song which has become many people’s theme song is the song by Frank Sinatra ‘I Did It My Way’. Let’s not be found guilty of doing it our way!
To close, I included the following two portions of Scripture that point out where David did not do it his way. That is where I got the title of this message ‘The Cave and The Jug’:
1. Now it happened, when Saul had returned from following the Phi-listines, that it was told him, saying, “Take note! David is in the Wilderness of En Gedi.” Then Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel, and went to seek David and his men on the Rocks of the Wild Goats. So he came to the sheepfolds by the road, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to attend to his needs. ( David and his men were staying in the recesses of the cave.) Then the men of David said to him, “This is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do to him as it seems good to you.’ ” And David arose and secretly cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. Now it happened afterward that David’s heart troubled him because he had cut Saul’s robe . And he said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord ’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord .” So David restrained his servants with these words, and did not allow them to rise against Saul. And Saul got up from the cave and went on his way. (I Samuel 24:1-7 NKJV)
2. Now the Ziphītes came to Saul at Gibē-ah, saying, “Is David not hiding in the hill of Ha-chīlah, opposite Jē-shīmon?” Then Saul arose and went down to the Wilderness of Ziph, having three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the Wilderness of Ziph. And Saul encamped in the hill of Ha-chīlah, which is opposite Jē-shīmon, by the road. But David stayed in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness. David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul had indeed come. So David arose and came to the place where Saul had encamped. And David saw the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the commander of his army. Now Saul lay within the camp, with the people encamped all around him. Then David answered, and said to A-hime-lech the Hittīte and to A-bishaī the son of Ze-rūi-ah, brother of Jōab, saying, “Who will go down with me to Saul in the camp?” And A-bishaī said, “I will go down with you.” So David and A-bishaī came to the people by night; and there Saul lay sleeping within the camp, with his spear stuck in the ground by his head. And Abner and the people lay all around him. Then A-bishaī said to David, “God has delivered your enemy into your hand this day. Now therefore, please, let me strike him at once with the spear, right to the earth; and I will not have to strike him a second time!” But David said to A-bishaī, “Do not destroy him; for who can stretch out his hand against the Lord ’s anointed, and be guiltless?” David said furthermore, “ As the Lord lives, the Lord shall strike him, or his day shall come to die, or he shall go out to battle and perish. “The Lord forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the Lord ’s anointed. But please, take now the spear and the jug of water that are by his head, and let us go.” So David took the spear and the jug of water by Saul’s head, and they got away; and no man saw or knew it or awoke. For they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen on them. (I Samuel 26:1-12 NKJV)
Annointing 