The Tenth Sunday of Israel (OTA)

1 Samuel 26:6-16

⁶ Then David said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Joab’s brother Abishai the son of Zeruiah, “Who will go down with me into the camp to Saul?” And Abishai said, “I will go down with you.” ⁷ So David and Abishai went to the army by night. And there lay Saul sleeping within the encampment, with his spear stuck in the ground at his head, and Abner and the army lay around him. ⁸ Then Abishai said to David, “God has given your enemy into your hand this day. Now please let me pin him to the earth with one stroke of the spear, and I will not strike him twice.” ⁹ But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him, for who can put out his hand against the Lord’s anointed and be guiltless?” ¹⁰ And David said, “As the Lord lives, the Lord will strike him, or his day will come to die, or he will go down into battle and perish. ¹¹ The Lord forbid that I should put out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. But take now the spear that is at his head and the jar of water, and let us go.” ¹² So David took the spear and the jar of water from Saul’s head, and they went away. No man saw it or knew it, nor did any awake, for they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen upon them.

¹³ Then David went over to the other side and stood far off on the top of the hill, with a great space between them. ¹⁴ And David called to the army, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, “Will you not answer, Abner?” Then Abner answered, “Who are you who calls to the king?” ¹⁵ And David said to Abner, “Are you not a man? Who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not kept watch over your lord the king? For one of the people came in to destroy the king your lord. ¹⁶ This thing that you have done is not good. As the Lord lives, you deserve to die, because you have not kept watch over your lord, the Lord’s anointed. And now see where the king’s spear is and the jar of water that was at his head.”

This is the way you properly take something from someone. You come while it is night and you steal it like a thief in the night. David comes in the midst of the King’s camp. Not one of them is awake to see David go through the camp. David does not kill the King’s Anointed, but simply reminds them that he needs to be protected.

Stay awake, don’t rest your head, don’t close your eyes, and fall asleep. Stay awake, don’t rest and dream. There is a thief ready to invade your kingdom, house, or town. This thief will steal away everything you have in the blink of an eye. He has done it before, and will do it again. Last time he came and took the life of all the first-born males. Next time, he will come and take the life of all the wicked. Those who are found ready, waiting, and alive, he will welcome into his kingdom.

This may not be exactly what the narrative of David coming into the camp teaches, but it is the lesson for each of us not to steal, lie, or kill. We are to stand ready to give a proper defense of our faith. God has given the Lord’s anointed one into the hands of sinners and they did not spare his life, but nailed him upon the cross. They took his life and God raised him from the Dead. Jesus Christ gives you life eternal. And he protects you from all the things that may go bump in the night. So fall asleep and rest your head, with the certain hope of Christ’s return.