January 20: 2 Samuel 1:1-15
Key Verse: 2 Samuel 1:14
David asked him, ‘Why weren’t you afraid to lift your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?’
Devotion:
The Lord had previously led Saul alone into a cave where David and his men were hiding. The Lord had said to David to do whatever he pleased with Saul; David could not harm him because he knew that Saul was chosen by God to lead Israel. Here we see what happened when David learned of the death of Saul and Jonathan; his first reaction was to mourn for them.
The next step was to confront the man who brought the news of Saul’s death to find out what had happened. When the Amalekite admitted he had killed Saul, David asked him what gave him the right to kill one of God’s anointed? David then called on one of the guards to lay hands on the Amalekite, and the man died!
David knew he had been chosen to be the next king, just as this Amalekite seemed to know as well, but he certainly was not going to be responsible for going against God’s wishes – for it was God who had send Samuel to anoint Saul to lead the people of Israel. Saul had done many things right and a few things wrong, but David knew it was up to God when Saul’s life would be taken – so not any human should have done this deed in his eyes.
When we come up against people we know have been chosen by God, we should not come up against them. If we see they have turned their backs on God we should remind them they are God’s chosen and leave it up to God to convict or judge them. We do not know how we will act if we are placed in their position, so we have no right to judge!
Points to Ponder:
How do you look at you priest or pastor?
Will you allow God to be the judge instead?