1 Samuel 26:1–25 David Spares Saul Again

[Study Aired July 27, 2026]

Our study for today can be divided into three sections. The first section deals with Saul’s renewed pursuit of David. This forced David to sneak into Saul’s camp and finds him sleeping. The second section focuses on David’s  refusal to kill Saul but choosing to reason with him. The final part of the study highlights Saul’s confession of his sin of wanting to kill David.

Saul’s Renewed Pursuit of David

1Sa 26:1  And the Ziphites came unto Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself in the hill of Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon? 
1Sa 26:2  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. 

Ziphites means ‘smelters.’ Hence they represent all those whom the Lord uses as instruments of His judgment. As instruments of the Lord’s judgment, it is no wonder these Ziphites went to report to Saul of the hiding place of David and his men, to put more fire under David and his men. 

These Ziphites are likened to us when we were in Babylon where we persecuted the Lord’s elect, just like Paul, when he was pursuing the Lord’s disciples before his conversion. 

Act 9:1  And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, 
Act 9:2  And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.   

Hachilah means ‘dark’ and Jeshimon signifies ‘wilderness.’ David hiding in Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon, implies that David is hiding in this dark world which is a wilderness. As we have stated previously, Jesus hid among the people when they wanted to kill him after his first preaching in the synagogue. Therefore, David hiding in the wilderness means David hiding in the midst of the people of this world.  

Isa 14:17  That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?    

Luk 4:28  And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, 
Luk 4:29  And rose up, and thrust him (Jesus) out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. 
Luk 4:30  But he passing through the midst of them went his way, 

Saul’s relentless pursuit of David demonstrates how our brothers and sisters in the church system of this world regard us as a real threat to their reign with Christ. Saul choosing three thousand men of Israel in verse 2, is to show us the state of our brothers and sisters in the church system. The number three thousand in the negative context represents those who fall away in the heat of the battle against our flesh. 

Exo 32:28  And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men. 

Jos 7:4  So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai. 

What verse 2 therefore implies is that we must all fall away first, before we are given to become overcomers. 

2Th 2:3  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 
2Th 2:4  Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. 

1Sa 26:3  And Saul pitched in the hill of Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon, by the way. But David abode in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness. 
1Sa 26:4  David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul was come in very deed. 
1Sa 26:5  And David arose, and came to the place where Saul had pitched: and David beheld the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his host: and Saul lay in the trench, and the people pitched round about him. 

As indicated earlier, Hachilah means dark. The fact that Saul and his men dwelt in Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon shows that our brothers and sisters are darkened in their understanding of the word of the Lord due to lack of water and food in the church in the wilderness (Jeshimon). We were at a certain stage of our walk also darkened in our understanding when we were in the churches of this world, just like David, before he escaped from Saul.  

Eph 4:18  Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
Eph 4:19  Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. 
Eph 4:20  But ye have not so learned Christ; 

David coming to know where Saul and his men lay signifies our coming to understand our spiritually dead state, when we were in the church system of this world or Babylon.

Eph 2:4  But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 
Eph 2:5  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved) 

1Sa 26:6  Then answered David and said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother to Joab, saying, Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp? And Abishai said, I will go down with thee. 
1Sa 26:7  So David and Abishai came to the people by night: and, behold, Saul lay sleeping within the trench, and his spear stuck in the ground at his bolster: but Abner and the people lay round about him. 

David, together with Abishai, his nephew, risked their lives to observe Saul and his men at their camp. The fact that they were two implies that they serve as witnesses of Christ. David and Abishai going to the camp of Saul and his men, therefore, signifies how as the Lord’s elect, we are not ignorant of the devil and his devices. 

2Co 2:11  Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices. 

Our defense against the wiles (clever tricks or lies) of the devil is to put on the full armor of the Lord, so that we can be able to stand. 

Eph 6:11  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 

It is significant to note that David and Abishai observed that Saul and all his men were sleeping, with Saul’s spear stucked in the ground. The spear is comparable to the sword, which is the word of the Lord. 

Eph 6:17  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 

The spear being stuck in the ground means that it is partial buried by earth. In other words, the word of the Lord is tainted by man’s wisdom and tradition. What we are being told therefore, is that our brothers and sisters in the church system of this world or Babylon, represented by Saul and his men, are spiritually asleep as a result of the false doctrine (contaminated word of the Lord) propagated by their leaders. We were also in this situation, until the Lord came to us to show us the truth of His word. 

2Pe 2:1  But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 
2Pe 2:2  And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. 

1Sa 26:8  Then said Abishai to David, God hath delivered thine enemy into thine hand this day: now therefore let me smite him, I pray thee, with the spear even to the earth at once, and I will not smite him the second time. 
1Sa 26:9  And David said to Abishai, Destroy him not: for who can stretch forth his hand against the LORD’S anointed, and be guiltless? 
1Sa 26:10  David said furthermore, As the LORD liveth, the LORD shall smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into battle, and perish. 

Abishai thought that the Lord had given David the opportunity to avenge his enemy, Saul, when they found them sleeping in the camp. David however, ordered Abishai, not to stretch forth his hands against the Lord’s anointed. As the Lord’s elect, we are not to fight our own battles. The battle belongs to the Lord, and therefore, it is the Lord who avenges our enemies on our behalf. 

1Sa 17:47  And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’S, and he will give you into our hands.  

2Ch 20:15  And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 

When we take up the sword against our enemies, it shows that we are fighting our own battle and as a result, we shall perish by the sword. This was the lesson that the Lord Jesus taught Peter, when he took a sword and cut the ear of one of those who came to arrest Jesus. 

Mat 26:51  And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest’s, and smote off his ear.
Mat 26:52  Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.

1Sa 26:11  The LORD forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the LORD’S anointed: but, I pray thee, take thou now the spear that is at his bolster, and the cruse of water, and let us go.
1Sa 26:12  So David took the spear and the cruse of water from Saul’s bolster; and they gat them away, and no man saw it, nor knew it, neither awaked: for they were all asleep; because a deep sleep from the LORD was fallen upon them. 

David taking the spear and a jar of water from the camp of Saul and his men signifies the Lord taking away the truth from the church system of this world, and giving it to us, His elect, who are privileged to be given the understanding of the mysteries of the kingdom. As a result, we are refined by the fire of the word of the Lord, while our brothers and sisters become worse and worse. 

Mat 13:10  Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 
Mat 13:11  And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 
Mat 13:12  For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 

It is instructive to note that the Lord caused Saul and his men to fall in deep sleep. This is what the Lord is doing today. While we are being enlightened to know more about Christ, the Lord has darkened the understanding of our brothers and sisters in the church system of this world, such that seeing, they see not, and hearing, they hear not. 

Mat 13:13  Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. 
Mat 13:14  And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: 
Mat 13:15  For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

David Choosing to Reason With Saul

1Sa 26:13  Then David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of an hill afar off; a great space being between them: 
1Sa 26:14  And David cried to the people, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, Answerest thou not, Abner? Then Abner answered and said, Who art thou that criest to the king?
1Sa 26:15  And David said to Abner, Art not thou a valiant man? and who is like to thee in Israel? wherefore then hast thou not kept thy lord the king? for there came one of the people in to destroy the king thy lord.
1Sa 26:16  This thing is not good that thou hast done. As the LORD liveth, ye are worthy to die, because ye have not kept your master, the LORD’S anointed. And now see where the king’s spear is, and the cruse of water that was at his bolster. 

The king’s spear and the jar of water that David took from Saul when he came with Abishai, were used as exhibit, to demonstrate how Abner had been negligent of his duty to protect the king by sleeping deep. As a result, he must die. This incidence brings to mind the time that Jesus was in agony in the  Garden of Gethsemane before His arrest. He was with the disciples and expected them to keep watch with Him, but they all fell asleep. It shows how we operated under the influence of our flesh when we were in the church system of this world. The flesh being weak, we were not able to keep watch during our stay in Babylon. 

Mat 26:40  And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? 
Mat 26:41  Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Mat 26:42  He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. 
Mat 26:43  And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy.
Mat 26:44  And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. 

1Sa 26:17  And Saul knew David’s voice, and said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And David said, It is my voice, my lord, O king. 
1Sa 26:18  And he said, Wherefore doth my lord thus pursue after his servant? for what have I done? or what evil is in mine hand? 
1Sa 26:19  Now therefore, I pray thee, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If the LORD have stirred thee up against me, let him accept an offering: but if they be the children of men, cursed be they before the LORD; for they have driven me out this day from abiding in the inheritance of the LORD, saying, Go, serve other gods.
1Sa 26:20  Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth before the face of the LORD: for the king of Israel is come out to seek a flea, as when one doth hunt a partridge in the mountains. 

Saul hearing the voice of David and calling him his son shows that he did not understand why he kept pursuing David to kill him. This indicates that he did not have his own free will to do what he wants. Just as the Lord raised Pharaoh to resist His will of letting the children of Israel go out of Egypt to the promised land, the Lord was using Saul as His instrument of judgment of David, His elect. All of these throw out of the window, the false doctrine that we have our own free will and can do what we want.

Rom 9:17  For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. 
Rom 9:18  Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. 
Rom 9:19  Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? 
Rom 9:20  Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
Rom 9:21  Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

David struggled at this point in his life to understand the significance of what he was going through as he questioned Saul in verses 18 to 20. He did not know that the Lord was using Saul as His instrument of judgment to destroy his flesh. We all struggle to understand why we sometimes go through what we go through. This is what Paul said about our struggles:

2Co 4:8  We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 

The verse above shows us that even when we do not have all the answers to our hardships, we must still cling on to hope. 

In verse 19, David made a profound statement that if it is the Lord who had stirred up Saul to pursue him, then he would let the Lord accept an offering. It indicates that the Lord wants us to offer our bodies as living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to Him. This is the spiritual worship that the Lord is requiring from each of us as His elect, and He is achieving it through His judgment of our flesh.

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 
Rom 12:2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 

Saul’s Confession of His Sins

1Sa 26:21  Then said Saul, I have sinned: return, my son David: for I will no more do thee harm, because my soul was precious in thine eyes this day: behold, I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly.   

This is the second time in this study of the Book of Samuel that we see Saul admitting he had sinned. In the first instance in 1 Samuel 24:17, Saul repented of his actions against David at that time, and went on to declare David as being more righteous than him. However, he continued to pursue David. Repentance alone is not enough. We must bring forth fruit that commensurates with our repentance as indicated by Jesus as follows: 

Luk 3:8  Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. 

1Sa 26:22  And David answered and said, Behold the king’s spear! and let one of the young men come over and fetch it. 
1Sa 26:23  The LORD render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness: for the LORD delivered thee into my hand to day, but I would not stretch forth mine hand against the LORD’S anointed. 

David prepared to return the spear of Saul shows us that when we repent of our sins and start to lead lives commensurate with our repentance, the Lord will ensure that what we have lost in Him shall be regained.

Joe 2:25  And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. 
Joe 2:26  And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed. 
Joe 2:27  And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.  

We, the Lord’s elect, are the ones who are mourning in Zion as a result of the Lord’s judgment of our old man. As indicated in verse 23, the Lord will render to us His righteousness and His faithfulness in the fulness of time. 

Isa 61:3  To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified. 
Isa 61:4  And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations. 
Isa 61:5  And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. 
Isa 61:6  But ye shall be named the Priests of the LORD: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves. 
Isa 61:7  For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them. 

1Sa 26:24  And, behold, as thy life was much set by this day in mine eyes, so let my life be much set by in the eyes of the LORD, and let him deliver me out of all tribulation. 
1Sa 26:25  Then Saul said to David, Blessed be thou, my son David: thou shalt both do great things, and also shalt still prevail. So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place. 

In verse 24, David told Saul that as Saul’s life had been precious to him that day, may his life be precious in the sight of the Lord and that he is hoping that the Lord would deliver him from all his trouble. As we shall see later in this study of Samuel, indeed, the Lord was faithful to David and delivered him from all his troubles. This is David’s testimony of how the Lord came to his aid in the fulness of time:

Psa 34:6  This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. 
Psa 34:7  The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. 
Psa 34:8  Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! 

Psa 34:19  Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all. 

These verses are to let us know that the Lord will surely show up in the fullness of time, to deliver us from all our troubles. Are you weary of what you are going through? Have you lost hope of the situation that you find yourself in and that there is no way of escape? Let’s lift our eyes off our circumstance and look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. He will surely come to our rescue in the fullness of time to restore all that the locust, the cankerworm,  the caterpillar, and the palmerworm had eaten. Remember that against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and became the father of many nations. Against all hope, let’s lift our eyes off our circumstances and look to Jesus, who is able to do exceedingly beyond what we can ask or think. 

Rom 4:18  Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. 

Eph 3:20  Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, 
Eph 3:21  Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

In verse 25, Saul ended up blessing David and prophesied that David shall do great things and shall still prevail. This implies that in the fullness of time, our brothers and sisters in the church system of this world and the people of this world shall rejoice and bless us as saviors or the sons of God. 

Rom 8:18  I am sure that what we are suffering now cannot compare with the glory that will be shown to us.
Rom 8:19  In fact, all creation is eagerly waiting for God to show who his children are. 
Rom 8:20  Meanwhile, creation is confused, but not because it wants to be confused. God made it this way in the hope 
Rom 8:21  that creation would be set free from decay and would share in the glorious freedom of his children. (CEV)

Thank you Jesus, for the privilege of knowing you in this age. Amen!!