1 Samuel 24:1–7

When Saul returned from following the Philistines, he was told, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.” Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the Wildgoats’ Rocks. And he came to the sheepfolds by the way, where there was a cave, and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the innermost parts of the cave. And the men of David said to him, “Here is the day of which the LORD said to you, ‘Behold, I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you.’” Then David arose and stealthily cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. And afterward David’s heart struck him, because he had cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. He said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the LORD’s anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the LORD’s anointed.” So David persuaded his men with these words and did not permit them to attack Saul. And Saul rose up and left the cave and went on his way.

David’s refusing to strike the LORD’s anointed is like Saul’s guards refusing to kill the priests.

And the king said to the guard who stood about him, “Turn and kill the priests of the LORD, because their hand also is with David, and they knew that he fled and did not disclose it to me.” But the servants of the king would not put out their hand to strike the priests of the LORD. — 1 Samuel 22:17

“You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people. — Exodus 22:28

Respect for the LORD includes respect for His officers.

Of all the things that are going off the rails in the US right now, the widespread loss of respect for our officers, leaders, and elders might be the worst. Newspapers and other titans of the media have lost our respect, often justly. Many professors and visiting scholars have been shouted down by students, and this is never just. You can just feel our civilization unraveling.

While some of the disrespect is well deserved, all of it is harmful. Speech is one of the greatest gifts God has given man. It’s the key to teaching and learning.

But when people are lied to enough, they stop believing everyone. What can you learn from someone whose word you doubt? At best, any learning is slowed by the double-checking needed. At worst, badly needed warnings are ignored. Information, regardless of quality, is not being transmitted effectively.

And just think of what this does to the gospel. You tell someone the good news, but they assume your motives are bad. They’re so busy trying to figure out what your game is that they miss all your points. This is a tragedy.

However, the best countermeasure is the best evangelism anyway—lifestyle evangelism. You have to earn someone’s trust before they’ll pay full attention to the gospel. They won’t just trust you up front.

Good evangelism takes time.

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These weekday DEEPs are written by Mike Slay. The Saturday ones are written by Matt Richardson. To subscribe to the DEEP click here: https://www.ailbe.org/resources/community

The weekly study guides, which include questions for discussion or meditation, can be downloaded here: https://www.ailbe.org/resources/itemlist/category/91-deep-studies

Scripture taken from the English Standard Version. © Copyright 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.