1 Samuel 26:6 - Meaning and Application

Here is David’s bold venture into Saul’s camp at night, with only his kinsman Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, with him. David first proposed the plan to Abishai and to another of his close men (1 Samuel 26:6), but that other man either thought the risk too great or was content to let Abishai, who was eager for it, take the danger instead. We are not told whether David was moved by his own courage, by a special stirring in his heart, or by a direct message from God. But, like Gideon, he went through the guards with a firm sense that God would protect him.

When David reached the camp, he found Saul asleep in the trench, or, as some read it, in his chariot and among his baggage, with his spear stuck in the ground beside him, ready to defend himself if needed (1 Samuel 26:7). All the soldiers, including those posted as watchmen, were fast asleep (1 Samuel 26:12). Their eyes were closed and their hands were helpless, because a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen on them. There was something unusual here, because they all slept at once, and slept so soundly that David and Abishai could walk and speak among them without waking anyone.

Sleep, when God gives it to his loved ones, is a gift of rest and refreshment. But when he chooses, he can make sleep a prison for his enemies. In that way, the strong are stripped of power, and the men of war cannot use their hands. They have slept their sleep, and no mighty man could lift a hand, at your rebuke, O God of Jacob (Psalm 76:5-6). It was a deep sleep from the Lord, who rules the powers of nature and uses them for his purposes as he wills. When God wants to restrain or bring down someone, he can give that person a spirit of deep sleep (Romans 11:8). Saul and all his troops lay helpless, in effect disarmed and chained, yet no one had touched them. They were simply put to sleep. How easily God can weaken the strongest, confuse the wisest, and stop the most watchful. Let his friends trust him, and let his enemies fear him.

Abishai then asked David for permission to kill Saul with the spear that stood by his head, saying he could finish him with one blow now that Saul was so exposed (1 Samuel 26:8). He did not press David to do it himself, since David had refused a similar chance before. Instead, he begged to do it himself. He argued that Saul was David’s enemy, cruel and unbending, false and untrustworthy, and that no good advice or kindness would change him. He also said God had now handed Saul over to them and was, in effect, telling them to strike.

The last time David had a chance like this, it was only because Saul happened to enter the cave where David was hiding. But here there was something more clearly from God. Saul and all his guards had fallen into a deep sleep that plainly came from the Lord. This was a special opportunity given by providence, and Abishai thought it should not be wasted.

David, however, firmly refused to let any harm come to Saul, and in doing so he held tightly to his duty of loyalty (1 Samuel 26:9). He ordered Abishai not to destroy him. David would not do it himself, and he would not allow another man to do it either. He gave two reasons. First, killing Saul would be a sinful attack on God’s rule. Saul was the Lord’s anointed, the king of Israel by God’s special choice, and to rise against him would be to resist God’s ordinance, as Romans 13:2 says. No one could do that without guilt. David was more concerned about being clean before God than about keeping himself safe.

Second, killing Saul would be a sinful rush ahead of God’s providence, that is, God’s wise rule over events. God had already shown David, in Nabal’s case, that if David left vengeance to him, God would act in due time. So David, encouraged by that past mercy, decided to wait until God chose to punish Saul. He would not take revenge himself (1 Samuel 26:10). David said the Lord could strike Saul suddenly, as he had struck Nabal, or Saul might die in battle, as indeed he soon did, or he might simply die in the ordinary course of life. David was content to wait for that day rather than force his way to the promised crown by wrong methods.

The temptation was strong, but if David gave in, he would sin against God. So he stood against it with full resolve (1 Samuel 26:11). The Lord forbid, he said, that he should stretch out his hand against the Lord’s anointed. He would never do it, and he would not allow it to be done. In this way, David chose a clear conscience over personal advantage and trusted God with the outcome.

David then used the opportunity to show even more clearly that he was innocent. He and Abishai took Saul’s spear and the water jug that stood by Saul’s bed (1 Samuel 26:12). What is strange is that none of the guards noticed them. Even a strong sedative could not have kept them more completely under sleep. Saul’s spear, which he kept for defense, and his water jug, which he kept for refreshment, were both taken while he slept. In the same way, when we grow careless, secure, and off guard, we lose both our strength and our comfort.