The True King’s Mercy - 1 Samuel 24

It’s been said that who you are when no one is watching reveals your true character. But perhaps an even better test of character is who you are when you have power. And perhaps even more revealing is power and the opportunity to get revenge on someone who’s wronged you. What kind of character would you display when revenge is within reach? Do you settle the score and get even or do you trust the Lord to make things right in His time?

That’s the fundamental tension of 1 Samuel 24. David is on the run. Saul, driven by jealousy and fear, is relentlessly hunting him down, determined to kill him. David has done nothing wrong—in fact, he’s been anointed as Israel’s next king—but now he’s hiding in the wilderness, living as a fugitive, cut off from home and safety. And then, in a moment of stunning providence, Saul unknowingly walks right into David’s hands. The man who has made David’s life miserable is now exposed, alone, and completely unaware that David was just a few feet away, hiding in the shadows of a cave.

It would have been so easy for David to kill Saul. David’s men even encourage him: “This is the day the Lord has made for you!” But what David does next sets him apart—not just as a man of self-control, but as a man of deep trust in God.

In a culture that celebrates retaliation, that says, “Don’t get mad—get even,” 1 Samuel 24 gives us a radically different picture. It shows us that mercy is not weakness, and that true strength is found in relying on God’s justice and timing more than our own instincts.

Which is precisely what we see in our text: First, mercy flows from submission to God (vv. 1-7), secondly, mercy always tells the truth (vv. 8–15), and lastly, mercy points us to the true king (vv. 16-22).

Mercy flows from submission to God (vv. 1-7)

Things move pretty quickly in 1 Samuel. In our passage last week, David was in Maon, and now he is in Engedi. If you remember, Saul had to leave David in Maon in order to fend off a Philistine attack. We’re not told anything about that particular battle, all we know is that Saul is back chasing David seeking his life.

Engedi is located on the western shore of the Dead Sea and the region is riddled with natural caves. And so, David and his men are hiding in the caves when in walked Saul, who needed to take a break and use the restroom.

David’s men are ecstatic over their good fortune. They said in verse 4: “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.’”

All of David’s men are looking at clueless Saul and thinking this is the moment we’ve all been dreaming of! God has delivered Saul right into your hands! All the running and hiding can end right now and you can finally kill him. The Lord has delivered Saul to you on a silver platter!

And so David snuck up on Saul and was so close to him he could have easily killed him, but instead, cut a piece of his robe off when his conscience struck him. And his conscience struck him because he had disrespected Saul.

David says that he didn’t kill Saul because, “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.”

Saul didn’t become king in Israel by some strange fluke. Saul became king in Israel because God put him on the throne. God had deliberately chosen Saul to rule in Israel, and for David to kill Saul would be to rebel against the will of God. It would be to take matters into his own hands rather than trust in the Lord's sovereign plan. Removing Saul by force would not only dishonor God's anointed but would also demonstrate a lack of faith in God's ability to fulfill His promises in His own way and time.

Even though David had been presented with the perfect opportunity to get the sweetest revenge on his enemy, it wasn’t his place to do so.

Christians are not called to take vengeance on our enemies because the Lord tells us that "vengeance is mine.” The Apostle Paul reiterates this point in Romans 12. He said, “19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord… 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

With that said, I think it’s important to distinguish vengeance from justice. The Bible calls us to seek justice. Think about Micah 6:8 – “...what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

And Isaiah says, “Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause.”

Seeking justice is motivated by a desire for what is right, fair, and will bring honor to God. It seeks to uphold moral order and protect others. Which is different from revenge. Revenge is often motivated by personal hurt or anger – it seeks to inflict greater pain upon someone in return for the pain that they have caused you.

It seems to me that even David’s men had conflated vengeance and justice. They had convinced themselves that it was the just right thing to do to kill Saul, when in fact, killing Saul would have been rebellion against the will of God, it would have been motivated by revenge. In fact, they still wanted to kill Saul!

Which is why there was such a spirited debate in the cave. They weren’t happy that David just cut a piece of Saul’s robe – they wanted Saul dead. We’re told in verse 7 that, “David persuaded his men with these words and did not permit them to attack Saul.” The Hebrew word translated as “persuade” is literally “to cleave or tear in two.”

The NIV translates verse 7 as, “David sharply rebuked his men…” David had to correct his men and restrain them from seeking revenge.

David’s mercy toward Saul wasn’t because he was a lenient nice guy, but because he was willing to submit to God’s will and trust His timing.

When a person is truly submitted to God, they willingly surrender the right to personal revenge. Instead of retaliating against those who have wronged them, they entrust the situation to the One who judges justly (1 Peter 2:23). Demonstrating mercy is an expression of faith that says, “God, I trust You to make things right.”

David had the opportunity to take Saul’s life and end his suffering—but he didn’t. Why? Because he was submitted to God’s authority and God’s timing. David recognized Saul as “the Lord’s anointed” and refused to kill him, even though Saul was unjustly hunting him down. His mercy flowed from his reverence for God and his confidence that God would fulfill His promises without David needing to sin to get there.

If the opportunity to get the sweetest, most publicly humiliating revenge on someone who has wronged you, would you do it? Or would you show them mercy? Because that’s exactly David’s scenario isn’t it?

All of us here this evening have been wronged by others and it can be difficult to let the desire for revenge go.

But if you have a heart for the Lord, pleasing Him should always trump your personal desires. You have to lay your desire for vengeance at the feet of the Lord, remembering that He will one day set all things straight.

And so the Christian is called to show mercy not because others deserve it, but because the God who’s shown you mercy will ordain perfect justice according to his timetable.

Mercy always tells the truth (vv. 8–15)

After Saul leaves the cave, you might expect David to storm out and humiliate him—to unload his grievances in anger and shame the king before his men. But David does something radically different. He confronts Saul, yes—but he does so with humility, reverence, and truth.

David calls out, “My lord the king,” and bows with his face to the ground (v. 8). He honors Saul not because Saul deserves it, but because Saul is still the Lord’s anointed. David's posture of respect is striking, especially considering the injustice he’s endured. He doesn't mock or accuse. He reasons. He appeals to Saul’s conscience rather than attacking his character.

In verse 10, David recounts the scene inside the cave: “Some told me to kill you, but I spared you. I said, ‘I will not put out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord’s anointed.’” He’s completely transparent. He even shows Saul the corner of the robe he cut off as proof that he had the opportunity to kill him but chose mercy instead.

David then explains the meaning of his actions: “There is no wrong or treason in my hands… May the Lord judge between me and you… but my hand shall not be against you” (vv. 11–12). He addresses the lies being told about him (“Why do you listen to men who say, ‘David seeks your harm’?”), yet he does so without hostility. He spoke honestly with Saul in a respectful, humble manner.

Can you imagine going to the doctor only to have him lie to you about your sickness? You have a terminal, but treatable disease but the doctor refuses to give you the proper diagnosis because he’s afraid it might hurt your feelings and make you sad. That’s not merciful, that’s extremely harmful isn’t it? Because in order to treat any disease you must first have a diagnosis.

It reminds me of Jesus’ interaction with the woman at the well. Jesus reveals her sinful past – she’d had five husbands and the man she’s currently with isn’t her husband. He spoke honestly about her terminal sin… why? So he could offer her the treatment that she needed. She needed to drink from the living waters. She needed to trust in him.

David needed to speak honestly, transparently, and truthfully to Saul so he could see things as they truly were. And interestingly enough, for a moment, it seems that Saul saw things accurately. After listening to David’s speech, “... Saul lifted up his voice and wept.”

Not only is it always the right thing to speak the truth, it’s also the merciful thing to do. How often are lies, half-truths, or silence used to avoid difficult truths? Sometimes the truth can feel like a great act of confrontation, but in God’s kingdom, truth-telling isn’t an act of aggression, it’s an act of mercy.

And the reason is simple – the truth brings light. It exposes what is hidden. It clears away confusion. It invites repentance, healing, and reconciliation. When we withhold the truth—whether out of fear, politeness, or self-protection—we may preserve peace for a moment, but we often prolong pain in the long run. Truth may sting at first, but it is the only path to real peace.

This is how God deals with us. He never flatters, manipulates, or pretends. He tells us the truth about our sin and our need for a Savior. And that truth sets us free (John 8:32). His Word wounds only to heal. It confronts in order to comfort. This is the mercy of truth.

So when we speak truthfully to others—especially when it’s hard—we are extending that same kind of mercy. We are choosing their spiritual good over our temporary comfort. We are loving them enough to want them to walk in the light. As Ephesians 4:15 reminds us, we are to “speak the truth in love,” because truth and love are not opposites—they are partners.

Mercy does not avoid truth. God uses truth to awaken sinners, heal wounds, restore relationships, and make broken people whole.

Mercy points us to the true king (vv. 16–22)

In many ways that’s exactly what David was trying to do – restore his relationship with Saul. Which is really fascinating isn’t it? Because normally the future king doesn’t try to make peace with the current king. Typically, he just tries to seize the power and wrestle the throne from the current king. How many times has that happened over the course of history.

That’s the basic plot of Shakespeare’s play Macbeth: after being told he would one day be king, Macbeth becomes consumed with ambition and murders King Duncan to seize the throne of Scotland.

Both David and Macbeth were promised the throne but their approach to becoming king were totally different. David wanted to honor the Lord. He knew that the Lord would work things out according to His plan and so he didn’t need to take matters into his own hands like Macbeth.

Which is a hard thing to do for most of us. It’s hard to wait on the Lord, especially when things are not going your way.

Let’s be honest, the hardest moments of faith are not the ones that require action, but the ones that require patience. Because waiting exposes what we really believe. Do we truly trust God’s promises? Do we believe He’s at work behind the scenes? Do we believe He’s good even when the road is long and the outcome uncertain?

Seasons of waiting often demonstrate that we trust God more than we trust ourselves.

Which is why David cutting off a piece of Saul’s robe is so significant. It was more than just a visual of how close he was to Saul, he was sending a symbolic message as well. In order to fully appreciate David’s symbolic message we have to go back to 1 Samuel 15.

In 1 Samuel 15, Saul disobeyed God by sparing King Agag and keeping the best of the Amalekites’ spoils instead of destroying everything as God commanded. And if you remember the prophet Samuel actually confronted Saul about his disobedience and when Samuel turned to leave, Saul grabbed the edge of Samuel's robe and tore a piece off of it.

And Samuel used the tearing of his robe as a parable for Saul. He said to Saul, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you.’”

The incident was public and would have been well known in Israel. So think of the imagery here: David was holding a piece of Saul’s robe, which was another way of saying, “the kingdom of Israel will one day be in my hand.”

I even think Saul understood the imagery because what does he say in verse 20? “And now, behold, I know that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand.”

But what’s perhaps even more important is that Saul recognized David’s mercy in verses 17-18:

“You are more righteous than I, for you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil. 18 And you have declared this day how you have dealt well with me, in that you did not kill me when the Lord put me into your hands.”

What’s crystal clear from this episode is that David was more concerned with honoring God than getting revenge or seizing power. He trusted that God would be faithful to His promises and that, in due time, he would sit on the throne of Israel. In fact, he was so committed to honoring God that he was willing to show his enemy mercy.

David went further than he had to. He chose to show mercy to someone who deserved to feel the full weight of justice. David gave a man whose actions deserved just punishment mercy.

Hopefully this sounds familiar, because what do sinners deserve? We deserve just punishment for our sins. Paul tells us that “The wages of sin is death.” Wages are what we’ve earned and deserve.

And yet, the true King, Jesus Christ, took what we deserve on himself on the cross. He shows mercy to all who trust in Him when just punishment is warranted.

Retaliation is normal in our world. It’s normal to seek revenge to a greater degree than you were harmed. It often feels good in the moment, but it never brings lasting peace. Stored bitterness will only harden your heart. What’s abnormal is showing mercy when the opportunity for revenge presents itself – but it points to something greater than any one of us. It points to the mercy and grace of Christ flowing through his people.

This is the mercy that stopped David from taking Saul’s life in the cave at Engedi. David could have struck down his enemy and claimed the throne by force. Instead, he spared the one who sought his death, entrusting vengeance to God. Why? Because David knew that God desires mercy and not sacrifice. And centuries later, Jesus—the greater Son of David—would do the same on the cross when he said, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”

Have you ever shown mercy when you had the opportunity to get even? It’s often so unexpected that it totally disarms people. It melts them. And the bottom line is we show mercy because we have received mercy.

The world will not be changed by vengeance, retribution, or retaliation, but by the transforming, life-altering mercy and grace of Jesus Christ flowing through the hearts of his people.

May we boldly stand for truth, uphold justice, but always be willing to extend mercy with a humble heart. Amen. Let’s pray together.