David Spares Saul’s Life

When Saul returned from fighting the Philistines, he was told that David was in the Desert of En Gedi.

Saul took three thousand men with him and departed to look for David in the Desert of En Gedi. He came to a place where there are many sheep pens along the way. There was a cave in the area so Saul and his men went in to rest for a while. In the meantime, David and his men were hiding at the back of the cave.

David’s men said, “Today the Lord has given your enemy into your hands.”

David sneaked quietly up to Saul and cut off a small piece of his clothing. Afterwards, David felt guilty.

He said to his men, “I shall never harm my master because he is the Lord’s anointed king.” David would not allow his men to harm Saul.

Saul woke up and continued his journey. As soon as Saul and his men left the cave, David and his men also prepare to leave the cave.

When David reached outside the cave, he shouted to Saul, “My lord, why did you listen to what other people say. Do you think I am trying to kill you? Look at this piece of cloth. If I can cut off the corner of your robe, I also could have killed you but I didn’t. Please understand that I am not trying to rebel against you. May God judge between you and me. I will not harm you in anyway but I will let God avenge you himself.”

Saul said, “David, is that you? You are a better person than I. I realized that you will be King of Israel one day. Promise me that after you become king, you won’t cut off my descendants.”

David swore the oath to Saul and promised he will destroy all his descendants in the future. After that, Saul returned home while David and his men went to hide at the strongholds.