The men of David said to him, “Behold, this is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold; I am about to give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it seems good to you.'” Then David arose and cut off the edge of Saul’s robe secretly.
It came about afterward that David’s conscience bothered him because he had cut off the edge of Saul’s robe.
— 1 Samuel 24:4-5
As David held up that corner of Saul’s robe, he could have told him, “Saul, it’s over. I’m tired of you bothering me all the time. Now get out of Israel!” Instead, David’s heart troubled him, and he said, “So he said to his men, “Far be it from me because of the Lord that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, since he is the Lord’s anointed.” (1 Sam. 24:5–6).
Adapted from David: After God’s Heart, page 77.
Tomorrow: “Encountering Saul in the Cave” (4)