Gods Sabbath

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E NTERING INTO G OD ’ S S ABBATH R EST

fortresses of the wilderness of Ziph rather than returning to the populated areas. He knew that when the king reverted to a still worse state, it would be far more dangerous to be back among the people, than in the mountains. For a short time David en joyed relief from the hatred and pursuit of Saul, but no sooner had Israel’s prophet Samuel died, than Saul renewed his efforts to find and destroy his alleged enemy. When David obtained intelligence of Saul’s renewed campaign against him, he set out to discover the location and size of his antagonist’s forces. Approaching the camp at night with Abish ai, his attendant, and finding everyone locked in deep slumber, David penetrated into the very presence of the sleeping king. Once again the monarch was in his power, just as he had been in the cave. Again, it appeared that God had conveniently ar ranged the execution of the wicked ruler, and David’s companion urged the destruction of their enemy, arguing that it was what God wanted and expected of them. “So David and Abishai went to the army by night, and there was Saul, lying asleep inside the camp with his spear stuck in the ground near his head. Abner and the soldiers were lying around him. Abishai said to David, ‘Today God has delivered your enemy into your hands. Now let me pin him to the ground with one thrust of my spear; I won’t strike him twice.’ But Da vid said to Abishai, ‘Don’t destroy him! Who can lay a hand on the L ORD ’ S anointed and be guiltless? As surely as the L ORD lives,’ he said, ‘the L ORD himself will strike him; either his time will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish. But the L ORD forbid that I should lay a hand on the L ORD ’ S anointed. Now get the spear and water jug that are near his head, and let’s go.’ So David took the spear and water jug near Saul’s head, and they left. No one saw or knew about it, nor did anyone wake up. They were all sleeping, because the L ORD had put them into a deep sleep.” 1Samuel 26:7–12. Once more David was under test to see if he knew and would follow God’s ways, or succumb to the temptation to fulfill God’s promises himself. But he did not waver from the divine will. As if he saw God’s way even more clearly than the first time, he ex plained to his friend in greater detail not only the conviction that he must not touch the Lord’s anointed, but that the Al