But David said to Abishai, “Don’t destroy him! Who can lay a hand on the Lord’s anointed and be guiltless?” … “But the Lord forbid that I should lay a hand on the Lord’s anointed…” 1 Samuel 26:9, 11a NIV
Read 1 Samuel 26.
David was given another opportunity to make a choice: He could either take matters into his own hands and kill Saul so that he could finally be free, or he could continue to trust God to take care of the matter in His way and in His timing. In the natural, it only made sense for David to seize the opportunity and give Saul a taste of what he had been trying to dish out to David all this time. Why not just attack him and get it over with? Why continue this torturous life on the run?
When we do things God’s way, we must understand that God has a much broader perspective of our circumstances that we ever will. We see a small piece of the puzzle and jump on our small bit of understanding; however, God knows the future, and He sees all the intricate details that surround our situation. When His ways don’t make sense to us, we must trust that His vantage point is much more reliable than ours.
David chose to trust God instead of hastily snatching his chance to put a stop to the madman, Saul. Ultimately, this was a matter of his reverence toward God even more than it was about faith. David had utmost respect for God; thus, this gave him utmost respect for God’s anointed as well. He knew that even if Saul was not in his right mind at the moment, that didn’t change the fact that he is still the one God had chosen to rule Israel. David refused a second time to touch God’s anointed.
“Do not touch my anointed ones;
do my prophets no harm.” 1 Chronicles 16:22 NIV
Throughout Scripture we find an abundance of examples of what happens when someone does harm to one of God’s chosen, or anointed ones. This is more than mere killing or hurting them; some of these examples are about what happened when someone showed disrespect or simply spoke out against them:
- 1 Samuel 2-4, Eli’s sons showed disrespect in the temple by seducing the women, dishonoring the sacrifices, and being unfaithful to their duties as priests. God had them killed in battle.
- Numbers 12:1-10, Miriam and Aaron merely criticized Moses, and Miriam was struck with leprosy. She did not respect God’s chosen, even if it was her brother.
- 2 Kings 2:23-24, A group of young people taunted and teased Elisha, calling him “Baldy.” They were mauled by bears.
- Numbers 16, Korah stirred up the entire community against Moses and Aaron, and God caused the ground to open up and swallow them all alive.
- Daniel 5, King Belshazzar took items from the Temple of the Lord and used them to drink wine and party in honor of their false gods. This is when God sent a bodiless hand to appear and write on the wall to warn him. That very night, his life was taken.
- Matthew 21:12-14, When Jesus saw the money changers and those selling animals in the temple, he became livid and turned all their tables over. He drove them all out and declared that his Father’s house is a house of prayer and not a den of thieves.
- Acts 5, Ananias and Sapphira lied in the house of God, and they were instantly struck dead.
- Acts 12:23, Herod refused to give God praise and took the glory for himself. He was struck dead and eaten by worms.
In each of these examples, something I notice is that when a person shows disrespect or one of God’s anointed, or the house of God, He takes it personally. It is a matter of showing disrespect directly to God.
Recently, I got involved in a Facebook scuffle, and I took it too far. I typically stay out of any and all social media arguments because nothing good ever comes out of these. People get heated emotionally, but their minds aren’t going to be changed. It is fruitless.
In this situation, however, I felt the responsibility to speak up when I saw a woman of God being publicly shredded by a group of people. This is a woman who is clearly anointed by God and used powerfully by God. However, they slandered her and slammed her ministry.
If they disagreed with a specific point of this Bible teacher, I believe it would be acceptable to debate that point. However, their attack against her was personal and general. When I asked for examples, they shared slanderous reports from a group that does nothing but trash ministers. They had articles about almost every popular minister or Bible teacher, but not one positive article from this group could be found. This group does nothing to share the good news of Jesus with anyone, but their claim to ministry is to reveal all the dirt on other ministries. That damages their credibility as far as I’m concerned.
When I warned them against “touching God’s anointed,” their reasoning was that she could not possibly be God’s anointed since she was a false teacher. Again, they had nothing concrete upon which to base this accusation. It is not up to use to make the determination, although, on the contrary, I know without a doubt she is anointed of God and not a false teacher.
If we are God’s daughters, we are anointed. We are not to harm each other in any way. The above verse is not just about those in public ministry. And, if our anointing depended upon being perfect, none of us would qualify!
That is when I went too far. I began refuting every single point they spoke out against her, and they began calling me names like moron, stupid, ignorant, and idol worshiper. They began attacking me personally, and their words were plain evil. I should have known better than to engage people like this. Lesson learned! And by the way, when they attacked me, they were doing God’s prophet harm!
Turn from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it. Psalm 34:14 NIV
Here is something I learned from this. There comes a time when we need to speak out against evil, but it is never appropriate to stoop to their level. Often, we need to do as David did and wait for God to administer justice in His timing and in His way. David had the chance to impale Saul with Saul’s own spear, but he didn’t do it. He waited for God.
Ultimately, what we learn from this story and from all the examples above is that God is holy and worthy of the highest worship and praise. He deserves our deepest reverence and awe. He is worthy of all glory and honor! Thus, out of reverence for God, we must also respect the people of God, and that includes each other.
When Saul realized what David had done, he confessed and apologized. David returned Saul’s spear and went on his way. Eventually, God would reward David for doing the right thing, and He will also reward us at just the right time when we also choose to do the right thing out of reverence for Him.
The Lord rewards everyone for their righteousness and faithfulness. The Lord delivered you into my hands today, but I would not lay a hand on the Lord’s anointed. As surely as I valued your life today, so may the Lord value my life and deliver me from all trouble. 1 Samuel 26:23-24 NIV
Lord, search our hearts and reveal any disrespect or rebellion within. Remove it and replace it with hearts full of worship and adoration for You alone. May our thoughts, words, and actions demonstrate the highest level of reverence toward You and Your anointed ones. In Jesus’ name!
