![\"4.png\"](\"https:\/\/faithloop.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4.png\")
<\/a> <\/p>One day, the Ziphites came to Gibeah to see Saul and said,<\/p>\n
\u201cKing Saul, David is still hiding over there, in the hill of Hakilah, out in the wilderness!\u201d<\/p>\n
Saul heard that and started thinking again:<\/p>\n
\u201cThis time, I\u2019m gonna catch that guy for sure!\u201d<\/p>\n
So Saul picked 3,000 of his best soldiers and marched all the way down to the wilderness of Ziph.<\/p>\n
He was determined to surround David and finally get him.<\/p>\n
But David wasn\u2019t sitting around doing nothing.<\/p>\n
He sent some people out to check what was going on.<\/p>\n
After a while, they came back and said,<\/p>\n
\u201cUh-oh. Saul really came. And he brought 3,000 soldiers with him!\u201d<\/p>\n
David didn\u2019t panic.<\/p>\n
Instead, he quietly went out to see where Saul and his army were camped.<\/p>\n
When he got there, he took a look\u2014<\/p>\n
Well, would you look at that!<\/p>\n
Saul\u2019s whole camp was right there.<\/p>\n
And everybody was asleep.<\/p>\n
All 3,000 soldiers were sleeping.<\/p>\n
Saul was sleeping.<\/p>\n
His commander, Abner, was sleeping.<\/p>\n
Everybody around them was sleeping soundly.<\/p>\n
David looked at the whole situation and thought,<\/p>\n
\u201cHmmm\u2026 is this a good opportunity?\u201d<\/p>\n
Then he asked the men with him,<\/p>\n
\u201cWho\u2019s willing to go down there with me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Abishai immediately said,<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll go!\u201d<\/p>\n
So the two of them quietly made their way down into the camp.<\/p>\n
When they got close to Saul, they saw him sleeping soundly.<\/p>\n
And there was Saul\u2019s spear, stuck in the ground right beside his head.<\/p>\n
Abishai looked at David, and he knew exactly what he was thinking.<\/p>\n
Then he whispered,<\/p>\n
\u201cYou give me the word, and I\u2019ll take that spear and pin him right to the ground!\u201d<\/p>\n
But David wasn\u2019t having it.<\/p>\n
He quickly said,<\/p>\n
\u201cNo!\u201d<\/p>\n
Abishai was probably thinking,<\/p>\n
\u201cWait\u2026 what did you just say?
\nDid I hear you right?\u201d<\/p>\n
David said,<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is the king whom the LORD has anointed. Who can raise his hand against the LORD\u2019s anointed and remain innocent?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t kill him just because he wants to kill me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then David said,<\/p>\n
\u201cThe LORD Himself will deal with him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf his time comes, he will die. If he goes into battle and that is where he is supposed to die, then he will die there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I will not be the one to kill him.\u201d<\/p>\n
And that right there was one of the biggest differences between David and Saul.<\/p>\n
Saul was being dragged around by jealousy and hatred.
\nDavid was willing to leave the final judgment in God\u2019s hands.<\/p>\n
So David did not kill Saul.<\/p>\n
But he wasn\u2019t planning to leave empty-handed either.<\/p>\n
He took Saul\u2019s spear and his water jug from beside his head.<\/p>\n
Then David and Abishai quietly slipped away.<\/p>\n
And nobody in the entire camp noticed a thing.<\/p>\n
Why?<\/p>\n
The Bible says:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe LORD had put them into a deep sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n
David and Abishai went across to the other side of the mountain and stood far away from Saul\u2019s camp.<\/p>\n
Then David started calling out,<\/p>\n
\u201cAbner!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbner!\u201d<\/p>\n
Abner finally woke up, probably still half asleep.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is that? Who\u2019s calling the king in the middle of the night?\u201d<\/p>\n
David shouted back,<\/p>\n
\u201cAren\u2019t you supposed to be Israel\u2019s great commander?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow did you protect your king?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone came right into the camp to kill the king, and you didn\u2019t even notice!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLook around! Where are the king\u2019s spear and water jug that were beside his head?\u201d<\/p>\n
Abner probably looked around and thought,<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
He quickly checked.<\/p>\n
And then\u2014<\/p>\n
Uh-oh.<\/p>\n
The spear was gone.<\/p>\n
The water jug was gone too.<\/p>\n
By this time, Saul recognized David\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n
He called out,<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid? Is that you?\u201d<\/p>\n
David answered,<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, my lord and king. It\u2019s me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Saul called out again,<\/p>\n
\u201cMy son David!\u201d<\/p>\n
David said,<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then David asked,<\/p>\n
\u201cMy king, what have I done wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat evil have I done?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy are you chasing me like this?\u201d<\/p>\n
And honestly, that part is pretty heartbreaking.<\/p>\n
David had been Saul\u2019s son-in-law.<\/p>\n
He had been one of Israel\u2019s greatest warriors.<\/p>\n
He had fought Saul\u2019s battles.<\/p>\n
He had served Saul faithfully.<\/p>\n
But now?<\/p>\n
The very man David had once served was chasing him through the wilderness, trying to kill him.<\/p>\n
David continued,<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the LORD has stirred you up against me, then let Him accept an offering from me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut if people have been pushing you against me, then may they be judged before the LORD.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have driven me away from the LORD\u2019s inheritance and are basically saying, \u2018Go serve other gods!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Then David said something that paints a pretty funny picture:<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is the king of Israel chasing after?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJust a flea!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJust like someone hunting a partridge in the mountains!\u201d<\/p>\n
In other words:<\/p>\n
\u201cCome on, King Saul. You\u2019re the king of Israel!
\nYou brought 3,000 soldiers just to chase one guy around the mountains.
\nIs this really worth all that?\u201d<\/p>\n
Saul listened.<\/p>\n
And for a moment, he was silent.<\/p>\n
Finally, he said,<\/p>\n
\u201cI have sinned.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy son David, I was wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI have acted foolishly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cToday you could have killed me, but you spared my life. I will not hunt you down anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then David held up Saul\u2019s spear and said,<\/p>\n
\u201cHere is your spear.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSend one of your men over to get it.\u201d<\/p>\n
And once again, David proved something very important:<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not that I couldn\u2019t kill you.
\nI simply chose not to.\u201d<\/p>\n
David said,<\/p>\n
\u201cToday the LORD gave you into my hand, but I would not raise my hand against the LORD\u2019s anointed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe LORD will repay each person according to his righteousness and faithfulness.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cToday I valued your life, so may the LORD value my life and rescue me from every trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n
This time, Saul really seemed to understand.<\/p>\n
He said,<\/p>\n
\u201cMy son David, may you be blessed!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou will certainly do great things.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you will surely prevail.\u201d<\/p>\n
And that was it.<\/p>\n
David went on his way.<\/p>\n
And Saul went back home.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sarah One day, the Ziphites came to Gibeah to see Saul and said, \u201cKing Saul, David is still hiding over there, in the hill of Hakilah, out in the wilderness!\u201d Saul heard that and started thinking again: \u201cThis time, I\u2019m gonna catch that guy for sure!\u201d So Saul picked 3,000 of his best soldiers and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10084,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bible-reflection"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/faithloop.org\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/faithloop.org\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/faithloop.org\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faithloop.org\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faithloop.org\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10082"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/faithloop.org\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10082\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10083,"href":"https:\/\/faithloop.org\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10082\/revisions\/10083"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faithloop.org\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10084"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/faithloop.org\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faithloop.org\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faithloop.org\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}