After the events of chapter 23, that we studied last week, King Saul, along with three-thousand of his best men, pursued David into the oasis of En-Gedi. They were hot on the trail of Israel’s most wanted fugitive when a very human thing happened. Saul had to go to the bathroom so the armed troupe came to a halt outside of a cave that local shepherds used as a fold for their flocks at night. As the men milled about, and their animals fell to grazing, King Saul ducked into the cave to “relieve” himself. As you can imagine, no body guards followed him in there. This was a private moment that would have gone unwitnessed were it not for the fact that David himself and some of his men were hiding in the dark recesses of that very same cave.
Vulnerable, exposed and alone the old King had no idea of the danger he was in, and, in truth, it seems that not even David was sure how much trouble Saul was in. This had fallen quite unexpectedly into his lap, and, at first, David was not sure how to best capitalize on the opportunity. He and his men held a quick conference in the back of the cave. Should they kill him? Surely, God had delivered David’s would-be murderer into his hand. Wouldn’t turn-about be fair play?
Come listen in as we study the rest of the story by discerning 1 Samuel 24 together.