Respect The Office - David And King Saul

“Surely the LORD will strike Saul down someday, or he will die of old age or in battle. The LORD forbid that I should kill the one he has anointed!”

1 Samuel 26:10-11

You’ve probably heard it said of high-ranking elected officials that even if you disagree with the man, you should still respect the office he holds. In other words, though you may not personally like or endorse the political positions of your mayor, governor, or president, those people still occupy God-ordained positions of leadership and thus deserve our honor and respect.

God chose David to succeed Saul as Israel’s king. David demonstrated that kind of respect for his predecessor . . . and then some.

David’s popularity among the people soared after his successful confrontation with the Philistine Goliath, and Saul didn’t like it. In his jealousy and anger at David’s popularity, he tried to kill David. From a strictly human standpoint, David might have been justified in standing up to Saul and ending a very real threat to his personal well-being.

David couldn’t do that.

David had two opportunities to kill Saul, and twice he refused to do so. He knew that Saul’s day of reckoning would come, and that he could not in good conscience bring that about himself. David knew that God alone had the authority to remove Saul because he was the Lord’s anointed.

David respected Saul’s office. More than that, he respected God’s office as the One whose sovereign will works everything out in his own good time.

David’s mercy toward Saul demonstrated his unbending faith that God had appointed him as Saul’s successor. David knew better than to run ahead of God and take matters into his own hands.

When you understand that God remains at the helm of the universe and that he actively works to bring about his perfect will at the right time, you can relax. Wait on him to move on your behalf instead of trying to make things happen in your own way and time.