Pastor Chet’s Common Cense
The Text:
1 Samuel 26:8 Then said Abishai to David, God hath delivered thine enemy into thine hand this day: now therefore let me smite him, I pray thee, with the spear even to the earth at once, and I will not smite him the second time
The Thought:
Abishai was so excited at an opportunity to kill Saul. Saul was chasing and trying to kill David and Abishai wanted to stop this pursuit as a way of getting David to his rightful spot, on the throne.
The Takeaway:
Abishai showed great courage when he volunteered to go into Saul’s camp with David. In the heat of emotion, Abishai wanted to kill Saul, but David restrained him. Although Abishai was only trying to protect David, his leader, David could not hurt Saul because of his respect for Saul’s authority and position as God’s anointed king. Abishai may have disagreed with David, but he also respected the one in authority over him. Eventually he became the greatest warrior in David’s army.
The strongest moral decisions are the ones we make before temptation strikes. David was determined to follow God, and this carried over into his decision not to murder God’s anointed king, Saul, even when his men and the circumstances seemed to make it a feasible option. Who would you have been like in such a situation—David or David’s men? To be like David and follow God, we must realize that we can’t do wrong in order to execute justice. Even when our closest friends counsel us to do something that seems right, we must always put God’s commands first.