1 Samuel 26:21 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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1 Samuel 26:21

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David’s words lead to a very strong response in Saul. ‘Then said Saul, I have sinned: return, my son David:’ – return to court, that means – ‘for I will no more do thee harm, because my soul was precious in thine eyes this day: behold, I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly.’ I have sinned; I will change; I have played the fool; I have erred exceedingly. All those things he said. There is confession of sin, but there is not one element or word of repentance to God, despite all that he says to David, and there is no intention on Saul's part to do the right thing. He does not abdicate the throne, which is what he should have done if he really accepts what has been said to him. The moment Samuel told him that God had removed the kingdom from him, he ought to have quitted the throne, but instead he went on and on. If he had really believed the warning of the prophet and accepted his condemnation of him, he would have first, repented of his sins; and second, abdicated his position in favour of David, but he went on, and he clung to his kingdom with all his might, and sought to destroy David. Saul is remarkable. Just look at the elements of repentance here: ‘I have sinned’ and an Israelite knew what he was saying when he uttered those words. ‘I have sinned’, point number one. He acknowledges his sin. You would think this was a good repentance. Point number two: ‘Return, my son David.’ So there is the undertaking and the pledge to make good the wrong he has done. That is another great point in repentance; that isn't always done. Even believers sometimes, repent and omit to pledge themselves to put the matter right, and to seek God's help and to strive to do differently in the future. But Saul has got this right. ‘I have sinned. I will right the wrong. Return, my son David, for I will no more harm thee’, accompanied by a pledge for the future, ‘because my soul was precious in thine eyes this day.’ But the third point, ‘Behold, I have played the fool’, and all this is going to be shouted at the top of his voice across a valley to a distant hill, every word being clearly heard by his three thousand men. So he is prepared to accept, once again, humiliation before his men. This isn’t a secret repentance; it is open and public. And the final point: ‘and have erred exceedingly.’ The words are powerful and he acknowledges that his wrong is great. Well we are used to the apologies of politicians, and sometimes our apologies too. They don't apologise – only rarely – for doing something wrong. They might go so far as to apologise for having inadvertently upset people or something of that kind. But Saul is acknowledging the full extent of what he has done.

Application

These days the churches of Jesus Christ should learn to value repentance in their evangelism. There are different kinds of evangelism, even among Bible believing Christians. There is one kind of evangelism that makes light of repentance, and hardly requires any meaningful repentance. Not surprisingly, if people come in on the terms of little repentance, then much wood, hay, and stubble is added to the church, and it will soon make for decline and the loss of the spirituality of the church. Then there are others who say they want true repentance, but they spoil it all by saying, ‘We don't mind if the converts go on living just like worldlings.’ Well that is just as bad as saying that we don't rate repentance as being important. They say we believe in the Lordship of Christ; we believe in serious turning to Christ, but you can go on doing exactly the pretty much same worldly things that you did before. That is awful. So there are – particularly in the United States, sadly – some of the big-time youth conferences with so-called Christian hip-hop, and rap, and everything else. Consequently the message is completely negated, because there is no such thing as real Christian character, or change of life, or the power of the Holy Spirit, changing the tastes and the life of the person, and bringing that person completely away from the styles and fashions of this sinful and passing world. You would think we would learn that even from King Saul. Here it is: you could conduct a study on repentance from the life of Saul. Never did he ever repent meaningfully, and yet he repented supposedly on a number of occasions, and this is another case where he does just this. But David is wise enough not to accept the invitation to return to court.

The deliverance of David: it has to be demonstrated a second type because there is a tremendous tendency in us, as people who are sinners, to excuse the things that people do. If Saul had only gone after David once in this way, if there had only been one betrayal by the Ziphites, many of us would be inclined to excuse it, and we would say, ‘Well at that first time it happened, Saul was very repentant, and he was very emotional about the whole thing, and though it must have cost him dear, he was ready to be ashamed and make a fool of himself in the sight of his three thousand chosen men, so he wasn't such a bad fellow. He could do harsh and awful things, but he could be contrite and very gentlemanly, and say, “David, you are better than I am; come back”, and repent of all that he has done.’ But it happens again so that we will not come to the wrong conclusion, and it shows us the shallowness and emotionalism of Saul's imagined repentance, how little he meant it, and how quickly he went back to his former inclinations and ways. And it is quite a good thing for us to have two similar demonstrations of the faith of David in very difficult circumstances, because very soon, with the honesty of Scripture, there is going to be the record of his fall, of David’s fall, that is, and of his failing, and so it's good for us to see how under various tests, he could stand firm, and he could exercise his faith and be valiant for the Lord and trust in God's promise. It warns us to be so careful.

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1 Samuel 26:21 Commentary and Bible Study