The God of King David | Week 5 | Tempted by Revenge | Pastor Leanne Benton
MESSAGE NOTES
The God of King David
June 8, 2025
Tempted by Revenge
Teacher: Leanne Benton
Revenge is the act of hurting or punishing someone in return for something they did to you.
Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves. -Confucius
After Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, “David is in the Desert of En Gedi.” So Saul took three thousand able young men from all Israel and set out to look for David and his men near the Crags of the Wild Goats. He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave.
The men said, “This is the day the Lord spoke of when he said to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.’” Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. -1 Samuel 24:4
David chose restraint over revenge
Opportunity is not permission
Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the Lord.” With these words David sharply rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way. -1 Samuel 24:5-7
David’s character was developed in the cave
The Lord is my light and my salvation; Who shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? He continues singing: One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock. -Psalm 27:1; 4-5
Then David went out of the cave and called out to Saul, “My lord the king!” When Saul looked behind him, David bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground. He said to Saul, “Why do you listen when men say, ‘David is bent on harming you’? This day you have seen with your own eyes how the Lord delivered you into my hands in the cave. Some urged me to kill you, but I spared you. -1 Samuel 24:8-10
May the Lord judge between you and me. And may the Lord avenge the wrongs you have done to me, but my hand will not touch you. As the old saying goes, “From evildoers come evil deeds,” so my hand will not touch you. -1 Samuel 24:12-13
The Lord is our Judge The Lord is our Defender The Lord is our Avenger
When David finished saying this, Saul asked “Is that your voice, David, my son?” And he wept aloud. “You are more righteous than I,” he said. “You have treated me well, but I have treated you badly…I know that you will surely be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established into your hands. Now swear to me by the Lord that you will not kill off my descendants or wipe out my name from my father’s family.” So David gave his oath to Saul.” -1 Samuel 24:16-22
I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. -Psalm 27:13-14
If you’ve got it in you, get along with everybody. Don’t insist on getting even; that’s not for you to do. “I’ll do the judging,” says God. “I’ll take care of it.” -Romans 12:18-19 - MSG
We make choices all the time without even being aware of the fact we are doing this… to brood over something…to clutch on to something… to hide. We sin and then we justify not confessing our sin or making things right. Then we find a way to bury that thought so that we forget. Sin after sin compounds, moment after moment, like some kind of terrible interest on our souls.