Touch NOT The Lord’s Anointed!!!

The other day I opened my Bible to read a passage of scripture and the Lord showed me something new, something that I had never really thought about!!!

1 Samuel 26:7-12 (NKJV)

⁷ So David and Abishai came to the people by night; and there Saul lay sleeping within the camp, with his spear stuck in the ground by his head. And Abner and the people lay all around him.

⁸ Then Abishai said to David, “God has delivered your enemy into your hand this day. Now therefore, please, let me strike him at once with the spear, right to the earth; and I will not have to strike him a second time!”

⁹ But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him; for who can stretch out his hand against the Lord’s anointed, and be guiltless?”

¹⁰ David said furthermore, “As the Lord lives, the Lord shall strike him, or his day shall come to die, or he shall go out to battle and perish.

¹¹ The Lord forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. But please, take now the spear and the jug of water that are by his head, and let us go.”

¹² So David took the spear and the jug of water by Saul’s head, and they got away; and no man saw or knew it or awoke. For they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen on them.



As I read this, I thought, Wow!!!  God delivered Saul right into David’s hands!!!


It was then that I heard God say, Touch not mine anointed. Do my prophets no harm.


1 Chronicles 16:22 (KJV) …Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.



That is when I realized that this had been a test for David, and he had passed it!!!  Wow!!!  He did well!!!  After ALL we know that Saul had been trying to kill him for sometime!!! 



You know, this wasn’t the first time that David had been given the opportunity to kill Saul.  David, being wise, had refused one other time to kill Saul because he knew that Saul was the king that God had chosen and anointed to lead Israel.   


1 Samuel 24:1-18 (NKJV)

¹ Now it happened, when Saul had returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, “Take note! David is in the Wilderness of En Gedi.”

² Then Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel, and went to seek David and his men on the Rocks of the Wild Goats.

³ So he came to the sheepfolds by the road, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to attend to his needs. (David and his men were staying in the recesses of the cave.)

⁴ Then the men of David said to him, “This is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do to him as it seems good to you.’” And David arose and secretly cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.

⁵ Now it happened afterward that David’s heart troubled him because he had cut Saul’s robe.

⁶ And he said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord.”

⁷ So David restrained his servants with these words, and did not allow them to rise against Saul. And Saul got up from the cave and went on his way.

⁸ David also arose afterward, went out of the cave, and called out to Saul, saying, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed down.

⁹ And David said to Saul: “Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Indeed David seeks your harm’?

¹⁰ Look, this day your eyes have seen that the Lord delivered you today into my hand in the cave, and someone urged me to kill you. But my eye spared you, and I said, ‘I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord’s anointed.’

¹¹ Moreover, my father, see! Yes, see the corner of your robe in my hand! For in that I cut off the corner of your robe, and did not kill you, know and see that there is neither evil nor rebellion in my hand, and I have not sinned against you. Yet you hunt my life to take it.

¹² Let the Lord judge between you and me, and let the Lord avenge me on you. But my hand shall not be against you.

¹³ As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Wickedness proceeds from the wicked.’ But my hand shall not be against you.

¹⁴ After whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom do you pursue? A dead dog? A flea?

¹⁵ Therefore let the Lord be judge, and judge between you and me, and see and plead my case, and deliver me out of your hand.”

¹⁶ So it was, when David had finished speaking these words to Saul, that Saul said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” And Saul lifted up his voice and wept.

¹⁷ Then he said to David: “You are more righteous than I; for you have rewarded me with good, whereas I have rewarded you with evil.

¹⁸ And you have shown this day how you have dealt well with me; for when the Lord delivered me into your hand, you did not kill me.



1 Samuel 24:19-22 (CEB)

¹⁹ When someone finds an enemy, do they send the enemy away in peace? May the Lord repay you with good for what you have done for me today.

²⁰ Now even I know that you will definitely become king, and Israel’s kingdom will flourish in your hands.

²¹ Because of that, make a solemn pledge to me by the Lord that you won’t kill off my descendants after I’m gone and that you won’t destroy my name from my family lineage.”

²² David made a solemn pledge to Saul. Then Saul went back home, but David and his soldiers went up to the fortress.



David was NOT only very merciful to Saul in this situation, but David had so much respect and love for God that he wanted to be pleasing to God!!!  We can also see that David was so full of the love of God that he could love Saul. 

Psalms 105:15 ... “Do not touch My anointed ones, And do My prophets no harm.”

David knew God’s heart and he refused to take revenge on his enemy and kill him!!!


Romans 12:19 (AMP) Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave the way open for [God’s] wrath; for it is written, Vengeance is Mine, I will repay (requite), says the Lord.



I wonder how many of us would have been that merciful and would have spared our enemy’s life???  How many of us would have been like Abishai who would have killed his enemy???



But David knew God and he knew that God did NOT want him to take revenge on Saul.  God wants his people to allow him to take care of their enemies!!!


Deuteronomy 32:35 (NCV) I will punish those who do wrong; I will repay them. Soon their foot will slip, because their day of trouble is near, and their punishment will come quickly."



Of course, in our day it is NOT really a question of whether or NOT we would literally kill our enemy or enemies, but rather will we be merciful and treat our enemy with undeserved kindness???



I know!!!  I know!!!  How in the world can I or even God expect you to be nice to someone who has treated you with disrespect???  Someone who has done everything he or she could to destroy you!!! 



Well, God tells us in His Word that you are to pray for those who despitefully use you!!!


Matthew 5:44 (NKJV) But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you



Luke 6:28 (NCV) bless those who curse you, pray for those who are cruel to you.



PRAY?????????????????????????????

Yes, PRAY!!!!!!  Pray good, and kind, and nice prayers for those who treat you bad!!!



And, NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


You can’t pray, “God get ‘em!!!!”



I totally understand because there were many times when I wanted to pray exactly that!!!  But I had to learn to pray good things for my enemies!!!  I had to learn to ask God to forgive the ones who were mistreating me!!!  I had to learn to pray that God be merciful to them!!!



Even Jesus asked God to forgive HIS enemies!!!


Luke 23:34 (NCV) Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, because they don't know what they are doing."



I had to learn to ask God to set my enemies free from bondage!!!  I had to learn to ask HIM to deliver them and save them!!!



And, no, it wasn’t easy!!! But do you know that it works???



IF YOU REALLY WANT TO TICK THE DEVIL OFF AND CONFUSE HIM, be nice to your enemies and pray good things for them!!!



When we pray for our enemies and treat them nicely we are heaping great coals of fire on their heads-the red hot coals of God’s Love!!!


Proverbs 25:21-22 (NCV)

²¹ If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him a drink.

²² Doing this will be like pouring burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.

Romans 12:17-21 (CEB)

¹⁷ Don’t pay back anyone for their evil actions with evil actions, but show respect for what everyone else believes is good.

¹⁸ If possible, to the best of your ability, live at peace with all people.

¹⁹ Don’t try to get revenge for yourselves, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath. It is written, Revenge belongs to me; I will pay it back, says the Lord.

²⁰ Instead, If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. By doing this, you will pile burning coals of fire upon his head.

²¹ Don’t be defeated by evil, but defeat evil with good.