In the wilderness of En-gedi…

“David’s heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul’s skirt” (1 Sam 24)

David, unable to find safety amongst the Ziphites, crosses over the into the wilderness of En-gedi which is located near the western shore of the Dead Sea; an area characterized by an abundance of caves and cliffs — some 2000 feet tall. It was a region noted for its extremely harsh terrain, and would have been difficult for Saul and his men to find David. Conder (‘Tent Work in Palestine’ ii 126)¹ describes this area as an almost impassable area, so much so that it took four and a half hours of hard riding for his party to travel only 6 miles. What an unrelenting hatred Saul must have had towards David. Imagine the effort and time it would have taken Saul and his men to search every cave and ravine for David, especially when some caves are said to be so massive that they are able to hold as many as 3000 people! It would have been quite the task that lay before Saul, and was undoubtedly the reason why he took so many men with him in his search.

As Saul and his men were combing through this vast and rugged wilderness they came to the sheep cotes where Saul entered to “cover his feet”, or, as most modern translations say “relieve himself”. These ‘sheep cotes’ were piles of stones that where built up like a wall around the mouth of a cave to keep the sheep in a protected and enclosed area, and to keep wild beasts out. Furthermore, there were typically thorns placed around and on top of the stones to protect the sheep from wild beasts climbing over the walls. This would have made this cave a perfect place for Saul to enter into without fear of being interrupted. However, we see that Saul was incorrect in his assumption that the cave was empty².

As Saul entered into the cave, David’s men must have been elated. Finally their chance had come. Finally God had delivered them from living their lives as fugitives fleeing from the King, unable to worship their God in the way the law required. The time had come for all of that to change. David had been told by the prophet Samuel that he would become the next King of Israel, and now it seemed it was his for the taking (cp Matt 4:8-10; John 6:15.) But David realized that this kingdom was not his for the taking, and that he had no right to stretch forth his hand against the Lord’s anointed (1 Sam 24:5; 26:9-11.) Instead, David approached the king and “cut off the skirt of Saul’s robe privily (unnoticed NIV).”

The cutting off of the skirt…

There is quite a difference between the skirt that David cut off of Saul’s garments, and the skirt or hem as we know it today. In ancient times the hem of a Jew’s garment was not simply just a fold in the bottom edge used to prevent the edge from fraying and coming apart. The Hebrew word ‘kanaph’ means wing, or skirt and it refers to the extremity. Attached to this ‘kanaph’ was a ‘tsiytsith’ [a fringe or tassel] (Numb 15:37­ 41; Deut. 22:12.) A part of this tassel that hung from the skirt of their garment was a cord of blue which signified the heavenly calling to which they had been called. It would have served as a reminder to the wearer, as well as to the observer, to “recall all the commandments of the Lord and observe them” (Deut 15:40). Thus all Israel were to have in their tassels this reminder of the covenant they had made to be a holy people. A reminder to have a spiritual mindset and ultimately to walk on the path of righteousness. They were, in essence, representatives of the Lord on earth: “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exod 19:6, cp Phil 2:14-16). This addition to the dress of the Jews was what made them visibly stand out amongst the Gentiles. It is significant to note that if a Gentile was to enter into the household of a Jew, one of the first things they were required to do was to change their dress so that it conformed to the Jewish law “it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, Even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you” (Deut 21:10-13; cp Zech 8:23).

This tassel then was much more than just a piece of their clothing. It made a statement about the wearer. For example, we are told that the Pharisees were reprimanded by our Lord Jesus Christ for enlarging their fringes, suggesting that they were attempting to magnify their own importance (Matt 23:5.) When Christ was walking among the crowds, there were those who sought his healing powers, “that they might only touch the fringe of his garment, and as many as touched were made whole” (Matt 14:36.) There was a common understanding that the fringe of a man’s garment had a special significance and importance “And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment” (Matt 9:20) When David came to Saul in the cave and “cut[s] off the skirt of Saul’s robe privily”, instantly David’s heart smote him.

David’s heart smote him…

Initially this seems very strange that David would be so stricken by the act of removing the skirt and tassel from Saul’s garment. It seems to be just a simple sign that David was in close proximity to Saul and had the opportunity to kill him, but ultimately refused to do so. Why then was David so affected by this action? There is only one other place where we read that David’s heart smote him. We read, “And David’s heart smote him after that he had numbered the people. And David said unto the LORD, I have sinned greatly in that I have done: and now, I beseech thee, O LORD, take away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly” (2 Sam 24:10). Even taking into account the fact that this skirt and tassel were symbols of the covenant that Israel was under, symbols of the spiritual life that each Israelite was to live, why would David be so affected by the cutting off of Saul’s skirt?

A part of the answer can be found by looking back at the life of Saul when Samuel came to him after he failed to utterly destroy the Amalekites. Samuel informed him that he had

“rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel. And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent. And Samuel said unto him, The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbor of thine, that is better than thou” (1 Sam 15:26-28.)

This story, which doubtlessly had been told to David, would have instantly come to remembrance as soon as he saw the skirt of Saul in his hand. Saul had sought to take matters into his own hands, and as a result the kingdom would be rent from him and given to one that was better than him. One who would recognize his place, and would allow God to rule through him, not taking matters into his own hands.

This act of cutting off of the skirt of Saul was not simply an indication that he had been near the king, had the opportunity to kill the king. He had not simply removed the tassel which was a sign of the righteous walk that every Israelite was to have, but he had also reminded the king that he would no longer be king because of his failure to heed the instruction of the LORD. The kingdom would be “rent” from him as a result of his poor leadership “and given to a neighbor” of his. David’s actions, which initially seemed harmless, had a much deeper meaning and really gives us a look into the spiritual disposition of the man David.

We also read in that “the men of David said unto him, Behold the day of which the LORD said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee” (1 Sam 24:4). David reacts to his men’s words by arising and cutting “off the skirt of Saul’s robe privily.” In doing this, David was heeding the instruction of his men and attempting to take matters into his own hands, in essence proving that he was guilty of the same malfeasance as Saul.

The typical man would have seen his enemy come into the cave, and instantly seized the opportunity to kill him. A typical God-fearing man would likely have acted in the same way David had; by approaching his enemy and taking some evidence that he could later use to persuade his enemy that he meant him no harm. However, we see in David a true man after God’s own heart. David took the evidence that he had been near the king, and instantly regretted his actions. He was so remorseful that he responds in the same way as he does when Abishai offers to smite Saul to the ground with his own spear by saying, “The LORD forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the LORD’s anointed” (1 Sam 26:8-11.) He likened this action of cutting off the skirt of the king to the act of killing the king. This is the magnitude of the trespass David saw in his action. He realized that he, even in a minor way, had taken matters into his own hands when in reality God was in control. He had no right to expedite his own ascension to the throne.

David returned to his men and spoke unto them, saying “The LORD forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the LORD’s anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD” (1 Sam 24:6). So David realized the foolishness of his actions, returned to his men and reproved them. The only reason he would do this, would be if it was his men that had initially suggested that he should stretch forth his hand against THE LORD’s anointed. “So David stayed his servants with these words, and suffered them not to rise against Saul.”

Conclusion

Finally this story, which many of us would have heard numerous times as children in Sunday school, comes together. It is not only a story that only reveals to us the mindset of Saul, and how unjustified his hatred of David was, but it also reveals to us the frame of mind that David had even in the earlier years of his life. How he was constantly seeking to serve the LORD and to let the LORD’s will become his own.

The principles we see in this chapter can be applied to us as well. We must not try to take matters into our own hands, but allow God to rule in our lives. We must keep our skirt and tassels about us, visible to everyone around so that we may “be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom [we] shine as lights in the world” (Phil 2:15). So that we, when our future King returns to sit upon the throne of David, “may rejoice in the day of Christ” (Phil. 2:16).

1. This book can be downloaded from the Internet, as of March 2015, from archive.org.
2. A Jewish tradition is that God caused a spider to weave a web at the entrance to the cave, so Saul assumed no one had been there recently.