1 Samuel 26 - To Stay or Go

Yet again, David has spared Saul's life.  In 1 Samuel 26 we see Saul back to his old ways, on the hunt for David, looking to snuff him out.  Even after the incident in the cave, when Saul could have easily been killed by David but wasn't, he seems to have not learned anything (which is why Saul appears to be beyond redemption, having completely lost his soul to evil).  The events of 1 Samuel 26 are similar: David is in a position to easily kill Saul -- he is in his very tent as he sleeps -- but he is moved by the mercy of God to not do harm to an anointed king, instead to let God deal with Saul in His own time.  When Saul sees that David spared his life, he again seems remorseful, but by this point it's hard to know if he's being genuine.  The words exchanged between Saul and David in this chapter are the last they ever shared.  Remarkably, Saul goes so far as to bless David: "Then Saul said to David: Blessed art thou, my son David: and truly doing thou shalt do, and prevailing thou shalt prevail" (1 Samuel 26:25).  This is as close to a peaceful transferring of power that we are likely to see between these two. 

One thing in this chapter that had me pausing to reflect was when David proclaims to Saul that he could not continue to live in exile.  David had left to live among the pagans in neighboring nations when Saul first sought to have him killed, but realized he could not live his life there.  David as we know is devoted to God and seeks to live a virtuous life abiding by God's commandments.  These things would be severely difficult to do if one was surrounded by constant sin and antagonism toward God.  David says "...the sons of men, they have cursed in the sight of the Lord, who have cast me out this day, that I should not dwell in the inheritance of the Lord, saying: Go, serve strange gods" (1 Samuel 26:19).  Living among the pagans is tantamount to serving their gods, according to David.  In his 83rd Psalm, he says: "I have chosen to be an abject in the house of my God, rather than to dwell in the tabernacles of sinners" (Psalm 83:11).  To David, it's better to live among God's people even in a lowly state, than to have a position of prominence among the sinful.