An About-face from the King

This final exchange between David and Saul is compelling. Proclaiming his innocence, David describes himself as a “flea” pursued by Saul (20b; see also 1 Sam. 24:14). I remember a documentary film introducing the social behavior of monkeys, who remove fleas from each other. When the cleaner monkeys spot these sucking creatures, they pick them off and eat them right away. David is treated as one of these disgusting fleas, a pest to be rid of. He further portrays himself as a game bird (a “partridge”) in the mountains, being hunted by Saul (20b). Partridges are ground birds and cannot fly very well. You can imagine how frightened they are when being chased up the mountains and stunned or killed by arrows, slings or flying sticks. The flea and partridge metaphors vividly picture David’s devastating situation.

David fervently appeals to Saul, “Now do not let my blood fall to the ground far from the presence of the Lord” (20a). He begs the king not to drive him away from the land of Israel, where Yahweh is worshipped. Being cast out of his homeland would strip him from the presence of God. To escape Saul’s relentless pursuit, David eventually has to seek refuge in Philistia (1 Sam. 27:1), where we read about him in the coming chapters. He is a man on the run like a flea or a partridge!

From our viewpoint David appears to be the underdog, but he never denies his difficult circumstances and he sees beyond this horizon. Though sparing Saul’s life does not immediately help him, he trusts that ultimately God will reward him for his righteousness and faithfulness (23) and deliver him from trouble (24). Saul then acknowledges the error of his way and returns home for good.

Meditate on this prayer from George Appleton: “Let me fear nothing except to be faithless to you; nor let me be consciously defensive; nor hit back on those who attack; nor become bitter or self-pitying; nor fail in the desire for truth and the expression of unfailing good will” (Jerusalem Prayers for the World Today, 66).