1 Samuel 24:4

“And the men of David said unto him, etc.] Some of his principal men, who were about him, and near him, such as Joab and Abishai: behold the day of which the Lord said unto thee: now the time was come that he spoke of to him by Samuel, or Gad, or to himself directly: behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand; and such was Saul, as appeared by his seeking to take away his life; and now he was in the hand of David to take away his life, if he pleased: that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee; an opportunity of this kind now offered: then David arose; from that part of the cave in which he was, the further part of it: and cut off the skirt of Saul’s robe privily;…”

“the men of David said . . . Behold the day of which the Lord said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand--God had never made any promise of delivering Saul into David's hand; but, from the general and repeated promises of the kingdom to him, they concluded that the king's death was to be effected by taking advantage of some such opportunity as the present. David steadily opposed the urgent instigations of his followers to put an end to his and their troubles by the death of their persecutor (a revengeful heart would have followed their advice, but David rather wished to overcome evil with good, and heap coals of fire upon his head); he, however, cut off a fragment from…”

“The day of which the Lord said ... - This was the version by David’s men of such divine predictions as 1 Samuel 15:28; 1 Samuel 16:1, 1 Samuel 16:12. Jonathan’s words 1 Samuel 20:15; 1 Samuel 23:17 show clearly that these predictions were known. return to 'Top of Page'”

“Behold, &c. - Not that God had said these words, or made any such promise; but they put this construction upon those promises which God had made to him, of delivering him from all his enemies, and carrying him through all difficulties to the throne. This promise they conceived put him under an obligation of taking all opportunities which God put into his hand for their accomplishment. 1 Kings (1 Samuel) 24:10”

“24:4 David’s men believed, as Saul did, that if the circumstances seem right, the Lord is telling you through those circumstances what to do (cp. 23:7). • Perhaps David was able to cut off a piece of the hem of Saul’s robe without being apprehended because Saul had taken off the robe and laid it aside, or perhaps he fell asleep in the cave.”

“the men: Sa1 26:8-11; Sa2 4:8; Job 31:31 I will deliver: Sa1 24:10, Sa1 24:18, Sa1 23:7, Sa1 26:23 Saul's robe: Heb. the robe which was Saul's 1 Kings (1 Samuel) 24:5”