1 Samuel: Respect for Authority

Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 24:1-7 In 1 Samuel 24 (as well as 1 Sam 26) we have an amazing story of mercy and restraint and faith. As he ran for his very life from a murderous King Saul, David encountered two occasions in which he could have taken the life of his jealous pursuer. David's men even encouraged him to kill Saul, but in a display of faith in God and respect for His established authority, David steadfastly refused. "The LORD forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the LORD's anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the LORD's anointed" (1 Sam 24:6; cf. 1 Sam 26:10,11). In this story we have an illustration of a principle which we find throughout the Bible, namely respect for God's established authority. We see this principle applied in the New Testament to every area of life. Wives are commanded to respect and follow their husband's authority because this is God's established order (Eph 5:22-24; 1 Pet 3:1-6). Children are commanded to respect and follow their parents' authority (Eph 6:1-3; Col 3:20). Employees are commanded to respect and follow their employer's authority (Eph 6:5-8; 1 Pet 2:18-20). Citizens are commanded to respect and follow governmental authority (Rom 13:1-7). People in the church are to respect and follow church leaders' authority (Heb 13:17; 1 Thess 5:12,13). One display of the spiritual darkness of our land is an increasing spirit of rebellion against authority in every realm … in families, in schools, in law, in the workplace, in churches. But it is a mark of Christians that they exhibit the spirit of submission to every legitimate authority because they recognize that all valid authority is established by God (Rom 13:1). So, Christians live obedient lives as unto Him. May God teach us the glory of obedience to His various arrangements in the ordering of our lives.