He said, Why does my lord pursue after his servant? for what have I done? or what evil is in my hand?
David said that if violation of the Mosaic Law had prompted Saul to hunt him down, he was ready to offer the sacrifice the Law prescribed to atone for it (1 Samuel 26:19). However, if David’s enemies had stirred up Saul’s hostility without cause, David prayed that God would judge them for that. Saul’s attacks had resulted in David’s separation from the Lord’s inheritance (i.e., the blessings God had given Israel, especially rest in the Promised Land) since he had to live as a fugitive. David’s enemies had in effect encouraged him to abandon Yahweh by driving him out of his home territory (1 Samuel 26:19). [Note: On the possibility that God had incited Saul to seek David’s life, and the larger issue of God’s use of deception to judge sinners, see Chisholm, "Does God Deceive?" pp. 11-12, 19-21.] The common conception in the ancient Near East was that gods ruled areas. Evidently some people were saying that because David had departed from his area the Lord would not protect him. David appeared to be seeking the protection of other gods by living in areas that they supposedly controlled (e.g., Philistia and Moab). [Note: See Youngblood, Faith of Our Fathers, p. 84; and Daniel Isaac Block, The Gods of the Nations: Studies in Ancient Near Eastern National Theology.] This looked like David was violating the first commandment (Exodus 20:3). Nevertheless David wanted to live and die in the center of God’s will and presence (1 Samuel 26:20).