What happens at the beginning of the chapter concerning the Ziphites is a similar to what happened earlier, 1 Samuel 23:10-24:22. Once again they reported to Saul where David was located. They obviously didn’t believe that David would become king because of their loyalty to Saul.
Notice how many select men Saul had with him, three thousand, it always appears to have this number of men around him, 1 Samuel 13:2 / 1 Samuel 24:2.
When Saul was informed about David’s location, he once again went all to find him and kill him. He appears to have forgotten that David spared his life earlier in the cave of En Gedi, 1 Samuel 24:1-22.
David heads out to get Saul and asks Ahimelek and Abishai if they were willing to go to Saul’s camp with him. Abishai, along with Joab and Asahel were children of Zeruiah, who according to 1 Chronicles 2:16 was a sister of David.
Abishai saved David’s life in one of the Philistine wars, 2 Samuel 21:17, was implicated in the murder of Abner, 2 Samuel 3:30, and remained faithful to David during the rebellion of Absalom.
When David arrived at the camp with Abishai, they found Saul and his spear stuck in the ground near his head. Abishai eagerly wanted to kill Saul, but David stopped him, because Saul at this point was still, the Lord’s anointed, 1 Samuel 24:5 / Romans 13:1. Once again we see David’s respect of Saul and God.
David knew that the Lord Himself would strike Saul, he knew that when God judged His anointed, as He did Saul, then it was the Lord’s business to remove His anointed, not David’s. They managed to get in and out with the spear and water jug without wakening anyone because the Lord had put Saul and his men into a deep sleep.
David calls pout to Abner and asks, ‘who is like you in Israel?’ This was a high compliment that David paid to Abner, and it was sincere, which is fully shown in David’s song at Abner’s death, 2 Samuel 3:31-34 / 2 Samuel 3:38.
David here rebukes Abner because he wasn’t doing his job properly in protecting the king. He deserved the death penalty because he failed to protect, Saul, the Lord’s anointed. The proof that he didn’t do his job was in the fact that that David had the Saul’s spear and water jug.
Saul once again recognised David’s voice as he did earlier, the difference is found in David’s response. Earlier at En Gedi, David addressed Saul as ‘my father’, 1 Samuel 24:11, and Saul here sought the same kind of response from David, but David no longer used that terminology.
Saul had given his wife Michal to Palti, 1 Samuel 25:44, and there were no grounds whatever, either for Saul’s words, ‘my son’, or for David’s responding with, ‘my father’. It’s possible because Saul uses these words that David sees how much of a hypocrite Saul has become.
David once again, proclaims his innocence and once again he encourages Saul to think about what he is doing. He was searching for an insignificant flea, 1 Samuel 24:14, or a single partridge in the mountains.
In other words, David rebuked Saul for wasting his time chasing and hunting down David. David’s confidence was in God and he knew that God would deal with Saul in His own timetable and so there was no point in taking his life.
Saul’s confession of sin isn’t the same but similar to same confession he made after David had the chance to kill him at the cave of En Gedi, 1 Samuel 24:17-21. Saul here admits he acted like a fool and had got David all wrong, but he doesn’t appear to be truly repentant.
Saul couldn’t handle David’s kindness and just behaviour because David was everything he wanted to be and was supposed to be. He tells David that he will do great things and surly triumph, it appears that Saul was speaking prophetic words but didn’t realise it.
"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."