Neville Goddard on 1 Samuel 26:5-12 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read 1 Samuel 26 in context

Scripture Focus

5And David arose, and came to the place where Saul had pitched: and David beheld the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his host: and Saul lay in the trench, and the people pitched round about him.

6Then answered David and said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother to Joab, saying, Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp? And Abishai said, I will go down with thee.

7So David and Abishai came to the people by night: and, behold, Saul lay sleeping within the trench, and his spear stuck in the ground at his bolster: but Abner and the people lay round about him.

8Then said Abishai to David, God hath delivered thine enemy into thine hand this day: now therefore let me smite him, I pray thee, with the spear even to the earth at once, and I will not smite him the second time.

9And David said to Abishai, Destroy him not: for who can stretch forth his hand against the LORD's anointed, and be guiltless?

10David said furthermore, As the LORD liveth, the LORD shall smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into battle, and perish.

11The LORD forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the LORD's anointed: but, I pray thee, take thou now the spear that is at his bolster, and the cruse of water, and let us go.

12So David took the spear and the cruse of water from Saul's bolster; and they gat them away, and no man saw it, nor knew it, neither awaked: for they were all asleep; because a deep sleep from the LORD was fallen upon them.

1 Samuel 26:5-12

Biblical Context

David comes to Saul’s camp at night, spares Saul, and quietly withdraws with the spear and water—an act of restraint that honors the LORD's anointing.

Neville's Inner Vision

In this scene, the camp and the spear are inner movements, not mere outward events. Saul embodies the old fear in your mind; Abner and the host are the clamor of the ego’s defenses. David represents the I AM, awakened consciousness, whose mercy is true power when rightly directed. Abishai’s urge to strike voices the old impulse to destroy a supposed threat; the LORD's anointed is your higher Self that cannot be harmed by rash action. The deep sleep that falls on them signals the subconscious alignment that occurs when you refuse vengeance and choose perception over reaction. Providence has already set the scene in your favor; victory comes through restraint, not force. To take the spear and the water without harm is to claim discernment as your tool and compassion as your method. Trust this governing presence, and your next move reveals itself as guidance from within.

Practice This Now

Imaginative Act: Assume you are already the I AM who would not strike; when the old impulse rises, feel it real that mercy is your decisive action. Then revise the scene in your mind: take up the spear as discernment, but lay it down, and move forward with the water of understanding.