Ein Gedi: A Good Conscience

The Bible mentions a beautiful oasis in the desert called Ein Gedi several times. For example, God allotted Ein Gedi to the tribe of Judah (Joshua 15:62), Shulamite compared Solomon to “a cluster of henna blossoms in the fields of Ein Gedi” (Song of Solomon 1:14), and Ezekiel 47:10 says that fishermen will one day line the shores of the Dead Sea “from Ein Gedi to En Eglaim.”

Also, king Saul entered one of the hundreds of caves at Ein Gedi to relieve himself while pursuing David with three thousand of his men. Only the providence of God could have arranged David and his men to be hiding in the same cave in the cliffs. David stealthily cut off part of Saul’s robe as evidence that he meant the king no personal harm (1 Samuel 24). Later, however, David’s heart was pricked with guilt. Verse 5 says, “It came about afterward that David’s conscience bothered him because he had cut off the edge of Saul’s robe.”

David’s men were eager for justice. They believed God had delivered Saul into David’s hands and encouraged him to take action against the king who made his life so miserable. But David saw his actions differently. Saul’s robe was now out of compliance with the Torah requirement. Symbolically, David had taken it upon himself to invalidate Saul’s kingship. This was no small thing. In an act of rebellion, David had lifted his hand against the Lord’s anointed. 

Like David, do you possess a good and well-trained conscience? The Walt Disney character Jiminy Cricket said to Pinocchio, “Let your conscience be your guide.” That is good advice as long as God’s moral law trains your conscience. Paul encouraged Timothy to hold on to faith and a good conscience and warned about those who had shipwrecked their lives by not doing so (1 Timothy 1:19-20).