I Samuel 21-24:8

“The Life Of David Bauer!” • 11.27.07 • Autonomy, Authority And The Man Of God, Session #12

Intro.

- Chapter 21 finds us following after David the fugitive, his first stop is in city of Nob.

- He comes to procure provisions from Ahimilech the priest, who is unaware of David’s plight.

- David leaves with supplies and then runs to a city of the Philistines, where he finds himself before King Achish, acting like a madman. Achish, purely annoyed, sent David away.

- David kept running, but is soon not running alone.

• I Samuel 22:1,2 : “David therefore departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. And when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him. And everyone who was in distress, everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him. So he became captain over them. And there were about four hundred men with him.”

- God supplied him there with men and even a visit from his family, while Saul hunts him.

- It’s at this point in the story that Doeg the Edomite, a man who saw David in Nob, decides to spill the beans about David’s covert activities.

• I Samuel 22:9,10 : “Then answered Doeg the Edomite, who was set over the servants of Saul, and said, ‘I saw the son of Jesse going to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. And he inquired of the Lord for him, gave him provisions, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.’”

- Doeg’s testimony led to the death of the High Priest, and the death of all his house.

- Doeg himself carried out Saul’s order and killed all the priests, except for Abiathar who escaped to David.

• I Samuel 22:21-23 : “And Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the Lord’s priests. So David said to Abiathar, ‘I knew that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have caused the death of all the persons of your father’s house. Stay with me; do not fear. For he who seeks my life seeks your life, but with me you shall be safe.’”

- Chapter 23 finds David confronted with a choice.

- The Philistines are attacking the city of Keilah. Does David go and fight for Keilah? He inquires of the Lord, and God commissions him to fight against the Philistines.

- He fights them away, delivering Keilah from the hands of the Philistines. In the meantime, Saul hears about David’s actions and comes in pursuit.

- David, realizing that Keilah will be put in an impossible situation when Saul comes, asks the Lord if the pressure will be too much. The Lord tells him that the men of Keilah would deliver him.

- David flees again into the wilderness of Ziph. Again he is pursued and again the Lord delivers him from the hand of Saul. This brings us to the natural story arc ending in chapter 24.

- David is hiding in the remote wilderness of the Dead Sea, in a place called En Gedi.

- He is hiding away in a cave when Saul comes down to hunt him.

- The Bible tells us that Saul went into the cave to “attend to his needs” and that in that same cave, David and his men were waiting out.

- David’s men attempt to convince David that the Lord has delivered Saul to Him. David went over and cut off just a corner of his robe.

• I Samuel 24:5-7 : “Now it happened afterward that David’s heart troubled him because he had cut Saul’s robe. And he said to his men, ‘The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord.’ So David restrained his servants with these words, and did not allow them to rise against Saul. And Saul got up from the cave and went on his way.”

- David is going to be the King of Israel. He has been chosen by God and annointed by Samuel. Yet, here he is suffering indignity and living a fugitive’s life. Where is God in this?

- Many of us wonder the same thing about our own lives. There are promises that God has given, but the road to fulfillment is quite long.

- I want us to notice 4 lessons that are uncovered in these chapters.

- The first two reveal God’s covenant responsibility to man. The second couplet refers to the responsibility of the man who is under authority.

I. Sovereign Protection

II. Special Encouragement

III. Service Requirement

IV. Shortcut Prohibition

Text

I. Sovereign Protection

- No matter what Saul came at David with, David was able to stay one step ahead.

- No matter where he went, even into the very deepest, fearful place and even before the presence of his greatest enemies, the Lord preserved and protected him.

• I Samuel 23:14 : “And David stayed in strongholds in the wilderness, and remained in the mountains in the Wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand.”

- Saul was relentless, doubtless with a large contingency of men. The numbers were on his side, even though David had about 600 men with him.

- David was clever and was learning daily how to survive and hide more effectively. But

- notice here the clear truth, that while Saul sought him every day, with the best men, God did not deliver him in his hand. The force of this statement has to hit us. God did not deliver him.

- David is outmanned, outgunned, but Saul is outrun each time!

- There is an interesting exchange in the annals of scripture. The Bible tells that Job was very rich and was blessed abundantly. Satan has noticed, but had not taken action.

• Job 1:10-12 : “Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!’ And the Lord said to Satan, ‘Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.’ So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.”

- God had put a fence around Job that kept Satan at bay, even though he wanted to attack.

- It is only when God gives his permission that Satan is given power over this believer.

- Abraham was told by God after his raid on the 5 Kings, that God would be his shield.

- God’s protection of His people is part of His covenant with them.

• Deuteronomy 33:26,27 : “There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, Who rides the heavens to help you, And in His excellency on the clouds. The eternal God is your refuge, And underneath are the everlasting arms; He will thrust out the enemy from before you, And will say, ‘Destroy!’”

- It’s been rightly said that the believer is invincible until the Lord says otherwise.

- Do you realize this truth? God is protecting you even now and by His faithfulness that will never stop.

II. Special Encouragement

- Along the way, David must have felt very alone. One of the great blessings of being in God’s family is the actual family of God.

- Throughout, God sends help and encouragement to David. David’s family comes to him at the cave of Adullam in chapter 22:1.

- Discontented debtors come and join him in chapter 22:2

- The King of Moab becomes an ally in that time of distress, allowing David’s family to remain under his protection in chapter 22:3

- The prophet Gad comes to David and brings a timely word of counsel in 22:4.

• I Samuel 23:15-17 : “So David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. And David was in the Wilderness of Ziph in a forest. Then Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went to David in the woods and strengthened his hand in God. And he said to him, ‘Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Even my father Saul knows that.’”

- All along the way, God gave David a break emotionally and spiritually by these special times of encouragement.

- As Christians, we can often run a long time alone, but God knows that we need refreshment and encouragement to continue along the course.

- God encouraged Elijah with the thought that there were 7,000 who had not bowed the knee to Baal, at a time when he felt downright suicidal!

- I can’t tell you how valuable these instances must have been to David. They were a sign and a promise that the Lord was with him during these struggles.

- From my own experience on the mission field, it was a timely email or phone call or financial gift from an unknown source, that told me that God was with us and was looking out for us.

- He does this with David and will do so with you as well.

III. Service Requirement

• I Samuel 23:1,2 : “Then they told David, saying, ‘Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah, and they are robbing the threshing floors.’ Therefore David inquired of the Lord, saying, ‘Shall I go and attack these Philistines?’ And the Lord said to David, ‘Go and attack the Philistines, and save Keilah.’”

- One area that truly amazes me about David in these chapters is a lesson that I feel is lost among so many Christians today. When we are suffering, it’s easy to think just about ourselves.

- A problem was presented to David, as the national enemy of Israel was attacking Keilah.

- Keilah was a small town and the Philistines were stealing the first fruits of the harvest from the town.

- If I were David, I would have said, “Look, Saul is fighting against me! Don’t you see that I am out of commission here?”

- Instead, David does what each of us need to do when we are suffering. He inquired of the Lord and left this problem in His hands.

- The word means to request or even to beg. God what would you have me do with this.

- Now, in this case, God tells David to go and attack the Philistines.

- But that is not the point of this passage. The point is that David availed himself to the Lord.

- David, a man under authority, recognizes that even under duress, in the most trying time of his life, that he was to be available to the Lord for service.

- I can’t help but think about Paul the Apostle, chained and imprisoned under the heavy hand of Rome. There he was in the deep dungeon, chained between a wall and a Roman soldier.

- “Let me see, what shall I write about? I know: GOD’S UNFAIRNESS!”

- Far from it, as he writes one of the great epistles of the New Testament, Philippians!

• Philippians 1:12,13 : “But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ;”

- Paul saw an opportunity to serve Christ, even in chains!

- Are you available to the Lord at all times? Is his Word and command your highest allegiance? Even in times of personal distress, it must be!

IV. Shortcut Prohibition

• I Samuel 24:4-7 : “Then the men of David said to him, ‘This is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do to him as it seems good to you.’ And David arose and secretly cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. Now it happened afterward that David’s heart troubled him because he had cut Saul’s robe. And he said to his men, ‘The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord.”

- This brings us back to I Samuel 24:4-7, which teaches us the greatest lesson.

- When we are on the road to fulfillment, we can be assured of God’s protection, His special encouragement and that He will require us to serve Him.

- We can also be assured that along the way, we will be tempted to end the suffering of the wait for God. David could have moved this thing along. He literally had Saul’s life in his hand.

- David’s men were encouraging him along and David got so close, so as to remove the corner of his robe. I wonder what was happening on the other side of the phone at this moment.

- David sees his freedom and his Kingdom right in this moment. Everything seems right and the feeling that God must have brought him this victory must have crossed his mind.

- But something was going on between David and the Lord, because David’s heart was troubled at the cutting of Saul’s robe.

- The word “troubled” is interesting. It speaks of a rod of correction.

- God is correcting David here and he must have said something like, “Have I given you the authority to take Saul’s life?”

- This is where we see David say in response, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing!”

˚ “We win most when we appear to have yielded most, and gain advantages by refusing to take them wrongfully. The man who can wait for God is a man of power.” F.B. Meyer

- How important this lesson is and how patient each of us must be! We want godly kids, but we don’t want them to be godly by our threats against them! We want godly kids, while employing godly methods!

- We want godly marriages, but we don’t want them to be godly by using manipulative tactics.

- We want promotion in service, but we don’t want to promote ourselves!

- David reminds us again that the ends necessitate the right means!

- Lord make us men who wait on you to bring your promise to pass!

Conclusion

- As we come to the end of this section, we are reminded of God’s part in our relationship.

- He is our protector and provider, watching over us and sending us assistance when necessary.

- For our part we must remain ready and available for service, and ready to wait on the Lord for fulfillment of His promise.