|
1st
Samuel 22:1-23 “David
therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave of Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father’s
house heard it, they went down thither to him. 2
And every one that was in
distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was
discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over
them: and there were with him about four
hundred men. 3 And
David went thence to Mizpeh of Moab: and
he said unto the king of Moab, Let my father and my mother, I pray thee, come
forth, and be with you, till I know what God will do for me. 4
And he brought them before the king of
Moab: and they dwelt with him all the
while that David was in the hold. 5
And the prophet Gad said unto David,
Abide not in the hold; depart, and get thee into the land of Judah. Then David departed, and came into the forest
of Hareth. 6 When
Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men that were with him,
(now Saul abode in Gibeah under a tree in Ramah, having his spear in his hand,
and all his servants were standing about him;) 7
then Saul said unto his servants that
stood about him, Hear now, ye Benjamites; will the son of Jesse give every one
of you fields and vineyards, and make you all captains of thousands, and
captains of hundreds; 8 that
all of you have conspired against me, and there is none that sheweth me
that my son hath made a league with the son of Jesse, and there is none
of you that is sorry for me, or sheweth unto me that my son hath stirred up my
servant against me, to lie in wait, as this day? 9
Then answered Doeg the Edomite, which
was set over the servants of Saul, and said, I saw the son of Jesse coming to
Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. 10
And he enquired of the LORD
for him, and gave him victuals, and gave him the sword of Goliath the
Philistine. 11 Then
the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his
father’s house, the priests that were in Nob: and they came all of them to the king. 12
And Saul said, Hear now, thou son of
Ahitub. And he answered, Here I am,
my lord. 13 And
Saul said unto him, Why have ye conspired against me, thou and the son of
Jesse, in that thou hast given him bread, and a sword, and hast enquired of God
for him, that he should rise against me, to lie in wait, as at this day? 14
Then Ahimelech answered the king, and
said, And who is so faithful among all thy servants as David, which is
the king’s son in law, and goeth at thy bidding, and is honourable in thine
house? 15 Did
I then begin to enquire of God for him?
be it far from me: let not the
king impute any thing unto his servant, nor to all the house of
my father: for thy servant knew nothing
of all this, less or more. 16 And
the king said, Thou shalt surely die, Ahimelech, thou, and all thy father’s
house. 17 And
the king said unto the footmen that stood about him, Turn, and slay the priests
of the LORD;
because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he
fled, and did not shew it me. But the
servants of the king would not put forth their hand to fall upon the priests of
the LORD.
18 And
the king said to Doeg, Turn thou, and fall upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon
the priests, and slew on that day fourscore and five persons [85]
that did wear the ephod. 19 And
Nob, the city of the priests, smote he with the edge of the sword, both men and
women, children and sucklings, and oxen, and asses, and sheep, with the edge of
the sword. 20 And
one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped, and
fled after David. 21
And Abiathar shewed David that Saul had slain the LORD’s
priests. 22 And
David said unto Abiathar, I knew it that day, when Doeg the Edomite was
there, that he would surely tell Saul: I
have occasioned the death of all the persons of thy father’s house. 23
Abide thou with me, fear not: for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy
life: but with me thou shalt be
in safeguard.” Introduction
[Audio
version: https://resources.ccphilly.org/detail.asp?TopicID=&Teaching=WED659] “We’ve
come as far as David in the Cave of Adullam, the LORD
step by step taking everything away from him.
David’s a young man, the contest with Goliath, he was probably
17-years-old or so, great victory, and Saul bringing him into the court, almost
for sure David wondering ‘Are these the days that I anticipated, as Samuel
had come and anointed me with oil?’ as Josephus said, he whispered in his
ear and said ‘You are the king of Israel.’ So Saul turning on David, one day embracing
him, the next day casting his spear at him, David no doubt discouraged with all
of that, becoming best friends with Jonathan, probably at least 20 years older
than David, and being warned by him, David fleeing to his home, his wife having
to protect him, then having to leave his house, leave his wife, having to leave
Samuel his mentor, having to leave Jonathan his best friend, the LORD
taking him to a place where he removes every human being from him, because he
wants him alone. I think counsel is
great, but there are times when that’s not part of the program, and God is driving
and driving and driving, to separate David, and brings him to the Cave of
Adullam, to the point where he has to leave the Philistine territory, he
pretended he was insane, and now he’s in this cave, in chapter 22. David
Flees To The Cave Of Adullam It
said “David therefore departed thence,” from Gath, the Philistine
territory where Goliath had been from, “and escaped to the cave of
Adullam: and when his brethren and all
his father’s house heard it, they went down thither to him.” (verse 1) David is in Adullam, he’s familiar with the
territory, he had cared for his father’s flocks in the area of Bethlehem south
of there, no doubt he knew of these caves from the time he was much
younger. He goes there to get away, for
his own safety, and it says there are those who hear of his presence there, his
parents, they came down to him in the cave, it says everyone that was in
distress, everyone who was stressed out, everyone who was in debt, had the
plastic all the way run up and still struggling to make ends meet, everyone who
was discontent, bitter of soul, “gathered themselves to him;” David, “and
he became a captain over them: and there
were with him about four hundred men.” (verse 2b) So he’s in the cave with four hundred
stressed out, discontented, bitter people, and his mom, that’s not where I want
to be when I’m really bottomed out in the cave with that crew. But this is the seedbed of the greatest army
that the nation of Israel would ever see.
This is the beginnings, as Paul tells us in 1st Corinthians
chapter 1, not many wise are chosen, not many noble, that God has a different
plan, and he’s gathered this group to David in the cave, and we looked at some
of the Psalms that were written, Psalm 34, Psalm 57, Psalm 142, as David is
there in the cave with this crew. And verse
3 says “And David went thence to Mizpeh of Moab:” Mizpeh means “the tower,” no doubt some
fortress there in Moab. And listen to
what it says, we take this for granted, “and he said unto the king of Moab,
Let my father and my mother, I pray thee, come forth, and be with you,
till I know what God will do for me. And
he brought them before the king of Moab:
and they dwelt with him all the while that David was in the hold.”
(verses 3-4) Now David being in the
court of Saul, no doubt had some familiarity with the king of Moab, but more
than that his father Jesse, the great grandson of Ruth the Moabitess, no doubt
he had family there. And he approaches
and has access to the king of Moab himself, and takes his mother and father
there, knowing he’s going to be fleeing, knowing that Saul is crazy enough at
this point in time, that if he got hold of his mom and dad, he would kill
them. And very interesting to see this
responsibility. We read in the Scripture
“Honour your mother and father,” and we think that means when
you’re little you listen to them or they whup you, but it means more than that,
because in this culture there were no retirement homes, there was no Social
Security, there was no one to take care of the parents when they were older,
and it became the responsibility of the children, particularly the oldest
son. David is the youngest and yet David
has the most authority, and even now this young army gathering around him, so
he takes his parents to put them somewhere safe to care for them in this area
of Moab, under the direct care, we see remarkably of the king himself of Moab,
and he asked that they could stay there until he figures out what’s going to
happen, until he’s done hiding out in the wilderness. The
Prophet Gad Tells David To Get Out Of The Cave Of Adullam And Go To The Land Of
Judah “And
the prophet Gad” this Gad just steps on
the scene here, we’ll hear more of him towards the end of David’s life. He steps out of nowhere before us, “And
the prophet Gad said unto David, Abide not in the hold; depart, and get thee
into the land of Judah. Then David
departed, and came into the forest of Hareth.” (verse 5) ‘don’t stay
here in Adullam, in the cave.’ We’re
not told how long he’s there. Hareth,
interesting word, means “to cut” or “to engrave.” And we’re going to find, look, we go through
this chapter, we get into chapter 23, there are lessons here, very, very
specific. You know, you want to serve
the Lord, and you should, there’s no sense calling him Lord if you don’t want
to serve him. You know, if you just want
Jesus, and you just want to play a Jesus-game, you just want fire insurance so
you don’t go to hell, I understand that, but the point is, once you say “Lord”
you’ve placed yourself in a position where you’re saying you’re willing to
serve if he’s your Lord. And there’s
lessons here for David, listen, and before us.
There’s a reflection here, you see, Saul and Israel are still following
the wrong king, David is Israel’s king, and like Israel today in the Middle
East, they’re still following the wrong king, Israel has a King they haven’t
acknowledged yet. And there’s a much
larger panorama behind all of the scenes of what’s happening in the governments
of the world today, there is a usurper, and that’s Satan, and there is a
rightful King that hasn’t yet taken the throne.
David is much in that sense of being the anointed king, but not being
recognized, Jesus will make a point of that with the Pharisees, and Saul the
usurper here, no doubt it says an evil spirit is at times driving him, pursuing
David, and the thing that you and I have to understand, is if we would serve
the Lord, this is not his Kingdom right now.
Satan when he tempted Jesus in the wilderness said ‘If you bow
down in front of me, I’ll give you all the kingdoms and powers of this world,
and all of the glory of them, because they’re given to me, and whosoever I give
them to.’ (Luke 4:6-7) And we’re
in a world right now that is hostile to the things of God. We are his kids, and if they understood who our
Dad was they wouldn’t mess with us, but they don’t. We’re very much in the scene that we’re
reading about here, and very much in similar circumstances, so the lessons here
I think are very important for us. So
David now comes into this wilderness, this forest of Hareth, which is a place
of engraving. And there are lessons that
are being engraved on David at this point in time. In fact, Psalm 142, I’ll just
read it quickly again, we kind of left off there, this is one of the Psalms he
wrote when he was in the middle of this circumstance, it says a “Maschil, a
Psalm of Instruction of David: A Prayer
when he was in the cave,” he said “I cried unto the LORD
with my voice;” and again, I think you
could hear David’s voice echoing around the cave, I don’t think that’s just a
figure of speech, I think David was in there screaming ‘O God! what is
going on!?’ I think David cried unto the LORD
with his voice, “with my voice I made my supplication. I poured out my complaint before him; I
shewed before him my trouble. When my
spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path. In the way wherein I walked have they privily
[privately] laid a snare for me. I
looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my
soul.” It was a time when God
had taken every familiar friend and counselor away from David. “I cried unto thee, O LORD: I said,” notice
“Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living. Attend unto my cry; for I am brought very
low: deliver me from my persecutors; for
they are stronger than I. Bring my soul out
of prison, that I may praise thy name:
the righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully
with me.” (verses 1-7) and sometimes we can be free, and our soul can
be incarcerated, we can be completely free and in bondage. David said, ‘bring my soul out of
prison, that I might praise thy name: the
righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me.” that’s
Psalm 142, written at this stage, coming from Adullam into the wilderness now
of Hareth, and God has engraved these things upon him. He’s taking him through the ropes here, but
boot camp where kings are raised up, and where men and women of God are raised
(cf. Revelation 5:9-10) and he’s engraving things on his life, that will be
there throughout his entire life. Saul
Slaughters All The Priests Of The LORD
At Nob Verse
6, now back to Saul, it says, “When Saul
heard that David was discovered, and the men that were with him, (now
Saul abode in Gibeah under a [tamarisk] tree in Ramah [in the
heights], having his spear in his hand, and all his servants were
standing about him;) now when Saul’s spear is in his hand it could be good
or bad, if his spear is still in his hand it means he hasn’t thrown it at
anybody, could mean he is in a good mood, or if his spear is in his hand it
could mean he’s waiting for the right opportunity, most kings had a sceptre,
but it seems at this point in time Saul just had a spear in his hand, and his
servants are standing around him, “then Saul said unto his servants that stood
about him, Hear now, ye Benjamites; will the son of Jesse give every one of you
fields and vineyards, and make you all captains of thousands, and
captains of hundreds; that all of you have conspired against me, and there
is none that sheweth me that my son hath made a league with the son of
Jesse, and there is none of you that is sorry for me, or sheweth unto me
that my son hath stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this
day?” (verses 6-8) Now remember,
he’s from the tribe of Benjamin, so out of all the servants he’s addressing
those from his own tribe. Now David is
from the tribe of Judah. Listen,
politics hasn’t changed in thousands of years.
Saul’s saying ‘Hey man, you’re from my tribe, I’ll take care of
you, you’re getting the pork, I’m handing stuff out to you, I’m taking care of
your state and your state, and you’ll get the benefit, if you give me this
vote,’ things have not changed.
He’s saying ‘This son of Jesse, he’s from the tribe of Judah, you
think if he’s in power he’s gonna give you fields and vineyards and flocks and
stuff?’ Nothing’s changed, he’s
saying ‘It’s not gonna happen if he’s in power.’ “that all of you
have conspired against me,” verse 8, “and there is none that sheweth me
that my son hath made a league with the son of Jesse, and there is none
of you that is sorry for me, or sheweth unto me that my son hath stirred up my
servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?” this guy’s seven foot tall, he shouldn’t
act like that. He doesn’t care about
Israel, he cares about himself. And
listen, when he finishes this, nobody says anything, they’re all standing
quiet, nobody wants to say anything because he’s got the spear in his hand, and
if you say the wrong thing it’s coming in your direction, and they’re all
standing around him. Now, verse 9,
“Then answered Doeg the Edomite,” and you know Doeg’s gotta be there,
Doeg’s an Edomite, we found him back at Nob, the city of the priests. And he was there when David was there, and
Ahimelech, Ahitub’s son, Abiathar’s father who was a priest, there’s too many
A’s in that family, gave David bread and gave him Goliath’s sword. And David knew, it says he saw Doeg there. “Then answered Doeg the Edomite, which was
set over the servants of Saul, and said, I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob,
to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. And he
enquired of the LORD
for him, and gave him victuals, and gave him the sword of Goliath the
Philistine.” (verses 9-10) Now look, Doeg’s lying, there is a way that
somebody can tell true facts the wrong way.
There is a way that somebody can speak the truth, they can hand out the
facts, and the facts might be right, but the way they do it is incriminating
and it’s wrong. And that’s what this
guy’s doing here, remember Doeg means “anxiety,” means “fearful,” and there’s
always a Doeg hanging around somewhere. Isn’t
there? “Then the king sent to call
Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s house, the
priests that were in Nob: and
they came all of them to the king. And
Saul said, Hear now, thou son of Ahitub.
And he answered, Here I am, my lord. And Saul said unto him, Why have ye conspired
against me, thou and the son of Jesse, in that thou hast given him bread, and a
sword, and hast enquired of God for him, that he should rise against me, to lie
in wait, as at this day?” (verses 11-13)
This is one paranoid individual.
He hadn’t enquired of God for David, it wasn’t true. “Then Ahimelech answered the king, and
said, And who is so faithful among all thy servants as David, which is
the king’s son in law, and goeth at thy bidding, and is honourable in thine
house?” (verse 14) he says ‘First
of all, why should I have suspected David of anything? David is your son in law, David is your
greatest servant, David is the one who goes and does your bidding everywhere.’ He then says, “Did I then begin to
enquire of God for him? be it far from
me: let not the king impute any
thing unto his servant, nor at all the house of my father: for thy servant knew nothing of all this,
less or more.” (verse 15) ‘I didn’t
know there was any problem, or there was anything going on, why should I ever
suspect David?’ Look now at
Saul, “And the king said, Thou shalt surely die, Ahimelech, thou, and all
thy father’s house.” (verse 16) This
will be the end of Eli’s line, that the LORD
had been pronounced upon him earlier in our study in 1st
Samuel. “And the king said unto the
footmen that stood about him, Turn, and slay the priests of the LORD;
because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he
fled, and did not shew it to me. But the
servants of the king would not put forth their hand to fall upon the priests of
the LORD.”
(verse 17) these
guys were the security people that worked around Saul, alongside of his
chariot, made sure nobody got to dinner unless they were invited and so
forth. There was a fear there, these are
the priests of the LORD,
they knew Saul was crazy, they refused to put forth their hands to kill the
priests. “And the king said to Doeg,
Turn thou, and fall upon the priests.” look at this, “And Doeg the
Edomite turned, and he fell upon the priests, and slew on that day fourscore
and five persons that did wear a linen ephod.” (verse 18) he’s an Edomite,
he has no reason to fear the God of Israel, he grew up worshipping pagan gods.
Fourscore and five, 85 persons that did wear the linen ephod, he killed by
himself 85 priests. How long does that
take? And he killed them, no doubt, one
at a time. Imagine that, mowing down 85
men with a sword, singlehandedly, one after another, unbelievable. “And Nob, the city of the priests,” evidently
Doeg goes there, “smote he with the edge of the sword, both men and women,
children and sucklings, and oxen, and asses, and sheep with the edge of the
sword.” (verse 19) It’s interesting,
because back in chapter 15, there God had told Saul, he had said to him, ‘Now
go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, spare them not,
but slay both man, woman, infant, suckling, ox, sheep, camel and asses.’ and
Saul refused to do that, to slay the enemies of the LORD,
he refused to be obedient, and that was a ban as it were, they were dedicated
in their sacrifice to the LORD,
and now Saul allows Doeg to do his own debt, which is an abomination. This is probably the most horrendous single
thing that Saul ever did and Saul ever allowed, to wipe out the entire city of
the priests and all of their wives and their children, put them all to
death. Psalm 52, on your own, you’ll
read it, it says “To the chief musician, Maschil,’ which is a Psalm of
instruction, ‘a Psalm of David when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, and
said unto him, David is come to the house of Ahimelech’ and you read Psalm
52, and it will give you some of the stirrings of the heart of David during
this incredibly difficult time for him.
And look what is says in verse 20, it says “And one of the
sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped, and fled after
David.” this is the very last of Eli’s line. “And Abiathar shewed David that Saul had
slain the LORD’s
priests. And David said unto Abiathar, I
knew it that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would
surely tell Saul:” and look what he says,
“I have occasioned the death of all the persons of thy father’s house.”
(verses 20-22) It wasn’t David’s
fault, but that’s the heart of David. It
was the heart of David towards Israel, towards the priests, it was the heart of
David towards the worship of Yahweh who he had loved and worshipped for years
himself, he says ‘This is my fault, it’s my fault, because of me, I’ve
occasioned the death of all of the persons of thy father’s house.’ He says, “Abide thou with me, fear
not: for he that seeketh my life seeketh
thy life: but with me thou shalt be
in safeguard.” (verse 23) notice, “but
with me thou shalt be in safeguard.”
He had said Psalm 142, “No man careth for my soul” ‘they’re out to
ambush me,’ “I cried unto the LORD,”
he said “Thou art my refuge and my
portion in the land of the living.” He
is so assured of that, he says to Abiathar, ‘You stay with me, if you
stay with me your life will be in safeguard,’ he is convinced at this
point in time that God will sustain him.
1st
Samuel 23:1-29 “Then
they told David, saying, Behold, the Philistines fight against Keilah, and they
rob the threshingfloors. 2 Therefore
David enquired of the LORD,
saying, Shall I go and smite the Philistines?
And the LORD
said unto David, Go, and smite the Philistines, and save Keilah. 3
And David’s men said unto him, Behold,
we be afraid here in Judah: how much
more then if we come to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines? 4
Then David enquired of the LORD
yet again. And the LORD
answered him and said, Arise, go down to Keilah; for I will deliver the
Philistines into thine hand. 5 So
David and his men went to Keilah, and fought with the Philistines, and brought
away their cattle, and smote them with a great slaughter. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah. 6
And it came to pass, when Abiathar the
son of Ahimelech fled to David to Keilah, that he came down with the
ephod in his hand. 7 And
it was told Saul that David was come to Keilah.
And Saul said, God hath delivered him into mine hand; for he is shut in,
by entering into a town that hath gates and bars. 8
And Saul called all the people together
to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men. 9
And David knew that Saul secretly
practiced mischief against him; and he said to Abiathar the priest, Bring
hither the ephod. 10 Then
said David, O LORD
God of Israel, thy servant hath certainly heard that Saul seeketh to come to
Keilah, to destroy the city for my sake. 11
Will the men of Keilah deliver me up
into his hand? will Saul come down, as thy servant hath heard? O LORD
God of Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy servant. And the LORD
said, He will come down. 12 Then
said David, Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of
Saul? And the LORD
said, They will deliver thee up. 13
Then David and his men, which were
about six hundred, arose and departed out of Keilah, and went withersoever they
could go. And it was told Saul that
David was escaped from Keilah; and he forbare to go forth. 14
And David abode in the wilderness in
strong holds, and remained in a mountain in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God
delivered him not into his hand. 15
And David saw that Saul was come out to
seek his life: and David was in
the wilderness of Ziph in a wood. 16
And Jonathan Saul’s son arose, and went
to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God. 17
And he said unto him, Fear not: for the hand of Saul my father shall not find
thee; and thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee; and
that also Saul my father knoweth. 18
And they two made a covenant before the
LORD: and David abode in the wood, and Jonathan
went to his house. 19 Then
came up the Ziphites to Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself
with us in strong holds in the wood, in the hill Hachilah, which is on
the south side of Jeshimon? 20 Now
therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of thy soul to come
down; and our part shall be to deliver him into the king’s hand. 21
And Saul said, Blessed be ye of
the LORD;
for ye have compassion on me. 22 Go,
I pray you, prepare yet, and know and see his place where his haunt is, and
who hath seen him there: for it is told
me that he dealeth very subtilly. 23
See therefore, and take knowledge of all
the lurking places where he hideth himself, and come ye again to me with the
certainty, and I will go with you: and
it shall come to pass, if he be in the land, that I will search him out
throughout all the thousands of Judah. 24
And they arose, and went to Ziph before
Saul: but David and his men were
in the wilderness of Maon, in the plain on the south side of Jeshimon. 25
Saul also and his men went to seek him. And they told David: wherefore he came down into a rock, and abode
in the wilderness of Moan. And when Saul
heard that, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon. 26
And Saul went on this side of the
mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain: and David made haste to get away for fear of
Saul; for Saul and his men compassed David and his men round about to take
them. 27 But
there came a messenger unto Saul, saying, Haste thee, and come; for the
Philistines have invaded the land. 28
Wherefore Saul returned from pursuing
after David, and went against the Philistines:
therefore they called the place Sela-hammah-lekoth. 29
And David went up from thence, and dwelt
in strong holds at Engedi.” David
Hears That The Philistines Are Attacking Keilah At Harvesttime “Chapter
23, the background for this, if you just take note, Psalm 27, Psalm 31, Psalm
54 all written out of the experiences of this chapter, very important. It says “Then they” we’re not sure
who, “told David, saying, Behold, the Philistines fight against Keilah, and
they rob the threshingfloors.” (verse 1) that’s about ten miles southwest
of Adullam. They’re coming in at the end
of the harvest, when the grain and everything has been gathered in, it’s been
taken to the threshingfloors, it is when the nation is the most vulnerable in
the fact that they’re an agrarian society, and they come and they take all the
grain. Not only does that cause
starvation, but the following year there’s nothing to plant then. You have to try to imagine in the lives of an
agricultural society what it’s like to have the enemies coming in right at the
time after the harvest has been gathered in at the threshingfloor and taking
everything. And David of course grew up
in that culture, and he hears this. It
says “Therefore David enquired of the LORD,
saying, Shall I go and smite these Philistines?
And the LORD
said unto David, Go, and smite the Philistines, and save Keilah.” (verse
2) Look,
David enquired of the LORD. David’s not bitter, David doesn’t say ‘Forget
it, you want me to fight the Philistines, why should I do anything? I don’t have my wife, I don’t have my house,
I don’t have my job, I don’t have any money, I got nothing, I had to take my
parents to another country…’ there’s none of that on David’s part, he’s not
bitter, look what he’s up against. One
of the things that amazes me about Joni Eriksson, she’s a warrior and a hero,
is to see her in that chair a paraplegic, and the way she serves the Lord, and
the fruit that she bears and what she’s accomplished on his behalf, remarkable. And look, David is not bitter here, there’s
something for us to see and take note of.
David is not mad at God, he gets on his knees, he enquires of the LORD,
saying “Shall I go and smite these Philistines? And the LORD
said unto David, Go, and smite the Philistines,” notice
this, “and save Keilah.” (verse 2) You see, David’s concern is for Israel, he
understands the LORD
is the King of Israel, the real King of Israel.
Saul’s concern is for himself, he’s killing Israel’s priests. David’s concern is for the people of Israel, ‘Shall
I go?’ the LORD
says ‘You go and you save Keilah.’
“And David’s men said unto him, Behold, we be afraid here in
Judah: how much more then if we come to
Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?” (verse 3) Look, there’s 400 of them, ‘we’re
in Judah, we feel vulnerable enough, how much more if we come now to Keilah to
fight the armies of the Philistines? You
know, it’s tough enough here.’
David has had things though engraved upon his heart. Look, we’re told later, that some of these
men that came to David had faces like lions, and this is a rough and tumble
crew, he’s gotta hold these guys back when he doesn’t want to hold them back,
and then he’s got to encourage them go out when they don’t want to go out, this
is a tough ship to steer for David, he’s got 400 of these guys, they’re
stressed out, they’re miserable, they’re bitter at Saul, some of them have
faces like lions, and they’re saying ‘Why should we go do this, we’re
vulnerable enough here, and you want us to go fight the Philistines, why should
we do that?’ David has come to
the conviction ‘In all your ways acknowledge him and he’ll direct your
paths,’ David’s got some things nailed down in his heart here. But David does this, David doesn’t say ‘Hey,
I’m in charge here! The oil went on MY
head! You guys are listening to
me!’ He doesn’t do that, it says “Then
David enquired of the LORD
yet again.” he said to the guys ‘Alright,
look, I’ll check again. You might be
right, I’ll go back, let me go seek him.’ There’s a humility there,
great leader, ‘Let me go back, let me check with the LORD,
let me pray again.’ “And the LORD
answered him and said, Arise, go down to Keilah; for I will deliver the
Philistines into thine hand.” (verse 4) The
Lesson Of Keilah Now,
Keilah, all Hebrew words are from a verb root, it can mean “fortress,” but in
the verb form it means “to sling” or “to carve,” it means “to sling by swinging
around the head,” very much like the words used in Jeremiah chapter 18, going
down to the potter’s house, where the potter would take from the clay and sling
it away, to form something, to make something.
David’s gone from “the place of engraving” to “the place of slinging”
now in Keilah. To him he should start to
pick the names of the cities he goes to a little more carefully. Now this is why, this is what’s going to
happen. He’s going to save Keilah, look
down in verse 5, “So David and his men went to Keilah, and fought with the
Philistines, and brought away their cattle and smote them with a great
slaughter. So David” please notice
“saved the inhabitants of Keilah.” He
saved them, there’s all kinds of things packed into that. It doesn’t say ‘he helped them,’ David
came down and helped them over the hump, you know, they were in a tough time. It says ‘he saved the entire city.’ Because what’s going to happen in a few verses
ahead of us now, David is going to seek the LORD
because Saul hears he’s there, Saul’s going to be on
his way down, and David says ‘LORD,
are the men of Keilah going to hand me over to Saul?’ and
the LORD
says ‘They are, they’re going to turn you in.’ Now look, these aren’t Philistines, these are
people of Israel. David jeopardized his
life because the LORD
told him to, and fought to save them, and now they’re going to turn and stab
him in the back and try to hand him over to Saul. If you want to serve the Lord, if you want to
be in the ministry, this is one of the things you’re going to have to learn
about your back being a pin-cushion. Now
listen, David’s learning some very important things here. David is being raised up to fight the battles
of the LORD,
not the battles of David. David is there
to fight the battles of the LORD,
and the LORD
is no doubt, speaking to David, saying ‘David, are you willing to be a
shepherd over my people Israel, are you willing to be for them what you were
for your father’s flock in the day that you faced a lion, for sheep? and the
day you faced a bear to protect the flock?
What did you get out of that, David?
Did those sheep come and say Baaah, thank you David? Did you get any kind of reward from that, did
you get any kind of returns, David, from caring for that flock? Let me tell you about the nation of Israel,
David, they have been this way to me since I have brought them out of Egypt,
they have turned, they’ve served other gods, they’ve rebelled, I’ve dealt with
them over and over, David, I care for them, I have a Covenant with them because
I love them. And if you’re going to
serve me as an under-shepherd and fight my battles, your returns are never
going to come from the people, the returns are going to come when you sit in my
presence.’ Because you can lay down your
life, and you can save them, and you’re going to have to think “sheep,” and
you’re going to have to find out who the enemy is, David, and who the enemy is
not. Because sometimes they both look
the same. And the men of Keilah may look
like your enemy, but they’re not your enemy.
The Philistines are your enemy, I’ll tell you how to fight my battles.’ This is very, very difficult no doubt for
David, he’s being made into the king that God has called him to be, he saves
these people. Look in verse 6, “And
it came to pass, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David to Keilah, that
he came down with an ephod in his hand.” So we’re assuming he has the ephod, that he
brought the Urim and Thummim, we don’t hear much, it would give from God some
kind of confirmation to David in some of his decisions. Notice, back to Saul, verse 7, the scene switches, “And
it was told Saul that David was come to Keilah.
And Saul said, God hath delivered him into mine hand; for he is shut in,
by entering into a town that hath gates and bars.” (verse 7) ‘This is amazing, God has blessed me,’ Saul
is out of his mind. He is blind through
rebellion, God is not blessing him at all.
How often do you know someone who is backslidden who says ‘Man, God’s
blessing me, God’s blessing me, he’s blessing my business, me and my
girlfriend.’ That is not what’s
happening at all, the person that is being blessed is the person who’s being
betrayed, stabbed in the back, driven from his family, driven from his wife,
left out, that’s the man God is blessing.
You’re thinking ‘Lord, don’t bless me so much then, cut me some slack
here.’ Saul is out of his mind,
David is the one whose being refined. He
says “God hath delivered him
into mine hand” there wasn’t a word of truth in that, “for he is shut
in,” he’s gone into Keilah, “And Saul called all the people together to
war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men.” (verse 8) God could have easily dealt with Keilah and
Saul, but they were instruments at this point in his hand, to work on the life
of this man whom he loves so deeply. “And
David knew that Saul secretly practiced mischief against him; and he said to
Abiathar the priest, Bring hither the ephod.” (verse 9) I love the King
James, “secretly practiced mischief against him,” he’s just working up a
stinking plan to kill him. “and he
said to Abiathar the priest, Bring hither the ephod.” now it seems to
enquire of the Urim and the Thummim, ‘What should we do here, how should we
go?’ Notice, “Then said David, O
LORD
God of Israel, thy servant hath certainly heard that Saul seeketh to come to
Keilah, to destroy the city for my sake.
Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? will Saul come down,
as thy servant hath heard? O LORD
God of Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy servant. And the LORD
said, He will come down.” (verses 10-11)
203 times in the Bible he is called “the God of Israel,” how anybody could be
confused about that is beyond me. “Then
said David, Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of
Saul? And the LORD
said, They will deliver thee up.” (verse 12)
the LORD’s
not surprised, ‘Ya David, that’s exactly what they’re intending to do.’ God knows exactly what’s happening, he got
David into this circumstance, knows what’s up, knows what’s cooking, the LORD
doesn’t seem stressed by any of this. And
maybe David’s realizing the men of Keilah are terrified because they heard how
Saul slaughtered all the priests at Nob, David may be saying, ‘I get it, are
they going to hand me over, LORD? Are they realizing they got to preserve
themselves, how is this working out?’ David
seems so gracious in all of this, and he hears ‘Yes, they’re going to
come down.’ Now look, again,
don’t expect returns on anything but obedience to God, David is learning not to
expect his return from Israel themselves, but from the LORD. God is removing from David, as he will remove
from us, because he takes those whom he loves to Keilah, he takes men and women
whom he loves, to the place of slinging, so that he can carve out and sling
away anything from your life that will cause you to faulter, in trusting in the
arm of flesh, in having confidence in human beings. God, ultimately leads us away from that in a
number of different ways. Sometimes we
find someone in the church, we think they’re a mentor, and we find out they’re
just as human as us, and we’re shocked. And
that’s mentor-101, you have to get that down.
Then somewhere in the Body of Christ somebody gossips and stabs you in
the back, and you’re shocked, because you thought the Church was the place
where you could be completely vulnerable, and you should be able to be. But, when you realize the fruit of the Spirit
in your life is supposed to be “love, joy, peace,” that would be fine, if that
is all it was we could feel really safe.
But the next word is “longsuffering, meekness, temperance, faith.” So God is working in the life of David, and
he’s working in the lives of those he loves, to take them to Keilah. Look, the problem is, some people want to
throw out the baby with the bathwater, they get in this circumstance, ‘That’s
it God, I’m done with you, why should I do this, why should I have anything to
do with the Church, why should I have anything to do with your people, because
every time I do this, every time I make myself vulnerable I get let down,
somebody steps on me, I get hurt,’ and they want to forsake everything,
they want to throw everything away.
Listen, you need to know this, there are people in the church that act
hypocritically, I did once in 1974, it happens.
I’m just joking. We all find
ourselves doing that. There are people,
like Saul, who all they want is attention, they do what they do in serving,
because they want to get patted on the back by human beings, and they’re not
doing it so they can get on their knees at the end of the day and say ‘Lord,
I hope I did you good today, Lord, I hope you were pleased with my service
today, it was hard, but I tried to answer what you wanted me to answer, and I
tried to bear up the way you wanted me to bear up, and I tried to love the way
you wanted me to love.’ And God
takes those whom he loves to Keilah. Are
you willing to go there? You’re not
going to find that course at Westminster theological seminary, you’re not going
to find it at Philadelphia PBU, you’re not going to find it at Wheaton
College. Are you willing to go to
Keilah, to the place where the very people sometimes you work the hardest to
care for, to save, are the ones who hand you over, turn their back on you? God loved the men of Keilah, they were
imperfect. He said to David ‘Go
down there and save those people, David, love them,’ but they were
human, just like David. David’s going to
exhibit all of his humanness before we’re done with his life. That’s a lesson for all of us. Sometimes it’s hard, you know, you hear Job’s
wife ‘Curse God and die,’ that’s not the lesson, it’s not the
lesson. Because there’s a Saviour, we’re
being conformed into his image, he laid down his life for God’s people, and has
been rejected, has been beaten, mutilated, and has provided Salvation for a
lost world today that is mocking him, and refusing him. He’s coming, and he’s going to take the
throne, and he loves the people that mistreat him to the point where he has to
say “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” There’s a bigger disposition of these things
behind all of this as we look at it. ‘He’s
going to come down, David. The men of
Keilah, they’re going to hand you over,’ Peter says ‘Don’t think it strange the
fiery trial that comes upon you to try you, as though some strange thing is
happening, it’s part of the process.’
This is a man after God’s own heart, David. Jonathan
Goes To David To Encourage Him In The LORD “And
David and his men, which were about six hundred, arose and departed out
of Keilah, and went whithersoever they could go. And it was told Saul that David was escaped
from Keilah; and he forbare to go forth.” (verse 13) Look at his men now, God increased him, he
was obedient to the LORD,
he did what the LORD
asked, he didn’t retaliate against the men of Keilah, he’s gone from 400
warriors to 600 warriors. People are
joining him, because they see the work of God in his life. David and his men, which were now about 600,
he was only strengthened by being obedient to the LORD,
he didn’t lose anything. They were about
600, they “arose and departed out of Keilah, and went withersoever they
could go.” this is a tough crowd,
man. “And it was told Saul that David was escaped from Keilah; and he
forbare to go forth.” Saul refused
then to come down to Keilah, it saved a battle there. “And David abode in the wilderness in
strong holds, and remained in a mountain in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him” please notice,
“every day, but God delivered him not into his hand.” (verse 14) imagine living like that, every day, the king
and his army, trying to track him down in the woods. The word “Ziph” means “refining place,”
David’s gotta pick some better places to go here. You know, there probably were mines
there. Listen, when we get to the life
of Elijah the prophet, remember he is taken to Caref, which means to “whittle,
cut down,” and he’s taken to Zareth, which means “crucible.” So all of this God is putting in front of
us. You know, you get in one of those
situations, you may never have been there, but it may happen, so listen, where
you say ‘It can’t get any worse.’ Well
that’s when you’re going from Keilah to Ziph when you’re saying that. [I’ve learned, maybe out of superstition, to never
say that.] He heads now to this area of
Ziph, “And Saul sought him every day, but God delivered him not into
his hand.” “And David saw that Saul was
come out to seek his life: and David was
in the wilderness of Ziph in a wood.” (verse 15) and David was in the
wilderness in more than one sense, no doubt spiritually, emotionally, mentally
there are things that David is wrestling through, God is making him into a man,
into the man of God he wants him to be.
David is in the wilderness, in Ziph, in the forest. Now listen, “And Jonathan Saul’s son
arose, and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God.”
(verse 16) And look, he didn’t have
to seek him every day to find him. Saul
was trying to kill him, he could never find him, Jonathan loved him and love
the LORD,
he just went to him, found him right away.
He went to David in the woods, and notice, “and strengthened his hand
in God.” ‘David, you are the LORD’s
anointed, my father is wrong, David, he’s in sin. You’re God’s man, God is blessing you, God is
giving you victory.’ Listen,
this is the last time that David sees Jonathan.
After this, the next time we find Jonathan, we’ll find his body with his
head cut off, hanging on the wall of Bashan, with his father. It’s the last time David sees him. And he comes, and we’re so thankful for the
Jonathan’s, you know, Jonathan, Johannan, Hanna, Joanna, it all means “God’s
grace,” John, and how often we need a measure of grace in our lives, when we’re
going from the place of whittling and of slinging, to the place of refining, it
seems how wonderful for someone occasionally just to step into our lives, come
to us in the wilderness that we’re in, they have no trouble finding us, other
people understanding where we’re at, understand what we’re going through. Jonathan has no trouble, because he loves
David, he loves God, knowing exactly where he is, and to step up to him and
encourage him in the things of God. And
if you’re a part of it, if you have the gift of exhortation, you know, there’s
too many people who have the gift of criticism, I’m not sure what it is, but if
you have the gift of exhortation, you’re a treasure in the Body of Christ, to
walk up to someone and encourage them to move onward, to move forward. He has no trouble finding David, he knows
exactly where he is as it were, and he steps up to him. “And he says unto him, Fear not: for the hand of Saul my father shall not find
thee; and thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee; and
that also Saul my father knoweth.” (verse 17)
‘David, I’ll be there to be your biggest supporter, my dad knows it,
he knows my heart.’ “And they two
made a covenant before the LORD: and David abode in the wood, and Jonathan
went to his house.” (verse 18) that was the
last time David saw him, walking away, his back that day. The
Lesson Of Ziph, “The Place Of Refining” Verse
19, “Then came up the Ziphites” the Ziphites are
refiners, you got Ziphites in your life, you know many of them, it’s God’s
plan, just take it easy, there’s nowhere in the Bible it says ‘Whup on
Ziphites, drive Ziphites away with a stick,’ you got ‘em, Ziphites. And listen, here’s going to be one of the
hardest things about this, Ziph, Ziphites, they’re not Philistines, they’re
from the tribe of Judah, they’re even closer, they’re from David’s own tribe,
of David’s own tribe. And you can expect
the Ziphites to show up after the Jonathan’s by the way. You’re really going through it, you feel
like you’re going down for the third time, you’re drowning, and all of a sudden
somebody comes along, they’re a great encouragement, they speak the things of God
to you--hold onto those things, because the Ziphites are coming next. It says “Then came up the Ziphites to Saul
of Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself with us in strong holds in the
wood, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south side of Jeshimon?”
(verse 19) “Hachilah,” which means “dark” or “gloomy.” Jeshimon, which is “waste” or
“desolate.” David was out in the
wilderness, in the places that were very hard to get to, and the Ziphites come
and say, ‘We know were he’s at.’ “Now
therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of thy soul to come
down; and our part shall be to deliver him into the king’s hand.” (verse
20) ‘We know where he’s hiding
in the woods, you come down, and we’ll hand him over to you.’ Ziphites, next time someone betrays
you, stabs you in the back, gossips about you, slanders you, say ‘Ziphite, I
understand the Lord gave you to me as a blessing.’ “And Saul said, Blessed be ye
of the LORD;
for ye have compassion on me.” (verse 21)
the guy’s out of his mind, God’s not going to bless the Ziphites at all,
they’re betraying God’s anointed, it’s completely wrong, it’s incredible
hypocrisy, look what he says, “Blessed
be ye of the LORD;
for ye have compassion on me.” martyr Saul,
poor Saul, ‘God’s going to bless you because you were nice to me.’ “Go, I pray you, prepare yet, and know and
see his place where his haunt is, and who hath seen him there: for it is told me that he dealeth very
subtilly.” (verse 22) I love the
King James, “where his haunt is,” that’s where you hang out, ‘This David
kid is a smart cookie.’ “See
therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hideth
himself, and come ye again to me with the certainty, and I will go with
you: and it shall come to pass, if he be
in the land, that I will search him out throughout all the thousands of Judah.”
(verse 23) ‘I want you to do surveillance
for me, I want you to watch, I want you to see the caves, the places he goes,
the different places he’s lurking around, where he has hidden himself,’ “and
come ye again to me with the certainty, and I will go with you: and it shall come to pass, if he be in the
land, that I will search him out throughout all the thousands of Judah. And they arose, and went to Ziph before
Saul: but David and his men were
in the wilderness of Maon, in the plain on the south of Jeshimon.” (verses
23b-24) “The Jeshimon” that’s a
desolate and barren area somewhere out in the wilderness of Judea [https://biblebento.com/maps/BL639.html A region in the hill
country of Judah into which David fled from Saul (1Sam 23:19; 1Sam
23:24; 1Sam 26:1-3). Other place-names mentioned (Maon, Ziph, Engedi) identify
Jeshimon as the eastern section of the Judean hill country, an area between
Hebron and the Dead Sea generally called the Wilderness of Judah.] “Saul also and his men went to seek him. And they told David: wherefore he came down into a rock, and abode
in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul
heard that, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon.” (verse
25) So someone warns David, maybe
his own surveillance, his own men, he then comes down and abides in this area
of Maon in the wilderness. “And when
Saul heard that, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon. And Saul went on this side of the mountain,
and David and his men on that side of the mountain: and David made haste to get away for fear of
Saul; for Saul and his men compassed David and his men round about to take
them.” (verses 25c-26) this is
what’s happening, this area he’s in, in Maon, is on a hill, it is a big hill,
and David with a height advantage sees Saul and his men coming, so as Saul and
his men come, David and his men go around the other side of the hill. Saul and his men start running around the
other side. You ever do that with a
squirrel on a tree? That’s the picture,
that’s what’s taking place here. Saul
and his army are running around one side of the hill, David and his guys are
running around the other side of the hill, and they’re running around the same
hill. Charles Spurgeon said “This is
God tuning David’s harp” as they were going around, the songs that he was
yet to write that we love so deeply. So
he seems that he has him finally where he wants him, I’m sure he was going to
split his forces and flank David. No
doubt God certainly understood that, if I could think of that Saul could think
of that, he was a military man. But, “The Rock That Stands Between” But verse 27 starts with the word “But”, you
always like one of those when somebody’s got you on the side of the mountain
and there’s nowhere to go. That word
means “forget everything we’ve been talking about up until now, and watch what
happens.” “But there came a messenger
unto Saul, saying, Haste thee, and come; for the Philistines have invaded the
land.” (verse 27) You gotta
understand this, you know, if you saw a satellite photo of this, you could see
them running around the mountain, chasing each other, this is going on, and
then you see God pick up the pawn on the chessboard and he moves the
Philistines over here, and then a guy runs and tells Saul, ‘Hey, man, the
Philistines are here,’ so it’s like checkmate. You look at how this is moving around, and
God now using the Philistines, Saul finally thinks he’s got David, he’s ready
to nab him, and then God says ‘I think I’m move the Philistines here,’ loud
clunk! And then a guy comes running to
Saul and says ‘Hey, the Philistines have invaded the land.’ Look at verse 28, “Wherefore” because
of that “Saul returned from pursuing after David, and went against the
Philistines: therefore they called that
place Sela-hammah-lekoth.” “Sela-hammah-lekoth”
which means “the rock of divisions,” the Hebrew translators translate it “the
rock that stands between,” which of course is Jesus Christ [who was in these
pre-Incarnate times Yahweh, the LORD God of Israel], they named that place “the Rock that
stands between.” Was David’s life this
far from death? No, he said the LORD was his Rock and his Refuge,
they named, not Saul, David and his men named that place Sela-hammah-lekoth,
“the Rock that stands between.” What a
wonderful, interesting time. Here goes
Saul and his men off into the distance, David must have got out his harp and
started writing, what wonderful things must have come out of this, as we look
at it. “And David went up from
thence, and dwelt in strong holds at Engedi.” (verse 29) [Where is
Engedi? see https://biblebento.com/maps/BL639.html] How many of you have been to Engedi? Come on.
It means “the spring” or “the fountain of the goats,” or “the fountain
of the kids,” the Ibex, when those kids, you know, you’re taking a picture of
the Ibex with your camera, way up on some cliff, looks about this big, and then
on our way out, here they were standing 6-foot away from us, just looking right
at you, you know, your film’s all gone by then.
David’s now down by the Dead Sea, in Engedi where there’s a beautiful
waterfall and spring, no doubt some of the thoughts of the Psalm 23rd
probably coming to his mind, some of the things that he would write. In closing: Apply
the Lessons of Keilah and Ziph, There Are Higher Things Than Right And Wrong In
The Kingdom of God Look, lessons, read ahead, there is a long process to the
throne. Every one of them are written
out for us in specific detail, with specific name places, with specific
lessons. We serve our Lord, our rewards
are not in this world. We lay down our
life for his people, as he did, and was rejected by them. There’s a bigger picture, there’s a usurper,
there is a rightful King that has not been received yet. We are on the side the rightful King that has
not been received, so there is by and large much of what we do, particularly
will not be received in the world that we live in. And then sometimes amongst God’s people, there
are Ziphites. Look around. I see them, don’t you? I’m only kidding. But from our own tribe, you know, our own
people, they’re Ziphites, and they’re there.
But allowed, they’re refiners, they’re refiners. It means something, when someone, especially
a believer betrays you, and some people never get over it. The sad thing is, let me tell you this, the
sad thing is, the many years of ministry I’ve been in, I’ve seen some
Christians never get past Keilah, they’re stuck there still, they are stuck
there still. They cannot believe that
anybody would ever be unthankful for something they did, or they cannot believe
that they would serve faithfully and someone would turn their back on them, or
throw them away. And they never get past
that lesson, they live this life with bitterness for the rest of their
lives. And it’s so sad, because that’s a
mandatory course, it’s not an elective.
[I brought in two teenage “adoptive daughters” into my home, they had
come from extremely broken homes, I helped them get through high school, along
with another, helping her with her young son after her divorce, spending a few
years doing things for her boy during the summers, and then one of the girls
and her friend with the son abandoned me as a close friend who had helped them
get on their feet, that was my Keilah, it took a few years to get over it, but
it’s real folks, it happens, and don’t think it strange. It hurts, yes, but you’ve gotta move on as
David did. I still have one adoptive
daughter along with my own kids, all grown up, and now I have her two sons as
grandkids, along with my own grandkids, and they’re wonderful. I feel sorry for those who left me, but
that’s about it. I’ve got to be glad
they got on their feet because of me, and that’s satisfaction enough. David saved Keilah, and looking back, he had
to be glad he saved them. And David ended
up with 200 more soldiers out of it too, right from Keilah.] And if we’re being conformed into his image
and likeness, as David was, being made to be the king, the man that was after
God’s own heart, we will be taken there, and it’s hard, it’s hurtful, and
betrayal’s part of it, the lesson, and they were betrayed there. And from there to Ziph, the place of further
refining, and they’re men from his own tribe, men that were close, men that you
might expect would never do that, have gone to Saul now, and he has to play
ring-around-the-rosey on a mountain, you know, at the end of all this. But in all of these scenes, that same Rock
was there, “the Rock that stands between” for you was there at Keilah, the Rock
that stands between David and Saul was there at Ziph, it was there the whole
time, it was there the whole time. And
look, if we’re going to love each other the way the Lord wants us to love each
other, love believes all things, love bares all things, love covers a multitude
of sins. There are people that have hurt
me in the Body of Christ that I also believe would take a bullet for me, would
never hurt me deliberately, and you look past that. There are people that hurt you, and you
know, in the circumstance, they’re wrong and you’re right, but you need to know
this, there are higher things than right and wrong in the Kingdom of God. There are times when we lay down our lives
for the sake of Jesus Christ, and we make peace, and in heaven, that goes much
further than just winning some foolish argument about right and wrong. Peter said this, he says, “Who, when he
was reviled, he reviled not again. When
he suffered, he threatened not, but he committed himself to him that judges
righteously, whose own self bare our sins in his body on the tree, that we
being dead to sin should live unto righteousness, by whose stripes ye are
healed, for you were as sheep going astray, but you are now returned to
Shepherd and to the Bishop of our souls.” It says he himself, when he was reviled, he
reviled not again. He didn’t threaten,
he didn’t strike back. It says we’re
being conformed into his image and likeness, and when we act that way, it says
the Father treats that favourably. Then
Peter says ‘What’s the big deal if you do something wrong and somebody
smacks you, and then you take that quietly.
So what, you deserved to get smacked.’
He said, ‘On the other hand, when somebody mistreats you
when you don’t deserve it, and you take that quietly, that heaven looks
favourably on that, because God the Father sees his Son being formed in you and
me.’ And David was being
whittled away at it, engraved, refined, all of the dross is being taken and
slung away from his life, and he was being refined into a very, very remarkable
man, who would fight the LORD’s battles, not his own.
He would care for the LORD’s people, who had been rebellious since Egypt. Let’s have the musicians come, let’s stand,
let’s pray together, and let’s maybe put these things before the Lord before we
lift our voices and our hearts…[transcript of an expository sermon on 1st
Samuel 22:1-23 and 1st Samuel 23:1-29, given by Pastor Joe Focht,
Calvary Chapel of Philadelphia, 13500 Philmont Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19116] related links: Where is Jeshimon? Jeshimon
is a region in the hill country of Judah into which David fled
from Saul (1Sam 23:19; 1Sam 23:24; 1Sam 26:1-3). Other place-names mentioned
(Maon, Ziph, Engedi) identify Jeshimon as the eastern section of the Judean
hill country, an area between Hebron and the Dead Sea generally called the Wilderness
of Judah. https://biblebento.com/maps/BL639.html
Where is Engedi?
same link: https://biblebento.com/maps/BL639.html
Audio
version: https://resources.ccphilly.org/detail.asp?TopicID=&Teaching=WED659
|