Luke 24:26 Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?

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1 Grace Demonstrated February 10, 2016 David, Saul, and a Cave 1 Samuel 23:15 24:22 Page 1 David is in hiding yet the people of Judah are coming to him for services that normally they would go to the King King Saul is on the throne but of God David is on the lam and not only is he God s anointed King but he has with him a priest as well as a prophet. You want to hear from God, you find He has just saved Keilah and then had to leave since the people were going to to Saul Is David being persecuted? Is he being persecuted simply because he is anointed of God? Are all of those who identify with him also being persecuted? Is David being tested? Luke 24:26 Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory? As we follow the story of David s troubles and listen to the echoes of his experience in the New Testament, we will understand why the sufferings of David are important, why it matters that the Christ must suffer, why we cannot be unmoved by the gospel that Jesus is the Christ, and why we do not lose heart. John Woodhouse, 1 Samuel: Looking for a Leader, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2008), Samuel 23:15 18 Now David became aware that Saul had come out to seek his life while David was in the wilderness of Ziph at Horesh. And Jonathan, Saul s son, arose and went to David at Horesh, and encouraged him in God. Thus he said to him, Do not be afraid, because the hand of Saul my father will not find you, and you will be king over Israel and I will be next to you; and Saul my father knows that also. So the two of them made a covenant before the LORD; and David stayed at Horesh while Jonathan went to his house. David has moved about 12 miles to the south of Keilah into the wilderness of Ziph. Ziph (zif) = ; melting place. Stelman Smith and Judson Cornwall, The Exhaustive Dictionary of Bible Names (North Brunswick, NJ: Bridge-Logos, 1998), 253. David is in the Psalm 12:1 8 Help, LORD, for the godly man ceases to be, For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men. They speak falsehood to one another; With flattering lips and with a double heart they speak. May the LORD cut off all flattering lips, The tongue that speaks great things; Who have said, With our tongue we will prevail; Our lips are our own; who is lord over us? Because of the devastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy, Now I will arise, says the LORD; I will set him in the safety for which he longs. The words of the LORD are pure words; As silver tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times. You, O LORD, will keep them; You will preserve him from this generation forever. The wicked strut about on every side When vileness is exalted among the sons of men. David is going to be encouraged, again. This time he will be encouraged by Jonathan Interesting the Jonathan could easily find David but Saul and his intelligence network continues to struggle

2 Page 2 In essence Jonathan is telling David that Saul knows what is going to happen but is fighting it. Saul is, of course, going against God s will. J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible Commentary: History of Israel (1 and 2 Samuel), electronic ed., vol. 12 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1991), 127. Psalm 54 For the choir director; on stringed instruments. A Maskil of David, when the Ziphites came and said to Saul, Is not David hiding himself among us? Save me, O God, by Your name, And vindicate me by Your power. Hear my prayer, O God; Give ear to the words of my mouth. For strangers have risen against me And violent men have sought my life; They have not set God before them. Selah. Behold, God is my helper; The Lord is the sustainer of my soul. He will recompense the evil to my foes; Destroy them in Your faithfulness. Willingly I will sacrifice to You; I will give thanks to Your name, O LORD, for it is good. For He has delivered me from all trouble, And my eye has looked with satisfaction upon my enemies. 1 Samuel 23:19 24 Then Ziphites came up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, Is David not hiding with us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of Jeshimon? Now then, O king, come down according to all the desire of your soul to do so; and our part shall be to surrender him into the king s hand. Saul said, May you be blessed of the LORD, for you have had compassion on me. Go now, make more sure, and investigate and see his place where his haunt is, and who has seen him there; for I am told that he is very cunning. So look, and learn about all the hiding places where he hides himself and return to me with certainty, and I will go with you; and if he is in the land, I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah. Then they arose and went to Ziph before Saul. Now David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah to the south of Jeshimon. The people of Ziph could see David and his men moving around. You could not miss it. David and his men a move bit further south to Maon v. 20 reads literally thus: And now, according to all the desire of thy soul, O king, to come down (from Gibeah, which stood upon higher ground), come down, and it is in us to deliver him (David) into the hand of the king. Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament, vol. 2 (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1996), 521. The people of Ziph, of the tribe of Judah, were willing to give up David, they wished to curry favor with Saul Saul was all about, and he would continue to follow a track until it ceased to work He has the folks from Ziph feeling for him Notice what he says: Saul said, May you be blessed of the LORD, for you have had compassion on me. 1 Samuel 23:21 And he uses Saul is in the throne room and he is still acting, David is the one victimizing him Sin does that We cease taking a realistic view of our own sinfulness and we begin to lay the problem on others. We become the victim Remember the original victim?

3 Page 3 Genesis 3:6 13 When the woman saw that the tree produced good food, was attractive in appearance, and was desirable for making one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate it. Then she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate some, too. As a result, they both understood what they had done, and they became aware that they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves. When they heard the voice of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden during the breeze of the day, the man and his wife concealed themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. So the LORD God called out to the man, asking him, Where are you? I heard your voice in the garden, the man answered, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid from you. Who told you that you are naked? God asked. Did you eat fruit from the tree that I commanded you not to eat? The man answered, The woman whom you provided for me gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate some of it. Then the LORD God asked the woman, What did you do? The Shining One misled me, the woman answered, so I ate. (ISV) It was someone else s fault, God holds each of us individually culpable for our own sin We are for what we do Revelation 20:11 15 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Colossians 3:23 24 Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. 1 Corinthians 9:24 27 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified. 1 Corinthians 3:9 15 For we are God s fellow workers; you are God s field, God s building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man s work. If any man s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

4 Page 4 Revelation 4:5 11 Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God; and before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal; and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. The first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, WHO WAS AND WHO IS AND WHO IS TO COME. And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created. The word for crown used of the elders is stephanos, not diadema Saul is responsible for what he does, yet he uses God talk to make it appear his rebellion is approved of God and he is serving God. Remember, he killed the priests. Apart from recognition of athletes and winners of various kinds of competitions, in the Gr-Rom. world the awarding of a crown or wreath signified appreciation for exceptional contributions to the state or groups within it. William Arndt, Frederick W. Danker, and Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 944. Our crowns, symbols of through the blood of the Lamb The chase is on, the people of Ziph go out after David with Saul closely behind 1 Samuel 23:24 26 Then they arose and went to Ziph before Saul. Now David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah to the south of Jeshimon. When Saul and his men went to seek him, they told David, and he came down to the rock and stayed in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard it, he pursued David in the wilderness of Maon. Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain; and David was hurrying to get away from Saul, for Saul and his men were surrounding David and his men to seize them. Maon stood about five miles south of Ziph in the wilderness of Judah. The Arabah describes the low-lying area that extends from Mt. Hermon to the Red Sea including the Jordan Valley and Dead Sea regions. Jeshimon means desert or waste in Hebrew, so it may have been the name of a region east of Ziph. Tom Constable, Tom Constable s Expository Notes on the Bible (Galaxie Software, 2003), 1 Sa 23:24. So, while David is on one side of the hill, Saul is on the other and they do not see each other How does God save David? He David s enemy This allows time for David and his men to escape to Engedi which is five miles further to the south towards the Dead Sea David s new hideout is an area with many caves along the high cliffs. The whole region between the Dead Sea and the hill country of Judea consisted of steep valleys and gorges cut by the streams and wadis that flowed into the Dead Sea. En Gedi means spring of the goats because of the excellent water source located there. Gary M. Burge and Andrew E. Hill, eds., The Baker Illustrated Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2012), 283.

5 After dealing with the distraction, Saul returns to the business of chasing down David. Page 5 1 Samuel 24:1 2 Now when Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, saying, Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi. Then Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the Rocks of the Wild Goats. David has 600 men, Saul has 3000 We also find that the Holy Spirit has a in this section of scripture as well 1 Samuel 24:3 7 He came to the sheepfolds on the way, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the inner recesses of the cave. The men of David said to him, Behold, this is the day of which the LORD said to you, Behold; I am about to give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it seems good to you. Then David arose and cut off the edge of Saul s robe secretly. It came about afterward that David s conscience bothered him because he had cut off the edge of Saul s robe. So he said to his men, Far be it from me because of the LORD that I should do this thing to my lord, the LORD S anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, since he is the LORD S anointed. David persuaded his men with these words and did not allow them to rise up against Saul. And Saul arose, left the cave, and went on his way. We move from a of what is going on to a blow by blow description The Holy Spirit wants us to know what is going on Picture this, David and his crew are in hiding in one of the caves we saw They have seen and heard Saul s troops They are close so they move to the back of a cave and wait In comes Saul David and his men have Saul literally No one cleared the cave, no one checked to make sure it was safe The King had David and his men could see Saul, Saul could not see them Now comes the whisper David s men told him, Look, today is the day about which the LORD spoke to you when he said, I ll give your enemy into your hand. Do to him whatever you want! David rose and stealthily cut off the corner of Saul s robe. (1 Samuel 24:4, ISV) That seems odd to us today, what does this mean? The hem is where the was indicated In ancient Mesopotamia, to cut off the hem was to strip one of his personality, authority, etc. A husband could divorce his wife by cutting off the hem of her robe. A nobleman would authenticate his name on a clay tablet by pressing his hem on the clay. Cf. the train (shuwl) of God on His Throne; Isa 6:1; God s Covenant with Israel: Ezek 16:8; Ex 39:25,26; fringes on Levitical garments: Num 15:38,39; Deut 22:12; Ex 28:33,34. Chuck Missler, Notes on Samuel What David did, was the Kingship of Saul His men encouraged him to cut something else too, but he felt guilty. He had not shown the for God s anointed. David is growing and it is showing up in his actions David is going to give us an example of what looks like

6 Page 6 Did Saul deserve to die? Was it in the power of David to kill Saul? David instead gave Saul what he did not deserve and what he had not earned, and by doing so he shows us what Jesus does for us Romans 5:6 11 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. Ephesians 2:4 9 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. David s companions wanted Saul dead, they did not understand of David John and James had the same difficulty Luke 9:51 56 When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem; and He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him. But they did not receive Him, because He was traveling toward Jerusalem. When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them? But He turned and rebuked them, and said, You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men s lives, but to save them. And they went on to another village. Do we truly have the heart of Jesus as we go about doing what we do everyday? David s faith is being put to the test. He could take short cut and kill Saul, or he could do it God s way Jesus had the same test Luke 4:3 13 And the devil said to Him, If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread. And Jesus answered him, It is written, MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE. And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours. Jesus answered him, It is written, YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD AND SERVE HIM ONLY. And he led Him to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here; for it is written, HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU TO GUARD YOU, and, ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE. And Jesus answered and said to him, It is said, YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST. When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time. For Saul, what will the loss of the hem be?

7 Page 7 1 Samuel 24:8 22 Now afterward David arose and went out of the cave and called after Saul, saying, My lord the king! And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the ground and prostrated himself. David said to Saul, Why do you listen to the words of men, saying, Behold, David seeks to harm you? Behold, this day your eyes have seen that the LORD had given you today into my hand in the cave, and some said to kill you, but my eye had pity on you; and I said, I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is the LORD S anointed. Now, my father, see! Indeed, see the edge of your robe in my hand! For in that I cut off the edge of your robe and did not kill you, know and perceive that there is no evil or rebellion in my hands, and I have not sinned against you, though you are lying in wait for my life to take it. May the LORD judge between you and me, and may the LORD avenge me on you; but my hand shall not be against you. As the proverb of the ancients says, Out of the wicked comes forth wickedness ; but my hand shall not be against you. After whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom are you pursuing? A dead dog, a single flea? The LORD therefore be judge and decide between you and me; and may He see and plead my cause and deliver me from your hand. When David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, Is this your voice, my son David? Then Saul lifted up his voice and wept. He said to David, You are more righteous than I; for you have dealt well with me, while I have dealt wickedly with you. You have declared today that you have done good to me, that the LORD delivered me into your hand and yet you did not kill me. For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away safely? May the LORD therefore reward you with good in return for what you have done to me this day. Now, behold, I know that you will surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hand. So now swear to me by the LORD that you will not cut off my descendants after me and that you will not destroy my name from my father s household. David swore to Saul. And Saul went to his home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold. For Saul, the loss of the hem was It is an of the prophecy from Samuel He knows for certain that he has been by God Saul is still King, but David has even the rank now for that Now here is David, bowing low before the man who has tried to kill him, stop and think of Jesus and what He did to one who betrayed Him He washed He with him John 13:21 27 When Jesus had said this, He became troubled in spirit, and testified and said, Truly, truly, I say to you, that one of you will betray Me. The disciples began looking at one another, at a loss to know of which one He was speaking. There was reclining on Jesus bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved. So Simon Peter gestured to him, and said to him, Tell us who it is of whom He is speaking. He, leaning back thus on Jesus bosom, said to Him, Lord, who is it? Jesus then answered, That is the one for whom I shall dip the morsel and give it to him. So when He had dipped the morsel, He took and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. After the morsel, Satan then entered into him. Therefore Jesus said to him, What you do, do quickly.

8 Page 8 David invokes God s judgment between Saul and himself. He calls for God to avenge the wrong Saul has done in His time and His way. Let God do that in His own way and time, as is God s will elsewhere (Deut. 32:35; Rom. 12:17). David himself will not presume on God s prerogative. He does not lift a finger to hurt the man on a mission to snatch away his life. James E. Rosscup, An Exposition on Prayer in the Bible: Igniting the Fuel to Flame Our Communication with God (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2008), 467. David does not return evil for evil He does not take vengeance He is allowing God to work out the entire matter. David is reflecting in his actions what Jesus also would do 1 Peter 2:21 24 For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. Past teachings, study notes and slides of Through the Bible with Pastor Ken Brown are available at: