Assurance of God s Care February 14, Samuel 23:1-29 Matt Rawlings

Transcription

1 1 Assurance of God s Care February 14, Samuel 23:1-29 Matt Rawlings 1 Samuel 23:1-29 Now they told David, "Behold, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are robbing the threshing floors." 2 Therefore David inquired of the LORD, "Shall I go and attack these Philistines?" And the LORD said to David, "Go and attack the Philistines and save Keilah." 3 But David's men said to him, "Behold, we are afraid here in Judah; how much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?" 4 Then David inquired of the LORD again. And the LORD answered him, "Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will give the Philistines into your hand." 5 And David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines and brought away their livestock and struck them with a great blow. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah. 6 When Abiathar the son of Ahim-elech had fled to David to Keilah, he had come down with an ephod in his hand. 7 Now it was told Saul that David had come to Keilah. And Saul said, "God has given him into my hand, for he has shut himself in by entering a town that has gates and bars." 8 And Saul summoned all the people to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men. 9 David knew that Saul was plotting harm against him. And he said to Abiathar the priest, "Bring the ephod here." 10 Then said David, "O LORD, the God of Israel, your servant has surely heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah, to destroy the city on my account. 11 Will the men of Keilah surrender me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as your servant has heard? O LORD, the God of Israel, please tell your servant." And the LORD said, "He will come down." 12 Then David said, "Will the men of Keilah surrender me and my men into the hand of Saul?" And the LORD said, "They will surrender you." 13 Then David and his men, who were about six hundred, arose and departed from Keilah, and they went wherever they could go. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he gave up the expedition. 14 And David remained in the strongholds in the wilderness, in the hill country of the Wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God did not give him into his hand. 15 David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. David was in the Wilderness of Ziph at Horesh. 16 And Jonathan, Saul's son, rose and went to David at Horesh, and strengthened his hand in God. 17 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. Saul my father also knows this." 18 And the two of them made a covenant before the LORD. David remained at Horesh, and Jonathan went home. 19 Then the Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, "Is not David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah, which is south of Jeshimon? 20 Now come down, O king, according to all your heart's desire to come down, and our part shall be to surrender him into the king's hand." 21 And Saul said, "May you be blessed by the LORD, for you have had compassion on me. 22 Go, make yet more sure. Know and see the place where his foot is, and who has seen him there, for it is told me that he is very cunning. 23 See therefore and take note of all the lurking places where he hides, and come back to me with sure information. Then I will go with you. And if he is in the land, I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah." 24 And they arose and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah to the south of Jeshimon. 25 And Saul and his men went to seek him. And David was told, so he went down to the rock and lived in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon. 26 Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the 1

2 2 other side of the mountain. And David was hurrying to get away from Saul. As Saul and his men were closing in on David and his men to capture them, 27 a messenger came to Saul, saying, "Hurry and come, for the Philistines have made a raid against the land." 28 So Saul returned from pursuing after David and went against the Philistines. Therefore that place was called the Rock of Escape. 29 And David went up from there and lived in the strongholds of Engedi. I remember when my children and I once visited a place deep underground called endless Caverns in Virginia. And like many tours of caverns, when it got to a place furthest from the entrance where no light could reach they wanted to illustrate just how dark and far removed from the world above we were. So, they had us all stand still and put our hands in front of our faces. Then, they cut the lights out in the caverns entirely. You couldn t see anything at all. Not only was your hand not visible but your eyes couldn t pick out the faintest hint or outline of anything. The darkness almost seemed to be like a thick, impenetrable barrier all around. It was a little disconcerting. And several of my children instantly grabbed for me and Julie and held on tightly. One of them whispered something to the effect of, daddy I don t like it make them turn the lights back on. A few people nervously chuckled. But, at that moment, everyone really hoped that the tour guide hadn t left us. They hadn t and the lights turned back on. But what was going on with my kids? My children needed assurance to know that they would be ok. They needed assurance that I was near. They needed the assurance that came from my voice and from me doing something about the situation. Even though some laughed a little, everyone understood the need for assurance that things wouldn t remain dark for too long. We live in a very strange world right now, in many ways. The world is a dark place. People are consumed with materialism. Racism and classism and overly-sensitivism all are running rampant at once. At the same time, politics and government have gone crazy. We seem to be at the height of name-calling and down in the depths of a seeming lack of rational thought. People seem to be often mean, selfish and senseless. Dark ideas seem to surround those of us who are God s adopted children. But God gives us assurance through speaking to us. And God speaks to all of His followers through His Word. In this passage today, we see that his followers have always been surrounded by troubles but in the midst of darkness and trials, God gives assurance of His care. In this passage specifically, we will see that Main Idea: We receive assurance of God s care through His priest, His people and His Provision As the passage opens up, David is still on the run. He is in hiding from King Saul. Nowhere seems safe. His wife is off-limits. He can t go home or everyone he sees will be killed. He can t go to his friends. He can t go to his old, familiar places or he ll be found out. His own countrymen, his own tribesmen betray him. He has no means of making money or providing for his family. He is in deep need of assurance from God and we will see in the first verse that he received 1. Assurance of God s care through the guidance of God s Priest In verse 1, David was not yet the king, but here he is being treated like a king because the people are coming to him and telling him of the problems in the land. The problem, was that the people of Keilah had planted their crops and reaped them and then gone through the trouble of 2

3 3 threshing them and separating out the wheat from the chaff. And then all of the fruits of their labor were being robbed by the Philistines. They were the ultimate lunchroom bullies, stealing a kids lunch money because if the people of Keilah didn t have any grain, they wouldn t eat and they wouldn t have any food for the winter and they could starve this was a serious situation. But where is Saul, the true king why isn t he doing anything about this problem? In this account, David is acting like the leader, the true king that he is, because he doesn t ignore the problem. Even though he isn t yet in the role of a king, he responds to this report like a king and he responds to the problem, taking it as his responsibility to do something about it. He automatically considers that he should use his might and his resources for the good of those who are helpless and being harassed. So, David seeks the Lord and asks God if he should attack the Philistines on behalf of the people of Keilah. But he was already in trouble and he was already in hiding. If he went to the aid of the people of Keilah, he would reveal his location and be in even more danger now not just from Saul but from the Philistines and potentially face two enemies. His men recognized this and objected, but David sought the Lord for guidance first, instead of listening to conventional wisdom. So, when David inquired of the Lord, God answered him and told David, go down to Keilah, for I will give the Philistines into your hand. David obeyed the Lord, even though it meant potential risk and harm to himself. David had mercy on the people of Keilah and in doing so, he defends those who couldn t help themselves. He takes up their plight and fights on their behalf. David delivered them and saved the inhabitants of Keilah from the brutality of the Philistines and probably from starving as well. Not only did he deliver the people of Keilah he took the livestock of the Philistines as well that would have been like stealing their trucks they would have used the livestock to haul the grain. You have to wonder, how did David inquire of God and how did God speak to David. And it seems that verse 6 explains it. It reminds us that Abiathar was with David and then it tells us that he hadn t come empty-handed. Abiathar the priest had brought with him the linen ephod a priestly garment that was used along with the urim and thummin to help communicate God s will to His people. So, David inquired of God and heard from God through the priest. Saul didn t hear from God any more. He didn t have any priests with him because he had killed all of the rest. But David had God s priest, Abiathar with him and Abiathar acted as a mediator of God s will and David heard the Lord through him. What a difference having a priest made to David. Now, David could know for certain whether the actions he would take were wise or not and whether what he wanted to do was pleasing to God or not. Saul had to guess at God s will and Saul presumed upon God s will that the reason he found out about where David was, was because God had given David into his hands. Now, Saul is using religious language here, but he is at best superstitious, and at worst, using God to manipulate others, because we know he had no regard for God nor His priests. It just goes to show you, that you can use the language of a person who loves God and pretend to be living for God and yet, your heart can be far from God. Saul also assumed that he could harm God s anointed one. So, Saul calls the people to go to war and go down to Keilah to besiege David. But David found out that Saul was plotting against him. And the first thing David did, was to turn to God and His priest for guidance. He asked for Abiathar to bring the ephod to him, so that he could discern God s will. Abiathar was the 3

4 4 mediator of God s will the one who acted as the bearer of God s revelation. David approached God humbly and he doesn t presume upon God he doesn t assume he perfectly knows and discerns on his own. But he does use the information he has to make a reasonable deduction and he asks God, You know, I heard Saul wants to come down and destroy the whole city because I am here. Will the men of Keilah surrender me to Him? And God, will Saul really come down like I heard he intends to? And God respond to David and says, yes, he will come down but David didn t get the answer to the other question he asked right away, but he was persistent he needed God s direction, so he kept seeking Him. So, David asks again, will the men of Keilah surrender me and my men into the hand of Saul? This time, God answers the question and says, they will surrender you. David didn t spend a lot of time pondering what he should do after that. He heard from God and he immediately responded. Right away, he went and the implication is, that he led his men in leaving too. So, they all departed and it wasn t a clean and orderly departure they high-tailed it out of there they went wherever they could go and got out of there. He got out just in time too before Saul arrived. And when Saul heard that David wasn t there anymore, he gave up pursuing David. When it wasn t certain that he had the better odds, he gave up. Abiathar made all the difference in this passage. David had access to the priest and through the priest access to God and because of that David was kept safe. Having a priest beside him changed everything. Maybe you think I don t have an Abiathar. Maybe you are thinking, it would be nice to have a priest stand beside me to tell me what God wants and what to do. Hebrews 4:14-16 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 7:25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. In verse 15, it reads, David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. David was in the Wilderness of Ziph at Horesh. This time though, David saw Saul coming out to get him, but Saul couldn t find David. But verse 16 tells us, And Jonathan, Saul's son, rose and went to David at Horesh, and strengthened his hand in God. We see of God s care for David through the encouragement of Jonathan. How this applies to us, is that we have 2. Assurance of God s care through the encouragement of God s people (15-18) Illustration of Ulysses S. Grant and Major General John Rawlins: Statues Grant at the circle just steps from the reflecting pool and the capital complex. Rawlins statue has been moved at least 6 times and was last placed on an obscure back traffic circle a few blocks from the zoo, out of sight to most tourists and unknown to most residents. Grant was an alcoholic. His chief of staff kept him from public shame and failure. He made Grant pledge to give up alcohol and when he didn t, Rawlins kept him sober enough to ride and lead. Without Rawlins constant encouragement and care, Grant would never have made it 4

5 5 Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Jonathan was a huge means of encouragement to David. The interesting thing here though, is that Saul s son, Jonathan must have been around somewhere, because we see that Jonathan did find David somehow. Unlike Saul, God allowed Jonathan to find David. And when Jonathan found David, the author writes, that he strengthened his hand in God. What an encouragement Jonathan was to David. And the content of Jonathan s encouragement was to strengthen his hand in God..He wasn t seeking to just make David feel good he was seeking to make David strong in the Lord What a gift that is, when others make our hands strong in God. When someone encourages us that through Christ, we can endure that through Jesus, we are conquerors, no matter what happens. When someone tells us that when you don t know how to pray, the Holy Spirit is interceding for you with groaning too deep for words and He knows exactly what you need because He knows your heart and the mind of God and the Holy Spirit prays God s perfect will for you. It strengthens our weak hands in God, when someone else reminds you that God is for you and if God is for you, no one can be against you. God didn t spare His own Son, how will He not with His Son, give you every good thing that you need even though you may not feel like it and you may not see now. What an encouragement for us to hear that nothing no tribulation we experience, no nakedness we experience, no military might, no starvation, no matter how high the mountains we face, nor no matter how low the valleys that you walk through may get nothing will ever separate you from the love of Christ Jesus your Lord. What a gift it is when someone strengthens our hand in God that is far better encouragement than just a good pep talk it gives us reassurance and true hope, because we all know that hope isn t found in ourselves or our own efforts. Jonathan was that kind of friend to David he was an encourager. Not only did he strengthen David s hand in the Lord, he also told him not to fear. He reminded him of what he knew about David he knew that David would be king over Israel, no matter what it looked like now. Jonathan was confident that Saul wouldn t find David. And he reminded David that his father Saul himself knew that David would be king. Then, Jonathan made a covenant with David before the Lord. Theirs was no weak or fickle friendship they covenanted with each other before God. David stayed there and Jonathan went home and he was obviously loyal to David, because he didn t tell his father about where David was. What they didn t know is that this was the last time that they would see each other. But when Jonathan left, David was encouraged in the Lord. How do you leave people? Are people more encouraged in God because of you? If you are encouraged by others in God, do you see that that is God s specific care for you? Do you know that is like God is standing beside you and saying, relax, it will be ok - I love you? Well, the final thing we see in this account is 3. Assurance of God s care through ordinary and unexpected provision (14, 19-29) 5

6 6 Verse 19 tells us though that the Ziphites were not faithful like Jonathan. Jonathan who was from a different tribe the tribe of Benjamin, was faithful to David to the end. But David s own tribesmen, the people of Ziph, who were of the tribe of Judah David s own people, were not loyal they acted treacherously against David. They offered David up to Saul on their own initiative. We don t read the reason why, but perhaps they wanted to get Saul s favor or were seeking their own protection or the security of government jobs or whatever. But they gave him up and told Saul exactly where he was, down to the specific hill he was hiding out on, just south of Jeshimon. Not only that, they made an appeal to Saul to come and do whatever he wanted and they wouldn t get in the way instead they would help deliver him up. Like Judas delivered up Jesus, they would be glad to surrender David into Saul s hands and they reiterated that they accepted Saul as their king and not David. Saul then acts religious again, and gives them a blessing saying, "May you be blessed by the LORD, for you have had compassion on me. No one else had compassion on me my own people the Benjamites didn t have any compassion on me and they didn t tell me where David was. My own son made a covenant with my enemy David. But you, David s own tribesmen, have let me know where David is and had compassion on me But he still lacks confidence that he is really able to get David. So, he says, go and really make sure that he is there. I ve been told that David is very cunning though, so go and spy out exactly where he goes and all of the places where he hides out. When you are absolutely, positively certain then I will go with you. And that way, it will look like I searched him out among all the thousands of people in Judah. So, the men from Ziph agreed to Saul s plan and went ahead of Saul to scout things out. And what they found was that David was exactly where they thought. So, Saul and his men went to get David. Uh-oh now, it looks for certain as if David would be caught. And just like a good drama, Saul comes to get him, but at the same time, just in time apparently, David s spy network finds out and David escapes and lived down by some big rock in the wilderness. But the cat-and-mouse chase is on and Saul heard where David had gone to and goes to get him. In verse 26, the tension builds Saul is on one side of the mountain and David and his men are on the other side. David and his men are hurrying to get away, but Saul and his men are closing in on David and are just about to capture them. But, just before that happens, a messenger comes and tells Saul, hurry and come, because the Philistines have made a raid against the land. Now, it must have been a very serious incursion, because Saul stops pursuing David, just as he is about to overtake him. Maybe the Philistines were threatening Saul s own lands we are not sure. It would seems that just the geography was the reason that David was rescued, but we know better God used a rock formation to rescue David a seemingly mundane means. But what we are sure of, is that at just the right moment, David was spared and we know the reason already, don t we? Verse 14 already told us that the reason why Saul could never get to David. Look back there for a moment. It says, And Saul sought him every day, but God did not give him into his hand. Saul could not get to David because God had not given David into Saul s hand. So, Saul turned around and stopped pursuing David for now and went to fight the Philistines. And either David or the locals all knew what a close escape it was and named the rock that David hid behind, the 6

7 7 rock of escape, or in the original language, the rock of divisions where Saul was kept away from David by the rock outcropping between them. David was rescued in a sense by the most unlikely people. God used the Philistines to save David. Reminds me of the story of Oskar Schindler. He was a German industrialist and he worked in several trades until he became very wealthy. He joined the Abwehr, which was the spy service of the Nazis and in 1939, he joined the Nazi party officially. Through his Nazi connections, he obtained ownership of an enamelware factory in Poland, which employed almost 1,800 workers 1,000 of which were Jews. He worked for the Nazi s as a spy all the way up to the start of World War 2. But in an unexpected turn one the Nazi s never discovered really, Schindler was one of the most instrumental individuals in saving large numbers of Jews from the horrors of the concentration camps and death in the gas chambers. He would secretly transfer the Jewish workers to safety and replace them with more Jews, bribing Nazi SS officials and buying off officials to keep the Jewish people of Krakow and then Brunnlitz covertly safe. The Jews received help from an unlikely place through an unexpected man a Nazi spy and party official. But God saved many through this unexpected means. God still does this today. God keeps us on our feet and assures us of His care for us through Jesus, our great High Priest, the Word of God incarnate. He gives us direction and help through revealing God s Word to us and through sending His Holy Spirit. And God assures us of His care for us through the encouragement of God s people and the small provisions and seeming coincidences we experience all the time. All of these are meant to remind us that our Father is standing right here in the dark beside us all the time. He is here. He wants us to hear Him and HE wants us to know that He is able to do something about the darkness and He is actively working in the midst of our darkness He is not blinded but sees all perfectly Redeeming Grace Church. This transcribed message has been lightly edited and formatted for the Website. No attempt has been made, however, to alter the basic extemporaneous delivery style, or to produce a grammatically accurate, publication-ready manuscript conforming to an established style template. 7