A King on the Wrong Side May 8, Samuel 29 Matt Rawlings

Transcription

1 1 A King on the Wrong Side May 8, Samuel 29 Matt Rawlings 1 Samuel 29:1-11 Now the Philistines had gathered all their forces at Aphek. And the Israelites were encamped by the spring that is in Jezreel. 2 As the lords of the Philistines were passing on by hundreds and by thousands, and David and his men were passing on in the rear with Achish, 3 the commanders of the Philistines said, "What are these Hebrews doing here?" And Achish said to the commanders of the Philistines, "Is this not David, the servant of Saul, king of Israel, who has been with me now for days and years, and since he deserted to me I have found no fault in him to this day." 4 But the commanders of the Philistines were angry with him. And the commanders of the Philistines said to him, "Send the man back, that he may return to the place to which you have assigned him. He shall not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he becomes an adversary to us. For how could this fellow reconcile himself to his lord? Would it not be with the heads of the men here? 5 Is not this David, of whom they sing to one another in dances, 'Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands'?" 6 Then Achish called David and said to him, "As the LORD lives, you have been honest, and to me it seems right that you should march out and in with me in the campaign. For I have found nothing wrong in you from the day of your coming to me to this day. Nevertheless, the lords do not approve of you. 7 So go back now; and go peaceably, that you may not displease the lords of the Philistines." 8 And David said to Achish, "But what have I done? What have you found in your servant from the day I entered your service until now, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?" 9 And Achish answered David and said, "I know that you are as blameless in my sight as an angel of God. Nevertheless, the commanders of the Philistines have said, 'He shall not go up with us to the battle.' 10 Now then rise early in the morning with the servants of your lord who came with you, and start early in the morning, and depart as soon as you have light." 11 So David set out with his men early in the morning to return to the land of the Philistines. But the Philistines went up to Jezreel. ::Pray:: When I first met my wife, I was attracted to her for her looks. Later, her personality won me over and I asked her out. This coming flag day, June 14 th, it will be 26 years since we had our first date and I can t believe how fast the time has passed. Over the years, though, as I have gotten to see her proven character over time, I have grown to love her and appreciate her even more. As I have seen her kindness, her generosity, her love, her wisdom, and the way she serves me, our children and others consistently over the years, I can attest to her character and integrity and I m unashamedly in love with her even more. Because she treats me with mercy that I don t deserve, my affection for her has deepened. She has proven her character over the years, but never outright. She has demonstrated her character, her grace and mercy to me and others through her actions. I can t remember her ever saying, hey watch this I m being kind or patient or merciful right now. She hasn t ever said, look, when I cut you slack and got you out of trouble a few minutes ago, I was being merciful to you. You know, when you were being a jerk Matt I was showing you grace and mercy. It would be weird if she did announce her behavior and strange 1

2 2 if she explained it all the time. Even with our children, only sometimes will we explain that we are being merciful to them. But normally, they learn from our example. In the Bible, God has proven Himself time and time again. In the thousands of years of written records of what God has done, He has consistently shown His character and nature in His actions, as recorded in the Bible. Time and time again, we see God s grace and mercy to those who don t deserve it in fact, the whole Bible is a record from start to finish of how God shows mercy to His people. In our passage today, even though the narrator doesn t directly spell out God s character, it reveals how He treats undeserving people and I believe the effect it is meant to have, is to increase our love for God and trust in God. What we see in this passage is that self-sufficiency leads to trouble, but God brings mercy. It shows us the results of David s self-sufficiency yes, but it shows the quiet, patient, mercy of God, because no matter how David messes up, he is God s child. Main idea: Self-sufficiency leads to trouble, but God brings mercy. As this chapter begins, David is in a royal mess. He is in this mess, because, as we saw earlier, right after he had trusted in God in chapter 26, and not taken Saul s life, chapter 27 opened up with the foreboding quote. Then David said in his heart, Now I shall perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair of seeking me any longer within the borders of Israel, and I shall escape out of his hand (1 Samuel 27:1). David fainted, if you will, in his trust in God and in the face of Saul s unrelenting pursuit, gave in to fear and that resulted, as it does for most of us, into trying to figure things out and do things on our own without considering God. But we see that things have caught up to David now, because self-sufficiency always leads to trouble. 1. Self-sufficiency leads to trouble David has been living in the Philistine city of Ziklag, under the protection of Achish. Achish, is the lord or king of Gath, one of the five Philistine city-states. As David tried to figure out how to provide for his men, he decided to be a desert pirate and he wiped out settlements at the edge of the desert and he would kill everyone, to hide what he was doing from Achish to stay on his good side. But this wasn t a good move, not only because it didn t honor God and was merciless, but because he was trying to please the enemies of God through living a double life living a life of deceit. Isn t that what we are tempted to do in our self-sufficiency to live a double life in the midst of the world? We are tempted to act out of fear and self-sufficiency, trusting in our own way and to live and act as if the opinion of the world is what matters. When we are self-sufficient, we are tempted to appease the world to make things go better for us. We are tempted to trust in our savings and the stock market for financial security and so hoard and become miserly. We are tempted to trust in a career and so compromise our integrity in the workplace or try to fit in, where we really shouldn t. We think that our security lies in people at school liking us, so we blend in and fit in and maybe even do the things that they do, because otherwise they will think we are weird and ostracize us and things won t go well at school or so we think. Some may lack faith in God and think that security lies in approval and pleasure, and so become drunk with the worldly pleasures of life, trying to make sure they enjoy life and find 2

3 3 some sense of meaning on their own, even though God holds our ultimate enjoyment and meaning. But all these things reveal a fainting in our faith in God that leads to self-sufficiency and self-sufficiency always leads to trouble. Back at the beginning of chapter 28, the author of 1 Samuel set up the scene where the Philistines were headed to war against the armies of Israel and Saul. In chapter 28, we saw David before Achish and Achish said, "Understand that you and your men are to go out with me in the army." In response, David said to Achish, "Very well, you shall know what your servant can do." And Achish said to David, "Very well, I will make you my bodyguard for life." Then, the author intentionally left us hanging, and the story cut away to the account of king Saul being desperate and in fear when he saw the Philistines. He tried to consult God to figure out what to do, but when that didn t go his way, he sought help from a medium, calling up the spirit of Samuel, who pronounced death on Saul and his sons. Now, the scene is shifting back again to a few days before that time, when David and his 600 men had marched up 20 miles from Ziklag to Gath, where Achish was, and then they all marched about 30 miles further north to Aphek. I can t imagine what must have been going through the minds of David and his men. Were they really planning on going through with things and fighting their own countrymen? Were they really going to act like traitors and serve the Philistine cause? Did some of David s men protest or did they all go along with him? Were they planning something else that the text doesn t tell us? We aren t given any detail about what David and his men were thinking. We are just given the raw facts that David had agreed to join his men with the Philistines and fight against Israel. There are no indications that David intended otherwise and for all we know, David really may have been so angry with Saul that he planned to go against him in battle. If so, he was risking his kingdom, because no self-respecting Israelite would ever follow him again if he fought against his own people on the side of the Philistines. Even if he did mean to turn on the Philistines once they were in battle, David was in deep trouble because he and his men would be greatly outnumbered and surrounded by the Philistines. David had gotten to this point through his own cunning and his own actions. He was the one who had decided to desert to Achish and the Philistines. He was the one who had ingratiated himself with them. He was the one who had agreed to go with them. He had failed to trust in God. He had given into fear and tried to make a way on his own. He was in deep trouble and he really had no one to blame but himself. David is trapped between two bad choices. On the one hand, if he joins Israel and fights against the Philistines, he will be giving up the protection he has enjoyed and be at the mercy of Saul and potentially have to fight on two fronts. On the other hand, if he fights against his brothers, he almost certainly will forfeit his God-given calling to be Israel s king. His future in general and his future as the king of Israel is in jeopardy either way. I think we are meant to read this and wonder, How in the world is David going to get out of this jam? What in the world is he going to do? What is going to happen? So, now, in this chapter, a huge Philistine force is streaming into Aphek, as a staging ground to go to war against Israel. Trouble is brewing now. I can imagine the scene - like something out of a movie, where groups of hundreds and thousands of soldiers are passing by amassing their forces. Then, at the back of the ranks, David and his 600 fierce warriors, a motley group of 3

4 4 ruffians comes riding and walking in, like the army of William Wallace in Braveheart. They are dressed and armed differently and they stand out from the rest. Suddenly, the commanders of the Philistines turn around and see them. They are obviously disconcerted and bothered that Hebrews would be among their ranks. They are probably a little afraid of David and the incredible reputation that he and his men have earned as warriors over the years. So, they ask Achish, What are these Hebrews doing here? Achish says, it s David the servant of Saul, the king of Israel who has been with me for so long now. It s like he is saying, you ve known about him and heard about him haven t you ever heard of mercenaries that s what he and his troops are? You know he s been with me all of this time and ever since he deserted Israel, he s been loyal to me and I ve found no fault in him at all. If you think about it, that is quite remarkable. Achish, who was once the enemy of David, now says that he has found no fault with David. David hasn t done anything objectionable to Achish, as far as he knows. It didn t matter though. The commanders of the Philistines were angry and with good cause. But in their anger, we see the merciful hand of God, acting silently, behind the scenes, to deliver his anointed king, the man after his own heart who has gone astray. That is the second major idea and maybe the most important thing this account highlights. Yes, self-sufficiency leads to trouble But God brings mercy What kind mercy we see in the anger and hatred of the Philistines. They were angry and objected because it was risky. How could they trust this Hebrew warrior band? So they said, "Send the man back, that he may return to the place to which you have assigned him. He shall not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he become an adversary to us. The original text shows just how strongly they felt, when the word we have translated as adversary here is the word Satan. How could they be certain that David wouldn t turn on them once he and his men were faced with the prospect of fighting their own countrymen? David could be like a fifth column in the Philistine ranks and oppose them. It wasn t militarily smart to potentially expose themselves to a hostile army on their flank. It was also common sense to them - after all, what better way would there be for David to win back the favor of Saul and the Israelites, than to fight against the Philistines and present the heads of the Philistine commanders to Saul? They reminded Achish that this was David you know, the guy who that Hebrew pop song from a few years ago was written about. You know the one, the one that we could hear them singing on their hilltops and see them dancing in the fields about. Don t you remember how the song went about him Achish? Don t you remember the little ditty where the Hebrews sang Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands? Are you nuts?! By the way, the ten thousands they sang about David killing were Philistines, you know, our own people! Achish gives into them and calls David before him. Then, notice something interesting Achish swears to David not on his mother s grave nor on the name of one of his Philistine idols, but Achish swears an oath on the name of Yahweh, the most sacred and holy name of God used by the Israelites. Now, it isn t the main point of the text or the message, but it is important to notice that David has obviously had an effect on Achish. There was probably something about the way that David 4

5 5 lived and related to his men or his family that had an effect on Achish, so that Achish genuinely respected David. Achish genuinely admired his character and found David to be blameless. He also knew something of David s God, Yahweh at least enough to show respect to David by swearing by Yahweh s name. So, David must have spoken about God to his boss Achish and David backed that up with his own personal character and integrity at least in dealing with Achish, so that Achish respected David and the one true God that David served. If the same could be said of all Christians, I think there would be more respect for us by unbelievers and they might even listen to what we have to say about God. We don t know if Achish believed in God, but he at least took notice of David s character and showed respect to David and God enough to make an oath in God s name. What a testimony David was to this Philistine lord and what a testimony it would be to bosses and unbelieving politicians if we behaved in such a manner in our dealings, that those in authority could say that the Christians here are always honest and that they can find nothing wrong in us! What a testimony to the power of a life transformed by God. Nevertheless, the other Philistine lords didn t approve of David and Achish was outnumbered. David seems bothered by this and whether he was genuinely offended and disappointed, or whether he was really relieved and just pretending, he protested to Achish that he had to go back. He said, "But what have I done? What have you found in your servant from the day I entered your service until now, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?" Basically, he says, what - have I offended you? Is there some reason I can t go out and fight for you and he almost seems to be arguing with Achish so that he can go back out again. And at this point, as a reader, I m thinking, David, cool it! Just go back already don t you see that this is your chance to get off the hook scot-free? You know, David, you can save face with Achish and still be on his good side, but more importantly, don t you realize that you just got saved from a major blunder? If I were there, I would have wanted to pull David aside and say, look, don t you understand - you have just been majorly rescued by the Philistine lords. Just act a little disappointed and go along with it. Fortunately, Achish seems to have some wisdom and reiterates that he doesn t find anything wrong with David. In fact, Achish says you are as blameless in my sight as an angel of God, but my hands are tied, the Philistine commanders won t let you go. Then, he tells David to get up early in the morning, presumably so that his departure isn t noticed as much by the other troops. Achish seems bent on protecting David and ensuring his safe exit. He tells David, rise early in the morning with the servants of your lord who came with you, and start early in the morning, and depart as soon as you have light." So, get up before dawn and as soon as you can see, get out of here, so that you can exit safely. Then, we see in verse 11, that David agrees and does just that. He set out with his men and headed home early, but the Philistines marched up to Jezreel, heading to war with Israel. Once David thought about it, he must have been elated. He had just been delivered out of his trouble by the Philistine commanders. He had just been spared from warring with his own people and he had also been kept safe by a Philistine ruler from the Philistines. Ironically, Achish and the Philistines, the enemies of Israel, have become the very instruments God used to deliver David, the anointed King of Israel, from a lose-lose situation. 5

6 6 What providential care, that David would come out unscathed and smelling like a rose. David was the recipient of some serious, undeserved mercy here wasn t he? We don t see him seeking any mercy in this passage. We don t have a record of any psalms written about this time either. What we do have is this record of David receiving undeserved mercy when he needed it most. Although the narrator doesn t announce it, when we read the passage, framed in the book of Samuel, which clearly is all about God at work, we know that this is God at work here, working a terrible situation for David s good. This is God giving David mercy and using the Philistines as His means to show David mercy and deliver David out of an impossible situation. These last few chapters of 1 Samuel are written so that we can see some sharp contrasts between David and Saul. In chapter 27, David is looking for refuge from Saul with the Philistines. In chapter 28, Saul seeks refuge from God s rejection with a medium or witch. In this chapter, David is saved by the Philistines from Saul. In the final chapter of 1 Samuel, Saul will be destroyed by the Philistines. So, what do these contrasts reveal? These last few chapters certainly don t reveal that David was a better man than Saul, even though he really was. David s self-sufficiency lead to trouble, but God shows mercy. Why is that though? Saul consistently revealed through his actions that he really wasn t interested in loving God, in truly following God and obeying God. Saul demonstrated he feared man more than God. While, David demonstrated and professed his devotion to God, even though he messed up seriously and sinned egregiously. So, why did God show mercy to David like this? Because David was His. David belonged to God. David ultimately wanted to trust in God, even though he failed. That is part of why God calls him a man after his own heart. Not because he always did what was on God s heart but because he was after the heart of God he wanted to love God and live for God, even though he wasn t faithful and didn t do that all the time. But it revealed that David was God s. And that makes all the difference. You see, even though self-sufficiency leads to trouble, God brings unrelenting mercy but not to everyone in the same way. God brings unrelenting mercy for those who are His. 3. For those who are His What these chapters show, is that David s relationship with God makes all the difference. Saul is rejected after he willfully disobeys and rejects God and he is facing certain death. David, on the other hand, is saved in this chapter from his mistakes, even though he took matters in his own hands and it went badly. And he is saved here by the grace and mercy of God. Saul is destroyed because he ultimately trusts in himself and his heart is far from God. David is saved because he ultimately trusts in the Lord and David s heart is for God. We see his heart revealed time and time again in the Psalms. Back when David was in the desert of Judah being pursued, he prayed: A PSALM OF DAVID, WHEN HE WAS IN THE WILDERNESS OF JUDAH. O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. 2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. 3 Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. 4 So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. 5 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, 6 when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the 6

7 7 watches of the night; 7 for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. 8 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me (Psalm 63:1-11). What makes the difference for you and I, like Saul and David, is not our cunning or skill or how well we can navigate through life by our own efforts. What makes the difference is in whom we are trusting. Even as Christians, like David, we sometimes faint and grow weak. We sometimes take matters into our own hands and things go badly. Sometimes, we feel like we are stuck and surrounded by our enemies. Maybe we find ourselves having even have joined in with those who are against God and His people, because we wanted to fit in. But now, we are caught in a lose-lose situation. David was leading a double life. He was seeking refuge with God s enemies and looking for peace and comfort in Philistine territory. But God showed him mercy because he belonged to God. He desired to follow God and his heart was for God, even though he failed. God holds out mercy to all of us here today. He holds out mercy to mothers and fathers who have blown it and feel like they are failing and are trying everything to make things work. He holds out mercy to students and employees alike, who have fainted and given in to the temptation to live for what other people think about you. He holds out mercy for children who have forgotten the things of God and are pursuing their own way. Sometimes His mercy is surprising and comes from the opposition of unbelievers. Maybe even sometimes God s mercy doesn t allow us to be accepted, but to be rejected by those who don t love God for our good? He holds out His mercy and says come to me, you who are weak and weary, fearing and fainting, trust in Me and I will enable you. I will strengthen you, I will give you grace. In this passage, Achish say three times that David is blameless. And David may have been something of a good example. But David wasn t blameless was he? You know who was? Jesus was truly blameless. Three times when he was accused wrongly, He was declared blameless. Pilate said in Luke 23:14-16, You brought me this man as one who was misleading the people. And after examining him before you, behold, I did not find this man guilty of any of your charges against him. 15 Neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us. Look, nothing deserving death has been done by him. 16 I will therefore punish and release him." In John18:38, Pilate said, I find no guilt in Him. The difference between Saul and David and the difference between us and those who do not believe isn t that we don t mess up or that we are not guilty on our own. No, the difference is who we belong to, through our faith in Jesus Christ, who was blameless for us. Through His death in our place, He has freed us from all condemnation and wrath so that we can be free to live for Him without fear. So what do we do if we find we are lacking hope and feeling condemned? We can say what Jeremiah did in lamentations 3:18-24: "My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the LORD." Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him." 7

8 8 The reason we can say this confidently is because we look up and see that Jesus is no longer on the Cross. That s why we have an empty cross behind the stage to ever serve as a reminder not only of what Jesus did for us but that He is a victorious King. Jesus died for our sins. But he rose again on the third day and He lives now, making intercession for us, giving us His strength and leading us all the way. So, whether you are a mother or father or child let us together hope in our resurrected Lord and the new mercy He gives us today 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. 8