Transcript

On The Winning Team-Part Two

1 Samuel 24:1-22
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Pastor Randy Smith

---

About a month ago, my family and I finished reading the book of Revelation together. Often I pointed out to my children the one theme repeatedly stressed throughout the book. Frequently the reader is indirectly asked the question: "Whose side are you on?" In other words, there is a great cosmic conflict between good and evil, light and darkness, God and His enemies. Revelation, better than any book in all of the Scriptures, depicts this conflict, defines the sides and describes the outcome. As we read, it frequently asks us: "Whose side are you on?"

Are we followers of the beast who blaspheme the name of our God (13:6), or akin to the angels who praise the Lord for His glory (5:12)? Do we have a lukewarm spiritual pursuit (3:16), or do we fall down at the feet of Christ with zealous passion (1:17)? Do our affections gravitate toward immorality (2:20), or do they love and seek to emulate the holiness of God (22:11)? Are we willing to suffer persecution (13:15) if it means inheriting heaven (21:7), or do we compromise with the world (3:1) only to "drink of the wine of the wrath of God" (14:10)?

Jesus said, "He who is not with Me is against Me" (Mt. 12:30). Make no mistake about it. According to the Bible, there are only two sides. We are either in the church or in the world, children of God or children of the devil, saints or sinners, going to heaven or going to hell.

God does not want you to be in the dark. Therefore He has granted to us certain identifiable signs that indicate whether or not our names are written in the Lamb's book of Life (13:8). More than our verbal profession, our lifestyle will reveal the reality of our relationship with God. As we just observed as we considered the theme of Revelation, those on God's team will desire to glorify Him through a holy life of obedience and worship.

Last week we examined how God provides for the physical and emotional well-being of His children. This week, we will examine how God provides for the spiritual well-being of His children.

Holy lives are a requisite for the kingdom, and the holy lives God requires can only come as a gift from His Spirit working mightily through us. In other words, those with the Holy Spirit are those who belong to God (Rom. 8:9). And evidence of the Holy Spirit in us is seen by the way He renews our minds and transforms our hearts to Christlikeness (Rom. 8:13-14). As Paul said, "The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God" (Rom. 8:16). Those who are God's children are led by the Spirit. And those led by the Spirit give evidence to themselves and the world that they are (as the sermon title indicates) on the winning team.

1. GOD GRANTS CONVICTION

This leads us to our first point entitled, "God Grants Conviction." If holy living characterized by repentance is required for God's children, we must understand that God grants His children the ability to be sensitive to sin. That is where we find David as we begin chapter 24.

Permit me to summarize the opening account in chapter 24. You will recall that Saul had cornered David by the end of chapter 23 but is called away due to a raid by the Philistines (23:27-29). Yet without any time wasted, chapter 24 informs us that Saul is once again on David's heels (23:1). As soon as the intelligence reports informed him that David was in Engedi (an oasis located about 35 miles southeast of Jerusalem), Saul assembled three thousand "chosen men" to seek David's life (23:2). Three thousand crack commandos to seek the life of David as if David were the preincarnate Osama Bin Laden himself!

Right from the beginning, as the reader, we are forced to take sides in this account. Who is the legitimate king? Who is making the wisest choices? Who is acting righteously? Who is being led by the Spirit of God?

Let's continue. In an effort to hide from Saul and avoid the heat of the day, verse 3 informs us that David and his men retreated to a cave. Yet as only providence could have it, none other than Saul himself entered the same cave. Why did Saul enter the cave? As the text tells us, nature was calling! Saul needed some privacy, but with his eyes blinded by the darkness and ears deafened by his three thousand men outside, he was oblivious to the company inside. He was not aware of David, but David was aware of him. We could say Saul was literally caught with his pants down!

I can only imagine the jaws dropping and the eyes popping when David and his men observed this remarkable occurrence. While we are left in suspense regarding David's thoughts, the only conclusion his fighting men could draw was the obvious. In verse 4 they said, "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'" (cf. 24:10). In other words, "This is your chance David! Strike him down to relieve your misery and establish your kingdom! This is a clear-cut, straightforward, unambiguous gift from God!"

What would David do? Would he trust his loyal men who claimed to be speaking from God? Would he give in to the opinions of others? Would he take a vote? Would he follow the path which appeared the most logical and most obvious? Would he take the easiest way out? Would he do what his heart and emotions desired? We know what Saul would have done in this situation, but what would David do? And on what grounds would David make this pivotal decision?

When we were first introduced to David he was described as a "man after (God's) own heart" (13:34). While Saul was filled with rage, David demonstrated clear thinking and self-control. David chose God's ways over his own. David was filled with the Spirit and guided by God. This motivated him to do not his will or the will of others, but the Lord's will in this situation.

The inscription over Psalm 57 reads, "A Mikhtam of David, when he fled from Saul in the cave" (57:1). Listen to David's words written during this episode as they reveal a heart after the Lord's. Verse 1, "Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me, for my soul takes refuge in You; and in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge until destruction passes by." Verse 5, "Be exalted above the heavens, O God; let Your glory be above all the earth."

With God's glory as his only goal, he sought to do what was right. So despite everything and everyone that screamed to the contrary, David restrained himself from killing Saul. Instead, verse 4 informs us, "David arose and cut off the edge of Saul's robe secretly." He took a part of Saul's garment instead of taking Saul's life. He pursued God's agenda. God protected him from sin. A person after God's heart will always have a heart moved by God.

Spiritual victory for David, right? David knew something was wrong. Verse 5 informs us, "It came about afterward that David's conscience bothered him because he had cut off the edge of Saul's robe." Guilt…shame…is that bad? No, this is another way our God leads us spiritually.

So on one side, David receives the endless questioning from the majority of his men as to why he spared Saul's life and on the other side, the remaining few are praising the Lord and congratulating David for making a godly decision. Yet in a strange twist, both are proven wrong. Again, David not swayed by popular opinion but guided but the Spirit of God, realizes through his conscience that what he did was wrong.

You say, "Come on, all he did was cut off a small corner of Saul's robe. What is the big sin in that? After all, he did spare the life of the man that was seeking to kill him!"

Here is the problem. In antiquity, the tearing of one's robe signified the forfeiture of one's kingdom. Remember back in chapter 15 when Saul seized and tore the edge of Samuel's robe (15:27)? Remember Samuel's response? "The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor, who is better than you" (15:28).

Maybe the others were clueless, but David knew his intensions. I believe the only way we can account for David's deep remorse is to understand David's act as a figurative declaration of revolt in his heart. After waiting so long to receive the kingdom promised him by God, David put his will and his timetable ahead of the Lord's (cf. Mt. 4:1-11). The royal robe symbolized the royal office, and the cutting of that robe symbolized David's desire to seize the kingdom for himself. David knew that God's will must be achieved through the means that God approves.

Therefore, it did not take long for David's conscience to bother him.

There was also a second problem with David's seemingly innocent actions that troubled his conscience as well. Saul was anointed by God. As one author said, "Once anointed, the individual was set apart or consecrated to God. A special bond was established in relation to God… Hence, to touch, defile, and attack the anointed one was to approach the Lord Himself and seek to defile, harm, and remove the Lord from His rightful place" (VanGroningen, Messianic Revelation in the Old Testament, p. 152f).

This thought comes out in David's own words recorded in verses 6 and 7: "So he (David) 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" (cf. 24:10).

You can see that David's men did not actually agree with David's decision. If David were not about to kill Saul, they would have no problem doing it themselves! The original language suggests that David had to resort to violent and threatening language to hold these guys back!

Through all this drama Saul was oblivious. The text continues, "And Saul arose (he finished his business), left the cave, and went on his way"(24:7).

David deeply regretted what he did. This conviction is a good gift from God. In a moment we will see how a God-given awareness of our past failures can bring about good in our lives if we truly seek to please the Lord. Yet too often we as Christians experience just the opposite. How does God want us to approach our past failures for His glory and our joy?

"Besieged with dark memories, Holly did little more than cope. Her past sexual sins and attempted suicide troubled her daily. Ever since he'd learned of these things shortly after their marriage, her husband Jim had tried to be supportive. But the fact that she had hidden her sins from Jim only increased Holly's feelings of guilt. Day and night a depressive cloud hung over her as she recalled her past" (Robert Jones, Bad Memories, p. 1).

Stories like these sound all too familiar. Especially for those who have come to Christ later in life, we are often burdened and sometimes shackled by our past failures. Though we want these bad memories to disappear and often attempt various methods to erase our memory (I read this week about a new pill that is supposedly able to blot out bad memories), such false solutions often short-circuit the best plan of God for our lives.

Rather than removing a guilty conscience or bad memories, we would do much better to redeem them. God is sovereign over our past and promises to bring good out of our mistakes. Our past does not need to control our future because we have been set-free and stand forgiven in Christ. Therefore, we are able to reinterpret our past sins and view them through the lens of God.

Wasn't this David's testimony in Psalm 51 after his affair with Bathsheba? Wasn't this Paul's testimony as well? The Apostle Paul freely spoke of his past and used it for the glory of God. Listen to his testimony found in 1 Timothy 1: "Even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor…I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus" (1 Tim. 1:13-14). His evil past and the mercy of God are both mentioned in the same breath.

As we will witness with David, his sin pushed him to pursue deeper repentance, no doubt a higher gratitude for God's forgiveness and a greater desire to make things right with Saul. Once we understand our own sins and the great forgiveness we have from God, the easier it is to treat fellow sinners, even our enemies, with greater compassion, sensitivity and forgiveness (as we will see as we continue the chapter).

2. GOD GRANTS CONFIDENCE

That leads us to the second way God provides spiritual help for His children. God grants conviction, and God also grants confidence. I am not talking about confidence in self but rather confidence in God.

Beginning in verse 8, "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'" (24:8-15).

We are talking about confidence in God. There are many aspects of David's plea that validate his confidence in God:

First, David demonstrated tremendous courage. Those who fear the Lord do not fear people. Imagine the bravery of David to stand up and face the man who was seeking to take his life. Confidence in God breaks us from fearing the opinions, attacks, exposure, threats, ridicule, rejection and oppression of others when God is moving us to do His will.

Second, David's confidence in God was demonstrated by a humble attitude. There is nothing in David's words that demonstrates pride, revenge or hate. On the contrary we see courtesy, honor and kindness for his enemy. Though Saul was unjustly seeking to kill David, David bowed before him with his face to the ground (24:8) and spoke to him with the respectful greetings such as, "My lord" and "king" and "father" (24:8, 11). He even referred to himself as a "dead dog" and "single flea" (24:14).

Third, we see David's confidence in the Lord demonstrated by his willingness to desire good to the one who sought his life. In verse 9 he said, "My eye had pity on you" and in verse 11 he said, "(I) did not kill you…though you are lying in wait for my life to take it." Furthermore, when people hurt us, we usually impugn the greatest evil to their motives. Yet here we see David giving Saul the benefit of doubt. Maybe Saul received some gossip regarding David, but David does not accuse Saul of having a murderous heart without any evidence for his attacks. In verse 9 he said, "Why do you listen to the words of men, saying, 'Behold, David seeks to harm you?'"

Fourth, David's confidence in the Lord is clearly seen in his surrender to the desire that the Lord's will be done. Verse 12, "May the LORD judge between you and me, and may the LORD avenge me on you; but my hand shall not be against you." Verse 15, "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." David left justice in the hands of God.

Saul responds to David's plea in verses 16-22: "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."

Saul said a lot of great stuff, but I trust David did not allow the flattery and apparent surrender go to his head (cf. 27:1). Why else would he return to the "stronghold" (24:22)? Those who are confident in God refuse to allow others to tear them down, and they also refuse to place a greater confidence in man. David had heard these spurious confessions from Saul in the past (19:6; cf. 19:9-11) and was unable to trust him in the present (cf. 26:1-2; 27:4). As Matthew Henry said, "It is dangerous to venture on the mercy of an unreconciled enemy" (Commentary).

Although we cannot control the actions and attitudes of others, we can control our own. Confidence in the Lord gave David the strength to find his hope from the Lord, and it also gave David the strength to hold up his end of the bargain. To David, it was not so much waiting for the blessings from Saul, as it was being eager to bless Saul in fulfilling his word. In verses 21 and 22, David swore to Saul that he would care for Saul's household (cf. 20:14-17).

Saul's words fizzled away but years later David came through on his promise. In 2 Samuel 9 David said, "'Is there not yet anyone of the house of Saul to whom I may show the kindness of God?' And Ziba said to the king, 'There is still a son of Jonathan who is crippled in both feet'" (2 Sam. 9:3)? With Jonathan already dead (31:2), his son Mephibosheth humbly came to David. David said to him, "Do not fear, for I will surely show kindness to you for the sake of your father Jonathan, and will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul; and you shall eat at my table regularly. (Mephibosheth) prostrated himself and said, 'What is your servant, that you should regard a dead dog like me'" (2 Sam. 9:7-8).

Verse 13 of 2 Samuel tells us that Mephibosheth was lame in both feet and unable to care for himself. Yet to this man the king gave permission to eat at his table regularly (2 Sam. 9:7, 10, 11, 13). Second to our ability to dine at the Lord's Table thanks to the sacrificial death of Christ, this is one of the greatest demonstrations of grace found in the entire Bible!

The man after God's own heart kept his word and was compassionate to the family of his enemy. With his confidence in God, David was free to serve others and not use others.

Last week we learned that God provides for the physical and emotional needs of His children. In the same way, this week we learned that God provides for their spiritual needs as well.

God grants conviction for the ability to repent from sin. And God grants confidence for the ability to trust Him at all times. And the ability to trust God and turn from our sins, faith and repentance - both gifts from God (Eph. 2:8; Ac. 5:31; 2 Tim. 2:25) is the evidence that we belong to God and are part of the winning team.

I will never forget the day as a public school educator when I noticed a student in the school proudly wearing a shirt with "666" plastered across the front and down both sleeves. I pulled the teen aside and asked him if he knew where those numbers came from. He responded that they identified the beast as he is described in the Bible (Rev. 13:8). I told him if he believed the Bible for the beast's name, why didn't he believe the Bible for the beast's outcome (Rev. 19:20)? I said, "My friend, you are choosing the wrong side!"

So as I asked my children, I ask you, "Whose side are you on?" Have you surrendered to Jesus Christ? Have you received the gift of faith and repentance? Is your life marked by a wholehearted commitment to God? "666" will mark the children of the devil, but a holy life that emulates Christ will mark the people of God. For this is how God provides spiritually for His children.