Our sermon passage is the entire chapter of 1 Samuel chapter 23.
! So please turn to 1 Samuel chapter 23.
! I'll read these 29 verses trusting that it's God's inspired, inerrant, infallible, clear, sufficient word.
It's God's very own word for you and me, his people.
1 Samuel chapter 23.
Then they told David, saying,
Look, the Philistines are fighting against Calah, and they are robbing the threshing floors.
Therefore David inquired of the Lord, saying,
Shall I go and attack these Philistines?
And the Lord said to David,
Go and attack the Philistines and save Calah.
But David's men said to him,
Look, we are afraid here in Judah.
How much more if we go to Calah against the armies of the Philistines?
Then David inquired of the Lord once again.
And the Lord answered him and said,
Arise, go down to Calah, for I will deliver the Philistines into your hand.
And David and his men went to Calah and fought with the Philistines,
struck them with a mighty blow, and took away their livestock.
So David saved the inhabitants of Calah.
Now it happened when Abiathar, the son of Ahimelech,
fled to David and Calah,
that he went down with an ephod in his hand.
And Saul was told that David had gone to Calah.
So Saul said,
Go and deliver him into my hand,
for he has shut himself in by entering a town that has gates and bars.
Then Saul called all the people together for war.
Go down to Calah to besiege David and his men.
When David knew that Saul plotted evil against him,
he said to Abiathar the priest,
Bring the ephod here.
Then David said,
O Lord God of Israel,
your servant has certainly heard that Saul seeks to come to Calah
to destroy the city for my sake.
Will the men of Calah deliver me into his hand?
Will Saul come down as your servant has heard?
O Lord God of Israel,
I pray, tell your servant.
And the Lord said,
He will come down.
Then David said,
Will the men of Calah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul?
And the Lord said,
They will deliver you.
So David and his men,
about 600,
arose and departed from Calah
and went wherever they could go.
Then it was told Saul
that David had escaped from Calah,
so he halted the expedition.
And David stayed in the strongholds in the wilderness
and remained in the mountains of the wilderness of Ziph.
Saul sought him every day,
but God did not deliver him into his hand.
So David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life,
and David was in the wilderness of Ziph in a forest.
Then Jonathan, Saul's son,
arose and went to David in the woods
and strengthened his hand in God.
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.
Even my father Saul knows that.
So the two of them made a covenant before the Lord,
and David stayed in the woods,
and Jonathan went to his own house.
Then the Ziphites came up to Saul at Gibeah,
saying,
Is David not hiding with us in the strongholds in the woods,
in the hill of Makalah,
which is on the south of Jeshimon?
Now therefore, O king,
come down according to all the desire of your soul
to come down,
and our part shall be to deliver him into the king's hand.
And Saul said,
Blessed are you of the Lord,
for you have compassion on me.
Please go and find out for sure,
and see the place where his hideout is,
and who has seen him there.
For I am told he is very crafty.
See therefore,
and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hides,
and come back to me with certainty,
and I will go with you.
And it shall be,
if he is in the land,
that I will search for him
throughout all the clans of Judah.
So they arose,
and went to Ziph before Saul.
But David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon,
in the plain on the south of Jeshimon.
When Saul and his men went to seek him,
they told David,
therefore,
he went back,
he went down to the rock,
and stayed in the wilderness of Maon.
And when Saul heard that,
he pursued David in the wilderness of Maon.
Then Saul went on his side of the mountain,
and David and his men went on the other side of the mountain.
So David made haste to get away from Saul,
and Saul and his men were encircling David,
and his men to take them.
But a messenger came to Saul,
saying,
Hurry,
and come,
for the Philistines have invaded the land.
Therefore Saul returned from pursuing David,
and went against the Philistines.
So they called that place the rock of escape.
Then David went up from there,
and dwelt in the strongholds at En Gedi.
The word of God for the people of God.
Thanks be to God.
Please be seated.
The grass withers,
the flower fades,
but the word of the Lord,
every last word,
endures forever.
Let's pray.
Oh Lord,
we thank you for how you have acted
with such power throughout redemptive history.
We thank you for how you haven't let your actions go
forgotten by your people.
You've recorded them,
and you've poured out your spirit to interpret your word.
We thank you, Lord,
how every part of the Bible testifies
of your redemption ultimately in Jesus Christ.
We pray that by your spirit,
you'll help us to see who you are,
and what a wonderful, trustworthy,
sovereign Savior you are, Lord.
Please make this so clear to your people,
and we trust that you'll apply your truth to our lives
the way that each one needs it.
In this moment, we ask, Lord.
Amen.
Well, our congregation has experienced difficult losses
this week.
There's intense stress in many homes.
There are unexplainable frustrations
that we can feel stuck in,
at least for a while.
Not one of us can fully understand
why things happen the way they do.
No one can make complete sense
out of those hardest experiences
that each one of us have to go through
at different points in our lives.
And this leaves us with two options.
It has to be one or the other.
The first option seems to be the path of Saul.
We can attempt to compensate for our smallness
and our weakness by trying to control
what is not ours to control.
Isn't that what Saul's doing?
Or number two,
with the Holy Spirit as our teacher,
this seems to be what he's doing for David,
we slowly learn to trust in God's complete,
sovereign power and total providence
over every aspect of our lives.
1 Samuel 23 is a wonderful illustration of this,
isn't it?
The theme of this whole chapter
is captured in verse 14.
Would you look at that?
Look at the second part of verse 14.
We read that Saul,
the wicked king Saul,
who's trying to control everything
and unwilling to let God
put who he wants on the throne over Israel,
Saul sought David every day,
but God did not deliver him into his hand.
Picture being Saul,
what should we do today?
Let's do what we did yesterday.
Let's try to capture David.
That's all he can obsess about.
And then David, on the other hand,
doesn't even have that luxury.
I don't get to pick what I want to do today.
I know what I'm doing.
I'm running away from Saul.
Every day.
But verse 14 interprets for us
all that's going on in this chapter.
God did not deliver him over.
David was preserved.
David escaped.
David was even perhaps crafty.
But it was God delivering him,
preserving him.
The second London Confession of Faith,
chapter 5, paragraph 1,
declares, professes what the Scripture says.
God, the good creator of all things,
in his infinite power and wisdom,
does uphold, direct, dispose.
That's a word we've got to come back to.
All things for his glory and our good.
Amen?
So Noah Webster's Dictionary, 1828,
helped me with that word I didn't understand.
Dispose.
I would think of a garbage disposal.
You know, it's getting rid of something.
But what the word dispose means,
it's rich.
It's to arrange things in order,
to adapt them for a purpose,
to bestow them upon others,
to incline the mind toward a choice,
conduct, guide,
and authoritatively determine
a final outcome.
It's the perfect word.
God disposes.
He sovereignly governs all things
for the final outcome
for which he intended them.
So brothers and sisters in the Lord,
the question for us today,
and it's really just an opportunity
to marvel and praise God,
it's how the Lord accomplishes his purposes.
It's how the Lord accomplishes his purposes.
That's my message for you today.
Let's see it first in verses 1 through 5.
Observe in these verses
how the Lord accomplishes his purposes
through hearing and answering prayer.
The Lord accomplishes his purposes,
and it's his pleasure to do this
even by hearing and answering our prayers.
Isn't that so good of him?
Look at verse 1.
They told David, saying,
Look, the Philistines,
we haven't heard about them for a while
because it's all been about Saul
being the bad guy, chasing him down.
The Philistines are fighting against Calah.
Calah is a city of the Israelites,
and they are robbing the threshing floors.
Can you picture the Philistine army
coming with all their iron weapons?
We know the Philistines also brought with them
their own supply chain,
so they brought livestock with them
to feed their own army and troops.
There's a lot of them,
and they're just going around
like it's taking candy from a baby,
taking food off the threshing floors
of the people of Israel in the south.
I wonder why the Philistines
came up with this idea to attack now.
You remember how the last chapter ended?
David was among the Philistines, right?
But he was acting crazy,
and he wasn't with Saul anymore.
And why is David on the run,
not in Israel,
acting crazy over here in our country,
in Gath?
That means a few things here.
That means David is the one
who God has worked mightily through.
We keep getting chased out
and beaten by God through David,
but remember how easy it was when it was Saul?
Look at David now.
It's just Saul over there.
God doesn't have a pattern of helping that king.
Let's go back.
Let's take over.
Verse 2.
Notice what David does.
Saul's making his own decisions,
and two times now,
even before the ephod of Abiathar,
which we'll talk about,
that's not even with him yet.
But look in verse 2.
David inquired of the Lord.
And then look again at verse 3.
David inquired of the Lord once again.
This is the wonderful point of application briefly.
What do we do, Lord?
What would you have us do?
Remember, the Lord will accomplish his purposes,
and it's God's pleasure to do that
through hearing and answering our prayers.
And this attack by the Philistines
stirred this up in David, his servant.
This is part of his preparation
as a man in submission to God.
Think of how our Lord Jesus,
according to his human nature,
was a man of prayer.
He needed to be.
Mark 1.35.
Jesus got up a long while before daylight,
and he went out and departed to a solitary place,
and there he prayed.
Before big decisions in planting his church,
our Lord Jesus,
before calling the disciples in Luke 6.12,
he went out to the mountain to pray,
and continued all night in prayer to God.
Our Lord knew his dependence on God,
and how it's God's pleasure to accomplish his purpose
through hearing and answering prayer.
We even know that Jesus had a favorite place of prayer,
at least one.
He went there so often that Judas knew that's where he would be.
Luke 22.41 tells us,
Jesus withdrew from the disciples about a stone's throw,
and he knelt down and prayed,
saying,
Father, if it is your will,
yet not my will but yours be done.
And being in agony,
he prayed even more earnestly.
The Lord will accomplish his will,
his purposes in your life and in mine.
And one of the ways he's pleased to do that
is by us praying to him,
telling him what's hard,
agonizing,
even staying up all night praying,
as I know some of you have in the last few weeks.
Ephesians 6.18 encourages us,
as Christians, as a church,
we need to be people who are praying always,
with all prayer and supplication,
in the spirit,
being watchful to this end,
with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.
Colossians 4.2,
continue earnestly in prayer,
being vigilant in it,
and with thanksgiving.
So when David inquired of the Lord,
shall I go and attack the Philistines?
Verse 2,
the Lord said to David,
we don't know how,
we're not given that detail.
It's in prayer.
It's without the help of the priest.
He knew to go and attack the Philistines,
and save this city,
that has walls and gates,
called Calah.
Verse 3,
but David's men said to him,
look,
we're afraid here in Judah.
Remember how they were in the stronghold,
but God sent them back into the land of Judah,
into the forest,
and we didn't really know why.
We're afraid.
How much more if we actually go on the offensive now?
Go to Calah,
and attack the Philistine armies.
So David inquired of the Lord once again in verse 4.
And the Lord answered him again.
The Lord said,
arise,
go to Calah,
for I will deliver the Philistines into your hand.
It's not David winning the battle.
It's not his 600 men going to win it.
It's the Lord delivering the Philistines one more time into his hand.
So David and his men went to Calah
and fought with the Philistines,
struck them with a mighty blow
by the power of the Lord we know,
and took away their livestock while they were at it.
I'm sure they had a great barbecue that night.
These 600 men in hiding.
Notice the livestock is referring to the Philistines' livestock.
And so David,
by God's power,
saved the inhabitants of Calah.
because the Lord accomplished his purpose
through hearing and answering David's prayer.
The Lord hears your prayer,
and the Lord loves to answer our prayer
when it's in the mind of Christ,
when it's according to his will,
when it's for his glory.
Well, the second way in which the Lord accomplishes his purpose
is it really builds right off of what just happened.
It's even through selfishness,
betrayal,
and cruelty of men,
the Lord still accomplishes his purposes.
We see this over and over in Scripture, don't we?
Men are evil.
Men do bad things,
intending harm,
and the Lord still somehow uses it
to accomplish his ultimate purpose.
So our second point is this,
that even through the selfishness,
betrayal,
and cruelty of men,
the Lord accomplishes his purposes.
Verse 6 reads,
Now it happened when Abiathar,
the son of Ahimelech,
fled to David at Calah,
that he went down with an ephod in his hand.
The ephod in his hand
is what the priest would put on
over their linen garments.
We don't know a lot about this,
but there was something called the Urim,
I always say it wrong,
Urim and Thunim,
and it was a binary way of determining God's will.
Like a God-directed,
Holy Spirit-governed,
you know, disposed way of telling
yes or no to an answer.
And so the priest brings that along,
and remember,
Saul had left himself
without any way of seeking the will of God.
He killed all the other priests.
There's one priest left.
And even said,
it even made the connection with the language,
all those priests that Saul killed
were the ones wearing an ephod.
They're all dead now.
How can Saul seek the will of the Lord
in the ways that God has given them?
There's one who can seek the will of the Lord,
and it's David,
because the priest is with him.
In verse 7, we read this,
Saul was told that David had gone to Cala.
So here are spies everywhere,
and the word gets back to Saul.
So Saul said,
God has delivered him into my hand,
for he has shut himself in
by entering a town
that has gates and bars.
Remember on the Psalms
where David compares himself
to a caged bird?
This might be the inspiration
for that feeling.
In verse 8,
Then Saul called all the people together
for war
to go down to Cala
and besiege David and his men.
To besiege a town
is to take your vast army
and surround it on all sides,
cut off their water supply,
cut off their access to food,
and then just wait
and let them starve
and become weak and desperate
so that the people inside
that are besieged
will send a representative out
who will make a negotiation
and settle for
very unfavorable terms.
And Saul will now dominate
all of them.
And so of course
the people of Cala
know this is coming.
They will likely all die
or become enslaved to Saul
and have to pay him taxes
for the rest of their life
at an even higher rate.
Verse 9,
When David knew that Saul
plotted evil against him,
he said to Abiathar the priest,
Bring the ephod here.
One commentator
from a long time ago
observed,
No sooner was the ephod
brought to David
than he made use of it.
We have the Bible
in our hands.
Let us make use of it.
Let's encourage one another.
You're surrounded by believers
who trust the Word of God
as His breathed out will of God.
We know His will.
And to encourage one another,
to give everybody else a visual,
lift up your Bible
so everybody can see
these are people of the book.
And we turn to the Word of God.
We have it in hand
and we make use of it
to know the Lord's will.
Verse 10,
David said,
O Lord God of Israel,
your servant has certainly heard
that Saul seeks to come to Cala
to destroy the city
for my sake.
Remember,
he already was feeling
in the previous chapter,
all the priests died
for my sake.
This was my fault.
I can't have even more blood
on my hands.
Verse 11,
Will the men of Cala
deliver me into Saul's hand?
Now,
put your finger right there
in the middle of verse 11,
but look back at verse 5.
Remember what it says
in verse 5?
David saved
saved the inhabitants
of Cala.
These are the exact same people
he just saved
by God's power.
And so he,
you've got to double check
this one with the Lord.
Will Saul come down
as your servant has said?
O Lord God of Israel,
I pray tell your servant.
Verse 11,
the Lord said
he will come down.
Verse 12,
David said,
Will the men of Cala
deliver me
and my men
into the hand of Saul?
Rather than their whole city
being besieged,
just take them.
That's who you want.
Leave us alone.
The Lord said
they will deliver you.
Verse 13,
So David and his men
about 600 arose
and departed from Cala
and went wherever
they could go.
600 men
on the height
of a great victory
enjoying a great barbecue
now going.
Doesn't even say
where they went.
They just scattered.
They went
wherever they could go,
probably taking
a little bit of livestock
with them each.
And then it was told Saul
that David
had escaped from Cala
so he halted
the expedition.
We have to see
a shadow here
of the great
anointed king
that was to come.
The one
who came
for the purpose
of delivering
these people
that are helpless
from the real enemy,
the Philistines.
Their deliverer now
sent away from them
outside the city,
driven away
by the very people
he just came
to save.
But the Lord
through the selfishness,
betrayal,
and cruelty
of men,
the Lord still
accomplishes
his purposes.
And he did this
through the Lord
Jesus Christ.
You and I
are the betrayers.
We are enemies
of God.
You and I
have every seed
known to man,
as Robert Murray
Mishane said,
is in our heart.
We're capable
of any cruelty.
Left to ourselves,
we are the most
selfish people.
And yet,
we're the ones
the Lord Jesus
came to save.
He suffered
outside the city gate.
His disciples
were scattered.
That same imagery,
isn't it?
They went
wherever they
could go.
And yet,
our Lord did this
to accomplish
his purpose,
to show that
our salvation
is not anything
we have done,
nothing we contribute,
but it's all
of his grace.
Amen?
Number three,
when it seems
impossible for God
to accomplish
his purposes,
he reminds you
of his presence.
When it seems
impossible for God
to accomplish
his purposes,
he reminds you
the very best
comfort we could
have,
his presence
with us.
Remember,
David's men
are scattered.
We don't know
how much time
passes.
The very people
in Judah,
the city he delivered
by God's power,
betrayed him.
Where can I go?
How is God
ever going to
keep his promise
and establish
a kingdom
through me
like he said?
I don't even
want it anymore.
He can almost
hear him saying.
In verse 14,
we pick up again.
David stayed
in strongholds
in the wilderness
and remained
in the mountains
in the wilderness
of Ziph.
The focus here
in these verses
is to a lot
of geography,
topography,
and it's probably
because they came
to know these places
very intimately.
This was their
new home now.
From what I researched
about the wilderness
of Ziph,
Ziph was the name
of the city.
It's in the hill
country of Judah.
The city sat
on a high ridge
overlooking the
Judean wilderness
to the east.
The limestone
geology of this area
is honeycombed
with caves,
and these served
as natural bunkers
where David's men
could hide
in total darkness
while monitoring
Saul's movements
in the bright
valley below.
Remember,
Saul sought David
every day,
verse 14,
but God did not
deliver him
into his hand.
Verse 15,
so David saw
that Saul had come
out to seek his life.
Saul seeking his life.
One of the Psalms
inspired during this time
was Psalm 63, 9,
which mirrors
that phrasing exactly.
In that Psalm,
David wrote,
those who seek
my life
to destroy it.
shall go
into the lower
parts of the earth.
For eternity,
they will lose.
Verse 15,
David was in the wilderness
of Ziph
in a forest.
This forest provided
that coverage
and camouflage
for his 600 men,
making it even more
difficult for Saul's men
to spot them.
In this wilderness,
Psalm 63, verse 1,
David cried out.
It gives us an insight
into what he and his men
might have been experiencing.
My soul thirsts for you.
My flesh longs for you
in a dry and thirsty land.
And look at how the Lord
answers David's prayer
from the wilderness,
crying out.
Verse 16,
Then,
Jonathan.
The Lord stirred his heart
in that moment
when David needed
the encouragement.
Jonathan,
Saul's son,
arose
and went to David
in the woods
and strengthened
David's hand,
how?
In God.
That's the type
of Christian friend
we need to be
for one another.
And that's the type
of Christian friend
no Christian can do
without.
Someone who the Lord
will stir their heart.
They'll come visit you
or call you
or text you
and they will strengthen
your hand in God.
The only source
of strength.
Verse 17,
Jonathan said to David,
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.
Even my father
Saul knows that.
I don't think
Jonathan is telling
the future here
serving as a prophet.
I think the Lord
has shown Jonathan
the promised
anointed one,
the redemption
of God's people,
the deliverer,
the shadow of Christ
is David.
And that grace
ministered to Jonathan
so much.
He said,
I'm by your side.
I'm with what God
is doing.
Jonathan didn't know
he would die in war.
He would never be
by David's side
as king.
But his heart
was with David.
And it's true,
the Lord has made
a promise
and Jonathan
is reminding David,
trust God's promise.
He will establish
his kingdom.
Do not fear
man.
Psalm 54
is another one
that God breathed out
through David
with this context.
David cries out
in verse 4,
Behold,
God is my helper.
The Lord
is with those
who uphold
my life.
It's Jonathan
here propping him up,
upholding his life
and he takes it
as a ministry
of the Lord.
The Lord
is with Jonathan
serving me
this way.
It's the presence
of the Lord
with me
through Jonathan.
I will freely
sacrifice to you
and praise your name,
O Lord,
for it is good.
And look at exactly
what they do
in verse 18.
The two of them
made a covenant
before the Lord.
they renew
this pledge
to show
God's
covenant faithfulness
one to another
in the presence
of God.
I will freely
sacrifice
to you,
O Lord.
I will praise
your name,
O Lord,
for it is good.
They worship
God together.
Verse 18,
So the two of them
made this covenant
but then David
stayed in the woods
and Jonathan
went to his own house.
And this is
where the scene
picks up.
It's back in Gibeah,
the land of the Benjamites,
not in Judah
where David's from.
And another twist
in our story happens.
In verse 19,
then the Ziphites,
the people of Ziph,
also from Judah,
go all the way up
to Saul
at Gibeah
to the land
of Benjamin.
They're going
out of their way
to tell Saul
where their fellow
man from Judah
is hiding.
Is David not
hiding with us
in the strongholds
in the woods?
This is betrayal
once again now.
He just got betrayed
by those
he delivered
by God's power
and now he's being
betrayed again
by his fellow
Judeans.
And they say to Saul,
come king,
come down
according to all
the desire
of your soul.
Instead of seeking
the will of the Lord,
it's man seeking
to do whatever
he thinks is right.
Follow your own soul,
Saul,
and our part
shall be
to deliver him
into the king's hand.
In Psalm 54,
the superscription
says it's a
contemplation of David
when the Ziphites
went and said
to Saul,
is David not
hiding with us?
David cried out,
save me,
O God,
by your name,
vindicate me
by your strength.
Hear my prayer,
O God,
give ear to the words
of my mouth,
for strangers
have risen up
against me.
These people of Ziph,
his fellow tribesmen,
he calls strangers.
Oppressors.
Oppressors
have sought
after my life.
Saul and the army
of Israel
are the oppressors.
They are the Egyptians.
They are the Philistines.
His countrymen
and former brothers
in battle
are his oppressors.
And why is it
they have not
set God
before them?
The very thing
Jonathan did.
Jonathan came close
and set God
before David
one more time.
And Saul and his army
and these people of Ziph
have forgotten God.
And David says,
they will receive
justice from God.
He will repay
my enemies
for their evil.
Cut them off
in your truth.
For he has delivered me
out of all my troubles.
My eye has seen
its desire
upon my enemies.
They have not
set God
before them.
They have not
known the joy
of being in God's presence
in the wilderness.
like he and Jonathan
just enjoyed.
Our confession of faith
says,
God providentially
superintends
all creatures
and things
from the greatest
even to the least
by his most wise
and holy providence
to the end
for which they were
created.
And God reminds us
he does this
because that's who
he is.
And when it seems
impossible for God
to accomplish
his purposes,
he is so kind
to always remind
you and me
just like he did David
that his presence
is with us.
And that's enough.
That's all we need.
Well, the fourth
and final observation
for today
is that looking back
on God's providence,
we will see
if not in this life
than in the life
to come,
we will see
how God always
accomplishes
his purposes.
And he gives us
these little moments
to pause
and look back
and point out
the ways in which
he was superintending
all things
for his glory.
We need to pause
and praise him
and celebrate
his faithfulness.
Looking back
on God's providence,
we will see
how he always
accomplishes
his purposes.
Verse 21,
Saul said,
Blessed are you
of the Lord
for you have
compassion on me.
He's buttering up
the Ziphites
that betrayed David.
Please go
and find out
where he is.
And then look
at verse 24,
So they,
these men of Ziph,
arose and went
to Ziph
before Saul.
The men who were
there really
helping David
and his men
to stay in hiding
are now coming back
as spies for Saul.
Because Ziph
was a city of Judah,
according to Joshua,
15, 24.
David likely expected
protection from these men,
but instead,
they used their
intimate knowledge
of these strongholds
to track David's
hiding places
and report them
to Saul.
The one way
in which he had
an Achilles heel
he could be trapped
was if the locals
would tattle on him.
And sure enough,
it's exposed.
David and his men
were in the wilderness.
Verse 25,
we read that
Saul and his men
went out to seek him
because the Ziphites
had told them
where they could find him.
And there's no way
that Saul
and all the army of Israel
that he summoned
to go help him,
there's no way
these 600 men
with the help
of the Ziphites
to aid Saul,
they can get away.
this wilderness
is described as
barren,
chalky hills
in the northeastern
Judean desert
that overlook
the Dead Sea.
Not a lot of wildlife here.
If you've been to the,
I think it's called
the paint caves
or something like that
in the southeast
of Colorado,
you can see this.
It's barren.
It's like a desert,
but then it drops down
into these ravines,
these little canyons,
and all kinds
of little places
to walk in and out
where the rock
has washed away.
And they tried
to keep their high ground
so they could see Saul
and his approaching army.
We read in verse 25,
when Saul and his men
went to seek him,
they told David,
and therefore he went
down to the rock
and stayed in the wilderness.
And when Saul heard that,
he pursued David
into this wilderness.
And then Saul
went on one side
of the mountain
and David and his
men went on the other side.
And don't picture
just a sloping hill
with grass.
I mean, picture
like rocky terrain.
Might have been
a steep wadi
or a ravine
on one side
and Saul on the other.
Because the terrain
was fractured,
some think that Saul
and his men
could even see
where David was,
but they couldn't
get to him quickly
of all the climbing
you had to do.
So David made haste
to get away from Saul,
for Saul and his men
were encircling David
and his men
to take them.
He really seems trapped now.
He's been found out.
And there's way too many
and even going back
and forth around this mountain
isn't enough.
They're coming
encircling on both sides.
And then in verse 27,
look what happens.
A messenger came to Saul.
God's timing and providence
is so perfect.
And he said,
hurry and come
for the Philistines
have invaded the land.
Remember how verse 1
of this chapter started?
The Philistines
were invading the land.
And this is how it ends.
And that's what God uses
to spare his anointed one.
Verse 28,
therefore Saul returned
from pursuing David
and went against
the Philistines,
the real enemy.
Matthew Henry
had this wonderful observation.
Now we find
why the prophet Gad
in the previous chapter,
remember,
gave David
this derine direction
and ordered David
to go into the land
of Judah,
into the woods of Judah.
And the men said,
no, it's more dangerous there.
Now we find out
why God was doing that
in hindsight.
It was so that
since Saul neglected
the public safety
of Israel,
God would still
take care of his people,
notwithstanding
the ill treatment
that was given him
for he must render
good for evil
and therein
be a type of him
who not only
ventured his life
but laid down his life
for those
who were his enemies.
God was overseeing
the salvation
of all Israel.
Saul wasn't using
the army of Israel
to fight off the Philistines.
It was David
and his men
that went and did it.
And God used
David as a bait
to bring Saul
and his armies
to Judah
where the Philistines
were going to invade.
And here now
we have a full army
and God turns them
to fight off
the Philistines.
See how the king
has no power.
It's God
who steers
the heart of the king
by his sovereign decree.
And they called
that place
the rock of escape.
Our Lord Jesus Christ
super intends
everything good
for his people
in the same way.
1 Corinthians 10, 13
reminds us
no temptation
must overtake you.
God is faithful.
He will not allow you
to be tempted
beyond what you are able
but with the temptation
will also make way
of escape
that you may be able
to bear it.
There may be times
in life
where the temptation
is so great
the suffering
the despair
is so great
and it feels like
being encircled
on all sides
and maybe betrayed
and just stuck
like there's
no hope for me
on my own.
And God promises
he will always
make a way
of escape.
He will always
spare and protect
and preserve
for his ultimate good
so that we do not stumble
and fall into sin.
And God gets
all the glory
for sparing us
in that.
We read in verse 29
then David went up
from there
and dwelt
in the strongholds
of En Gedi.
David was in these rocks
these strongholds
but more importantly
he was in God's hand.
God had proved that
over and over.
Our Lord Jesus Christ
does the same
for his church.
He proves
that we can trust
God.
We see the infinite
wisdom of God
in full display
on the cross
of Jesus Christ.
Our Lord Jesus
on the cross
he became the rock
the cornerstone
the foundation.
Like the hymn says
the rock of ages
cleft
struck
broken open
for me
to have a hiding place
in him
so we can hide
ourselves in Jesus.
He is the only
solid rock
the only refuge
in him alone
are we safe.
From our confession
one last time
God
sovereignly
governs
all
that comes
to pass
according
unto his
infallible
foreknowledge
and the free
immutable counsel
of his own will
to the praise
of the glory
of his wisdom
power
justice
infinite goodness
and mercy.
Brothers and sisters
we need to trust
God.
We need to trust
our loving
sovereign
Lord.
We need to trust
that he is arranging
all things
that happen
in purposeful
order.
He bestows
to each
whatever suits
his pleasure
which is for
your good
and for his glory.
He inclines
each mind
toward the choice
that serves
his grand
design.
He is conducting
guiding
and he will
authoritatively
determine
the final
outcome.
Amen.
Trust
the Lord.
He will
accomplish
all his
purposes
in your life
and mine
and in his
church.
All glory
be to God.
Let's pray.
Oh Lord
our faith
is weak.
We believe
but please
help our unbelief
help us
to trust
you
fully
Lord
to know
your presence
with your people
so that we
will one
day
by the
ministry of
your spirit
even if it's
in glory
be able to
look back
on your
providence
and see how
you always
accomplish
your purposes.
You are
always faithful.
We must
trust you
always.
Please help us
to do this
Lord by your
power
by Christ's
active obedience
being worked out
in our lives
by the powerful
ministry
of the Holy
Spirit we pray.
Amen.