Category: Sermons

Published August 16, 2021

David’s Compassion – Saul’s Paranoia

Last week, as we continued our study of 1 Samuel, we read about some of David’s darkest days. He had just fled from King Saul – leaving behind his friends and family – and was heading out to try to make sense of this new life as a fugitive.

His first stop was to visit Ahimelech the priest at the tabernacle – not to make sacrifices or offerings this time – but to gather supplies for the long journey ahead into exile. Ahimelech, of course had no idea that David was fleeing from Saul – and David made certain not to tell him. In fact, David outright lied about why he was even there – making up some story about being on a secret mission from the king.

But Ahimelech helped David in every way that he could, giving him the Bread of the Presence from the tabernacle (that was really only supposed to be eaten by the priest) as well as giving him the sword of Goliath that David had brought there some years earlier.

From there, David went to seek refuge in the Philistine city of Gath – the hometown of Goliath! Certainly the last place anyone would expect David to go! And at first, it seemed that the Philistine King Achish might welcome David as a defector, but the other Philistine officials did not think that was such a wise idea. After all, David was pretty much enemy #1 for the Philistines. Why should they trust him?

Well, once David got wind of what the Philistine officials were saying, he feared for his life and decided to pretend he was crazy – scratching on the doorways and drooling down his beard! When King Achish saw David’s bizarre behaviour, he sent him away (saying that he had more than enough madmen already!)

At that point, David fled to the cave of Adullum – where, according to Psalm 34, David cried out in desperation to the Lord for help.

Of course, God heard his prayers and answered him. Through it all, God protected and was with David, and was working out all things for good.

But of course, in the moment, David had a hard time seeing that. As he fled from Saul, and as he fled from Gath, and as he hid out in the cave of Adullam, he felt alone, forgotten, friendless, and helpless. They were some of David’s darkest days.

But as we begin chapter 22 today, we’ll see that David’s dark days will begin to get a little brighter.

Chapter 22 opens with David escaping from Gath and hiding out in the cave of Adullam. He arrives alone, as we’ve mentioned before, but it’s not long before he gets some company. So let’s read what happens. It says in verse 1 of 1 Samuel chapter 22:

So David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. Soon his brothers and all his other relatives joined him there. 2 Then others began coming—men who were in trouble or in debt or who were just discontented—until David was the captain of about 400 men.

3 Later David went to Mizpeh in Moab, where he asked the king, “Please allow my father and mother to live here with you until I know what God is going to do for me.” 4 So David’s parents stayed in Moab with the king during the entire time David was living in his stronghold.1 Samuel 22:1-4

So not long after David arrives at this cave of Adullam, soon a wide variety of people begin showing up.

First of all, we see that all of David’s brothers and relatives come to join him. And that’s almost a little surprising because David hasn’t always had a great relationship with the rest of his family. You’ll remember that when David was a kid, he was overlooked and forgotten about entirely as when Samuel invited their family to join him for a sacrifice. Everybody went but David was left with the sheep! Later on when he was a teenager and he showed up to visit his brothers at the battlefield, he was blasted by his older brother for being proud, deceitful, and selfish. So in the few glimpses we’ve seen of David’s family dynamics, we haven’t seem much evidence of support for David from his family.

But those glimpses did happen several years ago. Things may have changed over time as David grew to become a highly respected and successful commander in Saul’s army. Family relationships do tend to mature over time. So it could be that they’ve come to offer David their loyal support as his family.

The other possibility for why they’ve decided to come to David now is that Saul’s quest to capture David has threatened their lives as well!

If Saul is willing to kill his own family to get to David, he most certainly would be willing to kill David’s family! And so it could be that all of David’s family have come to him at this cave now because they too are fleeing for their lives!

Verse 3 & 4 seem to support that as David asks the King of Moab to keep and protect his parents while David tries to figure out what God is doing in all this! David must assume that their lives are in danger as long as Saul is hunting him, and so he makes a plan to keep them safely out of Saul’s reach in Moab.

But whether David’s brothers are just offering their loyal support as family or whether they too are fleeing for their lives, either way, it certainly makes sense that all of David’s relatives come to join him at the cave of Adullam.

But what about all these other people? Verse 2 tells us that “others began coming—men who were in trouble or in debt or who were just discontented—until David was the captain of about 400 men.”

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Published August 10, 2021

David’s Darkest Days

If you haven’t been with us for awhile, we are currently working our way through the book of 1 Samuel – specifically looking now at the life of David. For the past several weeks, we’ve been watching as the tension between King Saul and David has simmered, stewed, and has finally come to a boil! Ever since David became a war hero after slaying the Philistine giant, Goliath, Saul has grown increasingly jealous of David and has determined to kill him!

At first, Saul tried to keep it subtle – secretly plotting and scheming to have David killed in battle. But after that failed, Saul ramped up his efforts and is now actively and openly pursuing David – looking to capture him and put him to death.

Of course, David has been nothing but loyal to Saul the entire time. Throughout all of Saul’s subtle attempts to kill David, David has constantly given Saul the benefit of the doubt and has never raised a hand or even his voice against the king.

But it’s come to the point now that David has no choice but to flee from Saul. So last week we watched David say goodbye to his best friend Jonathan, and David heads off to begin his new life as a fugitive.

Jonathan returns to town and David… well, I’m not sure he knew where he was going to go. He couldn’t return home to his wife Michal Saul had already accused his daughter of helping David escape once — so I’m sure Saul had men stationed to carefully watch his daughter’s house, so David couldn’t go there. He couldn’t return to his father’s family – I’m sure that’s the 2nd place Saul would look. So where does David go?

Well, let’s find out! 1 Samuel chapter 21, verse 1 tells us that….

“David went to the town of Nob to see Ahimelech the priest.”

1 Samuel 1:1a

As David tries to figure out where he should go to escape the grasp of Saul, he decides to make his first stop in the town of Nob. Nob was just outside of Jerusalem and was known as the city of the priests – likely because it was the current home of the tabernacle. Over the years, as a mobile tent, the tabernacle had moved from one town to another within Israel, but at this point in history, the tabernacle was located in Nob. And since the tabernacle was there, that’s also where the priest Ahimelech lived – and that’s who David wanted to see. Let’s read on…

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Published August 2, 2021

David & Jonathan Affirming the Covenant

This morning we’re going to tackle a rather lengthly passage as we continue working our way through the book of 1 Samuel. There are 42 verses in 1 Samuel chapter 20, so I want to jump right into it, but first, let me help you get your bearings as to where we are in this story.

There are three main characters in this story today. First, there is King Saul – who is of course, the king of Israel. He has been repeatedly disobedient to God and so God has determined to give Saul’s kingdom to another man – a man who will do all that God wants him to do. And that man is David.

As it happens, David is Saul’s son-in-law and a commander in Saul’s army. He is still quite young, but has repeatedly proven himself to be not only a great warrior, but also a man of tremendous character and faith. As the Lord gives him success after success, all of Israel grows to love David! But as Israel grows to love David, Saul become increasingly jealousy and fearful of David. In fact, things have gotten so bad, that Saul has determined to kill David.

To date, Saul has attempted to pin David to the wall with his spear three times, he has plotted to have David killed by the Philistines at least twice, and he has recently called on his men (including his son Jonathan) to assassinate David!

But Jonathan (who is the third character in this story) is best friends with David! Even before David married Jonathan’s sister, Jonathan had sworn an oath and made a covenant with David – pledging his loyalty and friendship for the rest of his life! What’s more amazing is that, even though Jonathan is the oldest son of King Saul and is next in line to be king, Jonathan has acknowledged and fully supports that David will be the next king instead of him.

So all of this makes for some incredibly complicated relationships!

David is married to the king’s daughter, but the king wants him dead. The king’s son (David’s brother-in-law) has orders to kill David, but he has pledged an oath of loyalty to him. In the meantime, David has no idea why Saul is so determined to kill him and has remained by Saul’s side, faithfully serving him, despite repeated attempts by his father-in-law to run him through with a spear.

And you thought things were messed up in your family!

But all of this comes to a head in today’s chapter. The lines finally get drawn in the sand and everything comes out into the open. No more secret plots. No more charades. Everyone can finally see things for how they really are.

We are reading this morning in 1 Samuel chapter 20, starting at verse 1.

David now fled from Naioth in Ramah and found Jonathan. “What have I done?” he exclaimed. “What is my crime? How have I offended your father that he is so determined to kill me?”

1 Samuel 20:1

Understandably, David is bewildered as to why Saul is so determined to kill him. He has been nothing but loyal to Saul and has served him faithfully and successfully ever since they first met when David was just a lad. What’s more, Saul had been the one to encourage David to marry his daughters and become his son-in-law. So it seems really bizarre to David that Saul is now so desperate to kill him!

And so he asks Jonathan – what terrible thing have I done to your father that he is so determined to kill me!? verse 2…

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Published July 26, 2021

God’s Purposes Will Prevail

Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve been looking at the rise of David and the fall of Saul. As we’ve gone through 1 Samuel 18, we’ve seen how Saul’s jealousy of David has driven him to secretly plot the murder of his most successful military commander. We’ve seen three attempts by Saul to have David killed – and all the while, appearing to be David’s #1 fan!

His first attempt to kill David was probably the most difficult for Saul to appear innocent, as Saul whipped a spear at David, intending to pin him to the wall!

That doesn’t seem very subtle – but because of the tormenting spirit that had plagued Saul, this incident may have been brushed off as almost accidental – temporary insanity might be the claim. Of course, I don’t know exactly how Saul explained his actions that day, but he seemed to convince David to forgive and forget what he had done. And David, not one to hold a grudge, obliged and faithfully continued in Saul’s service.

Saul’s next scheme to kill David was a little less obvious. He offered David his daughter Merab as a wife, with the condition that David prove himself first by fighting the Lord’s battles. Of course, Saul hoped that one those battles would be the end of David – that David would be killed by the Philistines and then Saul wouldn’t have to do it himself!

However, David turned down Saul’s offer to marry Merab – stating in essence, that he was unworthy to be the king’s son-in-law. His family were simple sheep farmers, not royalty! And so David humbly declined Saul’s offer – thwarting Saul’s plan to have him killed by the Philistines – and thus Merab was given to someone else.

But then, Saul discovered that his other daughter Michal was in love with David. And so he made the offer again to David to become his son-in-law! But this time, Saul convinced some of his men to encourage David to accept the King’s offer! And to make things even easier for David – Saul declared that the only dowry or brideprice that he wanted was the death of his enemies – 100 Philistine foreskins would be enough!

Saul was sure that the mighty warrior David would take up this offer and in his attempts to kill 100 Philistines, Dave would surely be killed the fight!

However, Saul had forgotten to take into account the fact that God was with David and gave him success in everything he did! And as it happened, David and his men went out and killed 200 Philistines and David payed double Saul’s price to marry his daughter, Michal.

And so the chapter concludes with Saul’s plots being foiled yet again – and David having nothing but success and prosperity! Let me read those final verses of chapter 18 for you as we lead into chapter 19 today…

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Published July 19, 2021

Saul’s Schemes, Plots and Plans

For the last couple of weeks, we’ve been working our way through 1 Samuel chapter 18 – and we’re discovering that King Saul had quite a complicated relationship with David.

On one hand, David was his most successful military commander! Ever since David killed Goliath and began serving in Saul’s army – David has had nothing but success! No matter what Saul asked him to do – he did successfully! Whether he was playing the harp for Saul or leading the men into battle, David served Saul both faithfully and successfully.

But on the other hand, David’s success was increasingly concerning to Saul. Saul feared that people were starting to like David more than they liked him. David was becoming quite a popular celebrity… What if they decided to make David king instead of him?! Saul’s jealousy and fear had begun to undermine Saul’s relationship with David. In fact, it got so bad, that Saul determined to kill David!

Now of course, Saul can’t let on to anyone how badly he wants David dead! After all, everybody loves David! The officers in Saul’s army love David because he wins every battle. The people of Israel and Judah love David – even singing songs about how successful David is! Even Saul’s own son Jonathan is best friends with David and has made a lifelong pact with him to support David as the next King of Israel.

So how can Saul kill David without causing a riot in the streets, mutiny in his army, or ripping his family apart!?

The fact is, he had already attempted to kill David once and had failed. You’ll remember last week that we read in 1 Samuel 18, verse 10 & 11….

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Published July 12, 2021

Everybody Loves David

There was a tv show back in the late 90s called ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’. And the title of the show came from the fact that Raymond’s older brother, Robert, believed Raymond was unfairly favoured over him. The way he saw it, Raymond got the cake, and he just got the crumbs. Even in the eyes of their parents, everything Raymond did was wonderful and exciting, everything Robert did was lacklustre and mediocre. Raymond had a successful career, a great wife, and 3 wonderful kids – Robert still lived home with this parents. It seemed even life favoured Raymond over Robert.

And so, in the opening credits of the shows, Robert always remarks with the self-pity of Eeyore, “Everybody loves Raymond.”

And I mention that this morning because in our passage today, we’re going to see Saul take on that same attitude towards David. “Everybody loves David”.

If you were with us last week, you’ll remember how David had just returned from the battlefield after killing the Philistine giant, Goliath. Of course, David wasn’t even in the army at that time. He was just running some errands for his father and he overheard Goliath’s defiant boasting against the Lord and he just couldn’t believe that no one in the entire Israelite army (not even Saul himself) had the courage to fight Goliath and show the Philistines that the God of Israel was not Someone to triffle with!

And of course, you know the rest of the story. With just a sling and a stone, David takes out Goliath, allowing the Israelites to soundly defeat the Philistines and win a great victory for the Lord!

Then as we saw last week, when David returned from the battlefield – with Goliath’s head still in his hands – he spends some time talking with Saul and his son Jonathan.

And both of them are incredibly impressed with David – especially Jonathan. It seems that David & Jonathan were kindred spirits – men cut from the same cloth. And so Jonathan, a seasoned man of war and next in line for the throne of Israel, takes this young kid under his wing and makes a pact with David. And while we aren’t given the details of this pact, it’s clear through the rest of the story that this is a pledge of loyalty and support and lifelong friendship between David and Jonathan.

Perhaps most amazingly, through this pact, we see that Jonathan whole-heartily accepts the Lord’s decision that David will be the next king, instead of him – and Jonathan acknowledges this by giving David his robe, his tunic, his sword, his belt, and his bow. It’s an amazing act of servant leadership. Jonathan willingly does this because of his trust in the Lord and because of his love for David.

And that’s about as far as we got last week. Today we’re going to continue to see how life rapidly changed for David in the aftermath of his victory over Goliath – and we’re going see how Saul’s view of David also changed just as rapidly.

It doesn’t take long for Saul to bemoan the fact that “everybody loves David.”

To get us into our passage this morning, let’s start once more at the top of 1 Samuel chapter 18. This will be a bit of a review since we covered this last week, but the chapter begins like this:

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