Brothers and sister, thank you for leading us that wonderful time. We're so blessed to have such fine musicians at our church serving joyfully and serving both Sundays and midweeks. It's almost like a full-time pastor's role there. Thank you, brothers, and thank you, our sister. And we thank the Lord for you all. It's good to see all of you here tonight. I just want to share a quick praise report from Santiago. Brother Pedro has just sent me an email and said that he had another opportunity to teach. And so already, I believe that the Lord is giving confirmation to Pedro's teaching ministry there. He's already been invited. He's been there for, what, a month? but he's already been invited to preach and teach. And so we just thank the Lord for the opportunities, and we trust that the Lord will give him greater opportunities, as he is a gift from the Lord to the people of Chile and the Latin American ministries. And just to have a heart of a shepherd, a heart of an evangelist, a trained and gifted teacher, confirm through various different people and to be sent, um, you know, and we feel so blessed to to know and that our brother Pedro is being wonderfully used by the Lord there. And so we thank the Lord for the opportunities that God is giving him. But in that opportunity, we also realize that there's a spiritual warfare. Enemy doesn't want the progress of the gospel. They don't want people in darkness to have the light of Christ shine upon them. And so we need to pray and ask the Lord to give Pedro continual boldness, but also that the Lord would get rid of all the the obstacles so that Pedro will have open access to souls. So with that and with the work of the missions and with this winter season coming along with our short-term team being sent to Taiwan, we have much to lift up prayers. Let's go to the Lord together as we intercede on behalf of the saints. Gracious Heavenly Father, we do thank you for your Son as we celebrate you and celebrate the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ during this season. We're reminded of your great love toward undeserved sinners, your incredible compassion, your condescending grace. We thank you that through the millennia you have left the divine fingerprints all over history and you have given us your eternal word that testifies of your love to every generation. You have been faithful to unfaithful men. You have been gracious to selfish and egotistical sinful human beings. You have poured out your mercies upon those who deserve none and who deserve rather your wrath. We thank you that you are a gracious, merciful, loving God. who works out your divine plans and glorious purposes, that we might behold your greatness, your character. You are not only the great and mighty creator of the universe, but you are the giver of the best gifts and the gift of your Son, whom you have sacrificed for your people. We thank you for also calling us into the gospel ministry, and you propel us in our spheres of influence, in our neighborhoods, and in our society here, but also to partner up with brothers and sisters who labor in the gospel ministry. We thank you for Pedro and Carol as we think of them, as we reflect upon the opportunities you've given him. We rejoice, we give praise, and we delight in the fact that You are opening doors for the gospel for him, confirming his teaching gifts and giving him ability to communicate your truth to ready hearts. We pray that you would send your spirit and that you would prepare soils for the tilling and the sowing of the Word of God and that you would remove all obstacles so there will be a straight path for Pedro and continual ministry. We know that there will be a spiritual warfare through which you will manifest your power and your glory and a greater dependence of Pedro and Carol upon you in prayer. And so we join with them and we lift them up to you and we ask for a spirit of boldness, your spirit of wisdom, and that you would continue to increase Pedro's knowledge and depth of the Word of God and the theological foundations from which he will spring forth into every sermon, every Bible study, every apologetic and every evangelistic opportunity that there would be a deep-seated and rooted sound doctrine that would come forth and that it would be clothed with humility and with power of a holy life. So we pray for the Ochoas, we pray for their effectiveness. We also thank you for giving us and our church the opportunity to send a delegation to Taiwan again this winter. We pray for our short-term team, even though they're in a compressed schedule, we ask that you would glorify the ministry of your son, glorify him. and in the proclamation of the gospel there will be souls prepared and ready to be impacted. We thank you for the souls and the people that are contacted during our short-term missions and we ask that you would grant the Gears and EBCT family to reach out to these new contacts even after the winter break. Father, as we reflect back upon your faithfulness this past year, we marvel at the way that you preserved us, that you have nourished us, and that you have kept us together, continually proclaiming Christ. You have kept the doors of the Gospel open here in Berkeley, and you have given us the mission field where students are being led to Christ, and where people are hearing the good news of the Gospel. And we thank you for the ongoing progress of the gospel ministry. We give you praise and thanksgiving for your faithfulness, even though we lack faithfulness and we are often not very faithful, we are weak and feeble, but we thank you for your great strength and that you, for your own glory and your power, you set your people aside for your good works. And we thank you and we praise you. We also lift up our brothers down in Orange County and Silicon Valley that you would strengthen them and allow them to continue to progress on toward holiness and good deeds will overflow and that they might glorify you and the people who are impacted by the ministry will be honoring you and worshiping you. Father, we pray for the future of the ministry of the gospel. As long as you've given us opportunities and access, help us to seize them and trust you for them. We pray for open doors of Bible churches being planted, not only here in California, but also in Seoul. and whether it be a gathering of the elect and gathering of healthy believers around the gospel ministry and that you would also plant a missions agency that would aim for North Korea. Lord we hear news of great internal turmoil in North Korea We pray that you would cause the government to Collapse internally that the gospel doors would be open the iron curtain coming down and that you would give people Access so that the gospel will be preached and souls one in these latter days We know Lord that and the gospel of the of the gospel will be preached to all the nations and we pray that you would open the doors of these darkened nations so that the gospel ministry would continue, and the gospel penetration would be felt in North Korea. Those are souls that are hungering for freedom. And we thank you for the blessing of our fellowship here tonight, and we thank you for our daily bread that you give to us, and in the word of God that we have in daily access, and we thank you for our midweek fellowships as we come together to meditate upon your word, and to think of eternal things and remove ourselves from the temporary busyness that keeps our eyes focused on the things of this world so that we may think of things that are above and that we may prepare our hearts for eternity. Lord, would you lift us up and teach us how to live as kingdom citizens in this world, even though we are not of this world, but we are in it. So give us wisdom and insight that we might live unto your glory. And would you also allow the Word of God to feed our soul? And if there is a lack of spiritual appetite in us, would you renew that appetite as you restore the joy of your salvation and the hunger of the spiritual nourishment that we so desperately need? And we give you praise and thanksgiving through Jesus Christ, our Lord, for our time of study and worship tonight. In Jesus' name. Amen. Well, brothers and sisters, I don't know if you have been sensing or noticing that those of you who come to the midweek Bible study, you're studying the suffering section of the Lord's anointed. And Sunday, through our gospel exposition, you're also studying the suffering section of the Lord's anointed. And we have gone through the passion narratives and now we're at the crucifixion. And from time to time in the ministry of the word, not by design or by choice, but by some sort of a providential calendar, the Lord helps us to intersect these things so that he gives us the same message in a kind of a mirroring perspective. And this is a wonderful time where we realize that the Holy Spirit is helping us to focus on what is truly important, what is truly necessary. And I pray that you who come faithfully, not only for a corporate gathering on Sunday, but during the midweeks, that you would be led by the Holy Spirit of God to greatly increase in your joy and the depth of your understanding and the greater love for your Savior, who through His Spirit, who is now demonstrating to you what He wants you to see. And this is one of those moments where we have series of weeks where the themes intersect. And here we come to 1 Samuel chapter 24, which necessarily connects thematically and historically from chapter 23 that we have studied. So have your Bibles open. And I would like for us to read this in two segments, and Lord willing, next week we're going to look at the second half, but tonight we're going to look at 1 Samuel chapter 24, verses 1 to 11. So have your Bibles open and stand with me for the reading of God's Word. Last week we witnessed the providential work of the Lord in allowing David to narrowly escape at that very close call when Saul seemed like he was closing in on David and ready to get into a military conflict. This week, we're going to see another setting where it is really, really close. But this time, the Lord providentially leads Saul into David's hands. Let's see what happens there. This is the reading of God's Word. 1 Samuel chapter 24, beginning with verse 1. Now when Shaul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, saying, Behold, Dawid is in the wilderness of Ein Gedi. Then Sha'ul took 3,000 chosen men from all Israel and went to seek Dawid and his men in front of the rocks of the wild goats. He came to the sheepfolds on the way where there was a cave, and Sha'ul went in to relieve himself. Now Dawid and his men were sitting in the inner recesses of the cave. A man of Dawid said to him, 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. Then Dawid arose and cut off the edge of Sha'ul's robe secretly. It came about afterward that Dawid's conscience bothered him because he had cut off the edge of Shaul's robe, so that he 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. Dawid persuaded his men with these words, and did not allow them to rise up against Shaul. And Shaul arose, left the cave, and went on his way. Now afterward, Dawid arose, and went out of the cave, and called after Shaul, saying, My lord the king! And when Shaul looked behind him, Dawid bowed with his face to the ground, and prostrated himself. Dawid said to Shaul, Why do you listen to the words of men, saying, Behold, Dawid 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." And we'll pause there. Please be seated. Well, in this passage, there's multiple lessons to learn. In the experience of the Lord's anointed, we find a parallel experience in the servants of the Lord's anointed. That would be you and me. That would be the apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ. It would be every Christian in every generation would have to discern what the will of the Lord is in circumstances where he providentially leads and guides us to an opportunity that we may properly interpret the opportunity that is pleasing the Lord. And there is a powerful lesson here for each one of us But before we apply these things, let us take a look and see where David's experiences intersect with the Lord's anointed, the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. As we see that the road to the pilgrimage to glory is paved with the bricks of suffering. That's the hallmark of the earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ, the anointed one. It's vividly portrayed in the life and times of David. If you study 1 Samuel, then you are actually studying the life and times of the Lord Jesus Christ depicted through this very elaborate, developed person. What was true about David is also, in a greater part, true of the Lord Jesus Christ. So David becomes a foreshadowing figure to the New Testament Mashiach. David is the Lord's anointed. He is THE representative. And the Kingdom of God is Israel. And so is the Lord Jesus Christ. He came and preached the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. And so the themes are identical. People and characters change, but the themes are identical. And so David represents the Lord's anointed, Lord Jesus Christ. His personal experience is more than just an individual experience. It was his personal experience, but it was to be seen in the greater David of the Lord Jesus Christ. So as the Lord's anointed, We scratch our heads and saying, well, why did God then pour the oil of anointing, consecrate him, and set him apart from everybody else as to be the shepherd king of Israel at such an early age? Then we see God's purposes and plans. That God first anoints David and then intends for David to go through decades of suffering and difficulty before he enters into his throne. And that's a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is already coronated. The Lord Jesus is already anointed. He is the King of kings, the Lord of lords. But is he reigning now? Everywhere in every soul is all the universe subjected to him And the answer is no he has all authority and rule But he doesn't exercise it fully here and now because this is not his kingdom He said He's not of this world. His kingdom is coming. And so this is what the writer of Hebrews says in Hebrews chapter 2 verse 8, He has all authority and power and yet not all things are subjected to Him. And that's very important for us in our understanding of New Testament theology. When we cry out to God in the midst of our suffering, why do you allow your anointed? Why do you allow your people? Why do you allow your sheep to suffer? Why is the consummation of the kingdom so far away? And this is the kind of anguish that we all have. But in the all-wise, sovereign methodology of glorifying the Lord's anointed through His purposes of suffering, we learn some important lessons that we would not learn if things were easy and quick and short. Saul could fail in multiple attempts to kill David and would live another day to attack David. If David messes up one time, he slips one time, that's the end of his life. And so in this very dangerous, persecution-ridden journey of life, David now becomes completely dependent, not partially dependent, completely dependent on the Lord. It is no longer the anointing, it is no longer his courage, it is no longer his skills, it is dependence upon the Lord. And he becomes the most dependent ruler that Israel has ever known. And so, for David, to depend on the Lord is to live, is to sustain his life. And when we see the Lord Jesus Christ, even though He had all power, glorious power, yet He doesn't exercise them independently. He trusts and depends on the Lord. And the Lord, our Father, through the Holy Spirit, empowers the Lord Jesus Christ with spurts of divine activity. And so that in those times that we see the great power and the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so had it not been for the Lord's diversion, David would be dead, of course, but the Lord won't allow his anointed to experience decay, to experience failure, because God has glorious purposes for him. But many times David felt like that he was at the edge of death. David felt the anguish and the pain of death constantly, yet he didn't die. He lived. But his living experiences were like death through the valley of the shadow of death, and then the resurrection that the New Testament talks about. That can only be possible for the Lord Jesus Christ. It can't be possible for David. And so in his experience, he experienced the death. And then he experienced the glory of the resurrection. So Saul was that counterpart to David. Saul's purpose is to be the nemesis for David. And this is what we discover about Satan too. Why does God allow Satan to still operate? Even though Jesus crushed him, defeated him at the cross, all authority and power has been given to the Lord Jesus, why is Satan still active? And of course, he serves an important purpose. It's the same purpose why David is anointed, but Saul is still in charge of this kingdom, the earthly kingdom, the kingdom of darkness. David and his followers belong to the kingdom of light of the Lord. Now chapters 24, 25, and 26 are woven through a common thread of the theme of David's patience, his self-control, and his waiting on the Lord's promises to be fulfilled. In other words, David submits fully to the Lord's methodology, and he does not employ his own methodology, nor does he listen to popular opinion. This is highlighted in these three chapters. David's refusal to take vengeance upon hostile Saul brings out the godly character of the Lord's anointing. It brings out the mercifulness and his compassion. Chapters 24 and 26 are virtual mirror images, where chapter 25 is sandwiched between these two chapters. So in these three chapters, David learns God's ways, which are higher than his. David has to forego the righteous indignation and justified revenge, but he doesn't take vengeance. And he leaves vengeance to the Lord, and as the scripture says, vengeance is mine, saith the Lord. David refuses to take matters into his own hands. This is where every Christian must learn that when an opportunity for you to take righteous vengeance upon those who persecute you comes, it is an opportunity for believers to practice compassion and mercy, not justice. Because mercy triumphs over justice. And if we learn this lesson well, then you are going to be more Christ-like at that moment than ever before. When we pray, forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, in the disciples' prayer, we are saying to God that since you have forgiven us, help us to forgive others. We're more godly. when we mercifully practice Christ-like character here. So in these chapters, David learns God's ways are higher. In these chapters, we're going to learn about the Lord's anointed and what God did in his heart, what David did when he faced his enemy. In this green light of God's vengeance and the temptation to expedite the path to the throne, And when moral test of faithfulness comes, what will David do and what will he not do? There's a cost to acting and not acting. In this chapter, we're going to learn important lessons of mercy triumphing over justice. And so I've appropriately titled this section, Mercy Triumphs Over Justice. Now I formulate a couple of thought-provoking questions to help us to navigate through the passage, helping us to discover the dominant theme of faith in the midst of suffering, which is the key to strength. of faith that produces mercy that triumphs over justice. Now what do you do when opportunities test your faith? What do you do when opportunities test your faith? Because Saul's entrance into the very cave that David and his men were, were an opportunity. And there are men who are opportunistic. They will seize every opportunity to benefit the self. That's not David's modus operandus. He sought the opportunity to glorify God. And that is the answer. Look at verses 1 to 7. Saul doesn't seem to lack any military intel. He receives intel about David's whereabouts and regarding the location of David. Now when Saul returned from pursuing the Philistine, that opening phrase tells us that Saul was successful in defeating the Philistine aggression. Or shall we say the Lord was faithful to deliver Israel. Just because God uses someone as wicked and evil as Saul does not mean God is blessing Saul. And Saul made that critical mistake by thinking that people who disobey the Word of God are actually being blessed by God. Saul's intel comes from the field, consistently good intel. David and his followers have been sighted in the wilderness of Ein Gedi, the spring of the goats. And so he decides to prepare to go over there. Verse 2 says, Saul took 3,000 chosen men. 3,000. Now look at the phrase chosen men there. These are crack soldiers, best fighters in the land. We saw from the tribe of Benjamin in Judges chapter 20 verse 16, out of these people 700 choice men were left-handed. Each one could sling a stone at a hair and not miss. Interesting. Saul was a Benjamite. And he's from Gibeah. So are these men from Gibeah. They went against and defeated a coalition army of Israel in Judges chapter 20. So, these 3,000 crack, shall we say, special forces of Saul went against David's ragtag bunch of 600 misfits. And even in number you have a 5 to 1 ratio. But Saul had chosen his best men to go against David, but the Lord has chosen his anointed to prevail. And that's what this entire passage is about. If you look at this in a military fashion, there's no way David and his men have a chance. But if you look at it from the vantage point of God's power and protection, then there's no way Saul could win. And that's the entire passage. There is no way that the kingdom of darkness can overpower the Lord's anointed. And that's the confidence that the Lord gives to the reader. And so the Israelites who read this in their own history would identify with David and not with Saul. And they could trust the Lord during dark times. and not capitulate, because David becomes a shining beacon of an example of that who's faithful, and they can identify with him. Now, he was found there, and he goes to rocks of the wild goats. That phrase says it all. The terrain is goaty, as mountain climbers would say. It's rough terrain. It is a stronghold. But David and his men Will they be able to defend themselves even they hide out here against Saul's superior forces? Let's find out. Verse 3, He came to the sheepfolds on the way, unaware of the danger of the situation and the stealth of David and his men. Saul walks now right into the danger zone, if you will. It says where there was a cave and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now the detailed explanation of the location, it's even named here. to the sheepfolds on the way, where there was a cave. Now, this is a location of the bathroom or the latrine. Toilet. This is not what we expect to find in historical narrative. Most of us need to take bathroom breaks throughout the day. When nature calls, we have to go. And Saul must have taken several of these breaks throughout his wilderness pursuits. He's out, you know, if nature calls, you have to do your business wherever it is. Bible doesn't contain too many of these details, thankfully. The Word of God spares us. But somehow, inspired by the Holy Spirit, These details are given. Why? They're embarrassing, they're tedious, but we have the full detail. Why? Well, let's walk into the bathroom with the narrative here and see what happens. And Saul went in to relieve himself. We know that this is not number one, but this is number two. Which means that Saul would have taken some time to relieve himself. And that term here, to relieve himself, it's an action verb with the Lamed, which means to relieve. That's basically what it says, to relieve. Now this term is used of the Moabite king Eglon when he probably kind of went number two anywhere he wanted in the palace because this is what Judges chapter 3 verse 24 says, When he had gone out, his servants came and looked, and behold, the doors of the roof chamber were locked. And they say, Oh, he's only relieving himself in the cool room. They say, Oh, he's just taking a bathroom break. Now, that same verb is used here, slightly different form, the same verb. By the genius providential leading of the Lord, Saul's bowels must have started acting up soon as he came to the sheepfolds and there was a cave. Normally, psychologically, when we have to go, we usually go to the nearest one. And there are just hundreds of caves in this area. But it must have been a slight incline. Private enough for him to climb up there, but it's not like a mountain climb. So it was a slight incline. Nearest cave, he just happened to go in there. And when he went in there, in the deep recesses, David and his men were hiding out. This is exactly the cave that Saul decides to go. He did what we would all do. Go to the nearest bathroom for a break. He didn't know that there were dangerous men, he thought. The very one that David and his men were hiding. Is that coincidence? Well, I don't think you need to go to seminary to discern. That's not coincidence. Bible readers are led to see this. That is fascinating. Every Hebrew person who lived in Palestine would have gone and visited this famous place where David head out from Saul, Ein Gedi. And even Gentiles like me can go over there and visit. And it's a steep incline. And then you will find a pool. And on both sides of the wall, you see caves, natural caves, even still to this day. Now, David and his men were sitting in the inner recesses of the cave. God's providence works in wonderful, mysterious ways that we cannot fathom. You can see the mysterious hand of God guiding Saul to go into that bathroom break at this time. Now, what would David do under these ideal circumstances? Now here is the proposal of his men, proposal to kill the enemy in verse four. The men of David said to him, behold, this is the day which the Lord said to you. Can you hear the singing? This is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made, that the Lord has made. Now there's a chorus going on with their whispering in the back. Behold, I'm about to give your enemy into your hand. Now how do these men interpret this? Because they have gotten that revelation through the ephod, through the urim and thummim, to ask the Lord, do we go to relieve Caleb from the Philistines? And the Lord says, yes, I will deliver them into your hands. That's exactly what happened in 1st Samuel 23, 4. Look there. David inquired of the Lord once more, and the Lord answered him and said, Arise, go down to Caleb, for I will give the Philistines into your hand. Now those are exact words. Now you substitute Philistines with Saul and you have the same thing what the men say. For the men, there is no big difference. Philistines, enemy of Israel. Saul, enemies of Israel. That is not a problem for them. In their mind, there is no difference. There was an equal sign. It was natural for them to think this way about Saul. He was the reason why they were miserable. But would David listen to that interpretive counsel? Would he listen? Let's take a look. Then David arose and cut off the edge of Saul's robe secretly. Now that phrase tells us that initially David went with a temptation to do something. And here we find that we don't see the significance of this, but cutting off a small piece of one's robe is a symbolic way of saying, I'm going to transfer the kingship. into my hands." Now, you say, well, how in the world did you get that? Well, take a look at 1 Samuel 15. Remember what happened when Saul ripped Samuel's robe by clinging to him at Gilgal? 1 Samuel 15 verse 27 to 28 says, As Samuel turned to go, Saul seized the edge of his robes, and it tore. So Samuel said to him, The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today, and has given it to your neighbor, who is better than you. Furthermore, the verb here, it says cut. That word cut is used metaphorically as well as literally. Metaphorically, it can mean to eliminate, or root out, or destroy, as in the first usage of this verb appears in Genesis 9, verse 11. I will establish my covenant with you, and all flesh shall never again be cut off by the water of the flood, neither shall there again be flood to destroy the earth. That's what the Lord said using this Hebrew verb, karat. Now you see how the verb refers to destruction through the flood in Genesis 9, 11? Now look at the way it is used here. Then David arose and cut off the edge of Saul's rope secretly. Let's come back to see why David's conscience was so bothered because it says here. What could have been the reason for his conscience being burdened? Remember, David had made a covenant with Jonathan, where Jonathan said to David in 1 Samuel 20, you can go there, verse 15, you shall not cut off your loving-kindness. There's that Hebrew verb, qarat again, from my house forever, not even when the Lord cuts off, there's that same verb, every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth. Now you see what's happening here. David made a covenant with Jonathan. David was bothered in his conscience because he had taken a small step of cutting off David's enemy. David considered this cutting off a small part of Saul. It may be in a symbolic way of saying, you are not in full control, Saul. God is. He handed you over to my hand and I'm going to teach you a lesson that you are not in control. That was the initial impulse of David. He never intended to cut Saul's throat. He just wanted to teach Saul a lesson. But even after he cut it off and he came back to his men, his conscience was stricken. How can I do this so lightly when I made a covenant with God? How can I expedite this thing when He's the Lord's anointed? I didn't tremble when I did this. I should have. I can't just treat the Lord's anointed this way. What am I doing, David? This is the kind of conscience issue that David had. Later, Abigail would reason with David similarly, saying that if David would kill Nabal and his men out of anger because they mistreated David so badly, David's ego was bruised and he was infuriated, he was going to kill Nabal and do away with this fool. Abigail said, if you do that, the guilt from needless bloodshed will be upon your conscience. Abigail was a very wise woman. She appealed to David's inner heart and saying, you don't want this on your conscience. You don't want this as part of your personal history. You don't want this on your record and your resume because the Lord has anointed you. You will be king one day and you don't want this background. And David said, you are wise. Thank you for sparing me from this act. How important is a clear conscience for Lord's people? Now, I don't know if you've thought about this, but have you thought about how stealthy and how skilled you have to be to sneak behind somebody who's taking a bathroom break to cut off a part of his clothing without making him feel anything, without making him hear anything? That tells you that David was a skillful warrior. He could have killed Saul at that moment. It is not an issue of opportunity. But David didn't. And there's a lesson here for us. The opportune moment initially was a temptation for David. It would be a shortcut to end his misery, to expedite the inevitable ascendancy to the throne and even help his fellow countrymen who are following him to end their suffering as well. But that's not the course David took. Now, what's the interpretation for this opportunity? We've learned the interpretation of David's followers. They said, this is the day that the Lord has given. He's promised you to deliver your enemies. He's already fulfilled it. Here's yet another opportunity. He has placed your enemy right into your hand. This is the Lord's doing. He wants you to finish the job. That was their interpretation. Now look at David's interpretation, verse 6. So he 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 understood something profound about God's dealing with men that he has chosen. God had anointed Saul through Samuel the prophet, but even though Saul had been replaced by David, the Lord didn't remove Saul. but was using Saul for God's sovereign purposes. Sure, God promised David the kingdom. David was the future king. But David knew and believed that it was not in his place to expedite God's purposes. Later on, one of David's own sons tried to do that. He usurped that power. His name was Absalom. And when we study that in 2 Samuel, and you will see why he was accursed. You will see why he was defeated. You will see. But here, David refuses. He refuses to stretch out his hand against the Lord's anointed. There's something in David's mind that says, this is very special. This is important. God had set this man apart above everybody else. There's a special ceremony that God had given just for this man and no one else. That he's consecrated. That he has a special role in Israel. And I cannot violate that. I can't play God. And this was David's mentality. David believed that God's kingdom was not to be taken by human power and human will. In other words, David recognized that he had to wait for God to deal with his anointed. David didn't anoint him. God did. Therefore, it's not in David's realm. This is not David's business. Therefore, he can't expedite this. David was a student of the Torah, the law of God. Which indicates that both Miriam and Aharon, the two older siblings of Moses, contested Moses' leadership. God showed up suddenly. He judged Miriam, gave her leprosy. And Aaron was struck with fear and pleaded for Moses to pray on her behalf. And she was sent out of the camp, which means humiliation. And then she was only brought back through ceremonial cleansing. There was also Korah, a Levite, and his rebellion. It led over 200 men to go against Moses. In both cases, God judged them. And so having this in Israel's history in the Torah, David knew that if you oppose God's plan and try to expedite and do things your way, it's not the will of God. The kingdom was granted. to Saul by God, and God hadn't taken it fully back yet. David was willing to wait upon the Lord's timing and the Lord's methods. That's what this verse 6 tells you. This is how he interpreted the whole situation. Yes, the Lord had delivered Saul into my hands, but it is not the Lord's intention for me to kill him. That takes faith. That takes tremendous patience. And willingness to suffer long. This is a long-suffering, enduring perspective. That's what's needed to submit to God's purposes. That's what our Lord Jesus did in the wilderness when temptation from Satan came to him to circumvent the suffering that was in his public ministry. Circumvent the cross, circumvent all these things. He could just bow down once and Satan said, I will give you all the kingdoms. The Lord said, no. Rather He would face the cross. He would go to Gethsemane and suffer. And the temptation to flee the sufferings was right there. The cross was right there. That day the Lord Jesus would be crucified. It was that close. And yet Jesus said, Thy will be done, not mine. And He went to the cross. He would rather endure the suffering rather than circumvent or take shortcuts. And we need to do the same thing. There is no God-honoring expediency which undermines God's holy character and His word and His will revealed in the Word of God. What's fascinating about this study is there is nothing directly revealed by God that is verbatim, word by word, a command. In other words, David did what he did based on principles that he knew. Because the Bible does talk about vengeance. Bible does talk about retribution. And yet David recognized that the principle of the Lord anointing, Lord separating, Lord judging, a special people for his purposes, that's up to the Lord, it's not up to David. And so David does what he does, not by a direct command, but based on the principles that he draws from the Bible. That tells you how biblical he was, and even at this stage of his life. So that's how David thought. But could he convince his followers to go along with his own personal interpretation? Let's take a look. Verse 7 tells us that. Here's David's persuasion to spare the enemy. This is what the Lord Jesus taught us to do. To pray for our enemies. To love those who persecute us. And so passionate whispers deep inside the caves are now being exchanged between David and his followers. David convenes a council where opposing interpretations clash. But David prevails over the interpretation of the majority. All the majority say, are you kidding? This is the day. You may not get another opportunity. If you let Saul go, you think he's going to just stop? He's going to come back and finish the job. If you don't finish this job, let us finish the job. That's the kind of conversation that's going on inside the cave. Verse 7, David persuaded his men with these words and did not allow them to rise up against Saul. An unusual term is employed here to describe David's speech to his followers. That word is translated here in the English as persuaded. That word is shassa. And that only appears 10 times in the entire Old Testament. 8 out of those 10 times describe ceremonial religious context of severing or splitting. So it's like severing a wing off of a bird or splitting the hoof in context with regurgitation. So dividing hooves or chewing the cut. That's found in Leviticus and in Deuteronomy, mostly. A ninth appearance is in Judges chapter 14 verse 6, describing Samson's act of tearing a lion with his bare hands in strength. He just rips the lion in half. That's the word there. So on the one hand it says he tore, on the other hand here it says it's translated persuaded. Why? Because this is the only reference where this verb, shesah, is referenced to people. Everything else is to animals. Here, it's referenced to people. He split them up. That's literally the Hebrew rendering. So, we have to carefully interpret that verse and understand this as being divided. Split up. What did David do? He split up the unity of the people's opinion to kill Saul. In other words, David began to win the people over to his side. There's one against the majority, but he won them over. It could have been in stages, one by one. He reasoned with them in saying, this is the Lord's anointed. How would you like it if God sends me to the throne and there is a rebellion, a group like you, who feel justified in killing me? Would you support it? This is the kind of thinking that fleshes itself out in one's apologetic as well as in one's life. David must have employed combination of truth, righteousness, submission to God's will, as well as forceful, strong rhetoric to put down opposing view. That's the kind of leadership that the Lord's anointed demonstrates. In other words, we do not see a diplomatic means whatsoever. David is committed to his ways. And he's going to lead the men to his perspective. He is forceful. That's what this word shows. He split them up. He is not counting votes. He is insisting that they give up their ideas and adopt his. It's a strong authoritative pressing appeal which forces the view forward against opposition. Why? Because David is certain that the majority opinion and interpretation is wrong, and he is certain that the will of God is not to touch the Lord's anointed. This is the description that we have of David's strong, courageous leadership that can stand up to majority opinion. But how was God's will to be discerned? David understood the principle of allowing God's will to prevail, not submitting to man's ways. Since God had anointed Saul and consequently separated him, It's up to God. He had to convince this, though, to his men. The practical application of the principle is strong, forceful convincing of those who disagree, and practical application of this principle, as David practiced, was to show mercy to one who didn't deserve it. Now, it takes tremendous powers of convincing, and we see the wisdom of David's speech here. David demonstrates Christ-like character of showing love and mercy to his enemies, and he convinces his followers to submit to that. Now, we all know what happens to David in the situation. If the situation would be reversed, we would all see Saul choosing the opportunity that, oh, this is what God has done. And this is the kind of interpretation that we saw in the previous chapter. He thanked the treacherous citizens of that city that volunteered to hand David over. He thanked them saying, may the Lord bless you. He's the one who would quickly pick up the knife and stab David right in the back. But David is not to seize this tactical advantage. So David allowed Saul to arise, and as I said, he left the cave and went on his way. So he's now, he's done his business, he's walking down the hill to meet up with the rest of his troops. The opportunity to take vengeance has passed. Whatever David wanted to do, now he cannot do. Now the reader is set up for two amazing speeches, which give meaning to the event of the bathroom at Ein Gedi. And when God delivers your enemy into your hands, you seize the opportunity to take vengeance or to practice mercy. Well, that's an application for us to think about. What is natural instinctive to us? This is our enemy we're talking about. Because of Saul, David's life is miserable. Because of Saul, David's ascendancy to the throne is hindered. What will we do? What have we learned from the Lord's ministry to His enemies? Are we developing a heart of mercy, compassion toward those who deserve wrath? So what will be the evidence of faith and trust in the Lord in the midst of important life-changing decisions? All right, let's answer that question. Verse 8 to 11, now afterward, David arose and went out of the cave and called after Saul. So here's the scene where Saul is right in between David and reaching the troops. He's on his way down from the cave in the main road. And David now, with that distance, calls after Saul. My Lord, Saul! My king, Saul turned and looked behind him. He wasn't ready for what he would witness. David bowed down his face to the ground and prostrated himself. Taking the posture of humility and submission, David sends a powerful message of peace and goodwill. Verse 9, David says to Saul, could conjure up this evil idea himself. In other words, this is an indirect way of striking at the conscience of Saul. He blames David's poor counselors, because if they're wise counselors, even if King wanted to do this, they should oppose him and saying, this is not the will of the Lord, my King. You should not do this. And so he blames the counselors indirectly to show that David's thinking is innocent. He can't even fathom the fact that his father-in-law, his king whom he serves, would ever want to kill him. David cannot entertain the fact that Saul would independently pursue his own beloved loyal son-in-law in a murderous pursuit. It had to be influenced by others. This is how David addresses it. It's a very wise, indirect way of addressing someone's evil. Verse 10, Behold, this day your eyes have seen that the Lord had given you today into my hand in the cave, David appeals to the objective fact that even Saul had personally witnessed. Because he's turning around from the mouth of that very cave where he took his bathroom break, is standing David. He's not a phantom. He didn't just climb up there for no reason. He was there from the very beginning. That's the fact. And so David calls Saul to recognize providence, the Lord's providence. The Lord had given you today into my hand. You see the word hand, yad, appearing multiple times, seven times in the previous chapter and multiple times here already. You see who is in control. That's the idea. You don't have to go into Bible college to see that God is at work. And so recognition of providence first, and then He says, and some said to kill you. That's rejection of persuasion. David says, some people urged me to finish you off. But the persuasive urging of David's followers were overridden. The fact that you are walking away alive means that I did not listen to them. I overrode. their counsel. David appeals to the objective fact that he was counseled to kill Saul, but in his heart was pity. He literally says in his eyes here, but it's italicized, but I had pity on you. Thirdly, David appeals to the subjective decision of the will not to destroy Saul because of David's reverence for the Lord's anointed. That's restraining, prevention on David's part. Restraining prevention. Revenge was prevented because principle of restraint was practiced by David. David did not give in to his impulses, but practiced thoughtful restraint. And finally, verse 11, ready proof. Here's the proof of all these truths. recognition of God's providence, rejecting others' persuasion, restraining, and prevention. Here is ready proof. Now my father, see, indeed, see the edge of your robe in my hand. David continues his compassionate speech and pleads with Saul to witness the objective fact of how close Saul actually was to death. He calls him my father in a humble way. Missing peace in Saul's robe, which was in David's hand, was evidence that would help Saul to perceive that there is no evil or rebellion in David at all. David confirms his innocence highlighted by Saul's treachery here. I have not sinned against you, but you are lying in wait for my life to take it. Now David calls upon the Lord to validate the objective data and David's humble testimony. I want to go into that, but we don't have time for that, so why don't we pause here without going further and reflect on what we have studied thus far. The servants of the Lord will also face temptation of the shortcuts in his life. While less than what the Lord Jesus would face, or what David faced in life, the servants of the Lord's anointed will also face real temptation. Now, what was true for David is also true for all believers who see the providential guidance of the Lord, but it requires proper interpretation. Now, notice what happened. The situation didn't change. Saul came into the very cave where David and his men were. David's men interpreted that situation one way, David another way. There's one truth. There's one meaning. There's a purpose there. And two opposing truths cannot be right at the same time. One is right, the other is wrong, or they're both wrong. But they cannot be right at the same time. Therefore, In this passage, we see that David's restraint, his compassionate and merciful act, and his passionate speech of his apologetic and saying, I had every right to do this, but I could not do it because I do not hate you. You are my father-in-law. You are my king. I'm your loyal subject. Everything that built your hostility is false. It was an opportunity for David to justify his innocence. So, let's think about our modern day context. In a similar situation, you're going to get two different responses to the same situation or event. Let's say the last five years, you've been wanting to be promoted to that managerial position because even the person who's been there only two and a half years was promoted. You've been there for five years. The reason why you haven't been promoted is because the wicked manager that you work under is constantly giving negative report about you, which is untrue. Because he doesn't like you. The reason he doesn't like you is, he is an atheist and he despises Christians. And he knows you're a Christian. He has a personal axe to grind, but he doesn't want to do it because it's unprofessional at work. But he does it subtly. It's the way he is. It's the way he does things. And you've thought multiple times about quitting that job and taking on another job. Not far-fetched scenario. Many of us will be under that circumstance. I got that scenario directly from my father's experience, actually, when he was working. And I remember him telling me all about the details about it, how he was so frustrated about this. Now, there's a temptation for a shortcut when the opportunity comes to gently shove your boss under the bus, if you will, because The top manager is now complaining that some quality control issue has fallen down and your department is at fault and they're doing investigation and you know and your other employees know that the manager is the culprit. You have the option. You can just kind of walk away and let your employees do the dirty job and say, hey, why don't you guys go and talk to the top management throw him under the bus, let's get rid of him. I take over his place, and I'll make your lives really, really cool. You have that option. Now, the manager's panicking, because he knows that he's to be blamed. He's negligent, poor worker, and now you have the choice to either gloat, or interpret the situation in a completely different way, like David did. Would you shove your wicked, atheistic manager under the bus to get that top position? It would still benefit you and those workers, co-workers that you want to help, too. Is that God's providence? Is that opportunity the Lord's will, blessing for you? What would you do? That's to test your faith. What have we learned from David's example? What would he do? What is the Christ-like behavior in such circumstance? How would we practically love our enemy? Is that just theory? There's some religion somewhere in the Gospels. It has nothing to do with me. Not if you are a disciple of Christ, a child of God. God wants us to adopt this and be Christ-like in this opportunity. This is an opportunity, a divine opportunity that the Lord God has given you. Not for your personal advancement, but for God's glory. There's something that you can do to demonstrate Christ's love to this persecuting atheist manager. There's something that you can do to show righteousness and loyalty by saying, no, I want my manager to succeed. I want him to be a better manager. He has a family too. Advocate for him and teach your coworkers or your subordinates what it means to be a Christian worker. You want to lose that opportunity and exchange that for personal advancement? This is the way the rest of the world thinks. The impulse, the knee-jerk impulse is, that guy has it coming, he deserves it. God has given you this opportunity. Don't let it pass. Think about it next time when the Lord hands you your enemy right into the palm of your hands and you have every right to destroy him. What will you do? Think of it. Think of all the wonderful theological truths of God's grace and mercy. Glorify God under those circumstances. That is a divine providential appointment for you to exalt Him. That is not an opportunity for you to make things easy for you. If you can adopt that and employ that in your faith, you will be more Christ-like at that moment than ever in your life. God gives us these opportunities. Example number two. You're unemployed for almost a year, and you have less than an ideal job that is offered to you. You're thinking about taking it, but there's a heavy long-term cost if you do take it. There's a spiritual health issue and well-being of your family due to the hours, the nature of the work, frequent travels, godless company, moral pitfalls. You see it coming, but you really need this job. You want this job. Your savings are dwindling away. What do you do? Now, as you're contemplating this, you get the call and says, you will just bypass an entire segment and they're going to make you an assistant manager from the very beginning. Twice the pay. They really want you to come. And it could be any kind of job that will question your integrity. Delivering alcoholic beverages, managing nightclubs, working at an embryonic research center, you name it. You know what they are. There is a tendency for us to justify these things, especially when we're in tough situations. See, David had this sweet option, not when he's easy going and everything's fine. He had this wonderful option when he was suffering. When situations are tough and an opportunity arises, it's easy for us to interpret that as the hand of the Lord. Oh, what a wonderful job. a company that manages 500 nightclubs. I get to be in the administrative department. Yeah, once in a while I have to travel and make sure that all the business is all right, but this is a great, fantastic job. It's the one I've been looking for. Managerial, administrative, learn skills, leadership, marketing. Yeah, but it's managing nightclubs. It may mean travel. It may mean hours. It may mean moral pitfalls. It may mean entertaining some people that you probably don't want to associate with long term. So many of our choices are like this, isn't it? It sounds really good, but there are tremendous moral pitfalls. But when it's too good, then the dangers and the moral pitfalls seem very small or insignificant. And this was the interpretation of the majority. They saw the good part. They did not see that this would be completely dishonoring to God. that will be undermining the kingdom purposes of God. You know the difference. Even if your wife tells you, take the job, honey, we need it. Even if your other friends tell you, man, this is an opportunity of a lifetime. What will you do? Is this God's providential blessing? Or a moral pitfall? What about the timing? What is this? Is this a temptation that you can overcome and stand up under it? Or is this under where you will buckle? Example number three. Christian single waits year after year, frustratingly, while younger and younger single people around him seem to find an ideal spouse. And the very attractive, moral unbeliever gets hired at your company and starts paying attention to you and even tells you that she or he would like to get to know you a little bit better. You ask, Are you a Christian? He says, oh yes, my family and I, we have a Catholic background. I go to church from time to time, but I'm not super religious, but I believe in honoring God and living a moral life. Oh, we've heard that before. It sounds so good. It sounds so good when everything else seems ideal. Very promising, moral, good looking. It would be a good match. It would be an ideal situation if you do get into this relationship. And you have co-workers are saying, man, she's paying you a lot of interest. You lucky ducky, why don't you go for it? And all of a sudden says, Lord, is this your blessing? Is your providential leading? Or is this a pitfall? See, every one of these situations, there's a delicate issue here that if you're not grounded in the Word of God and God's glory, it's easy to slip. Most of life's situations that come to us look like this, where we would have to exercise faith, courage, to go against the majority opinion and stand firm in what you know. You don't need a chapter and a verse All you need to know is that there is a principle that you live to God's glory and honor. You do not live to avoid as many sins as possible. That is not the way Christians should operate. We must reject the urge to interpret the situation in our favor for expediency. We also must practice restraint in wanting to go forward when the principles of God's word contradict our desires. Holy Spirit is a powerful coach in this matter, but it is easy to override the urgings of the Holy Spirit when our desire is strong. Seeing the full picture, not just the desired part, is critical in understanding the whole situation. Sharing the good, bad, and the ugly in each situation with others who will give you objective, godly counsel is another one. David did not have good counselors at this time. And when you don't have good counselors, you have to stand alone. But seeking godly counsel prior to making up your own mind is critical in issues of discernment. So we've seen quite a bit here from the life and times of David. Now, of course, David's decision and his commitment and his integrity, his mercy, his compassion, all these things are a reflection of the greater anointed Lord Jesus Christ. But as his followers, the Lord desires for us to be like him. Even Apostle Paul said, imitate me as I also imitate Christ. So, brothers and sisters, if you want to honor the Lord with your life, if you want to be blessed by Him, He may providentially lead you and guide you to a place where you would have to experience long-suffering, patient, abiding in His will, and trust the Lord to do it His way. Any shortcut that you think that you would take may circumvent God's blessings that He has for you, and it would forfeit a greater joy that could be yours and greater opportunity for fruitfulness. David was a wise, godly man, that even under great pressures of temptation, he did what honored the Lord. And that's a lesson for every believer, as we see the sufferings of Christ. If anyone had the way to escape the great sufferings of the cross, the injustice of it all, It was the Lord Jesus, and yet he fully submitted to the Lord's way. Suffering first, glory later. There's a purpose for why we have to endure. It's not a waste. God's doing something wonderful and necessary in your life and mine, and we must not choose the expedient way. May we not forget that as we grow in our faith. May we use this opportunity that God hands our enemies right into our hands. God sends a wonderful situation that could be interpreted in a very selfish way. Let's turn that around and let's choose, rather, to choose the high ground of obedience and God-honoring decisions. Suffer, long suffer. and then trust the Lord for the results. David, as a result of letting Saul go, as we'll see later, would have to be chased again and again. It got worse for David, not better. And so if you want desirable results, then you will be very frustrated with your Christian walk. Because a Christian walk is not about desirable results. I know there are plenty of preachers that tell you that God wants you to be happy, that God wants you to have desired results. I know. We're going against the tide, but you and I know that there's a marvelous sovereign purposes of God. He may not explain it clearly to us, but we know that suffering is such an integral part of what kind of a Christian we can become. So let's submit to the will of God in that way, and let's encourage one another to not to choose expedient shortcuts, but to submit to the perfect will of the Lord. Amen. Let's pray. Father, thank you for our time of reflection in your Word as we study this marvelous chapter dealing with David's suffering and your providential leading and guidance in your purposes. Thank you for allowing us to see the glimpse of the pleasure that you take in the Lord's anointed David. Well, we thank you that our Lord Jesus Christ, a son of God incarnate, the perfect one in whom you delight in and upon whom your favor rests. We listen to him. We want to be like him in every way. And Lord, teach us to suffer long for righteousness sake. Teach us to fully submit to your will and your purposes, even if that is to suffer. even if that is to undergo hardship. Teach us, Lord, not to go through the expedient way, the easy way, the prosperous way, but help us to seek the way that honors and glorifies you and help us to look forward to the eternal glory and help us not to forsake those eternal rewards for temporary expedient pleasures. Lord, we are weak. Temptation is strong. It's pulling all around us. Lord, would you preserve your servants, the servants of the Lord's anointed for your namesake and so that your people will continue to give you glory and honor through an obedient life and that through our obedient life and good works that you might be magnified among the unbelieving world. And now we commit ourselves and our soul to you, and that you would continue to providentially lead and guide us in this path and road to glory. In Jesus' precious name we pray. Amen.