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With God's help, we return to
the book of 1 Samuel, chapter 23, and we continue with David
in his escapes from Saul, in his time of exile. But what we
notice in 1 Samuel 23, very different from what we observed in the
second portion of 1 Samuel 22, is that while there was this
downward spiral of sin when it comes to Saul, When it comes
to David, what we see is the blessed growth and grace. The
blessed growth and grace that is peculiar to those who are
blessed by Yahweh. The anointed of the Lord, David,
continues then to pursue a path of embracing his calling as the
anointed king of Israel. And as Keilah, this city, is
being attacked by the enemies of God's people, David then speedily
goes to assist Keilah in this time of danger. And therefore
we see a more and more, contrary to a downward spiral, an upward
spiral in the life of David, which should also Make us think
of our upward spiral as the Spirit of God indwells the Christians
and bring them closer to the image of Christ. So please, with
this in mind, turn to 1 Samuel 23. We read verses 1-13 of 1
Samuel 23. Then they told David, saying,
Look, the Philistines are fighting against Sceila, 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
Keilah. But David's men said to him,
Look, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more then if we go to
Keilah against the arms of the Philistines? Then David inquired
of the Lord once again. And the Lord answered him and
said, Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will deliver the Philistines
into your hands. And David and his men went to
Keilah and fought with the Philistines, struck them with a mighty blow
and took away their livestock. So David saved the inhabitants
of Keilah. Now it happened when Abiathar
the son of Ahimelech fled to David at Keilah that he went
down with an ephod in his hand. And Saul was told that David
had gone to Keilah. 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. Then Saul called all the people
together for war, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and
his men. And 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 Keilah to destroy the city for my sake. Will the man of Keilah 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 Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul? And the
Lord said, They will deliver you. So David and his men, about
six hundred, arose and departed from Keilah and went wherever
they could go. Then it was told Saul that David
had escaped from Keilah, so he halted the expedition. Thus far the reading of God's
word. Would you please turn with me to Psalm number 54. Remember
that the book of Psalms give us a commentary of these events
in David's life. And we notice here in this passage
when this very same moment takes place in David's life and we
notice then an x-ray, we have here an x-ray of David's soul. So notice the superscript of
the psalm. So the chief musician with the
stringed instruments, a contemplation of David when the Zephites went
and said to Saul, is David not hiding with us? Save me, O God. I'm very sorry. Yes, thank you. I apologize. Save me, O God, by Your name,
and 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, and oppressors have sought after my life. They have not
set God before them. Behold, God is my helper. The
Lord is with those who uphold my life. He will repay my enemies
for their evil. Cut them off in your truth. I
will freely sacrifice to You. I will praise Your name, O Lord,
for it is good. For He has delivered me out of
all trouble, and my eye has seen its desire upon my enemies."
Let us now address our great God in heaven in prayer. Let
us pray. Almighty God in heaven, we come
before Your majestic presence praying, Lord, grant us understanding,
grant us wisdom as we seek to once again see the Messiah revealed
unto us in these words. Lord, we pray that You would
bless our hearts and souls and enlighten our minds through the
power of Your Holy Spirit. Father, we pray that through
the proclamation of Your Word would not only strengthen our
faith, but also, Lord, help us to search our hearts. In Jesus'
name, Lord, we pray these things. Amen. Well, very early in writing
research papers, I discovered how to do research is something
very hard and time-consuming. It takes a lot to try to put
together information and organize thoughts and ideas in a paper
and bring it to someone to evaluate and to correct. And I remember
that very early in writing these papers, I had an interaction
with one of my professors who kept sending me back to different
resources for different books saying, you know, the argument
is not quite right. What is being written here doesn't
make much sense. And he said something that really
stuck with me throughout my life of studies. He said, you are
searching everywhere but in the right places. You are consulting
everything, but the right sources. You're going everywhere but in
the right place. And isn't that exactly a description
of our Christian life when we are in trouble? When we are oppressed? When people presses us against
the wall or when difficult circumstances and situations arise in our midst,
aren't we prone to look for solutions and directions everywhere? We
are confused and without trajectory, without direction, and we keep
knocking the very wrong doors instead of going to the right
place where help can be found. As we look at 1 Samuel 23, we
are reminded that David learned that lesson. David is speedily
now running to Yahweh. Whatever the situation is, if
it is a situation of battle, he runs to Yahweh for counsel. If it is a situation of danger
and peril, he runs to Yahweh for counsel. David is not looking
for a solution in all sorts of places and getting the wrong
answers, but he's looking at the right place and getting the
right answers and finding them God's divine protection and communion
with the Lord. As in whatever situation, two
very difficult situations, pressure situations, we find in this verse,
He immediately seeks the Lord. Christian, is this your description? Just like David, we are all sometimes
in the midst of battles. We are all sometimes in the midst
of persecutions and attacks. Are we trying to find solutions
everywhere but in the right place? Or like David, are we speedily
seeking the words of the Lord to guide us, to lead us, to give
us the solution? You see, as we turn in our attention
to 1 Samuel 23, this is what we learn. We learn that it is
Yahweh's revelation that provides to His people courage and wisdom
amid conflict and danger. Christian, let us have this firm
in our minds. Are we in the midst of conflict? Are you in the midst
of danger? Well, the Word of the Lord reminds
us tonight that it is Yahweh's revelation that provides people
with courage and wisdom in the midst of conflicts and in the
midst of danger. And that's exactly what we see
in this text, isn't it? We consider this text tonight under two headings.
First, we notice that divine guidance powerfully equips us
for any battle. We see that in verses 1-5 as
the Lord instructs David to rage war against the Philistines at
Keilah. But we also notice in verses
6-13 that divine guidance safely delivers us from any peril. Divine guidance powerfully equips
us for any battle. Divine guidance safely delivers
us from any peril. Well, as we turn then our attention
to the text, we notice that David has this, perhaps, a network
of information. News come to him. The last we
heard of David, he was at the cave of Adullin. The text told
us in chapter 22, verse 2, that 400 men gathered with David and
that company increased. We notice in verse 13 that in
Keilah, around 600 men were with David. And therefore, what we
notice is that David is still in this hiding situation, but
he hears that a city within the kingdom of Judah, a Israelite
city, is being attacked by the Philistines. Keilah is the city
of Judah, not very known. We don't have a lot of information
about Keilah. But what we know here clearly
in the text, if you look at verse 1, is that they're being attacked.
Someone, or the Philistines clearly, are robbing their storage of
grains. The text tells us that the Philistines
are robbing the threshing floors of that city. And that causes
two things at least. As there is this robbery of resources,
the first thing is scarcity, isn't it? The inhabitants, the
dwellers of Keilah are now unable, if their resources are being
robbed, they are unable to put food on the table for their own
homes. What a great discouragement and chaos that was bringing upon
the city. But if you think more macroly,
you notice that the city's existence itself is at danger, is in peril. Now what's really interesting
to notice here is that the news come to David. We never hear
the news about the Philistines coming to Saul. In fact, when
Saul hears that David is in Keilah, he doesn't really care why is
David there. His only concern is that, now
I can get him. You see how the inspired narrator
is setting aside, is setting apart David and Saul. One who
cares for God's people. One who will speedily comes to
the aid and secure, to help, to fight the battles of the Israelites. And another one who is only concerned
with their own personal plans and personal designs. It is interesting
to observe as well in verse 2 what David does. David does not gather
his now 600 men. He does not gather them and consult
with them. Okay, what do you think we should
do? I received this news about an attack in Keilah. These are
our brothers and sisters, Israelites. Should we go there? Are you going
to support me going there to attack and to destroy the Philistines? No. David does not bring around
him perhaps his best captains, his valiant men, the valiant
warriors which we know he had. The text tells us in verse 2,
he inquired of Yahweh. Now remember that the previous
text ended up with this great picture of how Israel in seed
was exhibited in those who were in the cave of Adullin. We notice
that David had a prophet with him, and he himself is the anointed
king. And Abiathar, as we learned in
verses 20 to 23, came to join the group. And therefore, the
three offices of Israel who were supposed to point to the Messiah
were already present in seed form right there at the cave
of Adullin. With the Lord, there is always
a remnant, a genuine, true, remnant, and therefore there was a prophet,
a priest, and a true king." How is exactly then David inquiring
of the Lord? Well, verse 6 already gave us
that answer. Abiathar is with David. And Abiathar
is not only with David at a cave, but he goes to Keilah as well
with the instruments of a priest, with the ephod. Remember that
the ephod had the uri and the tumi through which those appointed
by the Lord would be able to consult with the Lord and get
direct revelation from Yahweh Himself. The text tells us then
that the Lord is inquired of David. Notice the word or the
name of the Lord that is in verse 2, the covenantal name of God. David inquire of Yahweh because
Yahweh has a covenant with His people that assures, that secures
the people of God to enter in the presence of Yahweh, to address
Him in prayer. Do you notice the dependence,
the humility with which he addresses Yahweh in this question? Shall I go and attack this Philistines? Is that your guidance? Is that
your command, my commander? Is that what you designed me
to do and to pursue? The Lord responds positively
as we read again in the text, verse 2, go and attack the Philistines
and save Keilah. Notice how that reassures David
of his position as a king. That is the role of the anointed.
The role of the anointed is to fight, to defend, and to save
his people. To save the ones that the Lord
has placed under his wing. To save the ones that the Lord
has placed under his protection. The words here are carefully
and craftily used so that we Christians would be reminded
of what to be a king is really all about. It is to save those
who are in danger. It is to save those who are in
peril. Well, while David is encouraged
with this revelation, his men is not exactly very confident. Verse 3 tells us that they are
afraid. Well, this is a company that has been persecuted. This
is a company that has been hiding. We don't know for how long, and
that's the concern of the soldiers. They say, look, we are afraid
here in Judah. We are persecuted from all sorts
of angles, and we are going to place ourselves in this fragile
position, attacking the Philistines? Do we have enough resources?
Are we not placing ourselves in the place of danger and of
domination? And verse 4 tells us once again
how to recognize the Messiah. Do you remember what Saul did
in the previous chapter when he was trying to convince people
to help him? He was addressing the Benjamites.
Remember how he blackmailed them? Look at verse 6. of the previous
chapter. And Saul heard that David and
the man who were with him had been discovered. Now Saul was
staying in Gibeah, under a tamarisk tree in Ramah, with his spear
in his hand and all his servants standing about him. Saul said,
Here now, you Benjamites, will the son of Jesse give every one
of you fields and vineyards and make you all captains of thousands
and captains of hundreds? You see, remember that Saul is
trying to coerce his own people, the people of his own tribe,
to be of help to him. But that's not what a true king
does. A true king, a true leader, does not coerce, does not force. A true leader leads, and leads
by God's Word. And that's exactly what David
does. Look again, verse 4, David inquired of the Lord again. This
perhaps could be a moment when David would say, are you questioning
the anointed of the Lord? Do you dare to question my orders?
I have just consulted with Yahweh. Are you saying that I'm lying?
David patiently, in long suffering, and also with the desire of encouraging
his own man, inquire of the Lord once again. And the God of the
covenant again confirms his call. Arise, go down to Keilah, for
I will deliver the Philistines in your hands. And this is really
the saying that soothes the soul and the heart of a follower of
Yahweh, isn't it? The battle is mine. I will do
it for you. I will deliver them into your
hands. David was experienced in that
specific aspect of his relationship with Yahweh. If we think about
the previous victories and the previous battles that David was
involved with, especially if we consider his collision with
Goliath, He himself knew that that battle was the Lord's battle,
not his battle. You see what David is doing here
in this text. David is living by faith and not by sight. David is trusting the word of
Yahweh. And in this moment of conflict
and battle, he is trusting entirely in Yahweh. Instead of coercing
or intimidating his companions, he is feeding them with Yahweh's
revelation. He is assuring them with Yahweh's
words that the battle belongs to God Himself. He is then now
ready to exercise his calling as a Messiah. You see, Christian,
in spite of a downward spiral with David, what we see is an
upward spiral of more dependence in Yahweh, more seeking of His
will, more desire to self-sacrificial service to this great God of
the covenant who comes to us with a gracious and merciful
manner and love. uplift us and sustain us even
in the most dangers of the conflicts. Verse 5 tells us of the victory.
It tells us that David did obey the Lord despite of what eyes
could transpire, despite of what eyes could see, David and his
companions went down and they mightily struck the Philistines. That city in Judah is delivered
The people of Keilah is saved. The inhabitants... Look how exactly
that is the word employed once again in verse 5. So David saved
the inhabitants of Keilah. And you see, Christians, that's
the reason why we can look to the Lord Jesus Christ and see
that is indeed the Messiah our souls need. As we look at verses
1-5, one who communicates the word of God, seeks the will of
the Lord, and encourages his companions through the revelation
of the Lord, we are being reminded of the role of an anointed king. What is it that an anointed king
does to save his people? He keeps intimate communion with
the Lord. He seeks to do the Lord's will,
even if it means self-sacrificial service. Isn't that exactly what
we see all the time in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ? No
coercion, no anger, no humiliation, or no attempt to humiliate others. But loving guidance, loving words,
sweetly bending sinners through the power of His will. There
is no blackmailing, there is no imposition of authority, but
those who come to serve the King come because they have been sweetly
attracted to Him. Verses 1-5 give us indeed a perfect
picture in shadows and times of the ministry of the Messiah.
Let us therefore delight in our Savior tonight. Let us be reminded
that as we see in verses 1 through 5, 1, He speedily comes to succour,
to help, to fight the enemies of His own people. That's exactly
what we see in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, isn't
it? Will not Christ, Christian, do the same thing with you and
for you? Sometimes we are in the midst
of our battles and we think that we are alone. We think that we
are not equipped. We think that we are left to
our own resources when the Word of God reminds us and comforts
us and encourages us and empowers us reminding that we have a King
who will speedily come to our aid. Notice that was exactly
what our forefathers taught us in Lord's Day 12. Remember, in question 31 of the
Hartburg Catechism, our fathers explained to us what is the meaning
of the word anointed. What is the meaning of the word
Christ? And in their description of king, notice what they teach
us. The Lord Jesus is called Christ
and anointed because he's our eternal king who governs us by
his word and spirit, who guards us and keeps us, and who free
us. with the freedom that He has
won for us. Isn't that what we see in this
passage? Let us therefore rejoice in our Savior, King Jesus, tonight. Let us be once again reassured
that the Son of David is indeed the Son of God, the Son of Man. And let us be reminded of what
He does for us. How He reveals the Word of the
Father to us. How He speedily comes to our
aid. How He will not leave us and
forsake us, but He will come and save us in times of danger
and peril. He has already done that once
for all at the cross of Calvary. Has not He? Has not He delivered
us from our own sinfulness? Has not He delivered us from
the bill of debt that brought curse and condemnation upon us?
Will He not continue to come speedily to our aid and secure
us in our need? Let us therefore stop looking
for solutions and answers in the wrong places. Consulting
all sources but finding the wrong answers. Let us be reminded tonight
that just like David, in moments of battle, in challenging times
in our lives, just as well as in peaceful times, Our call is
to seek the revelation of the Lord. Perhaps that's exactly
how you find yourself here tonight, confused, in the midst of battle,
in the midst of the cry out of enemies. What are you to do? Notice how David teaches us tonight
that we are not to forsake God's revelation. Aren't we to seek
as well the will of the Lord? Whatever situation that is, whatever
problem that is, whatever solution we are seeking, isn't that exactly
what is being taught here in this text? That we are to speedily
go to the Lord in prayer. That's exactly what the anointed
does. Would we do anything different? Isn't that exactly what we are
called to do by the king himself, the anointed one in the New Testament?
Aren't we called to live in constant communion with the Father? With
the words of the Lord Jesus in the Gospel, isn't that exactly
how Christ Himself is described as waking up early in the morning
and seeking the presence of the Father? Or even in a moment of
greatest collision, greatest confusion, greatest battle, He
runs into the garden seeking His presence in prayer. See,
one of the reasons why we find ourselves doubtful and fearful
like this man of Judah is because we neglect to use the means that
the Lord has appointed to strengthen our souls. Undoubtedly. Look, how David comes to this
man with God's revelation saying, let's go to Keilah. This is the
word of the Lord. And while David is looking to
God's revelation, these men are looking to the circumstances.
Look at where we are. Look at where we are going to
be if you take us to Keilah. This is a very dangerous situation. But where does David's faith
relies? In God's revelation. Perhaps you're saying, well,
Pastor, it would be wonderful if we had an ephod. If I could
consult the Lord, should I buy this house? Should I take this
job proposal? Should I marry this gal or should
I marry this man? And we could consult the uring
and the tuming and get a direct revelation from God, and we don't
have that anymore, and that's true. But are we lacking any
wisdom? Isn't the promise of the New
Covenant that we would all, from the least to the greatest, from
the youngest to the oldest, be indwelt by the Spirit of God
with power? Do we not have the 66 books of the Bible as God's
revelation to us? Do we need an ephod with a uri
and tuming when all of God's revelation has been given us
in written form and you can take it anywhere you go? And aren't
you indwelt by the Spirit of God to enlighten your path and
to guide your mind, to understand, to reveal you unto all truth?
Has not the Lord given you the church to help and come alongside
you in understanding God's will and understanding God's Word
and guiding your paths? Christians, we are in no less
advantageous situation than was David with an ephod and a priest
and an uri and a tumi. But the problem is that we disregard
sometimes what the Lord has given us. He has promised He would
feed us through His Word, but then we neglect His Word. And
then we complain when we don't have wisdom and guidance to make
holy decisions. Why is that? Because we are neglecting
God's revelation. And then we complain that we
do not feel peace and that we are troubled by all the problems.
Are you taking advantage of the privilege of prayer? That the
gates of heaven is open? That you have your divine high
priest who together with your prayers, he mixes his priestly
works and bring your petitions before the ears of the Almighty?
Do you see how we are not in any way less blessed than David? But the question for us tonight
is, are we seeking to be powerfully equipped using the means that
the Lord has appointed to us. You see, this coming week or
this week, we begin another season of preparation to partake of
the Lord's Supper. Are we truly mindful? Do we truly
understand how the Supper is a means of grace to us? Are we
ready, both in mind and faith and in soul, to partake of those
elements in such a way that our souls will be strengthened to
fight any fight for God's glory and for His name's sake? The
Lord has given us the Word, prayer, and the sacraments as means of
grace to do for us the same thing what His direct revelation to
a priest and an ephod did for David. Let us not neglect God's
means of grace, Christians. Let us persevere in it. Let us
persevere in it with this great assurance as we see in this text. Our anointed has saved us. Our
Anointed has defeated all our enemies. All roadblocks and big
walls have been demolished and destroyed by the powerful cross
of Christ towards His people, towards the elect. And therefore,
we can come rejoicing in His work, knowing that if we need
divine guidance, He will receive it. And it will powerfully equip
us for any battle. But as we move on in the text,
verses 7-13, what we notice now is that divine guidance continues
to equip David, but now in a different circumstance. Not in peril anymore,
but now in danger. Now in the midst of threats. We notice here, once again, that
Saul and David is contrasted by the inspired writer. Saul
knows news about Keilah. And again, let me bring this
to your attention. Notice how his reaction is so different
from David. David was very much concerned
about the state of affairs in the city of Keilah, how the citizens
are going to manage now that they are being attacked by the
Philistines. Now Saul knows about that and his first reaction is
to take the name of the Lord in vain. Look at verse 7. And Saul was told that David
had gone to Keilah and Saul said, God has delivered him into my
hand Now according to Saul's own testimony, it seems that
Keilah had only one way in and one way out. And therefore, in Saul's mind,
David would be boxed in like in a trap. He has trapped himself
in that town. But notice two things in addition
in verse 7. Number one, notice how Saul could
care less about what's going on with the inhabitants of Keilah.
As the king of the nation, still in operation, he could care less
that they were being attacked by Philistines. His concern is
not with the welfare of the citizens of Keilah. His desire and His
response is not to come to those Israelites who were in danger
to bring them safety. No. And that's the other aspect
verse 7 really points us to. Saul's evil intent. Notice how he again takes the
name of the Lord in vain. He attributes to God something
that has nothing to do with God's designs, something that is not
related at all with God's intents, and that's going to be very clear
at the end of the story since David escapes and flees. You
see, this is a clear breaking of a breach, a clear breach of
the third commandment here in verse 7. Saul has already experienced
over and over again reproach, but there's no growth. And that's
a very sad picture, isn't it? By now, we would expect Saul
to be repentant, acknowledging his sin of persecuting an innocent
man, noticing how the kingdom now is crumbling, is escaping
like sand through his fingers, but he has only one design. His sinful heart only inclines
him to persecute the anointed of the Lord. Well, the text tells
us that the news also comes to David. Once again, verses 8 and
9 tells us that David gets the news, he receives news that Saul
is plotting against him. And once again, notice the upward
spiral in the life of David. His first response is not, okay,
citizens of Keilah, I saved you, now it's time to pay back. I
scratched your back, now it's time for you to scratch my back.
You need to support me against Saul. No, David continues to
be extremely careful for the life of the Israelites but also
careful that he receives direction and guidance from the Lord straight
from God's own revelation. Notice how David appeals to the
services of the priest. Verse 9, David is a king. But also he knows that in the
structure of Old Testament Israel, the Lord has appointed the priest,
not the king, to consult the Lord. In the structure of the
Old Testament, each one of those offices have their own role.
And David does not then puff up himself and says, I am the
king, like Saul, remember, who offers sacrifices on his own.
No, he brings the priest and he appeals to that specific office
in the community of Israel to serve him. just as the Lord has
designed things to function. It's not because David is the
anointed one that he will now neglect the structure that God
has himself appointed in the kingdom. Sadly, isn't that what
we do? Sometimes it's exactly what we
do, isn't it? We profess to believe in the Holy Catholic and Apostolic
Church. We profess to believe that the Lord has appointed deacons
and elders to shepherd us. But when things get tight, when
peril surrounds our lives, do we really go to them? Do we really
honor them in their positions that the Lord has placed in them?
Notice how David is honoring Abiathar. Is that our disposition
when it comes to God's kingdom here and now? If with the Apostle
Paul in Ephesians chapter 4 we profess that pastors, elders,
deacons are the gift of the Lord to the local congregation, shouldn't
that be also our very first reaction when problems arise? But as an
elder in our concessory says, the elders are the last to know.
And isn't that true in many, many cases? And when we get to
know things, things are about to blow up. There's no way we
can interfere or interact or shepherd or come alongside because
things have gone too far in silence. That's not what David does. David
goes to Abiathar. Bring the ephod here. He doesn't
say, give me the ephod. He says, bring you, Abiathar,
who are the priests. Bring the ephod here. And obviously,
David then, through Abiathar, consults the Lord. Notice again
how he appeals to the God of the covenant. Please observe
his appeal. Notice how he pours out his heart
before the Lord. Notice how he brings before the
Lord not only his faith, but also he brings in a humble manner,
with true sincerity, what is afflicting him. Is that a portrait
of your prayers? Christian, do you pray like David
prayed? Oh Lord God, look at verse 11. Oh Lord God of Israel,
I pray, tell your servant Is this what's going to happen?
Is Saul really coming? Are the Keilah dwellers going
to deliver us in Saul's hands? David pours forth his heart entirely
before the Lord, and the Lord, graciously, full of mercy and
compassion, responds. Yes, they are coming. And yes,
the dwellers of Keilah will deliver you to Saul. Now, there's a lot
of debate regarding why are the dwellers of Keilah going to deliver
David to Saul? Are they ungrateful? Are they
weak? And now, before the king, the
king would be coming, Saul would be coming, they would say, the
king will prevail against us. We need to submit to the king.
We need to give them to David. The text doesn't tell us what
is the heart intent of the dwellers of Keilah. But here's what the
Lord reveals to us in this text. Very clearly that in this moment
of danger, in this moment of threat, in this moment when you
pour out your heart before the Lord because there is no other
escape but Yahweh, He comes and assists immediately His servant. He hears the petition of His
servant and He speedily comes to His aid. And David obeys. So David and his men, about 600,
arose and departed. And now Saul's designs, Saul's
plans are all destroyed. Saul halts the expedition. It
was not God's will after all. And now the frustration of Saul
is a reminder to David how he receives the favor of Yahweh. as He pursues His calling. Christian,
be reminded of the same as you pursue your calling. We are surrounded
by dangers and perils, aren't we? Not by swords and spears
and shields as we can clearly think or perceive here in this
passage as Saul would bring his armies, his soldiers against
David. That's all that David would see.
This is not the kind of danger that surrounds us today, but
we do have so many dangers. The Christian face the danger
of oppression and tyrannical government. Will not the Lord
protect us against that? The Christian faces the danger
of a relativistic society. A society that says that there
is no good and evil or that calls evil good and call good evil.
Will not the Lord protect His people as well? We live in a
time when we are attacked from all angles with the danger of
sensuality and sexual immorality. Will the Lord not protect His
people as they seek refuge and protection in Him? You see, this
text affirms to us once again tonight who is the one who keeps
us safe. And the Lord Jesus has already
revealed that to us in the Gospels. That's how the New Testament
reveals to us that that's exactly the function of the Messiah.
You see, as the Messiah is faithful to his role as God's anointed,
the Messiah will continue to deliver, to protect, and to care
for the people of God regardless of the danger. It is battle,
the Son of Man will be there to protect His people. It is
peril, danger, or threats, the Son of God will be there to take
care of His people. While this text encourages us
to pursue the will of the Lord and to seek His wisdom from above,
through His word, through the means of grace, through the aid
of the church, it also comforts our hearts, reminding us this
is just a picture, just a shadow of your anointed Christian, of
the one. who will save you from any danger,
any peril. That doesn't mean that there
will not be discouragements and persecution. Isn't that what
this text also teaches us? David has just fulfilled the
word of the Lord. He has just been faithful to
deliver the dwellers of Keilah according to the Lord's will
and now what comes next? Persecution for Saul. Isn't that a discouragement for
us sometimes? We are pursuing God's will and we are seeking
to fulfill God's will in our lives and we continue to receive
blow after blow after blow. And the temptation is to question
God's designs. Let us therefore be encouraged
tonight with these verses. Instead of questioning God's
designs, Let us seek God's help. Let us seek God's comfort. Let
us seek the Lord's instructions. For we indeed have an anointed
one in heaven, way more powerful than David, who together is with
his people, and who gives them, equips them, and encourages them
in the midst of conflict or in the midst of danger. Let us pray
together. Almighty God in heaven, we thank
You for Your Word and for the reminders You give us tonight.
Thank You for revealing to us, O Lord, the role of the Messiah,
even in the Old Covenant. For reminding us, O Lord, that
be it battle or be it threats, be it dangers, be it oppression,
our Messiah will be always with us. He will speedily come to
our succor, to our help, to our protection, for He is our King,
Priest, and Prophet. But Lord, we also pray that You
would lead us, O Lord, unto this very same disposition we see
in this text tonight. That You would guide us, O Lord,
unto the disposition of seeking Your wisdom. Not trusting material
elements, worldly devices, but that we would, O Lord, seek Your
will through the means of grace that You have appointed to guide
us, to encourage us. and to make us persevere in Your
way. Lord, help us to be a people
of the Word, to be a people of prayer, to be a people that diligently
use the Church and the sacraments to live for Your glory, to pursue
Your will. And who will, O Lord, do Your
will in self-sacrificial disposition? Help us, O Lord, in this. In
Jesus' name, Lord, we pray.
Blessed Divine Guidance
Series 1 Samuel
| Sermon ID | 91242347435919 |
| Duration | 47:17 |
| Date | |
| Category | Sunday - PM |
| Bible Text | 1 Samuel 23:1-13 |
| Language | English |
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