There may be many times when we ask God for something irredeemably selfish.  An unscheduled—and unnecessary—pay raise.  The honor and respect of others.  For our neighbor to “change his attitude.”  In those moments, we’re not terribly surprised to hear God say “no.”  But what about when we pray for good things?  When we pray for God to address our singleness, or a season of infertility.  When we pray for someone with a prolonged illness.  Are these not worthy items of prayer?  And yet many times God still says “no.”

David would experience this.  Having now centralized his power in Jerusalem, he desired to honor God through the building of a temple.  What was a temple?  Nearly every major religion—past and present—uses a temple as the physical means of connecting to God.  It was sort of a cosmic crossroads, a place where heaven and earth are thought to intersect.  For years, Israel’s portable structure—the Tabernacle—served this purpose.  But now that David occupied a palace, he rightly grew concerned that the Lord would occupy a lesser place:

Now when the king lived in his house and the Lord had given him rest from all his surrounding enemies, 2 the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent.” 3 And Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you.” (2 Samuel 7:1-3)

But the Lord would later speak through Nathan, and give David a resounding “no.”

4 But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, 5 “Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord:  Would you build me a house to dwell in? 6 I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent for my dwelling. 7 In all places where I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’ 8 Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep,  that you should be prince over my people Israel. 9 And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. 10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, 11 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. 12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity,  I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, 15 but my steadfast love will not depart from him,  as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. 16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me.  Your throne shall be established forever.’” 17 In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.

Why “no?”  First of all, there was no pressing need—the tabernacle had sufficed since the time of the Exodus, so why not wait a generation or so?  Second,  during the time of the judges, God had dealt with his people through these leaders in various regions—that is, without the need for a centralized temple.  And finally, David had been a man of battle.  Necessary though this may have been, God would not permit his blood-stained hands from being the one to build the temple.

But, God’s “no” came with a greater “yes.”  His “no” to David would establish a greater legacy through David.  Sometimes, God chooses to bless His children.  Other times, He chooses to bless others through His children.  This was among the latter.

We call this the Davidic covenant.  What is a covenant?  A covenant is a promise made between two parties.  When such a promise occurs between God and man, it refers to a promise God makes to His people.  Therefore a covenant, in the Biblical sense, asks and answers the question: How do I experience the presence of God in my life?  For instance, in the covenant with Abraham, God’s presence was experienced through the promise to bless the nation of Israel through God’s dealings with Abraham.  The covenant with Moses was an extension of this—wherein God said that the promise given to Abraham came with no strings attached, but, in order to fully experience the joy of this promise, man would now obey God through a codified series of laws.  Now, God is telling His people that they would experience God through His reigning representative—the King.

We can notice five specific features to this king:

• David’s heir would occupy the throne
• David’s heir would build God’s temple
• David’s heir would have a unique relationship with God
• David’s heir would receive punishment for sin—but not be cast off like Saul
• God promises a kingdom that lasts forever

While some of these features have an immediate, obvious fulfillment in David’s immediate descendants, others won’t find fulfillment until the arrival of a true, better King in the person of Jesus.  This is why Isaiah would later prophesy:

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor,  Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7  Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. (Isaiah 9:7-8a)

Jesus fulfills all the promises spoken of here to David.  And, what’s more, Jesus would not merely build a temple—Jesus would be the true temple.  How?  By being the person who connects heaven to earth.  Do you want to experience the presence of God?  Then you find God’s presence through Jesus.

David, of course, didn’t understand the half of this.  But still he responded to God with gratitude and admiration:

18 Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? 19 And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord God.  You have spoken also of your servant’s house for a great while to come, and this is instruction for mankind, O Lord God! 20 And what more can David say to you?  For you know your servant, O Lord God! 21 Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have brought about all this greatness, to make your servant know it. 22 Therefore you are great, O Lord God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears. 23 And who is like your people Israel, the one nation on earth whom God went to redeem to be his people, making himself a name and doing for them great and awesome things by driving out before your people, whom you redeemed for yourself from Egypt, a nation and its gods? 24 And you established for yourself your people Israel to be your people forever. And you, O Lord, became their God. 25 And now, O Lord God, confirm forever the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, and do as you have spoken. 26 And your name will be magnified forever, saying, ‘The Lord of hosts is God over Israel,’ and the house of your servant David will be established before you.27 For you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have made this revelation to your servant, saying, ‘I will build you a house.’ Therefore your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. 28 And now, O Lord God, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant. 29 Now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you. For you, O Lord God, have spoken, and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever.”

Too often God says “no,” and we sigh with rehearsed contentment, assuaging our disappointment with trite sayings about how “God must have something better for us.”  But the gospel tells us that Jesus is better.  Our greatest hope is not that if we’re good, if we’re patient, God will someday offer us His blessings.  Our greatest hope is that God is a blessing, offering us connection to Himself through His Spirit, and through the provision of His Son’s righteousness.

Is that enough?  When you don’t get that promotion you’d been daydreaming about—is God enough?  When you remain single longer than you’d expected—is God enough?  What if you fail that test, what if you suffer from ongoing depression, what if your kids don’t come home with a happy report card?  What if your kids don’t come home at all?  Is God enough?   All our life we live with a dream that says “My life would be better if_______________.”  The gospel comes along and says that your life is better because of Jesus.

Don’t waste God’s “no.”

If you’ve been to Hallmark lately—or even the greeting card section of your average megastore—you probably found yourself overwhelmed by the sheer number of choices.  First, it probably took a team of Sherpa guides to help you simply locate the “birthdays” section—bypassing all the other random holidays that are on display.  I mean, do people really send cards for St. Patrick’s Day (I mean, besides the Irish)?  And once you find the right holiday, you’re faced with rack after rack of increasing specificity.  Birthdays for him, birthdays from him, birthday cards with audio chips that play prerecorded age jokes, birthday cards for second cousins twice removed—we could go on, but you get the idea.   To me, the greeting card industry is evidence that we, as a society, have completely given up on trying to express our feelings for one another.  Instead, it’s easier to just run in, poke around until we find just the right card, and then quickly sign it and lick the envelope shut before the big party.

Worship has become very much like that.  For the better part of the last three decades, worship has shifted from an act we perform an hour on Sundays to encompass a whole genre of music.  And now, we may go to a big-chain store and stand in the “Christian” or “Religious” music section, where we are sold “worship” albums featuring airbrushed, glossy covers of worship leaders promising to bring us into the Lord’s presence through this craft.

I’m not throwing rocks, exactly.  I’m saying that the “worship-as-a-genre” approach can lead us to be just as shallow toward God as we are in the greeting card store.  We find just the right words and clever sayings, then recite them in the hopes that the newest and latest album will thrill our souls toward God.

What’s the alternative?  The alternative is to change our view of worship—to repent of our view of worship as merely a musical genre and turn it back into a way of living.  David understood this.  This is why David decided to bring the Ark of the Lord into the capital city of Jerusalem:

 David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. 2 And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from Baale-judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts who sits enthroned on the cherubim. 3 And they carried the ark of God on a new cart and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. And Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart, 4 with the ark of God, and Ahio went before the ark. (2 Samuel 6:1-4)

This wasn’t errant superstition.  David wanted the city of Jerusalem to be as much a religious as it was a political capital.  So it’s only natural that David sees this as a cause for celebration.

In his Old Testament Theology, Bruce Waltke sees two distinct cycles at work in this chapter.  Both follow the same pattern: (1) there is a great parade and (2) someone is scorned by the Lord.

CYCLE ONE: DAVID AND THE SCORN FOR UZZAH

David is participating in a great parade:

5 And David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals. 6 And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. 7 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God.8 And David was angry because the Lord had broken out against Uzzah. And that place is called Perez-uzzah to this day. 9 And David was afraid of the Lord that day, and he said, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” 10 So David was not willing to take the ark of the Lord into the city of David. But David took it aside to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. 11 And the ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months, and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household.

This seems a harsh offense.  Why would God strike down Uzzah because he was only trying to help?  I can never forget a sermon I once heard from R.C. Sproul, who asked the pointed question: What makes you think his hand was cleaner than the ground?  God is ferociously and powerfully holy.  Our attempts to “improve” worship don’t make worship any better—they just make us look worse.

CYCLE TWO: DAVID AND THE SCORN FOR MICHAL

David realizes that the ark truly does bring the promise of blessing—again, through the Lord’s presence—so he decides to try again.

12 And it was told King David, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the city of David with rejoicing. 13 And when those who bore the ark of the Lord had gone six steps, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened animal. 14 And David danced before the Lord with all his might. And David was wearing a linen ephod. 15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the horn.

The linen ephod was the attire worn by priests—though many commentaries have stressed that simplicity of the garment.  David wasn’t dancing in his underwear, here—but there was something undignified about the whole scene that set Michal—David’s wife—into a rage.

16 As the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, and she despised him in her heart. 17 And they brought in the ark of the Lord and set it in its place, inside the tent that David had pitched for it. And David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. 18 And when David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts19 and distributed among all the people, the whole multitude of Israel, both men and women, a cake of bread, a portion of meat, and a cake of raisins to each one. Then all the people departed, each to his house.

20 And David returned to bless his household. But Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, “How the king of Israel honored himself today, uncovering himself today before the eyes of his servants’ female servants, as one of the vulgar fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!” 21 And David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me as prince over Israel, the people of the Lord—and I will celebrate before the Lord. 22 I will make myself yet more contemptible than this, and I will be abased in your eyes. But by the female servants of whom you have spoken, by them I shall be held in honor.” 23 And Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death.

What are we to learn?  First, that God is not improved by our worship.  Too often we feel that it is our task to “make the gospel relevant.”  But why?  Is the gospel not already relevant?  Like Uzzah, we may put out our hands to offer the Lord some help—only to find that we look foolish in the process.  The gospel is always relevant—it’s our job instead to reveal its relevance by living it out in and through our lives.

Secondly, our worship is truly undignified.  David wore a simple ephod—not the Kingly garments that were befitting his position.  He came only with what he needed, because he recognized that it’s only a servant’s heart that the Lord truly demands.  When we come before God, we come before him not clad in robes of our own accomplishments, but because we have instead been “clothed in Christ” (Galatians 3:27).  Our dignity will never be found in the eyes of men, but eternally in the eyes of God.

Can you remember your first day of work?  I sure can’t.  For any job, ever.  Not even the one I have now.  If I think hard enough, I can remember a government position or two that entailed safety briefings, sensitivity training, that sort of thing—but beyond that I honestly can’t dredge up a single memory of my first day on any job.  Maybe I’m unusual that way (among others), but I can’t help but wonder if it has something to do with the fact that usually, our first days on the job aren’t nearly as memorable as the ones that come after.  The ones where you already “know the ropes,” can feel like you’re being productive, that sort of thing.

In 2 Samuel 5, we find David experiencing his “first day on the job,” so to speak. He’s finally anointed king (for the third time, mind you—cf. 1 Samuel 16; 2 Sam 2:1-4), establishing the city of Jerusalem (meaning “foundation of peace”) as the capital of Israel:

Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “Behold, we are your bone and flesh. 2 In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was you who led out and brought in Israel. And the Lord said to you, ‘You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over Israel.’” 3 So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel. 4 David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. 5 At Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and at Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.

6 And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who said to David, “You will not come in here, but the blind and the lame will ward you off”—thinking, “David cannot come in here.” 7 Nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion, that is, the city of David. 8 And David said on that day, “Whoever would strike the Jebusites, let him get up the water shaft to attack ‘the lame and the blind,’ who are hated by David’s soul.” Therefore it is said, “The blind and the lame shall not come into the house.” 9 And David lived in the stronghold and called it the city of David. And David built the city all around from the Millo inward. 10 And David became greater and greater, for the Lord, the God of hosts, was with him.

Notice two things: first, the strong emphasis on “shepherding” imagery—which was actually a common way of describing kingship in the ancient world (Egyptian Pharaohs, for example, were often depicted in art holding shepherds’ crooks).   Secondly, David despised “the lame and the blind.”  We rightly cringe at this sort of treatment—and rightly so.  David was God’s chosen king, but some of his practices reflected the primitive culture of his day more than the will of God.  Take his family, for instance:

11 And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, also carpenters and masons who built David a house. 12 And David knew that the Lord had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel.

13 And David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, after he came from Hebron, and more sons and daughters were born to David. 14 And these are the names of those who were born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, 15 Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, 16 Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet.

The total number of David’s “concubines and wives” is unknown, though in ancient times it was customary to “inherit” the concubines of one’s predecessor.  Not everything that David does represents things that God allows.  Which means if God blesses David at all, it says more about God’s character than David’s.  We see these blessings in David’s military advancement.  The war against the Philistines was certainly a lengthy one, but the text highlights two key victories:

17 When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. But David heard of it and went down to the stronghold. 18 Now the Philistines had come and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim.19 And David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you give them into my hand?” And the Lord said to David, “Go up, for I will certainly give the Philistines into your hand.” 20 And David came to Baal-perazim, and David defeated them there. And he said, “The Lord has broken through my enemies before me like a breaking flood.” Therefore the name of that place is called Baal-perazim. 21 And the Philistines left their idols there, and David and his men carried them away.

22 And the Philistines came up yet again and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim. 23 And when David inquired of the Lord, he said, “You shall not go up; go around to their rear, and come against them opposite the balsam trees. 24 And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then rouse yourself, for then the Lord has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines.” 25 And David did as the Lord commanded him, and struck down the Philistines from Geba to Gezer.

David’s early career was therefore something of a mixed bag.  We rightly honor him as God’s chosen servant, but we nonetheless see reasons why we should look forward to a true, better King in Jesus.  In his commentary on 1-2 Samuel, Eugene Peterson observes the way that the life and ministry of Jesus reflects—and improves upon—the kingly role of David:

“David and Jesus both enter Jerusalem to establish the rule of God; they both clear the place of those who defile it; but the fate of the ‘blind and lame’ is turned around…When David enters the city of Jerusaelm as the new king of Israel to establish a capital for his kingly rule, clearing the place of the pagan Jebusites, the blind and lame are referred to as ‘those whom David hates.’  When Jesus, a thousand years later, enters the same city, acclaimed as both king and Son of David, he clears the area of all who defiled the holy place with exploitive practices.  His first act, after the cleanup, is to heal ‘the blind and the lame’ (Matthew 21:14).” (Eugene H. Peterson, First and Second Samuel, p. 158-9)

Today’s news cycle is dominated by tragedy and scandal.  Our celebrities and artists fare no better.  In a world where all of our heroes are failures, fiction, or ghosts, who is there to have confidence in?  The answer has to be Jesus, for who else can serve with His consistent level of integrity, His love, or His mercy?

And if Jesus is my true King, then it means that my allegiance to His throne surpasses—nay, overthrows—whatever allegiance I may have to my own heart.  By following this King, I have victory not over political adversaries, but the adversaries of sin and death.  And that changes everything, because now I have a whole new identity as a member of God’s kingdom.

When Thomas Pynchon titled his classic novel Gravity’s Rainbow, he did so as something of a dark joke.  The novel takes place in the era of nuclear fear.  The “rainbow” refers to the parabolic arc—the arch across the sky formed by intercontinental ballistic missiles.  The worst thing of all, according to the novel, is that when the missiles travel faster than the speed of sound no one can ever hear it coming.  One day, there’s a flash, and it’s all over.

What goes up must come down, and usually with no real precision or sense of target specificity.  The transition from the books of 1-2 Samuel comes with the decline of Saul, a man now caught in the “rainbow” of the gravity of his own failure:

Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. 2 And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines struck down Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul.3 The battle pressed hard against Saul, and the archers found him, and he was badly wounded by the archers. 4 Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and mistreat me.” But his armor-bearer would not, for he feared greatly. Therefore Saul took his own sword and fell upon it. 5 And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died with him. 6 Thus Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men, on the same day together. 7 And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley and those beyond the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled. And the Philistines came and lived in them. (1 Samuel 31:1-7)

Saul takes his own life, while the people flee from battle.  He takes the easy way out, though the aftermath of this decision would be felt throughout the land.

8 The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9 So they cut off his head and stripped off his armor and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines, to carry the good news to the house of their idols and to the people. 10 They put his armor in the temple of Ashtaroth, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan. 11 But when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all the valiant men arose and went all night and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and they came to Jabesh and burned them there. 13 And they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh and fasted seven days. (1 Samuel 31:8-13)

Thus ends 1 Samuel, almost as a tag line from a newspaper headline.  The best case scenario was a few valiant men who came to claim his body before it could be fully desecrated.

2 Samuel picks up this same storyline:

After the death of Saul, when David had returned from striking down the Amalekites, David remained two days in Ziklag. 2 And on the third day, behold, a man came from Saul’s camp, with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. And when he came to David, he fell to the ground and paid homage. 3 David said to him, “Where do you come from?” And he said to him, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.” 4 And David said to him, “How did it go? Tell me.” And he answered, “The people fled from the battle, and also many of the people have fallen and are dead, and Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead.”5 Then David said to the young man who told him, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?” 6 And the young man who told him said, “By chance I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and there was Saul leaning on his spear, and behold, the chariots and the horsemen were close upon him. 7 And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called to me. And I answered, ‘Here I am.’ 8 And he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’ 9 And he said to me, ‘Stand beside me and kill me, for anguish has seized me, and yet my life still lingers.’ 10 So I stood beside him and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown that was on his head and the armlet that was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord.” (2 Samuel 1:1-10)

The man is lying.  1 Samuel 31 tells us that Saul killed himself when even his armor-bearer refused.  Why lie about this?  The Amalekite makes it seem almost an act of mercy—or more likely, he wanted to be remembered as the man who finally put David in power.  Unfortunately the scheme backfired:

11 Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him. 12 And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son and for the people of the Lord and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword. 13 And David said to the young man who told him, “Where do you come from?” And he answered, “I am the son of a sojourner, an Amalekite.” 14 David said to him, “How is it you were not afraid to put out your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?” 15 Then David called one of the young men and said, “Go, execute him.” And he struck him down so that he died. 16 And David said to him, “Your blood be on your head, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have killed the Lord’s anointed.’”

David wants nothing to do with someone that would take the life of God’s anointed.  The irony, of course, is that the man was never guilty of this crime—yet his bragging only brought him ruin.

Much attention has been given to suicide in recent months—starting with the death of Robin Williams to the scheduled death of Brittney Maynard, a 29 year old cancer patient choosing to end her life on her own terms.  We might add to this list the literally thousands who struggle with anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts.  What should the Christian response be?

First, contrary to other teachings on the matter, we should recognize that suicide does not equal a trip to hell.  Your acceptance before God is through Jesus.  If a person trusts in Jesus, yet takes their own life, then while God is displeased with that choice it does not remove the grace of His Son.

Secondly, suffering is an integral part of life in a broken world.  Death is inevitable for us all.  Saul surely saw this—as do those suffering with cancer.  So how imminent should death be before we can justify such decisions?  We’re talking, of course, about euthanasia, or assisted suicide.  From an ethical perspective, there are two broad forms.  Passive euthanasia refers to allowing nature—in its cursed form—to follow its natural course.  This might mean withholding or even ceasing treatment from the terminally ill, and allowing their body to shut down.  As Christians, we rightly recognize that this horrific decision does not come easily—but we also should not cling so tightly to the here and now that we fail to prepare ourselves for the journey from nature to eternity.  In his book on the subject, M. Scott Peck—spiritual author as well as physician—repeatedly writes: “Let my people go.”  By that he meant Christians should not be surprised by suffering, nor should we approach death as if it’s truly final.

But active euthanasia, the act of terminating someone’s life through some direct intervention, is much more difficult.  As Christians, we recognize that suffering is never beautiful, never positive, though we might call it enriching.  We need not romanticize the notion of the noble sufferer, but on the other hand we must recognize the way that suffering connects to the core of who we are as humans.  Suicide, therefore, dehumanizes us, suggests that suffering is something that can be opted out of at our discretion.

Let’s not throw rocks.  Each of us faces a “rainbow” all our own.  We will face tough decisions about what to do about suffering—either our own or that of a loved one.  But the gospel promises that because Jesus suffered with us—nay, for us—we can allow our hurts to press us more closely into the character of God.

If you’ve read J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic Lord of the Rings saga, then you may have noticed Peter Jackson’s films omitted a large portion of The Return of the King.  Tolkien’s novel concludes with a lengthy section called “The Scouring of the Shire,” which records the way that the familiar homeland of the Shire had now become overrun by “ruffians.”  Tolkien was working in the years that followed the first World War.  Many young men had gone off to a war fought in trenches and stretches of territory called “no man’s land.”  When they returned home, they found they could not shake the evil they’d seen.  Tolkien’s fanciful story reflects this time—reminding all readers that it’s simply not possible to face evil without evil touching you, maybe even changing you.

If you’ve been through any sort of major trauma—a death in the family, a broken relationship, any sense of loss—there’s a sense in which you can’t really “get over it.”  There’s some part of you that always feels some sense of soreness, like some limp of the soul.

1 Samuel concludes with the coming war between Israel and the Philistines, but in chapter 30 the narration slows and focuses on David.  His wilderness years are drawing to an end, but the suffering he’d experienced was still very much a part of his life.

DAVID’S CRISIS

David and his men return to find a land in ruin:

Now when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had made a raid against the Negeb and against Ziklag. They had overcome Ziklag and burned it with fire ² and taken captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great. They killed no one, but carried them off and went their way. ³ And when David and his men came to the city, they found it burned with fire, and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. ⁴ Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept until they had no more strength to weep. ⁵ David’s two wives also had been taken captive, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. ⁶ And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.

The men are incensed, and the natural target was David.  After all, he’d been their leader, surely he’s to blame for failing to protect their families?

When we’re hurt, it’s easy to cast blame.  And why not?  Anger is often preferable to hurt, because at least when you’re angry you’re not feeling helpless.  But this small measure of control will never truly serve you well, and in time such bitterness can prevent you from taking a realistic look at your circumstances.

GOD’S GUIDANCE

David’s first recourse was to seek God’s direction:

⁷ And David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. ⁸ And David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I pursue after this band? Shall I overtake them?” He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake and shall surely rescue.” ⁹ So David set out, and the six hundred men who were with him, and they came to the brook Besor, where those who were left behind stayed.¹⁰ But David pursued, he and four hundred men. Two hundred stayed behind, who were too exhausted to cross the brook Besor.

You and I don’t share this direct connection with God.  But we have something David didn’t.  Jesus promised that His followers would be given the provisionary guidance of the Holy Spirit.  Together with God’s word, God’s people have the tools necessary to navigate hostile terrain,

DAVID’S KINDNESS

In contrast to his men, David was able to show kindness to a stranger:

 ¹¹ They found an Egyptian in the open country and brought him to David. And they gave him bread and he ate. They gave him water to drink, ¹² and they gave him a piece of a cake of figs and two clusters of raisins. And when he had eaten, his spirit revived, for he had not eaten bread or drunk water for three days and three nights. ¹³ And David said to him, “To whom do you belong? And where are you from?” He said, “I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite, and my master left me behind because I fell sick three days ago. ¹⁴ We had made a raid against the Negeb of the Cherethites and against that which belongs to Judah and against the Negeb of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire.”¹⁵ And David said to him, “Will you take me down to this band?” And he said, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will take you down to this band.”

The kindness paid off—now this man would be instrumental in David’s victory.

DAVID’S VICTORY

David was now granted the ability to attain victory:

 ¹⁶ And when he had taken him down, behold, they were spread abroad over all the land, eating and drinking and dancing, because of all the great spoil they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. ¹⁷ And David struck them down from twilight until the evening of the next day, and not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men, who mounted camels and fled. ¹⁸ David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken, and David rescued his two wives. ¹⁹ Nothing was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything that had been taken. David brought back all. ²⁰ David also captured all the flocks and herds, and the people drove the livestock before him, and said, “This is David’s spoil.”

²¹ Then David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow David, and who had been left at the brook Besor. And they went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him. And when David came near to the people he greeted them. ²² Then all the wicked and worthless fellows among the men who had gone with David said, “Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered, except that each man may lead away his wife and children, and depart.” ²³ But David said, “You shall not do so, my brothers, with what the Lord has given us. He has preserved us and given into our hand the band that came against us.²⁴ Who would listen to you in this matter? For as his share is who goes down into the battle, so shall his share be who stays by the baggage. They shall share alike.” ²⁵ And he made it a statute and a rule for Israel from that day forward to this day.

And notice that David was able to use this victory to bless others:

 ²⁶ When David came to Ziklag, he sent part of the spoil to his friends, the elders of Judah, saying, “Here is a present for you from the spoil of the enemies of the Lord.” ²⁷ It was for those in Bethel, in Ramoth of the Negeb, in Jattir, ²⁸ in Aroer, in Siphmoth, in Eshtemoa,²⁹ in Racal, in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, in the cities of the Kenites, ³⁰ in Hormah, in Bor-ashan, in Athach, ³¹ in Hebron, for all the places where David and his men had roamed.

When we experience deliverance from a time in the wilderness, how can we use this victory for the benefit of others?  Chances are you have a story of how God delivered you from circumstances that seemed overwhelming.  That story—when shared with a neighbor or a coworker—can be powerful in God’s hands at revealing His character.

I experienced such a wilderness in the years after college.  My undergraduate training was in science and chemistry, but a brief stint in cancer research stretched my abilities past the point of breaking.  I was devastated—and jobless.  What was I to do?  It’s a terrible thing to witness your dreams dissolve in a veil of tears.  But it’s a wonderful thing to watch God work His will with your life.  The end of the story, of course, is that I would later become a pastor.  Life will always bring its share of time in the wilderness.  But we can remain confident that Jesus’ victory over sin and death—and the righteousness that he grants to our ledger before God—will see us through.

“All the world’s a stage,” Shakespeare once wrote.  Yet as we step onto its floorboards, there will be times when we wonder what sort of play we enact.  Tragedy?  Comedy?  And the greatest prophets of our day insist that there is nothing in our script not inscribed there by nurture or nature—the dispassionate playwrights of an empty human drama.   “There is not one big cosmic meaning for all,” writes international novelist Anaias Nin.  “There is only the meaning we give to our life, an individual meaning, an individual plot, like an individual novel, a book for each person.”  Yet suffering, times spent in the wilderness—these things give us pause as we consider how to make sense of the story God seems to be writing in our lives.

DEJU VU ALL OVER AGAIN

Once again David has the chance to solve his problems on his own terms.

Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is not David hiding himself on the hill of Hachilah, which is on the east of Jeshimon?” 2 So Saul arose and went down to the wilderness of Ziph with three thousand chosen men of Israel to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph. 3 And Saul encamped on the hill of Hachilah, which is beside the road on the east of Jeshimon. But David remained in the wilderness. When he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness, 4 David sent out spies and learned that Saul had indeed come. 5 Then David rose and came to the place where Saul had encamped. And David saw the place where Saul lay, with Abner the son of Ner, the commander of his army. Saul was lying within the encampment, while the army was encamped around him.

Though outnumbered, David has the upper hand.  With the element of surprise once again on his side, David could turn this battle in his favor by taking out Saul—or send another in his stead.

6 Then David said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Joab’s brother Abishai the son of Zeruiah, “Who will go down with me into the camp to Saul?” And Abishai said, “I will go down with you.” 7 So David and Abishai went to the army by night. And there lay Saul sleeping within the encampment, with his spear stuck in the ground at his head, and Abner and the army lay around him. 8 Then Abishai said to David, “God has given your enemy into your hand this day. Now please let me pin him to the earth with one stroke of the spear, and I will not strike him twice.” 9 But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him, for who can put out his hand against the Lord’s anointed and be guiltless?” 10 And David said, “As the Lord lives, the Lord will strike him, or his day will come to die, or he will go down into battle and perish. 11 The Lord forbid that I should put out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. But take now the spear that is at his head and the jar of water, and let us go.” 12 So David took the spear and the jar of water from Saul’s head, and they went away. No man saw it or knew it, nor did any awake, for they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen upon them.

Abishai could have easily done David’s dirty work for him.  David’s commitment remains steadfast.  Surely by this time David must have wondered whether the game would ever end.  Would he be trapped on the run forever?

DAVID AND ABNER

Abner was Saul’s bodyguard.  Yet ironically Saul’s life was spared not by Saul’s bodyguard, but by Saul’s would-be assassin.

13 Then David went over to the other side and stood far off on the top of the hill, with a great space between them. 14 And David called to the army, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, “Will you not answer, Abner?” Then Abner answered, “Who are you who calls to the king?” 15 And David said to Abner, “Are you not a man? Who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not kept watch over your lord the king? For one of the people came in to destroy the king your lord. 16 This thing that you have done is not good. As the Lord lives, you deserve to die, because you have not kept watch over your lord, the Lord’s anointed. And now see where the king’s spear is and the jar of water that was at his head.”

DAVID AND SAUL

David now confronts Saul.

17 Saul recognized David’s voice and said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” And David said, “It is my voice, my lord, O king.” 18 And he said, “Why does my lord pursue after his servant? For what have I done? What evil is on my hands? 19 Now therefore let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If it is the Lord who has stirred you up against me, may he accept an offering, but if it is men, may they be cursed before the Lord, for they have driven me out this day that I should have no share in the heritage of the Lord, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’ 20 Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth away from the presence of the Lord, for the king of Israel has come out to seek a single flea like one who hunts a partridge in the mountains.”

Notice that though Saul addresses David as “son,” any affection David might have had is gone.  As before, David’s loyalty rests with God—not with the character of Saul.  David insists that searching out a lowly “flea” or “partridge” was beneath the king’s dignity.

Saul repents, though once again his words ring hollow:

21 Then Saul said, “I have sinned. Return, my son David, for I will no more do you harm, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Behold, I have acted foolishly, and have made a great mistake.” 22 And David answered and said, “Here is the spear, O king! Let one of the young men come over and take it. 23 The Lord rewards every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness, for the Lord gave you into my hand today, and I would not put out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. 24 Behold, as your life was precious this day in my sight, so may my life be precious in the sight of the Lord, and may he deliver me out of all tribulation.” 25 Then Saul said to David, “Blessed be you, my son David! You will do many things and will succeed in them.” So David went his way, and Saul returned to his place.

David responds with trust in God.  He even returns Saul’s spear—the same one he’d tried to use to kill both David and Jonathan.  David sees his trust in God as part of a larger story—a story in which God would make good on his promise to protect and provide for David.

In J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Two Towers—the second part of his beloved Lord of the Rings Series—things look grim for Frodo and Sam, the characters charged with the burdensome task of carrying the ring of power to Mordor.  Frodo is at the verge of giving up, when Sam reminds him of why they used to love the stories and tales from their youth:

“The brave things in the old tales and songs, Mr. Frodo: adventures, as I used to call them. I used to think that they were things the wonderful folk of the stories went out and looked for, because they wanted them, because they were exciting and life was a bit dull, a kind of a sport, as you might say. But that’s not the way of it with the tales that really mattered, or the ones that stay in the mind. Folk seem to have been just landed in them, usually – their paths were laid that way, as you put it. But I expect they had lots of chances, like us, of turning back, only they didn’t. And if they had, we shouldn’t know, because they’d have been forgotten. … I wonder what sort of a tale we’ve fallen into?”

“I wonder,” said Frodo. “But I don’t know. And that’s the way of a real tale. Take any one that you’re fond of. You may know, or guess, what kind of a tale it is, happy-ending or sad-ending, but the people in it don’t know. And you don’t want them to.”

Are you facing difficulty?  Would you rather your life be dull, uninteresting?  When you get to the end of your life, do you really want to look back at your years and consider them ordinary?  The wisest of teachers can’t always tell you what your future holds in store.  Your journey might be through a path of suffering—and there may be no light at the end of your tunnel.   And this is why Christianity insists that nothing makes sense when divorced from the larger story of eternity.  If we understand that God has a greater story to tell, if we see ourselves as bit actors in a far more expansive drama, then that changes everything.  Christianity may not dry our tears, but the pain may press us closer to Jesus, and to the reminder that something larger is going on and there is a plan for a happily ever after.  Struggles along the way are inevitable—but so is our future joy.  Don’t get so lost in present pain that you fail to see future promise.

In 1 Samuel 24 and 26, David encounters Saul, both times sparing his life.  But between these two stories is another, lesser-known but fascinating story about David and Abigail.

The story starts with a tragic death—the passing of Samuel, the last of Israel’s judges:

25 Now Samuel died. And all Israel assembled and mourned for him, and they buried him in his house at Ramah.

David had now lost his mentor and moral compass.  Thus he now found himself plunged into a much deeper wilderness—one not defined by geography but by the riddles and valleys of the human heart.

THE WILDERNESS EXOSES OUR IDOLS

David and his men—who at this time numbered in the hundreds—had not been idle.  They’d become something of a peace-keeping force, a sort of “neighborhood watch” over the people of the regions.

Then David rose and went down to the wilderness of Paran. ² And there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. The man was very rich; he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. He was shearing his sheep in Carmel. ³ Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. The woman was discerning and beautiful, but the man was harsh and badly behaved; he was a Calebite. ⁴ David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. ⁵ So David sent ten young men. And David said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal and greet him in my name. ⁶ And thus you shall greet him: ‘Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have. ⁷ I hear that you have shearers. Now your shepherds have been with us, and we did them no harm, and they missed nothing all the time they were in Carmel. ⁸ Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we come on a feast day. Please give whatever you have at hand to your servants and to your son David.’”

⁹ When David’s young men came, they said all this to Nabal in the name of David, and then they waited. ¹⁰ And Nabal answered David’s servants, “Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants these days who are breaking away from their masters.¹¹ Shall I take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers and give it to men who come from I do not know where?” ¹² So David’s young men turned away and came back and told him all this. ¹³ And David said to his men, “Every man strap on his sword!” And every man of them strapped on his sword. David also strapped on his sword. And about four hundred men went up after David, while two hundred remained with the baggage.

David’s request had been perfectly reasonable.  But Nabal would have nothing of it.  And David responds with fierce determination to take this man’s life.

Something similar happens to each of us.  When we experience hard times—whether occupationally, relationally, or otherwise—our tendency is to find our own solution.  We want the “easy way out,” because then I can experience the comfort and security and protection found in my financial circumstances, or a new relationship.  Even pornography is often not about sex, but the need to be comforted because of failures in life.  If suffering pushes me toward a deeper commitment to my career or my hobbies, it could be that these are the true gods of my heart.

Without Samuel, David needed another counselor.

BEAUTY EXPANDS OUR VISION

We know nothing about Abigail other than that she was very beautiful.  But now we see that she is exceedingly courageous in protecting her husband’s life.

¹⁴ But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, “Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to greet our master, and he railed at them. ¹⁵ Yet the men were very good to us, and we suffered no harm, and we did not miss anything when we were in the fields, as long as we went with them. ¹⁶ They were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep. ¹⁷ Now therefore know this and consider what you should do, for harm is determined against our master and against all his house, and he is such a worthless man that one cannot speak to him.”

¹⁸ Then Abigail made haste and took two hundred loaves and two skins of wine and five sheep already prepared and five seahs of parched grain and a hundred clusters of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on donkeys. ¹⁹ And she said to her young men, “Go on before me; behold, I come after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal. ²⁰ And as she rode on the donkey and came down under cover of the mountain, behold, David and his men came down toward her, and she met them. ²¹ Now David had said, “Surely in vain have I guarded all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him, and he has returned me evil for good. ²² God do so to the enemies of David and more also, if by morning I leave so much as one male of all who belong to him.”

²³ When Abigail saw David, she hurried and got down from the donkey and fell before David on her face and bowed to the ground. ²⁴ She fell at his feet and said, “On me alone, my lord, be the guilt. Please let your servant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your servant. ²⁵ Let not my lord regard this worthless fellow, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal is his name, and folly is with him. But I your servant did not see the young men of my lord, whom you sent. ²⁶ Now then, my lord, as the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, because the Lord has restrained you from bloodguilt and from saving with your own hand, now then let your enemies and those who seek to do evil to my lord be as Nabal.²⁷ And now let this present that your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow my lord. ²⁸ Please forgive the trespass of your servant. For the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord is fighting the battles of the Lord, and evil shall not be found in you so long as you live. ²⁹ If men rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living in the care of the Lord your God. And the lives of your enemies he shall sling out as from the hollow of a sling. ³⁰ And when the Lord has done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you and has appointed you prince over Israel, ³¹ my lord shall have no cause of grief or pangs of conscience for having shed blood without cause or for my lord working salvation himself. And when the Lord has dealt well with my lord, then remember your servant.”

Christianity has a long history of interpreting “beauty” as a reflection of the character of God.  Every artist, musician, or nature-lover can affirm this.  Yes, even you hunters might think you’re too “manly” to talk about “beauty,” but in reality you connect in some mysterious, soulish way to God through beauty and nature—even if our hearts can’t always express it.

In the movie The Shawshank Redemption, Andy Dufresne is a man imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit.  Yet he rises to the respect of his prison guards and warden, the latter allowing him to start a prison library.  When he receives the first shipment of books and records, he barricades himself inside the office, where he puts on a vinyl recording of an Italian opera.  Then, he takes the prison intercom system, and plays the record for all to hear.  The entire prison stops in their tracks, and turns their focus to the sound of the music playing through the public address system.  Red—Morgan Freeman’s character—narrates the scene:

I have no idea to this day what those two Italian ladies were singing about. Truth is, I don’t want to know. Some things are best left unsaid. I’d like to think they were singing about something so beautiful, it can’t be expressed in words, and makes your heart ache because of it. I tell you, those voices soared higher and farther than anybody in a gray place dares to dream. It was like some beautiful bird flapped into our drab little cage and made those walls dissolve away, and for the briefest of moments, every last man in Shawshank felt free.

Beauty reminds us—on almost a subliminal level—that there is something greater outside the prison of self.  An appreciation of beauty is not necessarily akin to actual worship—but in many instances worship can spring forth from a heart sensitized by beauty.

WORSHIP EXPRESSES OUR TRUST

David’s response is magnificent:

³² And David said to Abigail, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me! ³³ Blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodguilt and from working salvation with my own hand! ³⁴ For as surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, who has restrained me from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, truly by morning there had not been left to Nabal so much as one male.” ³⁵ Then David received from her hand what she had brought him. And he said to her, “Go up in peace to your house. See, I have obeyed your voice, and I have granted your petition.”

³⁶ And Abigail came to Nabal, and behold, he was holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk. So she told him nothing at all until the morning light. ³⁷ In the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. ³⁸ And about ten days later the Lord struck Nabal, and he died.

³⁹ When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Blessed be the Lord who has avenged the insult I received at the hand of Nabal, and has kept back his servant from wrongdoing. The Lord has returned the evil of Nabal on his own head.” Then David sent and spoke to Abigail, to take her as his wife. ⁴⁰ When the servants of David came to Abigail at Carmel, they said to her, “David has sent us to you to take you to him as his wife.” ⁴¹ And she rose and bowed with her face to the ground and said, “Behold, your handmaid is a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.” ⁴² And Abigail hurried and rose and mounted a donkey, and her five young women attended her. She followed the messengers of David and became his wife.

⁴³ David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel, and both of them became his wives. ⁴⁴ Saul had given Michal his daughter, David’s wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was of Gallim.

David repents, God intervenes, and Abigail becomes David’s wife.  And in the midst of the scene David rejoices in what God has done to remind him of who’s in charge.

Worship, therefore, is not merely something that we participate in an hour a week.  It’s something that happens to us.  It changes us, shapes our hearts toward God’s plans and away from our own.  Church can therefore never be an interruption in our week, but it serves to remind us what our week is fundamentally about: worshipping God in every aspect and every moment of our lives.

“The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.”  This is a paraphrase from a Robert Burns’ 18^th-Century poem.  Others have defined frustration as the distance between expectation and reality.  When my plans fail to unfold the way I desire, it’s devastating.  So when I think about David, I can’t help but wonder what it would be like to know God’s promises, only to live in the absence of their fulfillment.  David spent something like 10 years on the run from Saul’s vicious pursuit.  David was not without his supporters (roughly 600 men), but they remained far outnumbered by Saul’s superior forces (3,000 men).

So when an opportunity presented itself to turn the tide, David must have faced an overwhelming temptation:

When Saul returned from following the Philistines, he was told, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.” ² Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the Wildgoats’ Rocks. ³ And he came to the sheepfolds by the way, where there was a cave, and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the innermost parts of the cave. ⁴ And the men of David said to him, “Here is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you.’” Then David arose and stealthily cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. ⁵ And afterward David’s heart struck him, because he had cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. ⁶ He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the Lord’s anointed.” ⁷ So David persuaded his men with these words and did not permit them to attack Saul. And Saul rose up and left the cave and went on his way. (1 Samuel 24:1-7)

David faced a crisis.  He had only to extend his sword and his troubles would be over.  There will be many times when you and I will face a wilderness all our own.  For some it’s a season of prolonged difficulty at work.  Or at home.  Maybe a season—or even a lifetime—of singleness.  Childlessness.  Solitude.  When such circumstances endure, it’s only natural to want a way out.  And it’s hard to deny something that “feels right.”  Singles end their search for “Mr./Mrs. Right” in favor of the “Right Now.”  Those pursuing a promotion at work might be tempted to see an opportunity for advancement—but only if it means shirking their responsibilities toward their wife and kids.

David’s cutting off of Saul’s robe—a symbolic gesture testifying toward David’s threatening Saul’s leadership—only panged David’s conscience.  Why?  Because David understood something altogether basic: immediate solutions do not satisfy ultimate hopes.  Career advancement, a new relationship, a chance at happiness—surely these things seem so good that it’s hard not to think that God might be in this.  But only later do we realize that those pursuits only contradict God’s good and perfect will.  David understood that God’s plan wouldn’t be accomplished by stooping to Saul’s level.  And if we seek to follow Jesus, then it means being satisfied in God’s plans—even if they come at the expense of our own happiness.  Commitment will always be a greater challenge than convenience—but it also brings the promise of greater joy.

DAVID AND SAUL

Following this scene David and Saul have a verbal encounter—from a safe distance, of course.

⁸ Afterward David also arose and went out of the cave, and called after Saul, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth and paid homage. ⁹ And David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Behold, David seeks your harm’? ¹⁰ Behold, this day your eyes have seen how the Lord gave you today into my hand in the cave. And some told me to kill you, but I spared you. I said, ‘I will not put out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord’s anointed.’ ¹¹ See, my father, see the corner of your robe in my hand. For by the fact that I cut off the corner of your robe and did not kill you, you may know and see that there is no wrong or treason in my hands. I have not sinned against you, though you hunt my life to take it.¹² May the Lord judge between me and you, may the Lord avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you. ¹³ As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Out of the wicked comes wickedness.’ But my hand shall not be against you. ¹⁴ After whom has the king of Israel come out? After whom do you pursue? After a dead dog! After a flea! ¹⁵ May the Lord therefore be judge and give sentence between me and you, and see to it and plead my cause and deliver me from your hand.” (1 Samuel 24:8-14)

David’s speech reflects supreme devotion—though ultimately not to Saul, but to God.  Saul’s response seems—at least superficially—seems to be one of gratitude.  In fact, it’s the only time when we actually see Saul cry.

¹⁶ As soon as David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” And Saul lifted up his voice and wept. ¹⁷ He said to David, “You are more righteous than I, for you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil.¹⁸ And you have declared this day how you have dealt well with me, in that you did not kill me when the Lord put me into your hands. ¹⁹ For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away safe? So may the Lord reward you with good for what you have done to me this day. ²⁰ And now, behold, I know that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand. ²¹ Swear to me therefore by the Lord that you will not cut off my offspring after me, and that you will not destroy my name out of my father’s house.” ²² And David swore this to Saul. Then Saul went home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.(1 Samuel 24:16-22)

But Saul’s words ring mightily hollow.  In his commentary on David’s life, Eugene Peterson regards Saul’s speech as “a classic instance of a sentimentalized spirituality:”

“Saul concedes that David is right and attests that he knows David is the rightful king who will eventually take over.  He acknowledges all that the circumstance in the cave reveals as the truth of their respective kingships.  There is nothing in the account that suggests that Saul does not feel and believe what he is saying while he is saying it.  But there is no character to back it up, no covenant (as there is between [Jonathan] and David) on which to build a life of repentance and prayer, relationship and obedience.  Saul displays exquisite religious emotions, but his life does not change in the slightest degree.”  (Eugene H. Peterson, First and Second Samuel, p. 118)

Surely David must suspect this.  David’s men are probably voicing it in their ranks.  The most shocking thing about the gospel is that Jesus loves the unlovely.  To the church in Rome, Paul writes:

“while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.⁹ Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. ¹⁰ For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.” (Romans 5:8-10)

Christ died for his enemies, and at the hands of his enemies. Jesus died for me before I ever gave hint at commitment to him.  That’s not convenience—that’s grace.  And like David, Jesus’ greater commitment is to his Father’s glory and plan.  To live within that plan means abandoning our immediate solutions in favor of ultimate joy.

So, you’re walking along in the woods and you come across a wild animal caught in a trap. Feeling compassion for the beast, you free it, only to have it attack and bite you before running off through the woods. Next, the trapper/hunter comes along and shoots you in the arm for letting his game loose.

You’ll probably never have that scenario happen, but there are dozens of others in life where you help someone through a good deed, only to have the person turn on you; or perhaps you end up being criticized or hassled by another party who did not know of your good deed or disagreed with it as an appropriate action.

David must have had such feelings. In our story today, he and his motley crew deliver a Jewish city from Philistine raids and oppression by defeating these thieves and scoundrels as God promised David he would. David’s men were at first hesitant to come out of hiding against a superior military force, but God promised success and delivers on a victory through them.

The people of the city named Keilah are thankful … to a point. Saul hears that David is there and he goes after him to catch David and his men in an enclosed place. David inquires of the Lord if Saul is coming after him, and secondly, will the people hand him over to Saul?  The answers are “yes” and “yes.”  Thanks for the gratitude!

So it is back on the road again for David and his men as they are off and hiding, staying just a step or two ahead of Saul and his army. Let’s read the story, and I’ll share a couple of thoughts after it …

David Saves Keilah

23:1 When David was told, “Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are looting the threshing floors,” 2 he inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?”

The Lord answered him, “Go, attack the Philistines and save Keilah.”

3 But David’s men said to him, “Here in Judah we are afraid. How much more, then, if we go to Keilah against the Philistine forces!”

4 Once again David inquired of the Lord, and the Lord answered him, “Go down to Keilah, for I am going to give the Philistines into your hand.” 5 So David and his men went to Keilah, fought the Philistines and carried off their livestock. He inflicted heavy losses on the Philistines and saved the people of Keilah. 6 (Now Abiathar son of Ahimelek had brought the ephod down with him when he fled to David at Keilah.)

Saul Pursues David

7 Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah, and he said, “God has delivered him into my hands, for David has imprisoned himself by entering a town with gates and bars.”8 And Saul called up all his forces for battle, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men.

9 When David learned that Saul was plotting against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod.” 10 David said, “Lord, God of Israel, your servant has heard definitely that Saul plans to come to Keilah and destroy the town on account of me. 11 Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me to him? Will Saul come down, as your servant has heard? Lord, God of Israel, tell your servant.”

And the Lord said, “He will.”

12 Again David asked, “Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me and my men to Saul?”

And the Lord said, “They will.”

13 So David and his men, about six hundred in number, left Keilah and kept moving from place to place. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he did not go there.

14 David stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands.

15 While David was at Horesh in the Desert of Ziph, he learned that Saul had come out to take his life. 16 And Saul’s son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God. 17 “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “My father Saul will not lay a hand on you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this.”18 The two of them made a covenant before the Lord. Then Jonathan went home, but David remained at Horesh.

19 The Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Is not David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hakilah, south of Jeshimon? 20 Now, Your Majesty, come down whenever it pleases you to do so, and we will be responsible for giving him into your hands.”

21 Saul replied, “The Lord bless you for your concern for me. 22 Go and get more information. Find out where David usually goes and who has seen him there. They tell me he is very crafty. 23 Find out about all the hiding places he uses and come back to me with definite information. Then I will go with you; if he is in the area, I will track him down among all the clans of Judah.”

24 So they set out and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the Desert of Maon, in the Arabah south of Jeshimon. 25 Saul and his men began the search, and when David was told about it, he went down to the rock and stayed in the Desert of Maon. When Saul heard this, he went into the Desert of Maon in pursuit of David.

26 Saul was going along one side of the mountain, and David and his men were on the other side, hurrying to get away from Saul. As Saul and his forces were closing in on David and his men to capture them, 27 a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Come quickly! The Philistines are raiding the land.” 28 Then Saul broke off his pursuit of David and went to meet the Philistines. That is why they call this place Sela Hammahlekoth. 29 And David went up from there and lived in the strongholds of En Gedi.

1. When it feels like you are winning some occasional battles but generally losing the war, remember that it is God’s score that really counts. David is doing well in serving God, even if his resume is not being particularly enhanced by the visible marks of success in this world. So do what is right, and leave the rewards with God. Yes, I know how hard this is … every day I think about it.
2. Look to God for direction and wisdom in the daily affairs of life. In this passage, one cannot help but notice that David is constantly inquiring of God about what to do, while Saul is continuously inquiring of others or seeking the answer in his own mind. Saul never had a natural proclivity for looking toward God. A humorous detail lost in the translation from Hebrew to English is that the word for “inquire” sounds ironically like Saul’s name… “sa’al.”
3. God sends occasional encouragements to get us through the darkest times. In the passage, it is Jonathan who comes again to David and reaffirms the truth underlying David’s belief system and actions. I have seen this happen over and over in my own life over the years. There are many times when I’ve come to the very threshold of giving up the calling of serving God, and at the darkest moments, someone has shown up out of the blue (in many cases) to stop my impulsive action in a moment of despair.

I believe God works with us in these ways if we will allow him and look to him. I’m not going to tell you that it is easy. It often is not. It usually is not. It almost always is not.

Don’t trust me or anyone else… trust God on this one. That’s the point. Good deeds of obedience to God’s truth only get punished in the scoring system of this world.