The King who does the Right Thing

Good evening, everyone. For those who don't know me, my name is Luca, and I'm one of the members here at Branchfield Evangelical Church.

Tonight we're looking at 1 Samuel 24, but before we do that, let's pray again.

Father, thank you for this time together tonight. Thank you that we can spend this time on this passage of the Old Testament.

We ask you that your word will speak to our hearts. We ask you that you will protect our minds from distractions.

And we ask you that you will prepare our hearts, that they're open to receive the message you have for us tonight.

Work in us, Father, we ask you as we look at your word. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

Amen.

So, to begin, I would like to invite you all to try and put yourselves in the shoes of an imaginary child.

Let's say you're 10 or 11 years old, and you're playing a board game with your friends, and it's your favorite one.

It's the one that you're really, really good at.

Unfortunately, though, things are not going too well today, because there's just no way you're going to win.

The cards are against you.

But then, your friends leave the room for a minute, because the ice cream van just got here.

So you have the opportunity to reshuffle the cards.

You can put the right one on top.

The one that will let you conquer the board, just in a few moves.

I mean, it's clearly what should have happened from the very start anyway, because you played well.

They were ahead of you just because they got lucky.

Are you thinking about that feeling?

You only have a few seconds to make the decision between letting things play out the way they would have, naturally,

or changing the course of the game to your advantage.

What do you think would go through your head?

So many conflicting feelings, right?

I think that if we multiply those feelings by a billion times, we may be even just remotely close to what David must have felt

as he was in this cave in the passage that we're looking at tonight.

David, too, had the opportunity to reshuffle the cards to his advantage, and he had to make a decision very quickly.

The passage tonight is made up of three sections.

And as we study the text, we'll see how David is the king who does the right thing.

And how David, in doing so, points us to Jesus as the perfect king.

So we will try and consider which attributes of David we see in each section.

So please cover your ears if you don't like spoilers, but I think that listing the attributes at the start will help us see them more clearly in the passage as we study it.

You might have to cover your eyes, too, to be honest, because it'll be on screen.

So the first section narrates the main event of the chapter, and it goes from verse 1 to verse 7, and it shows us David as the servant king.

Moving on to the second section, we have David's speech in verses 8 to 15, and we'll see David as the trusting king.

We will see who he puts his trust in and why he does that.

And then in the final section, from 16 to 22, we will see David waiting.

We will see why David is a patient king.

So David, the king who does the right thing by serving, by trusting, and by waiting.

Now, before we look at what happens in the cave, let's recap.

Let's sort of rewind and see what's been happening in the life of David for the last little while.

Because if we want to understand the significance of today's passage, we have to understand what the main events are,

which have led to this peculiar situation of Saul and David finding themselves in this, you might want to call it, a toilet cave room.

So David and Saul were both anointed kings by Samuel.

Saul was the king that the people of Israel wanted.

He was the king that they asked for, a king like the other nations.

They asked for such a king in chapter 8.

However, Saul defied the Lord because he didn't respect his commandments in chapters 13 and 15.

Therefore, God rejected Saul as king.

However, Saul is still on the throne.

On the other hand, we have David.

David is the king that God has chosen.

Samuel anointed him to in chapter 16 as he was instructed by God after God rejected Saul.

But it's not time yet for David to sit on the throne.

Not only was David anointed by Samuel, you might also remember he's defeated Goliath, the giant Philistine, in the chapter after.

And his dear friend Jonathan, who's Saul's son, he just promised him two weeks ago in chapter 23 that he will not stand.

Jonathan will not stand in the way of David becoming king.

And Jonathan even told David that even Saul, his father, knows that David will be king one day.

And yet, despite all of this, as we have seen for the past few Sundays, David is on the run.

Saul became jealous of David.

And even though he relented a couple of times, to this point he's already tried to kill him five times.

And in today's passage, he's more determined than ever to catch him and to finish him.

And Saul is not going after David just with his own spear like the first time that he attacked him.

At this point in time, Saul has 3,000 chosen men with him.

3,000 men who know how to do war are chasing after David and his 600 men, one-fifth of Saul's army.

And David's men, they're outcasts and rejects.

There are no soldiers.

So this is what's happened so far.

Now let's see what happens in verses 1 to 7.

Let's see why David is the right king who's the king who does the right thing by serving.

In verse 1, we read that Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines.

And if you were here two Sundays ago, you'll remember that Saul was chasing David around this mountain.

And just when it seemed that he was about to catch him, a messenger told Saul that the Philistines were raiding some villages.

So Saul and his men left.

So clearly God's providence was at work.

But now Saul is back.

And like it's already happened on other occasions, his spies, his spies are another advantage that he has over David.

They tell him where David is.

So he gathers his 3,000s and off he goes to the crags of the wild goats, an area full of caves.

Now I think this is one of those passages in the Bible where we're reminded that even though it was written thousands of years ago, it's still very relatable, if not sometimes even comical.

Because it tells us of women and men just like us.

And in some cases it will do so by describing the sinful nature of these people in a way that reminds us of our own sins.

Some other times it reminds us that king or not, we all need to move our bowels.

Because God has designed us like that and there's nothing we can do to avoid it.

So Saul leaves his men behind, we're not sure how far, and picks a cave to go relieve himself.

And of all the caves, and as I said there were men in this area, he manages to pick the one where his men, his enemies are hiding.

What are the chances?

It's like, again, the author is trying to tell us something.

God is clearly at work here too, just like he was during the chase around the mountain.

So what happens as Saul goes in?

Does he go in?

Does he see David and then shouts to his men and tell them to get there immediately and massacre everyone?

No.

In fact, nothing happens.

Because Saul goes in, the cave is probably very dark, maybe it bends at the back, and he doesn't see who is in it.

In fact, he doesn't see that anyone at all is in it.

So he simply goes to the toilet like he would have in any other cave.

Can we think of a more vulnerable situation?

He's without his men.

He's all alone in a darkness that his eyes haven't yet adjusted to.

He's got his pants down.

So I wonder if any of us can blame David's men for what they say in verse 4.

Let's read it again.

This is the day the Lord spoke of when he said to you,

I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.

Now, as far as we know, when God said this, he was actually talking about the Philistines in chapter 23.

And based on what is recorded in the book of Samuel,

we're not aware that God ever explicitly referred to Saul as David's enemy

or that he ever said Saul would be someone who God would put into David's hands.

But in their defense, this man has been chasing David and his men for months.

And if that's not an enemy, I don't know what it is.

And enemies are enemies.

Plus, even if David's men had been the most selfless people on earth,

even if they didn't care about their own lives, maybe they cared about God.

And they were still shocked and outraged by how Saul had massacred a whole town of people,

including God's very own priests.

We saw that in chapter 22.

Wouldn't we have felt entitled to take Saul's life?

I mean, he's clearly not a man after God's heart.

And the world would be better off without him.

As far as David goes, we do know his thinking at this stage.

According to the order that the events are narrated here,

his men encourage him to take Saul's life.

And then he leaves them.

And stealthy like a ninja, he approaches Saul and cuts off a piece of his robe,

without Saul even noticing.

We just don't know if he approached Saul with the intention of killing him,

or if he wanted to take just a piece of rope from the very start,

as he does as a proof that he spared his life.

However, what we do know is that after cutting it,

he is conscience stricken.

David feels guilty.

Maybe because he was very close to giving in to the temptation to kill the king.

Another reason might be that even though he didn't kill him,

he still disrespected him.

And way more than we can appreciate these days,

because in David's culture,

robes had a symbolic meaning to do with the authority of a person.

Either way, David goes back to his men and he sharply rebukes them.

A literal translation of the original would have read that he tore them apart with his words.

Now, I want you to think about how this was really not an easy conversation to have.

Apart from the fact that they had to whisper to not be heard by Saul just a few yards back,

I don't think we can even begin to comprehend the amount of pressure that David must have had on himself.

These are hundreds of men, 600 men,

who are risking their own lives to protect David's.

These are no friends debating if Marmite tastes good or not,

and I know how divisive the topic can be.

This is a matter of life and death.

In a matter of seconds,

David went from being the king on the run,

at the mercy of the king on the throne,

to having the possibility,

like us with our board game,

to completely subvert the situation.

He can finally take the throne

that God had so clearly

assigned to him when Samuel

anointed him.

And then, a few more seconds,

and he was back to square one,

because Saul is leaving the cave,

and David is just the king on the run again.

Why does David let this happen?

He does because what we see here

is our righteous king in action.

David is the king,

as we're seeing,

who does the right thing,

because he will not sin.

He will not take his fate into his own hands.

What he does instead

is put his future

and put the future of his men

in God's hands.

He recognizes that God is in control

and that he is God's servant.

This is why he goes back to his men

and he rebukes them

for suggesting to kill the ruling king.

So where does David find the strength

to do this?

We've just considered all the implications

of such a choice,

such an irrational choice

from a human perspective.

Well, David could do the right thing

because he didn't have

his own interests at heart.

He wanted to do God's will.

He wanted to serve God.

There are two beautiful Psalms

that David wrote

while he was hiding in caves,

just like in today's passage,

and while Saul was chasing him.

These are Psalm 57

and Psalm 142.

I recommend that you read them at home

when you have time

because they're very helpful

to understand

what David's frame of mind is

as he deals with the challenges

of being the king on the run.

And you can see in those Psalms

how David does not commiserate himself

while he's running away from Saul.

He doesn't blame God

for what he's having to endure.

And what he does instead

is find respite in God's love

and wait for God to intervene

and save him.

He is tired, clearly.

He is going through possibly

the hardest days of his life.

But what he does is look to God,

fully relying on God

and not on his own strengths

or on his men's.

David trusts that God

will be faithful to his promises

and understands that

what he is called to do

in the meantime

is serve him.

So it's because of this

close relationship with God,

this attitude of submission

to God's authority

that David can find the strength

to tell his men

as he does in verse 6,

the Lord forbid

that I should do such a thing

because he, Saul,

he is the anointed of the Lord.

David, the righteous king,

who's anointed to,

he knows that the right thing

just now,

the right thing to do

in this case,

is to serve the king

on the throne.

It's to serve Saul.

This is why we're calling

this section

the servant king.

David respects God's will

and serves his human king

no matter how difficult it is

to resist the temptation

to finally make justice

for himself.

And in doing so,

in serving Saul,

he's ultimately,

of course,

serving God.

If we think about

our own lives,

it can be very tempting,

I think,

to see God's providence

in the events around us,

just like David's men do.

But our whole lives,

like David's,

they should revolve around

God's revealed will,

which is his word.

Our attitude

should be to serve him,

even if situations

present themselves,

which can lead us

to do the opposite

and serve ourselves instead.

We're called to interpret

what happens around us

not according to

our human standards,

but according to God's word.

Because God speaks to us

all the time

and directly

through his word,

much more than he will ever

do through coincidences

left to our interpretation.

So I think we should learn

from David

to be dependent on God,

to dwell in his word

like he does

and his sons

and be in communion

with the Father.

So for instance,

when we're convinced

that the events around us,

that they're clearly telling us

to stop serving

in that church ministry

because not enough people

attend it,

to stop caring so much

about the spiritual health

of our friend

because it clearly

is just a waste of energy,

we can certainly be discouraged

when these things happen.

We're weak,

we'll be tired,

just like David's men,

and our temptation

is probably to just give up.

But we need to ask ourselves,

is this really what God wants?

It could be,

but like David's men,

we must ensure

that we're not focusing

on our own desires

and our intentions,

but our focus needs

to be on God's will

and how we,

as his subjects,

can serve him best.

That way,

we can recognize temptation

when it comes our way,

dressed as providence,

like in the case of David here.

That way,

we will know

if our interpretation

of the events,

if it contradicts God's plan for us,

which ultimately is

to glorify him

through our life,

his plan is for us

to serve him.

As we move on

to the second section

in verses 8 to 15,

we're going to be looking

at David

who does the right thing

by trusting.

So at this point,

Saul is leaving the cave.

He's unaware

of David's presence

and David runs after him.

I think by now,

his men must think

that David has just gone mad.

He trusts in God so much

and in his plan

to eventually make him king

that after sparing Saul's life,

instead of hiding in the cave

until Saul is gone,

he comes out

and calls him

because David trusts

that Saul will not order

his men

to slaughter him.

How does David address Saul?

In verse 8,

address Saul, sorry.

In verse 8,

my lord,

the king.

And his body language

is consistent

with his words too.

He bows down

face to the ground

because David

is showing respect

to Saul's authority.

It's important

that we don't miss

the reason why.

David said it to his men

in verse 6.

He reiterates it here

to Saul.

He doesn't respect Saul

for the good man he is,

of course,

or out of fear

of the king,

nor because Saul

is his friend

Jonathan's father.

Look at verse 10.

Because he is

the Lord's anointed.

That's the only reason.

And just to avoid

any confusion in Saul

and prevent his pride

from finding an opportunity

to pump his own ego

even more,

David goes on

to point how different

they are.

David is the righteous king

because he didn't listen

to his men

who see an enemy in Saul.

But Saul,

on the other hand,

he keeps listening

to other men.

David says it

in verse 9.

David is the righteous king

because he had

the opportunity

to kill Saul,

but he didn't.

And this piece of robe

that he is holding,

it proves it.

He shows it to Saul

in verse 11

and he says,

I have not wronged you,

but Saul,

on the other hand,

he keeps hunting David down.

So in verse 13,

David says,

from evildoers

come evil deeds

so my hand

will not touch you.

David,

at this point,

he just goes for it.

He respects God's anointed

by not killing him.

He bows to him,

but then he also

calls a spade a spade.

Saul's evil deeds

make him an evildoer,

an unrighteous man.

And by contrast,

because David

does not touch him,

David is righteous.

We have such an impressive,

such an amazing example

of trust in David here.

Steadfast trust,

as he says in Psalm 57.

My heart,

O God,

is steadfast.

My heart is steadfast.

Because David knows

that he might have been

the anointed king

on the run.

Saul might have been

the anointed king

currently on the throne,

but ultimately,

it's God and God only

who is the ultimate king.

And God

is going to judge

between the two of them.

He says it twice

in verses 12

and 15.

David is

suffering

unjustly,

but he still

respects God's authority.

He respects

God's plan

and his timing

and he puts

everything

in God's hands.

David is innocent.

Saul is guilty.

It's clear to everyone,

even to Saul himself,

as we'll see in a moment,

but God

is the judge.

So David's trust

is not in himself.

It is in God

only.

What a lesson

for us.

How much more

of an example

of dependence

on God

we would be

if we stopped

trying to make

justice for ourselves

whenever we think

we're being wronged.

And if we trusted

in the fact

that God,

God only,

is king

and judge.

Hopefully no one

is trying to kill us,

but when that person

at work,

university,

or even at church

says some unkind words,

when that person

talks behind our back,

or when someone

disrespects us

one way or another,

is my reaction,

I've been challenged

to think,

is my reaction

what you would expect

of a child of God?

Do I behave

like someone

who believes

that we're not

on this earth

to honor ourselves,

but that we're here

to glorify God,

to serve God?

We know we live

in a broken world,

and that is difficult,

but we also know

that God is sovereign,

and he will judge

this world

when the time comes.

In the meantime,

just like David,

we are here

to serve him.

So,

in these first two sections,

so far we've seen

David as the seventh king.

He does the right thing

by submitting himself

to God's authority,

and by serving Saul

as the God's anointed.

And then in this second section,

we just talked about David

as the trusting king,

because he trusts

that God will keep

his promises,

and that he will be

the ultimate judge

between him and Saul.

Now in this third

and last section,

the author of 1 Samuel

gives us an account

of Saul's response

to David.

And David again

is the king

who does the right thing,

and I wanted to point out

how he is patient

in this case.

He's waiting,

and why.

So we know

because we've read

the passage that

Saul is not going

to laugh at David,

call his men,

and finally put an end

to this extenuating

really chase.

the opposite.

David, my son.

That's what Saul says

in verse 16.

So for a moment here,

David is not just

Jesse's son anymore,

which is how Saul

addressed him

in the last few chapters.

He is my son.

What does Saul do?

He weeps.

He is clearly overwhelmed.

He must have realized

the huge significance

of what just happened.

Who, he says in verse 19,

just who lets his enemy

go unharmed

when he finds him?

And then Saul

will say two things,

and it's the fact itself

that he says them

out loud to David

that means a lot

because it's the first time

that he acknowledges them.

The first one being,

you are more righteous

than I am

because I have treated

you badly

in verse 17.

You are more righteous.

What David just said

that Saul

is an evil doer,

Saul is finally admitting.

And then the second thing is,

you will surely be king

in verse 20.

Jonathan told David

that Saul knew this already.

But this is the first time

that we see Saul say publicly

that David will be king.

He knows that God

has rejected him

and chosen David

to replace him.

Now, if you know

what the next few chapters

have in store for us,

then you also know

that despite this reaction

of Saul here,

despite the weeping,

things will pretty go much

things will pretty much

go to the way they were

with David still running

away from Saul

and Saul being very determined

to try and kill him.

So however much he means

what he's saying just now,

this clearly wasn't

true repentance.

Nevertheless,

we have to realize

that Saul can't help

but acknowledge

that God is at work

in David's life.

That's why he's saying

what he's saying.

Isn't this a striking picture

of how it is impossible,

even for someone like Saul,

and therefore for those

around us,

how it is impossible

for them to see,

to ignore God at work

in our own lives.

How encouraging is it

when people can see

that there is something

different about the way

that we behave?

And then on the other hand,

how disheartening can it be

when we're not being an example?

And the difference

that should be there

simply isn't.

Just as David's actions

spoke volumes

about where his heart was,

so do ours.

The example I came up with,

just think about someone

turning down that promotion

at work,

because it would take time

away from their work

for God,

whether that's at church

or somewhere else.

It would become apparent

to everyone in their circle

where this person's

priorities are,

and possibly prompt them

to ask questions

about why that is.

And then on the other hand,

we can be such a stumbling block

for the non-Christians

around us

when they see that we gossip

or that we slack off at work

just like everyone else.

Our behavior,

just like David's here,

it will be noticed

by those around us,

and it does say a lot

about where our trust

and priorities are.

After this,

Saul asks David to swear

that he will not

wipe out his house

once he becomes king

in verse 21,

which again confirms

that Saul is convinced

by now he knows

that David will be king.

David swears

he's just done it

to Jonathan

in the previous chapter,

but he does it again

to Saul here.

And then they go

their own separate ways.

David and his men

went up to the stronghold

according to verse 22,

and we could add

they waited.

This is the third aspect

of David

that we see in this story.

He is a patient king.

He waits on God's timing.

Saul just admitted

that even he knows

that David will be king,

but David knows

that this is not

the right time.

God still has more

to teach David

before he gets to the throne.

And even though

it is difficult,

David submits himself

to God's authority

and he keeps waiting

while suffering unjustly.

So we've seen

in chapter 24

how David

is shown to us

as a king

who does the right thing

by serving,

by trusting,

by waiting.

And I think that

the picture of David

that's just been drawn

before our eyes

in this passage,

it takes us straight

to Jesus,

doesn't it?

Because the parallels

are everywhere.

I'll quickly read

these verses

from 1 Peter 2.

These are about Jesus.

To this you were called,

and this is bearing

the pain of unjust suffering

that he mentions

in the previous verse.

Because Christ suffered

for you,

leaving you an example

that you should follow,

you should follow

in his steps.

He committed no sin

and no deceit

was found in his mouth.

When they hurled

their insults at him,

he did not retaliate.

When he suffered,

he made no threats.

Instead,

he entrusted himself

to him

who judges justly.

He himself

bore our sins

in his body

on the cross

so that we might

die to sins

and live for righteousness.

By his wounds

you have been healed.

So David suffered

unjustly

and so did Jesus.

David left an example

of righteousness

and so did Jesus.

David did not retaliate

and neither did Jesus.

David entrusted himself

to God as his judge

and so did Jesus.

The difference being

between the two of them

you've probably noticed

he committed no sin

because at the end of the day

David is just a man.

He's a man who does

the right thing

in this passage.

He's a man who sins

in others

and David didn't take

our sins to the cross

with him

but only Jesus did.

We're not saved

through David of course

but we are saved

through Jesus.

This is why we're looking

at David serving,

trusting,

and waiting tonight

because he points us

to Jesus,

the perfect king.

Jesus served God

by submitting to God's plan

to come on earth

in human form.

He trusted in God

and was obedient

to the point of death

on a cross

and he waited patiently

for God's will

to be done

while suffering horribly.

So think back to what

is going through

your childhood

as you sit in front

of that board

and you have the possibility

to alter the course

of the game

and win.

How much more tempting

would it be

when your life

is on the line?

By any human standards

it would just make no sense

to face death

rather than walk away.

Particularly,

one might add,

if you've done nothing

to deserve such death.

Jesus knew the cost

and he did the right thing

because he wanted to.

He served,

he trusted,

he waited

because he's not just

the king

who did the right thing

once,

he is the perfect king.

If we're left to ourselves

we won't be able

to serve,

to trust,

and to wait

for God

and his plan.

This is why

we need to be dependent

on Jesus

and point other people

to Jesus

with our life.

So let's fix our eyes

on Jesus,

the perfect king

and let's imitate Christ

in suffering

with righteousness

while we wait

for him to come back.

So that those around us,

God willing,

will discover Jesus

for themselves

and glorify God.

Let's pray.

Father,

we come to you

because,

as we've seen,

you're the one

that we want to put

our trust in.

You have won the battle,

you have defeated death,

you have sacrificed

our son for us.

Through Jesus

we're made righteous.

And it should be easy

for us to trust

in your plan

and in your timing

but we are weak

and as we've seen

we live in a broken world

and we're broken too.

And so often

we would rather

serve ourselves

and put our trust

in ourselves.

Father,

we ask you tonight

to forgive us.

We ask you to strengthen us.

We ask you to make us

more similar to Jesus.

May we leave tonight

wanting to imitate him

as we start a new week

tomorrow, Father.

We pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.