David - Part II

God Meets Us Where We Are

Nearly all of our study comes from 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel, and today’s study comes from the second half of 1 Samuel.

Innocence Lost – David’s life becomes infinitely more complicated after he slays Goliath.

Timeline: Approximately 15 years.

We are incredibly unprepared for most things in life. I’ve had people ask me when they would know they were ready to have a child, and I’ve told them, you won’t be ready until the experience makes you ready. This is true of love, relationships, responsibilities, leadership, etc.

Life was simple before David slayed Goliath. He was the youngest of 8 sons, and he spent his time worshipping God, playing his harp, and tending his father’s sheep. He was known to be brave, and a great warrior, and the Lord was with him (see 1 Samuel 16:18). But after he slayed Goliath, he was thrust into the limelight. Everyone loved him.

1 Samuel 18:6-7 - When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with timbrels and lyres. As they danced, they sang:  “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.”

David was living in Saul’s palace, Saul’s oldest son formed a strong relationship with David, and Saul’s second oldest daughter fell in love with David. Saul was hearing David’s praises sung from every direction, and surely the words of Samuel continued to ring in his ears.

1 Samuel 15:28 - Samuel said to him, "The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors--to one better than you.

Saul was driven to extreme jealousy, and yet he was also somewhat enamored with David. David was given great responsibility and leadership over large groups of soldiers. He continually defeated the Philistines, and eventually Saul offered his daughters to David in marriage. David eventually married his second daughter, Michal.

Then things get ugly. Saul became bent on killing David. There were at least 2 occasions when he tried to kills him with a spear, and then he tried to enlist Michal’s help.

David fled to Samuel in Ramah. Saul pursues him there, and the Lord saved him by His spirit, causing Saul and his men to prophesy.

David tries one last time to reconcile with Saul through his son Jonathan, but he eventually left the palace and spent many years running from Saul. In his desperation, he went to Ahimelek the priest, and we see the beginning of an eventual unraveling of David that has consequences for him and many others.

1 Samuel 21:1-3 - David went to Nob, to Ahimelek the priest. Ahimelek trembled when he met him, and asked, “Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?” David answered Ahimelek the priest, “The king sent me on a mission and said to me, ‘No one is to know anything about the mission I am sending you on.’ As for my men, I have told them to meet me at a certain place.

Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever you can find.”

Unfortunately, one of Saul’s servants tells of seeing David there, and Saul has all of the Priests and their families killed for helping David, except for Ahimelek’s son, who escaped to be with David.

Then David went to Gath (the land of the Philistines) and acts crazy before the son of their king, out of fear for his life. At this point, he was already toying with the idea of switching sides...

1 Samuel 21:14-15 - Achish said to his servants, “Look at the man! He is insane! Why bring him to me? Am I so short of madmen that you have to bring this fellow here to carry on like this in front of me? Must this man come into my house?”

David leaves Gath and escapes to the caves. His family joins him, along with hundreds of men and families in distress. In his anguish, he leads them, but he leaves his family with the king of Moab. At that point, a prophet tells David that he must return to the land of Judah.

So, David and many men return, and although they continue to be on the run from Saul, David learns of the people of Keilah being attacked by the Philistines. David inquires of the Lord, and saves the people of Keilah from the Philistines. But when Saul learns of this, he pursues him at Keilah. Fortunately, David again inquired of the Lord, and he was told that the people of Keilah would betray him to Saul. 

So, David left with 600 men and kept moving from place to place. At one point, they are surrounded by Saul’s men, but they are saved by a message that the Philistines are attacking. David’s men continue to wander, and we see the first instance of David’s murderous rage in his encounter with Nabal. A good woman (Abigail) saves him, but David is clearly teetering on the edge.

Over the next few years, David has at least 2 chances to kill Saul. He spares Saul’s life in a cave, and also at an encampment, saying in both instances that he cannot kill God’s anointed. At this point, David decides that it is better to just leave Israel and go live with the Philistines, and this time, he does not inquire of God.

1 Samuel 27:1-7 - But David thought to himself, “One of these days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul. The best thing I can do is to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up searching for me anywhere in Israel, and I will slip out of his hand.” So David and the six hundred men with him left and went over to Achish son of Maok king of Gath. David and his men settled in Gath with Achish. Each man had his family with him, and David had his two wives: Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, the widow of Nabal. When Saul was told that David had fled to Gath, he no longer searched for him. Then David said to Achish, “If I have found favor in your eyes, let a place be assigned to me in one of the country towns, that I may live there. Why should your servant live in the royal city with you?” So on that day Achish gave him Ziklag, and it has belonged to the kings of Judah ever since. David lived in Philistine territory a year and four months.

So, they seemed to have a home, but they didn’t belong there. The prophet had told David that he was to dwell in Judah. He was nothing but an imposter in the land of the Philistines. David and his men raided from Ziklag daily, and he lied about his actions. 

During this time, the Philistines grew in strength, and Saul’s power was waning. Saul had killed all of the priests and driven out the mediums. His people did not follow God, and it seems apparent that Israel is collapsing. Out of desperation, Saul tried one last time to inquire of the Lord, but he received no answer. So, he disguised himself and employed a medium to call Samuel from the dead. But the answer he received from Samuel is not one he wanted to hear.

1 Samuel 28:19 - The Lord will deliver both Israel and you into the hands of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will also give the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines.”

Ironically, David’s lies eventually led him and his men to line up in the service of Achish against the Israelis, prior to the battle in which Saul and his son Jonathan are killed, and the troops of Israel are destroyed. There is no telling where this would have happened to David if the Philistine leaders had not voiced their doubts and asked Achish to remove David and his men from the battle.

So, David and his men return to Ziklag, and they learn that while they have been gone, everything has been destroyed, and their families have been captured. At this point, David has lost everything!

1 Samuel 20:1-6 - David and his men reached Ziklag on the third day. Now the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it, and had taken captive the women and everyone else in it, both young and old. They killed none of them, but carried them off as they went on their way. When David and his men reached Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep. David’s two wives had been captured—Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters.

And then, in the midst of everything that David has brought upon himself, he gathers himself and encourages himself in the Lord. Surely, David recalls all of the times that the Lord has saved him in spite of himself. David calls for the priest who was saved, and seeks the Lord’s guidance.

1 Samuel 30:7 - Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelek, “Bring me the ephod.” Abiathar brought it to him, and David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?” “Pursue them,” he answered. “You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue.”

I wonder… Was there more going on in that question. Was David asking God whether his life and prior calling would be restored? And like Jesus’ reunion with Peter on the beach, we see that our God meets us where we are, in spite of our actions, and he rescues us.

God is so much more than our father. I am often reminded of a story of the love of a father, and the responsibility associated with being a father. Fathers do more than glory in the success of their children. Their true worth is found in their response when their children fall, and need to be lifted up. God lifts us in our hour of need.

Of course, our actions have consequences, and David’s surely did. God did not reign fire down from heaven to kill the raiders who stole his wives and children, and those of his men. David and his men had to do the heavy lifting. But they recovered the important things of life; God and family.

At the same time, Saul and Jonathan both fall in battle, and the stage was set for David’s return and eventual kingship.

Closing Comments: It’s not always black and white. Faith is hard, and we don’t have all of the answers. People often tell us, if you’ll just read your Bible, then you’ll know what to do. They even call it “The Owners Manual.” Well, let’s take a little walk and see how muddy things can be.

In 2 Kings 5, we learn of general Naaman who serves a king of Syria. At the time, the rulers of Israel have mostly abandoned God, and the people of Israel have turned from God, but there are still some believers and the prophet Elisha. Now, Naaman was greatly successful in battle, but he was afflicted with Leprosy, and desperate for a cure. Fortunately for him, his men had captured a believer of God on a raid into Israel, and she knew of the prophet Elisha. So, to cut a long story short, Naaman goes to seek Elisha, he is eventually healed, and his life is forever transformed through his newfound belief in the one true God. But then it gets very interesting…

2 Kings 5:18-19 - But may the Lord forgive your servant for this one thing: When my master enters the temple of Rimmon to bow down and he is leaning on my arm and I have to bow there also—when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the Lord forgive your servant for this.” “Go in peace,” Elisha said.

What!!! Go in Peace? Elisha Blessed him. How many people of God would have handled that differently?

Seek God, cry out to him daily, and pursue is guidance in all things. Thank the Lord for all of the blessings in your life, and be aware that you are nothing without His great gifts.