1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:11,360 When we talk of faith and its biblical examples, one of those people that needs to be included 2 00:00:11,360 --> 00:00:14,000 would be David. 3 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:21,880 Although David is not listed in Hebrews 9 any more than in passing, he nonetheless, 4 00:00:21,880 --> 00:00:28,440 in his faith walk with God, proved to be as great a man of faith as any of those who are 5 00:00:28,440 --> 00:00:33,160 listed there in more length. 6 00:00:33,160 --> 00:00:41,440 From his introduction to us in 1 Samuel 16 and the ensuing battle with Goliath in the 7 00:00:41,440 --> 00:00:51,200 valley of Elah up to his reign as the most popular king of Israel, he was a man who loved 8 00:00:51,200 --> 00:00:54,800 God and who trusted Him. 9 00:00:54,800 --> 00:01:00,200 We see this expressed in a number of the songs that he wrote. 10 00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:05,120 You may want to turn to the book of Psalms with me and notice some of his expressions. 11 00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:08,240 We'll just look quickly at several of them. 12 00:01:08,240 --> 00:01:17,600 In Psalm 3, for example, in verse 3, Thou, O Lord, art a shield about me, my glory, and 13 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:20,320 the one who lifts my head. 14 00:01:20,320 --> 00:01:26,440 Verse 5, I lay down and slept, I awoke, for the Lord sustains me. 15 00:01:26,440 --> 00:01:34,160 I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me round about. 16 00:01:34,160 --> 00:01:40,800 Then Psalm 4, verse 3, but know that the Lord has set apart the godly man for himself. 17 00:01:40,800 --> 00:01:45,720 The Lord hears when I call to him. 18 00:01:45,720 --> 00:01:52,760 Verse 8, in peace I will both lie down and sleep, for Thou alone, O Lord, dost make me 19 00:01:52,760 --> 00:01:56,480 to dwell in safety. 20 00:01:56,480 --> 00:02:05,360 Psalm 7, notice how it begins, O Lord, my God, in Thee I have taken refuge. 21 00:02:05,360 --> 00:02:08,120 Notice his faith is in the Lord. 22 00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:18,040 Psalm 11, very similarly, he says, in the Lord I take refuge. 23 00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:26,160 Psalm 16, verse 1, preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in Thee. 24 00:02:26,160 --> 00:02:30,920 That is David's way of saying, I trust in you. 25 00:02:30,920 --> 00:02:33,800 I trust in you. 26 00:02:33,800 --> 00:02:36,440 David was a man who trusted the Lord. 27 00:02:36,440 --> 00:02:43,040 In Psalm 18 he says, I love Thee, O Lord, my strength. 28 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:49,800 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take 29 00:02:49,800 --> 00:02:56,600 refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. 30 00:02:56,600 --> 00:03:05,040 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies. 31 00:03:05,040 --> 00:03:13,320 How well those selected verses reflect the direction of his life and the disposition 32 00:03:13,320 --> 00:03:15,400 of his heart. 33 00:03:15,400 --> 00:03:25,440 He was a man who loved and trusted in the Lord his God. 34 00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:35,240 But there were occasionally other directions and dispositions in the heart of David as 35 00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:36,720 well. 36 00:03:36,720 --> 00:03:47,560 Occasionally, the disposition of his heart was unbelief and its direction doubt and fear. 37 00:03:47,560 --> 00:03:56,120 And we come to a passage like that tonight in 1 Samuel chapter 20. 38 00:03:56,120 --> 00:04:06,160 As we study the lives of great men in the Word of God, it is good for us to appreciate 39 00:04:06,160 --> 00:04:10,080 and follow their example of greatness. 40 00:04:10,080 --> 00:04:18,160 But let us remember that they, too, were mere human beings. 41 00:04:18,160 --> 00:04:24,400 They dealt with sin in dwelling them just as you and I do. 42 00:04:24,400 --> 00:04:33,160 They faced temptations, and there were sometimes when they succumbed to temptations. 43 00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:36,860 We can identify with people like that. 44 00:04:36,860 --> 00:04:43,700 I can admire someone who is perfect, but I can identify with someone who fails, too. 45 00:04:43,700 --> 00:04:48,360 Someone who, like David, who while he had the direction of his heart in loving and trusting 46 00:04:48,360 --> 00:04:53,560 the Lord, occasionally came short of that. 47 00:04:53,560 --> 00:04:59,220 We see an example here in the first three verses of 1 Samuel 20. 48 00:04:59,220 --> 00:05:03,000 Remember that Saul at this time is seeking his life. 49 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:08,520 And David fled from Naoth to Ramah and came and said to Jonathan—remember, that was 50 00:05:08,520 --> 00:05:12,440 the son of Saul—what have I done? 51 00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:14,800 What is my iniquity? 52 00:05:14,800 --> 00:05:20,040 What is my sin before your Father that he is seeking my life? 53 00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:24,720 And he said to him, far from it, you shall not die, David. 54 00:05:24,720 --> 00:05:30,640 Behold, my Father does nothing, either great or small, without disclosing it to me. 55 00:05:30,640 --> 00:05:33,640 So why should my Father hide this thing from me? 56 00:05:33,640 --> 00:05:34,640 It is not so. 57 00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:39,240 He says, Dad's not trying to kill you. 58 00:05:39,240 --> 00:05:44,240 Yet David vowed again, saying, Your Father knows well that I have found favor in your 59 00:05:44,240 --> 00:05:45,240 sight. 60 00:05:45,240 --> 00:05:49,720 And he has said, Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved. 61 00:05:49,720 --> 00:05:54,220 David had heard that word from someone in the court. 62 00:05:54,220 --> 00:05:59,280 But truly as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, he says to Jonathan, there is hardly 63 00:05:59,280 --> 00:06:03,240 a step between me and death. 64 00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:07,160 So David feels pressure at this point. 65 00:06:07,160 --> 00:06:15,680 Now he has felt pressure before, but for some reason he responds to this situation differently 66 00:06:15,680 --> 00:06:20,500 than he had responded before. 67 00:06:20,500 --> 00:06:28,560 This time he pours out his heart in complaint to his friend Jonathan and begins a period 68 00:06:28,560 --> 00:06:34,400 of backsliding in his life, a time of failure. 69 00:06:34,400 --> 00:06:39,440 As we look at this tonight, I want us to remember that this is only an episode out of a long 70 00:06:39,440 --> 00:06:42,160 story. 71 00:06:42,160 --> 00:06:47,720 What we are going to see does not reflect the general bent and direction of David's 72 00:06:47,720 --> 00:06:55,960 life, but it does tell us about an occasional direction that he experienced. 73 00:06:55,960 --> 00:07:05,440 Let's look tonight at the results of David's fear instead of faith, his doubt instead of 74 00:07:05,440 --> 00:07:10,000 trust, his backsliding. 75 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:18,760 Result number one of David's backsliding is that he began to live a lie. 76 00:07:18,760 --> 00:07:26,280 Fear took control of David's life at this point, and when fear takes control, truth 77 00:07:26,280 --> 00:07:28,880 often leaves. 78 00:07:28,880 --> 00:07:31,240 It did with David. 79 00:07:31,240 --> 00:07:37,040 In the first place, he lied by his friend Jonathan. 80 00:07:37,040 --> 00:07:38,800 Notice what he says in verses four and five. 81 00:07:38,800 --> 00:07:42,640 Jonathan said to David, whatever you say, I will do for you. 82 00:07:42,640 --> 00:07:46,080 All these two men were close. 83 00:07:46,080 --> 00:07:50,040 And Jonathan, as a good friend, says, David, just tell me what to do. 84 00:07:50,040 --> 00:07:52,200 How can I be of assistance? 85 00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:58,740 David said, Tomorrow is the new moon, and I ought to sit down to eat with the king. 86 00:07:58,740 --> 00:08:05,560 But let me go, that I may hide myself in the field until the third evening. 87 00:08:05,560 --> 00:08:11,800 If your father misses me at all, then say, David earnestly asked leave of me to run to 88 00:08:11,800 --> 00:08:19,680 Bethlehem, his city, because it is the yearly sacrifice there for the whole family. 89 00:08:19,680 --> 00:08:20,680 What's wrong with that? 90 00:08:20,680 --> 00:08:24,160 Well, it's a lie. 91 00:08:24,160 --> 00:08:26,560 David wasn't going to Bethlehem. 92 00:08:26,560 --> 00:08:30,440 He wasn't going down there to sacrifice with his family. 93 00:08:30,440 --> 00:08:34,500 He was going to be hiding out in the field. 94 00:08:34,500 --> 00:08:40,920 But he asked his friend Jonathan to lie for him before Saul. 95 00:08:40,920 --> 00:08:46,260 Now the reason that he asked him to lie was acceptable. 96 00:08:46,260 --> 00:08:51,640 He was trying to find out the true disposition of Saul. 97 00:08:51,640 --> 00:08:59,800 The end was okay, but the means did not justify his end. 98 00:08:59,800 --> 00:09:05,240 The way he was going to find out about Saul's attitude was through a lie. 99 00:09:05,240 --> 00:09:09,680 And so we see that in the first place he lied by his friend Jonathan. 100 00:09:09,680 --> 00:09:16,360 He took advantage of that friendship in a way in which he should not have. 101 00:09:16,360 --> 00:09:23,720 So often that is the way backsliding is when we begin to live a lie. 102 00:09:23,720 --> 00:09:32,040 Sin causes us to use people to manipulate their friendship perhaps to some advantage 103 00:09:32,040 --> 00:09:34,520 for ourselves. 104 00:09:34,520 --> 00:09:40,480 And so deceitful is our heart that sometimes we do that without even realizing that we're 105 00:09:40,480 --> 00:09:43,480 doing it. 106 00:09:43,480 --> 00:09:49,960 Sin can cause any of us to do the same thing as David did with Jonathan. 107 00:09:49,960 --> 00:09:58,320 It can cause us to use people to our advantage. 108 00:09:58,320 --> 00:10:09,520 In this regard I was thinking this afternoon of one of the congressmen who sat on the committee 109 00:10:09,520 --> 00:10:13,560 trying to determine whether to impeach Richard Nixon. 110 00:10:13,560 --> 00:10:14,560 I don't recall his name. 111 00:10:14,560 --> 00:10:16,120 It seems to me he was from Florida. 112 00:10:16,120 --> 00:10:21,240 I remember he had dark black hair at that point, a rather distinguished looking gentleman. 113 00:10:21,240 --> 00:10:27,240 He was the staunchest supporter of Nixon on the whole committee. 114 00:10:27,240 --> 00:10:31,920 And he seemed to have an answer for all of the charges that were brought against the 115 00:10:31,920 --> 00:10:32,920 president. 116 00:10:32,920 --> 00:10:43,000 But eventually there came out that information concerning a certain set of tapes and when 117 00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:52,200 those tapes were transcribed it became clear that the information that the congressman 118 00:10:52,200 --> 00:10:59,680 had to work with, what he had been told by the president, was not true. 119 00:10:59,680 --> 00:11:05,800 And thus he ended up, as I recall, voting to impeach the president because the friendship 120 00:11:05,800 --> 00:11:10,640 that the two of them had enjoyed had been betrayed and the president had lied to him 121 00:11:10,640 --> 00:11:15,400 hoping to use his influence on the committee to his advantage. 122 00:11:15,400 --> 00:11:22,040 Well you say that's only politicians that do nasty things like that. 123 00:11:22,040 --> 00:11:28,600 Well we don't say that if we examine our own selves honestly because we're all very 124 00:11:28,600 --> 00:11:32,400 capable of this kind of manipulation of people. 125 00:11:32,400 --> 00:11:35,680 It's part of backsliding. 126 00:11:35,680 --> 00:11:40,880 David began to live a lie and he first lied by his friend. 127 00:11:40,880 --> 00:11:45,960 Now the result of that was that Jonathan almost got killed. 128 00:11:45,960 --> 00:11:50,280 When he told his father Saul what David told him to tell him, Saul immediately knew it 129 00:11:50,280 --> 00:11:53,880 was a lie and tried to kill him for it. 130 00:11:53,880 --> 00:12:00,920 And he cursed him in the most vile terms possible. 131 00:12:00,920 --> 00:12:06,520 David then fled because he knew that Saul was quite sincere about this effort to kill 132 00:12:06,520 --> 00:12:07,520 him. 133 00:12:07,520 --> 00:12:10,240 Of course Jonathan now was convinced. 134 00:12:10,240 --> 00:12:11,240 And so he fled. 135 00:12:11,240 --> 00:12:18,160 In chapter 21 we see that he lied by his speech. 136 00:12:18,160 --> 00:12:29,200 David left his friend Jonathan in the field and came to Nob to Ahimelech the priest. 137 00:12:29,200 --> 00:12:33,780 And the Ahimelech came trembling to meet David and said to him, Why are you alone and no 138 00:12:33,780 --> 00:12:34,780 one with you? 139 00:12:34,780 --> 00:12:39,480 And David said to Ahimelech the priest, The king has commissioned me with a matter and 140 00:12:39,480 --> 00:12:44,640 has said to me, Let no one know anything about the matter on which I am sending you and with 141 00:12:44,640 --> 00:12:50,800 which I have commissioned you and I have directed the young men to a certain place. 142 00:12:50,800 --> 00:12:58,760 David says, Look Ahimelech, I am 007 and I have sent the men this way and I am here on 143 00:12:58,760 --> 00:13:05,360 a secret mission for the CIA of Saul and I cannot tell you what I am up to. 144 00:13:05,360 --> 00:13:07,720 Is that the truth? 145 00:13:07,720 --> 00:13:09,280 No. 146 00:13:09,280 --> 00:13:17,760 Here he not only lies through someone else but he directly lies to the priests of Israel. 147 00:13:17,760 --> 00:13:21,320 The disposition of his heart was one of fear. 148 00:13:21,320 --> 00:13:24,440 When fear comes, truth leaves. 149 00:13:24,440 --> 00:13:33,100 David began to lie and that disposition in his heart was evidenced by his tongue. 150 00:13:33,100 --> 00:13:35,120 He lied to Ahimelech. 151 00:13:35,120 --> 00:13:41,640 We will come back later to pick up some more of that story but let me summarize it by saying 152 00:13:41,640 --> 00:13:51,040 David then left Nob and in verse 10 it says, He arose and fled that day from Saul and went 153 00:13:51,040 --> 00:13:56,920 to Akish, king of Gath. 154 00:13:56,920 --> 00:14:05,100 But the servants of Akish said to him, Is this not David, the king of the land? 155 00:14:05,100 --> 00:14:10,280 Did they not sing of this one as they danced, saying, Saul has slain his thousands and David 156 00:14:10,280 --> 00:14:11,560 his ten thousands? 157 00:14:11,560 --> 00:14:14,800 Quite a testimony. 158 00:14:14,800 --> 00:14:18,960 David's testimony had preceded him into Gath. 159 00:14:18,960 --> 00:14:27,320 And David took these words to heart and greatly feared Akish, the king of Gath. 160 00:14:27,320 --> 00:14:31,080 Can anybody remember where we have talked about Gath before this? 161 00:14:31,080 --> 00:14:33,760 Let's see, there was somebody from Gath. 162 00:14:33,760 --> 00:14:36,040 Do you remember who it was? 163 00:14:36,040 --> 00:14:38,880 That's right, it was Goliath. 164 00:14:38,880 --> 00:14:44,280 This is Goliath's hometown. 165 00:14:44,280 --> 00:14:51,460 So David disguised his sanity before them and acted insanely in their hands and scribbled 166 00:14:51,460 --> 00:14:56,880 on the doors of the gate and let his saliva run down into his beard. 167 00:14:56,880 --> 00:14:59,800 And so here he lies by his life. 168 00:14:59,800 --> 00:15:01,160 He lied by his friend. 169 00:15:01,160 --> 00:15:02,600 He lied by his speech. 170 00:15:02,600 --> 00:15:06,560 Now he lies by his life. 171 00:15:06,560 --> 00:15:11,960 He begins to act in a way that is contrary to what he really was. 172 00:15:11,960 --> 00:15:16,740 He would scribble on the gate to the city. 173 00:15:16,740 --> 00:15:19,560 He would allow his saliva to run down into his beard. 174 00:15:19,560 --> 00:15:22,480 What a mess that must have been. 175 00:15:22,480 --> 00:15:27,280 And it was an indication to them that he was insane. 176 00:15:27,280 --> 00:15:34,960 And that was his intent, to trick them, to deceive them into thinking that he was crazy. 177 00:15:34,960 --> 00:15:40,600 And so we see backslidden David, the man who loved the Lord, the man who made the Lord 178 00:15:40,600 --> 00:15:48,040 his refuge, now lying, living a lie. 179 00:15:48,040 --> 00:15:54,720 Was not Sir Walter Scott, I think, the one who wrote, oh what a tangled web we weave 180 00:15:54,720 --> 00:15:59,040 when first we practice to deceive. 181 00:15:59,040 --> 00:16:05,200 David stepped into the web of a lie and he got more and more entangled the longer that 182 00:16:05,200 --> 00:16:06,480 it went. 183 00:16:06,480 --> 00:16:12,840 He adjusted his behavior finally to protect himself. 184 00:16:12,840 --> 00:16:16,400 Before we become too critical of David, I think that we probably ought to get a mirror 185 00:16:16,400 --> 00:16:22,700 out though and examine where some of us have been, maybe where some of us are tonight, 186 00:16:22,700 --> 00:16:30,360 or how easily we find to compromise our lifestyle in order not to appear different, in order 187 00:16:30,360 --> 00:16:40,280 to fit in with the situation so that we won't be in trouble with those in the world. 188 00:16:40,280 --> 00:16:47,800 David lied by his life and all of us identify with that. 189 00:16:47,800 --> 00:16:50,280 Now there's a second result of David's backsliding. 190 00:16:50,280 --> 00:16:53,240 The first one is that he began to live a lie. 191 00:16:53,240 --> 00:16:58,840 Number two, his failures affected others. 192 00:16:58,840 --> 00:17:00,800 That too is a result of backsliding. 193 00:17:00,800 --> 00:17:04,680 When you and I backslide, we never do it by ourselves. 194 00:17:04,680 --> 00:17:07,940 It always affects others. 195 00:17:07,940 --> 00:17:11,880 We drag others with us in the impact of it. 196 00:17:11,880 --> 00:17:20,640 Let's look back earlier into chapter 21 and notice again this time with the priest of 197 00:17:20,640 --> 00:17:21,640 Himalek. 198 00:17:21,640 --> 00:17:25,640 David says furthermore to him in verse 3, now what do you have on hand? 199 00:17:25,640 --> 00:17:28,240 Give me five loaves of bread or whatever can be found. 200 00:17:28,240 --> 00:17:33,160 And the priest answered David and said there is no ordinary bread on hand, but there is 201 00:17:33,160 --> 00:17:34,480 consecrated bread. 202 00:17:34,480 --> 00:17:37,400 That is the bread of the presence, it was called. 203 00:17:37,400 --> 00:17:40,360 It was called that in verse 6. 204 00:17:40,360 --> 00:17:43,000 This was bread that was put out periodically fresh. 205 00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:47,560 It was put on a small table in the tabernacle. 206 00:17:47,560 --> 00:17:55,320 It was 12 flat loaves of bread as they baked bread in that day and they were in two stacks. 207 00:17:55,320 --> 00:18:02,160 Each loaf of bread represented a tribe of Israel and it was called sacred bread. 208 00:18:02,160 --> 00:18:04,880 It was the showbread or the bread of the presence. 209 00:18:04,880 --> 00:18:09,520 It indicated the presence of God with all of the tribes of Israel. 210 00:18:09,520 --> 00:18:10,520 And that was the only bread there. 211 00:18:10,520 --> 00:18:16,560 That was the only food there that Himalek had. 212 00:18:16,560 --> 00:18:20,600 And he says there is no ordinary bread on hand, but there is consecrated bread if only 213 00:18:20,600 --> 00:18:27,240 the young men who were with David or purportedly with him have kept themselves from women. 214 00:18:27,240 --> 00:18:30,840 And David answered the priest and said to him, surely women have been kept from us as 215 00:18:30,840 --> 00:18:33,160 previously when I set out. 216 00:18:33,160 --> 00:18:37,800 And the vessels, perhaps the bodies, of the young men were holy though it was an ordinary 217 00:18:37,800 --> 00:18:39,180 journey. 218 00:18:39,180 --> 00:18:42,680 How much more than today will their vessels be holy? 219 00:18:42,680 --> 00:18:45,400 So the priest gave him consecrated bread. 220 00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:47,760 But that was not necessarily wrong. 221 00:18:47,760 --> 00:18:53,240 In fact, Jesus in the New Testament goes back to this and refers to it as proof that the 222 00:18:53,240 --> 00:18:56,720 Sabbath can be broken for necessary use. 223 00:18:56,720 --> 00:18:58,040 And that was the occasion here. 224 00:18:58,040 --> 00:19:01,120 The bread was being employed for a satisfactory purpose. 225 00:19:01,120 --> 00:19:06,960 Therefore, what the priest was doing was perfectly within the law of God. 226 00:19:06,960 --> 00:19:09,080 So the priest gave him consecrated bread. 227 00:19:09,080 --> 00:19:13,440 There was no bread there but the bread of the presence which was removed from before 228 00:19:13,440 --> 00:19:18,080 the Lord in order to put hot bread in its place when it was taken away. 229 00:19:18,080 --> 00:19:23,320 Now, one of the servants of Saul was there that day detained before the Lord. 230 00:19:23,320 --> 00:19:25,280 Now, why he was there we don't know. 231 00:19:25,280 --> 00:19:28,720 For some reason he had to hang around the tabernacle. 232 00:19:28,720 --> 00:19:32,520 Maybe it was because of impurity. 233 00:19:32,520 --> 00:19:35,840 He had to be there in order for a certain vow to be fulfilled. 234 00:19:35,840 --> 00:19:39,200 Perhaps he was there to be checked for leprosy. 235 00:19:39,200 --> 00:19:43,480 We do not know why this man was there but his name was Doeg the Edomite. 236 00:19:43,480 --> 00:19:49,000 If you take the E out of his name you have a better description of this man in my opinion. 237 00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:55,240 Now, an Edomite was who? 238 00:19:55,240 --> 00:19:56,240 Descendant of whom? 239 00:19:56,240 --> 00:19:58,240 Do you remember? 240 00:19:58,240 --> 00:19:59,240 Esau. 241 00:19:59,240 --> 00:20:01,360 That's right. 242 00:20:01,360 --> 00:20:10,000 The jealous, envious, bitter brother of Jacob and the descendants of Esau the Edomite hated 243 00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:15,240 with a passion the descendants of Jacob or Israel. 244 00:20:15,240 --> 00:20:17,000 So immediately you see a conflict here. 245 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:20,520 This man though he was an Edomite was a servant of Saul but he was there. 246 00:20:20,520 --> 00:20:24,640 In fact, he was the chief of Saul's shepherds and he happened to be there at that time. 247 00:20:24,640 --> 00:20:28,160 That's all it says at this point. 248 00:20:28,160 --> 00:20:33,640 David said to Ahimelech, now is there not a spear or a sword on hand? 249 00:20:33,640 --> 00:20:37,920 For I brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me because the king's matter was urgent. 250 00:20:37,920 --> 00:20:39,080 I had to really get out of there. 251 00:20:39,080 --> 00:20:40,760 The king said, hurry. 252 00:20:40,760 --> 00:20:45,160 The priest said, the sword of Goliath the Philistine whom you killed in the valley of 253 00:20:45,160 --> 00:20:49,600 Elah, behold it is wrapped in cloth behind the ephod. 254 00:20:49,600 --> 00:20:54,320 If you would take it for yourself, take it for there is no other except here. 255 00:20:54,320 --> 00:20:58,760 He kept it here and David said, there is none like it, give it to me. 256 00:20:58,760 --> 00:21:00,800 So he took it. 257 00:21:00,800 --> 00:21:01,960 And so much for the story. 258 00:21:01,960 --> 00:21:07,280 But now let's go to chapter 22. 259 00:21:07,280 --> 00:21:16,240 The chapter begins by relating that David went to a dolom, a cave, and there people came 260 00:21:16,240 --> 00:21:21,160 to him who were in distress or in debt or discontented. 261 00:21:21,160 --> 00:21:25,040 And they became his band, quite a band. 262 00:21:25,040 --> 00:21:30,920 Imagine an army of people who are in debt, who are in distress, who are discontented. 263 00:21:30,920 --> 00:21:33,360 That's the group that David started with. 264 00:21:33,360 --> 00:21:40,320 That was his band of rascals in the cave of Dolom, about 400 of them. 265 00:21:40,320 --> 00:21:43,320 And so it relates regarding some of their events. 266 00:21:43,320 --> 00:21:48,240 And then in verse 6 it says, then Saul heard that David and his men who were with him had 267 00:21:48,240 --> 00:21:49,240 been discovered. 268 00:21:49,240 --> 00:21:55,600 Now Saul was sitting in Gibeah under the tamarisk tree on the height with his spear in his hand, 269 00:21:55,600 --> 00:21:58,360 and all his servants were standing around him. 270 00:21:58,360 --> 00:22:03,920 And Saul said to his servants who stood around him, here now, O Benjamites, will the son 271 00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:07,560 of Jesse also give to all of you fields and vineyards? 272 00:22:07,560 --> 00:22:11,680 Will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds? 273 00:22:11,680 --> 00:22:16,880 He says, do you think this man, David, is going to do more for you than me? 274 00:22:16,880 --> 00:22:19,440 I am a Benjamite like you are. 275 00:22:19,440 --> 00:22:24,080 You should be loyal to me, for all of you have conspired against me, so that there is 276 00:22:24,080 --> 00:22:29,840 no one who discloses to me when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse. 277 00:22:29,840 --> 00:22:33,560 And there is none of you who is sorry for me or discloses to me that my son has stirred 278 00:22:33,560 --> 00:22:37,320 up my servant against me to lie in ambush, as it is this day. 279 00:22:37,320 --> 00:22:48,340 So he accuses David here essentially of becoming a revolutionary, a man who was conspiring 280 00:22:48,340 --> 00:22:49,880 to take the kingdom from him. 281 00:22:49,880 --> 00:22:50,880 Was that the case? 282 00:22:50,880 --> 00:22:53,280 Of course not. 283 00:22:53,280 --> 00:22:58,140 God had appointed David to be the king, but David was simply allowing God to bring it 284 00:22:58,140 --> 00:22:59,140 to pass. 285 00:22:59,140 --> 00:23:04,160 He was not conspiring himself against Saul. 286 00:23:04,160 --> 00:23:13,000 Verse 9, Then Doeg the Edomite, who was standing by the servants of Saul, answered and said, 287 00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:19,400 I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahaitib. 288 00:23:19,400 --> 00:23:24,240 And he inquired of the Lord for him, and gave him provisions, and gave him the sword of 289 00:23:24,240 --> 00:23:26,880 Goliath the Philistine. 290 00:23:26,880 --> 00:23:30,280 And so we have a tattle tale here. 291 00:23:30,280 --> 00:23:38,040 This Edomite took it upon himself to report on David what he had seen. 292 00:23:38,040 --> 00:23:42,440 He essentially became a spy for Saul. 293 00:23:42,440 --> 00:23:46,640 And the king sent someone to summon Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahaitib, and all his 294 00:23:46,640 --> 00:23:48,800 father's household, the priests who were at Nob. 295 00:23:48,800 --> 00:23:50,480 And all of them came to the king. 296 00:23:50,480 --> 00:23:53,960 And Saul said, Listen now, son of Ahaitib. 297 00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:56,680 And he answered, Hear my, my Lord. 298 00:23:56,680 --> 00:24:00,520 Saul said to him, Why have you and the son of Jesse conspired against me? 299 00:24:00,520 --> 00:24:09,120 So now you see the priest and David are linked together in Saul's mind, in that you have 300 00:24:09,120 --> 00:24:13,320 given him bread and a sword, and have inquired of God for him that he should rise up against 301 00:24:13,320 --> 00:24:16,560 me by lying in ambush as it is this day. 302 00:24:16,560 --> 00:24:17,760 It is absolutely not true. 303 00:24:17,760 --> 00:24:19,560 David was not lying in ambush. 304 00:24:19,560 --> 00:24:23,400 But that's how Saul, with his jaundiced eyes, saw it. 305 00:24:23,400 --> 00:24:27,440 And Ahaitib answered the king and said, And who among all your servants is as faithful 306 00:24:27,440 --> 00:24:31,240 as David, even the king's son-in-law? 307 00:24:31,240 --> 00:24:33,960 That may not have been the right thing to say. 308 00:24:33,960 --> 00:24:38,200 Who is captain over your guard and is honored in your house? 309 00:24:38,200 --> 00:24:40,720 Did I just begin to inquire of God for him today? 310 00:24:40,720 --> 00:24:41,800 Far be it from me. 311 00:24:41,800 --> 00:24:46,440 Do not let the king impute anything to his servant or to any of the household of my father, 312 00:24:46,440 --> 00:24:49,440 for your servant knows nothing at all of this whole affair. 313 00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:51,600 He pleads ignorance. 314 00:24:51,600 --> 00:24:55,560 He says, King, I don't know anything about this. 315 00:24:55,560 --> 00:24:57,400 The king said, You shall surely die. 316 00:24:57,400 --> 00:25:00,680 I will elect you and all your father's household. 317 00:25:00,680 --> 00:25:04,120 The king said to the guards who were attending him, Turn around and put the priest of the 318 00:25:04,120 --> 00:25:08,600 Lord to death, because their hand also was with David and because they knew that he was 319 00:25:08,600 --> 00:25:10,360 fleeing and did not reveal it to me. 320 00:25:10,360 --> 00:25:15,600 But the servants of the king were not willing to put forth their hands to attack the priest 321 00:25:15,600 --> 00:25:16,720 of the Lord. 322 00:25:16,720 --> 00:25:18,360 They were smart. 323 00:25:18,360 --> 00:25:24,520 And the king said to Doeg, You turn around and attack the priest. 324 00:25:24,520 --> 00:25:27,360 And this unclean gentile did that. 325 00:25:27,360 --> 00:25:31,120 He turned around and attacked the priest and he killed that day eighty-five men who wore 326 00:25:31,120 --> 00:25:32,440 the linen ephod. 327 00:25:32,440 --> 00:25:37,560 That was the dress of the priest. 328 00:25:37,560 --> 00:25:42,040 And he struck knob, the city of the priest, with the edge of the sword, both men and women, 329 00:25:42,040 --> 00:25:44,720 children and infants, oxen, donkeys, sheep. 330 00:25:44,720 --> 00:25:50,520 He struck with the edge of the sword, but one son of a Himalek, the son of a Hittab, 331 00:25:50,520 --> 00:25:57,360 named Abiathar, or Abiathar, escaped and fled after David. 332 00:25:57,360 --> 00:26:07,160 And so every one of his family was wiped out by this Edomite at the behest of Saul, except 333 00:26:07,160 --> 00:26:10,760 for one man, Abiathar. 334 00:26:10,760 --> 00:26:19,120 Do you see how David's lie, how his backsliding had affected others? 335 00:26:19,120 --> 00:26:24,580 He went to the priest who really was innocent and ignorant of this whole matter. 336 00:26:24,580 --> 00:26:29,320 He lied to the priest, got the priest to cooperate with him, and the priest and his whole family 337 00:26:29,320 --> 00:26:39,560 ended up dead as a result of that association with David. 338 00:26:39,560 --> 00:26:43,200 In light of this occasion, David wrote Psalm 52. 339 00:26:43,200 --> 00:26:49,200 Just turn there a minute and get a flavor of the Psalm. 340 00:26:49,200 --> 00:26:55,240 Psalm 52. 341 00:26:55,240 --> 00:27:00,080 Notice the inscription to the Psalm. 342 00:27:00,080 --> 00:27:04,280 David writes, Why do you boast an evil, O mighty man? 343 00:27:04,280 --> 00:27:07,460 The loving kindness of God endures all day long. 344 00:27:07,460 --> 00:27:14,760 Your tongue devises destruction like a sharp razor, O worker of deceit. 345 00:27:14,760 --> 00:27:20,880 You love evil more than good, falsehood more than speaking what is right. 346 00:27:20,880 --> 00:27:23,200 Verse 5, God will break you down forever. 347 00:27:23,200 --> 00:27:27,640 He will snatch you up and tear you away from your tent and uproot you from the land of 348 00:27:27,640 --> 00:27:28,640 the living. 349 00:27:28,640 --> 00:27:30,120 Who do you think he's talking about? 350 00:27:30,120 --> 00:27:37,960 Well, he's talking undoubtedly here about Doeg, that Edomite. 351 00:27:37,960 --> 00:27:46,720 And yet, some of those words could reflect the disposition in David's own heart, for 352 00:27:46,720 --> 00:27:55,920 it was because of his lie, his lie, that a Himalek was killed. 353 00:27:55,920 --> 00:27:58,320 I want to point this out though before we go further. 354 00:27:58,320 --> 00:28:03,640 And that is that the sovereignty of God was overseeing this. 355 00:28:03,640 --> 00:28:12,680 In His providence, God allowed this to happen because it accomplished another aspect of 356 00:28:12,680 --> 00:28:16,120 His will. 357 00:28:16,120 --> 00:28:24,040 You see, a Himalek was a descendant of a man by the name of Eli. 358 00:28:24,040 --> 00:28:29,200 Now, those of you who've read the Old Testament will recognize that name. 359 00:28:29,200 --> 00:28:35,400 It is the man who was the high priest of Israel in the days when Samuel was a little boy. 360 00:28:35,400 --> 00:28:43,200 I want you to turn back to the third chapter of this book, 1 Samuel, and look briefly at 361 00:28:43,200 --> 00:28:46,360 some words that were given to Eli. 362 00:28:46,360 --> 00:28:57,680 You'll recall that Eli was a very lazy, slovenly high priest, and he did not discipline his 363 00:28:57,680 --> 00:29:03,960 sons who committed terrible immorality with the women who came to offer sacrifices at 364 00:29:03,960 --> 00:29:04,960 the tabernacle. 365 00:29:04,960 --> 00:29:08,440 It was a despicable scene. 366 00:29:08,440 --> 00:29:11,360 And in response to that, God gives judgment to him. 367 00:29:11,360 --> 00:29:18,600 And in 1 Samuel 3 verse 11, the Lord said to Samuel, and behold, I am about to do a 368 00:29:18,600 --> 00:29:24,360 thing in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. 369 00:29:24,360 --> 00:29:29,000 And that day I will carry out against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house 370 00:29:29,000 --> 00:29:34,720 from beginning to end, for I have told him that I am about to judge his house forever 371 00:29:34,720 --> 00:29:40,960 for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons brought a curse on themselves and he 372 00:29:40,960 --> 00:29:43,400 did not rebuke them. 373 00:29:43,400 --> 00:29:47,200 And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall 374 00:29:47,200 --> 00:29:54,360 not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever. 375 00:29:54,360 --> 00:29:58,580 And elsewhere, God says, every one of them will be out of the priesthood. 376 00:29:58,580 --> 00:30:06,160 There will not be a priest in the family of Eli because of the sin of Eli and his sons. 377 00:30:06,160 --> 00:30:12,280 And do you see how God allowed that judgment to be carried out? 378 00:30:12,280 --> 00:30:23,320 All of his descendants at Nob are killed except for the one man, Abethar. 379 00:30:23,320 --> 00:30:28,040 If you read a little further into 1 Kings, the second chapter, you come to some words 380 00:30:28,040 --> 00:30:29,040 of Solomon. 381 00:30:29,040 --> 00:30:33,680 We will not take time to look at it tonight. 382 00:30:33,680 --> 00:30:36,600 And Abethar is still alive at that point. 383 00:30:36,600 --> 00:30:44,280 However, Solomon removes him from the priesthood. 384 00:30:44,280 --> 00:30:48,200 He allows him to live, but he removes him from the priesthood. 385 00:30:48,200 --> 00:30:54,400 So ultimately, you see, down to the very last man who was a descendant in Eli's family, 386 00:30:54,400 --> 00:31:00,960 they were all taken out of the priesthood by death or by the king's decree. 387 00:31:00,960 --> 00:31:09,360 So you see God's will was accomplished even through the failure of David. 388 00:31:09,360 --> 00:31:13,520 Now there is a third result of David's backsliding that we'll look at and then we'll be on our 389 00:31:13,520 --> 00:31:15,480 way. 390 00:31:15,480 --> 00:31:18,840 Result number one, he began to live a lie. 391 00:31:18,840 --> 00:31:22,240 Result number two, his failures affected others. 392 00:31:22,240 --> 00:31:29,720 Dad, do you realize that your failures affect your kids? 393 00:31:29,720 --> 00:31:35,120 Mom, do you realize that? 394 00:31:35,120 --> 00:31:43,120 Sunday school teacher, do you recognize that your failures impact your students? 395 00:31:43,120 --> 00:31:48,320 Do you realize what happens when your home, a Christian home in the neighborhood, explodes 396 00:31:48,320 --> 00:31:53,520 what that does to your neighbors around you? 397 00:31:53,520 --> 00:31:59,640 How careful we must be because of this second result of backsliding. 398 00:31:59,640 --> 00:32:05,360 But the third result is that David's testimony was marred. 399 00:32:05,360 --> 00:32:11,560 I want to look at this in chapter 21 again. 400 00:32:11,560 --> 00:32:18,480 We've read about David and his pretended madness. 401 00:32:18,480 --> 00:32:23,520 In verse 14 it says, then Achish said to his servants, behold, you see the man behaving 402 00:32:23,520 --> 00:32:25,240 as a madman. 403 00:32:25,240 --> 00:32:27,400 Why do you bring him to me? 404 00:32:27,400 --> 00:32:30,000 Do I lack madmen? 405 00:32:30,000 --> 00:32:31,280 Somehow I kind of like that statement. 406 00:32:31,280 --> 00:32:35,240 I think there are probably a lot of people in political leadership who could say about 407 00:32:35,240 --> 00:32:36,240 the same thing. 408 00:32:36,240 --> 00:32:37,240 Do I lack madmen? 409 00:32:37,240 --> 00:32:42,400 That you have brought me this one to act the madman in my presence? 410 00:32:42,400 --> 00:32:45,160 Shall this one come into my house? 411 00:32:45,160 --> 00:32:46,960 Essentially what he says is, get him out of here. 412 00:32:46,960 --> 00:32:49,120 He's nuts. 413 00:32:49,120 --> 00:32:54,200 Now, what's the tragedy here? 414 00:32:54,200 --> 00:32:57,840 The tragedy is David's testimony. 415 00:32:57,840 --> 00:33:05,160 You see, his testimony was, as is stated in verse 11, it was a testimony that glorified 416 00:33:05,160 --> 00:33:07,040 God. 417 00:33:07,040 --> 00:33:11,540 But now think of the testimony that he had in Gath. 418 00:33:11,540 --> 00:33:15,160 His testimony was that of a man who was insane. 419 00:33:15,160 --> 00:33:21,920 Now, we're not going to take time to read it, but there are two Psalms actually that 420 00:33:21,920 --> 00:33:26,360 were written either during this time or shortly afterward. 421 00:33:26,360 --> 00:33:32,040 They are Psalms 34 and 56. 422 00:33:32,040 --> 00:33:37,080 And if you read those Psalms, you will see phrases that relate back to exactly what was 423 00:33:37,080 --> 00:33:38,600 taking place. 424 00:33:38,600 --> 00:33:43,520 But I think the thing that is underscored to me is this, that while David was the feigned 425 00:33:43,520 --> 00:33:54,000 madman, in his heart he knew better, for those Psalms reveal meditations of faith. 426 00:33:54,000 --> 00:34:02,920 They reveal a heart that is still warm toward God, though he was in a backslidden state. 427 00:34:02,920 --> 00:34:05,920 Now what happened to David? 428 00:34:05,920 --> 00:34:14,320 Well, he went to the cave of Adalim, and there in the solitude and the quietness, the loneliness 429 00:34:14,320 --> 00:34:21,640 of that place, it seems that he realized his sin and returned to the Lord. 430 00:34:21,640 --> 00:34:27,320 And once again we have a Psalm that tells us something of his inner thoughts during 431 00:34:27,320 --> 00:34:30,800 that time, Psalm 57. 432 00:34:30,800 --> 00:34:36,400 There he expresses again his faith in the Lord. 433 00:34:36,400 --> 00:34:43,280 David had a period of backsliding in his life, tragic results from it. 434 00:34:43,280 --> 00:34:47,780 But because he was a true child of God, he was recovered. 435 00:34:47,780 --> 00:34:49,680 He came back to the Lord. 436 00:34:49,680 --> 00:34:55,000 Now you say, Pastor, why do you talk about David being backslidden? 437 00:34:55,000 --> 00:35:01,600 Well, I guess because we talk so well of David that sometimes we put him on a pedestal that 438 00:35:01,600 --> 00:35:11,720 is a little too high, as sometimes we are wont to do with people that we only see superficially. 439 00:35:11,720 --> 00:35:15,880 David was a man. 440 00:35:15,880 --> 00:35:28,360 He dealt with fears, doubts, lust, and he was a man who knew failure and sin. 441 00:35:28,360 --> 00:35:31,680 He was a man who backslid. 442 00:35:31,680 --> 00:35:33,560 But don't leave him there. 443 00:35:33,560 --> 00:35:38,280 That's another reason I wanted to talk about David in this episode. 444 00:35:38,280 --> 00:35:42,440 Because though David went through that period, he came out of it. 445 00:35:42,440 --> 00:35:45,760 He came out of it. 446 00:35:45,760 --> 00:35:53,320 He came back to the Lord, and God reclaimed him there in the cave of Adalim. 447 00:35:53,320 --> 00:35:58,120 God may have led us to talk about this tonight because there is someone here who is sitting 448 00:35:58,120 --> 00:36:02,600 in that cave with David. 449 00:36:02,600 --> 00:36:14,120 You've been away from the Lord, and the backsliding and all of its fruit may not even be seen 450 00:36:14,120 --> 00:36:18,360 yet, though some of it may be. 451 00:36:18,360 --> 00:36:22,320 But there in the solitude and the loneliness of where you find yourself tonight, God is 452 00:36:22,320 --> 00:36:31,240 saying to you in love, my backslidden child, return to me. 453 00:36:31,240 --> 00:36:39,400 What I want to challenge you to do is to respond positively and come back to the Lord as David 454 00:36:39,400 --> 00:36:42,000 did. 455 00:36:42,000 --> 00:36:47,520 To recognize the episode that you've been through over the last week, month, year, I 456 00:36:47,520 --> 00:36:49,960 don't know. 457 00:36:49,960 --> 00:36:58,720 To recognize that what you've been through has been sorrowful and tragic in its consequences, 458 00:36:58,720 --> 00:37:03,400 and that you indeed are repentant of it. 459 00:37:03,400 --> 00:37:08,640 But to say as David did, Lord, I'm coming back and I'm returning to you, and I love 460 00:37:08,640 --> 00:37:12,320 you and I trust you and I want to walk with you. 461 00:37:12,320 --> 00:37:17,240 You see, despite this record that we have here in chapters 20 and 21 of 1 Samuel, God 462 00:37:17,240 --> 00:37:22,960 still called David a man after his own heart. 463 00:37:22,960 --> 00:37:26,960 And that's the kind of a person God wants you to be and God wants me to be. 464 00:37:26,960 --> 00:37:36,560 And we can be, but we need to come when necessary to that cave of Adalim and do business with 465 00:37:36,560 --> 00:37:39,560 God. 466 00:37:39,560 --> 00:37:42,120 Are you there tonight? 467 00:37:42,120 --> 00:37:45,120 Will you do business with him? 468 00:37:45,120 --> 00:37:52,680 Let's pray. 469 00:37:52,680 --> 00:38:04,680 With our heads bowed and as God the Holy Spirit speaks tenderly, lovingly to each of us, as 470 00:38:04,680 --> 00:38:12,480 perhaps you sit there in the cave of Adalim in your heart and you've heard the voice 471 00:38:12,480 --> 00:38:15,560 of the Lord. 472 00:38:15,560 --> 00:38:22,760 Will you tonight by the uplifted hand say, Pastor, I have been backslidden and God is 473 00:38:22,760 --> 00:38:29,440 dealing with me, and tonight I want to respond like I know I should. 474 00:38:29,440 --> 00:38:39,360 I want to come back to a place where I'm a man, a woman, after God's heart and I'm 475 00:38:39,360 --> 00:38:43,640 walking in obedience and faith. 476 00:38:43,640 --> 00:38:46,800 By the uplifted hand I'm saying that tonight. 477 00:38:46,800 --> 00:38:50,080 Will you put your hand up to that? 478 00:38:50,080 --> 00:38:53,600 Yes. 479 00:38:53,600 --> 00:38:54,600 God bless you. 480 00:38:54,600 --> 00:38:59,160 A number of hands. 481 00:38:59,160 --> 00:39:00,160 Anyone else? 482 00:39:00,160 --> 00:39:04,040 I want to pray for you. 483 00:39:04,040 --> 00:39:12,960 Oh, Father, thank you for the lessons that all of us have learned tonight, but for that 484 00:39:12,960 --> 00:39:19,800 special voice of the Spirit that has been sounded in the caves of these who have lifted 485 00:39:19,800 --> 00:39:24,480 the hand. 486 00:39:24,480 --> 00:39:31,840 Would you right now totally reclaim those lives? 487 00:39:31,840 --> 00:39:44,240 Would you restore that love and faith to a place of warmth, a place of obedience? 488 00:39:44,240 --> 00:39:52,240 Father, I pray that you would recover these ones from the backslidden journey where they've 489 00:39:52,240 --> 00:39:55,840 been. 490 00:39:55,840 --> 00:40:02,320 And may all of us tonight take heed of the lessons that we've seen from David's example. 491 00:40:02,320 --> 00:40:22,840 And we pray this in Jesus' name, amen.