Rev. David Holwick G The Life of David, #7
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
February 16, 2014
1 Samuel 30:1-6
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I. How do you handle a crisis?
A. Tough times call for tougher people.
Thomas Paine's main contribution to the Revolutionary War was
a series of articles known as "The American Crisis."
They were printed in newspapers throughout the states.
He wrote the first of them by the light of a campfire during
Washington's desperate retreat across New Jersey in
December 1776.
They were getting ready to cross the frozen Delaware River - at
night, in a blizzard - to launch a surprise attack on Trenton,
Washington ordered Paine's words read to his exhausted,
frostbitten troops:
"These are the times that try men's souls.
The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this
crisis, shrink from the service of their country;
but he that stands it NOW, deserves the love and thanks of
man and woman.
Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this
consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the
more glorious the triumph."
The next morning, the Continentals gained a stunning, pivotal
victory.
#34928
B. Victories like this are never obvious ahead of time.
1) We usually feel our way through life, never quite sure
if we are making the right choices.
2) What does God really want us to do?
3) What does it mean if it blows up in our face?
a) The life of King David provides some interesting lessons.
b) Some of his choices were questionable, but through it
all you can see God's hand operating.
c) How clearly do you see God's hand in your own life?
II. Back into the arms of an enemy.
A. David is under increasing pressure. 27:1
1) He has gained in followers, but also in King Saul's wrath.
2) In the past, God has delivered him from Saul in miraculous
ways.
3) David seems to doubt God can do it again, so he comes up
with his own scheme - he returns to the Philistines.
a) This had resulted in humiliation before - remember
the drooling in his beard?
b) David's situation is a little different now, because
he can offer Achish 600 armed followers.
B. The plan seems to work out just fine.
1) Saul stops pursuing him. 27:4
2) David is given some autonomy.
a) He is given a town of his own, Ziklag. 27:5
1> This gives David some distance from Achish.
2> The Philistines won't be breathing down his neck.
b) David has broad authority to wage war as he sees fit.
3) David works it so it doesn't tarnish his future kingship.
a) He plays a dangerous double-game. 27:8-10
1> He attacks tribes who threatened Jews, then reports
to Achish that he has attacked Jewish areas.
2> No witnesses to his duplicity are left alive.
3> It is not a religious vow, but a pragmatic move.
b) Achish never finds out and thinks David is awesome.
III. How should we evaluate David's actions?
A. From David's perspective, it was all good.
1) They were secure because Saul stopped looking for them.
2) They had freedom of action in Ziklag.
3) The deception worked and Achish never caught on.
B. The writer of 1 Samuel seems to be more critical.
1) David seems to be depending more on Philistia than God.
2) His slaughtering wasn't normal behavior even back then.
a) Later, raiders take his own town and don't kill anyone.
b) David is choosing to be bloody.
IV. We still struggle with the same issues today.
A. Real-life movie "Lone Survivor" about Navy Seals in Afghanistan.
1) They are sent to spy out a distant Taliban village.
2) Some Afghan shepherds stumble upon them.
a) Should they kill them, and save their own skins?
b) Should they let them live, and compromise the mission?
3) They decide to let the shepherds live.
a) One of the shepherds races back to tell the Taliban.
b) A large firefight ensues, 19 Americans are killed
and only one survives.
1> Ironically, he is saved by Afghan villagers.
B. What would you do in this case?
1) Reviews of the film by members of the Seals say they would
have never debated something like this.
a) Killing civilians is never an option for them.
2) But it was for David.
a) He slaughtered a bunch of people, in cold blood.
b) The fact that he gets away with it probably justified
it in his own mind.
1> This is often how we evaluate moral choices too.
2> The Bible says there is a way that seems right to a
man, but in the end it leads to death. Prov 14:12
3> You can't just judge your actions by the outcome.
A> Values should matter.
C. David's success leads to a hairy situation.
1) It could have been his "Bridge-gate" and ruined his chances
for becoming king of Israel.
2) He had been too smart for his own good.
V. Out of the frying pan.
A. Achish is certain David has burned his bridges with the Jews.
1) He chooses to use David in a direct attack on Israel.
2) David's vague response: "You will see what I can do." 28:2
a) He is in a tight spot.
B. Philistine generals smell a rat. 29:3
1) Achish stands up for David emphatically.
a) He does it three times.
b) He even invokes God (David doesn't). 29:6
2) The generals are fearful he will turn on them.
a) It doesn't seem prudent to them.
b) They bring up his famous song. 29:5
3) Achish sadly sends David back. 29:7
a) David acts put-out. He wants to fight.
b) Secretly, he must have been relieved.
1> It is ironic he is delivered from his dilemma by
Philistine generals.
2> Throughout the Bible, God shows he can use even our
enemies to do his will.
c) David takes his men back to Ziklag.
VI. Into the fire.
A. David and his men return to find Ziklag has been raided. 30:1
1) The whole town has been burned.
2) All their families have been captured, including David's.
B. It was too much to take.
1) Grown men cry until they couldn't weep anymore. 30:4
2) To make it worse, some were talking about stoning David. v.6
a) They must have blamed him for the situation.
1> No men were left to guard the town.
2> Had David been shortsighted, or arrogant?
b) David didn't have anyone to turn to, except God. 30:6
1> That is where he finds his strength.
2> When you are in a crisis, and everyone is blaming
you, has God given you strength?
A> Crisis is not a time to discover God.
B> It's a time to lean on the God you already know.
C. Turning to God turned the tables.
1) David sought God's guidance.
a) His priest used an ephod.
1> The answers are positive, but vague.
b) An abandoned Egyptian slave fills in the details.
2) God gave him a big victory.
a) They fight the Amalakites and decisively beat them.
b) Everything is recovered, no family members are lost.
c) They gain a victory over themselves, too.
3) David honored God by his actions.
a) He treats the Egyptian prisoner with mercy.
b) His defends his weaker men.
1> Some were resentful toward those who petered out.
2> David reminds them that God gave them the victory,
so everyone will share alike.
3> Remember God in a crisis - and praise him after it.
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SOURCE FOR ILLUSTRATION USED IN THIS SERMON:
#34928 “The Times That Try Men’s Souls,” Jill Lepore, The New Yorker
Magazine; article: The Sharpened Quill, p. 170, October 16, 2006.
This and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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