Introduction
This morning we resume our series, The Construction of a Kingdom, as we again peer into the life of David in 1 Samuel 22. By the series title, I am inferring a process by which the Lord will establish His rule in our lives that includes us in a glorious purpose. Jeremiah 29:11 reads, "For I know the plans that I have toward you," declares the Lord, "plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope." His kingdom includes His plans, His favor, His peace extended in every area of your life - family, occupation, ministry, relationships
In David's life we find valuable concepts about laying claim to God's promises and power. There are some key events in his life, which led to his current circumstances in our text. When we left David, he stood victorious over the fallen giant, Goliath. David the shepherd boy, a man after God's heart, and the person which the Lord had hand picked for the throne of Israel was well on his way to becoming a king. He had been promoted in the ranks of King Saul's royal, military staff, but the king eventually turns on David to murder him.
I Samuel 18 - 21 reveal a period of great loss in David's life. Conspiring to have David killed; Saul employs his military to track him down. With David on a run for his life, he loses precious relationships; his wife, his counselor in the Prophet Samuel, his best friend in Jonathan. (It would make a great country ballad). His escape from Saul led him to four places in the wilderness; each with significant connotations. They became locations where he found his true refuge in the Lord.
Often, difficult circumstances can dictate our most pressing needs. It's in the loneliness and strain of our dilemmas and trials that reveal where we find strength and hope. Before the Lord can complete His kingdom in us, we have to learn to form our refuge in Him.
Theme: By taking refuge in the Lord, He can prepare us for His glorious purposes.
1 Protection I Samuel 22:1
As a Hee Haw generation, we remember the weekly sketch with Junior Samples, Buck Owens, Grandpa Jones, and Goober hanging out in their overalls singing about their dilemmas; who was dumped by their girlfriend, who's dog was caught in the hay bailer… They sang, Gloom, despair, and agony on me. Deep, dark depression, excessive misery; if it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all. Gloom, despair, and agony on me. Their weekly spoof was comical and we laughed.
We don't laugh as hard when gloom, despair, and agony are stalking our lives. David can't run beyond the threat of Saul's murderous anger. We could say that David had bottomed out. How desperate was David? The Hebrew wording in verse 1 suggests that in the midst of his circumstances, he just wanted to vanish and preserve his life. David was simply trying to keep together his remaining strands of sanity.
Psalm 142 reveals his decimated spirited… Can you sense the desolation of his soul? For there is no one who acknowledges me; Refuge has failed me; No one cares for my soul. Every precious, earthly relationship has been removed from David. Circumstances have estranged him from the comfort and shelter of his closest companions. In the clammy cave of Adullam, David realized that no amount of running or hiding could lead him to a sufficient shelter. He could outrun Saul, but not his own loss.
Verse 5 reveals the secret of the turnaround David was about to experience… He advertised no other need than his need for God. His problems could not outweigh his trust and the empty refuge of a dark cave gave way to David's true refuge in God…
David had run far, but not far enough from the presence of the Lord. He could elude Saul's wrath, but not the Sovereign presence of God. I believe that David had been brought to a place where God can shape him and use him. It's in the dead end of a cave that God could re-route his life. The place to escape in distress is into the loving presence of God. When hounded by your enemies run headlong into the secure presence of the Lord.
Remember David is a man after God's heart. His heart and life were totally toward God to please Him and trust Him. At this crucial juncture in his life, tremendous faith comes to the forefront of his life and his confident expression in God is made in verse 7… David could make that kind of a confession because he knew God.
When God is engineering His kingdom in our lives it is critical that we possess knowledge of Him in a one to one experience. It's often through the difficulties we face that we find refuge in so many other things and we turn to them for escape. We run from Him.
2 Corinthians 12:10 records the familiar words of the Apostle Paul, Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
It's in those times that He wants our attention upon Him to reveal His power and person-hood.
2 Preparation I Samuel 22:2
David wasn't the only one to be affected by the insane rage of King Saul. The people ached under the leadership of Saul. He had overtaxed families, mistreated innocent citizens, and abused his power. His poor executive ability produced a contingent of dissatisfied and disillusioned people. Where did they seek refuge?
Verse 1 reports that David's family joins him in the cave and another quick tally reveals that 400 other men were drawn to David, as well. Now this doesn't include any family that they may have brought with them! Their condition is revealed for us…
Everyone who was in distress (matsowq); they were disabled by their anguish.
Everyone who was in debt (nasha'); overly taxed, they were bound to creditors.
Everyone who was discontented (mar nephesh); they were bitter of soul, chafed.
Talk about misery loving company! Yet, that is the horror of leadership and influence. On the one hand, sound authority and leadership can be a source of healing and inspiration, while, in the case of Saul, abusive authority can bruise, devastate, and leave behind lives stained with disillusionment. David has just overcome a great deal of personal discouragement and now he must deal with over 400 men who have just been through similar emotional ordeals. The cave was no longer David's personal refuge, but a training ground, a refuge where God would prepare David to lead the roughest malcontents around. It's almost as if God were saying, OK David, since I am appointing you to the throne of Israel, how about some job training. How about taking the casualties of Saul's madness and leading them?
Psalm 34 is yet another psalm composed in that cave. It reveals how David led them.
1. He led them in praise: (1) I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; the humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together.
2. He assured them of God's protection: (7) The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them.
3. He turned their attention the Lord that they would trust in Him…
To the distressed… (8) Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
To those in debt… (9) Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.
To the discontent… (18) The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all. Come you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
These were not the successful, best-of-the-best that Israel had to offer in military recruits for a king's army. Yet, in the training ground for the Kingdom, those who find their refuge in God are prepared for His kingly purposes. Those same 400 derelicts were transformed into men later labeled in 2 Samuel, David's Mighty Men of Valor. Remember one of the reasons God chose David in the first place: Psalms 78:72 So he shepherded according to the integrity of his heart, And guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.
When presented the opportunity in the refuge of preparation, seize the opportunity to pour your life into people. God brings them into our lives for the purpose of being influenced for His glory and purpose. Discouraged people don't need critics. They hurt enough already. They need encouragement. They need a word. They need a place to heal and a confidant; a comrade in arms, a caring, willing, and available someone. Give God opportunity and He will shape you and others through you into what He has designed.
Next, David came to a refuge of where he discovered…
3 Perspective I Samuel 22:3-5
Alan Redpath is the late Pastor of Moody Memorial Church in Chicago, IL.. He made this statement, The conversion of a soul is the miracle of a moment, but the establishing of a saint is the task of a lifetime.
Verses 1-2 of I Samuel 22 comprise of few years, not a few months. Please note that we are given indication elsewhere that David has been a hunted man the whole time. Saul's army continually dogged David's steps. This whole process has been God's task of preparing David for the throne and now the process has made its way to Mizpah at Moab.
Mizpah is translated; overlook or tower. It was a military post that provided long range sighting capabilities. This became his next stronghold. Note his words in verse 3… till I know what God will do for me. It's in this overlook at Moab that David sought to conform to God's will. It's at the overlook that David found new perspective.
Saul was pursuing David, but David was pursuing the will of God. It is the mark of person who makes God's agenda for their home, their business, and their lives the A-1 priority. David's attitude was pleasing to the Lord. The Apostle Paul spoke of him in Acts 13:22, When He had removed Saul, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, 'I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.' It was the principle that dominated David's life. He would tell us that his consuming passion in life was to know the will of the Lord that it might be accomplished in his life.
God is pleased with those who will seek His will to perform it. The will of God consumed all that Jesus came to accomplish. John 4:34 reads, Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. 1 John 2:17 says, The world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. It brings the favor and the blessing of God into any place where people come into agreement with the Lord's will. It's what God looks for in our lives. His will is His kingdom established in our lives.
In verse 6, counsel comes from a prophet to move to Judah, into Hereth.
4 Purpose I Samuel 23
Please note the horrific act of Saul in the latter half of I Samuel 22. Believing, they had hidden David, Saul's madness induced the slaughter of several priests. Verses 16-19 record the tragedy. Again, we see abusive display of power in Saul's reign.
For David and his men it was a different story. Following the Lord's counsel, David has made his way to the forests of Hereth. Hereth is translated to engrave or graven. This location became yet one more significant place of refuge for David. It is here that God engraved His purpose in David.
In the eastern region of Judah lay the village of Keilah. Ongoing battles were continuing with the Philistines by the armies of Israel and, over the course of battle, the Philistine infantry chose to raid and plunder a defenseless Keilah during its harvest season. Not long afterwards, the news of the situation reached David in Hereth.
David took issue with the report and sought God's will concerning the matter in verse 2… I'm wondering where King Saul is. God responds in the affirmative for David and his men to save Keilah. The men refuse on the grounds of fear in verse 3…
Again, refusing to settle for the persuasive efforts of his men, David waited on the Lord for another answer. In verse 4, God again responds… However, His answer for David is described in detail. A literal translation of the verse would indicate that upon David's second inquiry, God gave a quite enthusiastic response. A Hebrew word is used that indicates that the Lord sang or shouted his affirmation. We can detect gleefulness in God's heart at David's response. David, I am pleased to deliver those Philistines. He also emphatically states I will deliver them into your hand. God was empowering David and in battle, the Philistines would be subject to the clenched fist of David's authority.
Verse 5 records the outcome… David had a heart to obey God's will. His repeated inquiries mark a valuable lesson for us. It was in the continual seeking of God's heart and will, that David found his purpose. David began fulfilling the function of kingly responsibility before he was ever crowned for the position.
Psalm 27:14 Wait on the LORD; be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!
Waiting upon the Lord is a lost art today, but it is the required pathway to the heart of God and the discovery of His purpose and power for our lives. We are defrauded by the busyness of schedules that we rarely wait on the Lord anymore. However, if your heart is to know God's purpose in your family, your life, it comes when we seek His heart like David could.
Again David and his men eluded Saul's army and, now, could depart to Engedi, an oasis in the wilderness of Judah. It's high terrain and cool, fresh water streams traced through hundreds of secure places where they could rest. I believe that becomes a spiritual parallel for us today. When you continue to find a refuge in the Lord, He brings you to a refreshing place in the spirit of abiding trust in Him.
Conclusion
In Cleveland, Ohio stands the Society of Savings Bank, a magnificent 10-story structure built in the late 19th century. In this era of history, a 10-story building was an engineering wonder. The funding for its construction came from an unusual source. Several depositors, who had opened accounts with the bank in its previous location had died leaving no one to claim their estate. After decades with no one claiming the funds, the directors of the bank turned the money over for the construction of a new and towering edifice.
Likewise, there is a grand investment of the Lord that often goes unclaimed; an investment designed to construct the spiritual edifice of God's purpose and destiny in our lives. How often do we fail to lay claim to the wisdom, counsel, and strength of the Lord found in His Word and lose the opportunity to experience His blessing and peace? Because of neglect or trusting in other sources, the power and instruction of God is never implemented in our hearts and we fail to grow into the stature of His perfect plans.
Find a refuge in Him and you find what you need today…
…protection in the time of difficulty.
…preparation for His purposes.
…perspective to know His will.
…purpose that brings His power and strength when we wait on Him.
