LIFE OF DAVID: LOVING YOUR ENEMIES
1 SAMUEL 24:1-22
INTRODUCTION... He Aint Much of a trucker
Late one summer evening in Broken Bow, Nebraska, a weary truck driver pulled his rig into an all-night truck stop. The waitress had just served him when three tough looking, leather jacketed motorcyclists - of the Hell’s Angels type - decided to give him a hard time. Not only did they verbally abuse him, one grabbed the hamburger off his plate, another took a handful of his french fries, and the third picked up his coffee and began to drink it.
How would you respond? Well, this trucker did not respond as one might expect. Instead, he calmly rose, picked up his check, walked to the front of the room, put the check and his money on the cash register, and went out the door. The waitress followed him to put the money in the till and stood watching out the door as the big truck drove away into the night.
When she returned, one of the bikers said to her, "Well, he’s not much of a man, is he?" She replied, "I don’t know about that, but he sure ain’t much of a truck driver. He just ran over three motorcycles on his way out of the parking lot."
Sounds like justice, doesn’t it? When someone wrongs us our first instinct is to get them back!
ILLUSTRATION... http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon.asp?SermonID=46699&ContributorID=2134
In the children’s book entitled, "I’ll Fix Anthony," the younger brother complains about the way his older brother Anthony treats him: "My brother Anthony can read books now, but he won’t read any books to me. He plays checkers with Bruce from his school. But when I want to play he says, "Go away or I’ll clobber you." I let him wear my Snoopy sweatshirt, but he never lets me borrow his sword. Mother says deep down in his heart Anthony loves me. Anthony says deep down in his heart he thinks I stink. Mother says deep deep down in his heart, where he doesn’t even know it, Anthony loves me. Anthony says deep deep down in his heart he still thinks I stink. When I’m six I’ll fix Anthony …. Anthony is chasing me out of the playroom. He says I stink. He says he is going to clobber me. I have to run now, but I won’t have to run when I’m six. When I’m six, I’ll fix Anthony. [Judith Viorst, I’ll Fix Anthony. as quoted in www.christianglobe.com/ illustrations = revenge]
The truth is that we as a society think often about revenge. Sometimes bumper stickers display what our real philosophy of life such as:
Do unto others before they can do unto you.
I don’t get mad I get even.
Keep honking I am reloading.
Caution I brake for tailgaters.
Please Tailgate I need the money.
To err is human, to forgive is out of the question
We have been reading through the life of David and drawing from his life very important lessons for our own. David’s life began in a simple way as a shepherd on the hills around Bethlehem, but he would end up being king of the People of God. David’s road to the throne was not one that was easy. We have seen already in 1 Samuel 18 that Saul does not trust David and has tried to kill him several times. Let’s continue to look at the life of David in chapter 24.
READ 1 SAMUEL 24:1-22
I. SAUL’S MISTREATMENT OF DAVID CONTINUES (1 Samuel 19-23, 24:1-2)
1 Samuel 19-23 records for us time after time how King Saul tried to rid himself of David. The basic outline of chapters 19-23 of 1 Samuel is: Saul goes after David, David flees, and Jonathan helps David escape and live. This happens over and over. The amazing thing about David was that he would hear of the Philistines attacking Israel and would head off with his men to defend the towns. Saul would hear of his victory and attempt to chase him down. This happened again and again. 1 Samuel 19:17 illustrates for us that King Saul considered David his enemy. 1 Samuel 20:30-31 records for us Saul becoming furious and abusive with Jonathan for helping David when he said, "You son of a perverse and rebellious woman! Don’t I know that you have sided with the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of the mother who bore you? As long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. Now send and bring him to me, for he must die!" David is on the run from this king who wants him dead. They have become enemies.
The beginning of chapter 24 shows you what I have already described from chapters 19-23. Saul gathers three thousand men to hunt David down. I think that should convey to us the importance that Saul was placing on killing David. He needed all these men to contend with David. We have seen that David has success after success and Saul is trying to contend with God’s favor by overcoming David with superior numbers.
The Bible is full of passages that describe the mistreatment of others:
Exodus 22:21-28 says, "Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt. Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless. If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not be like a moneylender; charge him no interest. If you take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, return it to him by sunset, because his cloak is the only covering he has for his body. What else will he sleep in? When he cries out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate. Do not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people." Leviticus 19:32-35 also says, "Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the LORD. When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the LORD your God. Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity."
It seems like in just these two passages alone that God lists many ways that we might mistreat others:
* We use our money to gain power over others by giving it or withholding it according to our whim
* We take things that are not ours
* We curse people to their face and behind their backs
* We do not give respect or seek to take respect from those that have earned it by muddying their reputation
* We treat people like they do not belong and leave them out
* We are dishonest with others
There are two ways that we can look at all of these things. First, we may be the one being mistreated. Perhaps someone is using money to bring stress into your life. Maybe someone has muddied your reputation by something they have said or done. Maybe you have been lied to. We mistreat each other in so many ways it is hard to come up with them all, but you know in your mind and heart what has happened to you. Second, you may be the one dealing out the mistreatment. Perhaps you have taken something that does not belong to you. Perhaps you have said things or done things to hurt someone. We mistreat each other in so many ways it is hard to come up with them all, but you know in your mind and heart what you have done to others.
II. THE PITIFUL PIT STOP (1 Samuel 24:3-4)
Chapter 24 continues with a pit stop along the way. David hides in a cave and Saul and his men stop outside the same exact cave. I can imagine David thinking that his time had run out and Saul had found he and his men. David and his men go far back in the cave. David did not realize that Saul was taking a potty break and did not know he had tracked David down. David’s men encouraged him to kill Saul while he was otherwise occupied. 24:5-6 describe the kind of person David was, "Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. He said to his men, ‘The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD’s anointed, or lift my hand against him; for he is the anointed of the LORD.’"
ILLUSTRATION… Men’s Bathroom Protocol
I do not think that the women in the room realize this, but there are unwritten rules for men in public bathrooms and it is expected that each man is to know these rules. Women’s rules for bathroom behavior is unknown to me. It do not think I have ever been in a women’s bathroom, but men’s bathroom behavior is something I know about:
1) when using a urinal, there must be an empty one between you and another fellow if at all possible (1,3,5 rule)
2) no talking
3) look straight ahead or straight up (fake stretch if you have to)... no eye contact
4) when waiting, look mostly at the floor until it is your turn
I think King Saul was following some of these unwritten rules while he was in the cave. He must have been looking straight ahead and not paying attention to anything else. David came up and cut a piece of his robe off and he did not even know! David was a skilled warrior and Saul was definitely occupied. I think about this situation if the roles were reversed. What if it had been Saul in the back of the cave and David the one entering and taking care of some business. I see from 1 Samuel 19-23 that Saul would not have hesitated to kill David. He would have snuck up and put a spear into him as he had tried so many times before.
I find it remarkable that David was "conscience stricken." In the deepest part of David’s feelings, he felt guilty and could not believe what he had done. He respected Saul for being the "Lord’s Anointed" as the king of Israel and the one that God chose to lead His people.
III. DEALING WITH ENEMIES (1 Samuel 24:5-22)
I think that we can learn a great deal from David on how to deal with those people we consider enemies in
our lives. Jesus certainly tells us in Matthew 5 that we should love them and pray for them. Yet, David also shows us how to deal with the difficult and hostile people in our lives.
First, we should follow our conscience and the prodding of the Holy Spirit inside of us. David followed his conscience (verses 5-7) and did not listen to his men who were contradicting it. The men thought they should take advantage of this opportunity and David should kill Saul. David listened to his conscience (and the Holy Spirit which came upon him in 1 Samuel 16:13). I do not want to sound like Jimmeny Cricket, but it would be best if we would "let our conscience be our guide." Allow the Holy Spirit to guide us in these situations with these people that cause us stress and grief. That means we must be in prayer and attentive to God’s Word if we are to hear the voice of God and His direction.
Second, we should be humble (verse 8). This, I think, is the most difficult of all the things that David did while dealing with King Saul. David still showed respect and still bowed before the king. God’s Word states that God saves those who are humble (Psalm 18:27), God guides those who are humble (Psalm 25:9), and sustains the humble (Psalm 147:6). God also gives grace to those that are humble (Proverbs 3:34). I do not know about you, but when delaing with difficult people... I certainly want God and His blessing on my side. God will guide us when it comes to things like this if we are humble. God will sustain us in situations when we may have to deal with them day after day. Jesus tells us to learn from Him in Matthew 11:29 and then describes Himself as humble in heart.
Third, we should be honest with them (verses 9-12). David confronts Saul and tells him the truth. He confronts Saul and asks why he listens to other people about the intent David has towards him. He shows Saul the piece of robe and confesses that he did not kill him when he had the opportunity. He shows Saul that he is not rebelling. David appeals to the Lord as judge and states that he is not attempting to harm Saul in anyway. He says over and over that "my hand will not touch you." He says this and has his band of men in the cave to back up his statement. He also holds a piece of the robe which also backs up his statement. David was honest and truthful with Saul.
Fourth, we should make an effort to show them love (verses 9-22). By not killing Saul, David showed Saul love. By bowing in humbleness, David showed Saul love. By respecting Saul and his position as king, David showed Saul love. By complimenting Saul when he certainly didn’t deserve it, David showed Saul love. We see in verse 19 that Saul understood who David was and what he was truly about, "When a man finds his enemy, does he let him get away unharmed? May the LORD reward you well for the way you treated me today." I have to say that I look at how Saul reacted and it was not the reaction that I expected. I expected Saul to pick up a spear and hurl it at David. He did not. Verse 16 tells us that he wept aloud.
CONCLUSION
Dealing with Enemies:
1) Follow the Holy Spirit
2) Be Humble
3) Be Honest
4) Make an effort to show them love
