Alright, you can turn in your Bibles to 1st Samuel chapter 27. 1st Samuel chapter 27 will read chapter 27 up to chapter 28 verse 2. 1st Samuel 27 beginning in verse 1. And David said in his heart, now I shall perish someday by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape to the land of the Philistines. And Saul will despair of me to seek me anymore in any part of Israel.
So I shall escape out of his hand. Then David arose and went over with the 600 men who were with him to Achish, the son of Maok, king of Gath. So David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, each man with his household, and David with his two wives, Ahinoam, the Jezreelitess, and Abigail, the Carmelitess, Nabal's widow. And it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath, so he sought him no more.
Then David said to Achish, if I have now found favor in your eyes, let them give me a place in some town in the country that I may dwell there. For why should your servant dwell in the royal city with you? So Achish gave him Ziklag that day. Therefore, Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day.
Now the time that David dwelt in the country of the Philistines was one full year and four months. And David and his men went up and raided the Gesherites, the Gerzites, and the Amalekites. For those nations were the inhabitants of the land from of old, as you go to shore, even as far as the land of Egypt. Whenever David attacked the land, he left neither man nor woman alive, but took away the sheep, the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the apparel. and returned and came to Achish.
Then Achish would say, where have you made a raid today? And David would say, against the southern area of Judah, or against the southern area of the Jeremialites, or against the southern area of the Kenites. David would save neither man nor woman alive to bring news to Gath, saying, lest they should inform on us, saying, thus David did. And thus was his behavior all the time he dwelt in the country of the Philistines.
So Achish believed David, saying, he has made his people Israel utterly abhor him. Therefore, he will be my servant forever. Now, it happened in those days that the Philistines gathered their armies together for war to fight with Israel. And Achish said to David, you assuredly know that you will go out with me to battle, you and your men.
So David said to Achish, surely you know what your servant can do. And Achish said to David, therefore I will make you one of my chief guardians forever. Amen.
Introduction and Chronological Context
Well, continuing in the story of Saul and David, here in chapter 27 at verse 1, all the way to chapter 30 and verse 31, David is in Philistia. Now, just a quick note concerning the chronology of chapters 27 to 31. You notice at the end of 28.2, it says that the Philistines gathered together to fight with Israel. When we go down to verse 4, we see that Israel is at Shunam before Mount Gilboa.
If you turn over to 31, verse 1, it says, the Philistines fought against Israel and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. So what's happening is that chapter 28 actually happens later than chapters 29 and 30. Why the author does that, we'll probably consider that next week. But you'll notice, if you move from 28.2 to 29.1, the text just continues to flow.
So 28.3 to 25 is a bit of a parentheses, again, set at a future's time. I think it's to indicate something about Saul's state of mind prior to this war with the Philistines. Again, we'll look at that in more detail next time we gather. But as we look at chapter 27, verses 1 to 28, 2, there are three main points that we should consider.
The Escape of David to Gath
In the first place, the escape of David to Gath in verses 1 to 4. Secondly, the practice of David in Ziklag, verses 7 to 12. And then we'll close by making, I said three, oh yeah, the bottom one is the dilemma for David among the Philistines in 28, 1 and 2. Now as we look at the escape of David to Gath, notice in verse 1, and David said in his heart, Now I shall perish someday by the hand of Saul.
There is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape to the land of the Philistines and Saul will despair of me. to seek me anymore in any part of Israel, so I shall escape out of his hand." That's a lot different statement than we saw in 26-24. Remember, as he stands before Saul having spared his life once again in verse 24 of chapter 26, and indeed as your life was valued much this day in my eyes, so let my life be valued much in the eyes of the Lord, and let him deliver me out of all tribulation." We get to 27.1 and there's no instance, no indicator whatsoever that David had consulted with Yahweh or that he was trusting in Yahweh.
The Difficulty of This Passage
That brings me in the first place as we consider this escape of David to Gath to consider the difficulty of this section. There's going to be some tentativeness on my part tonight, because it's a difficult passage. And it's difficult for several reasons. In the first place, there is the absence of any mention of God whatsoever.
Davis, in his commentary, calls this a godless text. God is not in 27 to 28 too. He's not referred to. He's not mentioned.
Of course, that's not something unique in the scriptures. There is a whole book in the Bible where God is not mentioned, and that is the book of Esther. But in the second place, there is the absence of any negative or positive comment by the author. I mean, if you follow the reading, what David does in this section in his dealings with Achish are a little bit different than what we might expect at this point in the narrative concerning the man after God's own heart.
So the narrator, the author, doesn't give us any clear indications that David did the right thing or David did the wrong thing. It's just sort of balanced in between there. In the third place, the fact that David's plan actually worked. What we find is that David makes this decision to go to Gath, and in verse 4, Saul sought him no more.
When David ends up in a dilemma in chapter 28, verses 1 and 2, the dilemma being that Achish wants David to join the Philistines to war against Israel. That's a huge dilemma. for the man that would ascend the throne in Israel. Certainly, that would not look good on his royal resume if he walked in battle with the Philistines to go against the country he was to lead. Well, thankfully, in chapter 29, there is divine deliverance from God for David.
He gets out of this precarious situation. So in many respects, as we read 27.1 to 28.2, the plan actually worked. But in the fourth place, what David does, does create a great dilemma. David joining forces, as it were, with the Philistines brought him into this position where now the Philistines, specifically Achish, really trusted him and really wanted him to be his servant forever.
And so naturally, Akish is going to want David's employ when he goes to battle against Israel. And as I've already mentioned, in the fifth place, the difficulty of the section is seen in the fact that God does deliver him. Again, there's no clear, specific statement. What David did was right in the sight of the Lord.
What David did was wrong in the sight of the Lord. You go to the narrative in 2 Samuel 11 and 12. The thing that David did displeased Yahweh. The reader is left with no question whatsoever concerning David's adultery. and murder.
Well, in this instance, instead of calling upon the Lord or waiting upon the Lord or remaining in Judah, David goes over to Philistia. And remember back in 26, one of the big things David didn't want to happen, according to verses 19 and 20, was to be driven out from the Lord's inheritance because that's where the face of Yahweh was. And if David doesn't want that in 26, why in the world in 27 would he leave the presence of the Lord or the inheritance of the Lord and to go and join himself up with the Philistines. So there's basically two ways you can interpret 27.1 to 28.2.
It is either A, an excellent military strategy on David's part, or B, it is a lapse in David's judgment that was overruled by God's good providence. So it's probably one of those particulars.
David's Reasoning in Verse One
Let's just move through the passage and see what the author does tell us. in the hopes that we get some understanding, at least of the overall thrust of the passage. Now note the reasoning of David, the content. He says in his heart, now I shall perish someday by the hand of Saul. David did not believe Saul's repentance in chapter 26.
Remember, Saul cried. Saul was sad, or at least back in 20. 24, he cried. Here he sounds so penitent, he sounds so remorseful, he sounds so sorry for what he has done, and yet David does not trust him for a moment. Brethren, not every time someone says, I'm sorry, do they mean it.
Not every time does someone repent, do they actually mean it. I'm not saying we should always be suspicious of everyone. However, we ought to take our cue from David and realize that if we are being hunted and pursued like a dog by Saul, and then Saul has this epiphany wherein he cries and he shows remorse and he shows repentance, it might not be a bad idea to still treat him with a little bit of distance so that we don't put ourselves into a horrific and compromised situation. Notice, as I've already pointed out, the contrast in his reasoning.
The man of 2624 now wants to leave his land to go and dwell with the Philistines. Again, the reasoning of his heart does not include God. Now I realize that not every text always says everything. But it does seem conspicuous in verse one.
And David said in his heart, Now I shall perish someday by the hand of Saul. It's really an intriguing statement because David has been delivered many, many times by God from Saul. I mean, David has a proven track record of being the blessed subject of God's delivering power. when it comes to the hunt posed by Saul. The reasoning in his heart did not recall the past faithfulness of God.
In chapter 24, David spares Saul's life and he has confidence in the Lord. According to 24.12, that the Lord will avenge him. We get to chapter 25 and we have that fool Nabal. That fool Nabal rejects David's overture.
That fool Nabal provides an obstacle for David. David wants to take him out, God sends Abigail to restrain his hand. And then what happens according to 25.38? And the Lord, or Yahweh, struck Nabal.
The very thing that David was confident that God would do to Saul, in chapter 24 verse 12, God does to Nabal in chapter 25. That then motivates David, or that inspires David, in 2610 to tell Abishai not to kill Saul. And the reason why David tells Abishai not to kill Saul is twofold. Saul is the Lord's anointed.
David doesn't throw off the rule of law. God the Lord raised up Saul, Samuel anointed Saul, Saul was the rightful king on Israel's throne. David is not going to raise a hand to destroy that man because it would violate the law of God. But in the second place, David is confident of the avenging power of God most high.
Notice in verse 10, chapter 26, David said furthermore, as the Lord lives, the Lord shall strike him. or his day shall come to die, or he shall go out to battle and perish. He had seen this happen firsthand in the account of Nabal. Probably why David says God may strike him just like he did with Nabal. So in light of just these last three chapters we have seen God's hand of mercy.
We go back further in the narrative all the way to chapter 18. The Lord delivers David. Chapter 19, the Lord delivers David. Chapter 20, the Lord delivers David.
Chapter 21, you hear the theme? Over and over and over and over and over and over again, the Lord delivers David. We get to 27.1 and David says in his heart, now I shall perish someday by the hand of Saul. God has delivered you multiple times.
Vanhoy says in view of these deliverances, one might expect that henceforth David would be a man who had unmovable confidence in God, which should indicate for us, brethren, David was still a man after God's own heart all the days of his life. But even a man who has seen the proven faithfulness of God still at times may falter and may have some troubles. And we ought not to minimize, on the other side, this has been sort of a negative sound to this particular passage, but in terms of treating David positively, let us not forget what he has faced. Now, it's easy for me, I suppose, or for any of us, to come to a chapter like this and say, how in the world could David go live with Philistines?
How in the world could David engage in covert operations and subterfuge? I mean, the narrator doesn't tell us the thing that he did displeased Yahweh. But some of the things that he does in this particular chapter at least should be under the category of shady at best. I mean, he goes out, he's a raider, he attacks the enemies of Israel, he destroys them completely lest any of them come and tell Achish what he's actually up to.
He doesn't want to have any evidence of the reality of what he's engaged in. But remember David's difficulty. You know, I think it's easy for us at times to come along and kick a brother when they're struggling because they need to buck up and have faith. We come alongside somebody that's in the depths of despair and we say, you know what, you just need to man up and trust God.
That's true, people do need to man up and trust God. But we ought not to minimize the great difficulties that persons fall prey to. Wasn't this Job's complaint to his friends? I mean, with friends like you guys, I don't need enemies.
I mean, they come one after another after another, just letting him have it and letting him have it and letting him have it. Job essentially says, you know, sometimes I just need to vent. I don't need to be lectured to. I just need to be able to express these feelings of despair without getting a five-point sermon on how I need to man up.
Consider that David had been hunted by Saul. Remember, the chapters that I've indicated here, beginning in 18, we're in 27 now, David has lived a life on the run. He has been hunted like an animal. He had been betrayed by his own countrymen.
Remember those pesky Ziphites? They were from Judah. The Ziphites in 23 and in 26 betrayed David. I mean, it's bad enough when the king of Israel wants your hide, but you've got Ziphites telling him where to find you.
In the third place, David had been separated from his family. I don't mean his wives, but I mean his father and his mother. Where are his father and mother now, according to chapter 21 and 22? They are in Moab.
David wanted to get them out of Israel because Saul was trying to kill David. He had no reason to think that Saul would spare his family. He was no doubt extremely weary. Now, I have never been in a situation where I've had to run from Saul, had to deal with Ziphites, been cut off with my family, and engaged in battles basically nonstop, not only with Saul, but the real enemy as well.
Because along the way, David has dealt with Philistines, too. But added to this, according to verses 1 to 4, David is responsible not only for his 600 men, but for their families as well. If you notice, in verse 3, so David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, each man with his household. Perhaps the thought of a nice bed, and a warm meal, and not having to look over his shoulder, and just so that his men and their families could have some respite, and have some safety, and have a bit of safe haven, was probably overwhelming the brother to the point where the Philistine area, or Philistia rather, looked pretty enticing, because at least I get a cot and some hots, and I'll be able to enjoy my stay there.
So we need to make sure that when we interpret passages, we take it all into consideration. Now notice what happens.
David's Relocation to Gath
He relocates according to verses 2 to 4. Now interestingly enough, this is David's second visit to Gath. Remember it was in chapter 21, after he was in the city of Nob. Where does David go from there?
He goes to Gath. And there they recognize him, and they cue Akish to this reality. And so David feigns madness. Remember, he's dribbling down his beard, and he's scratching at the doors, and he's engaged in this particular activity.
And Akish says, don't I have enough madmen to deal with? Get him out of here. So David now comes back to Gath, and we might ask the question, why does Achish receive him this time? Could be this was a different Achish, because it's identified here as Achish the son of Maok, king of Gath.
It may have just been a title, sort of like pharaoh or Caesar or something of that nature. So it might be a different Achish, but most likely it's the same Achish. Remember, when David comes in 21, He's a renegade by himself, and as far as Akish knows, he is a madman. Now he's got 600 men that he's leading, that he's commanding, and he's probably interpreting David and his 600 men as able mercenaries for the Philistine cause.
So that probably explains why he is received at Gath. Now notice, they get safe haven, And then it's reported back to Saul, verse 4, and it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath, so he sought him no more. Again, verse 1, that was David's concern and David's hope. I've got to get away from Saul because he's going to continue to pursue me.
So the plan worked. David's pursuit of safe haven in Philistia paid off. He now has a safe place to live and to conduct himself without the threat of Saul. And verse 4 confirms for us that Saul was lying.
Saul was unrepentant. Saul was not actually legit when he was pronouncing this benediction upon David and all the things that he did. Well, he was speaking like Piapus would. He was prophesying truth out of the mouth of a wicked man.
Now
The Practice of David in Ziklag
notice, in the second place, the practice of David in Ziklag, verses 7 to 12. Well, I'm sorry, back to verse five. David said to Achish, if I have found favor in your eyes, let them give me a place in some town in the country that I may dwell there. For why should your servant dwell in the royal city with you?
Probably to have their own space, right? They'd want their own place to hang out and make You know what they say, a little bit too much familiarity breeds contempt. Certainly don't want to be hanging with Philistines. Their idolater is probably another reason why David doesn't want to be in the royal city.
As well, David wanted freedom to move. David wanted independence. David didn't want to be scrutinized. As we see from his practice in verses 7 to 12, the last thing we understand is that he wanted Achish to be seeing all of his movements within Philistia.
So Achish responds favorably and gives David and his men Ziklag that had been conquered in the conquest according to Joshua 1531. It was given to the tribe of Simeon in Joshua 19.5, but it had returned to Philistine control. Now, Akish gives it to David, and according to the text, it has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day. So once David and his 600 men set up shop in there, it was no longer turned over to the Philistines, up to the time that the author penned 1 Samuel.
Now
David's Raids and Deception of Achish
note the time that David dwelt in the country of the Philistines was one full year and four months. Now notice the specific practice engaged in while in Ziklag. Verse 8, the attacks that David engaged in were against the enemies of Israel. That's who he went out and killed.
He wasn't against Israelites. He wasn't killing. I mean, that's what he tells Achish, but that's not what he was doing. Notice in verse 8, David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Gerzites, and the Amalekites.
For those nations were the inhabitants of the land from of old, as you go to shore, even as far as the land of Egypt." The Geshurites are mentioned in Joshua 13 too. There's some debate over who the Gerzites are. And of course, the Amalekites, 1 Samuel 15. Remember that Saul was commanded to execute Agag and all of the Amalekites.
He was to engage in that principle called harem, where he destroyed all the inhabitants and he destroyed all of the livestock. David went and he made raids on the enemies of Israel. The attacks were conducted with a thoroughness that paralleled that Haram principle. The men and the women were killed.
The livestock and the apparel were spared. Now David would return to Achish, and he would probably give him a cut of the booty. I mean, if Achish is giving him safe haven, and David returns with livestock and apparel, Achish is probably going to say, let me get my beak wet, too. Make sure that the Philistines benefit from these raids that you have gone on.
Now notice, verse 10, Achish would say, where have you made a raid today? And David would say, against the southern area of Judah, or against the southern area of the Jeremelites, or against the southern area of the Canaanites. So David told Achish that he had engaged in slaughtering Israelites. David told Achish, he didn't say, I went out to get the Geshurites and the Gerzites and the Amalekites.
He said, I went to Judah and I dealt death blows to the people of Israel. Now notice what happens. Verse 11, David would save neither man nor woman alive to bring news to Gath, saying, lest they should inform on us, saying, thus David did. Again, when we look at this passage, there's no mention of God.
The narrator doesn't tell us one way or the other. But something here, if you're like me, just doesn't feel right. I mean, this is David, who has been of noble character and virtuous all throughout. Now again, this could be the most ingenious and most noble act of military strategy ever planned, but it just feels a little bit odd, at least to me.
So he would not spare them lest they should inform on us saying thus David did. So in other words, killed all the people from Gesher, from Berzah, and the Amalekites so that they can't tell Achish what was going on. As I'm rehearsing this, it does sound like a splendid military strategy. And then notice the end of verse 11, and thus was his behavior all the time he dwelt in the country of the Philistines.
So Achish believed David, saying, he has made his people Israel utterly abhor him, therefore he will be my servant forever. So David did his job extremely well to the point where Achish now says, David is with us. David will be with us forever. He is a vital component to the Philistia war machine.
Atish is quite delighted about this situation.
The Dilemma Among the Philistines
That brings us thirdly to the dilemma for David among the Philistines. Did David know this would happen? I've got to imagine he had to have at least thought it might happen. But because of the various difficulties, he might have been willing to just say, I'll deal with it when it comes.
But Philistia was an enemy of Israel. And Philistia didn't let things go. And so this brings us to the dilemma of chapter 28 verses 1 and 2. Now it happened in those days that the Philistines gathered their armies together for war to fight with Israel.
And Achish said to David, you assuredly know that you will go out with me to battle, you and your men. Imagine if you were David at this particular point. Well, I can't do that. I'm supposed to be the king there, Akish.
I'm supposed to be on the way to the throne, Akish. I can't take arms up against my brethren or they won't let me be their king and ruler. That's just not going to work for me. David can't say that to Akish.
Remember, David, 600 men, and all their families are basically under the auspices of Akishville. They cannot upset the apple cart. He can't just say, OK, Akish, off with your head. No, he's got to be diplomatic.
He's got to be tactical. He's got to be savvy, he's got to be strategic, and that is precisely what David does in verse 2. He says, surely you know what your servant can do. Talk about ambiguous.
Surely you know what your servant can do. He doesn't say, yes, I will battle with you against the Israelites. And he doesn't say, no, I won't battle with you against the Israelites. He states a fact.
Surely you know what your servant can do. He's not lying, he's not deceiving. Akish does know what David can do. David goes out with his men and they bring back lots of livestock into peril.
Akish is probably tasting victory as we speak. And then notice at the end of verse 2, Akish said to David, therefore, I will make you one of my chief guardians forever. Something like a bodyguard, somebody that's very close, somebody that's going to have watch over me and the royal family. Akish was quite delighted in this arrangement should it prove to be the case.
It's only later when it's parade time. Prior to the battle, the soldiers march before the leaders, and the leaders of the Philistines see David, and they say, what is that man doing there, Achish? So once again, it's the Philistines that save David, according to chapter 29, from having to be placed into a position of appearing like a traitor before Israel. So God the Lord has everything under control in this particular chapter.
The Lord God is sovereign in his providence. Did David do wrong? Did David do right? Again, as I read through the passage and as I go through it, boy, I see great arguments for both sides.
Practical Lessons from the Passage
What are some lessons, though, that we can draw from the passage?
The Difficulties of David
In the first place, the difficulties of David. I've already rehearsed this. I want to rehearse them again. and then make a particular point that oftentimes gets lost on God's people. David was hunted by his king.
Now that's probably not something you and I will ever undergo. Well, maybe. It depends on how the current situation proceeds. But it's not the case, typically, that we have a Saul on our heels trying to cut our throats, trying to destroy us, trying to kill us.
David was betrayed by the Ziphites. Again, those pesky Ziphites nevertheless were David's own countrymen And they were willing and ready to give him up to the king that was engaged in a brutal tyranny that was filled with murderous rage that was only founded upon his own envy and his own wretchedness. And the Ziphites will offer David up. As well, David was rejected by Nabal.
That whole Nabal situation caused David grief. The fact that he was tired and responsible for his men and for their families. Brethren, never underestimate the power of tiredness. Tiredness and weariness is a difficult thing.
Sometimes persons think, well, I just got a soldier through. The Lord Jesus was very gracious to his disciples. He actually said, come apart and rest a while. Brethren, sometimes we're no good when we're tired, when we're worn out, when we're weary.
C.H. Spurgeon is quoted as saying, sometimes we can do more by doing less. If we actually preserve the machinery and we take care of the machinery, we're going to get more use out of it. If you do preventative maintenance on your vehicle, Hopefully, you're not driving down Highway 1 and it falls apart.
No, you've taken the time and the energy and you put the money into it to make sure that it's going to go the distance. We need to do that with our own lives, with our own bodies, with our own being. One of the things that I think we ought to learn from the life of David at this particular juncture is that if you haven't figured it out yet, Jesus was absolutely correct in John 16, 33. In this world, you will have tribulations.
It is simply a common denominator for God's people. It is not the case that we're going to sing zippity-doo-dah as we skip our way to heaven. I saw a clip this morning on the news of Joel Osteen pushing his new book called I Am. Well, if you listen to that particular man, you will think that no one ever should have any troubles or any difficulties whatsoever.
I am happy. I am positive. I am good. I am...
It's all about this pronounce it to be the case for yourself and it will be that way. Brethren, that's not reality. And the fact that that man dupes so many people is a terrible testimony on what these people know concerning the truth of God's Word. In this world, you will have tribulation.
It may not be Saul. It may not be Ziphites. It may not be the responsibility of taking care of 600 men and their families. I mean, imagine that.
It's hard to take care of our own families, isn't it? It's hard to take care of ourselves, isn't it? Imagine being responsible for 600 men, and 400 of them, of whom, were Cave of Adullam guys. You don't get from the Cave of Adullam that these were the most well-adjusted, happy fellows on the face of the earth.
They were distressed, they were discontent, they were in debt. They were the kinds of guys that didn't fit well in the monarchy in Israel. Now, it could have been because of the brutality of Saul, but it describes them as distressed, discontent, and in debt. Those would be hard people to manage.
Imagine having a 16-year-old son that fit that description. Now imagine having to father him. Now multiply him by, you know, 400. We don't know where the other 200 came from.
They came probably as David was engaged in his warfare and in his battle and in his strategies. They were attracted to David as a leader. Those 400 men were the cave of Adullam guys. It's hard to do these sorts of things, isn't it?
We need to cut David slack when we come to chapter 27. I would have probably been in Philistia long before that. Seeking safe havens, seeking comfort, seeking safety, seeking a nice meal, seeking not being hunted by Saul and not being dimed out by Zephites and not having to rub up against fools like Nabals and just being able to sleep at a night. So David certainly typifies for us, not so much Jesus in this particular passage, but us.
In this world, you will have tribulations. I've already mentioned the difficulty of the passage. Some would hear me tonight and say, oh, you're wrong. It was a brilliant military strategy.
Others would hear me tonight and say, oh, it wasn't a brilliant military strategy. It was, you know, he lied, he sinned, he deceived, he did all sorts of things that were here. Again, brethren, I feel the tension of this particular text. It's hard for me to say absolutely one way or the other.
If you all can do it, praise God, you can email me later. Actually, don't. Just go home and pray to the Lord for me that I'll someday come to the truth as it is. And then the final thing are some lessons that I think we can learn, some practical lessons.
Remember God When You Talk to Yourself
In the first place, the believer must remember God when he talks to himself. We all talk to ourselves, don't we? We may not do it, you know, physically, You ever speak on the Bluetooth in your car and you know that people are looking at you like you're probably nuts and you're really not talking to yourself, you're talking to whoever happens to be on the other end of that Bluetooth. But we all do talk to ourselves.
We may not verbalize it, we may not do it audibly, but we all are in our heads at some point. We are all musing within our hearts at some point. Now when we come out of 26, especially 24, And we get to 27.1, it is a conspicuous contrast. I mean, in many respects, in my mind, that sort of tilts the scale. in the favor that it wasn't the brilliant military strategy.
I mean, if 27 was sort of dislocated from these other chapters, but 27 comes on the heels of David saying, let Yahweh deliver me out of all tribulation. And in 27.1, David's in tribulation, and he mentions Yahweh not at all. In fact, our conversations with ourselves should be theological through and through. When you do have cause to speak to yourself, when you do have cause to say things in your heart, make sure your heart is sufficiently filled with the knowledge of God.
Make sure your heart is sufficiently filled with the Word of God so that your heart will give you the proper response. I fear too often our heart tells us things that are simply wrong because we don't know the Bible, because we haven't taken time to study any theology, because we thought it was, you know, just for that handful of guys that likes to get up early on Saturday morning. No, each and every one of us should be able to speak to intelligent hearts because we all have Bibles, we all have access to a church that preaches the Bible, we all have access to sermon audio, and I'm convinced you can listen to ten sermons a day until the day you die and probably not finish everything on sermon audio. So to not be biblically literate in today's theological climate is simply unconscionable.
The point, brethren, is that when you talk to yourself, you better have the Bible's answers in response. Now, again, I'm not saying David didn't do that. David certainly does that in Psalm 103, where he talks to himself by saying, Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me. Bless his holy name.
David talks to himself theologically. In Psalms 42 and 43, David talks to himself theologically. Why are you cast down, O my soul? Hope thou in God.
Even when he's in melancholy and depression and sorrow. In Psalms 42 and 43, he's still a theologian. Hope thou in God. That's the answer your heart needs in those seasons.
And it can't give those answers if the Bible hasn't been internalized. It just amazes me at times that people struggle with things that have very simple answers. Do you ever notice that there are some problems in our lives that have simple solutions? I mean, that's just the reality.
I'm having trouble getting up early. Well, put your alarm clock on the other side of the room, and maybe that'll help. Wow, I never thought of that. That's a simple solution to a real problem.
I'm really struggling with this area of my life. Then work harder at it, and be more diligent and more disciplined. Wow, that's a simple solution to a problem, isn't it? Sometimes married couples, they say, you know, we're not communicating.
What can we do? How about you try talking to each other? It's a simple solution to a problem. What's the simple solution to a lack of biblical understanding?
Read your Bible. Show up at Bible study. Come to church morning and evening. Be under the preaching of the Word of God.
It's a problem with a simple solution.
Remember God's Proven Faithfulness
In the second place, the believer must remember God's proven faithfulness when he comes to a difficult situation. He must remember God's proven faithfulness when he comes to a difficult situation. Why is it that we come to a difficult situation and everything we've ever learned and known about God is forgotten? I mean, He delivers us for 9, 10, 11 chapters, and then we get to a point and we say, you know, I've got to run and hide or else I'm going to get caught.
Well, wait a minute. God has delivered you these several times. Brethren, rehearse in your mind and in your heart the past faithfulness of God. You say, well, I can't remember anything in my own life.
Then go to the book of Exodus. Go to the Psalms. I always am intrigued by the Psalms of Asaph. Asaph was a particularly melancholy fellow.
I don't know, maybe melancholy fellows are attracted to Asaph. The Psalms ascribe to the man called Asaph. He had a melancholy spirit, and rightly so. He saw some horrific things.
But there are a couple of Psalms in the 70s where he sees nothing good going on. What is it that stirs up his heart? What is it that encourages him to press on and to soldier on? It's what God did at the Exodus.
It's how God delivered Israel out of Egypt through the Red Sea. You may not have something from this morning that you can recall, but certainly, if you think long enough and hard enough, there are several events in your own life that show and demonstrate God's faithfulness. If you're still coming up with a loss, then go to Paul. Go to Peter.
Go to, you know, the prophets. Go to the Torah. Go to the five books of Moses. Go to the scriptures and rehearse to yourself the past faithfulness of God.
Seek Wisdom for Present Decisions
In the third place, the believer must seek wisdom from God for present decisions may produce future dilemmas. The believer must seek wisdom from God because present decisions may produce future dilemmas. David going into Philistia, finding safe haven there, produced a future dilemma. When Akish became part of the David fan club, and Akish says, let's go battle Israel.
You're going to be on our side. You're going to lead a squadron of men. You are going to take your 600, and you're going to get their livestock, and you're going to kill their men and women. See, this is wherein believers need wisdom.
And doesn't God, through James, say, if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach. Don't you love that? If any of you lack wisdom, buy the new book from so-and-so. If any of you lack wisdom, go to wisdom.com.
If any of you lack wisdom, go to the Wisdom Conference in Vancouver. If any of you lack wisdom, ask God. How many of us do that? Isn't it intriguing when God comes to Solomon and says, what do you want?
Solomon says, I want wisdom. God's happy with that response, isn't he? God delights in that response. I speak in the manner of men.
God is rejoicing over the reality that Solomon requests wisdom. Why? Because without wisdom, Solomon can't effectively run his kingdom. Without wisdom, we can't effectively run our lives.
Without wisdom, we won't foresee the reality that if I choose plan A here, it may produce consequence B here. I should think long and hard about plan A before I undertake because I don't want consequence B. You see, this is my point. And again, I'm not picking on David.
I think it is a lesson that we can glean from it. David's going into Philistia and engaging in this alliance with Akish produced a dilemma for David in terms of being perceived as a traitor.
Do Not Presume on Divine Providence
In the fourth place, and again, I cannot qualify enough. I'm not picking on David with this one. I'm picking on us. The believer must not presume on divine providence to deliver him from bad decisions.
Again, I'm not saying this isn't David. I am saying us. Here's what we can do. Well, you know, God overruled and brought good out of this.
God did amazing things with David and the Philistines and with Israel. God, you know, makes crooked sticks straight. Yes, He does. He most assuredly does.
But we are not to presume that bad decisions we make, knowingly and willingly, we can just trust that God's going to sort it all out. Now God is good and gracious and kind and more often than not he does make straight sticks out of the crooked things we make. Often times we put ourselves into messy situations and God reaches down and he pulls us out of that. But brethren we are not to plan on sin or plan on failure or plan on disobedience with the intention, well, you know, God's just going to sort it all out and I know that He works all things for good.
God didn't give us Romans 8.28 so we can pare off rough edges and we can shave corners and we can engage in sloppy living with the idea that, you know, God's just going to deliver me because He did this with David. We need to be careful of that sort of reasoning.
David Is Not the Hero — Christ Is
In the fifth place, the believer must realize that David ultimately is not the hero in Holy Scripture. Jesus Christ is. I mean, up to 27. And again, however you interpret 27.
It's a different looking David than what we've seen. I mean, we've seen him with Nabal. He's ready to shed blood with Nabal. But even then, you're thinking, you know, Jesus was reviled and he reviled not.
He didn't engage in this personal retaliation. So even back in 25, there's hints of David there that he's not Jesus. You know, what we deal with in Old Covenant Israel is David is a hero. But even in the Old Covenant Israel, the scriptures continually press the reader.
There is one hero throughout scripture. David is a type, to be sure, but it's the anti-type that we worship. It's the antitype who redeems us. It's the antitype that gave his blood for us.
It is the antitype that demands and deserves our allegiance and our praise and our worship and our adoration.
God Deals with His Servants by Grace
And in the sixth place, if we reflect upon David in 25, we reflect upon David here in 27, and we can even extend it. I mean, there's no doubt whatsoever in 2 Samuel 11 and 12. David sinned against the Lord. We need to remember that God's dealings with his servants is according to grace.
It is according to grace. You see, it wasn't that David was the most excellent man in the world. He wasn't. Jesus Christ was the most excellent man in the world.
How in the world could God use a man that would one day commit adultery and murder? God's dealings with his people is according to grace. Davis, I think, says this well. He says, you must get a grip on grace, you the reader of this narrative.
The Bible does not claim that God's servants are dipped in Clorox so they will be infallibly sin-free and attractive to you. The living God does not have clean material to work with. And don't get sentimental when you sing hymns about the potter and the clay. Remember, it's only sinful clay the potter works with.
We should not criticize the potter because of the clay, but rather marvel that he stoops to work with such stuff. As long as we wallow, however subtly, in some idea of human worthiness, we will never understand the Bible." I think he's right. If we actually think there's such a thing called human worthiness, we will never understand the Bible. Isn't this what the God-hater has a problem with the Bible for?
Because it just doesn't seem fair. It just doesn't seem fair that a man like David who committed adultery and murder is going to be in heaven. It just doesn't seem fair because I, the atheist, don't commit adultery, and I don't commit murder, and I'm an upright guy, and I pay my taxes, and I know the whole spiel about immigration in Canada, and I've read all the facts, and I'm just upright and good. Doesn't it?
An affront to the unbeliever? He hates that. Just like in the parable in Matthew 20. It's not fair that we don't get more.
We started in the early morning, and we worked and bore the heat of the day. We bore the burden in the heat of the day and you're only giving us the same amount? And the Lord God Almighty says, is it not right for me to do with mine what I want to do? God is good, brethren, and he deals according to grace.
I love that. If we have some idea of human worthiness, we will never understand the Bible. He goes on to say, never tremble before this God and never delight in this God. We must get a grip on grace.
Maybe a God-less text can do that for us. Amen. I'll close in prayer, and since I mentioned Dr. Davis, we'll pray for he and his church.
They are in Columbia, South Carolina, and it is filled with water. So let us pray.
Closing Prayer
Father, we thank you for this opportunity, and we thank you for your goodness and kindness as we have seen it in our own lives. Give us grace to learn lessons from this passage. Give us grace to apply these things in our own hearts and lives. And as well, God, we pray for the congregation in Columbia, South Carolina.
We ask that you would watch over that flock. We pray for Pastor Davis and the other elders and all of the brethren in that local assembly, that you would protect them, give them grace and large hearts to be able to minister to their community at this time as well. We ask that you would go with us now, and we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.