1Sam 22:1-5
A Different Direction
David’s life takes more turns that a maze.
1. Simple life - Shepherd and content with it
2. Royal life - Musician, giant slayer, soldier, and captain
3. Lost life - Fugitive, David went from the most popular to the most wanted
4. Wrong turn - The biggest turn so far in David’s life
a. Tried doing handling things himself; he even tried going to the
Philistines.
b. You may remember that I said, "I don’t have a clue what David was
thinking by going to the Philistines.
c. He probably wasn’t thinking much, just reacting.
David received a wake up call when his lies resulted in the slaying of an entire
city of priests and their families.
1. Ahimelech was the priest, and Nob was the city.
2. As a result of this massacre, David took a different direction.
Four thoughts:
I. David started thinking.
A. David started thinking about where he would be safe.
1. \\#1Sam 22:1\\ David turned to the wilderness and the forests
\\#1Sam 22:5\\ for his home.
2. This was not high living for David, but it was the safest place
for David.
3. Over the years, you have heard me mention a phrase which I first
heard Bill Gothard use - "death of a vision."
a. God has some unique and strange ways.
b. He will sometimes give us a vision of what He will do for us,
and then allow situations to make the dream impossible to
come to pass.
(1) Abraham with the knife stretched out over Isaac.
(2) Joseph being arrested for attacking Potiphar’s wife.
(3) David having to live in the caves and forests.
4. We do not have to wonder at how David felt during these years.
a. He wrote Psalms that tell us.
b. \\#Psalm 34:1-22, 56:1-13, Psalm 142:1-7\\.
5. If (or WHEN) you are in this kind of situation, I probably cannot
give a satisfactory answer as to WHY God does these kinds of
things, but I can tell you WHAT God wants you to do.
a. Hang in there and believe!
b. God is a true as His promises.
B. \\#1Sam 22:3-4\\ David also started thinking about the safety of his
family.
1. It was obvious now that there was nothing that Saul would not do
to get to David (i.e. He had just killed a city of priests).
2. I mentioned last week that David had family ties with the Moabites.
3. David’s great-grandmother was Ruth, the Moabitess.
4. David will take his parents to Moab.
5. He is probably starting to realize that this situation is not going
to be resolved as quickly as he had hoped.
C. Because God has called preachers to deal with the spiritual world, we
may not always give enough credit to the natural gifts that God has
given to us.
1. The old commercial is correct, "A mind is a terrible thing to
waste."
2. God has given us a wonderful gift of reason.
a. That gift is one of the things that separate us from the animal
world.
b. David was not using his very well for awhile.
3. When the mind is sharpened and energized by the Holy Ghost, there
is no telling what you be able to do.
Ephesians 4:18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the
life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the
blindness of their heart:
Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by
the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and
acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
II. David starts trusting in the Lord.
A. \\#1Sam 23:2\\ David is no longer trusting in himself.
1. David hears that the Philistines are coming against a city of
Israel, to pillage it, and he goes to ask God if he should do
anything about it!
a. This is the first time that the phrase, "David enquired of the
Lord" is used.
b. It appears that Saul was either so concerned about David that
he had not time to care for his people or else, with David
being gone, he was again to fearful to fight the Philistines.
(1) Here is another case where leaders get so wrapped up in
themselves that they are no good to their people at all.
(2) However, notice that David, a fugitive is concerned.
2. The big mistake that set David off down the wrong road was he
trusted in himself!
a. How easy it is to be self sufficient!
b. All we have to do is don’t pray and don’t seek counsel from
the Word of God. Bam! We are there!
B. \\#1Sam 23:3-5\\ David will not even trust the wisdom of his men.
1. David’s men hear of David’s plan and offer their own advice.
2. Notice that David respects them enough to go pray about it again,
but he does not let their counsel stop him from doing what God
wants.
3. We need to be sensitive to the advice of others, but, above all
else, we must be obedient to God.
4. Here is a good question. How do we know when God is speaking to us
through someone else’s counsel?
a. The counsel of another should confirm a direction that God has
already told us to take.
(1) In this age, it has been experience that God speaks to US
about what He wants US to do.
(a) I have had a few people come up and tell me that God
God wants me to do so and so.
(b) My answer is always the same.
i. I will pray about it.
ii. But if you feel God has spoken to you about a
thing that needs to be done, you need to do it.
(2) That is not to say that we should not take counsel and
advise from others. The Bible gives us many admonitions
to do just that. It is simply to say when it comes to
new revelation about major decisions, God is as able to
speak directly to you.
b. The counsel should always line up with Scripture.
(1) God does not contradict Himself.
(2) The Bible is and always will be the most valid and
reliable means of communication from God.
C. \\#1Sam 23:7-13\\ Neither will David trust in the public at large.
1. The men of Keilah owed David a debt. He had just rescued them.
a. However, David did not trust in them. He trusted God.
b. He prayed, asked God, and acted accordingly.
2. Even good people can only be expected to do so much. Why?
a. Their abilities are limited.
(1) These men were not strong enough to defend themselves.
(2) David did not expect them to protect him.
(3) By the way, when a person gives his all to fulfill a
promise and cannot, don’t be too quick to condemn them
as a liar.
(4) Perhaps their promises over-extended their reach, but
if they did their best, I’d recommend that you give them
credit for trying.
b. Situations change. While this is not a good reason for not
keeping a promise, it is a common reason.
c. Sadly, sometimes good people just do bad things.
3. David, still a young man, understood that the Lord was the only
One that he could trust.
D. A sharp mind in obedience to the Lord and with trust in Him is the
best hope for any situation you will ever find yourself in!
1. I can’t promise you that being right with God will get you out of
every problem. That is just up to God.
2. You can see here that once David started thinking and trusting,
God started blessing.
III. God started giving.
A. \\#1Sam 22:2\\ God gave David an army.
1. It is an army of distressed and discontents.
a. You remember that when David came to the priests needing food,
he only need five loaves of bread.
b. Now he has four hundred men to take care of.
c. Obviously, when we think of David hiding in a cave somewhere,
we need to start thinking of either a BIG cave or a series
of caved.
2. The Bible calls these men INDEBITED and BITTER.
a. No doubt, Saul had created a lot of those.
b. Every oppressive, greedy government does.
c. The way America is going, we may all be apart of one before
long.
3. From this batch, God will give King David some men of valor.
B. \\#1Sam 22:5\\ God gave David a prophet, Gad.
1. We know nothing of Gad. He just appears.
2. He stayed faithful to God and to David all of his life.
a. Gad will be called "David’s seer."
b. When David is on the run God will be there to encourage and aid
him, but when David sins, Gad will be there to correct and
rebuke him.
C. \\#1Sam 22:22-23\\ God gave David a priest, Abiathar.
1. Abiathar was Ahimelech, the priest’s son.
a. It is interesting that once Abiathar arrives, David begins to
ENQUIRE or ASK what the Lord would have him do.
b. The priests had certain tools at their disposal to help in
determining the will of God.
(1) One was the Urim and Thummim.
(2) \\#1Sam 23:6\\, we are told that Abiathar brought the
EPHOD IN HIS HAND.
(3) The EPHOD was part of the High Priest’s clothing. I do
not know how that could have been used to discern God’s
will, but it is being mentioned as if the two are some-
how connected.
2. Abiathar will stay faithful to David, but not to Solomon.
a. When Solomon’s brother, Adonijah, tries to steal the throne
from Solomon, Abiathar—by then an old man—will support
Adonijah.
b. When he does, he will be the last of Eli’s line to be removed
from the priesthood as God fulfills a promise made 150 years
before.
1 Samuel 3:13 For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for
the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and
he restrained them not.
14 And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of
Eli’s house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever.
IV. David starts winning.
A. For the last few chapters, David has been on the losing end of most
everything. To day that he starts having victories may be an
overstatement, but at least he doesn’t lose in this chapter.
1. \\#1Sam 23:1-5\\ Victory at Keilah
2. \\#1Sam 23:7-13\\ Victory over Saul
3. \\#1Sam 23:14-29\\ Victory from Ziph
B. Ziph was a city in Judah which decided to aid King Saul.
1. Judah is the tribe of David and one would think that this city
would have been more loyal to him.
2. However, in situations like these, it is hard to condemn anyone.
(a) Regardless of what kind of man Saul was, God had left him
as the king of Israel.
(b) To be loyal to God-ordained authority cannot easily be
wrong.
(c) Yet, we know God had ordained David to be king and that
Saul was unjustly persecuting him.
(d) To stand up for the oppressed and to deliver the innocent
cannot easily be called wrong either.
3. Sin can put some innocent people in some very difficult positions.
(a) I think of children involved in custody cases.
(b) Someone asked my advice this week. A lost and immoral
father is seeking custody of a child from the mother who
claims Christ but is still leaving an immoral and ungodly
life. The mother, however, wanted the church she
occasionally attends to support her.
(c) My counsel? I told them that I do not get involved in
cases between two immoral parties for my counsel would
be take the child from both of them and give him or her
to a godly couple to rear.
Notice that there is a relationship, even in David’s life, between his walk with
God and what happens in his life. It takes UNDERSTANDING to be able to see that.
UNDERSTANDING is the ability to connect the dots, to see the cause and effect
relationship. Let’s ask God to make us understanding Christians.
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