1Samuel 24:1-4
God Is On David’s Side
We saw last week that David found a new home. It was in the caves of Adullam
(which will be called "the hold") \\#1Sam 22:1\\ and in the forests
\\#1Sam 22:5\\. In this chapter, David has moved from one wilderness to another.
Engedi is located near the Dead Sea. It is a very mountainous area, loaded with
caves, and as \\#2\\ says, covered with wild mountain goats. David and his men
had gone there to hide.
We see several things:
I. \\#1Sam 24:2\\ The Rabidness of the King
A. In the last chapter, Saul was getting very close to finding David
when the Philistines invaded Israel, forcing Saul to return to
defend his kingdom.
B. As soon as that is over, Saul returned to seek David.
C. Saul was both obsessed and mad!
1. Without doubt, some of Saul’s behavior could be attributed to the
demon that was afflicting him \\#1Sam 16:14\\.
2. However, Saul had given the demons a perfect environment to
flourish.
a. Saul was jealous, selfish, rebellious toward God, petty,
arrogant, and generally wicked.
b. Saul was a cesspool of the worst mankind has to offer.
c. Demons do not have to do much to bring out the worst in that
kind of a person.
d. By what I see on the commercials of reality TV, it seems that
a great majority of people of America are even worse.
D. This is a miserable way to live.
1. Sin doesn’t pay well enough.
a. Demon possessed.
b. Rejected by God.
c. Eaten up with jealousy, suspicion, bitterness, hatred.
d. Irrational and uncontrollable.
2. And for what?
a. He wanted to control his own life instead of obeying God.
b. So it is with everyone who thinks they can do a better job
with their life than God.
II. \\#1Sam 24:4\\ The Reasoning of David’s Men
A. David was inside this large cave, hidden, with many of his men.
1. The caves in that area are huge and many.
2. Some caves go back a half mile.
3. Saul went inside one of the caves, probably to rest.
a. What Saul was doing in the cave is debated.
b. "to cover his feet" \\#1Sam 24:3\\ is a euphemism. It is an
indirect and discreet way of saying something.
c. I say that he was probably resting because there seems to be
a lot of time, talking, and moving about taking place while
Saul was in there.
d. That makes me think Saul was asleep.
4. By the providence of God, it just happened to be the cave where
David and his men are hid!
B. David’s men saw this as a sign from God.
1. They believed this means God wanted David to kill Saul.
2. They even "quoted" Scripture to David to back up their belief.
C. There is just one problem with the Scripture David’s men quoted.
1. It does not exist.
2. There is no record of God ever telling David that He would deliver
Saul, his enemy, into his hand—not in the Bible and not outside
of the Bible.
3. David’s men just made it up.
4. What we have here is a situation in which David’s men read into
Scripture what they wanted it to say instead of what it did say.
a. God had promised to David the kingdom.
b. These men ASSUMED that meant David would kill Saul and take
the throne.
c. Even though God told David he was to destroy his enemies, that
thought made it from the heads of David’s men into the texts
of their Bibles.
D. We must all guard against adding our reasoning into the Scriptures.
1. In studying the Scriptures, we spent a lot of time in trying to
comprehend how God will do what he has promised.
a. Some of us preachers preach series of messages and write best
selling books on such topics.
b. I do it myself.
2. But we must always keep what the BIBLE SAYS head and shoulders
above what WE ASSUME.
a. These men may not have meant to do it, but they were giving
counsel based on their thoughts and not God’s.
b. That is a very dangerous place to be.
III. \\#1Sam 24:6-7\\ The Restraint of David
A. I have mentioned before that we get the notion of just how important
it is to treat God’s anointed, or any person, with respect from
David.
1. Respect for authority is not based on the goodness or ability of
the person.
2. Respect for authority is based on the office and God’s wisdom for
putting a person in that position.
3. While I do not think very much of the direction some of our
political leaders are taking this country, I will attempt to
respect them and to demonstrate respect for them.
B. David showed remarkable restraint in not killing Saul.
1. Saul had attempted to kill David more times that we can honestly
count by now. (The Bible probably does not give us all the
attacks of Saul.)
2. Saul had taken David’s wife from him.
3. Saul had taken David’s position and his reputation.
4. Saul had slain the priest and the inhabitants of the city of Nob.
5. David is hiding in a cave right now because of Saul.
6. Now, with Scripture or not, God had certainly given David the
opportunity to avenge himself of his enemy!
7. David not only does not take advantage of that opportunity, David
will not let his men, who themselves have reasons for wanting
Saul dead, kill him either.
C. WHAT David did is not as important as WHY did it.
1. David let Saul live because he believed that is what God wanted
him to do.
2. David figured that if God could put Saul on the throne, God could
take him off.
3. Even if David was wrong, he wanted to err on the side of God.
4. I desire to have the restraint and the self-control to make this
mind and body do what I believe God wants me to do!
IV. \\#1Sam 24:8-15\\ The Righteousness of David
A. I see three righteous characteristics of David in this text.
1. David was respectful not angry.
a. \\#8\\ David calls Saul his lord and king.
b. David bows to Saul.
c. \\#9-11\\ David politely makes his case.
2. \\#14\\ David was conciliatory not confrontational.
a. David called himself a flea and a dog.
b. If David wanted to stir things up, he would have been calling
Saul a flea and a dog.
c. David was willing to abase himself that he might find a way
to reconcile with Saul.
3. \\#11-13, 15\\ David trusted the Lord and was determined that he
would not take matters into his own hands.
a. Of course, those are not just words. They are actions.
b. David had Saul in his sights, close and vulnerable enough to
cut off part of his garment; but he would not kill Saul.
B. David practiced being like Christ even before Jesus lived!
1. To live like Christ lived, no matter if it is after Jesus was born
or before Jesus was born, is righteousness.
2. David was emulating Jesus.
3. To follow the patterns of Christ in the extremes is a true mark of
righteousness.
a. If you have learned to be like Jesus, you have probably learned
this in the normal areas of your life.
b. However, if we can still be like Him when things are either
extremely bad or extremely good, we have truly learned
something.
V. \\#1Sam 24:16-22\\ The Realization of Saul
A. Saul had a brief moment of clarity.
1. \\#18\\ Saul realized David had shown him mercy in sparing his life.
2. \\#17\\ Saul realized that David was more righteous than he.
3. \\#20\\ Saul realized that David would be king.
4. \\#16\\ Saul realized that he was wrong.
a. He wept.
b. In this moment of clarity, Saul could see just how wicked a
person he was.
B. Wouldn’t it have been great if he had called upon the Lord to forgive
him and to save him?
1. But he did not.
2. Like Judas, he was sorry for what he had done, but he was past the
point of repentance.
C. There are two cases in which it is too late to repent.
1. A man can sin away his opportunity to be forgiven by God.
a. This is what most call "the unpardonable sin."
a. I am not certain that I understand the unpardonable sin, but
the Bible makes it clear that there is one.
Matthew 12:31 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be
forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven
unto men.
Matthew 12:32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be
forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be
forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.
2 Kings 24:3 Surely at the commandment of the LORD came this upon Judah, to
remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he
did;
4 And also for the innocent blood that he shed: for he filled Jerusalem with
innocent blood; which the LORD would not pardon.
b. This is a sin where God simply will not offer you forgiveness
any longer.
c. I believe to commit this sin, you must do two things.
(1) You must reject the work of the Holy Spirit.
(a) It is the Holy Spirit who brings us to Christ.
(b) If you reject His work long enough, you will be
damned.
(2) It appears you must also reject the Holy Spirit Himself.
(a) Most all of us rejected the WORK of the Holy Spirit
for at least some time before we were saved.
(b) Jesus, in speaking to the religious leaders of His
day, is indicating that they had done more than
merely reject the Holy Spirit’s work.
(c) They had blasphemed and rejected the Holy Spirit.
(d) Perhaps that is also what Manasseh had done.
2. A man can so sin that he doesn’t want salvation.
a. This second case, although not as severe as the first, is just
as damning.
b. This is not so much a work of God as it is a hardening of the
heart.
Exodus 8:15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart,
and hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.
Hebrews 3:13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any
of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
1 Timothy 4:2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a
hot iron;
c. In this case, salvation is still available, but because of guilt
or foolishness, the sinner will not desire it.
3. I did not say that God was past that point, although God may have
been, but I said Saul was too far past that point.
D. I think Saul must have been in one of these two cases.
1. He had moment of realization, but it did not change his lot in
life.
2. Perhaps that is part of the reason he wept.
VI. In closing, notice also the Work of God.
A. You really can’t miss God’s hand in all of this.
1. When Saul got too close, the Philistines attacked Israel
\\#1Sam 23:27\\.
2. David and his men are in cave, but Saul doesn’t see or hear them
\\#1Sam 24:3-8\\.
3. David follows Saul out of the cave and Saul, for the first time
in a long while, is smitten with a conscience \\#1Sam 24:16-22\\.
B. God works in circumstances.
1. If He does not, He is not God.
2. If He works when the circumstances are good, He is also working
when the circumstances are bad.
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