1 Sam.21 Running From The Lord

 

Intro :One of the things that points to the Bible being inspired by God that it is the Absolute truth for society thru the ages

A)Is that the Bible uniquely presents it’s hero’s at times in unfavorable light – Tells the Good the Bad & the Ugly

 

B)We read of Moses committing Murder / Abe’s giving his wife to be in the Haram of the King / Peter’s Denials

 1)And here in this section dealing w/ the Life of David – we find David has hit Rock bottom – turning to deceit & acting in a undignified manner

 

C) The bible uniquely tells of the moral failures of its hero’s – but their failures only serve to MAGNIFY the GRACE OF GOD in their lives !!!

 

Prov.24:16 Though  a righteous man may fall seven times/ he rises again

 

D) Although we see David fall in a big way here in this Chapter – We see him rise again – as He turns to the Lord

1)    And we see that the grace of God is more than ready to cover David’s sin & to carry him on -  Read v.1-13

 

Here we see an event in David’s life where he hits rock bottom / his heart is filled w/ fear  - Learn several lessons

A)1ST LESSON David does the right thing – He runs to the house of the Lord / but does the wrong thing once he gets there.

 

B) When Ahimelech the Priest sees David he can tell that something is wrong – see it in David’s countenance –

1) Plus It seemed unusual to Ahimelech that a prominent man like David would wander around the villages of Judea all by himself.

 

C) It made Ahimelech think something must be wrong, so he asked David, Why are you alone, and no one is with you?

 

David Responds by lying v.2 He is on special business for the king & had to leave in haste – needed food for he & his men 

A)David’s reasons for lying seem clear enough.

1)1st he wants to protect himself, so he will not tell Ahimelech why he has come or where he is going, so Ahimelech can’t inform on him to Saul.,

 

B)David Probably doesn’t feel that he knows Ahimelech well enough to really trust him.

1) Second, he wants to protect Ahimelech and the priests by keeping them out of the conflict between himself and Saul.

 

C) In many ways, we can understand why David lied, and even sympathize with him.

1) Many of us would have done the same or worse in the same situation.

 

This is the thing that I want us to see is that a lot of people doing the right thing – by running to the Lord when they are in a Jam

A)They run to the house of the Lord – but they do not do Business w/ the Lord when they come.

 

B)People want their lives to get better – w/out totally surrendering to the Lord their whole lives

1)   Like going to the Doctor – pain in your Chest – you hope he just gives you a pill or a shot & sends you on your way

 

C) Instead he says – You have a massive problem – arteries are clogged – need to have surgery in one week – you never show up

1)   People do that w/ the Lord- He reveals – surgery is needed – Something needs to be cut out / sin removed / bad habit replaced

 

D) Thanks but no thanks I will take my Chances

 

 

 

 

Why didn’t David just tell the truth?

A)Why couldn’t he come to Ahimelech the priest, and say "Ahimelech, as strange as it might seem to you, Saul is trying to kill me.

 

B) I don’t understand the situation myself, but I know God does not want me to die at the hands of Saul.

1) So I am running for my life, and trusting God will protect me and show me what to do.

2)Please pray for me, because I’m pretty depressed and scared!"

 

C) Why didn’t David do that – The answer is because at this moment in David’s Life he is Choosing to take matters into his own hands

     1) Things are in my hands always a MESS!!!!

 

So David asks for some food & Ahimelech tells him the only bread that was available was the Showbread

A)What did the showbread mean? Why would God have a bakery rack in the tabernacle?

 

B)The importance and meaning of the showbread is found in the name. Literally, showbread means "bread of faces."

1) It is bread associated with, and to be eaten before, the face of God. F.B. Meyer calls the showbread "presence-bread."

 

C)To eat the showbread was to eat God’s bread in God’s house as a friend and a guest of the Lord, enjoying his hospitality.

1) In that culture, eating together formed a bond of friendship that was permanent and sacred.

 

D)Eating the showbread was a powerful way of saying, "Lord I love You and I seek Your face.

 1) I’m in Your presence & I want to be transformed by seeing Your face."

 

 

In giving David the bread, Ahimelech broke with priestly custom, or tradition but not with God’s word.

A)He rightly understood that human need was more important that Levitical observance.

 

B)LESSON #2 – Human need is more important than religious Customs & traditions

 

C) In fact Once, when Jesus’ disciples were criticized for breaking religious custom by eating against traditions,

1) Jesus used what Ahimelech did to explain the matter / approved of what Ahimelech did (Matthew 12:1-8).

 

D)Jesus uses this event in the life of David as an example for breaking religious customs – Human need supercedes – Religious tradition

1) Early days of Calvary/ Chuck – Hippies & their bare feet – rip up the carpet –

 

E) We need to watch that we don’t allow our traditions & customs to keep us from responding or ministering in a situation that God has set up

 

Also worth noting that As Jesus told this story – there is no mention of David’s lie – there is no mention of David being in the wrong

A)That my friends is God’s grace & forgiveness – He remembers our rights what we did right & forgives & forgets what we did wrong

 

David prayed in Psa 25 Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions;According to Your mercy remember me, For Your goodness’ sake, O LORD.

    

B) We pray that they would be forgiven & removed on the basis of what Christ did do!!!! 

 1) David prayed that his sins would be forgiven & removed & they were on the basis of what Jesus would do -   AMAZING CONCEPT

 

C) Lesson #3 Although David’s sins were forgiven here - But there are always consequences to sin –

 

David would come to horribly regret this lie – Because Doeg the Chief Herdsman – is there over hears tells Saul

1)   Result Ch.22 Saul orders Doeg to kill the 85 Priest living in Nob & their families – in a horrific massacre

 

E) Only one of Ahimelech’s sons escapes Abiathar – runs to tell David – David’s response v.22 So David said to Abiathar, “I knew that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have caused the death of all the persons of your father’s house.

 

 Lesson: There are always consequences to sin

A)Often times it is others who are affected

 

B) Men listen – Your sin in Porn/ influence on your kids / They are influenced by it

1)    Your sin ladies – gossip – there are always going to be others hurt / killed / affected by our sin

 

C) Bible teachers – Stricter Judgment – Broader affect – Serious thing

     1)Our Sin always has a negative affect upon others –

 

Now there were two things that David asked for – 1st was food the 2nd was a weapon – v.8,9 Do you have a sword or a spear

A)THE SWORD OF GOLIATH - HOW did Alimelech get the sword of Goliath?

 

B)David must have presented it to the Lord..... Presented it in the          Tabernacle of the Lord and it was kept by the priest

  1) Now David is on the run and he needs a weapon and the Lord      gives it back to David

 

 

C) LESSON#3  You can NOT out give the Lord

1)   Whatever you give to Him will ALWAYS come back to you...          Especially in your day of need

 

D) Sometimes we wrestle w/ our giving – whether it is time or finances – how can I tithe – not in the budget –

     1) But this is the one area in our lives – where God says test me on this

 

Mal. 3:10

10  Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this," Says the LORD of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.

 

A)   Now this is the only place in the entire Bible where the Lord says – TEST ME / put me to the TEST

 

B)   Bring your tithes into the Storehouse / Storehouse is the Place of congregational meeting / Place of meeting & dispersing

 

C)   God says test me/  Prove me & watch what happens – watch how I take care of your needs

1)   See we can never out give God – so God says watch how I open up the windows of Heaven & Bless you

 

D)   David gives the Sword of Goliath to the Lord & the Lord gives it back to him

 

As David took the sword of Goliath, imagine what he must have thought! Of course, he was happy to have a good weapon

A) But did he remember how he came to win that sword for Israel? He didn’t do it with lies and half-truths.

 

B) He did it with a bold trust in God, a trust that believed God and trusted Him to sort out the consequences.

C)The last time David held that sword in his hand, he used it to cut the head off the giant he had killed with great faith in God (1 Samuel 17:51).

1) But the sword was not the weapon of faith; the sling and the stones were.

 

D) David now remembers the victory, but perhaps not the faith that brought the victory.

  1)David can have the sword of Goliath in his arsenal, but he would be even better equipped if he had the same faith that killed Goliath.

 

E)  At this point He is starting to trust more in his own cleverness than in the Lord, on the Run again !!!

1)  High School – Ran a stop sign – tried to outrun a Police officer / But there was no way –

 

F)   David is trying to run from God – God won’t let Him !!!! – v. 10-15

 

 

Now this is comical of how when we are not trusting in the Lord we will do the stupidest things

A)David leaves Nob w/ Goliaths sword at his side - & he heads for Gath – Guess who was from Gath? GOLIATH

 

B) David goes to the home town of the Philistine Champion w/ the very sword that he used to cut off the Giants head

1)   He goes there hoping to find a refuge & some asylum – but his plan backfires / they recognize who he is – ( what he did )

 

C) Not only killed Goliath but he killed 10,000 of their men

1)   David responds by acting like a crazy man – completely undignified

Degrades himself & the Lord

 

D)David pretended madness in their hands., including scratching on the doors of the gate, and let saliva fall down on his beard.

 1) It was as if David was foaming at the mouth.

The saliva on the beard was especially convincing, because men in that culture would have considered that something only a man out of his right mind would allow. "An indignity to the beard was considered an intolerable insult and would not have been permitted by a normal person." (Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown)

Beard being undignified – wait until your beards grow back –

 

So David 1st runs to the house of the Lord but is not honest w/ the Priest & so then he runs to the World –

A)Many people today follow in those same steps – they run to the Lord but are not willing to surrender to the Lord – turn to the world

 

B)People don’t fall away from the Lord – they walk away / they make a choice to not stand on the promises but on the arm of the flesh /

 1)  they make their decision to forsake the Lord – to walk away from the Lord –

 

C)But Know this God makes it hard – { He doesn’t let David get away w/ this

God does that w/ us – We have too much of the Lord to really enjoy the World – But at the same time too much of the world to really enjoy the Lord –

D) The person who stays in this Limbo state will eventually really – slip up because although the spirit is willing the flesh is week & if I am not feeding my spirit – if I am not dealing w/ the sin I am just allowing my flesh to get stronger

And the HS is not going to force you to walk w/ God !!! Will not invade your free Choice

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

David flees – during this time that he gets in touch w/ the Word of God wrote Psa. 34 / Psa.56

David gets back in touch with God’s word. Three times in the Psalm, he repeats the phrase I will praise His word (Psalm 56:4, 10).

 

Sword of Goliath there is none like it – Sword of Spirit there is none like it

 

When David trusted in himself or in the ungodly, he had distanced himself from God’s truth. Now, he will praise His word! In 1998, a Marine Corps pilot flying low in the Italian Alps clipped a gondola cable, and 20 people plunged to their death. Just a few weeks later, a crew of five Navy fliers was killed in California's Sequoia National Forest when their helicopter smashed into power lines. Three years earlier, a crash involving the same power lines had killed two people. In 1999, NATO forces bombed the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, killing three Chinese journalists and injuring 20 others. Each of these tragedies had the same cause: faulty maps. Investigators say that the National Imagery and Mapping Agency and its predecessor organization have played a role in at least a dozen accidents since 1985, some involving fatalities and loss of military aircraft. If you don’t have the right map, you will get into trouble. God’s Word is the map for our lives. So, when David says I will praise His word, he is back in touch with the essential road map for his life.