You can go ahead and be turning
with me to 1 Samuel chapter 22. Last week we looked at verses
1 and 2. And today we'll look at, or tonight
we'll look at verses 3 through 5. 1 Samuel 22. Last week we considered a dulim's
cave as a picture of Christ in the gospel, and no doubt it is
that, but we've said many times, pictures and types are just that
at best. This was where God gathered the
broken, the guilty, and the restless, those in distress, those in debt,
and those discontented. We saw that a dulem, the name
means justice of the people and the cross of Christ is God's
justice for His people. It's where sin was punished on
the Lord Jesus, our sin, punished on Him. It's where righteousness
was upheld and given to us, His righteousness. our sin, His righteousness,
and it's where mercy was freely bestowed on us in Christ. Now listen, there is no love,
there is no mercy, there is no forgiveness apart from that which
is found in Christ. Anyone looking for love, mercy,
grace, forgiveness outside of Christ, wasting their time. We
must have Him. All the blessings of God are
in, by, and through Christ. Now the cave of Bedouin foreshadowed
the cross. It was a place of refuge. It was a place of gathering.
It was a place of transformation. This is where God sent these
needy men and the Lord transformed them into a mighty army. What
a picture that is of God's church. It was a place of power, God's
power. And it was a place of justice.
You know, I thought about that. How is this a place of justice?
Well, it was the beginning of judgment on Saul when David's
army was formed. This is where the judgment and
the justice of God begin to take place. But as I said, as all
pictures of Christ and his gospel, these pictures were just temporary
images. That's all they ever are of what
was to come. They pictured and shadowed things
to come. And pictures and types, they
teach us, and they prepare us, and they foreshadow the truth
of Scripture, but they are not reality that belongs to Christ
and His finished work alone. Now, the cave of Adullam was
really, when you think about it, it was a false refuge. That's not what the picture,
shows us the picture is Christ, who is the refuge, our only refuge,
but it was really a false refuge to those who came to David for
leadership and deliverance from Saul's oppression. You know,
on the surface, the cave of Adullam seemed like a place of safety.
And it was for a while. It seemed like a stronghold where
they could hide from Saul. But really, it was a false refuge,
and this is why. A cave could not give lasting
protection. Saul and his armies could have
easily flushed them out. If they found them, it'd been
no problem to block the entrance to the cave. There was only one
way. Most caves, there's only one way in and one way out. Could
have been easily trapped there. Caves are natural hiding places,
so it would have been probably the first place that Saul and
his men would have looked. Matter of fact, that was exactly
what happened, as we'll see in the next chapter, chapter 23. Saul took 3,000 men and sought
David, and he went into the very cave that David and his men ran. You remember the story where
David secretly cut off a piece of Saul's robe, proving that
he could have caused him harm if he had desired to. Well, that
happened in this cave. in a cave, no resources in a
cave. You can't grow food in a cave
and you can't sustain water there. And David and his men were in
this cave vulnerable to thirst and to starvation. So in all
practical reality, this cave of Adullam was not, it was a
false refuge. You remember when, proof of that's
when David was in the cave and he longed for a drink from the
well of Bethlehem. And his men risked their life
out of loyalty for him, risked their lives to provide it. They
snuck into Bethlehem and brought back a drink out of loyalty to
him from Bethlehem's well. And out of dedication and respect
to them, David refused to drink it. So, in reality, the point
I'm endeavoring to make is that the cave of Adullam was a false
refuge of security. Yes, it gave temporary shelter,
but it wasn't ultimately secure. Now, we also see, along with
David's men, his family, brothers, and father. Verse one says, all
his father's house. had also gathered in this cave
with them. So let's pick up our story here
in verse three. And David went thence to Mizpah
of Moab, and he said unto the king of Moab, let my father and
my mother, I pray thee, come forth and be with you till I
know what God will do for me. So we see from this verse At
this time in his life, David desires to know what the Lord
had purposed for him. That's what every child of God
desires and longs for, don't you? Lord, what have you purposed
for me? What is my purpose in the things
of God? What would you have me do? And
here when David said, till I know what God will do for or with
me, it shows a realization of surrender and dependence on God. That's where God's gonna bring
all His people, to where we surrender to His will and His purpose and
want what He wants. That's what God's people want.
They want what God wants for them. David recognized that his
life was not his own. Have we recognized that? He wasn't
charting his own course. Nobody charts their own course.
A lot of men and women think they do, but they're not. God
charts our course, doesn't he? David wanted to know God's purpose
for his life. Was he meant to rule or to serve? Was he meant to suffer or was
he meant to wait? He wanted to know God's direction
in his decisions. I do too. Lord, don't let me
have my own way. We pray that way often. Lord,
don't let us have our own way. We don't want our way. Our way
is a way that seems right, and it's not right. It's a way that
seems right to a man. And what's the end of that way?
Death, destruction. We don't want our way. We want
God's way. And that became David's practice
all through his life. In the Psalms and in the first
and second Samuel and all the scriptures concerning David,
before moving forward, whether it was in battle or just in life
in general, he sought the Lord's will and purpose. And when he
didn't, he regretted it. And this is something every child
of God should do. We should always seek the Lord's
will. in whatever it is that we do. Would he receive God's
discipline or mercy? How would God deal with his sin? How would God show him mercy? How would the Lord's promises
unfold in his life? And this statement reveals David's
heart knew that he was nothing but clay in the sovereign potter's
hands. I love to think about the potter
and the clay, and our potter is no doubt sovereign. Brother
Maurice used to say that a lot, wrote a song about it. Sovereign
potter, he molds the clay as he wills. We're but clay in his
hands to be molded. And this, David wasn't asking
here, what can I do with my life? He was asking, Lord, what will
you do with my life? That's the question we asked.
Lord, what will you do with my life? This was the opposite of
self-determination. You know, men are self-determined,
aren't they? So much so that they were building a tower unto
heaven. And if God hadn't intervened at the Tower of Babel, don't
tell them how far they would have gone with it. Man is a self-determined
individual. This is the opposite of self-will.
You know, man is determined to have their will in whatever they
do. This was a surrender to God's
will. May God bring all of us to that
point where we surrender to His will. Lord, not what I will,
but what You will be done. That's what we want, God's will
to be done. The Lord Jesus, in teaching His
disciples on how to pray, He said, Act this manner, therefore
you pray. Our Father, which art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name. Holy are you, dear God. Thy kingdom come, thy will be
done, on earth as it is in heaven. We want Your will done here on
earth as it's done in heaven. David said in another place,
you know, Psalm 115.3, he said, Our God's in the heavens and
He's done whatsoever He will. And that's what we want as God's
people. We want His will to be done because
He's working all things together by His will and purpose for our
good and for His glory. What will you do? Verse four,
and he, David, brought them, that being his parents, before
the king of Moab. And they dwelt with him all the
while that David was in the hold. Now being on the run from Saul
made his family vulnerable. If Saul couldn't get to David,
he might just kill his family out of spite. So we see here that David trusted
the king of Moab to protect his parents. And, you know, when
I first looked at that, I thought, why would he do that? Why would
he trust the king of Moab? Well, do you remember that David's
great grandmother was Ruth, the Moabite? So there seemed to be
a family tie there, though we're not told. And the hold here refers to a
stronghold. It was a fortified place of safety,
more than likely in the wilderness, somewhere close to where his
parents would be. And this is where David dwelt
until the Lord revealed to him his will and purpose. But he
wouldn't have to wait long, as we'll see. David saw to it that
his parents were safe by entrusting them to this foreign king until
the Lord revealed his providence to David. And this shows a great
sense of responsibility. And this shows a great awareness
of Saul's ruthlessness. And this shows God's providence
in providing a safe place for David's family during these trying
and chaotic times. And they were just there. David
went into the hole. What a picture of our Lord Jesus
is suffering. He bore the danger and the wrath
of his people. Isn't that what Christ said in
the Garden of Gethsemane? I love to think about it. When
the salt Judas came and betrayed Him with a kiss, and the army
sought Jesus of Nazareth, He said, I am He. And He said, let
these go their way. And that shows His responsibility
for His own and His care of His own. David's family was safe
because of his intercession and intervention. And likewise, our
Lord Jesus intercedes and intervenes for his own, and he secures our
protection. How do I know everything's going
to be all right? How do you know everything's
gonna be alright? Regardless of what circumstances may, how
they may seem, we know everything's gonna be alright because God
said everything's gonna be alright. He said, I'm gonna work all things,
everything, what you think's good, what you might think's
bad, for your good. And that's good enough for me.
God's word's good enough for us, isn't it? And here we see
the gospel. Christ ensures his people's eternal
safety and security by bearing the danger himself for them. Our security is not in our own
strength. Aren't you glad? Oh, I'm so thankful. We are so
weak. But in Christ's care and provision
for us, we're safe. In this, we see our helplessness
and we see God's divine intervention And we see God's eternal and
secure provision for us. And we can rest. We can rest
because His work's finished, and God's going to do what He
said He would do. He's not a man that He should
lie. He's not a son of man that He should repent or change His
mind. He's God. He said it. That settles it.
Doesn't matter if we believe it or not. Don't care what that
old bumper sticker says. God said it. I believe it. That
doesn't matter. That settles it. God said it.
And then we see the call of God. This is such a beautiful picture. David could not stay hidden in
this hole forever. God had anointed him king. He
couldn't rule from the cave of Adullam. He couldn't rule his
kingdom, God's kingdom, his kingdom, from some place in the desert. Look at verse five. And the prophet
Gad, God got a prophet there, isn't that something? And the
prophet Gad said unto David, abide not in the hold, depart
and get thee into the land of Judah. And then David departed
and came into the forest of Herod. Now I meant to tell you in the
very beginning, the title of this message, you know what it
is? Get thee into the land of Judah. That's the message. That's the
title, and that's the message. Now, Herod, it says that he came
into the forest of Herod. That word Herod means thicket.
It was a very dense thicket of trees. And this could have been
David's temporary refuge. It sounds to me like it was,
because that's where he went. And being sovereign, friends,
God not only directs circumstances, everything that's going on in
this world today. And we look at these things and
we say, man, that's just horrible. And it seems that way, doesn't
it? People losing their lives in these wars and all, but God's
behind it all. He's working these circumstances
together for our good and His glory. God not only directs circumstances,
God directs His people. David has been in a cave, and
now David was in the stronghold, whether it's Herod or some other
place. And God sends David His prophet. And the message to David is,
abide not in the hole. Get out of that cave, get out
of that thicket of trees, and get thee into the land of Judah. The cave and the hole seemed
like the safest place to David at the time, but true security
and true refuge was not to be found in his own strategy. God
divinely intervened. I was once in a cave. I was once
in a thicket of trees. I was hiding, I thought I would
say. I was hiding in religion. I was hiding in my works. I was
hiding in my self-righteousness. And God sent me a prophet, God
sent me a preacher, said, leave the hole, get out of that cave,
leave that forest and get thee to the land of Judah. Oh, a cave
or a fortress might feel secure, but it's a false security. It
is if God hadn't appointed it. Real protection is being where
God wants you, right? Even if it looks or seems more
dangerous. Why? Going back to Judah would
put David closer to Saul, the very one who was out to kill
him. But it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter who's out to
get you. If God is your protector, they'll fail. God will not allow
His chosen servant to live in hiding forever. David was called
to be king. He couldn't rule, as I said,
from a cave. Judah was his territory. He was
of the tribe of Judah. Even if it put him closer to
Saul, it didn't matter. God was his protector. And friends,
there's no true danger when walking in the path that God sets for
us. I want that to encourage you.
I want it to encourage me. We worry about so much that we
shouldn't worry about. If God is our protector, what
do we have to worry about? If God is working all things
together for our good, what is there for us to fret over? The
safest and most secure place for God's people is not the stronghold
that they choose for themselves. It's the place of obedience to
God's Word. God speaks through His Word.
God speaks through His messenger. Gad showed up as God's mouthpiece
for David. God doesn't leave His people
in confusion. He's going to send them to a
gospel preacher, or send that gospel preacher to them, and
they're going to hear the words from God and receive clear guidance
when needed. That's what He did to me, and
that's what He did for you. I thought I was moving to Franklin,
Tennessee for a job. Well, that was the means God
gave me, but the Lord sent me to a gospel church where I heard
men like Brother Mahan, Brother Montgomery, and Shanks, and the
list goes on and on, of those that told me about the tree.
It wasn't an accident. I wasn't lucky. It was God. God. Our true refuge is Christ himself,
not religion, not works, not man's strength. They're all false
refuges. In Christ we find forgiveness,
we find security, and we find life, life eternal, life everlasting. The name of the Lord is a strong
tower. The righteous runneth into it
and is saved. Oh, get thee to the land of Judah.
Run into that strong tower, the Lord Jesus, and you'll be saved.
God's word will lead his people out of fear and out of hiding
into faith and obedience. The gospel calls us out of fear
and sin and self-reliance. Self-reliance. What is that? Gospel calls us into the freedom
that we have in Christ. The Lord Jesus doesn't leave
us in a cave of hiding. David, God's anointed, was rejected
and he was hunted, but God sends him back to Judah. A very place
of danger. But it wasn't a place of danger
because God was there. God was with him. And this points
to Christ. This points to our true refuge.
Christ, the greater David. He's the greater David, who was
rejected, yet came into the world, his Judah, so to speak, to accomplish
redemption for his people, even though he knew Danger was there. Even though he knew it meant
suffering and death, Christ came. Friends, the gospel has always
been about us walking by faith and not by sight. If we walk
by sight, we're doomed, because we'll never step forward in faith. But if we walk by faith, if we
listen to what God says in His Word, we listen to God's servant
preach the message of the Gospel, we'll be encouraged to walk in
faith and trusting and relying upon the Lord Jesus, who loved
us so much that He gave Himself for us. I don't have to look
any further than the cross to see how much the Lord loved me. And neither do you. God's command for us is to walk
by faith, step out in faith. The gospel is not salvation found
by what seems wise to man. Well, I think that matter. Salvation comes by trusting in
Christ and Him crucified. That's the message. That's why
Paul said, I'm determined to know nothing else among you,
because that's all that really matters. What do you think of
Jesus Christ? Who is He? Whose son is He? And
what did He, who is God, do to save you from your sin? He died
in your room instead. You see, verse five here points
us to Christ, the true refuge. The gospel is a call to leave
our man-made refuges. The gospel is our call to trust
in Christ alone. The prophet of God said, abide
not in the hope. Depart and get thee into the
land of Judah. The land of Judah. Oh, get to
the land of Judah. Come to Christ, abide in Him. What's the significance of David
going back to Judah? Well, biblically, excuse me,
the name Judah is very significant. Judah was one of Jacob's 12 sons. The name Judah means to praise
or to give thanks. Judah was prophesied by Jacob
to be a leader among his brothers. Jacob said, the scepter shall
not depart from Judah. A scepter is a king's. It's a
token of power and authority. And this points to Judah as the
tribe from which the kings of Israel would come. Speaking of
David and then Christ, the greater David. Spiritually, Judah represents
God-ordained authority and leadership. Judah represents Christ and his
redemption. Get thee to the land of Judah. Get out of yourself and get to
Christ. Judah's tribe becomes the vehicle
through which God fulfilled His purpose of salvation. Judah represents
the manifestation of God's promises through His chosen line. Christ is the line of the tribe
of Judah. And this shows us God's purpose
is sovereign and it's successful. A lion is a symbol of power,
courage, and kingship. He, Christ, the lion of the tribe
of Judah, possesses absolute authority. That being the authority
and power over sin. Who else could put away sin but
God himself? He put it away. Power over death
and the grave. Who but God has power over death
and the grave? Judah's character, you remember
in Genesis, especially in the story of Joseph, God's put Joseph
on Pharaoh's throne, and he hasn't revealed himself to his brothers,
and he keeps telling them to bring back Benjamin, his full-blooded
brother. And of course, Jacob wouldn't
have it. And Judah, he stands up as Benjamin's
surety, showing his courage and his responsibility and his leadership
in the face of danger. He said, dad, if I don't bring
Benjamin back to you, I will myself die in his room instead. Isn't that what Christ did for
us? He's the lion of the tribe of Judah. He has the victory. The scepter of power, kingly
authority will never depart from Him. Christ has the victory over
all our enemies, Satan, sin, self, death, grave. His victory roar, it's not literal,
but it represents His triumph and His establishment of God's
kingdom. I want to read a verse, I keep
saying voice, I want to read to you a verse found in Joel
chapter three, verse 16. Listen to this. The Lord also
shall roar out of Zion and utter His voice from Jerusalem, and
the heavens and the earth shall shake, but the Lord will be the
hope of His people and the strength of the children of Israel. I couldn't say it. Nobody could
say it any better than that. That's God's word. I tell you,
reading that gives me goosebumps. It stirs my heart. He's the Lion
of the tribe of Judah, and he roars out of Zion, and his voice
comes out of Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth shake.
And the Lord is the hope of His people. He's the Lion of the
tribe of Judah. Friends, get back to Judah. Get thee to the land of Judah. We've got to get back to Judah.
We've got to praise the Lord our Judah. We must celebrate
our Thanksgiving. and I worship, we meet together
to worship our Savior. Our worship is much more than
just singing songs and saying prayers and acknowledging the scripture. It's understanding
that God's hand is in every situation. It's bowing to that. It's saying,
Lord, not my will, but your will be done. Whatever you send my
way is okay with me because you know what's best. I don't. When
we were without strength, what does that mean? It means we had
no strength. in due time. Christ died for
us, the ungodly, those with no strength. We don't have strength.
The Lord Jesus said, without me, you can do nothing. I'm the
vine, you're the branches. Without the branch attached to
the vine, you'll wither up and die. My, my, we, we must, in the spirit
of Judas, strive for his boldness. thanking Him in trials, reflecting
on His goodness, recognizing His sovereignty and salvation
and substitution, preaching Christ and Him crucified. That's the
only message it saves. We take the responsibility of
doing so. We help protect and advocate
where needed. We take the responsibility, like
David did, for the well-being of others. We exercise integrity
and humility and faith in Christ, not to be saved, but because
God has saved us. Out of love for Him, we do these
things. We point to Christ's victory
and finished work. And we say, there's rest. Look
to Christ and leave. Through the strength of Christ,
we walk boldly in God's promises. That's the spirit of Judah. Lord,
give me the spirit of Judah. We know that God's working all
these things for our good. The Lord fights our battles for
us. Isn't that what he's saying time
and time again? The Lord should fight this battle
for you. He fights for his people. Living like Judah means praising
God. standing courageously in faith.
It's not about being perfect in and of ourselves. We'll never
attain that, not in these bodies of death. It's about trusting
the one who was perfect. It's about trusting the one who
made us perfect in the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, getting back
to Judah is about returning to God. We never stopped coming
to Christ. We never stopped coming to Christ.
To whom coming? Now in closing, I want you to
turn with me to 1 Peter 2. I want to show you that. To whom coming?
To whom coming? 1 Peter 2. Peter here writes
1 Peter 2. I'll give you a moment
to get there. Peter says, 1 Peter 2 verse 2,
you got it? As newborn babes desire the sincere
milk of the word that ye may grow thereby. If so, be ye have tasted that
the Lord is gracious. To whom coming? To whom coming? We came and we keep coming. There was a day when I came to
Christ, and today I'm coming to Christ, and tomorrow I must
come to Christ. To whom coming? As unto a living
stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God and precious,
ye also. His lively stones are built up
a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God. How? Only one way. By Jesus Christ. Now what does
that mean? To whom coming means that this
is an ongoing, continuous action. As we come to Christ, we come
in faith. It's a spiritual coming, a drawing
near to Christ, a reliance on Him and Him alone. We come to
Him who is a living stone. He's the solid rock. He's the
rock of ages. We sung about Him tonight, to
the rock that is higher than I. That's the Lord Jesus. He's
a stone that's alive. This symbolizes His resurrection. Death couldn't hold Him. Grave
couldn't keep Him. This pictures His eternal life,
His active role as the foundation of life. He's a precious cornerstone. The building, the church is built
upon Him. He's the foundation. Yes, He
was rejected by men. And we don't accept Him. People
say, oh, accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Listen, it doesn't
matter if you accept Him or not. He is Lord and Savior. God made
Him so. We are accepted in Him. That's
the only acceptance we're involved with. We're accepted in Him.
We don't accept Him. We're accepted in Him. And even
though the Lord was rejected by His own nation, He is chosen
and precious in the sight of God. and in the sight of true
Israel, His people. It's God's perspective that determines
worth, not ours. Doesn't matter what we think.
Doesn't matter if we think it's important or not. All that matters
is what God says it is. So, we continually come to Christ. It's not a one-time coming. I
hear people say, Well, so-and-so was saved because she came to
Jesus back 40 years ago. To whom? Coming. Did she come
after that? Did she keep coming? It's a continuous
coming. It's not a passive coming. It's
an active coming. It's repeated. It's continually
growing near. We're growing in faith, right? A child isn't born, and then
the next day, they're a full-grown adult. They grow. They grow. We're growing in grace. We're
growing in the knowledge of Christ. And we keep coming, and we keep
coming, and we keep growing, and we keep growing in faith,
and in grace, and in the knowledge of Him. The word coming suggests
a continual approach. I came to the Lord, and I'm still
coming. How about you? Still coming?
We better be. It's an ongoing coming, and we're
literally moving toward Christ. So we as believers are living
lively stones, according to verse five here. You yourselves, like
living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house. How's
this spiritual house built? Much like a building, a stone
building is, stone by stone. You don't brick a house and throw
10 or 12 bricks up at once, do you, Clayton? No, it's brick
by brick. Mix the mortar. I've never bricked. I don't know. I've seen people
do it. And then you place the brick, and then you place more
mortar, and you place another brick, stone by stone, brick
by brick. It's gradual. It's a continuous
process. We come to Christ. We keep coming
to Christ. We keep growing. We keep learning.
And we are being conformed to His end. This nourishes and strengthens
us. This makes us part of God's spiritual house on which He is
the cornerstone. He's the foundation that holds
the whole structure together. Without Him, it's going to fall.
Without a good foundation, the house will not stand. The Lord
Jesus said He that built His house upon a rock. He said the
waves and the wind blew against it, and it stood. But if it's
built on sand, it's going to fall. So may God cause us to get out
of our caves. Let's get out of our caves. May
God enable us to give up our strongholds. They're nothing
but false refuges, whether it's religion, whether it's works,
whether it's Our own supposed righteousness, which we have
not. Counterfeit securities. You know,
you imagine someone who works their whole life and they take
part of every paycheck and put it into one investment. And it
promises security, it promises growth, it promises a comfortable
future, they trust in it completely, put all their eggs in that basket,
but then overnight it collapses. Every penny's gone. That's what
it's like, friends, to trust in anything in this life but
Christ. It's to put everything you have
in a false security, a false refuge. Whether it's wealth,
whether it's fame, comfort or even good works, they all in
the end will fail. Christ is the only security we
got. So what do we do? We get thee to the land of Judah.
And we put all our eggs in that basket. We put all our trust
in the one who loved us and gave himself for us. When Christ is
your all, you're forever secure. Your future's unshakable and
you're safe forever. Don't put your heart into a false
investment trust price. Lean on him. He's our eternal
security. Do you believe in internal security?
Someone once asked. Is there any other kind? If I
have security today and not tomorrow, what kind of security is that?
Only Eternal security is eternally secure. What happened to David
when he left that cave? When he left that stronghold
and went back to Judah? Do you know what happened to
him? God made him king. He was anointed king over Judah.
2 Samuel 22, 1 and 2. God showed him favor. God fulfilled
His promise toward him. What does it do for us? It makes
us kings and priests. We leave our fear of hiding in
a false security and in refuge in our wandering, and we come
and we enter into the kingdom of God. We enter into Judah. We find salvation, we find peace,
we find rest, we find comfort, and we find an eternal inheritance. We find out that everything that
God has is ours in, by, and through Jesus Christ. No false security
there. David's journey pictures our
journey. We wander in fear, we hide from trials, we rely on
our own strength. Stop it. Stop it. Don't stay in the hold. Get thee
back to Judah. And when we fully turn to Christ
our Judah, we find a place of safety and purpose and provision. We move from survival to victory. From wandering to purpose. We
go from caves to Judah. And God moves us from high So my message to you and my message
to me tonight is just that. Abide not in the hold. Get thee into the land of Judah. Come and keep coming and keep
coming and keep coming to Christ. May God enable us to do so. Amen.