Tonight will be our last study in the 30th chapter of 1 Samuel. There's one chapter to go after this. I titled the message tonight, The Gifts of Grace. Grace is a gift. That's what Paul wrote in Ephesians 2. He said, by grace are you saved through faith. And that's not of yourselves. It's a gift. It's a gift of God. It's a gift from God. to the chosen sinner.

Now tonight, before we conclude chapter 30, I want to first give a quick recap of the verses that we've already covered. And in them, we find the gospel that this chapter foreshadows. We've seen that in the previous studies. I want to kind of put it all together. And it's then that the last six verses of this chapter can be understood to be the only obvious result and conclusion of this gospel story. Now I hope that you see what I mean by that. And this is the story of our redemption.

You know, I was thinking again today as I went over this chapter, that the Old Testament It's just a foreshadow of the new. It's pointing to the Lord Jesus Christ and saying there's one coming in the New Testament. As we've said so many times, one has come and that one is Christ. And the gospel is in the Old Testament the same as it's in the New Testament.

It's just pointing to better things that are coming. And that's why I was thinking earlier about our departure. It just keeps getting better. When we leave this life, we're going to be with Christ, the believer is. It's not better for the world, but it's better for a believer. It just keeps getting better. This is a story of redemption that comes only in, by, and through the finished work and success of Jesus Christ for us. Look at verse 1 again.

And it came to pass when David and his men were come from Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south and smitten Ziklag and burned it with fire. and had taken the women captives that were therein. They slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away and went on their way. So David and his men came to the city, and behold, it was burned with fire, and their wives and their sons and their daughters were taken captives. And then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept until they had no more power to weep. And David's two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam, the Jezreelite, and Abigail, the wife of Nabal, the Carmelite.

So the first thing we see in these first five verses is the gospel and the fact that Total devastation and human helplessness. We've got to see that before we'll ever see our need of Christ. We've got to see our need of a Savior. We've got to see what state we're in by nature.

When Adam fell, he didn't just stump his toe. Man fell, and man fell hard. Man died. For when we were yet without strength, the Scripture says, That means exactly what it says. Without strength. No strength. We don't have a little strength. We have no strength. Without strength. In due time, Christ died for the ungodly. So not only are we without strength, we're ungodly. We're in a mess. We're a mess. We are a mess. Here the city is burned. The families are taken. Positions are stolen. They're gone. And David's own men want to stone him. Couldn't get any worse for David. It was bad for all of them. But on top of all this, now David's men want to kill him. Want to stone him. And that's our condition. That is so our condition.

Sin has devastated everything. Everything that we once had is lost and stolen and we're powerless to fix anything. Even what we thought was our strength, that being our flesh. turns out to be against us. Chapter 30 gives us a very, very realistic picture of our spiritual ruin. And no one in this chapter rescues themselves.

Sins cause us to lose all, including any strength or will that we believe that we possess. The child of God will be the first to tell you They don't have a free will. Our will's in bondage to our sin, isn't it? Sin's caused us to lose all. No will, no ability. This is a picture of humanity in spiritual captivity. Plundered, enslaved, helpless, powerless to pursue our enemies. One word sums it up. Dead. Dead.

Look at verse 6, And David was greatly distressed when the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters. But David encouraged himself and the Lord his God. Now secondly, we see that David here pictures the true and faithful king. We've said it many times. David had already been anointed king by the prophet, but he was yet on the throne. He's been running now for a long time from Saul.

But he pictures Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ. And every true believer is made by God to strengthen themselves in Christ. We don't pick ourselves up by our bootstraps. We're made by God to strengthen ourselves in Christ. And God's got to give us life before we can do that. That's exactly right.

David's an anointed king, but he's not reigning as such. And he himself is in a bad place along with his followers. See, that's the difference between an imperfect type of Christ and Christ. David was a man himself. He needs the same Savior that you and I need. All the Old Testament saints did. There's none of us that differ from others. Even the best of men are men at best. Christ is the true King who we must follow. But even God the Son didn't act independently.

He depended on His Father. He acts in perfect obedience to His Father. He's the faithful leader who restores the broken. And where Adam fell and where Israel failed, David imperfectly points us to the Lord Jesus who did all things perfectly. He must in order to be our Savior. He had to perfectly keep God's law. He had to perfectly satisfy God's holy justice. And He's the only one that fits that bill.

Therefore, salvations of the Lord. He's the only one that can save us. He's a picture of the chosen yet rejected King who saves His broken people. And broken they are. He saves them from their sin that has broken them. And yet God had to save David also. Do you see the picture? Christ was our chosen but rejected King. The people of His kingdom are weak and distressed. And our city, our dwelling place, has been burned. Sinners have lost all in Adam.

But some are made to weep until they have no more strength. And it's then It's then that they'll cry unto the Lord, and He always hears them. David strengthened himself from the Lord his God, so did the Lord Jesus. He cried, Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from me nevertheless. Not my will, but Thine be done. He was always about his father's business, but he depended on his father. Thirdly, the gospel proclaims the pursuing king. I love the thought of that. I love the thought of my king pursuing me.

I'm in trouble. I need help. I'm in captive to sin and Satan and self. I need help. And here comes my king. What a warrior he is. David goes after the enemy. The captives, they don't escape. They don't fight their way free. That's the way men preach the Gospel today, like man has to do something, and this is a cooperative effort between us and God. We help God to save us. Nowhere in the Scripture does it indicate that. We're helpless. We've lost all. We're dead in trespasses and sin. We need a Savior. And David, their king, goes after them. And Christ, our king, is our only deliverer. And what a deliverer He is. He never failed. He's never once failed. "'All that the Father gave me shall come to me,' He said. Why? Because He comes to them. He delivers them. He pursues them.

Verse 7, And David said to Abiathar the priest, Himalic son, I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought hither the ephod to David. And David inquired at the Lord, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? Shall I overtake them? Am I going to have success?

And he, the Lord answered him, said, Pursue, pursue. It's a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. To pursue sinners. And that's what He did. Pursue, for thou shalt surely overtake them. Our Lord Jesus shall not fail. He shall surely overtake the enemy. And without fail, Recover all. Is that not the gospel? What a beautiful gospel picture this is.

And David pursuing the Amalekites spiritually shadows the Lord Jesus pursuing sinners who've been captured by sin. And David doesn't wait passively. He doesn't tarry until his people escape. He seeks the Lord's will and direction, and then he moves swiftly and with intent. Christ came in the world to seek and to save them that are what? Lost, captured.

He didn't wait for those who the Father gave Him to come to Him first. Good thing, because they could not come. Thank God, because they would not come. No man can come to Me, Christ said, except the Father which sent Me. Draw him, and you will not come to Me that you might have life. So how do we come? God makes us willing. When? In the day of His power. When He gives us life. That's all through the Scriptures. I don't know where men get the idea that they help God in some way to save them. Look at verse 9.

So David went. I love that. So David went. He and the 600 men that were with him and came to the brook Besor where those that were left behind stayed. But David pursued. He and 400 men. For 200 abode behind which were so faint that they could not go over the brook Besor. And David went in the strength of the Lord. God in the strength of His self. That's what Christ did for us. We're not climbing toward God. We're not progressively getting better. We're not improving. We can't straighten up and fly right before we come to the Lord, or we'll never come. We're not climbing toward God. Christ came to seek and to save sinners. Are you a sinner? You see that? Has God shown you that? And He accomplished all that He came to do.

And since we're flesh, Christ had to become what we were without sin in order to save us. You see, only a perfect man, a man who could keep the law perfectly, a man who could satisfy God's justice perfectly must come to save the likes of us. His pursuit was not by human might, nor could it be by the might of His own power. He came as a man without sin. But He came as a man to do for us what we couldn't do for ourselves.

The wages of sin is death. So in order for our sin's wages to be paid, death has to occur. And the beautiful thing about the Gospel is that God Himself died to put our sin away. The gift of God is eternal life. God could not die, and man could not redeem. So God became a man. Isn't that just the Gospel? That's such good news. As a man, God could truly die. And as God, His sacrifice had infinite worth. The men left behind in verse 10, and that Egyptian that's found in the field, they're both a picture of you and me by nature. That's what we are. They reflect man's natural state.

We're prone to fear. We're prone to despair. We're prone to dependence. All of us are. By nature we have no faith or reliance upon God. We wander helplessly like that sickly Egyptian, left to die. Sin leads us to die. We're unable to rescue ourselves. This is our condition apart from Christ. Lost, vulnerable, without power to redeem. No ability to save ourselves. How much? How much ability? None. No ability. No man can. No man has the ability to come.

And David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. How do we do that when we're so prone to helplessness, sin, and rebellion? We don't. God does it for us. Everything that we lack, God provides for us. Everything that we could not do for ourselves, Christ did for us.

That's good news. That's the gospel. Turn thou us unto Thee, O Lord, and we shall be turned. You know what that's saying? There's something to what that's not saying. If He don't turn us, we won't be turned. Turn thou us unto Thee, O Lord, and we shall be turned. Renew our days as of old. Christ doesn't abandon us, He turns us. That's what redemption is. That's what repentance is. To turn. He steps in as our strength as David did these men. Christ meets us where we are. Where's that? In the wilderness. In the desert of sin. He returns us to the brook Besor.

That means cheerful. I thought about that. You know, we say it all the time, but names and titles and places mean things. We're cheerful because Christ restores to us all and more than we lost. David's pursuit foreshadows Christ's pursuit for sinners. David's pursuit is not merely for revenge. It's a righteous pursuit.

It was sanctioned by God. God said pursue. God said you'll recover all. The king comes. The lost are found. Those captured by sin are saved. That's what this picture is and how beautifully it does. And restoration leads to life and thanksgiving and worship. God's people worship God. because of what He's done for them.

Christ comes to sinners not to condemn, but to redeem. God's means of salvation is mercy and compassion and love. Christ didn't come to call the righteous. Who did He come to call? Sinners. What did He come to call them to? Repentance. To turn. Turn ye, turn ye. Those who think that they're righteous, self-sufficient, proud, upright in their own eyes. That's what that's talking about. Still don't recognize their need of Christ. And never will unless God intervenes and gives them life. Dead men can't see. Dead men can't hear. Dead men don't have a heart to believe. God's got to give life. Sinners are made aware by God of their need of His mercy, and when He calls His people He enables them to come and to repent. We don't manufacture repentance. We don't do it out of sheer willpower. What willpower? We don't have any willpower. We will not come.

This begins with God-given awareness, and even that awareness itself is mercy. Verse 16, and when he, the Egyptian, had brought him, David, down, and his men, behold, they were spread, that being the Malachites, were spread about, brought upon all the earth, eating and drinking and dancing because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines and out of the land of Judah.

And David smoked them from the twilight even until the evening of the next day. And there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men which rode upon camels and fled. We talked about that. And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away. And David rescued his two wives. and there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil nor anything that they had taken to them, David recovered all. Friends, Jesus Christ recovered all. All that we lost and even more. So, fourthly, the Gospel declares that none are lost. None of God's people are lost. David recovered all. Nothing's missing. Neither small nor great.

What is salvation? Rescue from danger. What's salvation? Preservation from ruin. What's salvation? Deliverance from death. That's what David accomplished. And all this does is point to the One who's coming to do that for His people. And this is the Father's will which has sent me, our Lord said, that all which He hath given me I should lose nothing. but raise it up again at the last day, John 6,

39. You see, the victory's complete. There's no partial salvation. There's no limited restoration. Restored, you look the word up, restore, it means to be fully returned. That's exactly what it means. That's the definition. Restore means to fully return. Fully return to our previous state and even better. Now I'm gonna endeavor to show you here in a minute.

The believers given more than they lost in Adam. Well, you say, how so? Well, Adam was given dominion, but he ultimately fell to weakness, but Christ grants us strength to overcome sin. We're dead unto sin. He gave us the strength to live righteously and bear spiritual fruit. Not by works of righteousness that we've done, but by His work of righteousness, which is perfect. Salvation is not by works, but by His grace.

This gives us a kind of dominion that Adam never had. Yes, Adam, before the fall, had a relationship with God, but it was limited. He knew God as the Creator, and he enjoyed fellowship with God in the garden, but Adam's understanding of God was innocent, but yet incomplete. He was under a covenant of works. His life depended on total obedience to God. And why did he fall? Because he broke the one commandment of work that God gave him. Thou shalt not eat of this tree. That's my tree we talked about that Sunday. Eternal life with the believer is a covenant of grace, not a covenant of works.

I wish we could truly get a hold of this. It's a covenant of grace, not a covenant of works, because Christ fulfilled the law of God and He satisfied His justice for us. And all our redemption, all our salvation is found and accepted in what He did. And I love the fact that if our salvation is accomplished and merited totally upon Christ's work, and it is. Do you agree that it is? It's all according to what He did for us.

Then our failures cannot, nor will not, cause us to lose our salvation. Now you think about that. If Christ saved us, if it's by His work of grace for us, and not by works that we did, and we couldn't do the work that God required, then our failures Don't keep us from being redeemed, because He redeemed us.

And this way of thinking is not going to give sinners a license to sin. That's what everybody always says. Well, you're just opening up the door for men and women to sin. Listen, the door's wide open for us to sin. Adam opened that door for us. Christ closed it. It'll cause the believer to desire to be pleasing to the God and Savior who saved them by His grace. Don't you desire to be pleasing to God, knowing what He's done for you?

Absolutely. That's what the book of Hebrews is all about. It's better. Oh, we've got it so much better. The book of Hebrews repeatedly emphasizes that what we have in Christ is superior to what came before. For example, Christ is better than the angels. Hebrews 1, 4, and 5. Christ surpasses all spiritual beings. Men today talk about, oh, I've seen an angel. I want to see an angel. Oh, it would be great to see an angel. We've got angels all about us. He's greater than the angels. Better than the angels.

Christ is better than Moses. Christ is faithful as a son, not just as a servant. Christ provides a better priesthood, Hebrews 4 and 7. The Lord Jesus' priesthood is eternal, not temporary like the Levitical priest. Christ ensures a better covenant, Hebrews 8 and 6. A new covenant brings complete forgiveness and direct access to God. Well, we can come boldly right into this throne of grace. Our mediator's sitting on the throne. He's got the ear of God. And He forever lives to what? Make intercession for us.

Christ establishes better promises and rest, Hebrews 4 and 6. Our hope in Christ is certain, and it's enduring, and it's eternal. Oh, it's better. Everything is better. Everything in Hebrews is framed around the idea that Christ fulfills and surpasses the old ways. It tells us why the child of God should hold fast to Christ. Because better is the standard of God's final work in Christ.

We've got full reconciliation with God. We're no longer just forgiven. We're adopted. We're made children. With a permanent relationship and access to His presence through the Spirit. Isn't that better? We have superior knowledge of God. Adam walked with God in creation, but in a limited way. But in Christ, we know God personally. We understand His will and we can experience His wisdom and His guidance continually. That's what Christ did for us. In Christ, we have strength to overcome sin. Where Adam's choice led to helplessness under sin, Christ gives us the Spirit's power to live in victory and obedience. Dead to sin. We were dead in sin, now we're dead to sin. What about eternal hope? Adam lost eternal life.

Christ restores it and adds the promise of resurrection and eternal fellowship with God. Listen, when we lay these bodies down, and it's coming soon for all of us, we're not going to stay there. He's going to raise us. We'll have eternal fellowship with God forever. Tell me that ain't better.

And we have abundant life now. Beyond restoration, Christ gives us joy and peace and spiritual growth that passes what was lost in Eden. We have life more abundantly, the Lord Jesus said in John 10. I've come that you might have life. But not just life. life more abundantly in this life. Are you living an abundant life?

If you're in Christ, you are. The problem is most people define abundant life differently than the child of God does. To most folks, abundant life means a big house, big car, and a bunch of money in the bank. To the believer, it means having Christ. If I got Him, I got everything. Wherefore He, Christ, is able to save them to the uttermost. Who? They come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth. To what? Pray for them. Make intercession for them. Plead their case and their cause before His heavenly Father.

Hebrews 7.25. And fifthly, in the Gospel, the weak share fully in the spoils of Christ. We talked about this in detail.

200 men stayed by the possessions they had there at Beazor. They were just too exhausted to go on any further. They stayed behind. And after the victory, some of the strong men, they said that they didn't fight, they shouldn't share. And David said, nope, that's not the way it is. And it's not the way it is. The victory was won by one. God fought and God won. David was just the means. His man was just the means.

The reward is shared by many. You see, when a sinner is in Christ, they share in the spoils of His victory. The weak receive the same portion as the strong. Aren't you glad? It's the same with us. None of us earn the spoils of Christ's victory. We share in them. They're gifts. It's given to us. Now what are these spoils?

Spiritually, redemption, forgiveness, reconciliation with God, triumph over sin, death, and Satan, and even self. Spiritual blessings that belong to us all regardless of our lack of involvement. What'd you do to pay the debt of sin? Not a thing. Not a thing.

And then lastly, the king sends portions of the spoils to others. I said this was the obvious conclusion to this gospel story, and it is. Look at verse 26. And when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil unto the elders of Judah. even to his friends, saying, Behold, a present for you of the spoil of the enemies of the Lord. And I love that phrase there in verse 26, even to his friends. The Lord Jesus Christ is a friend to sinners.

He says, Behold, a present for you. When I stand before God on the day of judgment to give an account for the things done in this body which are not good, In and of myself. I'm not going to be standing like those that said, haven't we, haven't we, look at what I did here, look at what I did there. No. On that day, as my friend, the Lord Jesus Christ is going to say, behold a present for you. My perfect righteousness. Enter in, thou good and faithful servant. What a present that is. Huh? What a gift. Behold a present for you.

These are the spoils Did you notice of the Lord's enemies? Oh, we just read right over these things. See, our enemies are the Lord's enemies. They're not just our enemies, they're the Lord's enemies. Because we're one with Him. If they're my enemy, they're His enemy. And if they're His enemy, they're our enemies.

Verse 27. and I spent a great deal of time researching these names to try to pronounce them right. I still don't know how right they are, but to them which were in Bethel, and to them which were in South Ramoth, and to them which were in, and that's spelled J-A-T-T-I-R, but it means Yathir, and to them that were in Ar-O-Eir, and to them which were in Sifmoth, and to them which were in Eshtemoa, and to them which were in Raqqa, and to them which were in the cities of the Jeremelites, and to them which were in the city of the Kenites, and to them which were in Horma, and to them which were in Korishan, and to them which were in Athok, and to them which were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men were want to haunt, which just basically means regularly visited.

These are the places that had shown David kindness during his wilderness years. And David remembers. And David honors them. And David shares the spoils with them. This isn't just selective favoritism. This is broad generosity. And again, what a picture it is of Christ giving to those who didn't swing a sword. They didn't swing a sword in there. David fought the battle. Now these towns, received gifts from the victory. You know why I say that? What grace. What grace. Someone else wins the battle and others share in the spoil.

That's exactly what Christ did for us. At the cross, He defeated the enemy. Our enemies and His enemies, they're His enemies too. He conquered sin, death, and hell. They're His enemies. What did we bring to the fight? Huh? Nothing but weakness. Nothing but weakness. We were back at the Brook Bezor, trying to watch over our little stuff. Yet we received forgiveness, and adoption, and inheritance, and eternal life. We're sharing a victory that we didn't accomplish. And that's what Christ has done for His people. Now these 13 cities carry spiritual significance. I'll end with this. They represent much more than just geographical locations. They represent the people of God.

And let me quickly show you how Bethel means house of God. Who's the house of God? His people. His people are the church. His people are His dwelling place. This represents our communion with God. Ramoth. You know what it means? High places. Christ's victory lifts us from the dunghill to heavenly places. All the blessings we have are in spiritual high places. Yatir means abundance or excellence. Christ came to give us life and give it to us what?

More abundantly. We've already said that. Arrow air means ruins are stripped. And this represents restoration. Those who were stripped, desolate, are raised to newness of life. He lifts the beggar, where? Out of the dunghill. Where does He set them? Among princes.

Sifmoth means fruitful places. This points to the fruitfulness that we're given through Christ's divine deliverance. Yeshtim oah means obedience or I will hear. Those who are given ears to hear become responsive and alive to God's will, God's way, and God's purpose. Rakha, the seventh city, means trade or commerce, symbolizing exchange.

Well, what kind of exchange did we make? The best that we could ever make. Christ made sin for us, and we made the righteousness of God in Him. What an exchange that is. The cities of Jeremelites, meaning may God have compassion. And this divinely reflects mercy. David's generosity mirrors God's compassionate heart. The city of the Kenites, meaning smith or craftsman. Oh, there's no smith or craftsman like the Lord Jesus Christ. This represents David's faithful allies. God remembers covenant loyalty.

And not that we had any, but Christ did, and we're in Him, one with Him. Hormah, which means devoted to destruction. Christ is the one who causes redemption to replace the curse. Korishon, which means pit of fire, suggesting past trial or hardship in Christ's victory, bringing relief after our testing. Apok, meaning resting place, pointing to the believers' rest after their conflict. God granting peace after warfare, symbolizing our resting in Christ's finished work. We don't rest in anything we did. We didn't do anything. We rest in His finished work.

Hebron means association of fellowship. Christ is the believer's only means of association and fellowship with God the Father. Oh, this pictures the Lord Jesus and His people. And that's what Christ has done for all those that the Father gave Him. All of them, great or small.

The victory our Lord Jesus won is shared with His people. That's what those last verses are teaching us. The spoil is given as a gift, not as a wage. It's covenant generosity. Christ recovered all that we lost, and then He shares it with us. We lost everything, He reclaims it, and then He gives it to us. What a gospel! What a God! What a Savior! Salvations of the Lord!