Let's look tonight in 1 Samuel
chapter 23. I would just like to remind us
that the part of the scripture that we have been looking at
and are looking at again tonight is more than just history. It's
more than just a history lesson about David. The more we read,
the more a number of encouraging truths and lessons register on
us. Now, last time we saw in the
first 13 verses of this chapter, 1 Samuel chapter 23, How that
the men of this city by the name of Keilah would have showed their
gratitude for David's help by betraying him. You remember David
and his men delivered the city from the Philistines, and yet
he learned from God that they would betray him into the hands
of Saul. God's omniscience, God's all-knowing,
includes all that will take place and all that could take place. We saw that last time when David
was told that Saul would come. It was, of course, contingent
upon David remaining, David and his men remaining in the city. If he remained there, Saul would
come. Now tonight, we're going to look
at the last of the chapter beginning with verse 14. And I have five
lessons for us, five lessons from David's deliverance this
time from the Ziphims, the Ziphims. The first Lesson, David may have
expected better of Ziph. If you notice in verse 14, David
abode in the wilderness in strongholds and remained in a mountain in
the wilderness of Ziph. He was in the wilderness of Ziph.
This wilderness was named the wilderness of Ziph because there
was a city located there by the name of Ziph. The name itself
means refining, refining. And it, like the city of Keilah
that we looked at last time, they were part of the tribe of
Judah. And that's the reason I said
at first, David may have expected better of Ziph and the Ziphims,
because remember, he was of the tribe of Judah. He may have thought
that seeing that he was of the tribe of Judah and he was among
the tribe, that he would receive better conduct from them. Do you remember Jacob's prophecy
about this tribe, the tribe of Judah? Remember, Jacob had 12
sons and each son began a tribe and they went down into Egypt
for corn, God prepared Joseph, sent him down there first, you
know, to take care of the Israelites. And then before Jacob died, he
prophesied over each one of those 12 sons. And I believe when he
came to Judah, I believe he was the fourth son, that he made
this comment concerning Judah. He spoke of the Messiah. Now
remember, The first revelation concerning the Messiah, the seed
of the woman, and then the seed of Abraham. And now in this place
in Genesis with Judah, with Jacob rather, we see that he's going
to be of the tribe of Judah. We call this progressive revelation,
don't we? That through the Old Testament,
God revealed little by little, yet more and more, so that when
the Messiah came, there could be no doubt, there could be no
doubt, he had to fit each and every one of these prophecies,
these revelations concerning the Messiah. But when Jacob came
to speak about Judah, to prophesy about Judah, he made this comment,
the scepter, The scepter, the scepter of the king, a sign of
authority, of rule. The scepter shall not depart
from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh
come, and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Of course, Shiloh there represents
the Lord Jesus Christ. Now David, in our text here,
he was a shepherd boy But the prophecy was that the king, the
Messiah, would come from the tribe of Judah. And so we've
got another revelation beginning by David being brought to the
throne. because he's going to be of the
tribe of Judah. David, of course, was of Judah.
Remember, we saw that last Sunday where the Lord Jesus Christ was
born in Bethlehem. And the reason he was born in
Bethlehem is because Mary was of the tribe of Judah, and his
supposed father, Joseph, also was of the tribe of Judah. and Bethlehem pertained to Judah. So this is the beginning of the
fulfillment of that prophecy. The name Shiloh means peacemaker. Peacemaker. Peace is a wonderful
word, isn't it? It's a beautiful word. It's like
a beautiful diamond that shines from the word of God. When we
realize that Christ came to make peace, You know, one of the charges
in Romans chapter three, where the apostle is showing how the
whole world is guilty before God, both Jew and Gentiles. One
of the charges he mentions, the way of peace they have not known. And that's still true today.
Lost men and women, the way of peace, the way to have peace
with God, to be reconciled unto God, they have not known. It comes by revelation, doesn't
it? It comes out of the word of God, yes, but it comes by
revelation. How that the Lord Jesus Christ,
he's the peacemaker, shallow. And he has made peace, he's reconciled
us unto God. And in Colossians, the apostle
said he made peace through the blood of his cross. Without the
shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin. Now when Shiloh
came, I want to mention this, when Shiloh came, we read of
the treatment that he received from his own. David, as I said,
he may have expected better treatment from the Ziphims because they
were Judahites as he was. He was of that tribe. When the
Lord Jesus Christ came into this world, You know, in John chapter
one we read, he came unto his own, and his own received him
not. Now, if you have Matthew Henry's
commentaries, his comment on that particular passage is so
good, it's so clear, but what he does, he shows the difference
in the Greek words when it says, he came unto his own. and his
own received him not." That word own there, his own things. He came unto his own things,
different from his own persons, as all true believers are called. The Jews were his, this is what
Matthew Henry says, I'm quoting, the Jews were his, he came unto
his own, they were his as a man's house and lands and goods are
his, which he uses and possesses. But believers, here's the point
here, but believers, or his as a man's wife and children are
his own, which he loves and enjoys. He came to his own to seek and
save them, because they were his own. He was sent to the lost
sheep of the house of Israel, for it was he whose own the sheep
were. He came unto his own, they received
him not." But that word own there, means his own things. This old
world, he came into his own world. It's his world. He created it. He made it. Without him, there's
not anything made that was made. But they were his own, like a
man's house is his own. But his own people, his own sheep,
they're his own, as a man's wife and children are his own. whom
he loves and enjoys. Now we're reminded by this that
this world has never been a friend to grace and it never shall be.
This world has never been a friend to grace. The Ziphims, they were
not friends to David, even though he was of their tribe. This world
has never been a friend to grace. The Apostle John, in his first
letter, 1 John chapter 5, he said, the whole world lieth in
wickedness. Let that sink in. The whole world
lieth in wickedness. Two things that stand out to
me from that scripture. First of all, when we read the
whole world life in wickedness, we realize that sometimes in
the scriptures the whole world doesn't mean every single man,
woman, boy, and girl. Because John wrote that. He was
a believer. He was a child of God. He was
not lying in wickedness. When he wrote The Whole World,
Life, and Wickedness, I just point this out to us because,
you know, people like to say, well, I just believe John 3,
16, for God so loved the world. I believe that too, don't you?
But don't read into that that God's love and mercy is for every
single individual who ever walked on the face of God's earth because
we know that's not true. The word world, the whole world
went after him. We read that in one of the gospels.
That doesn't mean that Herod went after him, that Pilate went
after him. You've got to look at that word
world and look at the context in which it is written. Don't
ever allow someone to to throw you off when they hear you believe
in God's sovereign grace and God's sovereign election? Well,
I just believe He loves everyone the same. And the Bible says
He loved the world. Well, that does. But the word
world, the whole world, doesn't always mean every person in this
world. A second thing that stands out
to me is, we must never forget that in this world, God's people
are always strangers and pilgrims. We're always going to be strangers
and pilgrims just passing through. All right, the second point I
want to make, David was in constant danger. Notice in the last part
of verse 14 here, 1 Samuel 23, we read the first part, And David abode in the wilderness
in strongholds and remained in a mountain in the wilderness
of Ziph. I said he may have expected better
treatment from them. And then secondly, Saul sought
him every day, but God delivered him not into his hand. David
was in constant danger, constant. In this statement, where we see
that Saul sought Him every day. It reminds us that every true
child of God, every son and daughter of God, that we are in constant
conflict. We're in constant conflict from
the time a person is born again of the Spirit of God. There's
a conflict in himself, in herself, that there are two Two natures
now, when a person is born. That which is born of the spirit
is spirit. That's the new man. That which
is born of the flesh is flesh. That's that old man. And there's
this constant, just like David was constantly being pursued
by Saul. Every day, as children of God,
we recognize that there's a conflict always in our life. You know, it caused the Apostle
Paul to confess that he found this truth out about himself.
What'd you find out about yourself, Paul? After he had preached and
as he was writing the letter of Romans, he said, this is what
I found out. When I would do good, evil's
present with me. When I would do good. There's
never any time. God's people, the new man, would
always do good, would always live for the glory of the Lord
Jesus Christ. But when I would do good, evil
is present with me. There's always that tension in
a believer. The third thing I want us to
see here is David received a timely visit. Verses 16 through 18. He received a timely visit. And Jonathan, Saul's son, arose
and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in
God. And he said unto him, Fear not,
for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee, and thou
shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee, and
that also Saul my father knoweth. And they too made a covenant
before the Lord, and David abode in the wood, And Jonathan went
to his house. I said David received a timely
visit. God used, if you notice there,
God used Jonathan in strengthening his hand, that is David's hand
in the Lord. Now, when I read that, there
are two things that stand out to me. And the first thing is
this, even strong believers, And we would call David a strong
believer, would we not? Even strong believers need strengthening
at times. Even strong believers. I doubt
that very many of God's children live their entire lives in this
world without at some time at least being discouraged, being
cast down in spirit for one reason or the other. Even strong believers. Jonathan, this was a timely visit. Jonathan paid David, his friend,
strengthening his hand, that is David's hand, in the Lord. The second thing that stands
out is God uses means. God uses means in strengthening
his children. In this case, it was Jonathan.
And this is something that all of us should aspire to, all of
us who are God's children tonight. This is something we should all
aspire to, to encourage others, to strengthen others, their hand
in the Lord. When we meet with those that
are somewhat downcast or discouraged, we should do all we can to encourage
them and to lift them up. I think we should begin every
day. I think all of us, as God's children, we should begin every
day praying that we might be a blessing, we might be a help
to someone today. That God would bring someone
across our path that we can just speak a kind word to maybe, whatever,
but be an encouragement, strengthen their hand in the Lord. How could Jonathan, think about
this, David was a man after God's own heart. How could Jonathan
strengthen David's hand in God? Well, as far as I know, only
one way. It's only one way. First of all,
it all had to do with the word of God. He could remind David
of what Samuel had said. that he was going to be the king. He could remind David of the
oil, the anointing oil that Samuel had poured on David. And he could
remind him of how the Lord had strengthened
him. You know, I was thinking, preaching, pastoring a church,
A great deal of the work is just reminding us. I used to hear
Brother Henry Mahan on tape make this statement at the end of
a message. He'd say, now, you knew what
I just told you, and aren't you glad? Aren't you glad? I didn't tell you anything you
didn't already know. I'm not up here. I've got the
same book that men have been preaching from for 2,000 years,
right? And I've been preaching here.
for some years myself. But our work is many times just
reminding us of what we already know and encouraging us in the
Lord that Christ came to save sinners. And yes, we all at times
make mistakes, we fall, we fail, we become discouraged or whatever. But that doesn't change our relationship
to God. He has loved us with an everlasting
love and our surety is paid for our sins, our sin debt, our past
sins, our present sins, our future sins. And someone hears that
and they say, well, that's a teaching that would cause people to live
licentious lives. No, not really. The more we realize
how much God loves us and cares for us, the more we want to serve
him, the better we want to serve him, the more we want to love
him. David, Jonathan might have said,
David, don't you remember Goliath? You killed him. You didn't have that strength
in yourself. He strengthened his hand in the
Lord. Just reminded him, no doubt,
of what David already knew, but maybe wasn't remembering at that
particular time. Now the fourth thing, David's
conduct in regard to the treachery of the Ziphites. beginning in
verse 19. Then came up the Zephites to
Saul, to Gebeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself with us
in strongholds in the wood, in the hill of Hathilla, which is
on the south of Jethshimon? Now therefore, O king, come down
according to all the desire of thy soul to come down, and our
part shall be to deliver him into the king's hand. And Saul
said, blessed be ye of the Lord, for you have compassion on me. Go, I pray you, prepare yet,
and know and see his place where his haunt is, and who has seen
him there, for it is told me that he dealeth very subtly.
See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where
he hideth himself, and come you again to me with a certainty,
and I will go with you, and it shall come to pass, if he be
in the land, that I will search him out throughout all the thousands
of Judah. The treachery of the Ziphires. They describe how they sought
the favor of Saul by being willing to betray David into Saul's hands. They said, we know where he hides,
we know where he goes, how he lives, and if you'll come down,
we'll deliver him into your hand. And Saul, he says, I want you
to go back. I want you to make sure. Watch
him. Watch him. Find out every place
he likes to hide with his men. And when you are sure, then you
come back and I'll come down with my men and we'll destroy
him." How did David react to that? Somehow he learned. I'm
sure that there was people in the palace of Saul that would
tell things and somehow David learned what these people had
done. How did he react to that? How would you react to that?
How would I react to that? Someone betrayed us? Someone
we had only done good to and never tried to do harm to them
in any way? How would we react? Well, we
don't have to guess. Turn with me to Psalm 54. Notice, if you will, in the title
here, Psalm 54, a psalm of David when the Ziphims came and said
to Saul, doth not David hide himself with us? He wrote this
psalm at this particular point. Now, how does he react? Prayer. You see that? That's the first
thing that stands out to me. He goes to God. He prays to God. He doesn't try to avenge himself
and right this wrong. He goes to God. Save me, O God,
by thy name, and judge me by thy strength. Hear my prayer,
O God. Give ear to the words of my mouth,
for strangers are risen up against me, and oppressors seek after
my soul. They have not set God before
them. Then you notice that little word
selah. We don't read that word when
we read the Psalms out loud. But that word, it means stop. Meditate. Think. Think. No doubt after David had prayed
that prayer that we just read there in those first three verses,
then he stopped. And obviously after God delivered
him, he probably wrote the remainder. of the psalm. Behold, God is
my helper. God is my helper. What do I have
to fear? What do I have to fear, these
Ziphims? Who are they? They cannot do anything, and
Saul cannot do anything that God does not permit, that God
does not allow. God is my helper. The Lord is
with them. that uphold my soul. He shall
reward evil unto mine enemies and cut them off in thy truth.
And then notice these last two verses. I will freely sacrifice
unto thee. I will praise thy name, O Lord,
for it is good, for he hath delivered me out of all trouble. And mine
eye has seen his desire upon mine enemies. Matthew Henry's comment here,
the psalm is sweet. The former part of it, perhaps,
was meditated when he was in his distress and put into writing
when the danger was over. With the addition of the last
two verses, which express his thankfulness for the deliverance,
which yet might be written in faith even when he was in the
midst of his fright. Might be written in faith, believing
that God was going to deliver him. Many are the afflictions
of a righteous man, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. All right, let's go back. One
last thing. David's deliverance came in God's
time. In God's time. Verse 24. And they arose and went to Ziph
before Saul, but David and his men were in the wilderness of
Maon, in the plain on the south of Jeshimon. Saul also and his men went to
seek him. And they told David, wherefore
he came down into a rock and abode in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he
pursued after David in the wilderness of Mahon. Now, what we see in
these next verses is David is entrapped. Saul has a large army
and Saul is on one side of the mountain and David is on the
other side of the mountain with his men. Saul's arm is large
enough that he can divide it so that they can come upon David. One part of his army from the
rear, one part from the front. David is, for all practical purposes,
he is in Saul's hands now. He's in the grasp of this man
who was determined to kill him. Verse 26, Saul went on this side
of the mountain, David and his men on that side of the mountain,
and David made haste to get away for fear of Saul. For Saul and
his men compassed David, or compassed David, and his men round about
to take them. You see, he was encircled. He
was in the grasp of Saul. But, just, we might say, just
in the nick of time, Here comes a messenger to King Saul. The Philistines have invaded
the land, verse 27. But there came a messenger unto
Saul, saying, Haste thee, and come, for the Philistines have
invaded the land. Wherefore Saul returned from
pursuing after David, and went against the Philistines. Therefore
they called that place Selahamalikoth. which means a place of division. God brought deliverance at the
right time. Someone said when David started
praying, things seemed to get worse. And that seems to be commonplace. When you start praying about
something, things, instead of getting better immediately, they
seem to get worse. and all to show God's power and
God's love and God's grace when the deliverance does come. And
it did come. Here comes that messenger to
Saul telling him that the Philistines had invaded the land and he had
to take his army and flee or go and pursue the Philistines. And David was escaped. David
was delivered. Well, I pray the Lord would bless
His word to all of us here this evening.