The Lord is with us in Difficulty

This is week 8 of our Bible study on 1 Samuel called the coming King. Today we're going to cover chapters 18, 19, and 20 of 1 Samuel. I have a question for you. Did you play hide-and-seek when you were a child? I should ask, who didn't play hide-and-seek when you were a child? I think children are just born knowing how to play hide-and-seek. It's super fun. Then when we grow up a little bit and we get a little bit older, we still want to play, but we have to change the rules of the game and we play like camouflage or sardines or something like that. But it's still basically hide-and-seek. We had cousins that we visited. They were actually my second cousins and they had a farm and we had a farm and the adults would be in the house drinking coffee and talking about adult things and we would be out playing hide-and-seek. We were passionate about finding these amazing places and on a farm there's a lot of amazing places. There's a lot of dangerous places to hide on a farm and if those coffee-drinking adults only knew where we were hiding and what we were getting into, I think they would have reeled us into the house, but super fun. Kids love to act like their life depends on finding the perfect hiding place. But then as an adult, if your life actually depends on hiding, you want to be a kid again. You want to have a mom and dad that's just going to take you home. So this lesson, by the end of this lesson, David enters a season of his life where his life will depend on him finding a hiding place and it's a very interesting lesson. We talked last week about hidden years that God uses in the lives of his servants to train them for a life of faith. I said David had already had hidden years as a child. His first set of hidden years were very calm and peaceful, for the most part, except the lion and the bear. But he was out in the field and he was being trained in discipline, patience, and in practice. And now the Lord is about to have him embark on a second set of hidden years. And these are going to be different. They're going to be difficult. He will face injustices. He will face danger and trials. And not only will they be hidden years, but they will be literally years of hiding. He will be hiding from the King of Israel, who is Saul. And he will learn how to make the King of the universe his hiding place. He will come through this time writing Psalm 32, 7, that I'll show you. You are my hiding place, for you preserve me from trouble. There are two things I thought of about seasons of difficulty that the Lord allows into our lives. And one thing is that he rarely tells us the expiration date. He rarely tells us how long it's going to last. And this is a great mercy to us. The second thing about seasons of difficulty in all of our lives is that sometimes God provides for us helpers or support. But then sometimes he weans us off of those helpers or support so that we can learn to depend on him alone. These two things happened in David's life as God was sending him into the second set of hidden years. First of all, David had no idea that this was going to last 13, 15, 20 years, however long it lasted. And that was a mercy to David. The other thing that was God gave him two helpers at the beginning, which we read about in our lesson today. Ironically, they were both from the King's family. The King's son, Jonathan, was a help and a support to David. And the King's daughter, McCall, was a help and a support to David. But eventually, by the end of our lesson, they were both removed. And now David would have to go through the next season learning to depend on God alone. But that's rushing ahead, so let's start back in chapter 18. The context of this as we begin is we're still just past Goliath. David had been in talking to the King. He goes, who are you anyway? And David told him. And then as chapter 18 begins, as soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David. And Jonathan loved him as his own soul. I think that Jonathan saw in David the same spirit that he had. Remember, Jonathan was the one that said to his armor bearer, what can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few? Let's go. Let's do this. Jonathan was a man who loved ventures of faith. He had a simple faith. And when he saw what David did out there slaying Goliath, he thought, you're like me. I can relate to you. We are kindred spirits. And he loved him. But Saul, verse 2, took him that day and would not let him return to his father's house. Do you remember earlier in our series when Samuel was telling the nation what it was going to be like to have a king? He said, all right, here's the deal. You have a king. They're going to take your sons. He's going to take your sons. Take your daughters. Take your vineyards. Take your farms. Take, take, take. And look what we see here. Saul took him that day. Verse 3, but Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and he gave it to David and his armor and his sword and his bow and his belt. I see this as a dramatization of Jonathan realizing, you know, this monarchy is a new business, but I guess I'm next in line. And he takes all the things that represent that monarchy and he hands them over to David. I think Jonathan was such an astute, I don't know what to say. Like, I think he had a sense that he was looking at the coming king, that he knew David's place. Maybe he didn't even know, but he knew. So he gives him this stuff. Verse 5, and David went out and was successful where Saul sent him. This is the first of three times now in this chapter that we hear about David's success. David's success. And this was good in the sight of all the people and in the sight of Saul's servants. As they were coming home, when David returned from striking down the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel singing and dancing. And their song went like this. Saul has struck down his thousands and David his ten thousands. Uh-oh. Was that even true? I think it was hyperbole, but they were singing what they felt and what they perceived. And they preferred, they elevated David over Saul. Now, a preference like this is going to bug anybody, right? Any one of us would say, yeah, that kind of grates on me a little bit. Think about Saul. He had invested years and years doing battle against the Philistines. And now this upstart comes along and everybody praises him to the high heavens. The question is, what does he do? What do we do with those emotions? What do we do with those emotions when someone else gets more attention than us? Well, we find out what Saul did in verse 8. Saul was very angry and the saying displeased him. And Saul eyed David from that day on, literally the evil eye with the intent to do harm. Verse 10, the next day a harmful spirit from the Lord rushed upon Saul. He raved within his house while David was playing the liar, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand. And by the way, I just find that an interesting contrast. Jonathan had offered over his equipment to David. Saul has his spear in his hand. And Saul hurled the spear for he thought, I will pin David to the wall. But David evaded him twice. And I wonder here if this harmful spirit was sort of stirred up because of the harmful emotions that Saul let go. On the inside, he had an intent to harm. And that doesn't take very long for what's on the inside of us to work its way to the outside. So there's the spear on the outside. Now he has an intent to kill. And we studied this concept when we studied through the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus said in chapter 5 that if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment. And when we studied that, we said at the time that anger contains the seeds of murder. And given the proper conditions, those seeds may germinate. And they may sprout. And they may grow a harvest. And this is exactly what we saw with Saul. First he was angry. Didn't take long at all. Said the next day, it turned into this intent to kill. So the conditions were favorable in Saul's case. And then the writer gives us more insight about how these emotions work in people in general. Verse 12, Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with him, but had departed from Saul. Saul was aware of his distance from the Lord. And the last thing he wanted was to be around someone who was close to him. close to the Lord. Can you remember a time in your life when I was a teenager? And you know, teenagers are a little bit notorious for maybe not walking in their faith. I had a great aunt, great Aunt Ruby. And she was a Pentecostal preacher. I hear tell she was better than her husband. But she wasn't any blood relation to me at all. But Aunt Ruby, and if we had any kind of a family gathering, I can remember that feeling of, she's over there. I'm going to scoot over here. Because she talked about the Lord all the time. And because I was a teen and doing on a little bit of a different path in my life, I didn't want to be around that. Now, maybe you've been on the other end, where you know there are people that avoid you, because you are in the Lord. Because the Lord is with you, and there are people that avoid you. So it is just something that happens. Verse 13, so Saul removed David from his presence and made him a commander of 1,000, throwing him into the constant risk of battle, thinking that's going to eliminate the problem of David. But the opposite happened. Verse 14, David had success, is number two, in all of his undertakings, for the Lord was with him. And when Saul saw that he had great success, he stood in fearful awe of him. But all Israel and Judah loved David. So Saul thought to offer his oldest daughter, Merib, if David would just fight the Lord's battles. You stay out there fighting, and I'll give you my daughter, Merib, and hoping that the Philistines would kill him. But that didn't happen. The Philistines didn't kill him. But Saul still didn't give him the daughter. He gave her to someone else. Some time passed. Saul thought about it again. He had another daughter, Michal. And this situation was a little bit different from Merib, because the word tells us that Michal loved David. Now, I really kind of thought about this a little bit. The scripture doesn't tell us why or how she loved David. But I thought about family dynamics. Have you ever heard that saying, oh, she married her dad, or she married her brother? There's something kind of familiar sometimes about personalities that we're accustomed to. Jonathan and Michal are brother and sister. I just wondered, this is my speculation, were they close? Did Michal love Jonathan as a brother? And all of a sudden, this other young, handsome guy shows up who's just like her brother, the same spirit. And she loved David. Just wondered. But the study guide tells us that she loved him. Only time in the Old Testament that we hear a woman loved a man. So Saul thought, this is my chance. Verse 21, she may be a snare for him that the hand of the Philistines may be against him. So he invited David once again to become his son-in-law, knowing that David wasn't able to pay a bride price and knowing what he would suggest for that. In verse 25, he told his men, say to David, the king desires no bride price except 104 skins of the Philistines, that he may be avenged of the king's enemies. And it tells us here, now Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. Unfortunately for Saul, I mean, who would think that one man can kill 100 men and not get killed himself? Like, the odds are completely against David in that. Saul certainly thought this will take care of it. But yet, because the Lord was with him, David killed 200 men and still was the last man standing. So Saul gave him his daughter, Michal, for a wife. Verse 28, but when Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David and that Michal, Saul's daughter, loved him, Saul was even more afraid of David. So Saul was David's enemy continually. And then the commanders of the Philistines came out to battle. And as often as they came out, David had more success than all the servants of Saul, so that his name was highly esteemed. Now remember, again, David, this is not a situation that David asked for or sought out in his life. But God sought out David. And God made sure that he was with David. I just want to remind you about the emphasis that we saw in this chapter. Three times we're told how God was with David. Look at this, verse 12, the Lord was with him. Verse 14, the Lord was with him. Verse 28, the Lord was with him. Three times we're told of David's success. Verse 5, David went out and was successful. 14, David had success in all of his undertakings. 30, David had more success than all the servants of Saul. And three times we're told that Saul was afraid of David. Verse 12, Saul was afraid of David. 15, he stood in fearful awe of him. And 29, Saul was even more afraid of David. It's just the way things were. The Lord was with David. David had success. And Saul was afraid. And where did that leave Jonathan? Jonathan's in a tough situation, because nobody wants to believe that their dad is out to kill their friend. Nobody wants to live in that situation. But this was the truth of it as we open up chapter 19. Saul spoke to Jonathan, his son, to all of his servants, that they should kill David. But Jonathan delighted much in David. And Jonathan told David, listen, my father seeks to kill you. Be on your guard in the morning. Stay in a secret place. Hide yourself. And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are. And I will speak to my father about you. And if I learn anything, I will tell you. And Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul and said to him, let not the king sin against his servant David, because he's not sinned against you. And his deeds have brought good to you. For he took his life in his hand, and he struck down the Philistine. And the Lord worked a great salvation for all Israel. You saw it and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood by killing David without cause? And Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan. And Saul swore, as the Lord lives, he shall not be put to death. What is going on? How is Saul so easily swayed? In five verses, we go through, I want everybody to kill David, to all of a sudden, like, I swear, as the Lord lives, he shall not be put to death. This is not a sturdy leader. He doesn't have a sturdy mind. In fact, he's losing his mind. Saul is losing his mind. We've already looked through our series about Saul's spiritual health problems, which have led to his emotional health problems, which have contributed to mental health problems. Now, not all mental health problems stem from spiritual emotional problems, but some of them do. Many of them do. We've all learned, the writer wants us to understand here that Saul's mental health problems are a result of the spiritual problems that we have looked at throughout these chapters. People who become distant from God, who have distanced themselves from God because of rebellion, because of disobedience, are more likely to suffer mental distress. This is the truth. Distance can become a heavy weight to cope with, and Saul's disobedience and his rebellion contributed to these negative emotions in him being stirred up so easily, these emotions of jealousy and manipulation and anger. So he was having a complete mental health breakdown. This is what we see. He couldn't be trusted. He shouldn't be trusted. And yet, God is allowing this in David's life. God is allowing David to be in this zone. And so we have to remember something that we talked about last week. A heart that is yielded to God will benefit from any situation, positive or negative. That doesn't mean it's not difficult. That means that in yielding our heart to the Lord, there can be a benefit even through difficult times, even a psychotic king who wants you dead. So David decides to give Saul another chance, which I don't know if it was wise or not, but here we go, verse 10. They're in the house again. Saul's sitting with his spear and David's playing his soothing music. And Saul sought to pin David to the wall with a spear. But he eluded Saul so that he struck the spear into the wall. And here we see now David fled and escaped that night. He ran to his home and in the middle of verse 11, his wife told him, if you do not escape with your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed. So Michal let David down through the window and he fled away and escaped. And Michal took an image, an idol, and she laid it in the bed and she put a pillow of goat's hair on its head and she covered it with. close, and eventually Saul's men came and figured out this whole thing that she had done, and discovered it. And she basically lied. She said David forced her hand, which reminds me of another woman that spared, remember Rahab in Jericho, that sent the spies away, protecting the people. But David, in verse 18, it said he fled and escaped. And he came to Samuel. That's where I'd go if I was David. It's like Samuel anointed me. He started this whole ball rolling. I'm gonna go find that guy at Ramah. And he told him all that Saul had done. And he and Samuel went and lived in Naoth. Now Saul eventually heard about that. So he sends a group of messengers. And there was a company of prophets there at Naoth. And this first group of messengers, they enter into the company of prophets, and the Spirit of the Lord comes on them. And they just start being one of them. They're just having a worship service with them. And so Saul sends another group of messengers, and they do the same thing. They just join the company of the prophets. And a third group join the company of prophets. And Saul goes himself. If you want to get a job done, right, you got to do it yourself. And so before he even gets there, the Spirit of the Lord comes on him, and he starts joining the company of the prophets, even to the point where he takes off his kingly garments that identify him as a king. And now he's just a man. Now he's just a man laying there, it says, day and night. I find it interesting that as we started Saul's reign, and here at the end, he sort of has this compulsory prophesying, so that we get this saying, is Saul also among the prophets? Fascinating insights that the writer gives us. And as we start the next chapter, the writer uses over a thousand words to describe this one event that finally tells David for certain that he can't risk being in Saul's presence ever. Now, David knows that Jonathan is trustworthy, and so he goes back to Gibeah to talk to Jonathan. And this is their conversation, chapter 20. David says to Jonathan, what have I done? What is my guilt? What is my sin before your father that he seeks my life? Now, I just think some time has passed here because Jonathan's in denial, and he tries to simmer down David. He goes, you shall not die. Behold, my father does nothing, great or small, without disclosing it to me. Why should my father hide this from me? And then David tries to reason with him, and he goes, I know why your father hides it from you, because he knows that you and I are friends. And he thinks, don't let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved. But truly, let me tell you, as the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death. And in this moment, David sees things rationally, and Jonathan is in denial, because he's in a tough spot. And so they decide, they create a plan to know for sure. We need one more chance to know for sure what's going on. So their plan was that David would stay away from this upcoming festival, this New Moon Festival, and if Saul was neutral about his absence, then that would be a positive sign. But if Saul was angry about his absence, they would know for certain that truly he did have intent to kill him. And Jonathan, I think, was beginning to come around and know this is the final determiner. I kind of think I know what my dad is going to respond. And so he has this conversation with David. Look down in verse 14. Jonathan said, if I'm still alive, show me the steadfast love of the Lord, that I might not die. And do not cut off your steadfast love from my house forever, when the Lord cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth. Jonathan knows how monarchies go. If David is the coming king, that means the house of Saul is going to go. And so he's saying, can we can we make a covenant here? I want to be part of your kingdom. And Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, may the Lord take vengeance on David's enemies. And Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul. And so as it happened, the day of the festival came, and the first evening David's seat was empty. And Saul didn't say anything. He thought, well, I don't know, maybe he's unclean. The second night comes, and David's seat is empty. And so Saul asked Jonathan, where is David? And Jonathan answers in verse 28, oh, David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem. He said, let me go for our clan holds a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has commanded me to be there. And then here comes the reaction that they both suspected, but they didn't want. Verse 30, Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said to him, you are the son of a perverse and rebellious woman. Do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of your mother's nakedness for as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom shall be established, which was true because Jonathan was not ordained to be the coming king. David was, that was a true statement. The whole difference is that Jonathan didn't care from the beginning. Jonathan released everything that could have been part of his kingdom. He released it and sent his support David's way. But Saul and his emotions, that's all he cared about. All he cared about was being the king, being on top, being noticed. And so we see the contrast there. Verse 31, therefore send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die. And then Jonathan answered, why should he be put to death? What has he done? But Saul hurled his spear at Jonathan to strike him. So Jonathan knew that his father was determined to put David to death, and Jonathan too, it would seem. And Jonathan rose from the table in fierce anger and ate no food the second day of the month, for he was grieved for David, because his father had disgraced him. Now this is a tragedy. This is true family dysfunction here. When someone that you love pins their emotional baggage on you. I mean, literally in this case, pin it on you. But I don't mean to make light of it, because some of you, and some of you listening, you grew up in a dysfunction like this. You grew up with this anger being lashed out upon you. And it might even trigger you, a story like this. And it's just like too much. And in that situation, it would be very difficult for any human being to react positively, rather than negatively, I guess. But Jonathan did. Jonathan reacted positively, courageously, in this situation. And he headed to the rendezvous point with David. Says verse 35, in the morning, Jonathan went out into the field to the appointment with David. And they had this prearranged dialogue going, so that David would know what happened. And go down to verse 41. As soon as the boy had gone, who was helping with the arrow thing, David rose from beside the stone heap, and he fell on his face to the ground, and he bowed three times. And they kissed one another, and they wept with one another. David weeping the most. And this is super tender. It reminds me of Ruth and Naomi coming back from Moab, how they keep stopping and crying, because they know that there's a parting going on. And David and Jonathan knew that this was, they were going to part here. But they had a camaraderie together. And they didn't want things to be, does this ever happen in life? Like, how did I get here? This is not how I wanted things to turn out. And yet, it does, from time to time. But Jonathan always knew what to say. I love this in verse 43. Jonathan said to David, go in peace. Let your heart be at peace. Because we've both sworn, both of us, in the name of the Lord. Saying, the Lord shall be between you and me, and between my offspring and your offspring forever. They were both at peace with the Lord, at peace with one another. And it says, and he rose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city. David will only see Jonathan one more time alive before he is killed, and that's in our next week's lesson. And that's also a very poignant meeting, where Jonathan also has the right words to say to David. But for the most part now, David has become fully engaged in this second set of hidden years, in this hidden season. And all of the supports that God graciously allowed him at the very beginning of this are gone. The woman who loved him, and that presumably he loved, she's out of the picture. Samuel, who was this wise person who David leaned on, he's out of the picture. And Jonathan, his friend, is out of the picture. And so this time, when it says, he arose and departed, he was alone. But you know what? No one is ever alone. We might feel for an instant that we are alone, but David is heading into a lonely, alone season. But I want to show you really quickly as a appetizer for next week what comes out of this season. Look at what he writes. Look at what he pens during this. Psalm 34.4, I sought the Lord and he answered me. 34.18, the Lord is near to the brokenhearted and he saves the crushed in spirit. Psalm 57.1, in you my soul takes refuge. And Psalm 86.8, there is none like you among the gods. All passages we're going to study next week, all birthed out of David's hidden years when all the supports were taken out. And all he had left was a realization of the bond that he had with Jehovah God. Sometimes we can't come to that realization of how close we are with the Lord until some of those supports are taken out from our life. So we're going to wrap this up. How do we apply these lessons to our life? Because they are meant to be applied to our lives. Romans chapter 15 tells us whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction. So what I want to do is look quickly at our main three characters again, Saul, David, and Jonathan, and see what we learn from them. Because we learn very, very different things by looking at these men. First of all, David, we find comfort and we realize that God is with us in difficulty. Do you remember the three times in chapter 18, the Lord was with him? The Lord was with him. When we are in a difficult season, we can know for sure the Lord is with us. And some of you are in a difficult season right now, and you might look around and you might say, like David could have said, like, what did I do wrong? Which turn? Which wrong turn did I make? David made no wrong turns. This was just a season that God had allowed in his life to build his faith and to connect him with Jehovah God. David didn't sign up for hiding, but yet this is a season that was ordained in order to make him God's king. Remember I said at the beginning, I like to call Saul the people's king. God was making David God's king. And I found it interesting, fascinating when Paul was talking in first Peter, and he used that phrase, suffering comes before glory. And he was teaching us that this is the sequence in a believer's life, suffering before glory. This was the sequence that we see in Jesus's life, the great coming king, suffering first and then glory. Doesn't it make sense that we see this sequence in David's life, this coming king? Suffering comes before glory. And you know what? We know that that's the sequence in our lives, suffering before glory. Maybe your support has disappeared. Maybe you feel a little bit alone in your life. Then you need to hang on through these next chapters and see what God does for David and how David grows in his faith through this season. All right, Saul. In Saul, we find a warning that our emotional and mental health are at risk because we're human beings. Now every single one of us wants to think that we're a David. We are the victim of the Saul, right? But what if I am the Saul in some way? What if I am Saul? What if my emotional reactions are harmful? My anger, my jealousy, my control, my manipulation. What if those emotions affect my behavior? And I haven't really realized it until I look in the face of Saul. And what if this unchecked rebellion and disobedience and distance from the Lord actually does affect my emotional health? What if it affects my mental health and I'm not really aware of it? It's a sobering warning for us as we look at Saul to make positive changes in our life. Paul wrote, the apostle Paul wrote in many of his letters about this very thing. I'll just show you one of them. Ephesians chapter 4. Paul says, put off your old self. This is what Saul looked like, right? The old self, anger and rage and jealousy. Put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires and be renewed in the spirit of your minds. The NIV says the attitude of your minds. Renewal of our minds is always a possibility or the apostle wouldn't have written it to the churches. Okay? We are never beyond the renewal of our minds. So as we look at these teachings and we look at Saul and we have to look at the mirror, we go, oh, I guess I see a little bit of Saul in there. Our answer is the renewal of our mind. Consciously putting off and saying, Lord, you must renew my mind. So finally, Jonathan. In Jonathan, we find inspiration because of his humility, his friendship, and his support. As wives, if you are a wife, I find a lot of wifely inspiration in this man, in Jonathan, because of his willing support. In fact, when we did our retreat recently and I did the pastor's wives session, I talked about Jonathan because I feel like it's just such a good fit. Being married to a man that you see the calling of the Lord in his life. Jonathan saw the calling on David and he said, you have my allegiance, you have my support. And so I actually use this recognizing a calling on someone's life and offering your support to that ministry. And in terms of friendships, just as friendship between women, you know, in life we get one or two, maybe three kindred spirits that come along in our lifetime. You know, we can have 50 or 100 friends. They're not all kindred spirits, but we get just a very small handful that looked like Jonathan and David. And it's very precious, but yet we can apply the inspiration that we see with loyalty and encouragement and support to any of our relationships, family or friends. We can apply that. And that's why I wrote almost the whole last day in your study guide was about friendships. What do you need in a friend? And then what do you need to grow in to be a better friend? I wish I could be in every one of your discussion groups to listen to that, but I find in Jonathan a lot of inspiration. So there we have it, these three men, and we're going to move on and learn more next week about David's hidden years. Father, I thank you for just the richness of the Word that you have preserved for us, Lord, that we can read history, but yet your Spirit fills us with history. Lord, I just want to pray for those that are dealing with difficult times right now, maybe hidden years. And I pray, Lord God, that these coming lessons would be an inspiration. Lord, we don't know how long you allow us through that, but Lord, we know you are building our faith. You are building relationship. Lord, open our hearts to realize when we are just alone, it's just you and me. Open our hearts, Lord, to make the most of that time that we might come out of that season strong and equipped to do exactly what you have called us to do, I pray in Jesus' name, amen.