Exiled Pt 4 - A Rock of Separation

Good morning, church.

What a joy to be together today. Amen. We are continuing our Exiled series out of 1 Samuel. We're going to be in 1 Samuel 23 today. If you want to go ahead and turn there in your Bibles— if you don't have a Bible with you today, that's fine.

We have house Bibles around the room. Just look under the rows, ask someone to hand you one. We really believe in the importance of access to God's word here at Emmanuel Fellowship, so I say this every week, but if you don't own a Bible, please take one. Or even better, talk to one of the pastors and we'll get you a nicer one than the pew Bibles. But, you know, we've been in this, this, uh, series, Exiled, for just a few short weeks.

And I don't know about you guys, but this has been impactful for my heart these last few weeks, thinking about this season of David's life when he was an outlaw, when he had been kicked out of the royal court, when he was living in the badlands trying to figure out how to obey God when his life was just falling apart. There's a sense that David was quite literally exiled, right? Like, the king wanted him dead. And yet, even today, even in the different culture, the different context we live, we can learn so much about the life of following Christ in a cursed and broken world. And so today we're going to look at a pretty intense story.

We're going to look at a story where The immense pressure put on David in this season of life put him into this escalating spiral of terrible situations. Like, for weeks on end, it goes from bad to worse. And I think when we read stories like this, it just reminds us of seasons in our own life when things kind of fall apart. And I think the problem is that the temptation for us, for most of us anyway, when that happens is simply despair, right? My life is falling apart.

And so we turn inward, we give up hope, or we get mad at God. Why is this happening? Why won't you fix this? Why are things just so hard? But in this text, we see David make one of the strangest and I think most amazing gospel choices, which is this: he chooses to obey God even in the midst of his chaos.

And by the way, even when it makes no sense, he chooses obedience, and God shows up for David. It's really— it just leads me to my main point today, which is this: follow God's lead today. Follow God's lead today, even when it doesn't, doesn't make sense. Church, follow God's lead for you today, because beloved, you must know this: Sometimes I would even say oftentimes following God does not make sense. Your circumstances are such that it just, just feels like an absolute mess.

Oftentimes we're more angry at God than anything, and obedience feels like the farthest thing from our mind. But you must hear this: those are the times in your life when it's most important. To turn toward God when your life is broken. Because life in this broken world is chaotic. It is painful.

I don't need to tell you that. Like, I, I know enough to know that you guys already feel that. But I'm here to tell you this: the gospel of Jesus is an anchor of hope in a chaotic and painful life. Following God's lead, even when it seems to make no sense, will keep you from drifting in this life. So pray with me, church.

We're going to jump into this text. We'll see what God has for us.

Jesus, we need you this morning. I ask, Holy Spirit, that you would speak through your word. We have just spent time praying and reflecting. We've confessed the way that we, that we push away from sanctification. We've considered the goodness of your gospel. We've thought about the world around us in need, Lord. We've, we've spent time, even, even just in these few minutes together, preparing our hearts to meet with you, Lord. And we need you to do the work of meeting with us. Holy Spirit, soften our hearts, open our ears, Lord, for all the distractions, all the burdens that we brought with us into this space, the joys and the sorrows. I pray, Holy Spirit, that you would slow us You would calm us. You would give us presence of heart and mind that we might consider you today afresh. Father, you were the one who does this, so we ask, Holy Spirit, that you would encourage, challenge, rebuke, remind, all the ministry you do. Pray this in your name, Jesus. Amen.

Rescuing Keilah and Fleeing Saul

Okay, uh, if you remember 1 Samuel 23, we're actually stepping into the middle of a story that's already in progress, so Just to kind of remind us what's going on, you know, David, uh, he has been anointed king, but he is not yet king. Saul is still king, and he's been exiled by Saul. Uh, in the midst of this exile, God has given David tons of resources. He has people who are following him.

He has protection for his family. He has an overall structure of how to move forward with his life. But the problem is anyone from the outside looking in would just see David as a rogue warlord. Who's about to shoot his shot, strike against his king, and try and take over. But as we've seen over the course of this narrative, this is not what David is doing.

In fact, it is God who is working to build up David, to prepare him for his role on the throne. And that's where we pick up the story. So 1 Samuel 23, starting in verse 1, we read this:

It was reported to David, look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and raiding the threshing floors. So David inquired of the Lord, should I launch an attack against these Philistines? The Lord answered David, launch an attack against the Philistines and rescue Keilah.

But David's men said to him, look, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more if we go to Keilah against the Philistine forces? So once again, David inquired of the Lord and the Lord answered him, go at once to Keilah, for I will hand the Philistines over to you. Then David and his men went to Keilah, fought against the Philistines, drove their livestock away, and inflicted heavy losses on them. So David rescued the inhabitants of Keilah.

Abiathar the son of Abimelek fled to David at Keilah, and he brought an ephod with him. When it was reported to Saul that David had gone to Keilah, he said, God has handed him over to me, for he has trapped himself by entering a town with barred gates. Then Saul summoned all the troops to go to war at Keilah and besieged David and his men. When David learned that Saul was plotting evil against him, he said to the priest Abiathar, 'Bring the ephod.' Then David said, 'Lord God of Israel, your servant has reliable information that Saul intends to come to Keilah and destroy the town because of me. Will the citizens of Keilah hand me over to him?

Will Saul come down as your servant has heard? Lord God of Israel, please tell your servant.' The Lord answered, 'He will come down.' Then David asked, 'Will the citizens of Keilah hand me and my men over to Saul?' 'They will,' the Lord responded. So David and his men numbered about 600, left Keilah at once, and moved from place to place. When it was reported to Saul that David had escaped from Keilah, he called off the expedition. David then stayed in the wilderness strongholds in the hill country of the wilderness of Ziph.

Saul searched for him every day, but God did not hand David over to him.

Okay, it's a wild story. There's so much here, but, but walk back through this with me. I think we're gonna see a couple things here that are actually really important for us today. David is, he's out in the wilderness with his war band and he has this priest and they're, they're actively hiding from Saul.

He's no longer a general or a prince. He's an outlaw, but apparently the text tells us old habits die hard because David hears word that the Philistines are successfully running raids against the city called Keilah. And he wants to do something about it. Remember, this is David's old job. When he worked for the king.

His job was to go and attack raiders and defend the borders of Israel. And so even now he hears about this, and for whatever reason Saul's not doing anything, so David wants to. Now a couple things to note in the story already. The first one here is geography. I, I've got to tell you, this is like a little bit of an aside, one of the lowest hanging fruits to help you understand the Bible better, for how to help the Bible come to life to you, literally is just geography.

It's the geography of the stories. I know that probably is like the least one thing you've heard in the last 72 hours, but it really is helpful. If you have a nicer Bible, you likely actually already have maps in the back, like a series of maps that can help you like put some geography to a lot of these stories. If you don't, I'm just going to tell you this, like go on Amazon and buy a Bible atlas. They're cheap.

There's one that I use that's connected to the CSB Study Bible. It's very helpful. Here's a picture I'm going to show you a lot over this series. But the reason I tell you to go buy an atlas is because who in this room can actually read the words on that slide right now, right? Yeah, that's not, that's not going to happen.

But it does, it does help you. These green lines on the picture here, these kind of represent David's travels during this time of exile. And, and here's the thing I want you guys to see from this. I mention all this because it's important to note where this story is happening. This is all taking place South of Gibeah, that's Saul's capital.

That's where most of his authority, most of his power is seated. And by the way, this whole series of texts we're going to read today takes place in an area about the size of West County. Like this whole series of texts today happens in the space between where we're standing and Maplewood, just kind of, kind of, kind of back and forth, which is a bigger deal when you're on foot, right? But, but, but to give you a sense of the grandness of what we're talking about here. What's going— and I think what's more important to understand this is, yes, we're south of Saul's primary seat of power, but we're into the territory of the tribe of Judah.

Remember, Saul unified Israel under one crown, but for hundreds of years before that, Israel was a confederation of tribes, right? They learned a lot of their primary identity by their clan and by their tribe, not necessarily by their nation. It was much more likely that your primary loyalty would be to your tribe mates than to your fellow citizens of the country. Saul is the first king of Israel, right? Like, we're in the first generation of people who begin to understand themselves as Israelites.

And so David, now, because the heat has gotten hotter, has gone from the territory of the tribes of Benjamin, Saul's tribe, to the tribe of Judah. He's among his fellow Judahites. And so in this context, David gets word that the Philistines are doing raids against who amounts essentially to his cousins, and he wants to do something. It's interesting to note here that they're raiding the threshing floors. This is something we could miss easily, but basically what this means is they're waiting until these people from the city of Keilah do all the work, until they harvest the grain and actually prepare it for storage and eating.

And then at the last second, they're stealing it, which means that these people are doing all the work and getting none of the food. Threshing floors, by their nature, have to be outside the city. They have to be out in the open on the hills. And so they're very easy targets. That's important for this reason.

These raids mean, in a very literal sense, that people are going without food. The families— men, women, and children— are going to be stepping into— very likely starvation-type context. And so David is upset about this. Saul isn't doing anything about it, and he can't abide this. He wants to act.

He knows this doesn't really make sense, but his people are suffering and he wants to help. Now, now, there's a section here that's worded a little bit awkwardly, but the text reminds us that this priest Abiathar had come to David after Saul destroyed the priestly town of Nob. We read about that a few weeks ago. Apparently this all kind of happened around the same time because the text associates David's time at Keilah with Abiathar's arrival. But Abiathar was the one who was able to actually inquire of the Lord for David.

Right. And so apparently this was all kind of happening around the same time. But the real point the author wants us to see here is that Abiathar has brought along not just himself, but an ephod. And I know what you're thinking. Ah yes, the ephod.

That's so important. Uh, what is an ephod? It looks like this. Well, that's a priest. It's the thing he's wearing on his chest there.

This is, this is kind of the uniform of a Levitical priest. God described exactly what this thing would look like and ordered that priests would wear these during worship. They're loaded with symbolic meaning. You can literally go back to Exodus and read about There's different stones that represent the different tribes, different inscriptions and prayers on it. It's just kind of this whole thing.

But for our purposes, something that's really important about the ephod is that it has a little compartment that houses something called the Urim and Thummim. I know, I know. Just a great day today, isn't it? The Urim and Thummim. Man, that's good.

Urim and Thummim. Are a way by which the ancient Levitical priests can inquire of the Lord and ask him direct questions. Now here's what's funny about it: the Bible literally never tells us what they are, never describes them, never says how they're made, never says how they work. Just says they exist and priests have them and they keep them inside the ephod. So what are they?

I don't know, probably some kind of lots. Anytime they're used, uh, only yes or no questions are asked That's something we theologians have noticed in Scripture. But the point is, Abiathar the priest survived the slaughter of the priests, arrived with David, and he has one of these, which means David has the ability to inquire of the Lord, to ask the Lord direct questions. And so he's just chomping at the bit, seeing his own people be hurt, and he inquires of the Lord. Should I use my war band and go save these people?

Now guys, you have to understand for a moment how ridiculous that question is. This is the definition of not my circus, not my clowns. This is the definition of not my problem. David is no longer a prince. He's no longer a captain in the army.

He is an outlaw. He's a rebel against the king operating an independent army within the king's borders. There's a standing death order against him. David's job is to run and hide. He already has a king and an army actively hunting him.

If he goes and he attacks the Philistines now, he'll not only expose his position to Saul, but he'll also risk betrayal. He'll also add himself to the Philistines' poo-poo list. This was such a bad idea that his own soldiers come to him and go, hey, I know you literally asked God if we should do this, but we shouldn't do this. And so David goes, you know what, you're right, we shouldn't do this. Let me ask God again just to confirm.

And what God says is, no, yeah, you should totally do this. In fact, you should do this right. Now. You should stop delaying and you should go. And guys, this is the singular most beautiful part of this entire story, and I'm not even exaggerating.

In that moment, facing that pressure, facing that foolishness, David does it. He obeys the Lord even when by every earthly measure what he's doing is foolishness. He chooses what is morally right, what is glorifying to God, what serves others, what God tells him to do. When it makes zero sense, he obeys God, and that obedience— hear this, church— was foolishness. I mean, don't get me wrong, it worked.

David saved these people, right? He drove off the Philistines. There were people who didn't starve. Because of David's obedience. But all the reasons that it was a foolish choice were all still there.

Saul did in fact hear that David did this, and Saul did in fact muster his army and start heading toward the city. And it was a walled city, so David was now functionally exposed and trapped. He inquired of the Lord again and found out, A, yes, Saul is coming, and B, when he gets he gets there, the people are going to surrender David to him. And by the way, what choice did they have? Saul had slaughtered an entire village of priests and their families and kids to get to David.

They know this. So how, how on earth they think he's going to treat David's cousins when they're holding him back, right? He's going to show up and siege this city and kill them all. And so they go, sorry dude, this is brutal, but it's just what it is. The very people that David showed up to save are prepping to betray him to his death.

So David jets. He heads about 15 miles south and east and hides in another wilderness area. There's lots of natural caves and strongholds there where he can hide, he can defend, he can move around. But even that doesn't work. Saul doesn't let off.

Saul has mustered Israel's national army, which, if you recall a few chapters ago, you were talking about tens of thousands of elite soldiers against David and his 600 people who didn't want to pay their taxes, right? They are running and they are hiding, but he is actively being hunted even as God is is protecting David. He's actively being hunted. And here's the thing, guys, I really think this, this story, this little part of our text, it just highlights what I'm trying to get across in this sermon so well. You, beloved, you here today, you need to choose to obey God now.

Obeying God Right Now

You need to obey God now.

There's a simple truth that I think is so important for how we live our lives, and it's just this. You know this, I know you know this, but just to like say it out loud to get us thinking about it for a moment. You have right now, and you have nothing else. You only have right now. If something is worth doing, if something needs to be done, do it.

Do it today. Do it right now. Right now is the best day to seek the Lord. Today is the best time to obey God. And you have to know something: that often won't make sense.

You look at your life and go, man, if only I'd done this 10 years ago, 3 months ago, 2 weeks ago. Maybe you look and you go, man, but I'm gonna need to do this and this and this in the future. But here's the thing: right now you have right now.

So obey God right now. Choose to obey God right now. Seek him right now. Say yes to him right now, even when it doesn't make sense. I mean, look at our text, guys.

Obeying God blew up in David's face. Can'emphasis that enough. It didn't go super well for him, but it was worth it. Because here's the thing: there's no such thing as tomorrow. Now, don't mishear me.

What I'm not saying right now is that you shouldn't plan for the future. You should. That's wise. You have to live your life planning for the future. You have to think about what's likely coming and make the best, best plans you can to engage what God has for you in the future.

That's true. But there's a really interesting thing about tomorrow. You know what it is? By the time you get there, it won't be tomorrow. It will be today.

Right? You don't actually get to access tomorrow. You get to access right now. That's all you get. And you need to hear something, beloved.

If you can't obey God today, you won't obey him tomorrow. Pure and simple. Because you won't get to tomorrow. You'll get there and it'll be today.

You've got to choose to do it. I think many of us at the end of the day have just imbibed the story of our culture, and we have unintentionally cut ourselves off from the joy and the freedom of unadulterated faithfulness to Christ. Like, I think, I think many of us, we look at the cost of following Jesus, we look at the real cost involved in obeying God, and we've just decided, like, that may be good, but I just can't I just don't want to do it yet. Anyone else? Anyone?

We just, you know what, I want to obey God, I want to give myself fully to him, but like honestly, I just need to get some other stuff in order first. I need to be more spiritually mature, I need to be a little more comfortable in life. You know, I just need some better grounding. I need to know, have more of just what I want in this life. I need to experience this life some, get what I want, then I'll obey Christ and give myself to him.

That is a lie from the pit of hell. That is not truth. And by the way, that's not only not true, that's a worse way for you to live. That's a worse life. In her book, which has a telling title, "Five Lies of This Anti-Christian Age," Rosaria Butterfield says this: Satan would like you to think that you can't obey God until you are able to get comfortable in your skin and gain the desire of flesh, if even on unholy grounds.

But that is not true. And here is the truth, and by the way, a better story for your life. What is true is this: you were made for connection with God. You were made and designed for holiness and obedience. This is your divine design.

You don't hear this, church. You don't need to have everything you want in order to obey God.

You don't need anything more than you have in your life right this second to obey him. You can say yes to Jesus right now. But if only God would just like let me get married— singleness is really intense, it's really hard, it's really draining— then I'd seek him fully. But you know, like, if God would just like help me break free from this addiction, I'm stuck in this cycle, then I'd give myself fully over to him. But you know, like, really honestly, if God would just help me get a better job that like pays a little more and isn't so soul-sucking, like, then I would follow him.

I mean, here's the thing, guys, like, my kids are so young, my life is so crazy. Once they get a little older and I'm a little more settled and they've done all their activities and then I free up all my evenings, then I'll give myself to the Lord. I mean, here's the real thing, guys. Like, our house is so small and we like barely got into it. We can't really afford it.

So like, once I get a little more financially established and we get in a larger house and we have just like a little more room to spread out and I can rest better, then I'll start giving myself to the Lord and obeying him. And here's the real thing, like, I'm just young. I haven't experienced much of life. So like, once I get a little older, have a little more fun, a little more experiences, like just seeking some of the pleasures, like then I'll settle down, I'll give myself to the Lord. Because the real thing is just this, like, I'm fully into my career and it's like a big deal, and it's just like, you know, it's a high, it's a high work environment, and so like I just got to get a lot of time to it.

But once I get to retirement, then I'll have a ton more free time, then I'll seek the Lord with my full heart. Do I need to keep going, right?

Beloved, this is a lie. It's a lie. And I gotta tell you this, that's a worse story for your life. And do you wanna prove that real quick? Do you want an exercise to help you realize that is a worse story for your life?

Find a human being who has the thing you want. That thing that you just go, "Oh, once I have this, then I'll give God my yes." Find someone who has that and ask them about it. I promise you, marriage didn't magically make them happy and holy. Seeking the foolish pleasures of youth didn't magically make them holy and happy. Making more money didn't magically make them holy and happy.

I could go back down the list, but the reality is, guys, that's a sham of a story. No one would read Lord of the Rings if the climax was that Frodo decided to work more weekends so he could max out his retirement investments and take the ring to Mount Doom in his early 60s. That's not a book anyone wants to read. The better story is this: Obey God now. Take the risk now.

It'll be hard. It'll be messy. It'll have real consequences. But beloved, here's the trade-off: God will be in it. And he'll be with you in it.

And that's the kind of life you want to live, I promise you. Read on with me.

Jonathan Encourages David

Verse 15:

David was in the wilderness of Ziph in Horesh when he saw that Saul had come out to take his life. Then Saul's son Jonathan came to David in Horesh and encouraged him in his faith in God, saying, don't be afraid, for my father Saul will never lay a hand on you. You yourself will be king over Israel, and I'll be your second in command. Even my father Saul knows this is true. Then the two of them made a covenant in the Lord's presence, and afterward David remained in Horesh while Jonathan went home.

I love this scene in the story. I love this scene because David did the right thing, right? He stood up and did something godly.

He stood up for the needs of real people. He obeyed God, and then it just blew up in his face. He's on the run, hiding in the wilderness. And by the way, it's, it's worth noting here that in spite side of the danger, like, his following is growing. Like, that's easy to forget when you're running from cave to cave to cave, but he started this adventure with 400 dudes and now he has 600 dudes.

So God provides exactly what David needs. Out of nowhere, in the midst of the chaos, in the midst of the running, in the midst of the danger, Jonathan shows up. Jonathan, David's best friend. Jonathan, who has been with David through thick and thin, and Jonathan, who is Saul's his son and the heir apparent to his kingdom. How the heck did Jonathan find David when Saul couldn't?

We have no idea, but he does. And look what he does. I love this part. He takes his friend who is living in caves, who was just betrayed by the people he saved, and he reminds him of truth. You see this?

He encourages him. Stay the course, David. God has called you to this. Saul knows you'll be king, and God won't let him lay a hand on you, and I'm in this with you. And they renew their covenant of friendship.

It's a powerful moment, and to me it's a beautiful reminder. Simply this, beloved: the church needs encouragers. Amen. There are some ways that we could just stop there today. When you sit with a brother and sister in Christ, anytime, any context— lunch, coffee, at church on Sunday, in discipleship, in your living room, in GC, when you sit with a brother and sister in Christ, there's a couple things you can always be sure of.

One is that you have no idea what they're going through. You have no idea. Everyone is on a different journey. Everyone's story is different. And obeying God— obeying God is a wild ride.

And second, you can know that because obeying God is a wild ride, if they're seeking the Lord, they need your encouragement. Anytime you're with a brother or sister in Christ, I guarantee you they need the encouragement of the Lord. In Matthew 10, Jesus is talking to his followers and he said, a disciple is not above his teacher or a slave above his master. It's enough for a disciple to become like his teacher, a slave to be like his master. And then he said this: if they call the head of the house Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household.

What Jesus is saying here is, look, if you follow me, you're gonna be like me. And if they called me Satan, what do you think they'll call you? Beloved, Jesus was mistreated for seeking the kingdom of God. Can we all agree on that? If you want God, If you obey him, if you seek the kingdom, you will have hardship and you'll need encouragement.

And the beauty is this: God gives it to you. God doesn't leave you alone. He knows this reality. He knows this world is cursed and broken. He knows that you are exhausted, that you have struggles, that you have unmet desires.

He knows your anxieties, and he brings the encouragement that is needed. Two truths I think we can pull from this section of the text. The first is this: when you are— and here we— when, not if— when you are feeling spent, bring it to the Lord and bring it to the church. Bring it into the light. Let the people around you know, beloved, God will encourage you.

He'll speak to you through his word. He'll speak to you through worship. He'll speak to you through your community, your brothers and sisters. He'll bring the encouragement you need to keep yourself on your feet. He will.

You just have to open yourself up to receive it. And second, beloved, you can encourage others. You can be the voice God uses to keep someone else on their feet. You don't know what people are really going through. You don't know the depths.

You don't know how they have spent their today. You don't know how empty their tank may be, but you can be the voice of Christ in their ear. Beloved, this means we, we look for opportunities to speak the hope of the gospel into people's lives around us. And can I just point to how practical Jonathan's example is here today? Like, look, look what he says to David.

He essentially says, hey man, remember what God's called you to, it's gonna happen. 'And I'm gonna stick with you.' That's it. There's so much power in that. 'Remember what God has called you to. Trust him to do it.

I'll be on your team.' Do you know how encouraging that is? And you can be that voice of love, that voice of presence, that voice of encouragement in someone's life. Look for opportunities to speak the gospel to those around you. And I'll tack this on the end: if you have an encourager in your life, if God has blessed you with people in your church family who speak that encouragement to you, please look for opportunities to speak encouragement back to them. Encourage the encouragers in your life because they need it.

Read on with me. Let's see how this text ends out.

The Narrow Escape at the Rock of Separation

Verse 19:

Some Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah and said, David is hiding among us in the strongholds in Horesh on the hill of Hakilah. South of Jehishimon. So now, whenever the king wants to come down, let him come down. As for us, we will be glad to hand him over to the king.

May you be blessed by the Lord, replied Saul, for you have shown concern for me. Go and check again. Investigate where he goes and who has seen him there. They tell me he's extremely cunning. Investigate all the places where he hides, then come back to me with accurate information, and I'll go with you if it turns out he really is in the region. I'll search for him among all the clans of Judah.

So they went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the wilderness near Moan in Arabah, south of Jehoshamon. And when Saul and his men went to look for him, when David was told about it, he went down to the rock and stayed in the wilderness of Moan. Saul heard about this and pursued David there. Saul went along one side of the mountain, and David and his men went along the other side. And even though David was hurrying to get away from Saul, Saul and his men were closing in on David and his men to capture them.

Then a messenger came to Saul saying, 'Come quickly, because the Philistines have raided the land.' So Saul broke off his pursuit of David and went to engage the Philistines. And therefore the place was called the Rock of Separation. And from there David went up and stayed in the strongholds of En Gedi.

Now that's a tense scene. The folks at Keilah were willing to betray David literally because of fear, right? But this is way worse. The people of Ziph, like David's own tribesmen, seek out Saul.

David is hiding out in our region. We will help you capture him. This is proactive betrayal, and it affects David horrifically. The very people of the region are reporting on David's movements to Saul, and he's able to pursue David fiercely. You can imagine this scene spread out over weeks.

David's men stopping here and there, seeking supplies, never knowing who they can trust. Again, the geography helps because the progression of this larger text has David moving from what is a lush forest full of greenery and water and, and good hunting and all those things, to more like open grassy plains area, to more rugged shepherd land, to finally wasteland in the desert. David is being harried away from the good places into bad places, and it is taking its toll on him. David actually somehow found time to pen a psalm in these weeks. Psalm 54, if you go and read it, it starts by letting you know this psalm is about those Ziphites, those dirty Ziphites.

He says this:

God, save me by your name, vindicate me by your might. God, hear my prayer, listen to words from my mouth, for strangers rise up against me And violent men intend to kill me. They do not let God guide them.

You can feel David's exhaustion. He's spent physically and emotionally. His own kinsmen have become strangers to him because they're seeking his life. He desperately needs God's intervention. And by the way, let us not forget that all of this experience is simply because David said yes to obey God and save some people's lives, right? It's wild that David did something so beautiful and so obviously morally good, and yet it's gone so bad for him. It all feels so unfair, right?

There's a reason it feels unfair. This is unfair. You know why? Life in a cursed and broken world is not fair. It's cursed.

It's broken. This psalm, by the way, is actually what's called an imprecatory psalm, meaning David prays judgment on these guys. Look how it continues, verse 4:

God is my helper. The Lord is the sustainer of my life. He will repay my adversaries for their evil. Because of your faithfulness, annihilate them. I will sacrifice a freewill offering to you. I will praise your name, Lord, because it is good, for he rescued me from every trouble, and my eye has looked down on my enemies.

David ends this psalm by saying that he knows God will rescue him. And here's what's amazing: God does rescue him in this story. God supernaturally provides for David in the midst of his suffering. First, he, he causes him to to endure. David stays on his feet during these grueling weeks. Second, God protects him in spite of betrayal and spies and exhaustion. Saul can never quite catch David.

God thwarts his enemies. Even at the end, in this moment where David is literally running down one side of a hill while Saul's army is running up the other side of the hill, they're literally yards apart from one another. Like, David is moments away from bloody battle and capture or death. And at the last moment, God intervenes and sends Saul away. Philistines are raiding again, and in this perfect moment, God picked at Saul's shame and he felt compelled to actually go do his own job for once.

It's a really poetic moment, but it's also so strange to me as I read it. It's strange for this reason: It's so obvious. It's so obvious that God has intervened to rescue David. But he doesn't just take away the difficulty, right? Like, David is still an outlaw, and now he's an outlaw in the middle of the desert.

Why?

Why wouldn't God just save him? Why wouldn't God just take this away? Why wouldn't God just put— like, wouldn't that be a better salvation if Saul, like, I don't know, tripped on a rock and hit his head or something? Like, wouldn't that be a better story? David obeys God and God strikes down his enemies with lightning, and everyone loves David, and he lives happily ever after.

Well, honestly, no, it wouldn't. No, it wouldn't, because that's not what God's promise is to us. That's not the promise of the gospel in our lives, beloved. The promise of the gospel has always been cross now and crown later. Always, always been cross now, crown later.

Remember back that passage in Matthew 10? Look at Jesus's own example. He was God in the flesh. He did nothing but glorify God and love others. And what happened to him?

It was bad. I think the Apostle Peter is so helpful here in his first letter. He's speaking to some Christians who are experiencing discouragement because of hardship. And he says this in 1 Peter 4:

Dear friends, don't be surprised when the fiery ordeal comes among you to test you, as if something unusual were happening to you. Instead, rejoice as you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may also rejoice with great joy when his glory is revealed.

Don't be surprised like suffering is strange or unexpected. You want it to be like Jesus? You want it to be with Jesus? Well, guess what? Buckle up.

This is what you actually signed up for. It's encouraging, isn't it? I think Paul can be even more enlightening. He has a take on the same idea in Romans 8. He says,

I consider the sufferings of this present time are not even worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.

Beloved, you will suffer in this world for seeking the Lord. Yes, that is a fact. That is unavoidable. But here's the beauty: it's not pointless, and it's not in a vacuum. Beloved, Jesus has bought you heaven.

You are being prepared for his eternity for you. The trials you experience now, the groans you experience now, the tears you cry now, the frustrations that grind you down now, the unmet longings that drag your heart down now, beloved, this life is a light and momentary affliction. It is nothing, nothing in comparison with the glory that is to come. And some will say, that's a terrible way to think about life on earth. Suffering here doesn't matter because you get heaven, so life on earth is meaningless.

All you care about is heaven. You need the promise of heaven to live like a decent person here and now. But here's the thing, beloved, that's not actually a bad thing if you think about it for about 30 seconds. Of course, of course, the reality of the promise of heaven drives us. How could it not?

If it was only for this life, only for this 60, 70, 80, 90 years that we trusted and put our hope in Christ, we would be fools deserving nothing but pity. But the resurrection of Christ and the promise of a perfect eternity with him where all wrongs are redeemed is the most important truth in all of reality. Of course that changes the way we live. Of course that drives us. A little later in Romans 8, Paul is wrapping up this larger idea about suffering.

And he says this:

Now we know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

I got a feeling that David might have been a little offended by that verse if you'd read it to him the moment he was running down the hill being chased by Saul, right? Doesn't seem like this is working out for my good at all.

But beloved, we know this truth points us beyond the suffering of this life. When we say all things work to the good of those who love him, we're not saying, hey, don't worry, say yes to God, say yes to him, and he'll just make your life easy. That's nothing. That's cotton candy. That's worse than cotton candy because it's a lie.

That's prosperity gospel nonsense, heresy. When we give our yes to Jesus, We still live in a cursed and broken world full of injustice and unfairness and suffering and evil and pain and wrong. We still get the heck beat out of us. We still get beaten down by unmet desires. We still get ground into by anxiety and fear.

We still get wronged and betrayed. All those things are still there. So how the heck can all things work for the glory of those who love God? Because it points you to what is beyond this life. Because it points you to the perfect eternity that God has for you.

Beloved, it is in fact the reality of heaven that grounds us here and now. The truth of our eternity puts right now into its proper context. It allows you to be fully present, to be right here in the now. It allows you— hear this— In the midst of suffering, in the midst of hurt, it allows you to be content.

And I would even say beyond that, to be joyful. And I would say even beyond that, to be obedient, knowing that God will encourage us, knowing that God will cause us to endure, knowing that God will redeem every suffering into something that's sanctifies us and moves us closer to glory, knowing that God is just and no injustice and no sin ever escapes his eye, and every single one will be paid for, knowing that every pain, every struggle, every exhaustion will be fully reconciled on a day that leads into a perfect forever. Beloved, there is power in that truth. There's power in that promise. Heaven puts our feet squarely on the ground.

And helps us to find healing and joy right now. Right now. Beloved, what do you wish you had? What's, what's holding you back right now? What makes life for you right now so unbearable?

I have to tell you something, and this is not a fun thing to tell you, but that thing, that may never change for the rest of your life on this earth. I hope it will. I hope it will. But I'm not gonna lie to you, it might not. That thorn in your flesh may be with you until you draw your last breath.

But you need to know something: if it doesn't change in this life, the promise is most assuredly that it will in fact change, because this life is not forever. Because forever is coming, because forever is secure in Christ, so that you cannot just endure, but hear this, you can have joy. Because you're right now, no matter how bad you're right now is, you're right now is being used by God. He is sustaining you through it. He is carrying you through it into your forever.

Perspective and Closing

Man, if you want to come back up, I'm going to land us with something a little more lighthearted. My oldest daughter Millie, if you know her, is a cat girl. And if you've ever met Millie, you know that's true.

Cats, that's her thing, it's her passion.

On Millie's birthday a couple years ago, she got a cat for her birthday. His name is Smokey Oreo Milkshake Starshooter, and he is a prince. This is what he looks like.

He's my little fuzz buddy. He sits with me while I write sermons. And once Mills had Smokes for about like 13 seconds, she did what every logical cat girl does— she asked for a second cat. And here's the truth of the matter: I thought about my life, thought about my family, thought about my house, thought about my budget, and I thought, we totally can— we can do another cat. We totally can.

But I don't want to.

I don't want to deal with the thing that you have to deal with when you have cats. Say it with me: litter. Litter box. Yeah. So I made her a deal.

This was the deal. I said, "You clean the litter box by yourself without being told every day for 30 days." To prove to me that this can be your chore, that you can do this, that you can be a cat girl not just in heart but in flesh as well, you change the litter box without being told every day for 30 days, and I will get you a second cat. And you guys know what I was thinking. I'm never going to get a second cat. Well, about 33 days later, guess what?

I have two cats. Yeah, she stepped up. She stepped up. The second one's name is Alvin Plantinga.

It's a Christian philosopher, Alvin Plantinga. I got to name him. Here's the thing. Did Millie enjoy scooping the litter? No.

Does she still hate scooping the litter? You betcha. You betcha! But for a whole month, she scooped. And you know what?

This is not a joke. She scooped and she smiled. She scooped without being told. She looked forward to the future glory that was the second cat.

And it grounded her in the midst of dirty litter and dustbins. And she got that. Stinking cat. Amen. Guys, I know, I know, I know, in a space like this, that some of you are scooping some serious litter right now.

I know you are. Like rancid, dehydrated, and somehow still with the stomach flu litter. I know.

The last thing you want to do is keep scooping. But I got to tell you something.

In Christ, silly as it is, it's true, it's memorable. You scoop with the Lord by your side. You scoop with purpose. Play the piano. Holy Spirit's in this.

I cracked myself up writing this. I was laughing out loud.

No, no, you got to keep going.

You scoop with purpose.

You scoop secure in the knowledge that this litter is a light momentary affliction. But a day is coming, a day is coming when little Chelsie's— where you can find real encouragement, real joy, real endurance. And you need to hear this, church, silliness aside, you can have that today. You can, you can. Because you're not in it alone, because Christ is with you, because Christ holds you up, because Christ has promised you, because Christ's promises are as good as accomplished.

Let's do this. Let's take just a couple minutes in prayer. I'd encourage you to find a posture of prayer. If you can do that in your seat, that's awesome. If you want to get on your knees, if you need to come to the altar or grab one of the pastors, that's fine.

But just for a couple seconds, we're gonna be quick in this. I want you to take a minute to connect with Christ, and I want you to consider what it is you think you have to have or have to get or has to get fixed in order to actually pursue Christ. I want you to hold that up. I want you to put that in front of him. I just want you to consider what would it look like to just say say yes to him anyway.