"King on the run"

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Good morning, everyone. We're now gonna have the bible reading, which is from 1 Samuel chapter 21, and that's on page 293 in the blue church bibles that are around you somewhere. David went to knob to a Himalek, the priest. A Himalek trembled when he met him and asked, why are you alone? Why is no 1 with you?

David answered a Himalek, the priest The king sent me on a mission and said to me, no 1 is to know anything about the mission I'm sending you on. As for my men, I have told them to meet me at a certain place. Now then, whatever you eat at hand, give me 5 loaves of bread or whatever you confined. But the priest answered David, I don't have any ordinary bread to hand. However, there is some consecrated bread here provided the men have kept themselves from women.

Dave replied, indeed, women have been kept from us as usual whenever, I set out. The men's bodies are holy, even on missions that are not holy. How much more so today? So the prescaping the consecrated bread since there was no bread there except the bread of the presence that had been removed from before the lord and replaced by hot bread on the day it was taken away. Now, 1 of Saul's servants was there that day, detained before the lord.

He was Dowing the edomite, saw's chief shepherd. David asked a Himalick, don't you have a spear or sword here? I haven't bought my sword or any weapon because the king's mission was urgent. The priest replied, the sword of goliath, the pit Philistine, whom you killed in the valley of Eli is here, it's wrapped in a cloth behind the e fod, If you want it, take it. There's no sword here, but that 1.

David said, there is none like it give it to me. That day, David fled from saul and went Acish King of Gath. But the servants of acreage said to him, isn't this David the king of the land? Isn't he the 1 they sing about in their dances? Saw his slain his thousands, David, his tens of thousands?

David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Acish King of Gath, so he feigned insanity in their presence. And while he was in their hand, he acted like a madman, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard. Akish said to his servants, look at the man. He's insane. Why bring him to me?

Am I so short of madman that you to bring this fellow here to carry on like this in front of me. Must this man come into my house? Good morning. We we are back in 1 Samuel this morning. Let's pray as we as we open up god's word together.

Heavenly father, we We thank you for your faithfulness to us. We thank you that morning by morning, your your mercies are new. Father god, we thank you that you speak to us that you have something to say to us this morning. And father is, as each of us has different things on our mind, different things that are are pressing, different things that are fighting for our focus and our attention. Would you grant us the grace to focus?

Would you grant us the the grace to listen? And father god, would you through your through your word, through your spirit? Would you speak to our hearts speaking to our lives this morning? In Jesus' name. Oh, men.

Oh, men. By by means of introduction this morning, we're gonna flick back briefly to 1 Samuel chapter 2. We got we're only gonna be there briefly. But if you flip back a few pages to 1 Samuel in chapter 2, we're gonna read or reread Hannah's prayer in chapter 2. When when this was preached, we commented that this prayer actually is is the pattern of 1 Samuel, and and 2 Samuel.

It's the pattern that we see played over and over again. So as a recap into the story of 1 Samuel. Let's reread Hannah's prayer. 1 Samuel chapter 2 verse 1, then Hannah prayed and said, my heart rejoices in the lord. In the lord, my horn is lifted high.

My mouth boasts over my enemies. For I delight in your deliverance, there is no 1 holy like the lord. There is no 1 besides you. There is no rock like your our God. Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance for the lord is a God who knows and by him deeds are weighed.

The bows of the warriors are broken. But those who stumbled are armed with strength. Those who were full hire themselves out for food, but those who are hungry are hungry no more. She who was barren has born 7 children. But she who has had many sons pines away.

The lord brings death and makes alive. He brings down to the grave and raises up. The lord sends poverty and wealth. He humbles and he exalts. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap.

He seats them with the princes and has them inherit a throne of honor for the foundations of the earth are the lords on them he has set the world. He will guard the feet of his faithful servants, but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness. It is not by strength that 1 prevails. Those who oppose the lord will be broken. The most high will thunder from heaven.

The lord will judge the ends of the earth. He will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed. We've seen this pattern, this this reversal pattern happening time and time again throughout the story of 1 Samuel. We've seen Hannah herself who was was Baron, then give birth to to Samuel. We've seen soul, the rise of soul, and then we're beginning to see the fall, the reversal of that.

And here we are in 1 Samuel in chapter 21. Just a few chapters after David stood over Goliath, this 9 foot giant laying down on the floor in front of him. This Philistine warrior and this little shepherd boy. We're just a few chapters after that glorious moment from David's that we're beginning to see David's own reversal. This morning.

We've seen already that David has had his life threatened. He's had spears thrown at him. He's practically got a bounty on his head. We've seen that happening time and time again as Paul as Saul wants to kill David. He's had enough.

In chapter 19, David ran to find spiritual refuge in Samuel, and Saul's reach extended there. David fled into the desperate custody of Jonathan, his friend. But now as we enter chapter 21, David's companions, where he can look to for for help is is is running thin. There aren't many more people left that he can go to. This is the same person who the crowds were singing his name, the champion who delivered them.

So he turns he turns to knob. In chapter in chapter 22, we we see that knob is described as the city of the priests. It is where the tabernacle of god, the table of the showbread, and the high priests now live. David stripped of any earthly security flees to the sanctuary of God. And then we notice this 1, let's read, David went and to a Himalak, the priest.

A Himalak trembled when he met him and asked, why are you alone? Why is no 1 with you? If we're reading this text for the 1st time, it would be fair enough for us to assume that the person trembling here is David. He's got Saul, the king of Israel, the most powerful person, wanting him dead. But it's not it's not David trembling.

Miss, it's a a Himalak trembling in verse 1. The the there must be a sense in which what a Himalak sees in front of him. This this man who has come to to the tabernacle. Is so terrifying what he sees in front of him. This this man who is, perhaps disheveled.

He's got nothing with him. He's not got any armor. He's not got and he any food. He's not got a weapon with him. He's fled.

He could possibly furiously tired. He disheveled, gazed over, and a a Himalak sees him. And he's he's trembling. David's solo appearance is a massive red flag, and the Himalek asks the obvious question. Why are you alone?

And no 1 with you, but why are you alone and and not a single soul there with you? It wasn't normal. A man of David's status, the commander of the armies, the the son-in-law to the king, the national hero. He he he wouldn't be alone. He'd have people traveling with him.

He'd have he'd have an armor bearer, a guard, a military escort, He wouldn't be alone. This is the the anointed king. This is this is king David. This is David, who's causing himalek to to just be terrified just by the way he looks, just by his presence. And we'll see this morning that David is is a faithless king this morning.

But there is a gracious god, a faithless king and a gracious God. 1st, we'll look at the collapse of David's faith. I don't I don't know about you, but when there are pressures in our lives, it's it's exam season at the moment, and some of our youth are facing facing exams. When there are pressures, it it tells you a lot about yourself. It tells you tells you where your faith lies, when there are pressures at work, when there are when there are pressures within within your marriage, When there are financial pressures, we hear a lot about the cost of living and inflation and Haribose now costing 1 pound 50.

But when there are pressures on us, we we learn a lot about where our faith lies. And David David is faced with pressure here. And instead of laying his cards on the table, instead of crying out in prayer, instead of speaking truth, Let's look at what David does 1st 2. David answered at Himalak, the priest. Are the king sent me on a mission and said to me, No 1 is to know anything about the mission I am sending you on.

As for my men, I have told them to meet me as a certain place. It's it's genius by David, isn't it? It's it's a genius cover up. It's it's it's almost childish in its in its simplicity. I've come here, the king sent me But don't bother asking anyone about it because he's told he's told me not to tell anyone about it.

You have my word. You have my word. And actually, David goes 1 step further in his manipulation in his lying here. Because he's given the the camouflage of, I've got my men out there. I haven't traveled alone.

I've got my men out there. They're they're out there. David Resorts under pressure to to lying to manipulating. In the presence of of the high priest of god, this is David's neutral position, his default position, rather. Let's be clear here.

David could have trusted God. Yes. He had he had tall wanting and dead. But the lord God has has delivered in far more extreme circumstances. The lord God has has saved a whole nation from a giant David has seen that.

What's happened to David's faith? What's happened to him to cause him now to to start lying under pressure? To start to to trust in himself rather than trusting in god? When life gets tough, when our security nets are taken away, what happens to our faith? When pressure rises, our faith often collapses into self reliance.

I'm a I'm a primary school teacher, and just this week, I had a child pick up a pencil and lobbed it across the room at another child. Really good shot. But when I asked the child, I said, you know, could you come here? I said, did you I saw it. I saw it happen.

Did you throw the pencil at, let's say Timothy? Did you throw the pencil at Timothy? No. What? A saw has happened.

Instant tears, in they're just crying straight away. But the the pressure of having conversation with me, bear in mind, they're 5 and 6. The the conversation with me, that they're under pressure in that situation, I'm chatting to them gently, but they resort to lying. But what do we do? That's that's not something that we teach children.

We don't teach children to lie. They just learn it. They learn to lie. What do we do when we're under pressure? What when when we're in our exam season, when, you know, you're in the the midst of, you know, I've got an exam on Monday and exam on Tuesday.

I've got 3 exams on Thursday. What what what do you do in that situation? Are you are you totally self reliant? Are you lying to yourself? Are you manipulating the situation?

To say, you know, I I don't need to I don't need to revise. I can just oh, if if I just go in, if I pray, then then God will cover it all. That's that's that's not that's not how we enter our exams. What about in in our in our workplace? When life gets tough at work, when you've got when you've got your boss who is You think, how is this person ever in in any position of authority?

How did they ever pass any interview? How is no 1 above them not seeing what this person thought they are? I think if if I I'm I'm working in a place where I'm treading on eggshells, or I'm gonna face disciplinary. You know, I I I might have to lie at times. Will you lie when you're faced with that sort of pressure?

Maybe you're the chief provider at your home. And you think, well, I have to lie. I have to lie or I have to bend the truth, or I have to to not stand up for the truth in in in my workplace here, because, actually, my job would be at risk with this person as my boss. I'm I'm gonna trust in myself. I'm gonna trust in in in just just shying away from this.

I'm not gonna trust in the lord God almighty who defeats giants, who delivers us time and time again. How do we how do we react when the pressure rises? Our faith often, as David does here, turns into self reliance. And before a Himalak has even a moment to process the secret mission story or ask a follow-up question, David Vursary presses home his advantage. Let's look.

Verse 3. Now then, what do you have at hand? Give me 5 loaves of bread or whatever you can find. Why 5 loaves? I I really don't know.

It it may be that that this is another, lie that David is trying to tell. He doesn't need 5 loaves, but if I say 5, it it adds to the the the camouflage of I've got more men. I've got more men with me to to feed. And it it's also, you know, if you give me 20 loaves, I actually can't carry that many. Yeah.

5 loaves. Give me 5 loaves of bread. But this request for the high priest sets up, a spiritual dilemma. You see, because this bread was only for the priests. Leviticus 24 states the the the way that this bread is, is made and is consecrated before God.

And it makes it very clear that this bread is only for the high priests. It's it's not for David. It's not for his his band of of men in in the bushes over here. It's only for the high priests. So so what does a Himalak do?

A Himalak looks at this desperate, disheveled king, faithless king, and decides to make an exception. But he does ask for a basic level of ceremonial purity. And he asks to ensure that the men had abstained and had hadn't violated the ritual boundaries regarding sexual relations. And David responds in verse 5. David replied, indeed, women have been kept from us as usual whenever I set out.

The men's bodies are holy, even on missions that are not holy. How much more so today? Think about this. Himalek chooses to put human compassion above religious ritual. He allows the ceremonial law to bow to the moral law of preserving life.

He spreads a table. He gives the the bread to David in the absolute crisis of his life. And we'll comment on this again towards the end and see what lord Jesus Christ says about this. In the gospel of Luke. But let me ask you, David gets given this bread.

Does he deserve this bread? He needs it fine. Does he deserve it? He surely not. He he can't deserve this bread, does he?

But he gets given the bread. He gets given the the the show bread He gets given this bread of the presence. You see, if God only distributed our daily bread, what we need on the basis of of our behavior on the basis of whether or not we we deserved it, whether or not we merited it. I I'd be a a walking skeleton, and I'd be preaching to a room of skeletons. Fortunately, for us, we have a God who doesn't give us bread based off of whether or not we deserve it that day.

We have a we have a God who gives us bread because he is a gracious God. Dale Ralph Davis says we receive our bread from god, not because we are godly, but because God is profoundly gracious. David doesn't deserve this bread. 1 Samuel chapter 2 verse 5. Those who were hungry are hungry no more.

See the pattern repeating itself over and over again. 2nd thing we'll look at is if if faith is gone, as David's faith is collapsed or is collapsing, you do have to turn 2 something. There's something that we turn to. If faith is gone, we turn to something. David's physical hunger is temporarily secured by the bread, but then he realizes I've got another issue.

I'm defenseless. I've got I've got no nothing to nothing to fight. I am still hunted by the king. I have still got this this big issue. And so he makes his 2nd request in verse 8.

David asked at Himalak, don't you have a spear or sword here? I haven't brought my sword or any other weapon. Because the king's mission was urgent. It's a it's a funny liner, isn't it? The king's mission was urgent.

David's got this this lie going that the king has sent him on a mission, but this isn't a lie. The king's mission was urgent. But the irony is that the mission was to kill David. The mission was to kill the 1 asking now for the sword. The king's business was so incredibly urgent that what does what does a Himalak say in response?

Verse 9 the sword of Goliath, the Philistine, whom you killed in the valley of Ella is here. It is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you want to take it, there is no sword here, but that 1. A Himalek isn't just giving David information. He's reminding David of who he is.

The sword of July of the Philistine, whom You struck down. He's sending him back. He's sending his mind back to chapter 17. The weapon was wrapped in, like, a sacred relic, and David's eyes must have lit up. He exclaims.

At the end of the verse, there is none like it. Give it to me. There is none like it. Give it to me. This is Goliath's sword.

But we we commented when when we looked at this chapter, chapter 17, David and Goliath, the famous famous chapter, you could ask people on the street. They would know this is a Goliath and not a Goliath. This is a giant and not a giant. And now the knot giant has the sword of the giant. The sword is probably as big as David.

What's he gonna do with it? It's useless. What's he trusting in? Why is he going for this sword? Why does he want this sword so badly?

Is he gonna wield this I can't I can't lift it up? What's he gonna do with that thing? He get he's gonna fight with that? He's gonna take down Seoul with that? It's it's useless.

He's trusting utterly in himself. And more so, when David took down Goliath, What did he say? What did he say to the giant? You come to me with sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel. No sword.

You come to me with sword and spear. I'm with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel. David won that battle. Because he didn't rely on the sword, because he didn't rely on himself. He won that battle precisely because he relied on God.

But now chapter 21, his faith has collapsed. He has to turn to something. He's turning to his own strength, clutching at a piece of metal. What's he what's he gonna do with that? Takes a very trophy that was meant to remind him of god's past faithfulness.

And turns it into an object of self reliance. Takes the very trophy that was meant to remind him of god's path of faithfulness and turns it into an object of present self reliance. 1 Samuel chapter 2 verse 9 says it is not by strength that 1 prevails. It is not by strength that 1 prevails. David, when his faith is collapsing.

If faith collapses, we turn to something, this faithless king, he doesn't turn to a gracious God. He turns to a sword. He leans on his own strength. What do we turn to when when our faith is being pressured? What do we turn to?

Do we turn to to our own strength? Do we turn to to the the sword? Do we turn to things that God has done in the past for us? And say, oh, you know, thank you, lord god, that you did that. I'm gonna hold on.

I'm gonna hold on to who you are as as lord, and I'm gonna trust you. Or do we take the things that the lord has done in the past forget about them and just totally trust it in our own strength. You see, faith doesn't collapse and and disappear when when we're under pressure when things are are tough. We we have faith, but perhaps our faith moves and it and it jumps to something else. That's why it's so, so, so, so important that we have others around us.

You see David here. He's alone. Isn't he? Totally alone. He's he's lost the the sanctuary of Samuel.

He's lost the friendship of Jonathan. He's lost his family around him? This is hard. This is hard now to be alone. What you do what you do now?

That's why we need 1 another around us. That's why we feel so much for David in this situation. That's why church is so important. That's why home group is so important. That's why texting 1 another, I'm praying for you and not just saying to somebody I'll pray for you is so important.

Cause we need 1 another. We we have no idea of the pressures that each and every 1 of us in this room are facing. We have no idea who in this room feels like they're on the run from something. We have no idea who is running to to to knob and just need some food. We have no idea of that.

We need 1 another around us. Yes to look after 1 another. Yes to say, I'm praying for you. I'm I'm I'm gonna text you, Steve, say, I'm praying for you. I know you've got that that stuff coming up with your house.

And I know that you're going to stay at at at Garth and, Joanna's. That's an excellent example. That that you've got that sanctuary there that the it's not just that Garth and Joanna have said, let us know if there's anything we can do. Let's know if there's anything that we can do to look after you, to care for you. In some ways, that's a lovely comment, but in some ways that's an empty comment.

Do something. Look after 1 another. Care for 1 another. 0.1 another as well to the lord Jesus Christ. 0.1 another to to to the person who we should have our faith in.

Because that's what David needs here. As his faith is collapsing, he needs others who are seeing him turn from that. He's gone no no no. Look to God. To remember remember how gracious God is.

Remember what God has done for you. Remember, David. You're that little shepherd boy. Remember what all that God has done for you. How he's lifted you up.

He's the same God. He hasn't changed. He's the same yesterday today, and forever. That's what we need to be doing for 1 another. But this faithless king, there is still a gracious god, but he goes 1 step further.

The grace of God in the enemy's camp. So with the holy bread in his stomach and with Goliath's sword, David makes an incredible decision in verse 10. That day, David fled from Seoul and went to Acish King of Gath. This is an incredible decision. David, the anointed king of Israel goes to the hometown of Goliath with Goliath's sword.

What's he thinking? He's going for refuge in the enemy's camp. He's trying to take refuge. He's trying to to look after himself. In in a place where people will want him killed.

And not only that, but he takes evidence with him that they should kill him. He takes the sword back into the enemy camp. And when he gets there, they spot him and they say, isn't this isn't this the 1 that they're singing about? Isn't this the 1 that they're singing Soul Hislena's thousands and David his tens of thousands. Isn't this that 1?

This is theointed king of Israel, the giant killer. Completely paralyzed by fear in the middle of a pagan city. How does how does he escape? He's made this awful decision. He's gone into the enemy camp.

You see, when our faith collapses, we we turn to something, David's now turning he's, self reliant and he's turning to the enemy of the lord God. Don't don't turn don't turn to your enemy. Don't turn to things that are going to destroy you. Things like alcohol, pornography, things that that will numb pain, things that will numb your your pressure in that moment. That things that are ultimately not there for your good, things that are going to absolutely want to wipe you out.

David goes to the enemy's camp. The conquering hero of Israel. What does he do? How does he escape this 13? So we pretended to be insane in their presence.

And while he was in their hands, he acted like a madman, mark making marks on the doors on the gate of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard. It's a crazy situation. The king of Israel reduced to acting like a madman to the point that he has dribble coming down his beard. Just so he can escape. And the king's response is is fantastic, isn't it?

Verse 14. Look at the man. He's insane. What? What?

Why are we into me? Am I so short of mad men that you have to bring this fellow here to carry on like this in front of me? Must this man come into my house? He's effective to get this get this thing out of my sight. He's a he's a crazy man.

He's dribbling down his beard. I love the phrase that the the king uses. He says, look at him. Look at the man. Verse 14.

Look at the man. It is dribbling down. Look at the man. That phrase, look at the man. It has echoes, doesn't it?

Of conscious pilot. It has echoes of conscious pilot when he says, behold the man. When he brings the lord Jesus Christ out, who has been utterly battered. Utterly disheveled, whom if you brought Christ and we saw him, just as a Himalek was trembling at the beginning, if we saw how Christ looked, We'd be trembling. And Pancha's palette says, behold the man.

King Acif says, look at the man. See, the final 3rd of the book of 1 Samuel is this long agonizing painful journey of Israel's anointed king towards his ultimate destination. And just as in the gospels, that's true about Christ on his way to his destination. David, after these events in 1 samuel chapter 21, he wrote Some face for now that I'd encourage you to to read Psalm 34 after after this. And he wrote verse 13, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies.

Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies. David's not advocating for what he's done. David's not saying, yeah, no. That that was the right the right decisions that I made. You see, when we when our faith does collapse, when we do turn to things that's that we shouldn't turn to, when we do lie, when we do manipulate situations, there is grace even in the face of our faithlessness, just as it was for David.

In Luke chapter 6, when Jesus and his disciples were picking grain on the Sabbath. The pharisees were furious. Jesus looked at those religious leaders and used 1 Samuel 21 as his defense. He told them, have you not read what David did when he was hungry? How he entered the house of guards and ate the breads of the presence.

The pharisees totally missed the point of the story. They're totally obsessed by technical rituals. But Jesus is showing them that there's something, and someone vastly greater than David has arrived, behold the man. He was showing that the true king, not the faithless king, but the faithful king has the authority to give more than just bread, but to give grace. And the new testament tells us that in response to that teaching, the pharisees were filled with fury and wanted to destroy Jesus.

When we look at David in his disheveled mess, his self reliant chaos, we have to look past him. To the 1 who is the faithful king, pass the faithless king to the faithful king. David is a flawed shadow. Jesus is the perfect reality. You see David lies when he gets to knob to save his own skin.

Jesus stood before the high priest of Israel with his life on the line again and spoke absolute uncompromising truth. He knew it would cost him his own life. He didn't waver. He didn't start lying. He didn't he didn't start bending the truth.

David, when surrounded by a tiny disappearing group of allies, Jonathan's gone. Samuel's gone. Jesus was completely and utterly abandoned on that cross by his closest friends. And left to face the darkness utterly alone. David faked, insanity, faked madness, had dribble coming down his face.

You see, Jesus willingly faced actual humiliation was actually spat on. Face actual rejection. And a horrific death on the on the cross. The faithful king did that to save us from death. We so often act like David.

We so often do do similar things gripped by sudden fear when pressures come on us, we panic. We look at our circumstances, and and we forget god's faithfulness to us. We can manipulate the truth, try to cover our tracks, or take camp. With the enemy. You see, but the good news of the gospel of the lord Jesus Christ is that we don't serve the faithless king.

A trembling earthly king who loses his nerve, who lies, who twists the truth, and dribbles in front of his enemy. But we serve the king who has been raised and who is seated at the right hand of the father. The glorified king of kings, who looks at us, who cares for us, and who took our shame upon himself. And who died for us and who extends not just bread, but grace to us every single day. Let us look to Christ, embrace him as our ultimate sanctuary.

Let us look to the faithful king and the gracious God. 1 Samuel 2 verse 10 says, he will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed. Let's pray. Further god, we We just praise him. We thank you for Christ.

Not help us to to look at at Jesus. Help us to to be so drawn in by what Christ has done for us, for what Christ has taken on for us. For the God, we thank you for the lord Jesus Christ. Father, we we pray that you would forgive us of times where we are self reliant, where we lie, where we manipulate, where we bow to pressures, where perhaps we we are flirting with the enemy camp. Father, would you save us from from those things?

Would you use 1 another to to save us from those things? Father, would you help us to to be looking to the lord Jesus Christ and pointing 1 another to him in Jesus' name, amen?