The Cave

our study in the book of Samuel. I'm excited about today's message. Uh as we're going through Samuel, scripture is very much like a diamond. You just just a slight twist even on a word and you just see a whole different level of brilliance and beauty. And I had that experience in preparing today's message. I prepared the passage and I go back and reread it, saw something else. Go back and reread it, saw something else. And uh if nothing else, I'm going to be blessed today. So, you know, jump on for the ride. 1st Samuel chapter 22, David's on the run. And that's significant for us. And we're going to pick up with verse one because some moments in scripture, sometimes the most important moments of scripture do not take place in a tabernacle. They don't take place in a temple. They don't take place in a public square. They happen most important moments seemingly in the Bible all over the place. They happen at times that nobody schedules. They they happen in places where people retreat. They they they happen where shame is louder than praise. And that's where scripture picks up for us because it says David departed then escaped to the cave of Adulum. So for David, before there was a throne, there was a cave. Before there was a crown, there is a hiding. Before there was clarity, there's confusion. And if you've ever been tempted to think that God is really only at work when things are going well, the cotton's high, mama's good-looking, when you're strong, focused, confident, spiritually disciplined. Let me tell you something. 1st Samuel chapter 22 politely disagrees with you because this chapter right here is not about David being impressive. It's about a God who is present when everything is unraveling. It's uh this is not the story of a hero that that's gathering momentum. This this not a story. It's a story of a man really who's barely hanging on and discovering while he's barely hanging on that God is still holding him. This story starts at the cave of Adulum. Not a palace, not a throne, not a coronation cave. Some of us know the cave very well. It's the place that you never planned to be. It's the diagnosis that you never expected. It's the season of difficulty that you didn't pray for. Chapter that you didn't expect to write. Where you were doing good but but now you're anxious where you were progressing but now you're pressed. Where you were faithful but it feels like you're forgotten. And if you're honest, you've asked yourself the question, "Excuse me, God, but you know, where are you? Where are you in all of this?" And here's the good news right out of the gate. God often does his greatest work in the cave. And it says, "And David departed there uh David therefore departed thence and escaped." Let's pause and look at that word escape for a while. You might want to underline it. and he escaped to the cave of Adulum. Escape, that word matters. He didn't march to Adulum with a vision. He didn't arrive with a plan. He didn't choose Adulum because of a leadership development conference. He escaped to the cave. And that means that going to the cave was not an act of faith. It was act of survival. And that alone ought to comfort some people here today because somewhere along the way we have been taught, sometimes subtly, sometimes loudly, that if we're really trusting God, we wouldn't be in a cave. If our faith were stronger, we wouldn't be this tired. that if we prayed better, believed harder, listened more carefully, we wouldn't be in need of a cave at all. But scripture refuses to shame survival. And David did not escape because he lacked faith. He escaped because he's human. And there's a lot of mercy in that because running is not always rebellion and hiding is not always unbelief. Sometimes it's just survival. And sometimes retreat is not a lack of trust. It's it's the body and soul doing the only thing it can to survive. And I want you to notice something. God does not rebuke David for needing shelter. Nowhere does it say God says, "David, if you had only trusted me more, you wouldn't be in a cave." I take great comfort in that because I've spent time in this cave and so have you. And it's all right. What I want to do is I want to learn to meet God in the cave when the cancer diagnosis comes. When the parent is diagnosed with a debilitating degenerative mental condition, that's when I want to meet him. Which tells us something very important about the heart of God. He does not wait for you to be brave before he becomes present. He does not require clarity before he offers care. And he doesn't demand strength. He supplies mercy. And some of you are standing today not because you were strong, but because God's kind. And and and some of you are still here, not because you had the answers, but because you were carried. And and if all of you and if all you did this season was endure and survive, that means you didn't fail. And it may mean you survived something that was trying to destroy you. And I want you to know that endurance, survival is not disobedience. It's often the quiet evidence that that God has not let go. And so if you have escaped, if you have withdrawn, if you have found yourself in a cave instead of a chorus of celebration, do not assume that you have disappointed God. Because here's what's remarkable.

If you found yourself in a cave, you have not disappointed God. He formed the caves. So maybe this cave is here for you and it may be that his mercy has made room for you to breathe. That's the God that we serve. So David arrives at the Julum after a string of deeply questionable decisions. You all remember from last Sunday, he lied to a priest. He he pretended insanity before Philistine king. He he ran from place to place trying to not die. And so this is not David at his best. This this is David at his most desperate. And yet this is where God continues the story. One of the most damaging lies that we tell ourselves is, you know, when I get it all together, God's going to show up. But scripture tells us a far better truth. God shows up precisely because you can't get it. And God in his mercy meets David here in Adulum at his escape, not after he recovers, but while he is hiding in the midst of the escape. So let's think about this as a mirror of the gospel because are you hiding? Long before Jesus ever said, "Come to me all ye who are weary and heavy laden." David actually lived it. But David is not the hero here. He's one of many stories in the Bible that point us to Jesus. Because mercy always looks like the gathering of the weary, not the celebrating of the worthy. Let me say that again. Mercy always looks like a gathering of the weary and not a celebrating of the worthy. Let's go on. And it says, "And when his brethren and all his father's house heard it, they went down thither to him. And everyone, I love it." We're going to spend some time over this verse, y'all. And everyone that was in distress, and everyone that was in debt, and everyone that was discontented gathered themselves unto him. In other words, this is not a leadership conference. This is a support group. Th this wasn't Israel's got talent. This is Israel's got issues. So, nobody is showing up saying, "Hey, David, I got it all together." What they're doing is they're showing up and they're saying, "Hey, David, life's been hard. Money's been tight. And I'm not thrilled about how things turned out." And if this were today, they wouldn't be bringing their resumes. They would be bringing their stories and their baggage and perhaps a folding chair. And so, you notice who didn't show up, right? You notice that nobody here is described as emotionally stable, financially secure, generally satisfied. The Bible says distress, in debt, discontented. That's the Bible's way of saying in 21st century language, stressed out, credit cards maxed out, fed up with life. And if David had put a sign outside the cave, it wouldn't have said, "Future king, apply within." And it would have said if life didn't turn out the way you wanted it to, welcome. So the Hebrew language when it talks about in distress and discontented, it's really the Hebrew language is so graphic. It it it literally is conveying these are people who are crushed by the circumstances of life. Maybe they lost a job. Maybe their marriage fell apart. Maybe they don't know where to turn. Maybe they have a weward son. They're crushed by the circumstances of life. They're burdened by obligations. They're they're bitter about how life has turned out. They're they're not inspired. They're not exhausted. And there's another crucial shift here because they are not being recruited. They are being and mercy is they are being received. I want you to notice that because this is not David calling people upward. Come on. This is this is actually mercy pulling people inward because broken people don't gather around potential they gather around compassion and for David here for all the fear and the confusion it becomes a place of shelter not because he has answers but because he knows their pain and here's what remarkable broken people can recognize other broken people who still trust God.

Broken people can recognize other broken people who still trust God. So they gather, the distressed, the in debt, the discontented. In other words, people who felt like life didn't work out the way they planned and they find their way to a cave. Now, let's be honest for a second because th this is not the crowd that you would choose if you were trying to look impressive. If you're trying to look impressive because these people aren't saying, "David, I got resources." They're saying, "David, I got receipts." They're not saying, "David, I got the answers." They're saying, "David, I got questions." And they all begin with why. These are not the people that you want when you put your post on Indeed. And somehow this is the group that God gathers around his future king which should tell us something.

God is not embarrassed by broken people. So God never begins with our strength. He always begins with our his mercy. God isn't gathering the qualified. He's gathering the crushed. And here God turns the cave into a classroom, the wilderness into a workshop. And and the waiting becomes preparation. And he does not wait until the people are fixed. He meets them where they are, afraid, discontented, discombobulated, in debt, distressed. And this moment is not about building an army. It's it's it's about God refusing to abandon those who feel abandoned. It's about God refusing to abandon those who feel abandoned. And this cave in a sense it becomes holy ground. Not because the cave is impressive but because God is present in it. And later some of these men are going to become called mighty men, but not yet, not right now. So Jesus will someday say, "Come unto me all you who heavy laden." But right now, David is in the midst of being heavy laden. And here it goes. Because David leaves the cave briefly. Let's pick back up with verse three. David will leave the cave briefly. He says, "And David went fence from Misbah to Moab. And he said unto the king of Moab, "Let my father and my mother, I pray, come forth and be with you till I know what God will do." Did you catch that? Till I know what God will do. David does not know the plan. David does not see the outcome. David does not pretend confidence. But this is what he knows. He knows that God is good. He knows that God is kind. And that's real faith. Trust in the middle of uncertainty. It's a trust without full clarity. And this matters because we often confuse faith with emotional confidence. But David shows us that you can trust God while you're still admitting you don't know exactly what he's doing. So David shows up and then we go to verse five. and and and he brought them before the king of Moab, and they dwelt with him all the while that David was in the hold. Then comes a hard word. And the prophet of God said unto David, "Abide not in the hold. Depart and get thee into the land of Judah." Translation: David, don't get used to the cave. Translation, don't get used to comfortable living. Translation: Mercy is not stagnant. We were never meant to live our lives in caves alone, y'all. We were meant to live in community. That's why church is important to you. So God is kind, but he's not content to leave us hiding forever. The cave is a refuge. It's not and never has been meant to be a resident. So mercy protects us, but his mercy also propels us forward. The problem for some people and I, you know, 30 years of being a prosecutor and dealing with victims, there is a victim mentality. The problem with some people is pretty soon the cave starts to feel safe. Sometimes isolation feels spiritual. Sometimes surv sometimes survival feels like obedience. Hey, if you're in the online community watching right now and you haven't stepped foot in a church in the past year and you're completely capable of doing it, listen to me now. Isolation is not good because we are not meant to live in caves. We're meant to be in community and that involves interacting with other people. So here we can move on because God might be saying to us, "Hey man, it's time to step out even if the danger's not gone yet." Because when the prophet said, "Hey man, time to move on. Let's go." Saul's still on the throne. So sometimes we got to move out even if the danger's not not gone yet. So take from this that faith is not pretending the threat doesn't exist. Faith is moving forward because God does. So let's pick up. It says, "When Saul heard that David was discovered and men were with him," then we have a parenthetical. Now Saul abodeed in Gibth, that's his hometown by the way, under the tree of Rama, having his spear in his hand. Underline that. Having his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him. Then said Saul unto his servants that stood about him, "Hear now, you Benjamites, will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, and make you captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds? All of you have conspired against me, and there is none that showeth me that my son hath made a league with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you that is sorry for me, or showeth unto me that my son hath stirred up my servant against me to lie and wait as it is this day." So the text starts out, this section says that Saul abodeed under a tree with a spear in his hand. That one sentence tells us almost everything we need to know about where Saul is spiritually. He's under a tree. He's not in worship. He's not before the ark. He's not inquiring of the Lord. He's just sitting there stationary, rooted, not growing, resting, but not at peace. And the detail that the spirit refuses to live out is that the spear is in his hands. So here we are. Saul is at rest, but he's not relaxed. He's seated, but he's not secure. He's still, but he's not but he's he he's still, but he's armed. So the spear becomes more than a weapon. It's starting to become Saul's identity because earlier Saul had held the crown. Saul had held responsibility. Saul had held the calling. But now he holds the spear. And and what you cling to in moments of fear show what you trust to protect you. Because Saul cannot let his spear go because the spear makes him feel safe. Makes him feels like he has leverage. It gives him an illusion of control. But here's the strat here's the tragedy here is that anything you grip that tightly will eventually grip you back. That spear has already been thrown at David twice, been thrown at Jonathan once. But now Saul doesn't even need to throw it anymore because fear has taught him to hold on to it constantly. And I want you to notice in the chapter, it quietly sets up that David is in a cave with no weapon, but he has he's being sustained. And Saul is under a tree with a spear, but he's unraveling. One man has comfort and kept trust. The other has kept his power, but lost his peace. And that's still true today because some people sit in a position of authority but live in constant sus suspicion. They are surrounded by people but isolated by fear. They these are armed, guarded, defended but he's never at rest. And and Saul's surrounded by servants but no one feels safe. Not David, not the priests, not not even Saul himself. Because when fear governs your heart, everything's a threat. Everybody. And here's the sobering word for us. You can be chosen by God and still be consumed by what you are afraid of losing. You You can be appointed and still be anxious. You can have everything on paper and still be empty. and practice. Saul is not standing watch over Israel. He's guarding his insecurity. And the spear in his hand here tells us that he has stopped trusting God to defend what God gave him. So he grips stronger. He accuses louder. He listens for betrayal. And all the while, the kingdom slips further and further away. And not because David is taking it, but because fear is eating Saul alive. And this is what the text wants you to see. a man under a tree, a spear in his hand, a crown on his head, but no peace in his heart. So, let's uh now we're going to go and we met this guy last chapter, Doeag. Doeag the Edomite. And I told you last week he's going to be a troublemaker. Let's introduce Doeag. Verse N. And then answered Doeag the Edomite, which was set over the servants of Saul. And he said, "I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nam to Himlec, the son of Itub." And he inquired of the Lord for him and gave him viddles. King James looks like victuals, but it's actually pronounced viddles, just FYI. Gave him viddles and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistines. So Doab speaks, Doag accuses, he reports David, and he does it eagerly. Here's a life lesson for you. Be careful of people who advance by destroying others. So Doag's words are technically true, but they're spiritually poison. Partial truth without love can still kill. Partial truth spoken without mercy becomes a weapon. And Saul weaponizes what he's been told because David had no intent of going after Do uh going after Saul. But Doag didn't say that. All he said was, "Hey, he went over to the priest and the priest gave him vittles and then he gave him the sword of Goliath." Well, he didn't have any intent to hurt you. That's not what Dag said. So, let's continue on. And then the king sent to Aheimch the priest the son of Aub all his father's house the priests that were in Noob and they all came to the king and and Saul said here now thou son of Aub and he answered here I am Lord. So dig it. Saul summons every priest connected to a himc and not just the man but his family too. This is going to be a very high intensive pressure campaign. Denmark and Greenland have nothing on this. This guy's whole family is standing before King Saul. This is not an investigation. This is intimidation. And notice that the Hima is coming willingly. No resistance, no suspicion. And he says simply, here I am, Lord. This is where it picks up. Verse 12. And Saul said unto him,"Wh have ye conspired against me, thou the son of Jesse, and that thou hast given him bread and a sword, and hast inquired of the Lord for him that he should rise against me to lie and wait as at this day?" So y'all notice that Saul didn't ask what happened. He asked why he's been betrayed. The accusation is assumed that the conclusion's already been drawn here because here fear always tells a story where there's going to be a victim. And Saul, self-centered Saul centers it all in himself. You're against me. You've strengthened my enemy. You warned me not. So fear doesn't seek truth. All it does is seek uh justification. And then we have some of the darkest moments in scripture here. I mean, this is dark. And it says, "And the Hima answered the king, and he said, Who is so faithful among all thy servants as is as David? And and which is of the king's son-in-laws goeth at thy bidding, and is honorable in thy house?" Did I then begin to inquire of the God for him? Be it far from me, let not the king impute anything unto thy servant, nor to thy house of my father. For thy servant knew nothing of all this, less or more. And the king said, here we go, Thou shalt surely die, Ahemc, thou in all thy father's house. And the king said unto the footmen that stood about him, turn, slay the priests of the Lord, because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled and did not show it to him. But the servants of the king would not put forth their hand to fall upon the priest of the Lord. And the king said to Doag, "Turn thou and fall upon the priest." Doag the Edomite turned. And he fell upon the priest and slew on that day four score and five persons. That's 85 people that did wear the linen ephod city of priests. Smote he with the edge of the sword. Both men, women, children, sucklings, that's the babies, oxmen, asses, sheep with the edge of the sword. This is the darkest moment of the chapter. And Saul orders the priest kill. Men who had faithfully served God. Men who had acted in good faith. Men who had no idea that they were caught up in this political paranoia. And when Saul's servants hesitate, Doag doesn't. Man, religion becomes violent when mercy disappears. And let this sober us up. You can quote scripture. You can hold office. You can enforce rules and still miss the heart of God entirely. So here it comes. We close it out. And one of the sons of Amilec, son of Aatub named Abathar, escaped and fled after David. And Abathar showed David that Saul had slain the Lord's priest. And David said unto Abatar, I knew at that day when Doag the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul, I have occasioned the death of all the persons of thy father's house. Abide thou with me. Fear not, for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life, but with me thou shalt be in safeguard. So verse 19 where all the priests were ordered to be killed and they were killed, 85 priests gone, families gone, a whole city devastated. Verse 19 is just a verse of devastation. But then the next verse begins and it says, "And one of the sons escaped." Church, don't rush past that because when fear did its worse, it didn't get everybody. When violence took up its sword and tried to silence worship, there was one voice that survived. And and when it looked like mercy was gone, mercy was still moving. And Abatar does not run to Saul. He does not run to a system. He doesn't run to power. He runs to David, the rejected king. Because when mercy leaves a palace, sometimes it shows up in a cave. So this story in David's cave points us forward because Jesus too was rejected. Jesus too gathered the weary. Jesus too was betrayed by insiders and Jesus too took responsibility for things that he didn't personally commit. Unlike David, Jesus would not just offer protection. He actually absorbed the judgment. Whereas David says, I caused this, Jesus says, I carry this. And the safety that we could never earn, the forgiveness that we could never secure, the restoration that we could never accomplish, Jesus finished it. And now Jesus says, not abide with me. He says, abide in me. And the safety that we could never earn, our Lord has secured fully. So let me end where I began. If you are hiding in a cave today, if you are tired, if you are ashamed, if you are unsure, hear me clearly. In the cave, God is closer than you think. And you're not being evaluated. You're being sustained. You're You're not being forgotten. You're being held. And one day, you will discover the place that you thought was evidence of failure was actually the place where mercy and grace met you most dearly. If you'd like to follow Jesus as we do here at Camp Creek Church, we'll give you that chance as we stand to sing him

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