1 Samuel 24 & 26 The Shortcut

Today we are in our 13th sermon in our series called a Prophet and 2 Kings.

Big question for the day is…

Are you looking for shortcuts?

Today’s culture,

is probably the most programmed culture in the history of the world to want to take shortcuts in life...

The reason for this,

is of course because we are so used to having immediate results.

We live in the world of fast food, (if it takes more than 2 minutes in drive through and we are asking for a manager)

We live in the world fast cars and fast plans.

(we can fly out of Atlanta and be almost anywhere in the world within 24 hours)

We live in the world where we can ask our phone a question and immediately get an answer.

(who won the first Superbowl? Green Bay Packers… who did they beat to get to the Superbowl? Dallas Cowboys)

Thus,

as a society we are conditioned to not wait for anything,

but rather get what we want immediately…

The consequence of our conditioning for immediate results,

is we are a generation that is always looking for shortcuts…

Are you looking for shortcuts?

Today in our text,

we are going to see David have the perfect opportunity to take a shortcut.

1 Samuel 24:1–4a (ESV)

1 When Saul returned from following the Philistines, he was told, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.” 2 Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the Wildgoats’ Rocks.

3 And he came to the sheepfolds by the way, where there was a cave, and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the innermost parts of the cave. 4 And the men of David said to him, “Here is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you.’ ”

I have found in life,

that when we are face to face with a challenging decision.

That someone will chime in,

with what they believe is a word form the Lord.

Sometimes this word of wisdom from the Lord can be great and much needed.

But sometimes what is said on behalf of the Lord

or more accurately what is perceive to be on behalf of the Lord,

can be the worst advice possible.

It is always tricky because the wisdom you want to hear,

is not always the wisdom you need to hear.

And sometimes someone with good intentions,

can believe they are giving good godly wisdom,

and even believe it is from the Lord because this wisdom is what you want to hear.

Example…

You hate your job....

want to hear “you should quite your job”

need to hear “stay at your job and work on your heart”

David’s men say what I am sure David wants to hear...

24:4 “And the men of David said to him, “Here is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you.’ ”

(This is the Lord)

[The perfect shortcut]

After hearing his men’s advice, David responds...

1 Samuel 24:4b–7 (ESV)

4b Then David arose and stealthily cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. 5 And afterward David’s heart struck him, because he had cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. 6 He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the Lord’s anointed.” 7 So David persuaded his men with these words and did not permit them to attack Saul. And Saul rose up and left the cave and went on his way.

David has the perfect shortcut in front of him.

Taking this opportunity to kill Saul would be beneficial for David in 2 ways...

David would no longer have to live on the run.

2. David would be able to step right into the palace as King of Israel.

David said to his men,

“The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to the Lord’s anointed, to put out my hand against him.”

By David responding to his men this way he demonstrated a fear of the Lord.

Proverbs 9:10a (ESV)

10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,

To fear the Lord is to hold fast to the Lord’s standards… (In every situation)

To fear the Lord is to submit to Lord’s ways… (Not just when it is convenient)

Thus, to walk in wisdom is to fear the Lord…

The fear of the Lord helps us discern when people give us advice that is not from God.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,

the reason we see a lack wisdom today,

is because there is very little to no fear of the Lord.

(Fear man over the Lord) [man’s wisdom over God’s wisdom]

Want man’s approval over God’s approval...

We end up taking foolish advice,

because we see God’s standard as optional,

so we listen to the voice of man instead of God.

We need to be men and women who fear the Lord.

When David was given the advice to kill Saul,

he knew it was wrong.

So even though his men said it was God,

David knew God would not have him do something wrong.

David was communicating to his men that,

The Lord forbid that I should take the position of God and strike Saul.

When Saul leaves the cave,

David calls out to Saul,

and proves that he had an opportunity to kill Saul.

David makes this statement…

1 Samuel 24:15a (ESV)

15 May the Lord therefore be judge and give sentence between me and you.

David did not kill Saul because David thought Saul was innocent,

rather he did not kill Saul because he knew it was not his job to strike down the king.

Just because you have the ability to take justice in your own hands,

does not mean you should…

David could have taken justice into his own hands,

and thus taken a shortcut to be the new king of Israel.

But David knew that God is the one to bring justice,

and bring about that justice in His timing. (Amen!)

After David speaks out,

Saul acts repentant,

but true repentance is turning the course of direction.

And Saul has proven that though he sounds sorry,

his heart is still the same,

so he will continue on doing what evil men do.

And David has seen Saul act repentant before,

but at this point he knows not to trust Saul’s word,

because Saul has proven to be a liar.

1 Samuel 24:22b (ESV)

22 Then Saul went home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.

(They went back to hiding)

[Christian does not equal being naive]

wise as a serpent, harmless as a dove.

David is in hiding…

And we move on to chapter 26 and David is handed an even better shortcut then before.

Saul goes back to his normal behavior,

and goes on the search to kill David.

But this time David is given an even better opportunity than before.

1 Samuel 26:6–8 (ESV)

6 Then David said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Joab’s brother Abishai the son of Zeruiah, “Who will go down with me into the camp to Saul?” And Abishai said, “I will go down with you.” 7 So David and Abishai went to the army by night. And there lay Saul sleeping within the encampment, with his spear stuck in the ground at his head, and Abner and the army lay around him. 8 Then Abishai said to David, “God has given your enemy into your hand this day. Now please let me pin him to the earth with one stroke of the spear, and I will not strike him twice.”

Why I believe this is a much better shortcut,

is because David is not the one striking Saul,

it is Abishai striking Saul.

Abishai said,

“Now please let me pin him to the earth with one stork of the spear”

This was perfect for David,

because David could say my hands are clean. (Abishai killed him)

I communicated last week,

the simple truth,

that just because you did not do it yourself,

does not mean you are not just as guilty of it.

Remember when Doeg had innocent blood dripping from his sword,

I said Saul was just as guilty.

In the same way,

if David would have allowed Abishai to kill Saul,

David would have been just as guilty for Saul's death.

Hear me when I say this,

We will be held responsible for what we allow to take place under our watch.

For parents this morning,

you are responsible for what you allow your kids to do.

I find that this generation of parents have taken the Sargent Schultz approach.. (Hogans Heroes) [Colonel Hogan] I know nothing...

Looking the other way is not exclusive to parents though,

how many things do we as a society ignore,

so we don’t have the obligation to deal with them.

David was faced with an opportunity to take a shortcut that would be very beneficial to him.

And all David has to do is look the other way…

This is how David responds…

1 Samuel 26:9 (ESV)

9 But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him, for who can put out his hand against the Lord’s anointed and be guiltless?”

Because David had a fear of the Lord,

he knew,

he could not look the other way and allow Abishai to kill Saul.

It would have been easy for David to look the other way..

Because the benefits of looking the other way,

would end David’s suffering....

The problem if David would have taken this shortcut,

is that instead of being a King after God’s own heart,

he would of been a king just like Saul.

1 Samuel 26:10–11 (ESV)

10 And David said, “As the Lord lives, the Lord will strike him, or his day will come to die, or he will go down into battle and perish. 11 The Lord forbid that I should put out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. But take now the spear that is at his head and the jar of water, and let us go.”

David knew that Saul was guilty of many things,

but he also knew that God sits on the judgement seat

and will bring perfect justice in His timing.

Because David knew this,

he knew he was not to play the role of God,

and strike down the evil king.

Even though,

striking down the evil king would be a quick fix for David,

he knew this shortcut was not God ordained.

(We sometime want Man ordained things to be called God ordained)

[Relationships]

David knew that killing Saul was not God ordained.

So David takes Saul's spear and jar of water.

(Probably the same spear that was used to try and kill David)

Again, David spares Saul’s life.

And again Saul seems to be sorry and repent.

(Sorry for getting caught vs sorry and change direction)

But before David and Saul part ways,

David makes an important statement that I believe helps us understand greater the character of David… (the why behind his actions)

1 Samuel 26:23 (ESV)

23 The Lord rewards every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness, for the Lord gave you into my hand today, and I would not put out my hand against the Lord’s anointed.

David choose not to take the shortcut,

because David knew that ultimately God will reward him for his righteousness and faithfulness.

It may take longer for God to reward David than he would like,

but when the Lord rewards and promotes us,

there are no strings attached. Amen!

In preparing for this sermon this week,

I was thinking about people that have taken shortcuts.

The first story I think of in the Bible about someone taking the shortcut was Abraham and Sarah.

God promised them to have a child and when it did not happen in their timing,

they took the shortcut and had Abraham lie with Sarah's servant Hagar,

which gave birth to a war that has not stopped to this day.

I am sure many of you can think of other characters in the Bible where we see them take shortcuts and have to pay the price for those shortcuts.

But I want to share a more recent story of someone taking a shortcut.

The story happened in recent history.

And the character of our story is a women by the name of Anya.

Anya was a go-getter,

but her ambition was often overshadowed by her impatience.

After college Anya was offered a mid-level position at a prestigious tech firm,

which was a great start to her career as it would certainly lead to bigger and better things.

The problem for Anya,

is that she saw the traditional climb slow and tedious.

And as luck would have it,

around the time of taking the position at the tech firm,

Anya ran into an old friend that was now a high-flying venture capitalist.

The friend introduced Anya to a great shortcut...

The friend said to Anya that if she were to partner with her,

that she would give Anya access to insider deals that would boost her career immediately.

Seduced by the idea of instant success,

Anya dove headfirst into the network.

She began by making strategic investments in new companies with questionable ethics.

She used her position at the tech firm to leverage connections

and push through deals that skirted legal boundaries.

The initial rush of power was intoxicating.

Anya secured lucrative bonuses,

she recieved great praise from management,

and even earned a reputation as a "rising star" within the company.

But as Anya climbed higher and higher,

the consequences began to unravel.

The questionable companies she backed started collapsing under the weight of their unsustainable practices,

leaving investors,

including the tech firm she worked for with significant losses.

Her involvement in these dealings became increasingly difficult to hide,

and whispers of unethical behavior began to circulate among colleagues.

When the truth finally surfaced,

Anya's lack of ethics began to show a crack in the foundation she built everything on.

And everything she built in a very short time,

began to collapse in a heap of rubble.

Her reputation was tarnished beyond repair,

and she was forced to resign,

losing not only her position but also destroyed any future opportunity working in the industry.

The once-promising career she had built on shortcuts and quick successes was now in ruins.

What made Anya’s situation even worse was the fact that,

in her ambition to make a name for herself in her career,

she left her family and friends behind in order to achieve her goals.

Because of Anya’s decisions to take shortcuts,

and only look out for her own interest.

Anya was left with only one thing...

a bitter lesson learned.

Anya’s bitter lessen was that,

“Though quick fixes and shortcuts will given immediate results,

they will ultimately cost you more than you can imagine.

True success is built on integrity, hard work, and a commitment to do the right thing no matter what.”

I began this morning asking the question…

Are you looking for shortcuts?

(marriage, relationships, happiness, career)

Be like David and know that God rewards “righteousness and his faithfulness”