“It’s About Time!” Maybe…

Advent

Theme: The Promise of the Coming King Scripture Focus: Isaiah 9:2–7

Leader: Today we begin the journey of advent. The term itself means “coming” or “arrival,” and it’s meant to stir our hearts’ affection for Christ in hopeful expectation and joy. Today, we light the candle of prophecy and hope, remembering that the promise and expectation of Christ was revealed in the very beginning chapters of Genesis, and the hope of this child who would be king was promised through the prophet Isaiah. We take comfort through remembering that God speaks to His people, and we find joy in the fact that what God promises, this He will do. Join me as we read together this responsive reading.

Leader: The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness, a light has dawned.

People: We light this candle of hope, remembering that God’s light still shines in our darkness.

Leader: For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.

People: We place our hope in the One who carries the weight of the world with wisdom and love.

Leader: And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

People: Our hope is in Christ, whose coming brings light, life, and lasting peace.

Leader: Of the greatness of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over His kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness forever.

People: The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this!

Leader: Today we light the first candle of Advent — the Candle of Hope and Prophecy — remembering that God’s promise has been fulfilled in Christ, and that His promises will never fail.

(LIGHT THE CANDLE)

Let us pray together: Thank You, Father, for Your word and Your promise. It has been realized in Jesus, our Lord and our God. To Him be honor and glory forever, amen.

SERMON

As we parachute into chapter 24 this morning, it’s good to remember that this is one continuous story, and 24 is part of a larger episode that extends to chapter 26. In these chapters, we see David exercise “control” as he waits for the promise to God to be realized. It’s actually quite fascinating, because I think the natural response for most people in David’s situation, the council he actually gets from his men in this chapter, would be to TAKE what had been promised, even if it means taking it at the tip of a sword. But, that’s not how it plays out.

Everybody with me in 24? Great. The first three verses set the stage pretty quickly:

First, Saul just finished fighting with the Philistines, and he gets word that David is in the wilderness of Engedi.

So, Saul finds 3,000 choice men to go to Engedi and search for David. These are not your run-of-the-mill foot soldiers. These are choice men, your elite tactical, your seals and raiders and rangers and delta dudes. And, it’s an entire brigade of these guys — 3,000. That’s quite the force.

In the midst of their search, Saul needs to “relieve himself.” I mean, I’ve heard MRE’s are tough on the gut, so I guess that was true even in David’s day. The shocking part is that when the camera pans from Saul squatting in the cave you see David and his men huddled in the darkness of the cave.

So many questions, not enough time to ask them all!

Let’s pray, then we will dig in to the rest of the text.

God’s Servant Is Tested

Well, David’s men are convinced. “Here is the day of which the Lord said…‘I will give your enemy into your hand.’” (v.4). I mean, sure, God has promised it and there’s no way it could be easier than this — take him out while he’s taking a…break. So David creeps up. His level of “stealthily” would make any hunter jealous. How does Saul not hear him creeping up in a cave where everything echoes off of the cave walls? But, miraculously, he doesn’t. As David sneaks up, he cuts “off a corner of Saul’s robe.”

Now, I think what’s going on here is symbolic, whether that’s intentional on David’s part of not. You see, back in chapter 15:27-28, Saul tore off a piece of Samuel’s robe, and when that happens, Samuel basically says, “That’s what God is going to do to you — tear the kingdom from your hands.” When you couple that with the fact that the robe was symbolic of royal authority, then it makes sense that what David does is a sign that Saul’s reign certainly will not last.

But then, notice David’s response in verse 5 — his “heart struck him.” He immediately regrets doing this to Saul. You get the picture of David standing there, almost a gaze of terrifying realization as he stares at the cloth in his hand. “What have I done?”

When he gets back to his men in verse 6, they’re all like, “David, what’s up?! Why didn’t you off the guy?!” Interpretive license. But verse 7 says that David had to restrain them. The way that he says it in the Hebrew indicates he had to use some pretty forceful language as he “persuaded” them, not permitting them to attack. Why? Well, the text says that David wouldn’t harm…would not “put out” his “hand against” Saul because he’s “the Lord’s anointed.” And I know what you’re thinking. “Who cares?!” Right? There are two things we know about? First, he’s been rejected by God. Second, he’s been on a murderous binge, killing the prophets of God, doing battle against the Philistines, and now he’s back to take David’s life. But, the fact that he was anointed carries weight in both David’s book and in God’s. You see, once the oil was poured on your head…once you were set apart unto God…that didn’t go away. So, if David had taken Saul’s life, if you attack the Lord’s anointed, it’s the same as attacking the Lord Himself! So David realizes his actions and slowly backs away. He thinks, “This is a terrible thing I’ve done.”

So, let’s back away from the scene for a moment to consider — how should we think about all of this? Are David’s men right? Was this the day of David’s deliverance? Had God provided him with the perfect opportunity to end it all, right here and now? Or, was this a temptation, to see how David responds. Certainly God does test His servants, to see the honesty of their commitment to Him. So which is it, or better yet, how do we even know?

Truth can be our only determiner of discernment. Our feelings can lead us astray. Our friends may not always be thinking straight. We see that here, for sure. David’s men didn’t give him the best advice. As a matter of fact, they almost led him into the WRONG action. Seriously, why live in caves when palaces await?! But what David does know is this: Saul was God’s anointed. And because of this fact, David seems to have reasoned that it is one thing to be promised the kingdom, and another thing altogether to murder God’s anointed and take it by force. This is a reminder that God’s will must be done God’s way…we best not try to force God’s hand.

This makes me think of Jesus, who absolutely faced a similar temptation. In the wilderness, on the heels of fasting for forty days, didn’t Satan offer Jesus a shortcut to the “throne?” Wasn’t his last temptation something along the lines of, “Bow before me and I’ll give you all the kingdoms of the earth?”

So we come back to this point:

“God’s will must be done God’s way.”

It happens in practical matters. Businessmen take the shortcut to make the quick buck. We abandon relationships to make new ones because healing the old ones is too hard. Pastors use their parlor tricks to produce the “3 B’s” — baptisms, buildings, and budgets — before quickly moving on because the hard work of relational discipleship is messy and hard.

And guess what…we will face the short-cut temptation in our spiritual life as well, as if there’s a secret discipline that only the super godly know about, and if you do this one thing, you’ll be a super Christian tomorrow. We want the pain-free pathway, as if there’s a path to godliness where we don’t walk through the valley of the shadow of death, where it’s okay to despise the desert.

But there’s not. There’s not a shortcut. There’s a reason why we’re encouraged to run the race of pursuing Christ with endurance. And, there’s a reason why we count it joy when we face various trials. This is God’s will for us, that we would become like Christ, but it can only be accomplished in His way: persevering faith through the hardships of life.

God’s Justice Is Sought

When we get to verse 8, David decides to reveal the scene, so he calls out to Saul. Can you imagine Saul’s shock when David steps out of the cave that he was just in?! David bows in respect to pay homage to Saul and still calls him “lord.” David’s decision wasn’t just lip service. He truly does honor the king. And then, he fills him in on what just happened:

“The Lord gave you…into my hand” — a fact of providence.

“Some told me to kill you” — a voice of opportunity.

“I will not put out my hand against…the Lord’s anointed” — a principled restraint.

“I cut off the corner of your robe and did not kill you” — proof of evidence.

There’s no need, then, to seek my life. I have not wronged you!

But it’s the next line, verse 12, that teaches us so much. The idea will be repeated again in verse 15. David seeks safety, sure, but notice his appeal:

1 Samuel 24:12 “May the Lord judge between me and you, may the Lord avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you.”

He looks for security from God his Savior. This situation is out of my hands — I’m entrusting it to God. David’s trust is in the same place that we’ve seen it time and time again.

And, it is a challenging read, right? How often do we attempt to exact and expedite what belongs to God? Yet, what did Paul instruct us in Romans 12:19 “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.””?

Furthermore, we read some pretty tough things in the Psalms, especially as NT christians who seek to love our enemies and pray for them. Check this out:

Psalm 54:5 “He will return the evil to my enemies; in your faithfulness put an end to them.” He basically prays that God would put an end to his enemies.

Psalm 58:6 “O God, break the teeth in their mouths; tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!” God, break the teeth out of my foes.

Psalm 139:19 “Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God! O men of blood, depart from me!” You know what, just go ahead and slay the wicked.

Now, am I advocating that we pray for God to squash our enemies like a bug on the windshield of life? Not necessarily. I think there is a deeper matter that we are instructed about:

First, we refuse to take matters into our own hands. But, that’s so hard for us to do. Right? I mean, “I don’t get mad, I get even?” Anyone? Somebody’s got to pay! We have and should have a strong drive for justice, and I’m certainly not advocating for passivity, but I am saying that there are many, many things we can pray for God’s will to be done in. Remember, I’d mentioned this several weeks back, but there’s no guarantee that you’re David in any given situation!

Second, by refusing to take matters in our own hands, instead committing the issue to prayer, we’re expressing our trust and faith that God will do what is right, that His will will be accomplished, and that His glory will be the outcome.

When we refuse to take matters into our own hands and instead bring our situations to God in prayer, we demonstrate real trust in His justice, His timing, and His wisdom. So the charge is this: when you face conflict, injustice, or frustration this week, resist the urge to “get even” — pray first, release the outcome to God, and let your actions flow from faith instead of impulse.

God’s Faithfulness Is Assured

Quite honestly, the last movement in this chapter comes as a bit of a surprise. Check out verse 16 — Saul is surprised to hear David speaking, calls him his “son,” and begins to weep. Is this the right Saul? He doesn’t seem like the sentimental type. He confesses — David, you’re the better man. You repaid me good while all I’ve done is try to take your life. He basically asks in verse 19, “Who would find their enemy, have a chance to easily off them, and let them walk. What you’ve done makes no sense.”

Because of this, Saul blesses David — it’s one of the few times that Saul uses God’s covenant name YHWH — and he even confesses that David will “surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel” will definitely be “established” in David’s hand. His only request is the David swear to not abolish Saul’s line, probably unaware that David had already made that covenant to Jonathan.

Here’s the thing, though. Can David trust what Saul says? I mean, we’re not dealing with the most upstanding individual. So what if he says, “You’re going to be king one day.” To that I’d say:

First, Saul’s not making his own promise to David, but acknowledging what God had already promised to David. If God can cause a donkey to think and speak logically, then certainly Saul can affirm truth. If need be, God could call forth the praise of stones. He certainly can produce truth from the lips of a madman. It’s not the promise of the crazed king, it’s the affirmation of an all-powerful God that brings assurance.

Second, I find this passage oddly refreshing because God gives David an assurance. Through all of this, David has been faithful. God anointed him as future king because his heart was set on God. He is one of the bonafide heroes of the faith. Yet, God gives him an assurance — what I’ve said will come to pass. Now, we’re not told that David was doubting or that he had his questions. We don’t know if David was wavering in his faith. What we do know is that he was assured, and I find this quite refreshing, because who among us has not had their moments of question and doubt? I struggle with the guys who say, “If you’re only 99% sure, then you’re 100% doubting.” God affirms and assures us of His promises, even if it’s not an out-and-out, black and white affirmation. Case in point: the greatest man born of a woman, JTB, the one who proclaimed Jesus as the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world and said that even though Jesus comes after me, I’m actually not even worthy to untie His sandals, that guy doubted. And what did Jesus say to him when his questions were brought? Go and tell him the things I’ve done. Without saying it plainly, He says I do Messiah things, so there’s not another coming.

One of my children did not like thrill rides when they were younger. It could be quite comical sometimes, the length they’d try to go through to not have to ride a ride. Pitching a fit, that was always the worst. But then there’d also be the fact that they’d need to go to the restroom every time we were about to get on the ride. Through many assurances that everything would be okay, they’d get on the ride, only to scream and laugh and have a ball. Fast-forward to today, when they love most every ride they get on. As a father, I knew they were fine, but they needed the confident reassurance.

So it is with our Father in heaven. He has promised good to us. And, there are oftentimes He will do what is necessary to remind us that we are secure in His arms. What a God we serve?!

As the scene wraps up, notice the end: Saul goes his way, and David back to his stronghold. Sure, David has his assurance, but Saul and David do not depart as friends. It’s a subtle reminder that assurance is no excuse for foolishness. Just because God promises to meet all of our needs as we seek His kingdom and righteousness, it doesn’t mean that we have an excuse to mismanage and mis-steward what He’s blessed us with. Therefore, let us constantly seek God for His guidance and wisdom, not leaving ourselves to our own folly.

Even in a moment when Saul spoke truth and affirmed God’s promise, David didn’t place his confidence in Saul but in the God who keeps His word—and God graciously reassured David when he needed it. Likewise, when we face uncertainty or moments of doubt, we can rest in the promises God has already spoken, seeking His wisdom without becoming careless or presumptuous. Trust in God’s assurance, and keep walking in wisdom and obedience.