Grab Goliath's Sword, and Let's Go!"

Greg Purchla

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Intro

Were any of you here for the Vacation Bible School opening sessions? Can we get a show of hands. Perhaps you will remember this. Every night of Vacation Bible School started with a skit shown on video, to introduce the lesson of the day. In the skit, the narrator would introduce the story, then we would travel back in time to watch the story unfold. The picture on the screen would blur and become a spiral, weird time machine music would play, and the children were supposed to stand up and spin around while they traveled back in time. (Are there any kids here today? If you want to help us out, you can be our time machine. So when I tell you, You are going to stand up and spin around and say back in time!-Do have that? Do you want to practice? Play slide)

Today, we are going to start a one point in Scripture, in the New Testament, and then we are going to travel back in time to the Old Testament.

Our first scripture reading this morning is from . In , Jesus and his followers are walking through a grain field. It is a Sabbath, the day of rest. They are not supposed to be doing any work. Jesus’s enemies are watching Him, and his disciples, watching Jesus carefully to see if he breaks the law. The long time enemies of Jesus are the Pharisees. The Pharisees obey every minute detail of the Law, They meditate on it day and night, as scripture says to do, so they are laser focused watching spying waiting for a slip up, so they can pounce.

As jesus and his followers walk along on the sabbath through the grainfields, they are hungry. So they pull off some stalks, rub the kernels between their hands and eat the Kernels, and the spying Pharisees jump on it!

Now the law even has a provision for this activity in Deut.

Deuteronomy 23:25 NIV

If you enter your neighbor’s grainfield, you may pick kernels with your hands, but you must not put a sickle to their standing grain.

But that is not good enough for the Pharisees. They are trying to put a greater restriction on the law than it demands. They are placing a restriction that this is harvesting on the Sabbath.

Hey look see these are guys are no good, they are harvesting on the Sabbath, they are doing work! And they question Jesus. And Jesus answered them.

Luke ^;

Luke 6:3–4 NIV

Jesus answered them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and taking the consecrated bread, he ate what is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.”

Luke 6:3 NIV

Jesus answered them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?

Luke 6:3–5 NIV

Jesus tells the Pharisees that there is something bigger here. Jesus says, He is God even over the day of rest. He is the one whom the law is based on, the one the law points to. He is the fulfillment of the Law.

It is really a fairly straightforward message. There are those that oppose Jesus, and the things of God, those are the Pharisees, and Jesus is Lord over it all.

In that response of Jesus, He defends his position with scripture. Jesus asks his enemies if they have ever read the Story about David and his companions and the consecrated bread. That story in in , our second scripture reading. Perhaps, if they understood they would understand that the bigger picture is that Jesus is Lord, and to try and set your self against the Lord’s anointed is pointless. Jesus and His disciples were on a mission to try and bring the Gospel to the world, and to set yourself against Jesus the Lord’s anointed is pointless

In a minute we are going to travel back in time. But before we do, I want us to take two things with us. The first thing is that Jesus-Messiah is the Lord’s Anointed. He is the God-man the anointed one of God the Father, and the true king. The other thing we are going take along is that The Pharisees are the ones who oppose the Lord’s anointed.

The major point here tod. One the law is a matter of the heart.

So, if we are ready lets travel back in time to the Story of David and the consecrated bread in 1 Samuel chapter 21. (Kids are you ready? Let’s go Back in time!)

Play Slide

1 Samuel 21:1 NIV

David went to Nob, to Ahimelek the priest. Ahimelek trembled when he met him, and asked, “Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?”

It’s a matter of the Heart

David shows up at the priestly compound of Nob. The tabernacle has been moved here from Shiloh, where it was at the beginning of 1 Samuel, and the priests have set up camp here. Ahimelek is a distant relative of Levi, so his corrupt family line is still infecting the priesthood, and Ahimelek is afraid.

The mighty warrior David has appeared alone, something is rotten in Denmark, so he worried.

But David calms his fears with a little falsehood.

1 Samuel 21:2–3 NIV

David answered Ahimelek the priest, “The king sent me on a mission and said to me, ‘No one is to know anything about the mission I am sending you on.’ As for my men, I have told them to meet me at a certain place. Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever you can find.”

1 Samuel 21:2 NIV

Now know this. Commentators argue about whether or not David is telling a lie. Some say, well because elsewhere David has referred to Yahweh as king, therefore the king he is describing is God, the mission God has sent him on is secret. So therefore, technically David is not lying. This view does a couple of things, it reserves David as being good, technically he is not a lier. Secondly, the Bible does not risk condoning lying as way to save your life. In fact some false religions, like Islam and even in Judaism you will a concept of justifiable lying for the greater good. Now, I do not believe the Bible teaches that.

I believe that the Bible teaches a sin is a sin, no matter what purpose you have in doing it. See even if David was “technically” not sinning with his words, which is possible, the intention of his heart is not right. Ahimelek is thinking that the King David is referring to is Saul. Perhaps David is cleverly using his words to refer to God, but nonetheless he is still misleading Ahimelek intentionally. His heart is to mislead, therefore it is a sin.

Jesus taught that it is the intention of the heart is what determines sin, in Matthew chapter 5.

Matthew 5:21–22 NIV

“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister, will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

Matthew 5:27–28 NIV

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Matthew 5:2

I believe that David intentionally misled Ahimelek, and as result was guilty of sinning.

One thing we learn from Jesus’s teaching is that the act of sinning or not sinning is a matter of the heart. The Sabbath was created to bring men to God

Then David asks the priests for some bread.

1 Samuel 21:3–6 NIV

Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever you can find.” But the priest answered David, “I don’t have any ordinary bread on hand; however, there is some consecrated bread here—provided the men have kept themselves from women.” 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!” So the priest gave him 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.

Some, don’t like to assign a sin to David, and they are fearful that people will jump to the conclusion that the Bible is saying it is ok to lie.

SO here again we get into a technical conundrum with matters of law. So far the text has been crawling with it. The problem goes like this.

Every Sabbath, the Priests take 12 fresh loaves of bread into the sanctuary. They are displayed before Yahweh, separated only by a curtain. Because they are so close to God, they become Holy. They stay there until the next Sabbath, and then they are replaced with fresh loves. The old loaves because they are Holy are then eaten by the Priests within the Holy place.

The Priest, the intermediary between God and men is going to deviate from standard practice for the following reasoning. He can give David the bread, because David is the Lord’s anointed, he is on a Holy Mission, and provided that David and his men are Holy, by abstaining from those things that would make them unclean.

So we start to see the parallel situation coming into focus a little. Jesus the Lord’s anointed, and His disciples are on a Holy Mission walking through the grainfield and are seemingly violating the Sabbath. David the Lord’s anointed, and His men, are on a Holy Mission, the priests are feeding them with God’s bread in a seeming violation.

But the parallel grows from there. Just like the Pharisees were watching Jesus, someone is watching David.

1 Samuel 21:7 NIV

Now one of Saul’s servants was there that day, detained before the Lord; he was Doeg the Edomite, Saul’s chief shepherd.

Doeg the Edomite, was there. Someone from the opposition is there watching . It is Saul’s chief Shepherd. David was a shepherd. The Chief Shepherd of the opposition is there to spy on the Shepherd that the Lord anointed. And not just the Chief Shepherd of the enemy but an enemy of the Lord’s people by blood as well. An Edomite.

The feud between the Edomites and the Israelites was a bit like the Hatfield’s and the McCoy’s on steroids. The Edomites were descendents of Essau. Remember the twin Jacob and Essau. Essau was the first born, but Jacob recieved the blessing. In regard to Jacob and Essau, Romans chapter 9 spells out God’s relationship to Essau.

Romans 9:11 NIV

Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God’s purpose in election might stand:

Romans 9:13 NIV

Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

Without going into endless geaneologies, I think it is significant to note that the Edomites, have this adversarial relationship with God’s people. Saul battled them, David will battle them, and Solomon as well. Then an Edomite by the name of Herod the great will rise to the throne of Israel, right around the time Jesus is born. Remember Herod the great? He is the Edomite that upon hearing the news of the birth of Jesus, he decided to put to death every baby boy under 2 years of age in an attempt to kill Jesus, the Lord’s anointed and rightful king.

It is interesting to note, that as a sad epilogue to this story, after Doeg the Edomite reports back to Saul that David was there with the priests, Saul orders all the Priests killed. And he has Doeg do it., and this is recorded in 1 Samuel 22

David feels the weight of being the Lord’s anointed, and accepts the blame for this terrible outcome, perhaps as a result of lie.

1 Samuel 22:22 NIV

Then David said to Abiathar, “That day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, I knew he would be sure to tell Saul. I am responsible for the death of your whole family.

Doeg the Edomites, the Chief Shepherd of the Enemy set himself up against the Lord’s anointed. The Pharisees, were supposed to be shepherds of the Lord’s people, and they set themselves against Jesus the good shepherd, and attempted to stop the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

In the Luke passage, Jesus is making a comparison to the 1 Samuel event, for several reason.

Jesus is showing that he is Lord of the Sabbath. Jesus is showing that the law is intended to point people to God.

And Jesus is also showing us that there is a clear opposition in the world to the kingdom of God going forward.

For today, I want to look at this opposition to the kingdom of God

Several weeks ago we learned that the physical battles that are recorded in the Old Testament have taken on a spiritual nature in the New Testament. The Old Testament warfare is no longer physically played out between people groups rather the battles are Spiritual fought in the lives of the the believers. We may not physically fight Edomites anymore. But the Edomites, in our lives in Faribault, are those things that set themselves up against the Lord.

Ephesians 6:12 NIV

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

The Edomites that we encounter today, are right here in Faribault. They are the Drugs, the meth the prescription drugs, that is being used by the enemy to to kill, steal, and destroy lives. They are pornography that seeks to erode marriage and Godly relationships. They are pride and self-sufficiency. They are false religions and idolatry, and these things are right outside our doors eroding lives, families and marriages. These things are killing our children, and they are preventing people from coming into the kingdom of God.

Brothers and Sisters, David did not stay in the Temple, he left. He grabbed Goliath’s sword, and he left, not to kill steal and destroy with it, but to bring mercy.

We must move outside of the sanctuary and set the sword of the word of God, against those things that set themselves up against Jesus Christ. Can we really expect things to change if we remain inside focused on ourselves.

So how do we do that? So lets look at three possible ways.

Share Jesus with Someone

Share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with someone. Pick a person that you know that needs to hear the good news of Jesus and begin by praying for them. Pray to God how and when to share Jesus with them. Pour into their lives, this may take time. Pray for the opportunity to share that Jesus Christ died on the cross for their sins, and rose from the dead 3 days later in victory. Get a pamphlet to help guide you through, if you need to, I have some in my office. This is the big goal. You may not be ready for that.

This is the big goal, if you will that requires a big step for some people and I get that, so I’ll give you an alternative.

Pray For Someone

Ask someone if you can pray for them. We learned this in the first class of Every Day Faith last week. Just simply ask someone if you can pray for them. We you go out to eat, say to the sever, Can I pray for today? The Holy Spirit will work in situations like this, you will be surprised at how God works.

Invite Someone To Church

Lastly we have a Fall Festival coming up. In the world of Church/growth it can be a point of first contact. People sometimes find it difficult to walk into a new church, they don’t know anyone and it may be intimidating. The Fall Festival gives you an opportunity to invite some who may not normally come for worship. Grab some cards on the table in back, hand them to a neighbor or a friend. What is the worst that can happen? They won’t come? Sure, but there is a chance they will. without inviting there is no chance.

We cannot sit and complain, and discuss how bad the things of the world are getting, while isolating ourselves inside, if we do things outside the doors will not get better.

Romans 10:14–15 NIV

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

1 Sam 21:

I think this allows squares with one other part of this story. After Saul finds out that David went to the priests, He has all the pri

1 Samuel 22:22 NIV

Then David said to Abiathar, “That day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, I knew he would be sure to tell Saul. I am responsible for the death of your whole family.

in matters of protecting life So they see David right away see this as deception, and say that here the Bible is not condeming

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