When All Else Fails

READ 1 Samuel 21:1-15 and PRAY

David’s Support System (before and after)

Up to this point in the story, David had a pretty strong support system.

His Family (yes, some troubled relationships, but still…)

His Work (Shepherd, Musician, Warrior)

His Position in the Royal Family (General of the Army)

His Wife (Michal)

His Best Friend (Jonathan)

The People (He was so popular they wrote songs about him)

One by one, these things were systematically taken away from him.

Last week, we read that he was forced to say goodbye to Jonathan and flee.

Before that, he had to leave his wife in order to save his life.

While he still had some soldiers who were faithful to him, his standing in the army had changed.

His work was gone.

His family was gone.

In the midst of it all, he had seemingly lost everything.

In 1 Samuel 21, there are TWO STORIES.

#1 David at Nob (21:1-9) - the city of the priests

#2 David at Gath (21:10-15) - one of the five Philistine city-states, home of Goliath

***SEE MAP (from Nob to Gath)

Chapter 19 - David went to Samuel at Ramah

Chapter 20 - David was with Jonathan in Gibeah

Gibeah (Saul’s Hometown) was the first capital of Israel, before David moved it to Jerusalem.

Chapter 21 - We don’t know exactly where Nob was located, but it was likely somewhere in this vicinity northeast of Jerusalem

And finally, we see the Philistine city of Gath

Our Scripture passage today, our first story, begins in the city of Nob, the city of the priests.

David in the city of the priests

The first thing that the priest Ahimelek says to David is this, “Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?”

The priest trembled at the sight of David…

Had something gone wrong? Where were David’s men?

David was looking for two things…Food and Weapons

The only FOOD available was the consecrated bread.

The only WEAPON available was Goliath’s sword.

But notice what David said...

“The king sent me on a mission and said to me, ‘No one is to know anything about the mission...”

Do you notice anything interesting about that statement?

Another ethical conundrum

It was a lie. David wasn’t telling the truth.

If you’ve been with us over the past couple of weeks, you know that David wasn’t on a mission FOR the king, he was running for his life FROM the king.

Here, David is seemingly breaking the 9th commandment (don’t give false testimony).

Last week, we saw Jonathan lie to the king about David’s whereabouts, and he seemingly broke the 5th commandment (honor your father).

And then the week before that, in chapter 19, David’s wife Michal lied about David’s whereabouts saying he was ill.

There is a whole web of lies here.

Is this ok? Does the Bible teach that it is ok to lie?

Throughout the history of the church, many have responded to this very question and this specific story from 1 Sam. 21. (source: Evans)...

The early church father John Cassian observed “that holy men sometimes lied in praiseworthy or at least in pardonable fashion” but argued that “in the light of the gospel, these things have been utterly forbidden, such that none of them can be committed without very serious sin and sacrilege.”

Chrysostom, another early church father writing on Michal’s deceit of chapter 19 wrote this, “not in war only, but also in peace the need of deceit may be found, not merely in reference to the affairs of the state but also in private life.”

Augustine said that it was never right to tell a lie, even to save an innocent life. He said that “it was better that the body of the innocent die than the eternal soul of the liar be jeopardized.”

The theologian Thomas Aquinas had three classifications for lies: 1) a jocose lie - only told because it is a joke, 2) officious lies (we might call them“white lies”) which hurt no one; 3) injurious lies that cause harm. Aquinas said that the third lie was really the only lie that carried any consequences

Jesus himself gave us some commentary on 1 Samuel 21.

In the New Testament, when Jesus was speaking with the Pharisees about the Sabbath, Jesus referred to this story.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke all quote Jesus’ words here. Here is the reference from Luke...

***READ Luke 6:3-4

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.”

Jesus knew that David not only lied to the priest, he also ate the bread that is only for the priests to eat. (cf. Lev. 24)

In all of this, Jesus does not to condemn David, but rather defends him.

Again, just like we saw last week, there is an ethical dilemma at work here...

…the Spirit of the Law outweighs the Letter of the Law!

That doesn’t mean when can just start lying when it suits our best interests…of course not!

But…there may very well be the most limited of circumstances, when we have to do this.

Imagine the underground railroad, or those who hid the Jews during the Holocaust…rare circumstances.

David was in a desperate situation here! Desperate times call for desperate measures.

But we need to be so careful...

John 8:44 NIV

You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Jesus is the Way, Truth, and the Life…proceed with caution.

In the end, the priest gave David the consecrated bread and Goliath’s sword.

However, while David’s actions can be justified, there will still be consequences!

There is a key detail told within the middle of this story.

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.

Nothing else is said about the man other than the fact that he was there.

Perhaps his presence was why David said what he said to the priest.

Perhaps he was trying to even protect the priests. But if that was David’s plan, it would backfire in the worst possible way.

Next week, when we get to chapter 22, he will be the centerpiece of the tragic events that took place in the city of the priests.

With food and weapons in hand, David left the city.

And where did he go next? A most surprising place...

David in Goliath’s hometown

David went from Nob to Goliath’s hometown, the city of Gath

It was one of the five major Philistine cities.

Why would he go there? Did he think that no one would notice him?

As it turned out, his popularity had preceded him.

They even knew the song about Saul killing thousands, but David killing his tens of thousands.

David was brought before Achish, king of Gath…and David was “very much afraid.” (vs. 12)

Saul was trying to kill him.

And now, here in the city of Gath — the home of Israel’s great enemy, the hometown of the hero that David killed — it was looking more and more like King Achish would do the very thing that Saul had been trying to do.

So David did what any of us would do…he pretended to be a mad man!

And it worked! The king released him.

***READ “Once again, David defeats the Philistines, but this time with his wits instead of weapons.” - Eugene Peterson

Into the Wilderness

Everything seemed to be crumbling apart before David’s eyes.

And he was headed into a place that many people of God have experienced.

He was heading into the wilderness. And for the next couple of chapters, this is where we will find him.

Over and over in the Bible, we see God’s people in the wilderness.

God seems to do some of his best work on people in these kinds of places, too.

The wilderness is a good place to find out what really matters in life.

And as David is going there, we see a man who is desperate and afraid.

He lies to get what he needs. He acts like a madman.

If this were all we knew of David’s life, it would be a pretty sad story to tell.

But there is more going on in David’s heart.

And to help us understand this better, we have to look at the Psalms.

A Look into David’s Heart: the Psalms

When we read the psalms, we notice that some of them include titles (or superscriptions).

Psalm 34 and 56 both have titles that refer to this story in 1 Samuel 21.

Psalm 34 — Of David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelek, who drove him away, and he left.

Psalm 56 — For the director of music. To the tune of “A Dove on Distant Oaks.” Of David. A miktam. When the Philistines had seized him in Gath.

Brief Side Note: Why does Psalm 34 says Abimelek instead of Achish?

One commentator on the psalms suggests that perhaps this oddity might mean that “Abimelech is a recognized title of a Philistine king (cf. Genesis 20 and 26), like Pharaoh in Egypt and Caesar in Rome.” (Davidson)

We don’t know for sure, but I am not going to dwell anymore on that detail...what’s important for us is that there is a clear connection between these psalms and 1 Samuel 21.

The psalms give a beautiful kind of behind-the-scenes look into David’s heart.

Some have suggested that there are really only two kinds of prayers…Help and Thank You.

Psalm 56 is a HELP prayer and Psalm 34 is a THANK YOU prayer.

Psalm 56

David cries out to God as he is under attack. The psalm begins… from the NIV...

***Read Psalm 56:1, 10-11

Psalm 56:1 (NIV)

Be merciful to me, my God,

for my enemies are in hot pursuit;

all day long they press their attack.

Did you know the phrase “hot pursuit” was in the Bible?

Through it all, David looks to God for deliverance.

Psalm 56:10–11 (NIV)

In God, whose word I praise,

in the Lord, whose word I praise—

in God I trust and am not afraid.

What can man do to me?

Psalm 34

This is a hymn of praise after God had delivered David.

And in this psalm we see that when we have an appropriate “Fear of the Lord” it will conquer every other fear.

***Read Psalm 34:4-5, 17-18

Psalm 34:4–5 (NIV)

I sought the Lord, and he answered me;

he delivered me from all my fears.

Those who look to him are radiant;

their faces are never covered with shame.

Psalm 34:17–18 (NIV)

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;

he delivers them from all their troubles.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted

and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Also, note THIS...

Psalm 34:13 NIV

keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies.

David is in the wilderness

As we noted earlier, his “support system” was gone. Any coping mechanisms he had in place weren’t working anymore.

In a way, David was reaching his rock bottom.

David could have given up.

He could have simply tried to numb himself from the pain.

He could have done any number of things

But here, in the wilderness, David turns to the LORD.

David looks to the LORD.

David finds strength in the LORD.

Look to the Lord

Karl Barth was one of the most well-known theologians of the 20th century, and towards the end of his life he regularly preached to the inmates at the Basel Prison in Basel, Switzerland

It was often jokingly said that many people considered committing crimes just so they could hear Barth preach in prison.

On his 70th birthday, Barth preached a sermon to the inmates on Psalm 34.

And I want read from a brief section of that sermon…here he reflects on verse 5, “Look to him, and have a radiant countenance.”

***READ “When we look to him, to Jesus Christ, then we experience a transformation beside which the greatest revolution is a small affair. It simply consists in the fact that whoever looks to him and believes in him can be called and can be a child of God here on earth. This is an inner transformation, however, that cannot be and remain merely internal, but rather takes place by pushing powerfully toward the outside. A great, bright, lasting light comes on. And this very light finds its reflection in believers' faces, in their eyes, in their behavior, in their words and actions. Such people — in the very midst of their troubles and suffering, and contrary to all their sighing and grumbling — know joy: not a cheap and superficial joy but a deep joy; not a passing but an abiding joy.”

David looked to the LORD and was transformed.

And the same can be true for us.

What do we do when all else fails?

Over the past year, people developed a lot of different strategies for coping with the pandemic.

A survey was taken last March, early on in the pandemic, and this is how people responded...

***GRAPHIC: How Americans are coping with the pandemic

Watching TV

Talking with friends

Exercise

Checking out the news/COVID updates

(A little further down) Prayer/Faith practices

We can see things here that are healthy and unhealthy activities.

We all have healthy and unhealthy coping mechanisms to make it through the hard times.

When, not If

The title of my sermon today is not “IF all else fails” but “WHEN all else fails”

You might say…why do you got to be so negative?

I’m not trying to be negative. But at some point, all of our coping mechanisms, our entire support system WILL fail, unless it is all rooted in the foundation of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

If we can put our TRUST in God, then while we will certainly experience suffering, we will always have a solid foundation.

What is your support system?

If you were to write it down on a piece of paper, what would you write?

What do you do when the going gets tough? What have you done?

What are your coping mechanisms?

Are they healthy? Unhealthy? Are they rooted in God?

If you are struggling to answer these questions…then how about this question...

What are the things that you do every single day, almost without fail?

What are the things that makes your life worth living?

What can’t you live without?

All of this helps us to answer the question of what we will do when all else fails...

...not what we might do or we we hope to do but what we will actually do when all else fails.

Read the Instructions

I think Elisabeth Elliot can help us out here. She once said this,

***READ “When you buy a new gadget and plug the thing in and turn it on, and something goes wrong, the chances are that you didn't read the instructions. When all else fails, you read the instructions. Unfortunately, that's often the way we conduct our lives. We assume that we know how to handle things, and we plunge in. We make a mess of things, and then we wonder what went wrong. When all else fails, we might go back to the Book of instructions. Jesus said, ‘If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free’ (John 8:31-32).”

Tell Your Story

When all is said and done, we don’t know how we will really respond until we are tested. And we will be tested.

But it is an absolutely amazing thing to experience when God comes through in the clutch.

Some of you have experienced this...

Have any of you truly experienced God coming through for you when all else failed?

OK, there they are…go talk to them after the service today…seriously.

I want to encourage you to share these stories with one another.

After this service is over, maybe don’t talk about the weather, or about politics, or about Seattle’s new hockey team, or whatever it is that you might talk about.

Instead, talk with one another about a time when God came through for you when your world was falling apart.

And if you are struggling in this area, struggling to trust in God, seek out a true friend who you can talk with about this.

Share these stories with one another. Encourage one another.

The New International Version Psalm 34

4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me;

he delivered me from all my fears.

5 Those who look to him are radiant;

their faces are never covered with shame.

PRAY