WHEN OUR SECURITY IS GONE

INTRODUCTION

Our sense of security is often dependent upon various factors in our lives such as our jobs, our families, our friends, and even our position in society.

We can become very secure in these things

A person with a good job, a nice house, a loving family, the respect of other people, good health – well, what else could a guy need? Right?

Maybe he doesn’t even need God.

And therein lies the problem – God wants us to find our security ultimately in Him

The reason for that is that all of these things are temporary and our relationship with God has the potential of being eternal – we will have to remain faithful

But there is an independent streak in all of us that tends sometimes to neglect to develop our security and trust in God when there are so many others things that offer what we think is security.

Though it is not always the case, it is often true that the person who is secure in these other things will have somewhat of a problem trusting God. Oh, he wouldn’t know it – unless he begins to lose any or all of these things that made him feel secure.

It could be that in many cases God allows His children to go through loss of worldly means of security in order to test, expose, and/or develop trust in Him

David now is flying high above the clouds of secure circumstances

He had been brought out of obscurity as a shepherd and anointed to be the next king of Israel.

David had taken on the giant, Goliath, and had been victorious when everyone else was afraid. Because of his victory, Saul had put David in charge of his army.

David led that army into battle and won time and time again. He was very popular among the army rank and file. When the army came home, David found he was popular among the people too – even more popular than King Saul himself.

1 Samuel 18:6–7 ASV 1901

6 And it came to pass as they came, when David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with timbrels, with joy, and with instruments of music. 7 And the women sang one to another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands.

David was on a roll of success! But then, suddenly, one at a time, his securities began to leave him.

God allowed it to happen, though David had done no wrong. 1 Samuel 18-21 describe how all of David’s earthly securities were removed from him.

David would lose his position in the king’s army, he would lose his wife, he would lose his mentor and longtime counselor – Samuel, he would lose his best friend – Jonathan, and would finally loose his self-respect.

David’s life at this stage typifies the person whom God is teaching to depend on Him.

It seems to be universal in human nature that you and I tend to find our security in everything else except God... In our bank account, our job, our family – you name it.

And often, it isn’t until these things are actually taken away that we finally learn to lean on the Lord. It is seldom a pleasant experience.

Let us now consider this slice out of David’s life as God removes his securities – one at a time and see what we might learn. This lesson is important to all of us, but particularly to any of us who have experienced loss.

DISCUSSION

THE FIRST THING DAVID LOST WAS HIS GOOD POSITION

1 Samuel 18:8–13 ASV 1901

8 And Saul was very wroth, and this saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom? 9 And Saul eyed David from that day and forward. 10 And it came to pass on the morrow, that an evil spirit from God came mightily upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as he did day by day. And Saul had his spear in his hand; 11 and Saul cast the spear; for he said, I will smite David even to the wall. And David avoided out of his presence twice. 12 And Saul was afraid of David, because Jehovah was with him, and was departed from Saul. 13 Therefore Saul removed him from him, and made him his captain over a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people.

When those who sang the song about David and his ten thousand, Saul was enraged with anger and obsessed with jealousy

Thus, in verse 13 we see David receives a demotion.

Notice the position that David had occupied before this incident

1 Samuel 18:5 ASV 1901

5 And David went out whithersoever Saul sent him, and behaved himself wisely: and Saul set him over the men of war, and it was good in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.

David had been set “over the men of war.” David had apparently been made general.

Now he would only be over a thousand men

No matter what the cause, a demotion is usually hard for us to take when it comes

We feel rejected and we hurt. It is especially hard to take when we have done nothing to deserve it, which is the case with David

But that wasn’t the end of it – spitefully, Saul would cheat David out of the wife he was promised for defeating Goliath

Notice...

1 Samuel 18:14–19 ASV 1901

14 And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and Jehovah was with him. 15 And when Saul saw that he behaved himself very wisely, he stood in awe of him. 16 But all Israel and Judah loved David; for he went out and came in before them. 17 And Saul said to David, Behold, my elder daughter Merab, her will I give thee to wife: only be thou valiant for me, and fight Jehovah’s battles. For Saul said, Let not my hand be upon him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him. 18 And David said unto Saul, Who am I, and what is my life, or my father’s family in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king? 19 But it came to pass at the time when Merab, Saul’s daughter, should have been given to David, that she was given unto Adriel the Meholathite to wife.

Now, that may not have set very well for Saul in the public eye – so the next thing we find is Saul hatching a plot where it would appear that he is going to give David his younger daughter to wife – Michal

But since David was a poor man, a dowry for the king’s daughter was out of reach.

“No problem” - Saul had a plan...

1 Samuel 18:20–25 ASV 1901

20 And Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved David: and they told Saul, and the thing pleased him. 21 And Saul said, I will give him her, that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him. Wherefore Saul said to David, Thou shalt this day be my son-in-law a second time. 22 And Saul commanded his servants, saying, Commune with David secretly, and say, Behold, the king hath delight in thee, and all his servants love thee: now therefore be the king’s son-in-law. 23 And Saul’s servants spake those words in the ears of David. And David said, Seemeth it to you a light thing to be the king’s son-in-law, seeing that I am a poor man, and lightly esteemed? 24 And the servants of Saul told him, saying, On this manner spake David. 25 And Saul said, Thus shall ye say to David, The king desireth not any dowry, but a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be avenged of the king’s enemies. Now Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines.

Of course, Saul figured that David would be killed in the process and he would be rid of him

This plan of Saul did not work because God was with David.

1 Samuel 18:26–29 ASV 1901

26 And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king’s son-in-law. And the days were not expired; 27 and David arose and went, he and his men, and slew of the Philistines two hundred men; and David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full number to the king, that he might be the king’s son-in-law. And Saul gave him Michal his daughter to wife. 28 And Saul saw and knew that Jehovah was with David; and Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved him. 29 And Saul was yet the more afraid of David; and Saul was David’s enemy continually.

David presented Saul with the evidence of two hundred dead enemy soldiers, and Saul had no choice but to give Michal to David to wife

But that did not stop the murderous designs of Saul – ultimately, David would be driven from the king’s court.

1 Samuel 19:1 ASV 1901

1 And Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they should slay David. But Jonathan, Saul’s son, delighted much in David.

Jonathan pleaded with his father not to kill David – an innocent man.

1 Samuel 19:4–7 ASV 1901

4 And Jonathan spake good of David unto Saul his father, and said unto him, Let not the king sin against his servant, against David; because he hath not sinned against thee, and because his works have been to thee-ward very good: 5 for he put his life in his hand, and smote the Philistine, and Jehovah wrought a great victory for all Israel: thou sawest it, and didst rejoice; wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood, to slay David without a cause? 6 And Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan: and Saul sware, As Jehovah liveth, he shall not be put to death. 7 And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan showed him all those things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence, as beforetime.

He reminded him how faithful David had been in battle with the giant and in the king’s army.

Saul listened to his son for a little while, and David was restored to his place at the palace. But Saul’s jealousy soon returned.

1 Samuel 19:8–10 ASV 1901

8 And there was war again: and David went out, and fought with the Philistines, and slew them with a great slaughter; and they fled before him. 9 And an evil spirit from Jehovah was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand; and David was playing with his hand. 10 And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the spear; but he slipped away out of Saul’s presence, and he smote the spear into the wall: and David fled, and escaped that night.

So, David goes home that night

In the meanwhile, Saul is sending men to surround the house to kill David when he comes out in the morning

1 Samuel 19:11–12 ASV 1901

11 And Saul sent messengers unto David’s house, to watch him, and to slay him in the morning: and Michal, David’s wife, told him, saying, If thou save not thy life to-night, to-morrow thou wilt be slain. 12 So Michal let David down through the window: and he went, and fled, and escaped.

That was the last that David saw of his old job and position.

From here on out David is a “hunted man”

Had David done anything to deserve this kind of treatment?

No!

Not unless being faithful to what he was told to do was wrong.

THE SECOND THING DAVID LOST WAS HIS WIFE MICHAL

You will remember that David had to escape during the night to save his life – and Michal now going to take steps to cover her tracts

1 Samuel 19:13–17 ASV 1901

13 And Michal took the teraphim, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats’ hair at the head thereof, and covered it with the clothes. 14 And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, He is sick. 15 And Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying, Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may slay him. 16 And when the messengers came in, behold, the teraphim was in the bed, with the pillow of goats’ hair at the head thereof. 17 And Saul said unto Michal, Why hast thou deceived me thus, and let mine enemy go, so that he is escaped? And Michal answered Saul, He said unto me, Let me go; why should I kill thee?

Now, was what Michal says here true? Did David threaten to kill her if she didn’t help him escape? No! She was telling this lie so that she will have a bridge back to the palace!

Michael proved here and later, to be the kind of person who is loyal to the one who is moving up. She dropped David like a hot potato!

As a matter of fact, David would be on the run for quite a while after this. What did Michal do during that time? Let me show you…

1 Samuel 25:44 ASV 1901

44 Now Saul had given Michal his daughter, David’s wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was of Gallim.

Saul gave David’s wife to someone else!

And is there any hint that she resisted? Not the slightest bit!

I cannot tell you what I would do if my wife left me or were suddenly taken from me. But I can tell you that it would be very difficult for me.

Perhaps some of you knows what it feels like. You may know first hand what it means to lose someone you’ve depended on.

Some of you have, during a time of loss like that, learned in a special way what it means to lean upon the Lord and get your security from Him

But there are some who are completely wiped out by such a loss.

Well, through no fault of his own, David has lost his position and now his wife.

THE THIRD THING DAVID LOST WAS HIS OLD MENTOR

When we are hurting from a loss, we usually go to those whom we care about and have helped us in the past

David was no exception – he went to his old friend, Samuel

David had probably spent some time under Samuel’s tutelage

1 Samuel 19:18a (KJV 1900)

18 So David fled, and escaped, and came to Samuel to Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth.

Can you imagine what that conversations must have been like? “Samuel, I was doing my job – I’ve done nothing wrong … Why is all this happening to me?”

Do you know anyone who have ever used these words before? Have you?

Why does God allow these things to happen to His faithful children?

Doesn’t God care? Yes, he does!

1 Samuel 19:18b (KJV 1900)

18 So David fled, and escaped, and came to Samuel to Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth.

Naioth was the place where Samuel kept his “school of the prophets,” where young men trained for the prophetic ministry

Certainly Saul wouldn’t find him there, or perhaps wouldn’t pursue him there, since he might fear what God might do to him through Samuel. But David had no sooner gotten there than word got out.

1 Samuel 19:19 ASV 1901

19 And it was told Saul, saying, Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.

God protected David there for a while. As Saul sent his men to capture David, they would get close to the place and suddenly God’s spirit would come upon them and they would prophesy.

Thwarted by God Himself, they would return empty handed. This went on several times until finally Saul himself when to get David, but with the same results.

But finally, David had to leave his good friend Samuel. I picture Samuel saying something like, “David, you have to go – we cannot protect you anymore.”

So, in 1 Samuel 20 we see David fleeing to the side of another friend – Jonathan

THE FOURTH THING DAVID LOST WAS HIS BEST FRIEND

Picture David, out of breath, having just come in from Ramah, talking with his old friend

Just like us today when suddenly things seem to be going all bad and we have done nothing to deserve it – David was wondering why?

1 Samuel 20:1 ASV 1901

1 And David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan, What have I done? what is mine iniquity? and what is my sin before thy father, that he seeketh my life?

At first Jonathan did not believe that his father could have reverted back to wanting David dead.

But in the series of events that followed, he was convinced and saw no other recourse than that he and his friend should part company

1 Samuel 20:41–42 ASV 1901

41 And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward the South, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times: and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded. 42 And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of Jehovah, saying, Jehovah shall be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed, for ever. And he arose and departed: and Jonathan went into the city.

David was weeping no doubt because he had to part company with his close friend

David would see his friend only one more time before Jonathan’s untimely death – but David was to lose one more thing

THE FIFTH THING DAVID LOST WAS HIS PERSONAL DIGNITY

In chapter 21, David goes into the city of the priests, called Nob.

There he took nourishment and was given the sword he had taken from Goliath

Nob would later be destroyed for helping David (1 Sam. 22:18-19)

1 Samuel 21:10–15 ASV 1901

10 And David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath. 11 And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands? 12 And David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath. 13 And he changed his behavior before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard. 14 Then said Achish unto his servants, Lo, ye see the man is mad; wherefore then have ye brought him to me? 15 Do I lack madmen, that ye have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? shall this fellow come into my house?

David fled to “Gath” - the city of Goliath, David was trying to hid here. Can you imagine David trying to hide there? – He would be a household name!

They knew who David was and he became very afraid – so he became to act like a crazy man.

They brought David to the King, and the king says I have enough nuts around me as it is – why are you bringing me another?

So David is forced to abandon even his personal dignity as he disguises his sanity and drools in his beard and scratches on the gate.

CONCLUSION

Most people get a lot of security from what they do for a living

Among a group of men, after names are exchanged in an introduction – the next question usually asked it, “What do you do for a living?”

Most men derive a sense of who they are by what their occupation is.

How would it effect you if suddenly you permanently lost your job and position through no fault of your own – and you could never go back?

Would it affect your sense of security?

You really don’t know just how much sense of security you derive from your job until you lose it for some reason.

If we are putting our security in worldly things we will cause ourselves great sorrow if calamity comes our way.

How would David react to all of this?

Perhaps we can get a glimpse by looking at...

Psalm 57:1–11 ASV 1901

1 Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me; For my soul taketh refuge in thee: Yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I take refuge, Until these calamities be overpast. 2 I will cry unto God Most High, Unto God that performeth all things for me. 3 He will send from heaven, and save me, When he that would swallow me up reproacheth; Selah God will send forth his lovingkindness and his truth. 4 My soul is among lions; I lie among them that are set on fire, Even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, And their tongue a sharp sword. 5 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; Let thy glory be above all the earth. 6 They have prepared a net for my steps; My soul is bowed down: They have digged a pit before me; They are fallen into the midst thereof themselves. Selah 7 My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing, yea, I will sing praises. 8 Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake right early. 9 I will give thanks unto thee, O Lord, among the peoples: I will sing praises unto thee among the nations. 10 For thy lovingkindness is great unto the heavens, And thy truth unto the skies. 11 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; Let thy glory be above all the earth.