The Steps of a Good Man

It has been a long road for David. When we first met him, he was just a boy, swept up into a political environment he did not seek. God chose him to be Israel’s future King; God chose him as Saul’s musician so he could learn what it meant to be King; He was just a boy who faithfully did what those in authority told him to do. His musical skill caused him to learn the art of kings; his faithfulness placed him where he could hear Goliath’s challenge to the Armies of the Living God. his courage grew out of his deep faith, which impelled him to use the tools at his disposal. A tool that most of the men in the army had - a sling. But only David had the courage to take God at his word. His defeat of the Giant elevated his fame and pushed him toward military activities. His military success caused him to get more and more military engagement. He learned how to direct an army.

Even what appeared to be his biggest setback - becoming a fugitive - actually helped him develop his knowledge of how to rule. He grew an army, now at the head of his own group of men. This is even greater responsibility. As he faithfully cared for the men thrust into his care, he grew in power and security. God prevented him from giving into revenge and killing Nabal, but exacted justice and gave him a great new wife, Abigail.

With his new power, he now had the political clout to move to Philistia and ended up with his own town. There he continued to do what God had appointed him to do, defending Israel’s interests. He now ruled over an entire town. But he was still a fugitive. God’s path for him was definitely not easy. Indeed, one could argue that his path was harder than it was for most people who would never be king. And that pain was almost entirely undeserved. But the pain he had to walk through wasn’t useless. He would not have had the ability to be the great king he was.

But the painful road he walked was soon to be at an end. He had rejected the easy road of self-defense, because Saul was the Lord’s Anointed, so the regular rules of self-defense did not apply. He maintained that since God appointed Saul, only God had the right to remove him from that position. So he had stayed a fugitive. But who would believe he would do something so counter-cultural? David wasn’t going around promoting his own goodness, but to be a successful politician people had to know he was good. Should he rationalize that self-promotion by saying that he was in reality a much better man than Saul, and the country was hurting until he became King, so he was going to position himself as King. But Israel wasn’t a democracy. It was still a theocracy, and it was God’s job to do that. So he waited instead. And his waiting was going to be rewarded.

God was going to set up the perfect set of circumstances to prove he had nothing to do with Saul’s death, and to give him the popularity necessary to take the throne beginning in the area he had spent the most time. It will be clear that David didn’t plan or manufacture these events. He just continued to faithfully do what God wanted him to do, and God was the one who elevated him. There remained one final battle, one last severe trial that, it turned out, was the perfect illustration of these two principles.

I. The Lord Gave Him an Excuse

map

Why the Philistines leaders objected - how they were right about David’s loyalty, but wrong about how he could regain Saul’s trust.

superlative “as an angel of God” = being really good. [Scripture not on slides]

2 Samuel 14:17 NKJV

Your maidservant said, ‘The word of my lord the king will now be comforting; for as the angel of God, so is my lord the king in discerning good and evil. And may the Lord your God be with you.’ ”

2 Samuel 19:27 NKJV

And he has slandered your servant to my lord the king, but my lord the king is like the angel of God. Therefore do what is good in your eyes.

Galatians 4:14 NKJV

And my trial which was in my flesh you did not despise or reject, but you received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.

God used the Philistine leaders to excuse him from a fight that would tarnish his image even if he did what was right; and avoided revealing his cards.

II. The Lord Gave Him Encouragement

How the Amalekites still existed after Saul destroyed them.

Return to map

Magnitude of the personal loss

David Strengthened himself in the Lord his God.

How do you do that?

III. The Lord Rewarded His Hospitality

Use of the Urim and Thumim again

Difference between David’s treatment of his overly weary men and the Amalekite’s abandonment of this random servant.

David left his weary men with supplies - stuff - after they had already lost their stuff

He left them by a brook - for water - and with food.

Importance of hospitality.

IV. The Lord Rewarded His Generosity

God orchestrated a victory due to the carelessness of the Amalekites, and the opportunity of surprise. God also moved the Amalekites to kill no one, so that all their stuff could be recovered. 400 men escaped, but unlike Saul, it wasn’t because David didn’t want to finish the job, but because he didn’t have enough men to catch them. David had no mandate to kill them all, as he wasn’t king yet. but he ended up doing Saul’s work for him anyway.

The payout from this raid was an order of magnitude greater than any other raid he made. Evidence

the Amalekite raid was against more than Ziklag; it was against the region around Abigail’s home and the Cherethites (1 Sam 30:14)

Negeb of Caleb = southern Judean region that Caleb inherited. Nabal and Abigail lived there. David’s last wanderings before moving to Ziklag was there.

Negeb of Cherethites = southern Judean region near Hebron. Ezekiel 25:15-17 were judged with the Philistines for their offense against Israel. Since the Philistines most likely originated in Crete, the word Cherethite is probably an alternate spelling of “Cretan.” However, the Philistines were not natives of Crete, but had come from Caphtor whereas the Cherethites were the native Cretans. The Cherethites had hired themselves out as mercenaries, and those David hired remained faithful to him in all his troubles. BEB, NBD entries for “Cherethites.”

This also included a great deal of spoil from the wealthy Philistines (1 Sam 30:16)

What is the point of the touching story of sharing with the 200 weary men?

Notice that it is an act of generosity as was his gifts to southern Judea [map again].

David recognizes that victory comes from God, therefore the spoils of victory do not belong merely to those who fought, but to all who participated.

David’s generosity extended to the areas he had done most of his later wanderings; [map] this generosity helped to make him king later. Note that many of these cities were also affected by the Amalekite raid, so his spoil was in part reimbursing them for what was stolen.

The point is that David wasn’t making a cold, skeptical political calculation to make himself king. He had received so much spoil he didn’t need it all, and was just a generous person. It was God who orchestrated the circumstances to cause that generosity to propel him toward the throne.

Conclusion:

David’s story in these chapters is a perfect illustration of the principle that states:

Psalm 37:23–24 NKJV

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, And He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the Lord upholds him with His hand.

We could also quote

James 4:10 NKJV

Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

Our lives are full of twists and turns. It’s good to plan ahead, but if you think your plans will survive the exigencies of life you are deluding yourself. Those twists and turns are not the random accidents of fate. They are directions from a good God who guides the steps of every person. For a righteous person - someone who has been justified by faith - God guides their steps for good. That doesn’t mean an easy life, but it does mean a good life. It means that everything that happens to you will work out for your ultimate good. When your story is over, you will look back and want it all to have happened. Even the hard bits.