Trust The Lord With Reverence

Welcome again to Jefferson Park. We're walking through the book of 1 Samuel, and it is encouraging and helpful to hear God's Word read. We do live in a blessed time where we have Bibles. If you don't have a Bible, please take the one in front of you. Most of church history, the church got to listen in that way. The Bible was meant to be read and heard audibly, and so there is a a great discipline in seeking to do so. This morning we're looking at the topic of revenge. Isn't that exciting? That word brings emotion, right? There's maybe a fear in that word. Someone who would seek revenge is, you'd be afraid of, or maybe there's a wrong kind of emotion of you've been wronged, and it reminds you of kind of that feeling of being wronged and wanting revenge. Revenge is powerful. If we're really honest, we all like revenge. If we just think about how many movies entertain us that are based upon the plot of revenge, we realize it's, it's, it's very prevalent. Revenge at some level comes from the desire for justice and rightness. But the Bible has a lot to say about revenge. There's a lot of good classic tales of revenge. We can think of the Count of Monte Cristo with Dante, and he's about to be promoted, and he's engaged to be married, and then betrayed, put in prison. He escapes, and then he has his revenge. Or one that we might know a little more common is, hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die. I appreciate men like Frederick Nietzsche, not because they're right, but because they're honest. Nietzsche says, it is impossible to suffer without making someone pay for it. Every complaint already contains revenge. That's honest. That describes how we feel. But if we actually think about what God's word says, we can look to a quote from someone like Charles Spurgeon who says, revenge, lust, ambition, pride, and self-will are too often exalted as the gods of man's idolatry. While holiness, peace, Contentment and humility are viewed as unworthy of a serious thought. Think about that. In terms of when wrong, how much do we think about what vengeance would look like versus what reconciliation would look like? When we think about the word of wrong, do we consider ourselves victims or are we also part of the problem and we need repentance? Revenge, as Nietzsche says, from just a clear and naturalist way, is natural. It's what's to be expected. But God has spoken into our darkness. God speaks truth into the word of our lives. And we see it, we're going to see it a different way today. The basic summary of our message this morning is trust the Lord with reverence. Do not seek revenge. Trust the Lord with reverence. Do not seek revenge. And what I want to show here, and what I hope the Scriptures really, really, really jump out at, as you even heard them read already, your reverence for God really is demonstrated in how much you seek revenge or reconciliation. It's hard to commit to a reverence for God and be committed to revenge. David has been on the run. David has privately been anointed king. Saul is the king that the people wanted, a king like the nations. He's a manipulator. He is just like a king of the nations. He's been pursuing God's anointed. He hates God. He's trying to manipulate God constantly. He's not taking responsibility for his sin. Jonathan is Saul's son, and Jonathan and David are friends. Jonathan as we've already seen here in this text and we've seen before is committed to David being the king He's given him his royal robe, which is a powerful symbol an emblem of royalty Saul has worked himself up. He's tried to kill David personally at least three times He's tried to send about the battle to get him killed. He wants David killed He's even tried to kill his own son Jonathan for his friendship with David And what we capture here is David having fled because it's obvious Saul only wants his vengeance. Saul's killed an entire city of priests in his vengeance, and he will seek David's life. If we look at the first section of chapter 23, verses 1 to 14, we see how David trusts the Lord in prayer. Let's just read those first five verses again. Behold, okay, we've got a problem. The Philistines are fighting against Caela and are robbing the threshing floors. Caela is a small town outside of the mountain region in Judah. David is from the tribe of Judah. The Philistines are the enemies of Israel. The tribe of Judah is under attack, a particular city, and they're robbing their food, what they're going to need to survive for the year. And so David does what a king should do. He asks the Lord. He seeks the Lord's will. It says he inquires of him. This is a kind of prayer. Lord shall I go and attack these Philistines? The Lord said to David, go and attack the Philistines. Save the city. Notice verse 3, David has an army. They were about 400 when they first gathered. Maybe there's more, maybe there's less. There are debtors. They were kind of the bitter at Saul people that have gathered together under David. And they say to David, no, we're afraid. Why would we go and put ourselves in danger for the people in Caela? And so David inquires again, and the Lord answered, go, I will give them into your hands. There's something important here. David is a man of war. David has had success and success and success. He's so successful, they've written songs about it. Really, one of the things that's enraged Saul is that the song, Saul's killed his thousands, but David is 10,000. He's a man who's just had success after success. And there's a point which maybe after success, you stop becoming dependent upon the Lord. He probably has some self-confidence. But notice he is acting like a king should. No matter what he's able to do, he wants to know what the will of the Lord is. We see a dependent relationship. We also see the king because he's putting himself in danger for his people. He is wanting to go and protect his people like a king would. One of the clear things we see emphasized in this text a contrast with Saul. He is, he's relying upon God unlike Saul. He has a reverence for God unlike Saul. He has a care for other people unlike Saul. Saul is destroying cities. David is going and saving them. And God gave them into his hands. Know what happens next? I won't read it again. Verses 6 to 14. Saul finds out he's in this small city. Saul says, well, his strength is that he's cunning. He's able to get around. He's able to hide. Well, now he's trapped in walls. I'm going to go get him. Makes sense. David hears of it. He asks the Lord, will the Calahites, will they betray me? Yes. Now, if we were to go back to the last chapter and you were with us, remember Saul was in Gibeah among his own people and his complaint to his people were, you've conspired against me, you're all against me, no one feels sorry for me. It was a big royal pity party because everyone was against me. It was me against the world and only Doag the Edomite was with him. He was lying to himself most of that, but here David, is being told by the Lord the people he has saved, his own people of the tribe of Judah, they're going to betray him. And he doesn't seek vengeance. He trusts the Lord. He leaves the city. And notice the great theological summary statement found in verse 14. Saul sought him every day, but God did not give him into his hands. We see David trusting the Lord. When he wants to know if I should go do this battle, will you give me success? He inquires of the Lord. When he feels that he's being pressed in and he's in danger, he inquires of the Lord. There is something at the most basic level that prayer is trusting the Lord. One author has said, I believe Luther at least said this, that as breathing is to life, prayer is to the Christian. It's our strength. If we're not asking for the Lord's leadership, if we're not asking for the Lord's guidance, we're really self-reliant. Many of us are studying Colossians 1 in the Bible studies, and one of the things Paul prayed for is that the church would know the will of God. This is what David is, is, is emphasizing here. Seeking to know the will of God. Trusting he's in control. Trusting he actually knows the right way. All right, next section. We see different episodes here. There's really two main parts. There's, there's David fleeing. Then there's this interaction with Saul. But there's, there's four episodes. He trusts the Lord's, the Lord in prayer. Now, now we see we trust the Lord's promise. The Lord provides Jonathan again. Verse 15. Trust the Lord's promise. Though David saw that Saul had come to seek his life, David was in the wilderness of Ziph, also in Judah. That's very important. And Jonathan, the one who had knit his soul to David, the one who has told David he will be king already, the one who has said, I am with you, I am for you, we are covenant together as friends. Jonathan saw his son, rose and went to David at Horesh and strengthened his hand. That's a fantastic phrase. Unworthy of just meditation on what that could mean? How much we may actually need this kind of friend in our life from time to time? Hand is a reference to strength. The strength of your hand gives you ability to persevere or to overcome. And here we see Jonathan coming, knowing the pressure he's under, to strengthen him. to encourage him. Jonathan's come before and said, what my father is saying about you, it's all lies. Now he's coming to strengthen him, to encourage him. What a blessed way to be a friend to somebody. Because if you're David, the rage of Saul is just irrational. He's the king. It's confusing. And so you have a friend who's coming to strengthen him. And notice specifically how he strengthens him. Verse 17. Do not fear. Okay, he speaks to him where he's at. Obviously, David should be living in fear. He keeps fleeing. He speaks to him where he's at and the way he feels. Do not fear. Why? Because I'm promising you. Jonathan appears to be functioning like a prophet right now. The hand of Saul, my father, shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. My father knows this. Now, these are comforting words, and Jonathan's just not speaking out of nothing. He knows that David has been anointed king. He's already given him his robe. What's amazing about this is Jonathan is next up for kingship in the Saul establishment. He's sacrificing. He's aligning himself with God, and he wants to help God's anointed. He wants to love the king who will be. And that's a theological level of what Jonathan's doing, but let's just say politically, earthly, Jonathan just committed treason against his dad. It's weighty. Jonathan just committed treason. He just said to his father, the king's enemy, I'm going to be with you when you are in place of my father on the throne. He strengthens his hand by saying I am for you. He strengthens his hand by reminding him of what God's promises are. And they conclude with a covenant. What happens next? It would be nice if right after a promise like that, all of a sudden Saul gives up, he waves the white flag, and then David becomes king. Oftentimes God's will is a little more confusing than that. The Ziphites. David's own people again go out of their way to betray him. They go and initiate with Saul and say, come up here, David's with us. Saul says, are you sure? Go and scout out, help me find him. It's important that then God brings the Philistines to fight against God's people. Saul has to flee even as he's pinching in on David. God protects David. Again, this chapter just emphasizes the difference between Saul and David. David remains trusting the Lord. David remains seeking the Lord. David remains focused and faithful on God's promises. And Saul is trying to manipulate and work his own will. That's important because we see the honor and integrity and reverence of David, and we see Saul constantly working out a rage and manipulation. Now verse 20, chapter 24, we're moving on very quickly, because this conversation is key. Trust the Lord with reverence is our next section. Trust the Lord with reverence. Saul comes back. Behold, David is in the wilderness. Verse 3, and he came to the sheepfolds by the way, and there was a cave, and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now, in the Goat Home, I always like to walk through the story with my children before the Sunday morning so they can follow along a little bit better. And I had to explain specifically what it means to relieve himself. And they kind of want to know, how are you going to say that, Dad? Well, that's that moment where a parent moves away to find privacy. Relieving himself is exactly what it sounds like. He goes into the cave, he wants privacy, and there he is, very vulnerable. His army's not with him, and he is relieving himself. And the context here is important. He's in the outermost part of the cave. David and his army, unknown to Saul, are hiding in the innermost part of the cave. Saul should be in big trouble. Because it would be very easy for David to sneak up on him, or not even sneak up on him, come upon him and kill him. Game over. It's ended. What Jonathan promised has come true. Listen to the advice that David's men were giving him. Here is the day which the Lord said to you. Behold, I will give your enemy into your hand and you shall do to him as it shall seem good." His army, who is tired of probably running and, and being away from their families, they, they're looking at the circumstances and they're saying, David, today's the day God has given Saul into your hand. This is what we call an open door theology. If the opportunity is there, it must be of the Lord. Make sense? We function this way. Most of our decisions are in this way. Oh, here's an opportunity. This must be of the Lord. It's a clear, open-door theology. Now, God does open doors, and he closes doors, and opportunities are oftentimes provided that are from God. But here, the men's whole theology is, our circumstances are going to lead us to think theologically and practically, let's kill him. God's done this. Let's continue. Then David arose and stealthily, cut off a corner of Saul's robe. It seems odd. He's not doing what his army said. He seems to be doing nothing. What's the point here? Why has David not followed along with what his army said? Let's continue to verse 5. And afterward, David's heart struck him because he had cut off a corner of Saul's robe. We see this heart struck. This is a conscience, right? He's got a conscience against going against God's anointing. Maybe this is a Holy Spirit conviction. Why would he not go with what his men have logically determined and kill Saul? Saul deserves it, right? He's tried to kill him three times. He's tried to kill Jonathan once. He's trying to run amok in God's kingdom. He deserves death. David may have in mind a verse like Exodus 22, 28. You shall not revile God, nor curse, a ruler of your people. We don't know what's going on in his mind. All we know is we see this conviction. We see a reverence. He is the Lord's anointed. Listen to the words he gives to express what this heart struck is. The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my Lord. My God forbid that I do this to my king. The Lord's anointed. put my hand against him, seeing that he is my God's anointed Lord." So he persuaded his men by these words, not permitting the attack of Saul. It's remarkable how clearly David's reverence for God changes what would be logical action. Does it make sense? Everyone here, if what is left to ourselves, if you're thinking through the Nietzschean way, how do you not kill Saul out of just pure self-preservation and self-defense? There has to be something greater. There has to be some way in which we trust more than just the power and work of our hands. And we see here, it's a reverence for God. How much Does a reverence for God affect and change our relationships and actions? How often do we step back and stop the words or actions that we might have wanted to commit because of a reverence for God? Our culture is increasingly secular and secular. It's just about me and now, and we're constantly throwing off reverence. We're constantly seeking to be as casual as possible, to see things that would feel weighty, because reverence means weighty. We like to throw weights off. Just me be me. There's little wisdom in that. It starts with children. God's given a universal command, honor your parents. That is a training ground for reverence. Adults, let me ask you, how is your reverence affecting your relationships? One of the most difficult things is to hear a parent talk to me about how their children have a lack of reverence when they themselves are just complaining about all the other authorities in their life. parents receiving honor is a lifelong command. Thinking of reverence, we could see Peter commands Christians to honor the king. That's Nero. Paul says, timely for our coming up season, worship God by paying your taxes. No amen? It's part of worship. Honoring the king, giving to Caesar. What is Caesar's? Positions call for honor. Let's think about this a little bit more. Honor should really mark every relationship you have. Paul commands wives submit to your husbands. That feels awkward. But there's a qualifier on there that helps us point back to what we're learning from David. Because he says, wives submit to your husbands as to the Lord. There's a trust in God. There's a reverence towards God that gives you the fuel you need. Because I assume this has got to be really hard, because if you look at some husbands, you're like, submit to him? We want to submit and honor it as the way we think people deserves it, but the way we see this command playing out is submit to your husband as to the Lord. You see how reverence is driving that command. Flip side. Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church. Two little letters. It involves reverence. It's calling upon our reverence of God in the way our marriages play out. Husbands, loving as Christ loved. Wives, submitting as to the Lord. You see how the reverence is built up in the very commands that we're obeying. Children, continuing in Ephesians 6 here. Children, obey your parents in the Lord. Servants, obey earthly masters as you would Christ. If you work at a coffee shop, remember, you're making lattes for Jesus. If you're a janitor, you're sweeping floors for Jesus. You're a teacher, you're teaching for Jesus. If you're a student, you're a student for Jesus. We're working in such a way that He would be honored. Our reverence affects all of life. I believe the reason those two little words, as, are in all those different commands is because God knows us. We like to lower our bar of expectation while expecting everybody else's bar to be high. The bar is equal. As to the Lord, as the Lord himself has modeled. It's funny against our very selfishness that we reveal ourselves, but not God. How much do our lives reflect reverence? David denies himself something that is obvious, because he's following the Lord with reverence. He's keeping himself in danger, carrying a cross, out of reverence. Our last point, 1 Samuel 24, verses 8 to 22. Trust the Lord's judgment. Trust the Lord's judgment. One of the ways you, you want to see what the main point of a story is, as you're reading the Bible, is you want to look at end emphasis and conversation. We have two long declarations here. This is the longest declaration we have of Saul, one continuous one. This is a fantastic declaration of David. We see the words that they share that bring a final conclusion to this particular section. We see the call to trust the Lord's judgment. Afterward, that is after Saul leaves the cave, David also arose and went out of the cave, and he called after Saul, my lord the king. We hear already, David is seeking to be at peace with all men? Outdo him in honor? Let's just take a moment here. I might be tempted to say, hey, jerk. Come over here. Look what I got. Right? There's a sinful revenge in our hearts that would want to say that. But David's modeling here. He's saying, my lord, it's personal, the king, that's who you are in office. My lord, the king. And Saul turns and looks. David then goes further, and he bows his face before him, and he is now vulnerable. Pays homage. David speaks. Why do you listen to the words of men who say, behold, David seeks your harm? Why are you listening to those people like Dobeg the Edomite, who's telling you lies, and I'm conspiring? This is kind of like Saul is so wrapped up in a lie. He's King Rohan when, when wormtongue has just got him frozen, concreted in his lie. He needs to be freed from that lie. So David is challenging. Why are you listening? Now he has evidence. Behold, verse 10, behold, look at this. This day your eyes have seen how the Lord gave you today into my hand. David's not denying the open door theology idea. He's just saying there's principles that override it. And some told me to kill you, but I spared you. I said I will not put out my hand against my Lord, for He is the Lord's anointed. Verse 11. See my Father see the corner of your robe? Now the royal robe would be something very unique and special. It would be an emblem that everyone would recognize. He holds up the piece of cloth and he says, look how I could have killed you I have not. My hand is not against you. For by the fact that I cut off the corner of your robe and did not kill you, you may know and see that there's no wrong or treason in my hands. I have not sinned against you, though you hunt my life to take it. This is a wise appeal. this is a seeking to, to turn the story around. He's seeking to, to find freedom from Saul. He's seeking to be reconciled to Saul. See that the lie you're wrapped up in, it's not true. I could have done it and I didn't. Verses 12 to 15 are his concluding statements, which are very powerful. May the Lord judge between me and you. May the Lord avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you. Out of the wicked comes wickedness, but my hand, out of the wickedness comes wickedness, but my hand shall not be against you." He's making a promise. Come after me all you want. I'm trusting the Lord. judge, to avenge. I am going to trust the Good Shepherd in this matter. I'm not going to take matters into my own hands." Boy, does that feel uncomfortable. To not be in control, especially when your life feels like it depends upon it. to not take matters into your own hands and even make a promise, I trust the Lord between me and you, to avenge me against you. Now, let's just be very clear, someone who is participating actively in sin cannot pray that. He has not sinned against David, he has not sinned against Saul, and so he's able to say that. Verse 14, it's a little prickly. He gives a little poem. Notice the similarity of every single declaration, after, after, after, after. After whom has the king of Israel come out? After whom do you pursue? After a dead dog? After a fleet? He's trying to help Saul see you're wasting the kingdom resources. What you're trying to do is beneath you. This is not fitting for the king of Israel to come after me, someone who's not even a problem, someone who's of no evil. Why are you committing so much energy to nothing? You're wasting your time. You're wasting the privileged position you have as king. And 15 has five declarations. May the Lord therefore be judge, give sentence, see to it, plead my cause, deliver me. There is an absolute clear trust that God is a just judge, that God is a powerful judge, that God himself will bring the right judgment. David doesn't have to. Let's look at verse 16. Saul responds with sanity. He hasn't always responded with sanity. He sometimes responded with some reasonableness, but here the evidence is just impossible to deny. David had finished speaking these words. Saul said, is this your voice, my son David? David is not related to Saul biologically. David's the son of Jesse. That's a very important covenantal declaration. Why are they calling each other father and son? If we were to go back a few texts, one of the things that got David in trouble is that he did not show up at the king's table. There's something special about eating at table with someone, especially the king. When you eat at the king's table, you are a privileged in a privileged position, and you're brought into the inner circle like a family, Saul had begun to treat David like a son and loving him like a son. David had begun looking at Saul like a father. There is a relationship of mutual love and trust that has obviously been broken. Saul lifted up his voice in what? We see some repentance in Saul, praise God! He said to David, you are more righteous than I, for you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil. Now that's a very important declaration, because the entirety of Samuel for a while has been how David is better than Saul. In chapter 13, God said to Saul, I'm going to replace you with a man who has a heart after me. In chapter 15, verse 28, This isn't helpful for Saul. If you think about what he had to hear. Hey Saul, I'm gonna put a man on the throne who's better than you. Nobody wants to hear that. But Saul is catching up with God. David is better than him. He declares, you're more righteous than I. I've been repaying you evil. You've been paying me good. Saul is at least seeing things as they are. And you've declared this day how you've dealt with me and that you did not kill me when the Lord put me into your hands. Everyone's acknowledging that is what the Lord did. For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away safe? So may the Lord reward you with good for what you've done. And now behold, I know that you shall be king. and the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand." We see good acknowledgement. We see Saul catching up with God, aligning his truth with God's truth. David is more righteous. David will be king. Verse 21, swear to me that you will not cut off my offspring. It's good to see what Saul says, but it's also important to see what Saul does not say. He acknowledges what is rightly true. He doesn't appear to give an apology. His response is, swear to me that my people won't be cut off. He doesn't go so far as David who says, against you, O God, I have sinned. He doesn't seem to prostrate himself in a way that's contrite and confessing sin. His last declaration is, you know, just don't cut me off like I cut off the line of the priest when I destroy their entire city. We see here good acknowledgments, but not reconciliation. I point that out because it's amazingly hard to say I'm sorry. It appears to be very difficult to take full responsibility, personally and observationally, of someone saying, I'm sorry, I have wronged. Reconciliation has two ingredients. I'm sorry, I forgive you. Reconciliation is when two people who once had a relationship, but have had something between them, they then say, I'm sorry, I forgive you, and they start moving back towards that relationship. If this were a reconciliation where confession of sin would happen from Saul and forgiveness from David, they would then say, how do we start moving back into a place where we can sit at the same table again? Because that's what they used to have. Notice what happens, though. Soloment home, David goes back into the wilderness. This seems to be lacking final, full fulfillment. This seems to be lacking a true apology and a true reconciliation. I bring that up because this morning we're actually coming to table, and this table is a wonderful reminder of reconciliation. It's a reminder that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. We come and we confess our sins and we are forgiven. And we're reminded of that great forgiveness as we partake of this table together. And it's a reminder that we do it together. Reconciled with one another. We think about reconciliation. We look to the cross. We see God is a just judge. He will punish every sin. God takes sin so seriously, He had to send His own Son to die so that those who believe in Him can be forgiven. God is so clear with His love and forgiveness that He sent His Son to die in our place so that we can experience His love and know His forgiveness. This morning, the call for the Christian is to rejoice in our reconciliation with Christ, together, as we think about the Lord's Table. I mentioned that forgiveness is hard. The more hurt we are, the harder it is. I was once counseling a young man who had ran away from home and caused his parents a lot of trouble. And after a while, he came to his senses, kind of like the prodigal son. He said, I want to meet with my parents. Would you come and just kind of be there? And the young man began the conversation, just fearful and trepidation, having prepared something. I'm sorry I did this, I'm sorry I did that. And he confessed his sins. What should be the first words that he hears? Kind of like the prodigal son's father. I forgive you, come back home. It was one of the most discouraging, disappointing meetings I've ever had because one of the parents said, the first words he said after he confessed his sins was, you have no idea how much you hurt me. That's denying the gospel. That's saying I want a payment. That's saying I want you to pay for how much you've hurt me because you need to feel my pain. One of the clearest truths of forgiveness is that it absorbs. When Jesus told him forgiveness, it was the king who had given money to a servant who owed a lifetime of money, and he said, I forgive you. Well, where did the money go? The king absorbed it. Someone does not need to know how much you're hurt in order to forgive them. Reconciliation is rejoicing that Christ has made the final payment. He's made the full payment. And out of reverence for that, we eagerly seek reconciliation and forgive. Christian, we cannot enjoy reconciliation if we're holding on to a desire for revenge. We cannot desire and rejoice in the recklessness of Christ if we're holding on to revenge. There is little reverence for the cross if we're trying to figure out how to get payback. Jesus teaches this in Matthew 5. Now at one level, the eye for eye, tooth for tooth, the reason that's actually in the Old Testament is because if somebody sins against me, I'm prone to over-exaggerate. We're prone to want to hurt more in response. The whole point there is, do not go beyond. But Jesus heightens it. Forgive them. Retaliating is not honoring. The Bible talks about, let lover cover a multitude of sins. Romans 12, as we've heard, be at peace as much as it depends upon you. Do not repay evil with evil, but repay with good. Overcome evil with good. You know why we do this? Is if we look to the cross and we actually recognize God is the just judge and every one of my sins has been paid for on the cross and I can trust Him. As much as I trust Him to forgive me of my sins, I trust Him to be the judge over all my sins. This morning we're rejoicing in reconciliation. And we're seeing here that a reverence for God and who He is as Judge, who He is as the Avenger, who He is as the One who's forgiven us, is required to properly rejoice. Will you pray with me? Father, as we reflect upon Your Word, as we reflect upon this challenge, forgive us for revering our feelings more than Your goodness. Forgive us for revering our own personal happiness more than a way of glorifying you with forgiveness and confession of sin. Thank you that just as our salvation is not by the works of our hands, so too our judgment and our vengeance cannot be at the work of our own hands. We can trust you. Thank you that you promise that you're the just God who justifies. Thank you that you're the God who promises a vengeance. Thank you this morning for the Lord's Supper that reminds us that we can rejoice that we are not under your judgment. And that we are your ambassadors of reconciliation. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.