1 Samuel 26 (Part 2) Bible Study (David Spares Saul Again) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

This world is not an easy world to live in. And I remember having a conversation with a few brothers, and the thought dawned on me just hearing the different trials and temptations that people face and we're facing at the time, and this this thought ran through my mind. If this is what it's like to live with Christ, I don't know how people do it without him. How in the world do you live through this turbulent world without Christ by your side? I don't know how it is.

I don't know how it's done, but I can tell you this, with him all things are possible. And that is what we're seeing with this man David as he is as as he is enduring a great trial, an extended trial that's coming to a near end, but not just yet. And so we come together to first Samuel chapter 26 as we finish this chapter together beginning in verse 13. If you don't remember what happened last week, Saul is at it again. He wants to chase David down.

His repentance before this proved to be futile. It didn't mean anything. His words held no weight. And David realized that Saul and 3,000 are right there, not too far from his location. And he's ready to confront him, to confront him in a very similar way that he did when he was hiding in a cave, and Saul relieved himself providentially in that very same hole in the wall.

And so we see here now David is ready to communicate his concerns and to confront Saul. But before we get into what he is going to say, we get a description of the setting of the confrontation. And so in verse 13 we read, then David went over to the other side and stood far off on the top of the hill with a great space between them. And David called to the army and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, will you not answer, Abner? Then Abner answered, who are you who calls to the king?

And David said to Abner, are you not a man? Who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not kept watch over your lord, the king? For one of the people came in to destroy the king your lord. This thing that you have done is not good.

As the Lord lives, you deserve to die because you have not kept watch over your Lord, the Lord's anointed. And now see where the king's spear is and the jar of water that was at his head. Remember, Saul was sound asleep with 3,000 of his men surrounding him in that wilderness, in the blackness of that midnight hour. David and his assistant at the time, at least for this mission, come to Saul. They find his spear and his water jug.

They take it instead of slaying him. And David's gonna use these props to make the same illustration he made when he was in that cave. I could have killed you, but I didn't. But look at verse 13. Look at the description.

David went over to the other side and stood far off on the top of the hill with a great space between them. Now, we don't know how much of a distance there was, but we know that perhaps in that wilderness there was hills and there was a specific landscape that provided natural acoustics for their communication to be clear even though they were at a distance. But but more than that, this space, this description of this chasm speaks about David's precaution of Saul. Saul has proven to be unpredictable. Saul has proven to lack integrity.

Saul has shown that he can say something, but he doesn't really mean it. That one day he appears to be a type of person and the next he can be the polar opposite. And David here realizes that, and so he distanced himself in order to be safe. And it's sad to see the sight of a man who is having to frame his relationship with his employer and his father-in-law in such a way, but when somebody proves over and over that they cannot be a trustworthy individual, or when they repeat the same serious offense time and time again, it will cause even the godliest of men and women to be guarded and to be distant. And if we desire for our relationships with other people to be filled with life and love, then it will require us to take heed of the warnings of the scriptures that tell us exactly what it is that would cause others who can be a blessing to our lives to instead be repelled and to reserve their affection and their involvement in our lives.

And guess what? It doesn't take attempted murder to do it. There are many things in the scriptures that tell us exactly how friends and close companions and potential partners for the kingdom of God to be to be separated from one another. Can I give you one? It's in Proverbs 17 verse nine.

It tells us very plainly, whoever covers an offense seeks love, But he who repeats a matter separates close friends. He who repeats a matter. See, Saul caused David to step aside and to communicate from a distance because he was trying to kill him. No kidding. I would send a letter.

I wouldn't even voice myself. But scripture tells us in a very realistic way how we can do things that may not seem as serious as taking a sword to someone's neck. Scripture tells us here with other insights that all it takes is to repeat a matter. To separate close friends. Now, this can mean one of two things.

Number one, to repeat a matter can mean that you take something that was shared to you personally and to give it to someone else who has no, no right to receive what you have been given. And it goes back to this principle of lacking trust, of breaking trust. Any relationship in life that you want to be secure and to flow with grace and fragrance has to be built upon the foundation of trust. Of trust. And all of us in this place long for security in our friendships, in our marriages, in our leadership.

And if you want to build that with anybody, then it must be built upon you being a trustworthy individual. And when that is shattered, it causes great pain. And there's nothing more exhausting, there's nothing more troubling and painful than feeling suspicious about a person. God cares about our relationships with one another. He does.

And so he gives us incredible wisdom of how we can protect and how we can nourish those things that God wants us to enjoy for the sake of his glory. And I wonder when looking at this proverb, in light of God, because he's a personal being, is there any wonder why he continually declares his faithfulness to us? Is there any wonder that he proves his trustworthiness? That when he says something he means it? That when he promised something he will never break it?

That faithfulness that God has invites us to open our hearts without reservation. It it causes us to be transparent. It causes us to to rest in knowing I can trust my God. I believe him. When he says that he will do it.

If he recorded it, he promised me that he'll never change. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. And if we strive to be like our God, like our father, then we must also be like him in his faithfulness. To be committed to our word. To be serious with what people entrust to us.

And so scripture tells us that even by repeating a matter that shouldn't be repeated, we can we can fracture friendships. We can fracture our marriages. We can fracture our partnerships with one another in the kingdom of God. But to repeat a matter mainly means I don't think it mainly means that, but I believe it mainly means that someone to resurface a past wrong to somebody who has offended them or offended another person. To repeat a matter means to to unbury something and to berate somebody with that failure of the past when it's already been dealt with.

When it's already been communicated and it's already been forgiven. It's something that, has been cast behind your back. But to repeat a matter is to continually smear it in someone's face for whatever reason. It can be out of wanting to make somebody feel that guilt again, to manipulate them, whatever the case may be. But if you want to know one sure way of wounding a relationship with someone, just bring up their past.

The past that they have repented of, the past that they've asked forgiveness for. Bring that up again. And that is a sure way of causing someone to to be reserved emotionally or even physically to distance themselves from you. And again, I think about our relationship with the Lord. What causes our relationship with the world to be so sweet?

And what caused it to to move forward and to advance and to grow? Well, I'll tell you one thing, he never brings up the past. Does he? If at any time your thoughts are being brought back to a past failure, I can tell you this, it's either one of two things. It's yourself or it's the devil.

But it's never God. Because once you repent, once you give that up, once you confess it to the Lord, he assures you this is never gonna be in our conversation again. That is a glorious thing about our God. But we worship him for it, and we love it, but we're not willing to give it to others. How can that be?

You and I, if we want to secure these things that God has gifted us within in one another, these relationships, then be like him. Be like him. And so this is one of many examples of how, like David is showing us here in this physical posture, we can cause people, even the most lovely people, to push away from us. God forbid. Verse 14.

Finally, the serenity of the sleep of these men who are surrounded, who are surrounding Saul rather, is about to be broken by the echoing voice of David on the top of some hill. And instead of it being addressed to the main source of the problem, who was Saul, we read that David called to Abner, the commander of Saul's army. And that's interesting because we're wondering why, why would you do that? What does Abner have to do with anything? Isn't your main issue with this man Saul?

Are you trying to cause more problems than you need in your life, David? David is not addressing Abner to try to shame him for just shame's sake. He's not trying to expose him to embarrass him. David is being very tactical here. He's being very wise.

As he is confronting Abner from a distance, what he is in essence trying to do is expose Saul's poor judgment. Why do you think that is? Why do you think that David is confronting Abner's failure to defend his king? Any idea? Why would he do that?

What is he trying to, what is he trying to accomplish here? Because we read it, right? You failed. You deserved to die. You didn't keep watch over your Lord the king.

You didn't, you didn't protect the Lord's anointed. Remember, Abner's responsibility with other soldiers was while the king sleeps, you stay awake. You're not going to bed. There's a night watch going on to make sure that there's no intrusive enemy coming in to assassinate the man. And all of the men are sleeping.

This is a, this is a monumental mistake. And David addresses it because David wants to show Saul that the person that you thought would be the most faithful to you was not. And the person who was going to be and who has been the most faithful to you is the one that you're trying to kill. He's indirectly telling Saul, look at the people who were supposed to give their lives for you, and they failed to do so. And the one who could have taken your life is in fact the most reliant one in your life.

So so who's the real friend here, Saul? Abner? The one who who clearly disappointed you? Or me? The one who has given himself to you in one way or another?

And that's exactly what's happening here. Saul was supposed to realize this, and he's doing it in what in such a marvelous way. David is doing it so brilliantly. But here's the thing. When we look at Saul, Saul's choice or his failure to choose David, to be by his side, is a reflection.

It's an illustration of the sinner who chooses other things above Christ. This is a picture here of someone who fails to realize the glories in Jesus Christ, the friendship in Jesus Christ, the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. And they choose to put their refuge, they choose to put their security, their salvation, perhaps in another God or perhaps in the ways of the flesh. And what Saul is realizing here is what by the grace of God the sinner will realize sooner than later, and hopefully sooner, not in eternity, that these things that we've thought we can trust will ultimately fail us. Like Abner, your favorite sin, The worldly pleasure that you thought would quench your soul.

The, the relationships that are centered around beauty and sensuality and network for the sake of prosperity. All these things, like Abner, will fail you. They will. And sometimes it takes a rude awakening. A slap in the face.

Like Saul here, waking up in the middle of the night realizing I could have been killed. Realizing this person or this thing that I've given my life to, my vulnerability to, my heart to, my life to, did not live up to its promises. And sometimes people sitting here week after week, they're gonna need that rude, rude awakening before they hear what the preacher has to say. I hope you don't have to come to that point. Because at the same time, Saul is going to realize what I hope you might realize if you're that person in this place.

Then as he wipes the stuff out of his eyes and he sees that his spear is missing and his personal mug is not in his bedroom, There he sees David. There he sees the man who is actually true, who actually lives up to his commitment and his assurance and his promises. And you need to realize that David is a representation of Christ himself. You will not know another like him. You will not know another master like him.

I know you've been told that he will lord over your life and he will take joy from you and he will give you the second, the third best. I've heard it from people. What if God makes me marry somebody that I want to marry? Like, what is that? What What if God makes me move to a place I don't want to move?

What is that? What if God makes me pursue a career that that I don't want to do, but I have to do because he's God? You don't know God. I'm sorry, you don't know God. Because there is no one who will provide for you, protect you, flood your soul with satisfaction like Jesus Christ.

No one. And you don't need to have sleepovers with sin before you realize that. You can know it now. You can know it at this moment. You can ask him to open your eyes to believe it and he'll do it in a way where he'll leave you marked for the rest of your life.

The more I grow in life, the more I'm realizing how disappointing life is. Really. And I read that psalm earlier because, just in past reflection, nothing else brings the sole rest than simple devotion, personal worship, discovering who God is. Nothing. And Saul, hopefully, will realize what the sinner should realize without wasting another day.

Abner failed Saul. Sin will fail you. Your dreams, your pursuits will fail you. The one whom God has anointed is who you need and that is the person of Jesus Christ. Let's read on, shall we?

Verse 17. Saul recognized David's voice and said, is this your voice, my son David? And David said, it is my voice, my Lord, O king. Now, you and I are gonna come to a portion of scripture that's gonna read very familiar to what we've seen just two chapters ago. Remember when David was in the cave?

He cuts a corner of Saul's robe. Saul goes out of the cave. He walks a little bit and then David comes and he, he addresses him. It's gonna be a very, very similar encounter here. You and I, when we read through the scriptures, will see repetition.

We will see parables repeat themselves in the gospels. We will even see when you read, like, first Kings and then you read Chronicles. You're like, I've seen this before. I've read this before. But the Holy Spirit knows what he's doing.

Whenever there is something that seems to be similar or even seems to be identical, realize that that repetition is by divine design. Do not ignore it. Do not skim over it. Do not be light with it. If anything, be all the more attentive and diligent to read between the lines, to compare, to see why is it that the Lord is bringing this up again.

Because as you do that, as you contrast the text, what you will see is differences. And in the differences, you will find great insights. So again, you come to this portion of scripture. Okay. Here it is again.

David's gonna confront him. It's gonna be the same thing. I know the story. Saul's not gonna kill him. And but wait.

Be careful. When you read slowly and you flip back and forth, you'll see the differences and and then you'll be able to say, oh wow. Okay. Oh, what a difference. Oh, this is not as, as similar as I thought.

It takes time. It takes effort, but it's worth it. Saul recognized David's voice and said, Is this your voice, my son David? Did Saul say something similar before? He did.

Does David say something similar? And David said, It is my voice, my Lord, O king. What's missing here? There's nothing missing from Saul's address. There is something missing in the way David responds.

Remember, David is still choosing the path of respect even though this man failed to prove his repentance, and he had all the right to be infuriated. He had all the right to approach him with superiority, with harshness, perhaps even with scorn. But instead, David doesn't want to just be guiltless with his sword. He wants to be blameless with his tongue. And so he chooses to address him with honor because of his office, because of his seniority, whatever the case may be.

At the same time, David does not say, he does not give a certain title to Saul. I encourage you to compare it to first Samuel 24 and to see what is missing. I'll give you a little bit of time to figure it out. Go back to first Samuel 24. Look from verse eight down a few verses and see if it if it comes up.

My lord, oh king, yes. Five more seconds. Very good. Did you say the same thing? Look at verse 11 of first Samuel 24.

See my father. See the corner of your robe in my hand. First Samuel 26, he does not refer to him as my father. Now, to us that, that would mean because Saul is treating him like everything but a son. Right?

But there is something that happened that we did not touch on when we explored the chapter. There was something that happened that, canceled out the possibility for David to refer to him with this term of endearment. It's the last verse of first Samuel 25. We didn't touch on it, but it's worth noting. In first Samuel 25 verse 44, Saul had given Michal, his daughter, David's wife, to Palti, the son of Laish, who is of Gallim.

Can you imagine that? So so as David is wandering in the wilderness, Saul strategically separates his wife from him, and gives his daughter to someone else. This man was so filled with hatred that he wanted to attack David in any way possible. And so he came after his marriage. He severed that relationship, and he even causes his daughter to pursue an adulterous relationship.

See, what what kind of man would be sick enough to do this? I'll tell you, a man who is just filled with jealousy, a man who is filled with with such envy, it's amazing the length that even a hidden feeling can take someone. And it it it reinforces the thought, does it not? It reinforces the truth that oftentimes when a man thinks that he is sinning with someone or against just one person, that the consequences of such a thing go far beyond what you had hoped or planned. See, he just had something against David, but he didn't just come after David.

That that sin wants to erode everything. It wants to corrupt as much as possible, and so it reaches into David's marriage. It reaches into his family life, where now his family had to escape Bethlehem and wander and and form places. Sin cannot be contained in terms of its consequences. It will spread like cancer the more it is fed.

It has to be burned out by the power of the Holy Spirit. And so we come to this point where now even David you want to add to the pain of his journey? David loses his wife. He loses his wife because of his father in law's sin. If you feel the horror of it, good.

Never forget it. These things are given to us to make us feel such things. So he says, my lord, my king, he doesn't call him he doesn't call him my father. And so we read on, and we see something quite interesting here. Saul recognized David's voice and said, is this your voice, my son David?

The words are the same, But when David heard it, he also saw something else. Let me put it this way. When when Saul said it in in chapter 24, is this your voice, my son David? Something else was in that that is missing now. And again, go back to chapter 24 and compare it.

Compare the question to this chapter and this verse and see what stands out. You have to go a little further in chapter 24 to see it. Look for that question and finish the the verse and see what is different. When you have it, just say it out loud. Anybody catch it yet?

Yes? Yeah. There's that. And but I'm I'm saying look for Saul's questioning and see what's different with Saul's questioning and inquiring if this is David's voice compared to chapter 26. Did you see it?

Let's look at it. Verse 16. Is this your voice, my son David? Chapter 24 verse 16. And Saul lifted up his voice and wept.

Come back to chapter 26 verse 17, Saul recognized David's voice and said, is this your voice, my son David? No weeping. No crying. No brokenness. Now, emotions are not the greatest indication of what's happening in someone's heart.

They're not. They're not the strongest clues. They're not the strongest signs. Because people weep all the time, and it just it just surface level, conviction, worldly sorrow. At the same time, we cannot totally ignore the value that emotions play.

And here we see something quite interesting. Saul is being exposed for the same sin that he had, where he's attempting to commit, that he did back in chapter 24. He's being now confronted for the very same thing, but his heart is responding to it differently. It is. There seems to be a coldness.

And you're gonna see that as you read on. They're the right words, but there seems to be, a questionable element to how he is confessing his sin. Could it be that over time, Saul's heart was getting harder and harder and harder? I argue yes. I argue yes.

And that often happens to a person who continues to persist in the same wrong. At one point, you've heard me say this before, at one point there was a, there was a, a, a discomfort and a disturbance with it. And then now there's a tolerating and there's less agitation. It's almost like it becomes part of you to the point where you can't even feel the weight of the seriousness of it anymore. That is that is a result again of ignoring a conscience, not being in the presence of God's light in his word, and letting yourself be dealt with and managed by the flesh.

Saul cannot even cry about it anymore. And it's, it's scary when you hear people talk about their sin, even in, in, in the form of confession. I've seen horrific things and I'm not talking about the sin itself, but the way it's communicated. There's no brokenness. There's no concern.

There there's no sense of, what have I done? It it it can just be, well, yeah. And and it's there's a difference between that and being comforted to know that God will forgive you. There's a difference there. Look at how David responded to his sin and you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.

There is a healthy level of being broken over sin. There's an unhealthy, but there's a healthy and and Saul here is demonstrating concerning concerning elements of a heart that is becoming icy. And so, David responds to him, even though there's no tears, and he says here in verse 18, why does my lord pursue after his servant? For what have I done? What evil is on my hands?

Now therefore, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If it is the Lord who has stirred you up against me, may he accept an offering. But if it is men, may they be cursed before the Lord, For they have driven me out this day that I should have no share in the heritage of the Lord, saying, go serve other gods. So now he confronts him, and he questions him. It's a wonderful thing to ask questions.

He asks questions. Then he says, before you answer, let me actually continue here. Why are you doing this? Let's do the process of elimination. Is God encouraging you to do this?

And and one way you can interpret this, is this because of that evil spirit that the Lord has allowed to torment you? Is that why? If it is, may He accept your offering of repentance? If that's not the case, if it's not the Lord, if it's not that spirit that he is allowed to chastise you, can I ask you this? Is it men?

Are you listening to people again? Are you listening to their slander and their lies that are stirring you to act in this way? And look what he says. This is quite fascinating. He says, If it is men, may they be cursed.

May they be cursed. Why? Why such a serious indictment? Why a call of judgment? He gives the reason why.

He says, for they did what? They have driven me out this day that I should have no share in the heritage of the Lord saying go serve other gods. You know what David's complaint was? For him to call upon a curse for these people? His complaint was not that, he was experiencing physical discomfort.

It was not that he lost his home. It was not that, he didn't have a position anymore. Remember, nobody knows how long he was in the wilderness, but some estimate it was not just weeks or months, it was years. That's a long time to be living in caves. But his main grievance is nothing of the sort.

The real reason why he was stirred up with this righteous indignation was because these men have caused him to be in exile, making him distant from the people of God who worship God in the house of God. And that is what he wanted more than anything else. This is what the sin of these people have caused me to do, to not be able to come into the presence of the Lord and to worship him with other godly saints. That's my complaint. Isn't that fascinating?

I find it quite fascinating. You know why? Because David's pain here reveals his passion. David's complaint here reveals what he cherishes the most in life. David here in expressing his frustration is revealing what he longs for the most.

And as I read this, I I think that shows really what you and I treasure in life. Some people are more grieved by the loss of a job than the loss of a sensitivity to God's presence and leading. Some people grieve more of friendships being tampered with than being in God's house with God's people. You know, when I read this, I thought to myself of that initial phase of this whole COVID thing, when the whole world was shut in and nobody could go anywhere, and churches across the world closed their doors for a season. Can I ask you a question?

Because we all experienced it together. In that time, what was the most frustrating thing to you? What disturbed you the most in that season? What was it that was taken from you that caused you to want the world to open up again? Was it God's house?

Was it being with God's people to sing God's praises? Was it to hear God's word preached in person as it should be? Or is it that you couldn't go to your favorite restaurant anymore? And you couldn't go on vacations as frequently as you once did? Or you cannot explore this or that or go to the mall, whatever the case may be, I can tell you something.

Whatever your heart was aching for during that time reveals what you love the most in this life. And in David's case, when he was put into quarantine in one way, oh he's, I want to be in that place. I want to smell the sacrifices on the altar. I want to worship with that choir like we heard in Psalm 42. I want to lead the people of God in procession so that we can praise God out loud.

That's what I'm longing for. That's what I'm aching for in this life. One way that you know that your satisfaction is in God alone is that if everything was taken from you, you would be just fine. It's true. And one way to know that your satisfaction is not in God alone is that when things are taken or things are stolen or things are rotting, whatever the case may be, your world seems to fall apart.

David knew no such thing because everything was taken from this man, even his own pillow. And the only thing that was running through his mind was, oh, I wanna be able to go through those gates again. Oh, I wanna be able to see those priests minister to the Lord. Oh, I wanna be able to be as close to that ark as possible. That was his cry.

And so he brings us before Saul, revealing his his godliness. And we read here in verse 20, now therefore let now my blood fall to the earth away from the presence of the Lord for the king of Israel has come out to seek a single flea like one who hunts a pathogen in the mountains. Then Saul said, now here's Saul responding to this. This is now his, his confession, supposedly. He's about to now respond to what he has responded to before and he says something here.

I have sinned, returned my son David. For I will no more do you harm because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Behold, I have acted foolishly and have made a great mistake. Pretty impressive stuff, Saul. You know why?

Because yes, he confesses again, but he's saying something different than he did before. What did he say before? Anybody remember what he said when he was confronted by David? If you go to verse seven of chapter 24, you'll get it. And it's not the same as what he is saying here.

If anything, this seems like to be a, a more sincere confession. Because before, what did he say? Did somebody figure it out? What did he say to David before when he was confronted? You are more righteous than I.

There is no mention of his sin in chapter 24. Now he's saying, I have sinned. I have sinned. Like, this is great. This is an improvement.

This is a move forward. He doesn't just say I've sinned. He goes, I've acted foolishly. I've made a great mistake. So he's not trying to, he's not trying to hide his sin by just emphasizing on David's superior righteousness.

He's just speaking plainly. I have sinned. That sounds more like a sincere confession than chapter 24. And he says, I've acted foolishly. Let me make this point.

Sin and foolishness are neighbors. When a person lives in sin, know that they've allowed foolishness to pay rent in their hearts. Sin and foolishness go hand in hand because a foolish person does not consider the damage and the destruction of their decisions. They they do not calculate such things. Let me give you an example.

The sin of adultery, for example. Right? Scripture speaks about this among other sins. I want you to just hear this in Proverbs six twenty two. We are told, he who commits adultery lacks sense.

Why? He who does it destroys himself. So a person who is caught up in the flesh, a person who is caught up in lust and they act upon it. The scripture says, they lack sense because they don't realize the potential destruction that can come to their reputation, to their marriage, to somebody else's marriage. Is all things redeemable?

Absolutely. Can God forgive all things? You better believe it. But yet still, God may forgive the sin, but not the consequence of the sin. The consequence of the sin sometimes comes regardless.

And so here we see that he acts foolishly. He confesses it because sin and foolishness hold hands. It's very difficult to separate the two. You can never sin wisely. You can, you can think that you're smart in your sin, but you can't separate the two.

Remember that. Remember that. But another important difference from this confession stands out is the what? Invitation for reconciliation. I have sinned.

Return my son David. He didn't say that in chapter 24. He just asked, make sure that when you become king that you leave my descendants alone. This time he's saying, come home. Come back.

I'll give you your job back. I'll, I'll let you come back to what was normal before. We can restart. Return my son David. That's like, that's wonderful.

That's even that's even more exciting. This is great. But it's concerning. Return my son David. What is the right answer?

What should David do? Believers who think black and white would say, go. You're supposed to. Reconcile. Is that not the pursuit of forgiveness?

Isn't that the end goal that forgiveness would restore? Absolutely. That is true, but the call to forgiveness is not the same as the call for reconciliation. Listen, our faith is all about forgiveness. Forgiveness for the believer is not optional.

In fact, let me add to that. Forgiveness should not be delayed. Our hearts to release somebody else from their offense, not harboring bitterness, not meditating upon harm to be done to them. In fact, being willing to love them in the sense of acting good upon them when the opportunity arises, that that's there's no discussion there. There's no debate.

There's no, what if? But though forgiveness is immediate, not reconciliation, depending upon the severity of the sin will determine whether reconciliation can be immediate or it can be a process. And that's that's totally okay with God. Is the end goal always to be reconciled? Yes.

Is that always the case? No. Because sometimes the most harmful thing you can do is try to restore something too quickly. What do you mean by that? Well, because although all sin is condemned by God, not all sin have the same consequences.

Sometimes it can go deeper. It can it can go further. It can it can be more crushing, more devastating, and because of that, it doesn't excuse a lack of forgiveness, but it does permit for reconciliation to be approached with a certain time and a certain patience in order for it to be genuine and safe. Is is Saul losing his temper here with David? Is that what he's asking forgiveness for?

Did he just have an outburst of anger and he's saying, look, I lost my cool man. I'm sorry. Just let's just let's just hug it out. Come here. Is that what he's doing here?

No, the guy's trying to kill him. He's, he's trying to kill him. And so we can't be so black and white to say, go ahead David. Oh, I know he's told you over and over again that he wouldn't do it and he, but just, you gotta do it. Is that wise?

That's not wise. God wants us to exercise wisdom in all things, including reconciliation. I wanna show you how sin, as as an example, how some sin have more lasting consequences than others. Go to the book of Exodus very quickly here. It's actually found in the 10 plagues, believe it or not.

I'm sure there's many other illustrations we can use, but here is one to consider. Let's go to the second plague. Let's go to Exodus chapter eight and verse 13. Now remember, there are certain plagues that when Pharaoh asked for forgiveness, and when he asked for the the plague to cease, Moses would intercede and in a moment, that plague would be dealt with. I mean, in a moment.

But when you come to the plague of the frogs, something interesting happens even though God answered immediately and and destroyed those frogs in order to bring relief to to Egypt. Look at verse 13. And the Lord did according to the word of Moses. The frogs died out in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields, and they granted them together rather they gathered them together in heaps and the land stank. I can show you other plagues where God blew a a a wind in one direction and the moment that Moses interceded, he blew even a stronger wind in the other direction so that those things could be removed.

In this case, when the frogs were were put to death, we're told look how interesting this is, that they had to they had to shovel these frogs and make piles and there was a stench. There was a stench afterwards. And I believe that's a great picture of how some sins stink more than others. Some sins leave an odor in comparison to others that, though they are still sin, are not as severe. And so we have to understand that.

We have to be very realistic about these things. Because I've even had conversations with people who might have done someone wrong in a certain way, and they pressure, and they they want immediate, restoration to normalcy. And as much as that is the goal, there are some things that take time. There are some things that take time. And we have to be patient and understanding of that.

When trust is broken, it takes time to rebuild it, among other things. And David realizes that. Because we might want to throw stones at the man, but let's just register the fact that perhaps if he had went back into the camp or even go back to the palace, that would have been his last, his last moment. Things could have changed overnight. And so this is much more complex than we would like it to be.

We have to consider the history of Saul. Does this man keep his word? Does he, does he actually honor what he says? No? Then we gotta be careful here.

What are the circumstances? How do we move about this the best way? I hope that helps because sometimes we oversimplify things and we do ourselves harm. And we do other people harm as well. I want you to see how David responds to the invitation that Saul gives to return with him.

First, look what he does here in verse 22. He hears him out, he respects him, And David answered and said, here is the spear, oh king. Let one of the young men come over and take it. So he's not like, I'm coming down there. He's like, return?

Okay. He doesn't run into his presence. He doesn't even call Saul to come up to take his possessions. He says, let one of your young servants come here and grab it. Did David become bitter?

Is David not looking for reconciliation? All you got to do is read the rest of the Scriptures in this chapter to realize that this man is free from resentment. But he's not stupid either. And he's cautious, and he's careful, and you and I are called to do the same. But let me let me make this, warning because some people love what I'm about to say.

That although we must be, careful, we must not refuse reconciliation either. Because there are some people who will take what I'm saying and say, yeah, that's right. That means I'll never have to talk to that brother or sister again. Oh, really? That is not the case because the goal is always reconciliation.

God wants us to have our relationships restored but, the pressure for a person to do something that would, not allow for healing and try to attempt for close companionship after a serious offense or a series of of sharp things occurring to them is just as wrong. So we see here that he does not give his possession directly to him, and David was right. David was right in his assessment. All you have to do is go to the next chapter very quickly. Look here in verse four of chapter 27.

We're gonna read this, I can't wait for this chapter. But look at verse four. David actually leaves Israel at this point. We'll get to that next week. But look what it says here in verse four.

And when it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath, he no longer sought him. Implying what? That he was seeking after him. After all of that, return, he was still willing to kill him. And so what happens?

Well, David gives his final words because this is the last time David and Saul are gonna encounter one another. This is it. And look what he says here in verse 24. I want to highlight this before we close. Behold, as your life was precious this day, David is speaking, as your life was precious this day in my sight, so may my life be precious in the sight of the Lord and may he deliver me out of all tribulation.

Saul, your life was precious to me. And you know what he says? He's not concerned if his life is precious to Saul. He realizes that it's not. But he says, may my life be precious in the sight of the Lord.

I believe that David's continual awareness of the presence of God and all that he did and a knowledge of God's ability to reward or judge was the ingredient to the success that he knew in life. Even Saul admits it. Look at verse 25. Then Saul said to David, blessed be you, my son David. You will do many things and will succeed in them.

As much as this man hated David, he realized because of the principles, because of how you express your convictions and what you live by, there's no doubt that you will be successful in life. I cannot, I cannot fight that as much as I'm trying to fight against you. And that principle is true for you and I. Believe it. If you and I live with the knowledge of God watching us, recording, leading.

All these things, if we live in his presence, we will be the safest and we will be the most satisfied. Do you realize that the reason why Saul made such a tragedy out of his life is because he lived the exact opposite? He could care less if he was precious in the sight of God. He could care less what God would do or would not do. The man lived for other people.

He lived for his impulses. And that's why he was spiraling down more and more as we continue in this book. So you see two paths right before us parallel. One heading up, one heading down. One key difference.

One person lived with the knowledge of God's presence. The other one could care less. The The other one could care less. And great men, great women of God, though they are known, though they may not be known, the way that they have known such sweetness in life is because they were only concerned about living in the sight of God. That is how you will know maximum holiness, and that is how you will know maximum happiness.

There's a famous saying, I'm not really a fan of it. You might have said it, this is not a personal offense to you, and I'm not aware that anybody has said it. I've known it for years. Jesus Christ did not die to make you happy, he died to make you holy. Have you heard it?

So is that that's my choice, holy or happy? I would like to rephrase it and say, Jesus Christ died to make you holy so you can be happy. Big difference. It's not like I have a if okay, if I if I if I become holy, then I'm less happy, and if I run really no happiness, then I I shouldn't be holy. You won't get that in the Bible.

That might be a clever saying, but it's not true. Great men, great women have lived in the sight of God. And I wanna show you one example and then we're done. It's in the New Testament, Luke one, it's about John the Baptist. Very, very small description that we might miss, but it is huge in implication and promise.

In Luke one, Let's begin in verse 13. But the angel said to him, do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness and many will rejoice at his birth. Verse 15, for he will be great before the Lord. He will be great before who?

Before crowds? Before Herod? Before Rome? No. Before the Lord.

And, how did that man live? How did he live for him to live great before God's face? There's my man. There's my servant. He had one outfit and one diet.

We would look at him and say, what a poor fellow. Look how much sacrifice it is to serve God. People think you're crazy, you have to live out in the wilderness and, look at all the people questioning him and calling him cuckoo. Yeah. In the sight of others, perhaps so.

In the sight of God, great. And And you and I have to determine who do we want to live before? Do we want to be great before men? Do we want to be great before God? If you choose tonight to be great before God, let me give you a heads up.

You might not get the same evaluation from men, But which one matters most? Which one means more? You determine that, and I hope you make the right choice. David lived in the presence of God, And look at how it has led him up to this point. Look at all the rewards that awaited him in his own life because he had established that conviction.

And look at the mess that Saul made out of his own. As much as David has been so inspirational to this point, It's in chapter 27 that you and I will see what weariness and trial can do if we don't receive strength from a continual trust in God. Lord, we thank you for this bible study. Lord, we thank you for these truths. We thank you for these insights.

We thank you for this time exploring these wonderful, wonderful things that you have reserved for us in the scriptures. Lord, we ask that we would implement them by your grace and mercy. Lord, we pray that these things, though they might have cut our hearts, would bring us new life, new hope, new desires. Lord, we pray that we would be concerned about what you have to say about our lives. Lord, we pray that you would give us wisdom in our relationships, wisdom in our decisions.

But oh God, we pray that you would do a work in our hearts like you did in this man, that while he had lost everything, his main concern was you, worshiping you, loving you, being with God's people. Lord, may we value the things of God to such a degree, because in that will we know great, great pleasure, great delight, superior satisfaction. Lord, we worship you. We worship you in our conviction. We worship you in our comfort.

We worship you even in our questions. We worship you because you've given us greater clarity. We worship you. You are a good God. You are so faithful.

The God of David is our God. Glory be to your name. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Let's stand and worship the Lord.