1 Samuel 30 (Part 2) Bible Study (David Defeats the Amalekites) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

You may never hear this reference for a long time, but meet me in first Samuel chapter 30 because we are almost there. I thought that we were gonna complete this study in this book today, but when I realized what was left in chapter 30, I thought, no. There's still there's still too much to be said before we conclude this study. So definitely, next week will be their last study. It may be a shorter one, but we have a tradition with our bible studies.

Does anybody know what that is when we complete a book? Yes. And this may be a longer one. And, I think it excites people to study a little bit more. And I like that.

I like that it excites people to study more. So keep that in mind next week. It may happen next week. It may happen the week after. I don't know.

Just come prepared anyway. First Samuel 30. Meet me in verse 16, please. And our brother just prayed, but it doesn't hurt to pray again as long as we are sincere in our hearts. Lord, we thank you for your word and we open it now.

Lord, thank you for this family. Thank you for gathering us in this place. Lord, despite our week, despite even the challenges of today, we've come to the sanctuary of your presence, and we come to receive from you. Lord, you are our life. You are our strength.

You are our hope. Lord, you are our delight. And Lord, we realize that there is a miracle that has taken place in our hearts for us to come here on a Friday night and to enjoy this. That is your work in our lives. And may you manifest the person of Jesus Christ through the revelation of the word into our hearts so that we would love him, the resurrected Lord, the returning Lord.

Oh, Lord, just win our affections afresh. Win them afresh for you are worthy of all of our devotion. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen?

Amen. Amen. There it is. I hope you remember from two weeks ago where we are at in this study. Don't mind what's happening back there.

Just focus on me and they'll figure it out. In first Samuel 30, we know that there is a rescue mission that is taking place. And the rescue mission that is taking place has to do with David and his men who have lost their wives and their children to the Amalekites. While they were on a three day journey away from this place called Ziklag, the Amalekites have come and ransacked their home base. They have destroyed the city.

They have taken captives. David and his men come back to this horrible site, And that was the turning point in David's life to come back to the Lord after a year and four months of being away from the Lord. And God immediately responded with divine, direction and guidance and leading. And now he knows where to go because in God's providence, here is a a slave out in the wilderness who is left behind by the Amalekites. David comes and rescues him, and then he receives a reward beyond his imagination.

And it was the exact steps needed to go and find his family and bring them back by God's power and promise. That's where we're at. And as we consider that, we read in verse 16 what transpires. And when he had taken him down, behold, they, being the Amalekites, were spread abroad over all the land, eating and drinking and dancing because of all the great spoil that they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. And David struck them down from twilight until the evening of the next day, and not a man of them escaped except 400 young men who mounted camels and fled.

David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken, and David rescued his two wives. Nothing was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything that had been taken. David brought back all. David also captured all the flocks and herds, and the people drove the livestock before him and said, this is David's spoil. Consider verse 16 quickly.

Consider the sight. They are there they are in in the blackness of that midnight hour. And as they approach where the Amalekites were, they can hear in the distance, the the sound of music and the voices of men, perhaps singing, shouting. And there was dancing. There was music perhaps.

And as David and his men, the 400 with him, approached the site, they realized something quite amazing. They are they are celebrating what they had just done. They are enjoying themselves. They are indulging in the flesh After committing such evil, after such mischief, David finds these men in a place where they are clearly showing little to no concern about their safety. There seems to be no thought about the possibility of a counter attack from the very people that they had just harmed, the very people that they had just assaulted.

There is this relaxed, careless, even reckless kind of behavior from the Amalekites. And my question is, why do you think that is? Why do you think that the Amalekites seem to be so safe and are not on guard? What was happening in the background? There was another war that was taking place.

Against who? Between who? The Philistines, I heard it whispered. And who? The Israelites.

Right? Were the Philistines in their land or were they three days away from their land? Three days away from their land. Yes. And so you see that there is this miscalculation.

There is this false belief that there was a delay and so they could be relaxed and they could be laid back. And when you look at something like this, it's it's a clear picture, is it not, of the spiritual negligence of sinners today. And even of some saints who have unfortunately been influenced by the flesh, who get caught up in the frenzy of the flesh because they think that there is a delay. And they fail to prepare for that divine judgment just like these men are failing to realize that they are dancing and shouting and singing and partying in the shadow of vengeance. It's incredible.

Why weren't the Amalekites sober minded? Why weren't they vigilant? Why weren't they on guard? Well, we just heard it. Perhaps they didn't believe that an attack would come, or at least not now.

Perhaps they thought that they were so victorious that they so conquered that they didn't even think that it would ever happen. Whatever the case may be, you see here, unfortunately, a picture of how the world interprets God's judgment. They don't even believe it exists. And so they eat, they drink, and tomorrow they die. And they can live in their flesh, and they can destroy themselves, destroy others, destroy any conviction left in their conscience, and just live it up not knowing that the eyes of God's wrath are upon them.

And just like David here is looming with his men to execute vengeance, here are people today on a Friday night, I can tell you very much that are living just like these Amalekites, for themselves without any concern about the safety of their own souls. Without any sense that things can change swiftly. And this life that they thought was the climax of their bliss will turn into just a transition into the real world, and that is eternity. And so I look here at a sad picture, and there's even a picture of many professing believers who delay their surrender, their total surrender to the Lord. They just wanna nitpick here of the world and it doesn't work.

We must be ready at all times, day by day, hour by hour. Now we come to verse 17. And it says here, and David struck them down from twilight until the evening of the next day. That's a that's a pretty incredible accomplishment. Because think about it.

When they were with the Philistines, David and his men, they had to go back to Ziklag. How many days did that take? Three. On foot. They get to Ziklag.

They realize that there's smoke coming from their homes. There's rubble. And they are exhausted physically. Now add on top of that physical exhaustion, emotional exhaustion. Why?

Because they left until there was no strength left in them. David seeks God. This is emergency protocol. God gives him answers right away. And now he travels through the wilderness to try to find his family.

You can imagine how bone tired these men were. So tired that one third of David's men, 200 out of the 600, stayed back. It says they were too exhausted to pursue even though their wives and their children were taken. That says something for warriors who fight for a living. And yet at the same time, we read that on this night from twilight, they fought throughout the night, throughout the next day, until the evening of the next day.

And they won. And I look at that and I have one thing that comes to mind. That is determination. That is grit. That is commitment.

That is sacrifice even at the expense of your comfort and your even health, which sometimes, oftentimes can be dangerous. We have to be wise. But when I read this, I see something very, very important. Number one, they were outnumbered. Because what do we read here?

400 young men in the last verse the last part of verse 17, who mounted camels and fled. So we know that there were at least 400 men because 400 of the Amalekites left. Meaning there was many more Amalekites, and yet David only had 400 in his rank. That's impressive. Second, David and his men, though exhausted, saw something.

They interpreted this in a very wise way. Because, hey, look, If I'm David after a three day journey and then who knows how long to come to this point, I see these men clearly, they're not in a threatening position. They're just living it up. They're distracted. Boys, let's let's call this a night and we'll go to war tomorrow.

Let's just rest for maybe a day or two, recuperate, just be strengthened, and then we can come back and deal with these guys. But that's not how they did this. They saw this scene. They saw that the the posture of the Amalekites, and they realized in this moment, this is to our advantage. This is a unique opportunity.

This is a window of time that we cannot afford to lose, so we must act now with everything that is left within us. What whatever it demands of us, let us give it all now because we may not have this opportunity again. Because these men are intoxicated. These men are not vigilant. They are defenseless.

It's a perfect chance for an invasion even though they are outnumbered. Now I look at this and I realize that even though these Amalekites were in a drunken stupor, David and his men knew that it's time to act now. There's a spiritual lesson here from this this king in training and his discipline. And it is this, you and I have to seize the opportunities at hand in our service to God. For whatever reason it is, many believers are tempted to lose dedication when they realize that they are at an advantage.

When when a believer is in an environment or in a state where they they have great privilege, oftentimes, that is damaging to their devotion, at least the quality of it. You want an example? Look at the majority of Christians in in America. Look at the the overall attitude of many people in Christendom in the West. You and I live in a country of great opportunity, even spiritually, as wicked as our country is.

Do you realize that as a church, as a ministry, as Christians, we still have rights that protect us? We still have laws that we can utilize to our advantage. We still have certain privileges and benefits that can actually help us move forward for the kingdom of God with greater grace and ease and peace. And yet, at the same time, there seems to be a sense of ease in Zion. There seems to be, little concern in a general sense for effort, greater effort to be given into this awesome opportunity that we have in this land.

Why pray so much? Why why pray so intensely at least when there's no persecution, when there's little problems? Why plan and invest in outreaches when there's so many things happening through so many ministries already? Like, just we'd have to be so concerned. Why meet together regularly?

We got something called live stream. I can access my favorite Bible teachers dead or alive on one click of the button. I don't have to get out of my pajamas. And so there's this strange temptation. There's this strange thing that happens when we realize that there is there is much advantage, much much ease.

But if we learn anything in the past two years, do you know what it is? That whatever advantage you and I enjoy can be taken from us in a moment. Right? Whatever opportunity lies before us can be swept away over a weekend. And Jesus gave very, very wise words in John chapter nine to his disciples.

We must work the work of him while it is day, for night is coming when no man can work. I believe with all of my heart that if we learn if we should have learned anything in the past two years as believers, is don't take what you have in this nation, in this generation so lightly. It can all flip in a moment. And what we thought was something so casual and just part of our weekly schedule, something that we can say yes or no to, can all for a sudden be gone. And ministry looks much, much, much different.

I never thought I would see the day where Canadian pastors in 2020, 2021 would be meeting with their congregations underground. Did anybody see that coming? Not me. And so you and I have to realize that while it is day, while there is the light of favor upon us, all the more should we give ourselves. All the more we should utilize our technology.

All the more we should utilize our strength. All the more we should utilize our resources because night is coming when no man can work. These men saw the opportunity. It was an advantage. They went for it because they knew that they could have lost that opportunity if they waited too long.

Verse 18. David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken and David rescued his two wives. Nothing was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything that had been taken. Only one explainable possibility for why this happened for David and it is this, the sheer mercy of God. The sheer grace of God.

The fact that he came to this place and there was not one hair missing from his children's heads or one wife missing. The fact that none of them were destroyed, none of them were hurt, none of them were sold off into slavery. The fact that they were all intact, every single one, not one son, not one daughter was gone, is just a magnificent display of God's compassion over a man who didn't deserve it, who didn't deserve it. And you and I should consider this truth for our own lives and just take a moment to reflect on our own history with God. And the things that he is allowed to remain, and the things that remain intact, and the blessings that even continue to flow, especially in moments of of sin, even seasons of sin.

And yet, and yet still God's grace is there. And his provision is there. And his love is there. His promises are still there. And as much as that is true, we can also make the case that there is an element of human responsibility here on David's part that perhaps made this result a greater possibility otherwise.

Meaning, David did something on his part. I know this makes people nervous. Right? Especially especially because we love grace, and I love grace I love grace than anybody else, I guess. At the same time, there is an element, I believe, of human responsibility that is worth noting.

Think about it. What if David, when he came to Ziklag and he saw the city destroyed, what if he had not immediately broken and come contrite before God and sought him? What if in his frustration, he complained? What if he had run back to the Philistines to ask for help? What if David had delayed his repentance upon the shocking revelation of the Ziklag situation?

Just imagine that for a second. If he had stubbornly just paced back and forth and persisted in the flesh, If if he had just said to himself, what kind of God is this? Remember, it was him coming before God, praying and receiving direction from heaven that brought him to this point. But what if he didn't, At least in the moment. There I believe there is a case that perhaps there would have been a greater risk for harm to be implemented upon the very people he loved.

That there would have been a greater advantage for the Amalekites to have their way. Because God brought David to Ziklag in his providence. Remember? David tried to go with the Philistines and God shut that door so clearly, it almost forced David to go back. And there was a timing issue in that.

God needed him to get back there. It was God's love redirecting, although it hurt in the moment. That rejection could have been painful. And so this is what I'm trying to say here is that when you look at this, we also run the same risk in our lives if we continually resist God's conviction about a certain wrong that we are persisting in. If we continue to ignore God, if we continue to delay the the commands that he calls us to walk in knowingly, stubbornly, as much as we we know that God restores and as much as he replenishes and he renews and he recovers, that is all true.

There is also the risk that our sin can take much more from us if we're not careful to be prompt and urgent in our repentance. Can you think of commands in the New Testament that tell us to act quickly in certain situations? Think about it. Some whispers here and there. Think about it.

Think about the Sermon on the Mount. Think about the the teaching on forgiveness. Teaching on if you know that you have something, that something has happened between you and a brother, somebody has something against you, and you have a gift, and you go to the altar. What are you supposed to do? Worship and then go?

Yeah, leave it there. Leave it there and then go. And then Jesus says something quite amazing. Come to terms quickly with your accuser. Like quickly.

Don't wait. Don't delay. Quickly. This is emergency protocol. Because again, we run the risk with specific things especially that if we delay, there's more damage.

There's more damage relationally. There's more damage on ourselves. There's more damage to many things. And so even even Paul says in like manner, don't go to bed. Don't go to bed if there's if there's that anger in your heart that's keeping you up, and you haven't communicated.

Don't even go to sleep. And so there is a call for each of us as believers to be prompt with conviction and to not delay because to delay may be to to to cause more unnecessary damage. And that happens so much. I'm telling you there are people who have anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, and because they do not deal with it, it deals with them. And here's what I would like to say.

How would you act if you knew your family was kidnapped? Would you wait till tomorrow to make a phone call? Would you say to yourself, you know, it's not that big of a deal. I gotta think about it. That'd be ridiculous.

But if we saw our sin even in seed form as dangerous to our souls as the Amalekites were to David's family when they kidnapped him, I'm sure that we would we would not be slow to pursue God's conformity and his standard for us as his representatives. We would be quick. We would be quick. And when you and I are quick, what we do is whatever foothold that we have given Satan, it slams the door on that foot. But the longer you do that, the longer you keep that that door open and that foot there, then a shoulder gets in, then a leg gets in, and then you sit with couples who have been married for decades, and there is a long, huge, thick cement wall of bitterness and unforgiveness.

Because instead of dealing it with it when it was a brick, they built upon it more and more and more. And and now you you talk and you hear about the the silliest of things that seem to be mountainous in their minds because they didn't deal with it when it was a molehill. David, although he is being showered by God's grace, God's grace was triggered by the appropriate response to his conviction. I hope that makes sense and I hope that stirs you and I. Do you see Jesus in the verses that we just read?

Nothing was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, spoiler or anything that had been taken, David brought back all. Nothing was missing. All of David's possessions came back to David. All that was in his name came back into his arms. And when I see David, I see the son of David.

Don't you? Because Jesus assures us that he will never ever lose his most prized possession. Would you like to know what that is? It's in John six thirty nine. Look what Jesus says in John six thirty nine.

I love this verse. And this is the will of him who sent me that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. That I should lose nothing. Now what do you mean lose nothing? Well, he tells us in the next verse.

For this is the will of my father that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. I will raise him up. Oh, he's just a prophet, He's just a teacher. Tell me one prophet that can raise up the dead all simultaneously by one command. I will raise him up on the last day.

But here's the promise, that those who look on him and believe on him, Christ will never let you be lost. He won't lose you. He won't lose you. And so here's how powerful that is. No matter what you go through in life, no matter what threats, even something as powerful and as final as death itself, When Christ comes to claim you, death has to let go of that body so that it can be glorified in his presence forever and ever.

He won't lose you. There's not one part of you that will be lost. There's not one part of you that will be missing. Just like David claimed and reclaimed all. So Christ, when Adam and his race forfeited so much, he and his redemption will redeem us completely.

And that's a glorious thought. So I'm gonna trust the one who actually conquered the grave. So that when I enter into the grave, guess what? If I'm able to, if I'm able to, I'll memorize a hymn and I'll be able to sing it in my dying breath knowing that he's gonna claim me one day. And you can do the same if you're in Christ.

There's Christ and Christ isn't done. Christ isn't done being shown here in David's life. Look what we look what we see next in first Samuel in verse 19. This is so exciting. We see here David also in verse 20 captured all the flocks and herds, and the people drove the livestock before him and said, this is David's spoil.

So there's an additional thing that happens. Not only does David reclaim, restore, He also adds, he wins a spoil on top of what was his. There is greater reward. And here's the beauty about this reward. This reward on top of what belonged to him was shared with his men.

These men were sharing in that spoil and were also experiencing the great treasures that was claimed and won by David himself. And that's exactly what Christ has done with you and I. That when Jesus conquered death, when he went on that cross, he did not just purchase us, he purchased things for us. He purchased things for us. All you have to do is go to Ephesians one and see the list of the spiritual blessings that belong to us.

All you have to do is realize what the inheritance of the Holy Spirit does for us. And that's what the blood did. Jesus goes into the enemy's camp, yes, to save us. But then as we walk out with them like these men, there are treasures that he begins to share with the redeemed. And I find that so true in the New Testament.

But you know what's what I find so amazing here is that these men who had this this flock and the herds, this great great parade of possessions, Guess what they were saying? What what was it that they're saying? This is whose spoil? David's spoil. I love that.

This is David's spoil. I don't know if they chanted it. I don't know if they said it once. I don't know if they said it throughout the journey back. But they were affirming that even though this was purchased for them, even though they got to enjoy this, even though they got to enjoy it with their families, that it all came back to David.

It all belonged to David. And you and I have to understand that we're not just forgiven, we're not just headed to an eternal garden of Eden. We have received rewards. We've been given gifts. We've We've been given gifts in Christ.

And I know some people that receive gifts, not when they were just born. I believe God gifts people when they are born, and they could choose what to do with that gift. Either use it for the world and their own profit or for God's glory. But I believe also that God gives gifts upon conversion. God gives gifts.

God gives callings. God gives a promise that we will rule and reign with him forever and ever. God ensures us also that there's specific reward. Just read Revelation to see the specific prizes that await that await those who overcome, and we will be with him granted by Christ forever and ever. And what's our response to that?

What they say here, this is David's spoil. So anything that you enjoy, anything that you have experienced because of Christ, whatever deliverance, whatever peace, whatever joy, whatever blessings that your family has known once you invited Christ into that home. No no matter what kind of success you have known in ministry, no matter what it is that you have known because of Jesus Christ, in the end, you and I have to say the same thing as these men. This is because of Christ and this all belongs to Christ. It's his.

He gave it. He purchased it and we just enjoy it. And that's what's so incredible at David. David didn't hoard all of this to himself. You're gonna read, he's gonna give it all out.

And that is the generosity of Jesus Christ. Look, I'm good with just getting in the gates. I don't know about you. I'm good with just slipping in and finding some corridor in heaven and staying there. I don't even need a house.

Just let me sleep on the Golden Street. I'll be good. But he doesn't he doesn't just do that. Isaiah 53 tells us that he divides the spoil with the strong. Meaning, he goes beyond that.

His grace says, I'm gonna redeem you. I'm gonna bring you into my presence, but I wanna crown you. And I want you to sit on my throne, on my father's throne. I'm okay Lord with the Gold Street. I don't need to sit up there with you, but he wants to.

He bids us. I mean, his grace is so overflowing that that that although this is sufficient that the tokens of his love, his wounds should suffice and it will be the theme of our song. He says, now let me pick you up with these same hands and let me elevate you. It's absolutely mind blowing. It really is.

When you see it, when you get deep and and study, and you see what awaits us even beyond redemption. I don't know how you can have a bad day coming to church. I just don't know how you can't sing. It's glorious. And what we do sing is this is David's spoil.

This is Christ's spoil. This belongs to him. This is because of him. Now what happens in verse 21? Then David came to the 200 men who had been too exhausted to follow David and who had been left at the Brook Besor.

And they went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him. And when David came near to the people, he greeted them. I I just try to imagine it. You have David, 400 men with all their wives and their children walking back. You can imagine the hugs, the kisses.

You can imagine the kids jumping in their dad's arms. These fathers putting their arms around their wives. And then these 200 men who haven't seen their family, who who didn't know what happened, who are staying back with the luggage, see them in the horizon and they approach them and they embrace and they, there's a joyful celebration, a righteous celebration, unlike the Amalekites. And all for a sudden, this glorious moment is interrupted. Momentarily, it's interrupted by something that's so disappointing.

It it should be disappointing to be found amongst those who claim to be among the righteous. Look at verse 22. Then all the wicked and worthless fellows among the men who had gone with David said, because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered, except that each man may lead away his wife and children and depart. So as these 400 come, they they recognize that David is about to give some of the spoil to these men. And in their minds, they go, that is not that's not fair.

That is not fair. And so they they voiced their frustration and they say, they should just get the bare minimum. They let them take their wives and their kids and let them go. They they should have no part. They didn't come out with us.

They didn't fight with us. And you know what's incredible? I hope you saw it because when I saw, I I it shocked me almost how the Holy Spirit describes these men. What does he call them? Wicked.

Worthless. Wait. K. Call call Saul's men wicked and worthless. I get it.

You're telling me the men who followed David, who who trusted God's command with David and under David's lead, though some of those men were wicked and worthless? What does that say? I'm I'm actually asking you, how is it that these men or what does it reveal at least that these men because the Bible is not lying about them. It's not an exaggeration. This is a true commentary on their character.

They are wicked and they are worthless. How can that be? Any idea? Okay. So they're not really they don't have their own personal faith that is trusting in David's leadership?

Okay. It's a possibility. Their intentions maybe? Sure. They wanted to withhold something that didn't belong to them.

We're onto something there. Yes. Anything else? Pride. Pride is a definite part of it.

There's a judgmental attitude towards who? Yeah. That's another thing too. I mean, it makes you wonder if the worthless wicked men were the same men that suggested to the others. That's why don't we stone David?

Possibility. Worthless and wicked men. Here's here's at least three thoughts coming from that truth. The first one is the fact that these men these men here were among a righteous group. They were among a good and faithful group who recognized the anointing on David's life, who recognized Saul's corruption, who recognized that there is a high price to be associated with David, but we're willing to pay that price.

And yet all at the same time, they were corrupt. They were corrupt. Now pay attention here. This will do some good. Alright?

This is really important. This is the first time that we have any indication of wicked and worthless men being among David's faithful group. What was the last solid description of this man that we had received? Go just back a few chapters just to see it. And there was no hint of it.

Go to first Samuel 22 verse two and remember how we were introduced to these men when they joined David in the first place. In first Samuel 22 verse two, we are told about the same group, at least the core group, the first 400, and everyone who is in distress, and everyone who is in debt, and everyone who is bitter in soul gathered to him. I read that. I don't see that there are wicked people who join them. I I don't see rebels.

I see people who are sick and tired of being under Saul's reign, who recognize what God had placed on David's life, what God had in mind for Israel through David, and they went out knowing that they could have been killed for doing so, risking their lives, their families lives to pledge themselves to the truth. To pledge themselves to that which was right. And yet, near the end of the book, among those were some wicked and worthless men. Here's what I wanna tell you. This teaches us that oftentimes, it takes time.

It takes time for the nature of some to be revealed. It will not be manifested immediately, but eventually will be exposed even those who are joined to an assembly or a group who is for the truth, who loves the truth, who are willing to pay a price for the truth. That's huge. That's huge. It wasn't there immediately.

It just showed up at the right time. That might happen in your life. Is this true? That might happen. It might not happen immediately, just give it a few years.

Give it a little bit of time. Give it the right circumstances. And and those who you suppose were for the truth, who loved Bible, who loved prayer, who loved worship, the the real thing comes out. And it can be shocking to discover, as I'm sure it was shocking to you when you realized that among the 400, there were wicked and worthless fellows. So if it does happen, don't be too shocked.

Even one out of the 12 in Jesus' group was filled with the devil. It's just another another reality of, of our relationships in Christian living. But there's another thing to learn from this, wicked and worthless fellows, and it is this. It's not that they were wicked just because they thought David was unfair. It's because they wanted the 200 who stayed behind to be removed altogether.

Look back at verse 22. Notice what they say in the end. Except that each man may lead away his wife and children and depart. Get out of here. Go away.

We want nothing to do with you anymore. I believe that is the essence, at least a part of the reason why they are called worthless and wicked. Essentially, what what this group of men wanted to do was divide the group. They wanted to sow discord. They wanted to to remove people for no righteous purpose, for no significant reason.

All they wanted to do was satisfy their frustration. All they wanted to do was was deal with their greed and these people stood in the way of their greed. You want us to spread it with them? There's no way. We want them to go.

And the scriptures are abundantly, like so scary clear about the great crime it is when someone intentionally seeks to bring division if it's just between two or 200 to achieve a selfish end. Whether that end is to is to deal with some anger or to acquire something that you think someone departing will give to you, in God's eyes, when there is a plan and an execution to bring about a ripping of relationships among the brethren, God has a very strong word for it, and it is this, abomination. That's that's kinda crazy because I read the Old Testament and I see that bestiality is known as an abomination, and I can see how. But in God's eyes, when there is an an intention to bring division among people, it's equal in his eyes as an abomination. That's significant.

Actually, the scripture tells us that there are six things that the Lord hates. Seven that are an abomination to him. Bible study? Yes? Let's name a few.

Lying lips? Yes. Shedding of innocent blood? Absolutely. Haughty eyes.

Very good. False witness. Absolutely. Sowing discord among brethren. Yes.

We already have five down, I believe, if I counted right. There are a couple more. Seven things that the Lord considers an abomination. The the two last ones are a little harder. So I'll be very impressed if somebody can get the last two.

Say that again. Feet. Yes. Feet that are quick to do evil. One more.

Somebody said something. I think they got it. Yes. Bravo. Yes.

A heart that devises wicked plans. So if you wanna know where this list is, because look, I don't wanna know just what God loves. I wanna know what he hates. And the list is found in Proverbs six sixteen to 17. I want you to look there quickly.

In Proverbs six sixteen to 17, there are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him. Abomination is like abhorrent. Listen. That word means disgusting. Now if I were to ask you, give me your top ten seven list of the most heinous and ugly and vile things you can think of.

Obviously, this is not limited. This is not an exclusive list, but it's amazing what God highlights. Verse 17, haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plants, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies. That's somebody who, like, like, they lie, and they don't even know they're lying. Like, it just it's as easy as breathing.

And one who sows discord among brothers. Here's my question. What do all these sins have in common since we're here? What do all these sins have in common? You got it.

It's something that one commits another against another. It's relational. Every single one of these sins has to deal with how someone treats another person even down to haughty eyes. Now he could have said a proud heart, but this is showing that it's it's a pride that is seen, a pride that looks down on someone else. So even the sight of the proud is a statement to others.

And this is what God is saying, that what he considers an abomination is how we would treat someone in the following ways. You know what's another thing that's significant about this list of abominable practices? They all happened to the Lord Jesus. Each of these things happened to him throughout his ministry. Each of them.

If you really think about it, haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood. Think about it. A heart that devices wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers. How was that happen? When the Pharisees were in the crowd before Pilate and they were convincing the crowd to have Jesus crucified.

All of these things, Jesus Christ himself experienced. And this is what's so profound about this. If these things are so abominable to God when when it is done from one party against another, how much more was it for him to be the recipient of all of these things? If he absolutely hates it when one does it to another, what was going through God's mind when all of it was poured out on him? How did he tolerate it?

And the answer is very simple. As much as he hates these things, as much as they are absolutely vile, he did it because of love. That's how strong his love is. That he was willing to endure it and and allow it without retaliation, without judgment immediately because he wanted to accomplish a greater end. He wanted to redeem the very same ones who were doing these things to him.

That's the strength of God's love. It's incredible. And when you see here that the seventh one is one who sows discord among brothers, some would believe that this is actually being the seventh, the climactic, the climactic expression of his hatred in this collection of evils. It's as also to say, he lists one after the next, and then he's like, and the the top of the tier, the one that really gets my fury moving, is when somebody sows discord among brothers. Says something about our God.

And these men were doing that. They were trying to cause discord division, and we come to David's response in closing in verse 23. But David said, you shall not do so. My brothers, not how he calls them my brothers still. It's incredible.

With what the Lord has given us, he has preserved us and given into our hand the band that came against us. Who would listen to you in this matter? I love that because he, he can call them my brothers, but he can also rebuke them. Like you're, what you're saying is ridiculous, my brothers. Who would listen to you in this matter?

For as his share is who goes down into battle, so shall his share be who stays by the baggage. They shall share alike. I wish we had the time. We're already getting to the close. I wish we had the time to just really dissect there's so much in David's response.

Here's a here's a brief comparison. Notice verse 23 and compared to verse 22. Notice how David interprets the victory compared to the men. What did the men say? The middle of verse 22.

We will not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered. And look what David says in verse 23. You shall not do so my brothers with what the Lord has given us. Isn't that awesome? We're not gonna give them what we have recovered and then David comes and he goes, this is God's.

This is the Lord's. And David here in this simple revelation of his thought process shows us the great cure the great cure against covetousness, jealousy, envy, a lack of generosity or hospitality, an unwillingness to extend a hand that might cost you something. There's a great cure and it is this. It's very simple. You have to really believe that everything you have is God's.

That's it. So many things fall off with that belief. So many things are are solved with that belief, and you see it when we get to to second Samuel, when we get to Chronicles, who knows when, especially Chronicles, that mindset lived with David until his dying breath. He really believed it. He believed that now when he was a fugitive, and he believed it when he had access to resources that you could not even imagine.

The whole time he believed this is God's, this is God's. I remember somebody long time ago told me to to take something and give it to somebody else. And, they just said, just give it to them and just, you know, just don't even say who it came from. I said, okay. And, when I went to the person I gave them, that gift, that person looked at me and thanked me.

And I said, look, it didn't come from me. And there was nothing in my heart that was hesitant to extend it. Because it didn't even belong to me anyway. I was just extending it. I was just passing it along.

It came from someone else. And there's such a liberty and and there was a joy seeing the person's joy, but I knew who was the source of that joy, who was the person that contributed to this person's blessing. And I was just there to experience it. I was just there to give it and to just see the to see the person feel and know that they've been blessed. Okay.

That's how you and I have to live with everything. With absolutely everything. Not only do you do you feel a liberty there, but you also know a humility there. If I bought a cake for our fellowship this Sunday, I came down, opened it up, cut it into pieces and gave it to everybody and people started saying, you're a wonderful chef. I'm not gonna be able to take that to my heart.

I didn't cook the thing. I didn't bake it. I don't mind even using the right terminology. I bought it and I brought it to you. This isn't mine.

I didn't purchase it. I just delivered it. And so if you have to, do whatever you need to do to instill this and embed this in your mind. Nothing belongs to me. Like, tell yourself as much as you can.

Not Lord, help me believe that nothing nothing really belongs to me. And when you get there and you see slow victories, small leaps of great great conquest there in that belief system. You will know greater liberty and generosity, hospitality, freedom from any type of jealousy or lust for things. It's it's an incredible truth. And David is showing that here.

But listen, in closing, David is telling us a a third possibility of why these men were wicked and worthless. You know why? Perhaps you would debate me on this, but I believe one reason is because these 400 or at least some among them, not all of them, did not see the value or the worth from those 200. They did not calculate what they they brought to the table. They despise them.

They want nothing to do with them. And they failed to see how dependent upon them they actually were. And perhaps that that in God's mind caused them to be labeled as such. You you don't see what they have to offer. You don't see that apart from them, you could not be where you are now.

And David says, they they deserve just as much as you do. You went to war, that's great, but they stayed back and they watched over our stuff, and they risked their lives in a different way. Their service is not less significant than yours. Each of us deserve to be rewarded, and that is an awesome picture of how Jesus, our captain, views all of his servants in whatever ministry that God has called them to do. And we often can fall into this same trap by by praising that which is obvious and underappreciating that which we don't think plays a significant role in the advancement of God's kingdom or blessings in our own lives.

Happens a lot. Happens directly, happens indirectly. And I wanna just show you one example of how God thinks from the New Testament. And this is this is the last verse reference for the Bible study. This is gonna this is gonna encourage you, I hope, in first Chronicles, rather Corinthians chapter twelve twenty eight.

God lists some gifts, and perhaps you'd be amazed to see how he lists these gifts, at least in this passage of scripture. In first Corinthians twelve twenty eight, And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. And most people come to this verse and say, what are the various kinds of tongues? I get the curiosity. But maybe you're missing something that's very, very significant.

Anything stand out to you here? Here's what stands out to me, that when Paul lists the gifts of healing, right away he lists the gifts of helping. And so who do you think would get more attention and appreciation in the church? The one that has a gift that whoever you bring to and he prays for, God has some favor that works through him that people get healed? Or the one that helps in the background to make the service a little bit less distracting and more graceful?

I think we know the answer to that. God's mind, they're all important. They're equally needed. They are just as much as gifts. No matter what kind of power or what kind of miraculous abilities behind one, God sees no greater one next to the other.

They're connecting forces that are necessary for the overall health and the overall happiness of the church. Gifts of helping. Gifts of helping. I I find that amazing. Gifts of healing, and then in the next breath, the gift of helping.

And whoever has the gift of helping will be rewarded just as much as the one who is faithful as the gift of a teacher. We have to believe that not just for ourselves, but that when we come together and we see somebody operating in the gift of administration or the gift of helping, who who who have an eye to see a need and move upon that need, who are willing to be the first one to volunteer their time or energy to to contribute to a gap in the church, when we see that we should we should praise God the same way he praises them in a verse just like this, for example. And I wonder if these men, back in David's story, I wonder if their their ugly behavior is because they don't know the worth that each person offers in their own group. And could it be that there are people who cause trouble, who cause issues within the church family because they can't look and see that every person in this place is needed and valuable. When you have somebody who believes that it's all about them and without them nothing can you that person's gonna cause trouble.

That person's gonna start saying stuff. That person's gonna start bulldozing and even causing some to depart. And I know one thing about those who refuse to be part of a local church, by the way. At least one thing. Those who are quick to vocalize their disgust with the bride of Christ, those who are quick to criticize and despise what she has to offer, they don't understand that they need that group of people to be more successful in whatever God has called them to do, their spiritual selves.

And David institutes a law from this. I close here. It says here back in the verses that we were covering, and he in verse 25 made a statute and a rule for Israel from that day forward to this day. He made that a law. He made that a law to solidify the unity of the people of Israel.

And now look what he does. When David came to Ziklag, he sent part of the spoil to his friends, the elders of Judah saying, here is a present for you from the spoil of the enemies of the Lord. And then he lists the different towns and cities, so he goes even beyond his immediate group. There is such a great spoil that he goes out and he sends different packages to these different towns. And he's exemplifying what he's preaching, what he is saying is law what is so important to hold on to.

He's living it out. And the question is why? Look at verse 30. For all the places where David and his men had roamed. So he is rewarding and blessing those that throughout his wilderness trek, escaping and hiding from Saul, there were certain people in the land of Judah who were hiding him and taking care of him and providing for him.

And some time had passed, but David had not forgotten, I'm going to bless you for that. And so it wasn't just those who had swords who fought that were rewarded. It was those who even played a role to say, we're gonna just take care of you for a night or two. We're gonna we're gonna provide for you and your men here. And and David blessed them equally as he did to those who went out into battle.

And that's the same picture. That's the same God God was gonna reward things that are gonna shock us, I'm telling you. He's gonna reward people that are gonna shock us. But he's especially gonna reward a certain group of people. And who's that group of people?

For all the places where David and his men had roamed. David had rewarded his men, yes, because of their great love and care and concern when he was in his lowest point. But David is going to reward these men because these men, these groups of people, these families, these elders did something. They did something for David that very few people did when he was at this point in his ministry, and that was showing him loyalty. Loyalty.

They stood by David when it was unpopular. They stood by David when it would cost them much. They stood by David when the rest, when the majority under Saul's reign were causing trouble for David. And reading this, be encouraged that the Lord will take into consideration your loyalty and mine, especially when it is a costly thing to be associated with Jesus. What are you gonna do?

What are you gonna do? What am I gonna do when people that we love turn their backs on Christ? What are we gonna do when people forsake the ministry? Will you be loyal? I hope so.

I wanna tell you something. The longer you become a Christian, the sweeter it gets. It's true. But also at the same time, it's hard. It's hard.

And you will know it sooner if you haven't realized it yet. I was speaking to a group of people, most of them were young, and I was preaching on a certain subject and I had the I had the inclination that most of these people probably are not gonna get what I'm saying. And I had to say it out loud. I said, some of you I just have to stop and say this. Some of you haven't lived long enough.

You haven't been smashed by life yet to understand what I'm saying. So remember what I'm saying when it does happen though. Just continue it on from there. And I'll say that to some here, not because you're rebellious or disobedient, just because you haven't walked long enough yet. Paul said that through many tribulations, we must enter the kingdom of God.

I was meditating on that verse all afternoon today. Through many tribulations we must enter. That's Christians. Many tribulations. Do you know what that tells me?

And it dawned on me. It tells me this, that the the description of the experience of the average Christian who has made Jesus Christ Lord and savior is this, many tribulations through life. Not few, not sporadic, many. Many. So all of us, we have different giftings, different callings, different backgrounds, different cultures.

Sure. One thing in common among many in Christ, and this is this, many tribulations are you and I gonna walk through. And you know what Christ is calling for? Because he deserves it. Loyalty.

Loyalty. Why? Because he's worthy. As simple as that. He is worthy.

Would you tell him that he is worthy today as we close this bible study? Lord, we thank you for this study and these final verses of this chapter. Thank you for giving us the grace to receive these words with attentive minds. Lord, we know that it is a difficult time of the week for many who work all week. But, Lord, we pray that what we've heard would have an impact on our souls.

And we ask, Lord Jesus, oh, help us in these times to know that you will look upon us with great favor when you see that we are overcomers in Jesus. Help us be faithful. Help us know that though at this time there may not be great reward, a reward is coming. And Lord, from the depths of our heart, we admit that the greatest reward is the smile on your face. Nothing else means anything.

We just ask, Lord, that you would prepare us for the tribulations that we have now and that will come. We ask, Lord, that you would help us not be worthless or wicked toward one another. But that, oh God, we would see the value that each of us have, the role that we each play in each other's lives. Open our eyes to see it. We worship you tonight in this place.

We give you glory and praise. Amen.