David - The Fugitive

Let's pray together. Father, we're grateful, Lord, for this opportunity in the middle of the week to study your word. So many other places we could be, so many other things that we could be doing, and yet, Father, there's something about your word that draws us together to be able to understand what it is you have for us as your children. Tonight, as we study once again the life of David, may we be reminded that he is just like us. And there are so many lessons that we can learn from this man that we might be able to live today in a way that brings glory to your name.

And that's our prayer, Lord, that we'd learn from his life. You have painted him very clearly in Scripture, warts and all, and we are grateful for that because it helps us understand amidst all of our frailties, amidst all of our fears, there is hope. And tonight, Lord, we pray that you'd open our eyes, that we might be able to behold wonderful things out of thy law. We pray in Jesus' name, amen. If you have your Bible, 1 Samuel chapter 20, 1 Samuel chapter 20, as we make our way through the life of David.

Tonight begins his fugitive years. Tonight begins a time which David will go from cave to cave, from wilderness to wilderness, running from Saul. Some ten plus years he goes on the run. And the events that happen in this chapter explain to us how all that happens. So let me read these 40 plus verses to you, then we'll discuss them together.

1 Samuel chapter 20, verse number 1. Then David fled from Naoth and Ramah and came and said to Jonathan, what have I done? What is my iniquity and what is my sin before your father that he is seeking my life? And he said to him, far from it, you shall not die. Behold, my father does nothing, either great or small, without disclosing it to me. So why should my father hide this thing from me? It is not so. Yet David vowed again, saying, your father knows well that I have found favor in your sight. And he has said, do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved.

But truly as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, there is hardly a step between me and death. Then Jonathan said to David, whatever you say, I will do for you. So David said to Jonathan, behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I ought to sit down to eat with the king. But let me go, that I may hide myself in the field until the third evening.

If your father misses me at all, then say, David earnestly asked leave of me to run to Bethlehem a city, because it is the yearly sacrifice there for the whole family. If he says it is good, your servant shall be safe. But if he is very angry, know that he has decided on evil. Therefore deal kindly with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord with you. But if there is iniquity in me, put me to death yourself. For why then should you bring me to your father? And Jonathan said, far be it from you, for if I should indeed learn that evil has been decided by my father to come upon you, then would I not tell you about it?

Then David said to Jonathan, who will tell me if your father answers you harshly? And Jonathan said to David, come and let us go out into the field. So both of them went out into the field. Then Jonathan said to David, the Lord, the God of Israel, be witness, when I have sounded out my father about this time tomorrow or the third day, behold, if there is good feeling toward David, shall I not then send to you and make it known to you?

If it pleased my father to do you harm, may the Lord do so to Jonathan and more also. If I do not make it known to you and send you away, that you may go in safety. And may the Lord be with you as He has been with my father. And if I am still alive, will you not show me the lovingkindness of the Lord that I may not die? And you shall not cut off your lovingkindness from my house forever, not even when the Lord cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth. So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David saying, may the Lord require it at the hands of David's enemies.

And Jonathan made David vow again because of his love for him, because he loved him as he loved his own life. Then Jonathan said to him, tomorrow is the new moon and you will be missed because your seat will be empty. When you have stayed for three days, you should go down quickly and come to the place where you hid yourself on that eventful day and you shall remain by the stone of Ezel. And I will shoot three arrows to the side as though I shot at a target. And behold, I will send the lad saying, go find the arrows.

If I specifically say to the lad, behold, the arrows are on this side of you, get them, then come for there is safety for you and no harm as the Lord lives. But if I say to the youth, behold, the arrows are beyond you, go for the Lord has sent you away. As for the agreement of which you and I have spoken, behold, the Lord is between you and me forever. So David hid in the field and when the new moon came, the king sat down to eat food and the king sat on a seat as usual, the seat by the wall. Then Jonathan rose up and Abner sat down by Saul's side, but David's place was empty.

Nevertheless, Saul did not speak anything that day for he thought it is an accident. He's not clean, surely he's not clean. And it came about the next day, the second day of the new moon, that David's place was empty.

So Saul said to Jonathan, his son, why has the son of Jesse not come to the meal either yesterday or today? Jonathan then answered Saul, David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem. For he said, please let me go since our family has a sacrifice in the city and my brother has commanded me to attend.

And now if I have found favor in your sight, please let me get away that I may see my brothers. For this reason he has not come to the king's table. Then Saul's anger burned against Jonathan and he said to him, you son of a perverse rebellious woman. Do I not know that you are choosing the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of your mother's nakedness? For as long as the son of Jesse lives on earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. Therefore now send and bring him to me for he must surely die.

But Jonathan answered Saul his father and said to him, why should he be put to death? What has he done? Then Saul hurled his spear at him to strike him down. So Jonathan knew that his father had decided to put David to death. Then Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger and did not eat food on the second day of the new moon for he was grieved over David because his father had dishonored him.

Now it came about in the morning that Jonathan went out into the field for the appointment with David and a little lad was with him and he said to his lad, run, find now the arrows which I'm about to shoot. As the lad was running, he shot an arrow past him. When the lad reached the place of the arrow, which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called after the lad and said, is not the arrow beyond you? And Jonathan called after the lad, hurry, be quick, do not stay. And Jonathan's lad picked up the arrow and came to his master.

But the lad was not aware of anything, only Jonathan and David knew about this matter. Then Jonathan gave his weapons to his lad and said to him, go bring them to the city. When the lad was gone, David arose from the south side and fell on his face to the ground and bowed three times and they kissed each other and wept together with David more. And Jonathan said to David, go in safety inasmuch as we have sworn to each other in the name of the Lord saying, the Lord will be between me and you and between my descendants and your descendants forever.

Then he arose and departed while Jonathan went into the city. This story unveils for us the events that take place that lead David into the wilderness for the next decade. It all begins with David's fear. From there we'll look at David's friend, Jonathan, then David's foe, Saul, then David's fate.

And then we'll draw some conclusions from the chapter. It's not hard to decipher what is taking place here, but I want to begin with David's fear because the first verse of chapter 20, like the first verse of chapter 19, is the key to the entire text.

If you read it with a natural eye, you might not get it. You must read it with a spiritual eye to understand it. The text says this, then David fled from Naoth in Ramah. That is the key to the chapter. David fled. Why? Where was he? David was in Naoth, which is in Ramah. Previous chapter, he was with Samuel in the school of the prophets. Remember what he just witnessed. Saul was pursuing David. He was doing all he could in chapter 19 to kill David. Chapter 19 begins with David must die. We must put him to death.

And so Saul throws a spear at him, misses him. He goes home. Saul sends messengers to his home. His wife lets him down in the night, lies for him so he can get away. He goes to Ramah, where Samuel is, and then Saul sends in a group of soldiers to kill him, but they begin to prophesy and to worship God. So he sends in another group of soldiers. They begin to prophesy and to worship God. He sends in another group of soldiers, and they do the exact same thing. So Saul goes in himself to kill David, only to end up prophesying himself, worshiping God himself, because the spirit of God came upon the soldiers.

The spirit of God came upon Saul, and they all began to worship God. There was a supernatural act of God's protection of David. And David left that place, a very unwise choice on the part of David. He fled because he wanted to talk to his friend. There's nothing wrong with talking to your friends, but when you have the opportunity to talk to the prophet of God, which is Samuel, the man who speaks for God, and you have the opportunity to receive counsel from that man, why on earth would you go to your friend to receive counsel?

Jonathan was a godly man. Jonathan was a great man, but Samuel was a prophet of God. And David had just seen a miracle of God in the life of the soldiers, in the life of Saul. God was showing David that he would protect him, that no matter what happened, the spirit of God would watch over him. And yet he leaves Naoth, and he goes to Gibeah. That's where Jonathan is. That's where Saul lives. Why would you leave the place where you just saw the supernatural act of God to go to the place where the man who's going to kill you lives?

Doesn't make sense. Now, David was a fleeing man. He was a running man. Three times Saul tried to kill him with a spear. Three times he missed, and David fled. David would flee his house in the middle of the night because the messengers were coming to his house. So David was a running man. He would flee in situations that his life was at stake. But this time he fled from the wise prophet Samuel. He left the place of the school of the prophets. He left the place where God had done a supernatural work to go to his friend Jonathan.

This is not an indictment against Jonathan. Jonathan gives wise counsel. Jonathan's a wise, a wise young man. But this is an indictment against David. Maybe he should have stayed. Seeing what God would have done to protect him, but he didn't. He began to panic. Listen to what he says. What have I done? What is my iniquity? What is my sin that he is seeking my life? It's all about me. Nothing's mentioned about God. Nothing's mentioned to Jonathan about, you know what, God is so good. Let me tell you what God did to your father's soldiers.

We did your father. There's nothing about God there. It's all about me. It's my life. If I sinned, if I did something wrong, you say, well, pastor, aren't you being a little hard on David? I don't think so. I don't think so. Because throughout the chapter, David is not focused on God. Jonathan is, but David's not. This is why David is just like us. Aren't there times in our lives where we see the work of God and we are just ecstatic about what God's doing? And then all of a sudden we begin to move away from that spot and do something different.

As if that supernatural act never took place. As if we never were able to see the protective hand of God at work in our lives. We just move away because naturally we think it's the thing to do. Naturally we take our lives and we want to protect them. Naturally we do what we think we need to do without ever seeking God. Nothing is said that David sought the Lord, that he might go back and see Jonathan. That's not his plan. That wasn't in his thinking. You see, before when he fled, it was always in the realm of depending upon God and trusting God.

How do we know that? Because during the time of his fleeing in 1 Samuel 19, David wrote a psalm. It's Psalm 59. Turn with me in your Bible to Psalm 59 for a moment.

This is important to understand. You'll notice that at the heading of Psalm 59 it says, This is when David would write about that situation because this is what he was thinking in 1 Samuel 19.

It's not what he's thinking in 1 Samuel chapter 20. But in chapter 19, this is what he's thinking. Listen, this is his cry for deliverance. Verse 1, See, he is crying out for deliverance. He says, Lord, I haven't done anything wrong. I have lived a life of integrity. I've done what you've asked me to do, but Lord, I need you to deliver me. I need you to protect me. So, he's dependent upon God and that's why he writes this psalm. And all throughout the psalm, he says all those things and then you come down to verse number 16.

But as for me, I shall sing of thy strength. Yes, I shall joyfully sing of thy lovingkindness in the morning. For thou hast been my stronghold and a refuge in the day of my distress. O my strength, I will sing praise to thee for God is my stronghold, the God who shows me lovingkindness. See, he's believing in the power of God. God is my stronghold. He writes this as he flees in the night from being killed because the messengers have come to kill him. He writes it because the messengers come to destroy him and God protects him.

God delivers him just like he asked. Yet David's fear began to overwhelm him. He began to panic. He began to think of his own pain. He wasn't thinking of God's protective power any longer. So he goes to his friend because he wants to know what's going on. You know, we're a lot like that too, aren't we? We're control freaks by nature. We want to know what's going on. Give me an answer. Why is your dad going to do this? What have I done? Have I done something wrong? Please tell me because if I've done something wrong, I want to get it right.

What have I done wrong? And we want to try to control the situation, manipulate the events. That's what David's doing. What have I done? Instead of waiting quietly and trusting in God as he did in chapter 19, to deliver him in a supernatural way as he did in chapter 19, he wants to find the answers. He wants to know what's going on. And sometimes, friend, you know what? There are no answers. You're just not going to find out the answer. And you have to learn to trust the Lord to direct you and to lead you and guide you as you depend upon him to deliver you from whatever turmoil you're facing.

David's fear began to shine forth in a way that wasn't too becoming of him. You see, he would trust, listen, more in the means of God's protection than he did in the master of protection. And write that down because that's really good. He would trust in the means of God's protection more so than the master who protects him. Jonathan is one of those means that God uses to protect him, okay? But he would trust in the means instead of the master of protection. In chapter 19, you could see him trusting the Lord.

In chapter 20, you see him trying to find answers and trying to settle things his own way. There is a difference between chapter 19 and chapter 20. And it happens just that fast, just like it does in your life and mine. One day, we're trusting God. One day, we're walking in obedience. One day, we're crying out for deliverance. One day, we're seeing God deliver us. The next day, we're trying to control the events, manipulate the events, trying to figure out what's going on, trying to make sure that we have a handle on all things that come our way and we just begin to walk in the flesh and not in the spirit.

It happens all the time. That's why David is a man just like us. So David flees because of his fear, and he goes to his friend, Jonathan. Jonathan, he says, your dad wants to be dead. And what does Jonathan say? No, I don't think so, David, I think you got it wrong. Really? How did he miss that? It's very easy to see, because blood is always thicker than water, right? And Jonathan is the son of Saul, and he has a hard time believing that his dad actually wants David dead. Even though in chapter 19, his dad said to Jonathan, put David to death.

Even though in chapter 19, he threw a spear at him, even though in chapter 19, he sent messengers to his house and then sent messengers to Naoth and Ramah to kill him, Jonathan's still not convinced his dad wants his best friend, the next king of Israel, dead. David's like, dude, man, you're missing everything here. How do you miss this? I mean, it's as plain as a nose in my face, not my face, because my nose is really big, but his face, and you can't see this? This is so obvious, but you know what, isn't that the way it is with us?

We don't want to see the blotches and the blemishes of those in our family. We're too subjective. Those on the outside, the objective person, they can see it a lot better than those of us on the inside. Because we think better of our family, and rightly so, to some degree, we want to think well of them. My dad doesn't want you dead, ah, come on, I know he missed a couple of times, but he's a bad shot anyway. So David says, Jonathan, he wants me dead, and Jonathan's that great friend because he's there for David.

It's almost as if David is kind of indicting Jonathan, saying, man, you're missing it. And Jonathan's like, I don't see it. But Jonathan's his friend, and Jonathan's going to do what he can, listen, to make sure he sees it. Do whatever you ask, I'll do whatever you ask, he says. I'll do whatever you ask, David, what do you want me to do? He says, well, there's a new moon coming. The new moon is the first of the month, that was a religious and a civil celebration in Israel.

You can go back to the book of Numbers, the book, back of Kings, back of the book of Kings and understand that. And the feast specifically is designed to celebrate the name of the Lord and the working of God in the life of Israel. Very important, because Saul celebrates his feast in a hypocritical manner. And so he says, you, you tell your father that I have been called back to Bethlehem to be with my family. In other words, I need you to lie for me, Jonathan. Now very few commentators pick this up, but this is very true.

I need you to lie for me, Jonathan, because I'm going to be in the field. But you tell your father that I've been called back to Bethlehem to celebrate this festival with my family. And he wants Jonathan to lie for him. See, whenever you walk in the flesh and you want to control and manipulate the events, you'll begin to think that lying is okay, even though it's, it's, it's for my own safety. Because the question always comes up, and you're going to see this, because you'll see in the story that Jonathan says the exact same thing that David tells him to say, and Jonathan lies to his father, because David's in the field, he's not in Bethlehem.

Because the question always arises, well, you know, if you're going to protect someone's life, it's okay to lie. Who told you that? Where did you get that in here? Whenever you lie, listen carefully, to protect someone's life, you stand in the place of God and that person. You are saying that my lie will protect you, and God can't. So I've got a sin to protect you. There is never a time that lying is correct. You can't be right and do wrong to get right. It doesn't work that way. But you'll read all these preachers and all these Bible companies and say, well, you know, if you know that someone's life is at stake and you lie, you're preserving their life, you're protecting the higher aspect of one's life, it's okay to violate the law of God and sin to protect somebody else.

It's never right to violate the law of God, no matter what, because you are saying that my lie is a better protector of you than the Lord who said, don't lie. But here's David, the king of Israel, who says, you know what? This is what we're going to do. This is what I want you to say. And Jonathan makes a covenant. I'm going to do that with you, David. I'm going to take care of you. I'm going to watch over you. And Jonathan says to him, I pledge, I will do this for you. But at the same time, I need you to protect me and my descendants.

Because in those days, what happens is that if a new king takes over, and Jonathan believed that David was the next king. You see, God told Samuel to tell David to anoint him, he's the next king of Israel. Now, either he's going to be the next king or he's not, right? Either God's going to be true to his word or he's not. But Jonathan believed that David would be the next king, more than David believed he would be the next king. And that's why he says, if I am still alive, verse 14, will you not show me the loving kindness of the Lord that I may not die, and you shall not cut off your loving kindness from my house forever, not even when the Lord cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth?

Because that speaks to the fact that when you become king, God will cut off all your enemies. So Jonathan knew he was going to be king. He's asking him to protect my descendants, and he does. Second Samuel chapter 9, Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan who's crippled, David takes him in and protects him because he makes a covenant with him.

And Jonathan says, this is how I'm going to tell you. You hide by the rock of, what's it called, the rock of Edel, and you stay right there. And if I shoot an arrow and it goes beyond you, that means you've got to go. You've got to go. You've got to flee. If I shoot an arrow beside you, that means everything's okay. Dad's not upset. He's not going to kill you. And you can come in. And so that was the scenario. That's what they were going to do. They had it all set up. No one would know that David would be in the fields hiding.

So, come to verse 24, and you find David's foe, Saul. David hid in the field. Remember, he said, tell your dad I'm going to Bethlehem. But he hid in the field. When the new moon came, the king sat down to eat food, and the king sat on his seat as usual, the seat by the wall. Then Jonathan rose up, and Abner, Abner is Saul's cousin, he's the commander of his army, sat down by Saul's side, but David's place was empty. David wasn't there. Nevertheless, Saul did not speak anything that day, for he thought it is an accident.

He's not clean. Surely he's not clean. So Saul's thinking, okay, he's ceremonially unclean. According to Levitical laws, in Leviticus chapter 7, he had to take a mikvah, he had to wash his clothes, he had to bathe himself, so that he could be clean before the Lord. So Saul assumes that David must be unclean, as to why he's not here. After all, he's the hero of the nation. He is the nyx, supposedly, in Saul's mind, the king of Israel, okay. He is my son-in-law, right? He's married to my daughter. He needs to be at the celebration of this feast.

The only reason he's not here is because he's unclean. So, it came about on the next day, the second day of the new moon, that David's place was empty.

So Saul said to Jonathan, his son, why has the son of Jesse not come to the meal, either yesterday or today? Jonathan then answered Saul, David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem, for he said, please let me go, since our family has a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has commanded me to attend, and now if I have found favor in your sight, please let me get away, that I may see my brothers.

For this reason, he has not come to the king's table. Is that true? No. That's not why he's not there. He's not there because he doesn't want to die. That's why he's not there. He wasn't at Bethlehem. He was outside in the fields. And Jonathan lies for his best friend, David. Now look what happens. Then Saul's anger burned against Jonathan, and said to him, you son of a perverse, rebellious woman, do I not know that you are choosing the son of Jesse to your own shame, and to the shame of your mother's nakedness?

Now he's not condemning his wife. He is condemning the fact that Jonathan is acting like an illegitimate son. You're no son of mine. My son would not betray me, his father, in this manner. You're treating your mother as if she's a prostitute. You're treating your mother as if you're not a son of mine. And then listen.

For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. You see, Saul will not accept the fact that the kingdom has been taken from him, and David is the next king. He says, Jonathan, look, you're to be the next king. Jonathan, you're my son. And as long as David's alive, you can't be king. You must kill him. He must die. See, he won't accept the fact that God says, your kingdom's over.

Oh, by the way, Jonathan has accepted that fact. He has accepted that. He knows that. That's the way he gave David his armor back in 1 Samuel chapter 18. Or was it 19? I can't remember which one it was. But he gave him his armor because it was his friend, and he gave it to him out of honor. And he's already told David that he's the next king of Israel. Jonathan knows that. His dad will not accept it. He says, he must surely die. But listen to Jonathan. Why should he be put to death? What has he done?

Then Saul hurled his spear at him to strike him down, so that Jonathan knew that his father had decided to put David to death. Now he finally gets it.

Now he finally understands. Saul picks up his spear. He throws it at his own kid. Now listen, here's the answer as to why Saul never went to battle with Goliath. He missed David three times. He missed his own kid once. The dude can't throw a spear. He can't fight. I mean, what's wrong with the guy? He is horrible. Okay? So he hurls the spear to something. He misses him. Unbelievable. Now, Jonathan, the light bulb goes on in the brain. Aha, I guess dad's really serious. He wants David dead. He even wants me dead.

Now, listen to this. Then Jonathan arose to the table in fierce anger. Wouldn't you be angry too if your dad tried to kill you? Ah, but that's not why he's angry. And did not eat food on the second day of the new moon for he was grieved over who?

David, because his father had dishonored him. That is a powerful testimony. He wasn't angry that his dad tried to kill him. He wasn't angry that his dad rebuked him in public. He was grieved deeply over God's anointed one, David. That his father wanted him dead. That his father had dishonored the future king of Israel. Would it be that every one of us would have that kind of integrity that would say, you know what? You dishonored my God. He wasn't saying, oh man, I can't believe my dad tried to kill me.

I can't believe my dad spoke to me that way. Poor me. You know, call the ambulance because he's going to cry like a baby. You know, no, it's not about that. He is saying, look, this is about David. It's not about me. This is how deep his friendship goes, see? His friendship is so deep, he is so committed to David that he grieves when David's dishonored. When was the last time you were grieved when your best friend was dishonored? That's the way Jonathan is. So, Jonathan went out, shot the arrows, had the lad go get him.

Make sure David knew that the arrows were by him. The lad went out and retrieved the arrows, brought them back. He sends them in. David arises from behind the rock and bows three times. They embrace each other and they weep together. And verse 41 says, but David wept more. Why? He had more to lose. He had more to lose. David and Jonathan have come to grips with the reality. You'll notice that Jonathan goes back home.

He goes back to the city. Where does David go? Where can he go? You'll see him in the wilderness of Paran. You'll see him in the wilderness of Ziph. You'll see him in the caves of En-Gedi. You'll see him in the cave of Adullam. He's everywhere. But not in the palace. Not in the city. Because now he realizes he's going to be separated from his friend. He'll see Jonathan one more time before Jonathan dies. That's chapter 23. He'll see him one more time. It's not like today, you know, you lose a friend.

You call him. You text him. You email him. You can keep in contact with your friends. It wasn't like that. We forget. It wasn't like that. You know, my kids have a hard time understanding that. When I used to call when I was a kid, I had to circle the phone thing and had to wait for it to come back around again to dial the next number. That's just all foreign. They don't understand that. That's foreign to them. See? And yet these people, they had no way to contact one another unless they saw each other.

Oh, they could send letters and mail. Who knew how long letters would take or notes would take to get somewhere? So he knew he'd be separated from his friend. Even worse than that, he knows he's going to be separated from the place of promise. The place of worship. He knows that. He'll be in Philistia, the land of the Philistines. He'll be in pagan lands. And for David, that would grieve him because he was a true worshiper of God. And it grieved him that he would have to be in pagan lands with pagan people and not being able to be with his people to worship his God in a city designed to worship him.

He'd lose all that. And his journey would begin. And for the next 10 plus years, he's on the run. He's on the run. What do we learn from all this? Well, as I was reading through this this past week, I thought of some questions I thought I would ask you this evening. Just in the brief time that we have left. And question number one is this.

David finds himself in the midst of a fire, a firestorm. The king wanted him dead. The king tried everything he could to kill him and will continue to try to kill him for the next decade. So the question is for you this evening, what fire are you passing through today? Where are you in the midst of the furnace? Because so many times we find ourselves in the heat of a battle. Maybe it's because of some physical anguish. Maybe it's because of some mental anguish. Maybe it's some emotional turmoil. Maybe it's financial hardship.

Maybe it's family related. Maybe it's personal related. I don't know. But what fire are you passing through at this time in your life? The Bible says these words in Job 5 verse number 7.

Man was born under trouble as sparks fly upward. Job also would say that man born of a woman is short lived and full of trouble. Man, he's right. And so we find ourselves at different times in different kinds of fires. Some of them are hotter than others. Some of them the flame was turned up so hot we think we're not going to make it. And I'm sure there were times in David's life he thought he wasn't going to make it. These scenarios between chapter 18, chapter 19, now chapter 20, how many months, how long this was we don't necessarily know.

And we can speculate that it's probably another 10 years before he really ascends the throne. So David doesn't know how long it's going to be. We know because we have the Bible. We can read it. He doesn't know. And I'm sure there are times in David's life, and we'll point them out to you as we progress through 1 Samuel, that he's like, when is this ever going to end? Are you kidding me? I thought I was the anointed king of Israel, and this is what it looks like? This is what it means to be king. Who needs this?

And so we find ourselves in our own lives, right? This is what marital bliss is to look like? Who needs this, right? Who wants this? I mean, who needs to be married if all it's cracked up to be in some cases? We find ourselves in all kinds of fires. Word of encouragement, Lord God said in Isaiah 43, When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers they will not overflow you. And when you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you. God's not going to let you be scorched.

He's not going to let you get burned. He's going to protect you. So, Peter said this, In this you greatly rejoice, 1 Peter 1, verse number 6, Even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials. Peter was a man who went through many trials, many fires. Let me tell you something about your fire this evening, okay?

Your fire is only temporary. It's for, as Peter says, a little while. It's not forever. It's only temporary. That means it is relegated to a certain amount of time. It might be a year. It might be a day. It might be a decade. But it's not forever. It's only for a little while. Warren Rearsby said these words, God keeps his eye on the clock and his hand on the thermostat. That's what God does. Because your trial is only for a little while. It's relegated to this life. Peter would conclude his epistle in 1 Peter 1, In 1 Peter 5, verse number 10, these words, And after you have suffered for a little while, See, Peter knew it wasn't forever.

After you have suffered for a little while, The God of all grace who calls you to his eternal glory in Christ Will himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. Whatever your fire may be, know this, it's only temporary. It's not forever. Know this, Peter says not only is it temporary, It's timely. It's timely. He says, in this you greatly rejoice, Even though now for a little while, if necessary. It's timely. See, it might not be necessary from your viewpoint, But it's necessary from God's viewpoint.

Because we'll say things like, Well, I don't need this at this time in my life. I don't need another thing added on to me at this time. No, no, next week, yeah. Not today. But if it comes, it comes very timely. Because God in his sovereignty orchestrates everything for his purposes. And so it's very timely. Although you might not think they're necessary, God does think your fire is necessary. You know what? God has never needlessly afflicted his own. Did you know that? He never needlessly afflicts you.

I got nothing else to do with him. I'll just give him affliction. Who cares? Just afflict him. Put him in a fire. God never needlessly does that. That's why the psalmist said in Psalm 119, In faithfulness thou hast afflicted me. If it comes, it comes because it's necessary from God's viewpoint. Therefore, the time it comes is orchestrated by God. So not only is it temporary, but it's timely. The third thing Peter says about your fire is that it's taxing.

He says, In this you get to rejoice even though now for a little while of necessary you have been distressed by various trials. They're taxing. In fact, the word distressed here is the same word used of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. And how taxed he was realizing that he was going to bear the sin of the world. And for that one brief moment of time be separated from his eternal father as he would bear your sins in mind. He was distressed greatly. Taxing. Same word used also in 1 Thessalonians 4 to describe the grief that a loved one has for a loved one that's passed on and has died.

Great distress. Peter knows that every fire comes in different shapes and forms. That's why he calls them various trials. It's the word poikiloi. You get our English word polka dot. You ever seen a polka dot dress with all kind of different polka dots on it? We don't wear those anymore. We used to back in the 70s. We don't wear them much anymore. But that's how our fires are. They come in different shapes and sizes. There are various kinds of trials. Some of them are more taxing than others. But they are taxing.

They tax our mental faculties. They tax our physical abilities. They tax our ability to function. Because sometimes they're so overwhelming that we can't think straight. They cause us to run in fear and begin to fear man more than we fear God. So Peter says, let me tell you something about your fire.

It is for a little while. It's temporary. It's not going to be forever. And on top of that, it is very timely if necessary. And if you have it, it's because in the economy of God, it's necessary. And then you've been distressed. You're taxing. But he says, hold on to your hats. They're thrilling. In this, you greatly rejoice. Wow. Really? Are you kidding me? Why? He says, that the proof of your faith being more precious than gold, which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

And though you have not seen him, you love him. And though you do not see him now, you believe in him. You greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory. Peter says, listen, let me tell you something about your fire.

Ultimately, it's absolutely thrilling. Because God is making you just like him. It's proving your faith, testing your commitment, making you just like him. And that's what happened in David's life. Do you think he was taxed? Oh, you bet. You bet. He was taxed in chapter 20. You wait to get to chapter 23, 24, and 25. The dude is taxed. He's worn out. Was it temporary? It was. But not in David's mind. There was no end in sight. When is this thing going to be over? And in chapter 23, Jonathan says to him, but the last time they meet, you're going to be the king of Israel.

And David was like, yeah, right. Yeah. Tell me something I don't know. And he's like, really? But it was only temporary. Only temporary. And yes, it was taxing. But it was very timely in the life of David. Why? Because God would take him and teach him about all the ravines and all the crevices and all the hideouts and everything. So that when he became a king, he would know where his enemies would hide and know to find them. Well, David wasn't thinking about that when he was running. But guess what he learned?

He learned to trust God. He didn't trust Him so much in chapter 20. But boy, he would learn to trust God. He's going to do some pretty wacko things. Next chapter, next week, chapter 21, little wacko David is. But he's going to learn some things. He's going to learn to trust his God. And you know what? Through that time of taxation on him, he was learning to depend upon the sovereignty of God to deliver him at the right time. When he finally ascends the throne after the death of Saul and his beloved Jonathan, he understands now what God is doing.

And the thrill, the thrill of God's placement and the thrill of God's timing and the thrill of all that he did in his life over that time of fleeing would now be seen. He'd realize, ah, now, now I get it. That's what God wants to do with you. That's what He wants to do with me. And that's why I look at this chapter and I think, you know, it's so applicable to you and me.

This is us. David feared man more than he feared God. How many times did you fear man more than you feared God? And the Lord said, don't do that. Don't fear the one who can kill your body. Fear the one who puts body and soul in hell. That's the guy you fear. That's me. Boy, we tend to fear man because we see him. And David's fear was based on his circumstances, not on his Christ, not on his Messiah, his Lord. And not only that, but David's focus was way out of whack. He was preoccupied with his pain and his panic, whereas Jonathan was more preoccupied with God and His protection.

That's why Jonathan kept mentioning the Lord, the Lord, the Lord, the Lord. And David never mentions that because his focus is all wrong. When you get in those fires, sometimes you lose focus. When you get in those fires, sometimes you begin to fear, right? See, that's why David's life is so important to your life. Let me tell you something.

There won't be a Wednesday that goes by. You're not going to learn something about your life when you see David. There's not a Wednesday that's going to go by. You'll say, wow, that's me. I see that. And the good news is, is that God took this man after his own heart. He molded him. He shaped him. He used him in a mighty way as the greatest king Israel ever had. And that's how God wants to use you. He's going to use those fires. He's going to use your fears. He's going to use your lack of focus and bring you to a place where once you begin to trust Him and believe Him, to really be used in a mighty way for His glory.

Let's pray. Father, we thank You, Lord, for tonight, a chance to briefly look once again to the perfect law of liberty. Thank You for David, for Jonathan, their friendship, what that teaches us about our lives. And I ask, Lord, that You go before us tonight. I know there are people in this room that are right in the midst of a furnace. Let us be glad that Your eye is on the clock and Your hand on the thermostat. You know how high to turn it up. You know when to turn it down. Help us to trust You to do just that for us, Lord, that we might truly trust and believe in all that You do and in all that You are.

You are a great and mighty God. May we trust You each and every day. And in Your name we pray. Amen.