Saul doesn't desire the truth. He's incapable of processing truth. that he does not like at this point. He is that far gone and the lesson to us is a person can be that far gone. I don't know.
A lot of you have never dealt with monsters.
Some of you have. They're all types: there's the violent ones, there's the sneaky ones, there's a combination thereof. Just, you know, be righteous. Keep your eyes open. And make sure Taylor and Charlie has got your back.
This is Cross Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher, Rick Aston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of 1 Samuel. Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about cross-reference radio. Specifically, how you can get a free copy of this teaching.
1 Samuel chapter 22 is the text Pastor Rick will be teaching from on this edition of Cross-Reference Radio. Make you all captains of thousands and captains of hundreds?
So he's admitting he bought them. He's got money on his side. He has power and influence. David has none of this. They're coming to David.
voluntarily as we come to Christ. Going to be forced. These men, some of them, We're bought. And Saul Selfishly Appeals to tribal loyalties.
So they get his will done. It's not for the sake of the tribe or the nation or God. This is for Saul. It is personal. He has made this army his own instrument of murder.
Hoping to motivate his clansmen against David. And he says, Will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields, vineyards, and make you captains of thousands, captains of thousands? Hundreds. They can't even say his name. The son of Jesse.
That's how he has to say it. His hatred is so intense And there's a lesson there. You find somebody that can't just even say the other person, show a common decency to the other person. What's wrong with that guy? You know, if you're standing up talking to someone and someone pops into the incoming pew into the conversation and doesn't even make eye contact, say hello, don't be that guy.
Everybody is worth greeting, except Saul. That's the only one. Anyway. They are bought and paid for They're not led by a sense of conscience, of You know, we love this guy, Saul. He's right for us.
The men that came to David, they are Certainly will come to love David very much. You know, David would just say, Man, I would love a drink from the well of Jerusalem, and men will risk their lives to get him that kind of just amazing character, this man David. Verse 8: All of you have conspired against me, and there is no one who reveals to me that my son has made a covenant with the son of Jesse. And there is no one of you who is sorry for me or reveals to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me. to lie in wait as it is this day.
David had an opportunity to kill Saul, and he will have more, and he won't take it. But that doesn't matter 'cause this man is so demonically charged Insecurity is not something to ignore. If you find yourself insecure about somebody else, Start checking it because it can get out of hand. How great a fire or how great a forest a little fire can kindle. And this small fire turns out to be a blaze.
This man insane with self-absorption and paranoia. Listen to his language. All of you have conspired against me. There is no one who reveals to me My son. Not one of you is sorry for me.
I said, what a chump. I was like, I can't listen to you. You're a king. Is this regal language? What is me, me, me, my, me, my.
Hi, Saul. Who do you love? I love me, myself, and I, and no one else. He continues, or reveals to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me. I'm still reading, I'm not adding or repeating.
Just check the pronouns in verse 8. That goes back to verse 6. We talked about a spear of paranoia. What is he so insecure about? Self being knocked off the higher hill.
So man would never be satisfied. If he could kill David, he'd find somebody else to hate.
Well, anyway. Truly, he thought everything and everyone existed for his benefit or weren't worth his attention. And from time to time in life, we come across a soul. Thank you that we don't come across them too often, but we do come across these types of people. They're pitiful, they're controlling, they're harmful.
These characteristics belong to Saul, and they belong to some folks we come along the way in life with. And yet, there are others who are unwilling to admit that these people exist. Wicked little snakes using God's name to slither. Paul had to deal with it. Of whom are Hymeneus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan.
That they may learn not to blaspheme. That's pretty intense. Here's a man of God supposed to have given his life to leading people away from Satan. I'm sending you to Satan because that's your daddy and you like it over there.
So go there. Try that. Maybe, maybe you will recognize you made wrong choices and repent. That's the spirit that Paul is writing that. Can you imagine the church when they got that letter and they heard that?
They knew who these people were, how many of us in Alexander. Ooh. Apostle Paul is pretty upset with these guys. He writes again in 2 Timothy 4: Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm. May the Lord repay him according to his works.
In other words, there are people like this. What happens if they're family? There's still people like this. You can't give them a God pass. You may have to change how you w handle them situations.
But you can't ignore it. And then the the greater question is Or Dangers that we would ever become like this. We can. We have all the codes built within us to be just as monstrous as anybody else. But we don't have to be that way at all.
We can go the other way. We have also held the codes to be Christ-like. At least it to go after him, to go after being Christ-like. I will be satisfied when I awaken his likeness. That's what David said.
He's there now. Oh, no, we're here, still waiting. All right, let's move on. Verse 9. Then answered Doeg.
Change the music now. It means dog. I think these, I really think some of these names were given by the writers. The guy's name was probably something like Arnold or something. And he just, the writer just didn't like him so much.
I'm not calling him, I'm not going to honor him any name. He's a dog. Nabal. I mean, did really did the parents name him Fool? Maybe, maybe they could tell, you know, he looks stupid.
And I don't know. But I have a suspicion because we catch these Jewish writers in certain areas, throw these zingers in. You know, Ezekiel, what did he call them? I don't even want to say it. When he calls the idol worshippers, He's using a language that is very, very crass.
So Yeah, dough egg.
Now he's in the picture. Verse 9. Then answered Doag the Edomite. who is sent over the servants of Saul and said I saw the son of Jesse going to Nob. and Abimelech, The son of A high tub.
Now a high tub's not a plumbing fixture. It's the guy's name. Uh anyway Doeg is as evil as Saul. Again, Saul is not the only evil person. He's just the one we have a lot of information about.
David wrote about this moment. He wrote a whole psalm about this moment. Goang. Not this moment, but the whole how it played out. Verse 2.
Psalm 52, verse 7, David writes. Here is the man who did not make God his strength. That was his choice. But trusted in the abundance of his riches. And strengthened himself in his wickedness.
In other words, Doag was on Saul's payroll. did what Saul wanted, 'cause he wanted the money. He was disinterested in God's rewards. He wanted to feast in this life on whatever he could get from this life, regardless of how wicked it was. But Donan, again.
choices. Here is the man. Who did not make God his strength? And who is Doeg going to blame for that? He's probably started out as a prisoner of war or a defector.
from his the Edomites, and he ends up in Saul's employ, and Saul likes the man enough to make him to put him over, give him a tremendous amount of authority, give him troops. Because when they go to slaughtering the priest, it's Doag and his men. Not the Jewish men. Verse 10. And he inquired of Yahweh for him.
Now, Doag is saying, Hey, I saw David go to the priest. He went to the church and he asked about God. That's what he is telling Saul. Ooh, that's so bad. And he inquired of Yahweh for him, gave him provisions, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.
You're acting like, yeah, I don't like the Philistines either, Saul. I'm with you. It's you and me, Saul. Just you and me. That David.
This Godly man seeks God means nothing to Saul. That just turn Saul against The man of God for being available. to be sought. It's not what Doag says about Abimelech. That dooms the priest.
It's what he did not say. That's what dooms. What he leaves out, you know, you go to court, you should tell the truth. the whole truth, to keep it in context. What he leaves out is that David lied to the priest.
David said, I'm on a mission for the king. But he doesn't tell that story. Not that it would have made too much difference because Saul was just bloodthirsty at this point. And so, like Satan, he tells the truth, but not the whole truth. He needs the truth to make his lie work.
It needs parts of the truth. And uh So, David, yeah, David lied to save his own life in a moment of desperation. But Doag is sinister. And this important fact Uh seal the doom Of the priest by hiding it. Verse 11: So the king sent and called Abimelech the priest.
The son of Haitab. and all his father's house. the priests who were at Nob, And they all came to the king.
So there's some time passing by. David's still in the caves, and this time you get the messages back and forth to travel and hold court. There they were. Minding their ministry. doing what the priests were supposed to do, and Saul interferes with that, calls them away from it, so he Will slaughter, he can slaughter them.
Verse 12: And Saul said, Hear now, son of a hitub. Look at that. He's got this thing where he can't say the guy's name. He answered, Here I am, my lord. Uh hide tub incidentally is a of the line of Eli, Samuel's Mentor.
Verse 13. Then Saul said to him, Why have you conspired against me? You and the son of Jesse. in that you have given him bread and a sword. and have inquired of God for him.
That he should Rise against me to lie in wait. As it is this day.
So he's far gone, he's gone. All he can see is himself. He's got this tunnel vision, everything is about him. And God has turned Saul over to Saul. You don't want me, you wanna play these kind of games.
You find out it's really not a game. Saul never missed a chance to smear David's character as he's doing here by portraying David as an assassin. David will refute this, of course, when he takes the water, jug, and spear. He's going to kill Saul in the cave. It doesn't matter.
So This priest is going to be A victim. And everyone that is listening to this is supposed to believe that David is crazy and dangerous. Because Saul says he is. When really Saul is the one that's insane. and dangerous.
Yeah, you know, you we see this in movies and T V shows acted out all the time, where the innocent person is being smeared as the bad guy and they're on the run. Years ago, there was a whole show called The Fugitive, chasing the one owned man. And and then uh and he w he was innocent, but he's Everybody thought he was guilty. I hate those kind of shows. I do.
I fast forward a movie now. I love fast forward. Find out how it ends. And then I'll go back and watch it if I like the ending. Because you're not getting me.
You're not jerking my chain. Nope, you know, nope. You're not going to make me like the guy and then kill him. And I'm supposed to say, well, that was entertainment.
Now, some of you like that stuff. That's all right. Pastors will be up on Sunday. come up and get prayer. Pastor, I have a hard time picking good shows.
All right. I know. I'm unique, but not, it doesn't benefit me. It's not like it makes me better than anybody's. I still can't dunk from the foul line.
Well verse 14.
So Abimelech Answered the king and said, And who among all your servants is as faithful as David? Who is the king's son-in-law who goes at your bidding? And it's honorable in your house. Bad word. Should have never said Abimelech, you just should have said, I gave him a sword, he told me he was working for you.
But he he doesn't. He he tells the truth. And in this case, the truth will not set him free. This kind of truth will get him killed. He doesn't know that David lied to him, Abimelech, to this moment.
And these are impressive words, and those listening who reported this eventually. are saying to themselves, this is right. This is who David was. He was faithful to the house of Saul. But Saul doesn't desire the truth.
He's incapable of processing truth. that he does not like at this point. He is that far gone, and the lesson to us is: a person can be that far gone. I don't know. A lot of you have never dealt with monsters.
Some of you have. They're all types: there are the violent ones, there's the sneaky ones, there's a combination thereof. Just be righteous. Keep your eyes open. And make sure Tail and Charlie has got your back.
Verse. Five, fifteen, sorry. Did I then begin to inquire? Of God for him? Far be it from me.
let not the king impute anything to his servant, or to any in the house of my father, For your servant knew nothing. of all this little much.
So the priest said, I don't know what you're talking about. This is what I told you what happened. You would think that a rational man would say, yeah, okay, you know, you don't can't be held accountable for what you don't know. Are you You know, it just, you know, and then you later on, you know, in life, you'll see somebody who's lying and getting away with it. Here's somebody telling the truth and not getting away with it.
And so, Saul does not act on the word of. the man of God. He acts on the word of the Pagan man, Doag. And again, it's something Christians have to watch. Christians go off to, you know, they come to a church, they worship, they hear the word preached from the Bible, then they go off to the university for example or to the workplace.
And somebody there, contradicts what they've been told about the Bible, and they're foolish enough to believe that guy. Then flush all the work that God had done in their lives away. Because somebody seduced them. Don't be this person. Saul had a choice.
He could believe the priest Who had a choice? The priests. Could have lied and said, You know, David, I wanted to get to murder you, but I was afraid he was going to kill me. You could have come up, but he just told the truth. And then Saul chooses to believe The other monster, Doag, verse 16.
And the king said, You shall surely die, Abimelech, you and all your father's house. What? This is the kind of man he's gonna do it too. When Saul died, The Earth was better off. What a tragedy.
to say that. I mean, when he was born, I'm sure he was a cute little baby like they all are.
Well, actually, I don't. When newborns, I don't think they're cute, I think they're wrinkled. They are, they're just wrinkled. And then they get cute, really cute, to kind of make up for it. But I know you women, you see, oh, he's so cute I said, boy, you need glasses.
Yeah. Anyway, he was a cute baby at some point. And this is what happens. Scary, it's kind of scary. Verse 17: Then the king said to the guards who stood about him, Turn and kill the priest of Yahweh.
Because their hand Also is with David. and because they knew when he fled and did not tell it to me. But the servants of the king would not lift their hands to strike the priest of Yahweh.
So the Jewish servants, like we're not killing the priest. We even have our limits. And You know, you read this. Have you ever been guilty of striking a child of God? An innocent child of God happens all the time.
One child of God striking an innocent child of God. I don't mean with a sword or hand or something, I mean with their tongue. the criticisms and the attacks.
So we choose we choose what side we're on. These men made a choice not to slay the priest. We'll pick David off for you, but we're not going to wipe out all these priests. How will it go for these characters at judgment? All these people involved in the story, how does it go for them?
Well, we know how it goes with David. Until the millennial reign, his throne is still mentioned. Right? They're by Messiah beneath Messiah, but they're mentioned. We know how it goes with Abimelech and the righteous in the straight.
What about These guys. When they died, Did God say to them, Why did you side with Saul? I don't know, but I know it begs the question. Verse 18. Then the king said to Doag, You turn and kill the priests.
So Doag the Edomite turned and struck the priests and killed on that day 85 men who wore the linen ephod. This was a massacre. And for what? They didn't do anything, they just ministry. Saul knew who to go to, his backup dog.
Dough egg. It takes one to know one. And this Edomite, this particular Edomite, no regard. for the priest of Yahweh. David said of him in Psalm 52, You love evil more than good.
lying rather than speaking righteousness, Selah, Now that's Ceylon's. Kind of a hey, think about this while the band plays. That's the closest I can get to it or anybody else. You love all devouring words. You deceitful tongue.
Okay. He's just this giant deceitful tongue. But then David called it. You mean when he hears about this, because there will be a survivor, and they will tell David, and David will write the psalm with a broken heart. Verse 19.
Also Nob, the city of the priest, he struck with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and nursing, infants, oxen and donkeys, and sheep. with the edge of the sword.
So the bloodthirst, the butchering. The priest incidentally had no weapons. How do we know?
Well, when David said, he said, Oh, there we're not have any weapons except the sword of Goliah. They couldn't even defend themselves. They weren't expecting something like this from their own people, from their own king. the king that was anointed Saul, he could spare, you know, Agag, an enemy king, he just couldn't spare a righteous priest. Everything is now criminal with this man.
It's just a criminal, full-out gangster. And he ch he chooses Joe Egg and Joe Egg chooses him. And uh Satan has uh got them Under his thumb. Verse 20.
Now, one of the sons of Abimelech, the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar. escaped and fled after David. Verse 21, and Abiatha told David. That Saul had killed Yahweh's priest. David, at this point, is now at Keilah.
We know that from chapter 23, verse 6. And so he's relocated from the forest. We've trekked him, you know, from. The f gath. to the cave.
to Moab Then to the forest. of here f. And then now he's at Keilah.
So he's he's gotta move all the time. It's just moving. It's like you've got to ask people, hey, I'm moving Friday. What are you doing?
Sorry, I'm Anyway. Verse 22, so David said to Obiathar, I knew that day when Doag the Edomite was there that He would surely tell Saul. I have caused the death of all the persons of your father's house. If one of those moments with I knew it, I knew it, I knew that guy was a rat. I don't know what I could have done differently.
I could not have just pulled my sword out and killed him. David wasn't built that way. He'd have to have a solid reason. But it was one of those moments in life where he sees it unraveling. Then he says, I have caused the death of the person of All the persons of your father's house.
Not true, David. Not even close to true. No part of it. This is the effect wicked people like Saul have. Monsters like Saul do evil and then blame the innocent, and the innocent feel blame.
It's like, what are you feeling blamed for? You didn't do anything wrong. This is so frustrating because it happens in real life to this day. Saul and Doeg are the devils. Take them out of the picture and you didn't have this problem.
So David, it is not your fault. Yeah, you were under pressure. Yes, you lied. You're guilty of a lie. You are not guilty of slaying.
the priest of Yahweh. And it solely rests on Saul's sh shoulders.
Now you anyway, verse 23, stay with me. Do not fear. For he who seeks my life seeks your life. but with me you shall be safe. David is, you know, again, takes in another one, but now.
He has a prophet, Gad. and the priest Abiathar with the ephod, He's going to use that. He's going to take it when he goes to war, he's going to s consult the priest. Remember when it was Saul's turn, Saul couldn't wait, never mind that. And he just dismissed the priest and disrespected God.
So he's got the priest, he's got the prophet. He has the nucleus of what will be his 37 mighty men. And I'm looking forward to getting to that. These all made a choice to join David, Gad the prophet, priest. The mighty men.
They chose the right side, the righteous side. And uh We've got plenty more story ahead. Uh Thanks for joining us for today's edition of Cross-Reference Radio. This is the daily radio ministry of Pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville, in Virginia. Currently, Pastor Rick is in the book of 1 Samuel.
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Okay.
