See, the narcissist, the self-centeredness, is all about meanness. This is why he's insane. This is the same thing that happened with Nebuchadnezzar. He went insane with this beautiful battle I built. I did this.
It's all me. This stuff will drive you nuts. What does the scripture say? about casting your care on the Lord and he shall exalt you in due time. Redirect.
The struggle through it in prayer. In fact, you get sick of it after a while. Move on to other things. My knees hurt. I gotta get up.
This is Cross Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher, Rick Gaston. 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.
But for now, let's join Pastor Rick in the book of 1 Samuel chapter 23 with today's edition of Cross-Reference Radio. This is the case with the people of Ziph and the people of Keilah. They're afraid that any hint to Saul will bring down bloodshed on them.
So they ain't saying anything to David. They probably didn't just nodded when he left, didn't even say thank you. Verse 12. Uh I don't know that for sure. Just threw that in.
Then David said, verse 12: Will the men of Kealah deliver me? And my men into the hand of Saul, and Yahweh said, They will deliver you. As I mentioned. Who can blame what choice did they have? David is, okay, so that's the people of Keilah, they're doing the logical thing.
And if they don't, they're going to get slaughtered. David knows that, and so he's leaving without any, you know, he's got that long suffering going on with them. But still He's got feelings of being betrayed. It's still, this is not right. This is an injustice.
This is not how it should be. And even though he's got A few hundred people with him, he's going to feel like he's all alone. Because he's at the top. The only place he can go is to God. And God, you know, he doesn't just show up when you.
When you summons him, And Paul was this way. He just plodded forward. Paul knew what he had to do, and he just kept doing it over and over again. And he never saw the persecution. Second Timothy, he said, At my first defense, no one stood with me, but all forsook me.
May it not be charged against them. See the long-suffering. I would like to insert myself there and say, okay, I would say the same thing. If I really felt I was right. And they agreed.
But if they disagree with me Would I be so magnanimous? Would I be so noble and long-suffering?
Well, I look back over the years, and yes is the answer, but I'm always shaky about the future. Am I going to be able to pull that off again? Of course, I don't walk around wringing my fingers thinking that, but I'm at the same time never going, when I get it right, I'm not going to say, yeah, man, I know how to do it. I just try to just stay focused on the Lord, keep it simple. Paul says, But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me.
so that the message might be preached fully through me, And that all the Gentiles might hear. Also, I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.
So that's his story on this episode, but there was another one where Paul said, we wanted to die. We despaired of life. It was that bad. He just makes that comment and he moves forward. That's Paul's style.
He doesn't wallow in things. And so God Speaking to David, directing David. uh relieving him from this event. He says, move on. People under your care.
Verse 13.
So David and his men, about 600.
Now, there's the note. It was 400.
Now there is just. Six hundred. arose and departed from Kealah and went wherever they could go. Then it was told Saul that David had escaped from Keilah, so he halted the expedition. We don't even always know why God allows this or that.
We may never know. That's all right. We know what our instructions are. Awful situation that this is. And yet David's followers are growing.
Saul says at the bottom of verse 13, well, it says that he halted the expedition. He says, What? Never mind, there's no righteous man to kill. Let's all go back home. He's just a complete fool out of his head.
Could you just see his face as he's just plodding down on his horse going back to? sit under a tree with a spear in his hand, It's just uh the face of evil. I don't know that an artist can easily capture that. Verse 14. And David stayed in strongholds in the wilderness and remained in the mountains.
In the wilderness of Ziph, Saul sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hands.
So remember, I mentioned when you're counting how many times Saul. We were up to 13.
Well, what's the everyday do? How many times is that? Of course, we're not told, so we'll just keep counting verse 15 as the 14th episode, leaving out the others. Just obsessed with he lives to murder David. That's his whole purpose in life.
The stronghold Of course, the natural fortification. He's moved from the stronghold, which may have been Masada, the fortress of Hereth. The wilderness of Zif. He's got other wilderness wilts. There are wilderness stops waiting for David.
Uh he's just a wilderness man. The terrain just lended to, made it difficult for Saul to corner him in. Of course, at Keilah, Saul was hoping he was going to box him in, put the city under siege, and just, you know. Say two. Send David out or I kill everybody, and they would have sent David out.
Verse 15.
So David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life, and David was in the wilderness of Ziph. In a forest, number fourteen, Could you imagine being stalked? by one person with an army? And you can just count how many times they've tried to kill you. It's maddening.
Verse 16: Then Jonathan, Saul's son, arose and went to David in the woods and strengthened his hand in God. What a friend! This is a friend. How do I be a friend, Lord? Look at a man like Jonathan who risked his life.
To go and strengthen a friend in God. Not just give him a pep talk. He's gonna, it's recorded what he said. To be a friend when it counts. I mean, anybody can be a friend on a sunny day.
The sunny days of life. But what about when it counts? What about when everybody's against you? Can you still be a friend? Can you hold true and not blame them?
Well, you must have done something. As Job's, they did not come to strengthen his hand in God. They came to Chop him up. and make themselves feel good about doing it. And there's no shortage of people like this.
A lot of friends will abandon you when you're down. They just will abandon you.
Some will kick you when you're down. Others will just leave you. This is the last recorded meeting between these two friends, verse 17. And here's how he strengthened him: he said to him, Do not fear. For the hand of Saul, my father, shall not find you.
You shall be king over Israel. And I shall be next to you. Even my father Saul knows that. David, I'm sure, struggled to believe this because when you're in David's position and your life is unraveling, you have a hard time sometimes receiving. Such an encouragement when you've already received 80 of them already and they've not worked.
You're still being chased. But There are other witnesses to this. Samuel and Jonathan has said. All Israel knew this. Abigail will come along and mention it.
Saul even knows it, and Jonathan said, My father knows this. One of the reasons why he hates you. He knows God has given you the throne because you are worthy and He is not. Instead of submitting to God and just going retiring somewhere, because He's well off, He'll be fine. No, He just wants to kill you and anybody involved.
1 Samuel 27, this got to David. This wasn't enough. This is later now. And David said in his heart, Now I shall perish someday by the hand of Saul. There's nothing better for me.
Than that I should speedily escape to the land of the Philistines, and Saul will despair of me. Seek me anymore seek me anymore. In the part of Israel.
So I shall escape out of his hand. My point is, here's Jonathan encouraging him, and David is receiving the encouragement, but he's on that roller coaster that we get on when life is really beating us up. The day will come where he's just He's gonna get me. I'm gonna just go to the enemy. Again, it didn't work the last day.
He's desperate. It caused problems. It did not work the second time either. Jonathan says, You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. And because of Jonathan's father Saul, of course, this would never happen.
It could have happened. But it did not happen. How many times did David reflect on these? David preserved this for us. The historian gets hold of it.
How many times did he Reflect on the words of his dearest friend. You know how hard it is in life to have someone this close of a friend? It just kind of happens. You you cannot put an ad in the paper. Will somebody be a good friend?
And David. When he was crowned king, did he not reflect on this? Did he not think about this from time to time? I believe he did. How could he not?
He says, even my father knows this. And it was public knowledge by this time. Saul hated what God wanted. And um His actions make that clear. Verse 18: So the two of them.
made a covenant before Yahweh And David stayed in the woods and Jonathan went. to his own house. This covenant is a loyalty-love covenant. David, I will always be loyal to you. Jonathan, I will always be loyal to you.
They would never harm each other. This is the kind of friendship. This is why their friendship was so In another class, the common friendships, they would never harm each other. Is there anybody in your life That you can say that person will never harm me. I mean, if I come at him with a machete, he might.
But just as without that. It's a gift. And a lot of people, they say it. But when the pressure's on, They do harm you. They're not there.
They do abandon you. And so it uh It is not a It's sort of a heartfelt contract to protect each other, to not violate. each other. This is the third covenant they made. Verse 19 Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeea, saying, Is David not hiding with us in the strongholds in the woods?
In the hill of Hakalai, you got it right there. Akalia. Which is on the south side of Jeshemon. This um The way they ask these questions, I hate riddles. Is David not hiding?
Is this a riddle? Is he hiding or not? Why did you say David is hiding? Anyway. The people are terrorized again, the Ziphites.
They know that Saul will kill them, so they initiate. Contact with Saul, say he's with us. Come get him. David, now a lightning rod. uh for Saul's wrath and Uh it's a trend.
sweeping through the land. Uh let's get David. This man David Rather than getting depressed, now I know some people think the only people that can talk about depression are psychologists because everybody else, the pastors that don't believe in psychology, are insensitive and archaic and cold-hearted. Which is a flat-out lie. Many Christians get un become uncomfortable when you call a psychologist out on what they are.
And there are fields, different fields of psychology should point it out that there are those fields that are valid fields. When it comes to behaviour, How you should live your life, your morals, your responses, your replies, your moods. This is God's work. Hosea chapter 5. Verse 11, Ephraim is oppressed and broken in judgment.
because he willingly walked by human precept. I'm not even quoting 2 Peter 1:3 and Colossians 2, 8, and 9, Ephesians. I mean, it's just. We are God's workmanship. My point is not to att At the moment.
Attack those who I find attack the Bible. By suggesting that the Bible is only good to tell you how to get to heaven. And that's about it. When the pressure is really on, Don't go to God's word. Don't go to God's people.
Go to the X birds. People who used to be named Bert and they changed their name. Experts Anyway. Depression didn't keep Paul. From the great task of winning souls.
Even though he despaired of life, he kept at it. Satan often uses depression on the mind to keep. The mind on ourselves. And not on the mission, not on God. and that we get tangled up with that.
You know, feeling sad and afraid and depressed, these things come with life, and we also what comes with it is overcoming them. And this is a perishing world, and we're supposed to be here to tell people they are perishing and be prepared to do that. My here's my uh my Great point on this. As I mentioned, depression did not keep Paul from preaching the gospel. Depression did not keep David from writing Psalms.
At this time in his life, when everybody's trading on him and he has nowhere to go, he writes Psalm fifty four. Is another psalm come from this man's heart? The Bible is saying this is how you handle the hardship. You don't, long-suffering comes with it, but you keep moving up. I think the Bible is qualified to address depression.
I don't want the world telling me about it because they're going to tell me how to be depressed. I'm telling you the truth. When people don't agree with me on this kind of thing, I struggle internally. Oh, that came together nicely. Verse 20.
Now, therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of your soul to come down. And Let me reread that. And now, therefore. O king, come down according to all the desire of your soul to come down. And our part shall be to deliver him into the king's hand.
Again, David is going to be Saul's successor. Saul will not have that. It gets kind of old. It doesn't change anything. Verse 21.
Then Saul said, Blessed are you of Yahweh, For you have compassion on me. See the narcissist, the self-centeredness, it's all about meanness. This is why he's insane. This is the same thing that happened with Nebuchadnezzar. He went insane with this in this beautiful battle.
I built, I did this, it's all me. This stuff will drive you nuts. What does the scripture say? about casting your care on the Lord, and He shall exalt you in due time. Redirect And struggle through it in prayer.
In fact, you get sick of it after a while and move on to other things. My knees hurt. I gotta get up. This is the voice of the devil. One who is insane with himself.
It is not the Yahweh of Moses and the Yahweh of Joshua and the Yahweh of Samuel when he says, Blessed are you. Of Yahweh. It's not the Yahweh of those men. This is Saul's Yahweh. And there are people that do this with Jesus Christ.
What Jesus Christ are you talking about? This kingdom of all stuff. The Mormons, are you prepared to say that's the same Jesus from the New Testament? There's no way. Malachi writes, A son honors his father, and a servant his master.
If, then, I am the father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my reverence? says Yahweh of hosts. To you priests who despise my name, yet you say. In what way have we despised your name?
They were delusional too. They're running around dropping the Yahweh name. While they trample his word. Matthew chapter 7, we all know this one because we all shake a little bit when we hear it. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven.
But he who does the will of my Father. In heaven, he goes on to add. Luke chapter 6 verse 46. But why do you call me Lord, Lord? and not do the things which I say.
This is Saul. Blessed is Yahweh. for showing me where I can kill David. And it's always about him. And then he says.
For you have had compassion on me. It's all again, it's about him. Does it not vex you to read this? Does it get like, oh, I don't like this guy? He is the guy I would put a thumbtack on his chair.
He's pathetic. Nothing redeeming about him. There's not one quality we come across and say, well, you got to admit, Saul was at least what? Verse twenty-two. Please go and find out for sure.
He's like, look, I'm getting excited, he's saying. I'm getting excited at the thought of killing David. Please be sure. I don't want you getting my hopes up, and I don't get to murder him. Please be verse 22.
Please go and find out for sure and see the place where his hideout is. And Who has seen him there? For I am told he's very crafty. Because he's trying to survive. All of a sudden, he's this sinister, crafty guy.
David may be crafty, but you're evil. Verse 23: See, therefore, and take knowledge. of all the lurking places where he hides. and come back to me with certainty. And I will go with you.
And it shall be, if he is in the land, That I will search for him throughout all the clans of Judah and scratch his eyes out. He's just crazy. You could hear him drooling. I mean, somebody captured all of this. They're like, man, this guy is out there.
Don't make eye contact with Saul. Because if he sees it, you know he's crazy. He's gonna throw something at you. How could you not hear this and not be disgusted? He is going to die a fool's death.
Anyway, verse 24.
So they arose and went to Ziph before Saul, but David and his men were in the wilderness of Mahon. in the plain on the south of Jeshimon. We all know where that is. We've we We go there all the times. Right by that takeout place.
Verse 25. And Saul and his men went to seek him. They told David. Therefore he went down to the rock and stayed in the wilderness of Mahon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued David in the wilderness of Mahon.
David's trek is about a 20-mile radius, 25 miles, all of this from Gath to, he's by the Dead Sea. Uh sixty miles if you count his trek into Moab with his parents, He's just all over the place trying to survive. And verse 26 Then Saul went On one side of the mountain, and David and his men were on the other side of the mountain.
So David made haste to get away from Saul, and Saul and his men were encircling David and his men to take them.
So the trap is closing. It doesn't look good for David. It looks like this might actually be it. That's how David is scrambling to survive. And had it not been for the Lord's interference, Saul may have gotten him there.
Verse 27. But a messenger came to Saul saying, Hurry and come, for the Philistines have invaded the land. What happened again with Keila? I mean, how come no one came? For them, anyway, I guess maybe it was because Saul had his Porsche parked over there.
Uh they just responded to that.
So this was a close call. And Saul returned, verse 28. Therefore, Saul returned from pursuing David and went against the Philistines.
So they called that place the Rock of Escape. The rock of close call. Verse 29: Then David went up from there and dwelt in the strongholds at Engeti. And what is left out is what's going on in his head and his heart. It's just how much of this, Lord.
I mean How much of the he's and he's gonna spend his life You know, there are going to be other times when Absalom comes again. We have so much. More about David. to go through in his life and to gain for our own lives. Here at Engetty, again, you can see the Dead Sea from Engedi.
And it's an oasis, it's a beautiful oasis. It's a waterfall there, and this is where he's now holding up.
Solomon writes about this in the first chapter. He says, My beloved, well, I have a land. Different take than many people on the Song of Solomon. Since we still have an hour left, Um The Song of Solomon is about Solomon the king who wants to take advantage of yet another lass. Another young woman.
But she's not having it. She's in love with a shepherd. and she her love is strong enough to tell the king nope. And that's the story of the Song of Solomon. And probably Abishag the Shulamite that kept David warm when he was old, but at least he uses her as his character.
And I believe it may have been a play that was acted out and the song accompanied it. This is uh otherwise the song does the whole song does not make sense. It just falls apart. How can Solomon you know, you're trying to scramble to make it work.
So when she tells the king invites her to this banquet, His banquet table. And he's trying to seduce her. Into loving him back, or at least, you know, aren't you thrilled? Look how much I own. She's not having it.
She says, My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blooms in the vineyards of Engeti. I love someone. And that person is outstanding, like a Hannah Bloom at En Gedi. And it's sort of a link to David and his struggles and the oasis there. It's all, you know, as a Jew at that time when Solomon wrote that, you couldn't think of Engeti without thinking of David.
Do any of you think of Engeti without thinking of David? No. I mean, you don't think of like Donald. Or yes. or anybody else with another name.
He didn't care for that one.
So There's David. Went up there to this oasis in Gedi, which is very beautiful. But he's not going to be able to stay there either.
So now what? More survival. That's what. Let's pray. Our Father, to be able to face hardship, to be long-suffering in the midst of it, and not to be bitter is a work.
of your spirit in our hearts. And may we be sensitive enough To recognize when others around us are going through very difficult times and to be sensitive to your leading, to know how to. minister or withhold. Any misguided assistance that we would probably put forward in our own strength. Learn to be led by you.
In good times and bad times. And may we appreciate good friends and may we be a good friend. Lord, we ask you in Jesus' name. Amen. No, no, no.
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. If you'd like to listen again to this or other messages or share it with someone you know, please visit crossreferenceradio.com. Here, you can also listen to interviews with Pastor Rick to learn more about his life and ministry.
We encourage you to subscribe to our podcast so you'll never miss another edition. All you have to do is find us on your favorite podcast app. You can also access full-length video messages on YouTube.
So, many options are available to you. Again, if you're not sure where to go, just go to crossreferenceradio.com for resources. Tune in again next time for more Crossreference Radio.
Okay.
