Steps of Strength in the Lord

Steps of Strength in The Lord

1 Samuel 30:1-31  

 

Illus. You got it!

 

This morning we pick back up in our study of 1 Samuel by turning to 1 Samuel 30, which is depicts a turning point in David’s life after walking according to his own wishes, and reaping the results of his ways. It was in chapter 27, when David, who had been on the run for his life from king Saul as public enemy number one in Israel for nearly a decade, said to himself, “the best thing for me is to escape into the land of the Philistines.”

The Philistines were the enemies of the Israelites. The season of his life was set off in chapter 27, David had been on the run for his life from Saul, and in chapter 26 he had spared Saul’s life for the second time. Saul had shown that even after David previously spared his life, he would not stop pursuing David to take him out. David ends up discouraged and in despair. In response, he turns inward, speaks to himself about what he thinks is best, and the conclusion he comes to is that ultimately he should just go live amongst and join the enemy because he believed he was going to die by the hand of Saul. He decided specifically to go to Gath, a Philistine city. Once there, he and his men were given some land outside of the city in a town called Ziklag. He lived there in enemy territory for a year and four months. While there, he is seen seeking favor from, and even calling himself a servant of Philistine king. He gave the king indication that he was battling their enemies, though he was not, and all signs he send led the Philistine king to believe that he was now on their team.

The story continues in chapter 28 and 29 when the Philistine king told David that they were going to attack he Israelites, David’s people.  David there said that he would help the Philistines battle them. Then in chapter 29, the battle lines are drawn and David is seen marching with the Philistines into battle. The Philistine leaders were not buying it, however, and by God’s grace, David is sent out of there because the Philistine commanders don’t trust him. David and his men are sent back to Ziklag, still in enemy territory, and here is what happened next…

 

Read: 1 Samuel 30:1-6

David was at the lowest of lows. He had become public enemy number one in Israel, rejected by many of his own people, then he tried to find success in enemy territory and realized that he did not belong there, he did not fit in amongst the other team.  He had made a home for himself and it was now burned to the ground by another enemy, the Amalekites. They had not only burned the city, but had taken captive his family and the families of his might men, and now his mighty men were turning on him.

Everyone in David’s life at this point had turned against, or away from him…He had no one on earth to truth to, but in verse 6, after a few chapters in his life where we see him turning to himself rather than turning to the Lord, we see him at seems to be the lowest point in his life, and with nowhere else to go and no one else to look to…

 

1 Samuel 30:6(b), But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.

David is at a point where he is weakened and weeping, but he would find strength in the Lord. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, God’s power is perfected in weakness…when we are weak, they we are strong.” David strengthened himself in the Lord. This is also translated, “He encouraged himself in the Lord.” How exactly he did this, we don’t know. But he took his only encouragement, his only strength, from the Lord. It could have been through remembering God’s faithfulness in times past and applying to the present. It could have been through prayer, praise, a pursuit of God’s presence… trusting again in the Lord and all his ways. We don’t know exactly what he did, but what we do know is that now he was strengthened in the Lord and now it was time to do something with that strength!

I want to center the rest of our time around David’s steps after he took the wrong ones and then strengthened himself in the Lord. How after David’s strengthens himself in the Lord he walks according to God’s will and ways. So, the title of the sermon today is “steps of strength in the Lord.” We have seen the wrong steps, the steps of weakness in the Lord, the chapters and seasons when God is not mentioned, but what we need is to know what steps of strength in the Lord look like, as that is what is needed in our lives. 

 

1. Inquire of the Lord Before You Go Forward

 

1 Samuel 30:7-8(a), Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Please bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. And David inquired of the Lord…

 

• David displayed strength right away, not by the first step he took before he step forward, but by what he did before he took a step in any direction.

 

• He called for the priest and asked him to bring him the ephod.

 

• This is not the first time the ephod has been asked for in the book, but it is the first time he has asked a priest to bring the ephod in some time.

 

• The Ephod was a garment worn by priests, particularly the high priest and on this garment there was a pocket with two stones, one was the Urim and the other the Thummim.

 

• Little is actually known about the Urim and Thummim; however, it is believed that one stone was white and the other black. Others suggest they were gemstones that would light up to reveal decisions.

 

• These particular stones were used with asking God for direction and they represented His answer. One stone meant yes, and the other meant no.

 

• This form of decision making is shown in the Bible, but the little is known about the specifics, but we know God gave revelation through them, and their use was prescribed by Him in the Old Testament.

 

• David inquired of the Lord with specific questions…

 

1 Samuel 30:8, David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I pursue this band of raiders? Will I overtake them?” And He said to him, “Pursue, for you will certainly overtake them, and you will certainly rescue everyone.”

 

• That was step one. David asked the Lord for direction.

 

• It was a step he had missed in chapter 27 when he was in need of direction previously.

 

1 Samuel 27:1, Then David said to himself, “Now I will perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than to safely escape into the land of the Philistines…”

 

• David had experienced going forward without the Lord in weakness, now, he inquires of the Lord in strength.

 

• Despite his doing differently in chapter 27, David is actually known in Scripture as one who inquired of the Lord regularly.

 

• In 1 Samuel 23, David inquired of the Lord four times, here again in chapter 30. David is seen again inquiring of the Lord in 2 Samuel 2, chapter 5, and chapter 21.

 

• And it is the times in David’s life when he inquires of the Lord before going forward, and then proceeds according to God’s answer that we see the most success in his life and journey.

 

Illus. Even a question?

 

• The word inquired is often translated, “asked.” And when we ask and the Lord answers, and we go forward according to his answer, then we know that we are walking in His strength, not in our own.

 

Ephesians 6:10,  Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.

 

• After David’s inquiry the Lord advises him, He tells him to pursue. And with the way forward provided, David goes forward.

 

• So step one inquire of the Lord as to what to pursue, step two…

 

1. Pursue the Path He Provides

 

1 Samuel 30:9-10, So David left, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and they came to the brook Besor, where some who were left behind stayed. But David pursued, he and four hundred men, for two hundred who were too exhausted to cross the brook Besor stayed behind.

 

• David hears from the Lord, and then pursues according to what he heard.

 

• Here we see the men who were previously set on stoning David to death are now back on board.

 

• 200 of the men were too exhausted to press forward, so they stayed back, while David and the other 400 proceeded in pursuit of the Amalekites.

 

• 1/3 of his men stayed behind, but with the path forward provided, verse 10 tells us that David pursued…

 

1 Samuel 30:11-15, Now they found an Egyptian in the field and brought him to David, and gave him bread and he ate, and they provided him water to drink. They also gave him a slice of fig cake and two cakes of raisins, and he ate; then his spirit revived. For he had not eaten bread or drunk water for three days and three nights. Then David said to him, “To whom do you belong? And where are you from?” And he said, “I am a young man of Egypt, a servant of an Amalekite; and my master abandoned me when I became sick three days ago. We carried out an attack on the Negev of the Cherethites, and on that which belongs to Judah, and on the Negev of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire.” Then David said to him, “Will you bring me down to this band of raiders?” And he said, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or hand me over to my master, and I will bring you down to this band.”

 

• David and his men found an Egyptian who had not eaten for three days and three nights. He was left for dead.

 

• Before knowing his history, David showed compassion on him, providing food and water.

 

• It would have been easy for David to just ignore him. They had a big battle to fight, but they didn’t. They had a big mission, but were compelled to kindness and care for the man in need while they were pursuing.

 

Illus. Right things righteously.

 

• The Egyptian will end up being essential to David’s pursuit of the path God directed him to.

 

• It turns out that Egyptian was a servant of an Amalekite who go sick while the Amalekites were out burning and robbing cities and his master abandoned him.

 

• David replied, “Will you take us to them?” And they make a little agreement.

 

• Some might look at this and go, what are the chances of that? But it was not change, or luck, it was God at work and there is theological word for what took place on that day: providence.

 

• The word providence means that God is in control. It is the working of his power to uphold, guide, and care for and direct His creation.

 

• Here God with working providentially in response to David’s prayer….Shall I pursue? Will I overtake them? And the Lord responded, “yes, pursue…You will overtake them!”

 

• How is it all going to happen? That was unknown. But as the situation unfolds, it doesn’t happen through a miracle, it doesn’t seem to be happening through something people would necessarily look at and call supernatural…But it is supernaturally natural!

 

• God was providing the path, and He was providing on the path.

 

“God’s ways are behind the scenes, but He moves all the scenes that He is behind.” – John Nelson Darby

 

Illus. Working.

Ephesians 2:10, For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

Romans 8:28, And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

 

• We can look for His providence as we walk according to His plan. We can recognize that the Lord is working, and know that He doesn’t just provide the path, He provides all along the path.

 

1 Samuel 30:16-17, Now when he had brought him down, behold, they were dispersed over all the land, eating and drinking and celebrating because of all the great plunder that they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. And David slaughtered them from the twilight until the evening of the next day; and not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men who rode on camels and fled.

 

• When David was brought down to the camp of the Amalekites, they were scattered all over the land and the scene is that of partying. They were eating and drinking and celebrating because of all they ended up taking.
• They made themselves an easy target and David took them out….Most of them. 400 of them escaped on camels.

 

1 Samuel 30:18-20, So David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken, and rescued his two wives. And nothing of theirs was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, plunder, or anything that they had taken for themselves; David brought it all back. So David had captured all the sheep and the cattle which the people drove ahead of the other livestock, and they said, “This is David’s plunder.”

• Pursuing the path the Lord provided, David got back what the enemy had taken. His family, the sons and daughters of his might men, all the sheep and livestock. David got it back.

 

• It was all back after David had encouraged himself in the Lord, inquired of the Lord, pursued the path of the Lord and this leads us to the final point, he remained committed to the Lord.

 

III. Keep Him at the Center as You Carry On

 

1 Samuel 30:21-22

 

• With all that David had gotten back on hand, David went back to the 200 who stayed back and were too exhausted to go with him.

 

• They greeted David and David greeted them. They then would have greeted their families who had been taken into captivity and all of the things won back from the Amalekites.

 

• All the wicked and worthless men who were with David spoke up saying “aside from their wives and children, don’t give anything to them, give them nothing recovered, in fact, get them out of here!

 

• We were first introduced to David’s men in 1 Samuel 22, there they are described as those who were “in trouble, in debt, and discontented.” Among them, some wicked and worthless men…

 

• Anyhow, they have some ideas about what should be done or not done with what they called David’s plunder.

 

1 Samuel 30:23-25, But David said, “You must not do so, my brothers, with what the Lord has given us, for He has protected us and handed over to us the band of raiders that came against us. And who will listen to you in this matter? For as is the share of the one who goes down into the battle, so shall be the share of the one who stays by the baggage; they shall share alike.” So it has been from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day.

 

• The people were calling it David’s plunder, David’s stuff, and making suggestions on what should be done and not done with David’s stuff. They were essentially saying that those who stayed back didn’t deserve it.

 

• But David turned the attention back to the Lord, acknowledging that what they had recovered was given to them by the Lord.

 

• The people were saying it was all David’s stuff. But David made sure they knew; it was all by through and too the Lord.

 

Romans 11:36, For from Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever.

 

• He would share it with those who stayed back, also with those who lived in lands he had hidden in for many years and likely strained his relationship with while living in Philistine territory.

 

• In his weakness, when he had nothing, nobody, nowhere to go and nobody to turn to, David decided to turn to the Lord, centering his steps on God’s instruction. And now, with all his family back, with his might men backing him and more supplies than he knew what do with…David doesn’t forget who must remain at the center of his life and actions as he carried on.

 

• The Lord was back at the center for David…and it is the final step we see in chapter 30.

 

• He was in a season of what seemed weakness in the Lord. He was not inquiring of the Lord, in fact there are whole chapters while he is in enemy territory where the Lord is not mentioned. He was not pursuing God’s path, and the Lord was not the center…

 

• It all happened as he made decisions based on discouragement and distress. He stepped away from the way, and toward his own way, but he was now taking steps of strength in the Lord.

 

• How about you today? Perhaps you, like David at the beginning of the chapter feel weakened, like everything has been taken and everything that couldn’t be take has walked out…and due to circumstances you have stepped away and you know today it is time to turn back.

 

Illus. Stepping out.

 

Psalm 32:8, I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will advise you with My eye upon you.

 

Proverbs 3:5-6, Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.