Lessons from the Cave

Introduction

Before services, Laura Harkrider came up to me and said, make sure you have your notes. No tangents, no rambling, no getting off topic because we’re all tired and we don’t want to be here forever. You’re going to do like Daniel had an eight-minute talk and went 20 minutes because he didn’t have any notes, right? And I told her, Don’t worry, this is them right here. I put them in my pocket. So I don’t know if that’s good or bad, but hopefully I can keep your attention long enough for you don’t fall asleep. And we all leave here with something that you can take with you and make an application somewhere in your life. Most of us this evening were over at Brad and Lydia’s house to see off or celebrate the accomplishments of our seniors.

They hit a milestone in their life that they say that for now we’re done for school until you start 13th grade. Or do whatever you’re gonna do and move on out of the house a little bit. But in doing so, you know, there’s the potential for problems to arise. You run into stuff that you don’t anticipate, you run into things that are problems, dark trials, perhaps, and you’ve got to weather those things, and you’ve got to get through them. And how do you do that? How do you do that whenever you are in a bad spot? Where do you go in your head, or where do you go around you to get the strength and the fortitude that you need to get through some of those trials?

I want to talk about lessons from the cave tonight. And everyone was asking me, what’s your topic gonna be about? What are you gonna preach on? I’m like, the Bible. And they’re like, the kids are asking me. They’re like, Dad. but you know, the Bible, yeah, it’s the Bible. And, you know, there’s tons of things that we could do going from here with lessons from the cave. But I want to talk a little bit about the strength, where we get that strength from to weather some of these trials. And we’re going to talk about an experience from a cave in the Bible, and we’re going to try to get some applications for that. Maybe we can take with us and learn something from. But right now we’re building a barn.

Some of you that seen my Facebook post have seen that. And started out by taking some trees out. Wayne came out with the excavator and took some trees out, and then I took the tractor and scraped all this topsoil, mushy stuff and the decaying matter off and get down to something that seemed like there was some substance. And then when we did that, everything was all unlevel and messed up. So we’re like, oh, we need about three or four loads of dirt. You know, it’s clay, select fill, they call it, to bring in to kind of level things out. Well, 26 loads later. I think I say that when I bid stuff with cabinet stuff, we do cabinets, and usually people are blown their budget by the time they get to us.

I’m like, the fill dirt got you, didn’t it? Because you always need more than you think you do. And so 26 loads later, I think we’ve kind of got it leveled out and where it needs to be. But our life is like that. If you talk about that fill dirt being part of your foundation, it’s gotta it’s gotta be in there. But we had some brought in, and I didn’t really have a chance to pack it down real good, and didn’t have a chance to compress it and really solidify it, and it rained. What do y’all think happened? Yeah, it was a big mud pie out there. Kids loved it, you know. You know, if you wanted to go out and do a facial, you definitely could, but it was a mess because it wasn’t compact, it wasn’t compressed, it wasn’t solid.

And I want to talk to us tonight a little bit about that foundation that we have. We could have truth all around us and be filling our heads and our minds full of truth and good things. But if we don’t firmly compress and pack that down and make it solid, when you have trials or tribulations or problems, you may wash away a little bit. And even though, you know, we’ll we’ll hit the passage in Luke about the foundation and the sand versus the rock, you know. But what we’re gonna go to tonight is David in times of trial and what he did. And we’re gonna look at 1 Samuel 24, and we’re gonna do a little bit of observations on how David reacted to some of the situations he was in, specifically this one.

And to give you a little background on it. David came and slew Goliath, very young man, slew Goliath. Saul took him under his wing and took him into his house, and David became one of his captains of his army, and he would sit there and play the harp for Saul, and he would became really good friends with Jonathan. And then one day Saul just really got jealous of him and had a spear in his hand and threw it at him and tried to pin him to the wall. Just think about how graphic that is. Saul thought to himself, I’m gonna run him through and pin him to the wall. Let’s leave him hanging there, you know. David dodged it, got away, slipped away. And this happened a couple more times at least that were recorded for us that Saul tried to throw a spear through him.

And so it comes about that David’s on the run. He is going from place to place and he’s hiding. He’s running for his life, he’s had a few miscreants and other disenfranchised people come and join him, and he’s got a merry band of, you know, three, four hundred men. And Saul’s after him. And he’s in a pretty dark spot. I want to read in 1 Samuel 24. I’m going to read some of that. We’re going to read 2 through 20. It’s a little bit of lengthy reading, but this is going to be our context for this evening. It says, And then Saul took three thousand chosen men from all of Israel, and he went to seek David and his men in front of the rocks of the wild goats.

Just imagine that. You’ve seen these National Geographic shows where the wild goats are? You know? That’s up there. And so he’s he’s on those. So he’s in a cave around there. And he came to the sheepfolds on the way, and there was a cave. And Saul went in to relieve himself, and David and his men were sitting in the inner recesses of the cave. And the men of David said to him, Behold, this is the day of which the Lord said to you, Behold, I’m about to give you your enemy into your hands, and you shall do to him as it seems good to you. Then David arose and cut off the edge of Saul’s robe secretly. And it came about afterward that David’s conscience bothered him, because he had cut off the edge of Saul’s robe.

So he said to his men, Far be it from me, because the Lord, far be it from me, because of the Lord that I should do this thing to my Lord, the Lord’s anointed, and stretch out my hand against him, since he is the Lord’s anointed. And David persuaded his men with these words, and he did not allow them to rise up against Saul. And Saul arose, left the cave, and went on his way. Now afterward David arose and went out of the cave and called after Saul, saying, My Lord the King. And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the ground and prostrated himself. And David said to Saul, Why do you listen to the words of men, saying, Behold, David seeks to harm you.

Behold, this day your eyes have seen that the Lord had given you today into my hand in the cave. And some said to kill you. But my eye had pity on you, and I said, I will not stretch out my hand against my Lord, for he is the Lord’s anointed. Now, my father, see indeed, see the edge of your robe in my hand, for in that I cut off the edge of your robe and did not kill you, know and perceive that there is no evil or rebellion in my hands, and I have not sinned against you, though you are lying in wait for my life to take it. May the Lord judge between you and me, and may the Lord avenge me on you, and my hand shall not be against you.

As a proverb of the ancient says, Out of the wicked comes forth wickedness, but my hand shall not be against you. After whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom are you pursuing? A dead dog, a single flea? The Lord therefore be judge and decide between you and me, and may he see and plead my cause and deliver me from your hand. Now it came about when David had finished speaking these words to Saul that Saul said, Is this your voice, my son, David? Then Saul lifted up his voice, and he wept, and he said to David, You are more righteous than I. For you have dealt well with me while I have dealt wickedly with you. And you have declared to day that you have done good to me, that the Lord delivered me into your hand, yet you did not kill me.

For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away safely? May the Lord therefore reward you with good in return for what you have done to me this day. And now, behold, I know that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand. So during this time, we get through the Psalms some of insight into what David was feeling and thinking and what he was going through. I want to read some in Psalms 43. Vindicate me, O Lord, and plead my case against an ungodly nation. O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man. For thou art the God of my strength. Why hast thou rejected me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

O send out thy light and thy truth, let them lead me. Let them bring me to thy holy hill and to thy dwelling places. Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and upon the lyre I shall praise thee, O God, my God. Why are you in despair, O my soul, and why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise him, the help of my countenance and my God. And over in Psalm 119. The big long chapter.

Look upon my affliction and rescue me, for I do not forget thy law. Plead my cause and redeem me. Revive me according to thy so thy word. Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek thy statutes. Great are thy mercies, O Lord, revive me according to thine ordinances. Many are thy persecutors and my adversaries, yet I do not turn aside from thy testimonies. I behold the treacherous and loathe them, because they do not keep thy word. Consider how I love thy precepts. Revive me, O Lord, according to thy loving kindness. The sum of thy word is truth. And every one of thy righteous ordinance is everlasting. Princes persecute me without cause, but my heart stands in awe of thy words. I rejoice at thy word, as one who finds great spoil.

I hate and decise and despise falsehood, but I love thy law. Seven times a day I praise thee because of thy righteous ordinances. Those who love thy law have great peace, and nothing causes them to stumble. I hope for thy salvation, O Lord, and do thy commandments.

I love your ordinances. I love your ways. I hold on to them. I internalize them.

David was in a bad spot. He was running for his life, reduced to hiding in a hole. And sometimes I think we get in those spots in our lives where anxiety kind of takes over or things creep into our head, and we wonder sometimes, you know, is everything okay? And we start seeing boogers everywhere, and we feel like we just can’t cope, we can’t handle it. Where do we where do we pull ourselves out of that from? You know, yeah, we’ve got each other, but sometimes you feel like you don’t even have anybody else. But one thing that you’ll never be without is God. Doesn’t matter how deep or dark the cave is, there’s a light at the end of it, and it’s God. He had the chance to rid himself of his enemy and make it all go away.

1. Never Lose That Tender Conscience

But what did he do? I love verse 5. It said, it came about afterward that David’s conscience bothered him because he had cut off the edge of Saul’s robe. After everything Saul had done to him, he cut the end of his robe off. He just clipped the shirt tail. And his conscience bothered him about such a small thing.

Right. And what did it do? He had a tender conscience because he loved God’s law. He loved God’s word, and he had a respect for the authority that God had given Saul. No matter how Saul was acting, he knew where he was. So he had a tender conscience. And that’s something I want to really talk to our young people and all of us, in fact, you know, to never lose that. Never lose that tender conscience because the more you step on it, the tougher it gets, and then the further you’ll go before you turn around and make a correction. So don’t get to that spot to where that before when you used to feel bad about it, you just keep doing it. To where you don’t feel bad about that anymore.

2. He Knew His Place and Respected Authority

Well, it’s a normal thing. You’ve normalized that behavior, normalized that action because you’ve seen it so much, you’ve talked about it so much, and you’ve just done it over and over and over. When really what Saul he did to Saul really wasn’t a sin. But it was the attitude behind it. A lot of things we can do, black and white, aren’t wrong. It’s not really anything that you can say is sinful about this, that, or the other. But why was he doing that? For what reason did he do it? And a lot of that’s just going to be your own personal judgment. But leave your conscience tender. Leave it there. Verses 6 and 8. He knew his place and he respected authority. Verse 6, he said to his men, far be it from me, because of the Lord, because of God, because of God, that I’m not going to do this thing to the Lord’s anointed.

So he’s like, look, God put Saul in charge. I’m under God. God put Saul in charge. That means I’m down here. So I’m not going to stretch out my hands and do anything to the Lord’s anointed. And afterward, David arose and went out of the cave, and he, what did he say to the king? Hey, you reprobate. Why are you trying to kill me? No, he said, My Lord the King. And then what did he do? He prostrated himself face down to the ground. Do we feel like doing that to someone that’s wronged us? Yeah, it’s laughable. Go ahead, we can laugh. You know, we don’t do that. We don’t do that. We’re angry about it. We’re upset about it. Now, the deal is that David is recognizing where he’s at and what Saul’s authority is.

3. He Didn't Seek Revenge

Sometimes we have a hard time doing that. We usually kick against authority. We don’t want anyone telling us what to do. We don’t want anyone telling us you can’t or can’t do something. But whatever spot you’re in, it doesn’t matter who you are. You’re under authority in some fate, shape, form, or fashion. And you can’t get away from it. You can’t get away from it. So you may as well get happy in that spot because life will go better for you if you don’t kick against the goads. Now, what he told Paul. Right? So he knew his place, he respected authority. He didn’t seek revenge. Even when God made it available to him. And that’s what his men said. Behold, the day that the Lord said to you, I’m going to give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it seems good to you.

4. His Heart Was Proved Through His Actions

And that’s what his men were telling him. Hey, God’s giving him to you on a silver platter. Jump on it. Avenge yourself. But he wouldn’t do it because he recognized that Saul was God’s anointed. And his heart was proved by what? Through his actions. Through his actions. Verse 11. And now my father see, indeed, see the edge of your robe in my hand, for that in that I cut off the edge of your robe and did not kill you. No and perceive, he’s like, Saul, let it sink in, Saul. Let it sink in. That there’s no evil or rebellion in my hands, and I have not sinned against you, though you are lying in wait for my life to take it. So he’s like, okay, Saul, here I’m going to set it up for you.

5. He Lets the Lord Judge and Decide

Two plus two equals four. I did that backwards for y’all. Two equals four. And he’s like, I’m not trying to harm you. And his actions prove that. And he just pointed that out. Our actions are always going to speak louder than whatever we say. And how we respond to people, how we what we do in the face of adversity, and where we turn in our minds when stuff happens, that proves what’s in our hearts, because out of the floor of heart flows all the issues of life. Plenty of passages for that. And I love this. He lets God lets the Lord judge and decide the matter. Verse 12 says, May the Lord judge between you and me. And may the Lord avenge me on you, but my hand shall not be against you.

So he’s even letting the God do the avenging. God handed him Saul, but he didn’t take it. Verse 15, and the Lord therefore be judge again, decide between me and you, and may he see and plead my cause and deliver me from your hand. And I want to turn over, we’re gonna skip out of the cave just a little bit. I’ve got that license to be able to do that. But over in chapter 26, 7 through 11, there’s another time that Saul is vulnerable. They’re in a camp, they’re all sleeping, and he’s got his fire and his guard are all the way around him. The Lord caused a deep sleep to fall on them. And David and Abishai came to the people by night, verse 7.

Chapter 26, verse 7. So David and Abishai came to the people by night, and behold, Saul lay sleeping inside the circle of the camp with his spear stuck in the ground at his head, and Abner and the people were lying around him. Then Abishai said to David, Today God has delivered your enemy into your hand. Now therefore, please let me strike him with the spear to the ground with one stroke, and I will not strike a second time. So he’s like, Hey, one dabble do me. You know, it’s all I need. One jab. Just give me one jab. But David said to Abishai, do not destroy him. For who can stretch out his hand against the Lord’s anointed and be without guilt? David also said, and y’all get this, as the Lord lives, surely the Lord will strike him.

Or his day will come that he dies, or he will go down into battle and perish. Abishai, don’t worry about it. God’s got this.

I’ve seen it too many times. It usually does. The Lord forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. But now please take the spear that is at his head and the jug of water and let us go. And so he ended up sneaking back out of the camp and then hollering to him from the darkness and waking him up. And again, Saul repents and laments that he is trying to pursue David, and he ends up breaking off and leaving. And quits pursuing David for that time. You know, it still happens more, but it’s kind of an ongoing saga. I mean, Saul has a short memory. It doesn’t really stick for him. So basically, what a lot of times we want to take, we want to make it right.

6. Root Ourselves in God's Word

We want to get right. We want to have someone pay. But guys, people are going to wrong us. There’s going to be things that happen to us that are out of our control. The only thing we can control is our reaction. And where do we go to get the strength to do that? Well, we go to God’s word, right? So how can we get to what David had? That bold confidence in the face of trouble. Even in the worst of times, in the pit of despair, he continued to trust God and God’s timing. You ever tried to push a matter and just make something happen? How’d that work out for you? Yeah, it usually ends badly. But there’s other times where, you know, you kind of back off and don’t push it, and things end up working out way better than you ever thought that they could.

Imagine that. And I’ve seen it too many times. It’s just, and it is providential. But it’s really where you’re putting your trust and where you’re putting your hope and what you’re depending on. You’re depending on you, or are we depending on the God that supplies us with all things? We need to root ourselves in God’s word and stand firm in this foundation of truth. Just like I was talking about with that, with that clay in the bottom of my of the barn we’re building, right? If you don’t have it solid, then when the rains come, you’re gonna have some erosion. And it may not all wash away at once. May just make a little crevice that gets bigger and bigger over time. But you’ve got to keep packing.

That’s what we’re doing tonight. We’re adding another layer to our spiritual strength. We’re adding another layer to our depth of knowledge. I want to read Psalms 1 through 4. Give us some real practical insight into what we accomplish by dwelling on God’s word. How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of the sinners, nor sit in the seat of soft of scoffers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord. And in the law he meditates day and night, and he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither, and whatever he does, he prospers. And Mike talked about that a little bit this morning about seems like the ones that follow God’s word and stick to some of the proverbs that they tend to things tend to work out a little bit better for them than other folks that are foolish or simple minded.

Right? Verse 4 The wicked are not so, but they are like chaff that the wind drives away. Nova in Luke 6, most of us are very familiar with that. Kids sing a little song about it. Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and acts upon them, I will show you whom he is like.

Conclusion

Another parallel passage says on the sand, and the torrent burst against it, and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great. And so the thing I want to challenge this evening with is how we are building upon our foundation. What are we using for that foundation? Are we using sand? Are we using something that’s that’s stable that’s gonna be there? Are we using something that can withstand trouble and trials and compacting? Or are we building on something that is fluff, something that doesn’t have any substance. Something that when you have trouble, and that talks about our works being tested with fire. Is it gonna burn up? Hay and straw and stubble will burn up, or gold and silver, and those things are not gonna burn up in the time of trial.

And so we’re going to, no matter what age you are, you’re gonna hit a cave at some point in time. Maybe sooner, maybe later, but we’re gonna be in that spot. And then so when we get in the same spot that David was in, how are we gonna react? And what are we gonna do given the same opportunities that David was given? And I just love that David always looks up. He always looks back to where he was getting his strength and couching what he told his men in that same venue, in the same, the same vernacular. Look, guys, I am not going to stretch out my hand against God’s anointing because I want to stay in line with God. I’m keeping his precepts. And we see how distraught he was looking at the Psalms.

But even when he was distraught and he was pleading for God to avenge him on his enemies, you know, he said that, you know what, God, you’re gonna take care of it for me. And we need to trust that’s gonna happen. Now, I’m not saying that if God sends you a boat and you’re sitting on a stranded on a rooftop with floodwaters all around you, that you say, you know what, I don’t need the boat, God’s gonna save me, and you end up drowning. There’s some judgment to be made there. But we need to really seriously think about where we’re getting our strength and what really drives us, what holds us up. Sometimes I think we kind of get lured into the thinking that it’s all us, that we’re the ones slaying the dragon, that we’re the ones keeping everything afloat.

And then when things just all get flushed one day, and things happen that are outside our control, then we panic and figure, well, I guess God never was with me. Well, maybe God was with you, but you didn’t have your confidence in the right things. So I’m gonna leave us with that. I stuck to my notes, Laura. And I just want us to think I didn’t have a whole lot long lesson. You know, a lot has been going on, even you know, with all of us in our life. I know this is a transition period for many of us. Teresa and I have been having all types of things that have been on our mind for various reasons. You know, we’ve got a kid graduating, a kid leaving, maybe going to college.

We’ve got Kayla got married a year ago, Desi and Dean just moved, and you’re like, you can real easily get all upset about woe is me, all of this stuff is happening. Or you can look at it, you know what? There’s nothing new under the sun, and all is vanity and striving for the wind. Which Ecclesiastes, it says, to remember your creator in the days of your youth, but it also many times talks about just remembering your creator, period. Right? Days of the youth does, and I’m gonna make a plug for the class. We’re gonna be studying Ecclesiastes starting in two Sundays upstairs that I’ll be teaching, and there’s books down here if anyone you want that. But Ecclesiastes, it’s a great study. It’s gonna go really hand in hand with our Proverbs reading, wisdom, literature, and it’s really a good study.

I hope to have some of you up there with me. Guys, if you need to respond to the gospel, like Mike said this morning, the baptistry is available. If you have got sin on your account that you need to repent of, we can we could take care of that and baptize you. more importantly, if you haven’t been living right. If you’ve been in a pit and you haven’t responded correctly, and you need the help, encouragement of the congregation, we’re here for you, and we’re willing to help in any way that we can. If you if we can help you, go ahead and come as we stand and sing.