Participants: Pr. Doug Batchelor
Series Code: EG
Program Code: EG021711A
|
00:15 You're joining us in a part of a series
00:19 that we've been going through, one of my favorite subjects, 00:22 which is dealing with the life of David 00:24 or talking about the Shepherd King. 00:27 And today's presentation, we're gonna be dealing 00:29 with the subject of From Carmel to Ziklag. 00:35 In our last story, we saw that David 00:37 had a very interesting experience 00:39 where he appealed to a local rancher 00:43 they had been protecting if they can make a donation 00:46 to help a little bit 00:47 with the cost of feeding an army, 00:52 and he basically reproved them. 00:54 David was on his way to exact vengeance on Nabal, 00:58 and Abigail interceded, she appealed, 01:03 brought a gift and basically averted 01:07 what could have been a terrible disaster. 01:10 And then at the of the story, David very amazed at Abigail 01:15 and the kind of woman she was, 01:17 he learns that Nabal has a stroke and he dies, 01:20 he proposes to Abigail and she becomes his wife. 01:24 So now in the time between when David marries Abigail 01:27 and this all happens, there is one more episode 01:31 where David is surrounded by Saul. 01:35 David sneaks into Saul's camp at the night. 01:38 Abishai says, "Strike him to the ground with the spear." 01:40 David says, "No he is the Lord's anointed. 01:42 Forgive him." 01:43 And again David confronts Saul and says, "See here, 01:47 I'm not trying to kill you, I had a chance, 01:48 here's you spear, here's your water jug." 01:51 And Saul says, "Oh, I'm sorry, it was just an accident. 01:55 You're gonna prevail, David." 01:58 And then at the end of that David says, 01:59 "You know, how many times has Saul acted like 02:03 he was gonna change his mind but he can't help himself." 02:05 He tries to pin him against the wall with a spear 02:08 and then he tells Jonathan, 02:09 "I was just kidding, I really like him." 02:11 And then tries to pin him against the wall 02:13 again with his spear, 02:15 and then he sends soldiers after him 02:16 and David finds him in the cave, cuts off his robe. 02:20 Saul says, "Make a covenant with me, 02:21 you're gonna be king. I'm sorry." 02:23 Then again he goes into the camp, 02:24 he does it again. 02:26 Saul can't help himself. He is demon possessed. 02:29 He just is so controlled by vengeance, 02:31 and so that brings us to our next section. 02:34 Turn with me to 1 Samuel 27:1, 02:38 "Now I will perish someday by the hand of Saul. 02:41 There is nothing better for me than that I should escape 02:45 to the land of the Philistines. 02:48 And Saul will despair of seeking me any more 02:51 in any part of Israel 02:52 so I will escape out of his hand." 02:55 Now this is a low point for David. 02:58 This is David who had escaped so many times 03:02 because God had promised, "You're going to be king 03:05 and I want you to fight against the Philistines. 03:08 I want you to set Israel free. 03:10 I want you to expand the territory of Israel." 03:14 And David has lost faith. 03:16 It's not a great verse, but, you know, 03:19 it's there to remind us that that happens to us. 03:22 Just before that statement that David makes, 03:25 "I'm gonna just go to the land of the Philistines." 03:28 Listen to what David writes in Psalms 121. 03:32 "I lift up my eyes to the hills 03:34 from whence comes my help? 03:36 My help comes from the Lord 03:37 who made the heaven and the earth. 03:39 He will not allow your foot to be moved. 03:41 He who does not slumber, he shall neither slumber 03:46 nor sleep who keeps Israel. 03:48 The Lord is your keeper, 03:49 the Lord is your shade at your right hand. 03:51 The sun will not strike you by day nor the moon by night. 03:55 The Lord shall preserve you from all evil. 03:57 He will preserve your soul. 03:59 The Lord shall preserve your going in 04:01 and your coming out from this time forth, 04:03 even for evermore." 04:05 Well, that's great. 04:07 He should have read that Psalm. 04:10 God will keep you. God will preserve you. 04:11 God will not forsake you. 04:14 Now the reason I think 04:16 this is important for us to consider 04:17 because you have all sung songs before 04:20 that have wonderful statements of faith 04:22 but you don't live them out. 04:24 I have to. 04:26 But since I'm looking at you, I'm gonna talk about you. 04:31 You know, what I'm talking about? 04:33 We read these statements, we say these prayers, 04:35 we talk about the victories 04:36 and things that God has done for us, 04:37 and you know what, 04:39 and listening to the devil for five minutes, 04:41 you can forget a lifetime of God delivering you. 04:45 Just look at the children of Israel. 04:47 When they're in Egypt, God miraculously feeds them 04:50 with bread from heaven, He delivers them 04:52 from the Amalekites that attacked them. 04:54 He gives them water out of a rock. 04:56 He sends plague after plague on their enemy. 04:59 He parts the sea for them, pillar of fire to keep them 05:02 from being in the dark. 05:03 He does all of this, and after doing all of this, 05:06 you know what they say? 05:08 First time something gets rough they said, 05:10 "Oh, the Lord brought us out here 05:12 so we could perish in the wilderness. 05:14 Let's just go back to Egypt. 05:17 We'll go back to our enemies, the land of the enemy." 05:21 You know, I sort of probably misnamed this message. 05:24 I should have called it the land of the enemy 05:26 because the whole thing takes place 05:30 in the land of the enemy. 05:32 Sometimes God's people try to serve the Lord 05:35 in the land of the enemy. 05:38 And so you know what David does, 05:39 I'm gonna go back to 1 Samuel 27, 05:42 "David arose and he went over with 600 men 05:45 who were with him to Achish, 05:47 the son of Maoch, the king of Gath." 05:49 Now have you heard the word Gath before? 05:52 This is the second time David goes to Gath. 05:54 Remember, Goliath was of what? 05:57 Gath. 05:58 David is gone to the hometown 06:01 of his chief adversary that he's killed. 06:04 He did this once before. 06:05 But when he went before, he ran there by himself, 06:08 and even Achish said, "What is this? 06:10 Is this David that they say, you know, 06:12 Saul has killed his thousands, but David his ten thousands, 06:15 that would be ten thousand Philistines, 06:17 and he's here?" 06:19 And that's when David pretended he was crazy, 06:20 that's back in Achish. 06:22 Now he is back in Achish again. 06:23 Achish now welcomes him because David, 06:26 he realized David kind of fooled him before, 06:27 David's been running around the hills 06:29 with a small army. 06:31 And David, they've learned that Saul keeps 06:34 trying to kill David, 06:35 there's a civil war in the country, 06:36 and you know that old expression, 06:38 "My enemy's enemy is my friend." 06:41 And since Achish was enemies with Saul 06:45 and Saul was enemies with David, David said, 06:47 "Well, if I'm not gonna be able to live in Israel 06:50 where Saul is, he won't give up hunting me. 06:53 I'll just go stay where Achish is." 06:56 And Achish says, "Aha! 06:58 I have just strengthened my army by 600 men, 07:02 not only 600 men, 07:04 the chief crack forces of Israel." 07:08 You know, different armies have got their Green Berets 07:11 or their Navy SEALs or their Army Rangers. 07:14 David was the elite force of Israel. 07:18 At one time, he was Saul's armor-bearer, 07:21 then became a captain, 07:22 and every time David never lost a battle you read about it, 07:25 and now that elite force of David 07:29 has just come to Achish. 07:31 And he's going, "All right!" 07:33 It flatters him and they bring their families, 07:37 "They are now going to be on my side. 07:39 I bet we can overcome Israel at this point." 07:43 Achish receives him. 07:44 And so for a few days, David and his 600 men 07:46 and all their families, they're down there with Achish, 07:50 but, you know, David noticed something... 07:52 You read a little later in the Bible, 07:53 you find out Goliath had a family. 07:58 David is walking around Gath with Goliath's sword, 08:01 painful reminder that David had beheaded 08:06 the champion of the town. 08:09 You read later in the Bible, 08:10 you find that Goliath has a brother 08:12 and he's got maybe two brothers and two sons, 08:14 Hebrew is not clear, 08:16 but he had some relatives that were big. 08:17 There's another guy in Gath who was a brother of Goliath, 08:21 he's got 24 fingers and toes, 6 on each hand. 08:28 And, you know, that is, I've seen that myself. 08:31 It's not that uncommon 08:34 especially if there's any incest. 08:36 How many of you seen a cat with like seven toes? 08:39 And usually comes from inbreeding with cats. 08:42 And the theory is that the people in Gath saw 08:45 how big Goliath was that they were trying to inbreed 08:47 the family a little bit to get an army of Goliaths. 08:50 One of them came out with 24 toes. 08:53 He later was killed by David's brother Shimea. 08:56 But they were alive at this point in Gath. 08:58 So you've got Goliath's relatives walking around town, 09:01 and they're looking at Goliath, and King Achish says, 09:03 "You know, I'm so glad you've come to join me." 09:06 Finally David says to the king, verse 5, 09:11 "If it pleases you, maybe you could give me 09:13 another place to stay in your territory. 09:16 It's not fair that I should be staying 09:19 in one of the royal cities with the King. 09:22 I'm not worthy." 09:24 But really David realize 09:25 that was causing a little bit of anguish 09:27 and the other thing was they worship Dagon. 09:31 They worship other gods in Gath. 09:34 And David wanted to be in a position 09:37 where he was a little further out of the capital 09:40 where he could worship Jehovah 09:42 because it was gonna be a conflict. 09:44 Now the Philistines had five major cities, 09:48 they had Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and Gath. 09:52 The Philistines did not have one king. 09:55 They were divided up in a little more kind of 09:57 Greco-Roman style where they had five kings 10:00 and they were representative kings, 10:02 and these were the five principal cities. 10:04 There is the kind of Ashdod, 10:05 Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and Gath. 10:08 And so Gath was a little further south of Judea, 10:13 it was closer to the border of Judea 10:16 and the land of the Amalekites 10:18 and the Arabs and the desert regions. 10:21 So Achish says, "I'll tell you what, 10:24 I'll give you Ziklag, and you can stay in Ziklag." 10:28 Now Ziklag means winding. 10:31 And while David is living in the land of the enemy, 10:34 he is on a winding road. 10:37 And Ziklag was a fortress city 10:39 down on the borders of the Philistine territory 10:43 bordering Judea and bordering, 10:45 well, the country of the Arabs really that lived down there. 10:50 Therefore from that time to this time, 10:52 it says Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah. 10:54 Now the time that David dwelt in the country 10:57 of the Philistines was one year and four months. 11:01 And he acted like he was friends, 11:03 but you know what's really going on. 11:05 It's says, "David and his men..." 11:09 I'm in verse 8, "David and his men 11:10 raided the Geshurites, and the Girzites, 11:14 and the Amalekites for those nations 11:16 where the inhabitants of the nations from old 11:19 as you go to Mount Shur, 11:21 even as far as the land of Egypt." 11:23 So David, he's got to feed an army 11:27 and what he does is they pretty much 11:30 have filled up the city of Ziklag, 11:33 he and his soldiers, they go on raids. 11:34 It's very common. 11:35 You remember the story of Naaman, 11:37 that's how Naaman 11:38 and his family got the little girl. 11:40 They went on a raid in the northern country of Israel. 11:42 They would kill, they'd seize the livestock, 11:45 they'd kill anyone who resisted, 11:46 they'd take away the women and children as slaves, 11:48 and they were always raiding each other's borders. 11:51 You remember the story of Elisha, 11:53 when they're burying Elisha, it's an interesting story. 11:57 They're going out to conduct the funeral 11:59 and they haven't quite lowered the body down in the grave yet, 12:02 all of a sudden they see Moabite raiders 12:03 are coming into the country. 12:05 And they said, "What do we do? We got to bury this man." 12:07 It wasn't Elisha there, that burying man. 12:10 And they saw Elisha's grave was there 12:12 and so they opened up the lid off Elisha's grave, 12:14 they tossed him in, and he came back to life 12:18 when he touched the bones of Elisha. 12:19 You remember that story? But the Raiders were coming. 12:21 They are always raiding each other's borders. 12:23 If you lived in Israel back in one of those days, 12:25 you did not want to live on the edge. 12:28 It wasn't safe on the edge. 12:29 You wanted to be right in the middle. 12:31 So David went out raiding because he had to feed his army 12:35 and he's raiding the enemies that Joshua 12:38 and the children of Israel had not subdued 12:40 when they were supposed 12:41 to when they came into the land. 12:42 Remember, King Saul was told, "Go wipe out the Amalekites." 12:45 But he didn't completely do it. 12:47 So David says, "Well, I'll do it." 12:49 So he attacks the Amalekites and the Geshurites 12:51 and these other countries that had been enemies of Israel 12:54 and they were allies of the Philistines. 12:56 But when he does this, he then brings gifts to Achish. 12:59 He says, "Here's some livestock and..." 13:01 But he doesn't bring any people because he's telling Achish, 13:05 he'd say to him, 13:06 "Where do you go raiding today?" 13:08 He said, "Oh, I was raiding Judah, 13:09 I was raiding the Jews, the Israelites. 13:12 I went to Judah and against the southern area 13:13 to the Jerahmeelites 13:14 and against the southern area in the Kenites." 13:17 They were related to Israel, some of you remember 13:19 a girl named Jael who killed Sisera, 13:22 she was a Kenite, 13:23 they lived down in that country. 13:25 And David would save neither man nor woman alive. 13:28 Now this is tough to believe, but David and his men 13:31 they wouldn't leave any witnesses. 13:34 But they were attacking the ancient enemies 13:36 that God had told Israel to wipe out. 13:39 But he's being very duplicitous. 13:41 He said, "Oh, yeah, Lord, I'm serving you 13:43 in the land of the enemy and I'm lying the whole time. 13:45 I'm pretending that I'm friends with the enemy 13:47 while I'm serving you." 13:51 He was being a secret Israelite. 13:55 Have we got some secret Christians out there? 13:58 Any the secret Christians out there? 14:00 You come to church, you know you're a Christian, 14:02 you wanna fight for the Lord, 14:03 but no one else out there knows. 14:06 You're living in the land of the enemy, 14:08 but in your heart, you're a secret Christian. 14:11 Someone once said that there's no such thing 14:13 as a secret Christian 14:14 because either your Christianity 14:16 will destroy the secret or your secrecy 14:18 will destroy your Christianity. 14:20 But if you try to live a Christian life in the land 14:23 of the enemy for very long, something's gonna compromise. 14:27 And David had to lie all the time 14:29 and he'd bring some of the spoils, 14:31 he'd take from these other towns, 14:32 he'd keep most of it for his army, 14:33 he'd bring some as gifts to Achish, 14:35 kind of a tax, and he'd say, "Wow, boy, you're being 14:39 pretty brutal fighting your own people. 14:40 You don't even leave any survivors 14:42 because often you take survivors as slaves." 14:45 But he said, "Not keeping anyone alive." 14:49 Well, he was attacking the Philistines' friends. 14:54 And so this goes on for a year and four months 14:56 and nobody catches on. 15:00 And he'd save neither man nor woman alive. 15:02 So Achish believed David saying, 15:04 "He's made the people of Israel utterly arbor him, 15:08 therefore he'll be my servant forever." 15:10 Now something I think is interesting 15:12 that when David makes up his mind 15:14 that he's gonna stay in the land of the Philistines. 15:19 You know, so many other times David... 15:21 He's got a priest with him, and he would say to Abiathar, 15:26 "Bring me the ephod. 15:28 Let's inquire of the Lord." 15:31 But David never inquires of the Lord about going to stay 15:33 in the land of the Philistines, something else 15:35 as well as the scholars can tell, 15:37 David never writes a song while he's down there. 15:41 He's sort of living in no man's land 15:44 in the experience, he's wandering. 15:46 He kind of made the mistake 15:48 that the Israelites made saying, 15:51 "I wanna go back to Egypt." 15:54 So it happens during this time 15:56 that he's living down there in Ziklag. 16:00 "That the Philistines gathered their armies together 16:02 for war to fight against Israel." 16:04 Now why do you think they'd choose to do that? 16:07 Because the strongest fighting force in Israel 16:09 is now on their side. 16:11 They believe the battle is gonna turn. 16:13 Saul has spent so much time and money chasing around 16:17 his own country, fighting his own people, 16:19 he killed his priests, he's fighting after David, 16:23 they had become weakened during this time 16:25 when they should have been building up the army, 16:28 they had been distracted. 16:30 And the Philistines realized that they are now vulnerable 16:33 and so they amass probably in the spring of the year 16:37 for a great apocalyptic war. 16:40 It's not a skirmish. 16:41 This is an all-out, all-hands-on-deck war 16:44 where they're calling all of the armies of Israel. 16:47 Sometimes they went out to battle, 16:48 you read Saul took 3,000 men, but this is not that battle, 16:52 this is where every man is called. 16:55 And the Philistines get all the five kings together, 16:58 and all of them get all of their armies together, 17:00 and they are doing a full out war with Israel. 17:05 And it says here that they gathered for war 17:07 on Chapter 28 of 1 Samuel. 17:10 And Achish the king of Gath says to David, 17:12 "You surely know that you can go out with me to battle, 17:15 you and your men, you're gonna join us, aren't you? 17:18 And David said, "What am I gonna do? 17:20 How am I going to fight against my own people? 17:21 God said I'm supposed to be the king of these people. 17:23 I'm supposed to kill them? I can't do that." 17:26 But here he's been lying to Achish, 17:27 "So what do you say?" 17:29 And so he kind of gives a veiled answer, he says, 17:30 "You know what your servant can do." 17:32 What does that mean? 17:35 And Achish said, "And then I'll make you 17:37 one of my chief guardians forever. 17:39 You'll be my number two man." 17:41 How sad. 17:43 David who is supposed to be the king, 17:45 he is now standing shoulder to shoulder 17:48 with the Philistines that worship fish gods. 17:54 That really was that. 17:55 You know, this kind of hurt him for years after that, 17:58 that the people always knew, "You comprised. 18:03 God had delivered you so many times before 18:05 and you forgot about all those times God protected 18:08 and delivered you and you lost faith that 18:11 He would keep delivering you, and you compromised, 18:14 right before you were anointed king, 18:17 with the enemy. 18:19 And you made friends with the enemy, 18:21 Gath of all things, the king of Goliath." 18:27 And so, you know, he said, "Yeah, sure whatever you say, 18:29 your Majesty." 18:31 Now it goes on to say in verse 3, 18:35 Samuel had died, 18:36 it mentions that also in chapter 25, 18:37 but it reminds us what we're about to get into. 18:41 "Samuel had died 18:42 and all Israel had lamented for him 18:45 and buried him in Ramah, in his own city. 18:48 And Samuel had put the mediums and spiritists out of the land. 18:53 And the Philistines gathered together 18:54 and they came in and camped at Shunem. 18:57 So Saul gathered all of Israel together 18:59 and they encamped in Gilboa." 19:02 You all remember where Shunem is, 19:03 that's where the Prophet Elisha used to stay with that 19:06 great woman of Shunem and her family." 19:10 And when Saul saw the army of the Philistines, 19:13 he was afraid, 19:15 and his heart trembled greatly." 19:16 And this is a man who had once been anointed by God, 19:19 filled with the Spirit of God, had the courage of God, 19:22 it didn't matter how many soldiers there were, 19:24 but he's now separated himself from God, 19:27 he's grieved away the Holy Spirit. 19:30 And Saul inquired of the Lord 19:33 and the Lord did not answer him. 19:34 Well, he had killed all the priests, 19:36 how do you inquire of the Lord then? 19:38 "Neither by Urim or by the prophets." 19:42 You know, this is when you get to the place 19:44 where you don't hear the voice of the Lord anymore, 19:46 you wondered what the unpardonable sin is like? 19:48 That doesn't mean... 19:50 Sometimes we all go through spells 19:51 or it seems like God is quiet. 19:54 That doesn't mean you've grieved away 19:55 the Holy Spirit, don't misunderstand. 19:57 But he received no answer 20:01 because he had refused to listen, 20:03 and now he's in a crisis. 20:05 And finally, in desperation to show, 20:07 this was a time of testing and Saul failed the last test. 20:12 "Then Saul said to his servants, 20:14 'Find me a woman who is a medium 20:16 that I might go to her and inquire of her.'" 20:19 Now he specified a woman 20:20 because they had male mediums too, 20:22 he knew there was one in the area. 20:26 And the servants send to him, "In fact, there is a woman 20:28 who is a medium an Endor." 20:31 Now what is God's Word say about inquiring of mediums? 20:38 It tells us, "Don't do it." 20:41 "You shall not permit a sorceress to live," 20:44 is that clear? 20:46 Leviticus 20:6, 20:48 "And the person who turns to mediums 20:50 and familiar spirits to prostitute himself with them, 20:54 I will set My face against that person 20:56 and cut him off from his people." 20:59 See what the prognosis is 21:01 when we start getting into spiritualism. 21:03 1 Chronicles 10:13, why was Saul judged? 21:08 "So Saul died for his unfaithfulness 21:10 which he had committed against the Lord 21:12 because he did not keep the Word of the Lord 21:14 and also because he consulted a medium for guidance." 21:18 Does God want us going to the spiritualists 21:21 of the world to find out what we're supposed to do? 21:26 "So they find this woman and some of the servants 21:31 of Saul disguise themselves 21:32 and Saul disguises himself as king, they go in. 21:36 And the woman said, 'What can I do for you?' 21:38 And they said, 'Look, 21:39 we want you to call up Samuel the prophet.' 21:43 She says, 'Oh, testing me. 21:44 Saul cut off all the spiritualists of the land.' 21:46 They said, 'You don't have anything to worry about.' 21:49 And then finally she realizes this is Saul. 21:53 'Why didn't you just say to me you are Saul'? 21:55 King said, 'Don't be afraid. 21:57 Call up this prophet, bring up Samuel for me.' 22:02 He said, 'I need to know what to do.'" 22:04 And so this apparition appears, 22:06 she goes through her incantations 22:08 and she throws a little gun powder 22:09 on the fire or something 22:10 and, you know, they dance around 22:13 and they've got the vapor and smoke 22:14 and they make the woo noises and... 22:17 And when I was a kid, our family was... 22:20 We were into spiritualism and we had Ouija boards, 22:24 and my mom wrote astrology songs, 22:27 and it is so much garbage. 22:30 But, you know, there is real dark power 22:32 involved in all of that. 22:33 And, you know, when you try and talk to the dead, 22:38 you're really speaking to devils. 22:40 One of the last great deceptions 22:41 that's gonna come on the world, 22:42 it says that, "Three unclean spirits like frogs," 22:45 Revelation 16, "come out of the mouth of the beast, 22:48 the dragon, and the false prophet 22:49 and they go forth to the kings of the earth to device them." 22:53 And I think there is gonna be devils 22:55 that will impersonate the dead that are gonna start 22:57 manipulating leaders of the world 22:59 who have gotten involved in spiritualism 23:01 in the last days 23:02 because they don't know the dead are dead, 23:04 and this is exactly what happened to King Saul 23:06 is gonna happen to people in the last days. 23:08 This happens before great judgment on God's people, 23:11 it's gonna happen in the end also. 23:14 So this devil that is coming pretending to be Saul, 23:19 and some say, "No, it really was Samuel." 23:21 No, it's not Samuel. 23:23 Does a witch have the power to resurrect a prophet of God? 23:27 And also the message that is given 23:29 is a totally hopeless message. 23:33 And it says, "You're gonna die tomorrow 23:36 and your sons are gonna die." 23:39 And finally, when Saul hears this, 23:41 he just falls flat out on the ground, 23:43 he is so overcome with fear, 23:44 he hadn't eaten anything that day. 23:46 Verse 20, "And Saul fell full length on the ground 23:50 and was dreadfully afraid because of the words of Samuel. 23:54 And there was no more strength in him. 23:55 He had eaten nothing all that day and all night. 23:58 And the woman came to Saul, 24:00 and saw he was severely troubled, 24:02 and she said, 'I listen your voice, 24:04 I put my life in my hands, and I did a seance for you,'" 24:08 is what it amounts to, 24:10 and now you have to listen to me. 24:12 Let me feed you something.'" 24:14 So she goes and kills a fatted calf, 24:17 very different from the fatted calf 24:18 that Abraham kills for the Lord. 24:21 They must have been fast back in those days. 24:25 Prodigal son comes home, they have a feast right away, 24:27 kill the fatted calf, I mean they knew 24:29 how to clean a calf and cook it and make bread in no time. 24:34 It always amazes me. 24:36 Now she does this because Saul is there, 24:37 and he got his entourage, he's got his guards 24:39 and his servants, she's not only got to feed him, 24:41 she's got to feed all of them. 24:44 But how sad, where is David? 24:46 He should have been ready to walk in 24:49 and fight in that battle and win victorious. 24:52 And maybe Saul would have died 24:53 and David would have been proclaimed king 24:55 but at least fighting on the right side. 24:56 David is in the land of the enemy. 24:58 Because David's in the land of the enemy, 25:00 now Saul is in the land of the enemy, 25:01 and he's talking to witch. 25:05 It's not a very bright chapter, you know, when you read 25:08 the last few chapters here in 1 Samuel. 25:12 God's leaders are hanging out with the enemy. 25:16 And so finally, she feeds Saul and he and his servants leave. 25:21 And go to chapter 29, 25:24 "Then the Philistines gather together 25:26 and all their armies at Aphek, and the Israelites encamped 25:30 by a fountain which is in Jezreel." 25:31 By the way there's a valley 25:34 there by Jezreel called Megiddo. 25:37 And so when you're reading the Bible about 25:38 the battle of Armageddon, there are many great battles 25:43 that took place in the valley of Jezreel, 25:44 which is Megiddo, same area. 25:48 The battle of Gideon was in Megiddo 25:52 in the valley of Jezreel. 25:53 The valley in the days of Deborah 25:57 was here in the valley of Megiddo, 26:00 means hill of Megiddo, 26:01 it's above the valley of Jezreel. 26:03 This is another pivotal battle that takes place there. 26:07 "And the lords of the Philistines 26:08 passed in review by hundreds." 26:10 They get all their armies together, 26:11 and here we are for Ashkelon, here we are from Ekron, 26:13 here we are from Gath. 26:14 And they all big parade and they're all with their pomp 26:17 and their ceremony 26:18 and then trailing the troops of Gath, 26:21 the others kings of the Philistines see 26:24 600 or 700 Hebrews and they go, "What? 26:29 We're getting ready to go fight the Hebrews, 26:31 what are they doing here?" 26:33 Can you understand, the army has actually grown. 26:36 Something I left out I need to tell you, 26:37 why David is at Ziklag, 26:38 listen to what you read in 1 Chronicles 12. 26:41 Soldiers begin to come to David. 26:44 They see that Saul has lost courage, 26:46 they see that is he's raving. 26:48 I mean, before when he had his episodes, 26:49 David would play the harp, but the musician's gone now. 26:53 And so they're losing confidence in their king. 26:59 Your read in 1 Chronicles 12:1, 27:02 "Now these were the men 27:03 who came to David at Ziklag while he was still a fugitive 27:06 from Saul the son of Kish. 27:09 And they were among the mighty men, 27:10 the helpers in the war, armed with bows, 27:13 using both the right hand 27:14 and the left hand in hurling stones." 27:16 That's good, man, I can't throw a rock 27:19 with my left hand. 27:21 "They were of Benjamin." 27:22 It says they could roll stones at a hair's breadth 27:25 and not miss. 27:27 And they could fire arrows with a bow. 27:29 They were talented, and they were of Benjamin, 27:32 Saul's brother. 27:33 And so now they're not just coming from Judah, 27:35 the people of Benjamin, 27:37 his own family are losing faith. 27:39 Reading 1 Chronicles same chapter go to verse 20. 27:42 1 Chronicles 12:20, "When he went to Ziklag, 27:45 those of Manasseh who defected to him 27:48 were Adnah, and Jozabad, and Jediael, and Michael, 27:51 and other Jozabad, and Elihu, and Zillethai, 27:54 captains of thousands who were from Manasseh. 27:57 And they helped David against the bands of raiders 28:00 for they were all mighty men of valor 28:02 and they were captains in the army. 28:03 For at that time they came to David day by day 28:07 to help him until his army 28:09 was a great army like the Army of God." 28:12 So before he finally goes to Ziklag 28:14 or from Ziklag to go to the battle in Jezreel, 28:17 it's not just 600 men, his army is swelling 28:20 because they're all coming to him 28:21 because he's got his own kingdom now, 28:23 his little fortress, his own city of Ziklag. 28:26 And so all of sudden the Philistines, 28:29 they see the parade, 28:32 all these soldiers are in review 28:34 before they go into battle 28:35 and all of a sudden there is a whole contingent 28:37 of hundreds maybe over a thousand 28:39 and now of soldiers come with David leading them, 28:43 and they look at Achish and they go, "What's with this? 28:47 What are all these Hebrews doing here?" 28:50 And now David of all things, David, talk about being low, 28:54 he even gets rejected by the Philistines. 28:58 "But the princes of the Philistines..." 29:00 I'm at 1 Samuel 29:4. 29:02 "The princes of the Philistines were angry with him. 29:05 So the princes of the Philistines said to him, 29:07 'Make this fellow return that he goes back to the place 29:10 where you have appointed for him.'" 29:12 They basically said to Achish, "Are you crazy? 29:14 We're going into battle, what better way for him 29:17 to make peace with Saul 29:18 then in the middle of battle to turn on us?'" 29:21 Because that had actually happened 29:22 if you read your Bible in the Battle of Michmash. 29:26 It tells us that the Hebrews 29:27 that were slaves to the Philistines 29:29 that went into battle against Israel, 29:30 they turned on the Philistines in that battle. 29:33 And they said, "This is gonna happen again, 29:35 they're gonna turn on us." 29:37 And so Achish goes, he says, 29:38 "Look, David, I'm sorry, I trust you." 29:41 Mater of fact, 1 Samuel 29:6, "Achish calls David and says, 29:46 'Surely, as the Lord lives, you've been upright 29:48 in you're going out and your coming in.'" 29:51 David must have hung his head down, "Oh, yeah." 29:53 He had been out, you know, lying every day. 29:57 "You've been upright in your going out 29:58 and your coming in, and everything you've done 30:00 has been good in my sight. 30:01 For this day, I have not found any evil in you 30:03 from the day you came to me. 30:05 Nevertheless the lords of the Philistines, 30:08 they don't favor you, so you better go back home." 30:13 It's really hard to fight the enemy 30:16 when you're with the enemy. 30:19 And some of us have wondered. 30:22 You know, I think you need to make your colors clear 30:25 if you're a Christian, saves you lots of trouble. 30:28 You noticed that when Jesus was being crucified, 30:31 but when He was being tried, 30:33 Peter followed Jesus from a distance. 30:36 John went into the judgment hall with Jesus. 30:39 Peter trying to look like he wasn't too closely 30:43 connected with Jesus, 30:44 he hung out with the enemies of Jesus, 30:46 Peter ends up denying Jesus. 30:48 John walked right on and stood by Jesus, 30:50 he did not deny Him. 30:52 If we follow Jesus from a distance like that 30:54 and we hang out in the land of the enemy, 30:56 we're gonna end up denying Christ. 30:58 I let people know right upfront, 30:59 "I'm a Christian." 31:01 I mean, it just makes all the boundaries 31:02 really clear, saves all kinds of problems. 31:07 So now David and his soldiers, they're rejected, 31:09 they're also really worried what's gonna happen to Israel, 31:11 but they're sent on their way. 31:13 And my guess is that the Philistines, 31:16 they send a little contingent of scouts, 31:18 they said, "Follow them, make sure they go back, 31:22 that they don't turn around." 31:24 And so they're sent on their way, 31:26 they've got to head back now 90 miles 31:28 they've marched from Ziklag up to Jezreel. 31:31 That's a long ride. 31:33 They've only been there a day or two 31:35 and now they've got to turn around, 31:36 they got to come all the way back again. 31:38 I want you to know that because they're really tired 31:40 and they have to go into another battle. 31:43 "When David and his men came back to Ziklag, 31:45 on the third day." 31:46 Took them three days to get back. 31:47 You know, many times things happen on the third day. 31:51 "That the Amalekites had invaded the South and Ziklag 31:55 and attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire." 31:59 They had attacked the southern extremities of Judah 32:01 and the border of Philistines. 32:03 Now why would they do such a terrible thing? 32:05 Well, David had been attacking them. 32:07 Did you just read that? 32:09 You know something about the history of the Amalekites 32:12 and the Israelites, it's important to understand 32:15 it is one of the longest standing feuds 32:18 and they had the most brutal command. 32:22 The Amalekites were an age old enemy of Israel. 32:29 Exodus 17:14, "The Lord said to Moses, 32:33 'Write this for a memorial in the book 32:36 and recount it in the hearing of Joshua 32:39 that I will utterly blot out 32:40 the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.'" 32:44 Why? 32:45 The first person who attacked Israel as a nation, 32:48 when they became a nation they came out of Egypt, 32:50 the Amalekites attacked them, 32:51 but they didn't just attack them. 32:53 It was totally unprovoked 32:54 they hadn't done anything to them 32:56 and they attacked the sick and the weak 32:58 that were straggling in the back. 33:00 Look in Deuteronomy 25:17, "Remember what Amalek 33:04 did to you on the way as you were coming out of Egypt, 33:07 how he met you on the way and attacked your rear ranks, 33:10 all the stragglers at your rear, 33:12 when you were tired and weary, 33:14 and they did not fear God." 33:16 It was a despicable thing. 33:18 You remember the story where Moses stands 33:20 on the mountain, he stretches out his arms, 33:22 and he intercedes? 33:23 This is that battle with Amalek. 33:24 Moses is told to declare that you will never forget 33:28 what the nation of Amalek did. 33:30 The battle between Israel and Amalek 33:33 goes all the way through until you get to Haman, 33:38 who is a descendant of Amalek 33:39 and Mordecai in the Book of Esther. 33:42 So it is a longstanding underline feud 33:46 between these two. 33:47 So now the Amalekites attacked David and Ziklag 33:50 while he's gone, and they carried them 33:52 all away captive. 33:54 And they took captive the women and those who were with them, 33:56 from small to great. 33:57 They did not kill anyone 33:59 but they carried them away undoubtedly, 34:02 to sell them to the Egyptians or something. 34:04 "So David and his men came to the city, 34:06 and it was burned with fire. 34:07 And their wives, and their sons, 34:08 and their daughters had been taken captive. 34:11 And David and the people who were with him 34:12 they lifted up their voices and they wept 34:15 until they had no more power to weep. 34:17 And David's two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, 34:20 and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite, 34:22 had been taken captive. 34:24 David was greatly distressed 34:26 for the people spoke of stoning him." 34:29 This one of the times, you know, 34:31 some of God's leaders that are types of Christ, 34:33 they talked about stoning Moses and talked about stoning Elijah 34:38 and they wanted to stone David. 34:41 They talk to stoning him. 34:42 And you can kind of understand. 34:44 "So David here's your bright idea, 34:45 we were much safer living in the caves of En Gedi, 34:48 and here you've got us now living with the Philistines 34:50 and look we marched off under this pretense 34:53 of fighting with the Philistines 34:54 and while we were gone, we've lost everything." 34:58 As you can see, you lose your family, 35:01 you start getting mad, 35:02 and they're ready to kill David who they had loved, 35:04 they were ready to die for him before. 35:06 And so suddenly it's almost like 35:11 a light clicks on in David's mind. 35:12 He had been trying to do things in his own strength. 35:15 I'm gonna have to go to the Philistines 35:18 because that's how I'll save myself, 35:19 Saul will stop, he never inquires of the Lord, 35:22 he's trying, and here I'll attack 35:25 these regions and I'll raid these countries 35:27 and I'll give a little bit to Gath, 35:28 and I'll lie to them, and I'll say..." 35:30 He's trying to save himself. 35:33 All of a sudden the light comes on. 35:35 At the end of verse 6, it says, 35:37 "David strengthened himself in the Lord his God." 35:42 You know, we all need friends that can strengthen us. 35:44 But sometimes when your friends are ready to stone you, 35:47 all you can do is strengthen yourself. 35:50 And David realized how did we get here 35:52 and he thought, you know, "God, you're the only one 35:54 I've got left to turn to. 35:55 Now even my soldiers are ready to kill me." 35:58 And suddenly David says, "That's right, 36:00 don't we have a priest here among us?" 36:02 And he calls for Abiathar. 36:05 "The priest, Ahimelech's son, he says, 36:08 "Please bring the ephod on to me." 36:10 And Abiathar brought the ephod. 36:12 And now David is inquiring of the Lord again." 36:15 Praise the Lord. 36:16 He's turning back to God. 36:18 He says, "Shall I pursue this troop, 36:19 this army of raiders," 36:21 it's bigger than just a group of raiders you'll see. 36:24 "That attacked Ziklag. Will I overtake them?" 36:28 And he says, "Pursue, 36:30 you will surely overtake them and without fail recover all." 36:35 That's quite a promise. 36:36 "So David, he goes and 600 men who were with him, 36:41 and he comes to the Brook Besor," 36:43 If you look at your map, you'll find that 36:44 he's gone way down south towards Egypt, 36:45 there's a creek that actually has water most of the year, 36:49 "Where they stayed, where some were left behind. 36:52 But David, he and 400 men pursued 36:55 and 200 stayed behind." 36:56 Now can you understand why they're tired? 36:58 They marched 90 miles north with the Philistines 37:02 ostensibly to fight against Israel with them, 37:05 then they're rejected, they marched 90 miles back. 37:10 And now they found out that their families 37:13 had been attacked, now they've got to go 37:14 march on another battle. 37:16 You ever did the math on that? 37:18 That's a lot of... 37:19 You know, they're marching, you know, like 200 miles 37:23 in just a few days, and they are... 37:25 I mean, even though they're trying 37:26 to save their families, they physically cannot go on. 37:29 Some of you remember the story 37:30 when Gideon and his 300 soldiers 37:31 were attacking this vast army of a million, 37:34 it says, they were pursuing exhausted. 37:38 They were exhausted but still pursuing. 37:42 And what gives you the strength to go on 37:45 when you're exhausted? 37:46 How could David... 37:47 Some of the men stay behind, but David and his men, 37:49 they want on. 37:50 How could you keep going on 37:51 when you're physically at the end like that? 37:53 And then once you get caught up with them, 37:55 what have you got to do? 37:56 You've got to fight. 37:59 I mean, he's just getting there, "I can rest." 38:01 No, now you've got to fight a war. 38:04 Their love for the lost family mobilizes them. 38:12 You know, when you love somebody 38:14 and you know you got to go the second mile to get them, 38:16 it's no problem. 38:18 And so David's thinking about his wives and his... 38:21 He has children actually at this point 38:23 though they were very young. 38:25 And all of his men, they've got wives and children, 38:28 and they're gonna go until they drop to try to save them. 38:32 But God gave him a promise, He said, "You'll recover all." 38:35 So while they're pursuing, they find out there 38:38 among all the footprints 38:39 from Amalekites camels in the dust, 38:41 there's a slave that is laying on the ground half dead. 38:45 "They found an Egyptian in the field, 38:48 and they brought him to David," they had to carry him to David, 38:51 "And they gave him bread and he ate, 38:53 and they gave him water." 38:54 I'd have the water first. 38:56 "And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs 38:58 and two clusters of raisins." 38:59 He was hungry. 39:01 "So when he had eaten, his strength came back to him 39:03 for he had not eaten bread or drunk water 39:05 for three days and three nights." 39:08 Now you've got it again, three days and three nights, 39:10 that sound familiar? 39:12 And he revived. 39:14 You have another story in the Bible 39:15 of someone reviving after three days and three nights? 39:19 "And David said to him, 'To whom do you belong? 39:22 And where you from?' 39:23 He said, 'I'm a young man from Egypt, 39:25 a servant of an Amalekite, my master let me go.'" 39:28 The Amalekites weren't very good to their slaves. 39:30 He just dumped him. 39:32 "He left me behind because I was sick. 39:35 We made an invasion in the southern area 39:37 of the Cherethites, in the territory 39:38 that belongs to Judah, the southern area of Caleb, 39:41 and we burned Ziklag with fire. 39:44 And David said, 'Can you take me down to this troop? 39:46 Do you know where they went?' 39:48 He said, 'Swear to me by God that you will neither kill me 39:51 nor deliver me back to the hands of my master, 39:53 and I will take you down to this troop, 39:54 after all they dumped me.'" 39:57 And he brought him down, there they were, 39:59 spread out over all the land, eating, and drinking, 40:03 and dancing because of the great spoil 40:05 that they had taken from the land 40:07 of the Philistines and from Judah. 40:10 And David sees them," they probably watched 40:12 on the Hill and rested little bit, 40:13 they let them get good and drunk, 40:16 and he knew his family was down there, 40:19 "But they stood up there," and it says, 40:21 "And David attacked them from twilight 40:24 until the evening of the next day." 40:26 For a whole day that must have been a big army 40:29 because it said, "Not a man of them escaped, 40:31 except 400." 40:32 When you say not a man only 400, 40:35 whatever you say only 400 escaped, 40:37 well, how many were there? 40:38 It must been thousands. 40:40 But David and his 400 exhausted men, 40:43 they came on them, they were all drunk 40:45 and hung over, and they had a food coma, 40:50 they had eaten so much, they had been feasting. 40:53 And, you know, when the judgment 40:54 came on the Amalekites was at the end of a party. 40:57 You know, that often happens in the Bible. 41:00 It's, you know, when the party is over, 41:04 then judgment comes. 41:07 And they attacked them, 41:08 400 young men escaped on camels. 41:11 And David just as the prophet had said, the priest said, 41:15 "He recovered all the Amalekites 41:17 had carried away, 41:18 and David rescued his two wives. 41:20 And nothing of theirs was lacking, 41:22 either small or great, sons or daughters, 41:24 spoil or anything which they had taken," 41:26 except now they've got even more 41:29 because they not only got what they took from Ziklag, 41:31 they got what they took from everywhere else 41:32 plus what they had. 41:34 And David just keeps growing and spurts, you notice? 41:39 He blessed him with Nabal stuff 41:44 and now he's been blessed again, 41:46 and you'll find that he ends up paying 41:47 a tithe of everything he gets here to the elders of Israel. 41:53 So he recovers everything. 41:55 Now who does David represent in our study we've been doing? 42:00 Jesus is called the Son of David. 42:03 Is Jesus gonna come, will there be a great judgment? 42:06 He will come at hour 42:08 when the world least expects it. 42:10 Is he gonna recover all that trust in him? 42:14 Even though we've been taken captive by the enemy, 42:19 if we're His children, He is coming to rescue us. 42:21 Jesus is pictured in Revelation coming on a horse with a sword, 42:25 isn't He? 42:26 David comes down when the enemy took his family, 42:28 he comes down with a sword on a horse. 42:30 You know, there's another story in the Bible, 42:32 how many of you remember when word comes to Abraham 42:35 that Sodom has been captured and Gomorrah 42:39 and the other cities, but that meant 42:42 a lot in his family were all captured? 42:45 Abraham and some friends armed themselves 42:47 and they go attack five kings up in the north, 42:51 his name was Chedorlaomer. 42:52 Took me years to learn how to say Chedorlaomer. 42:55 They went to attack them and Abraham recovers all, 42:59 doesn't he? 43:01 And when you're fighting for the Lord, 43:04 for the salvation of others, 43:05 and not only does Abraham recover all, 43:07 he ends up with a great bounty and he pays tithes on it. 43:11 This is exactly what David does. 43:12 He gets all of this title and he sends it on, 43:14 as you'll see in the next chapter, 43:16 to the elders of Israel. 43:19 Now David comes back and he meets up 43:21 with the other soldiers, 43:22 and they go through a little argument, 43:23 they decide to share all the spoil 43:25 because they've got even more now than they had before. 43:28 And you get to chapter 31, last chapter in 1 Samuel. 43:34 Now we're gonna flash forward to the battle in the north, 43:37 what's happening up north where David 43:38 and his men had been just rejected. 43:41 "Now the Philistines fought against Israel, 43:44 and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, 43:46 and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. 43:50 And the Philistines followed hard 43:51 after Saul and his sons. 43:54 And the Philistines killed..." 43:56 Always makes me sad to even read it. 43:58 "The Philistines killed Jonathan, Abinadab, 44:01 and Malchishua, Saul's sons." 44:04 And the boys were doing the best to save their father, 44:09 and so they were slain first. 44:12 "And the battle became fierce against Saul 44:14 and the archers hit him, and he was severely wounded 44:18 more than one arrow by the archers." 44:21 And he's surrounded by his crack troops 44:23 and they're trying to fight back the Philistines as well. 44:25 Saul knows he's mortally wounded, 44:27 he's bleeding profusely. 44:31 And what he's afraid of is that the Philistines 44:33 are gonna break through and they're gonna to get him, 44:35 and they're gonna just torture him and taunt him. 44:39 And he says to his armorbearer, "Draw your sword 44:41 and thrust me through with it, 44:43 lest these uncircumcised men come 44:45 and thrust me through and abuse me." 44:47 He said, "Don't let them have the credit. 44:49 I fought them all my life. I don't want them to kill me." 44:52 "But his armorbearer would not for he was greatly afraid." 44:55 You know, what the principal job of the armorbearer is, 44:57 at all costs save the life of the king not kill the king. 45:02 He said, "I can't do that." 45:05 And he would not. 45:06 "Therefore Saul took a sword, and it was sharp, 45:11 and he fell on it." 45:13 You've heard that expression probably used a hundred times. 45:15 Don't fall on your own sword. 45:17 It's all drawn from this story in the Bible. 45:19 Saul, he didn't have anyone else to do it, 45:22 so he put the sword on the ground 45:24 and he fell right into it and mortally wounded himself. 45:29 "And his armorbearer when he saw what happened, 45:31 and he saw that they were surrounded, 45:33 he fell on his sword, and he died with him. 45:36 So Saul and his three sons and his armorbearer..." 45:39 It's interesting, it mentions not just his sons, 45:42 but it mentions twice the armorbearer, 45:44 you know, I think it's interesting 45:45 because David was once his armorbearer. 45:51 And I have a feeling, if David was there, 45:52 that wouldn't happen. 45:55 "And all his men died together that same day." 45:57 That doesn't mean the whole army died 45:58 because Abner and others survived 46:00 but a lot of soldiers fell on the field. 46:03 "And when the men of Israel 46:04 who were on the other side of the valley 46:06 and those who were on the other side of the Jordan 46:07 saw that the men of Israel had fled 46:09 and that Saul and his sons were dead, 46:11 they forsook the cities and fled." 46:13 They had to flee, they lost a great territory 46:16 to the Philistines. 46:18 "And the Philistines came and dwelt in them." 46:20 It's interesting, David has now annexed 46:23 a city of the Philistines and the Philistines 46:25 are annexing the cities of Israel. 46:28 "So it happened the next day, when the Philistines 46:30 came to strip the slain, that they found Saul 46:33 and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 46:36 And they cut off his head," 46:37 what David had done to Goliath," 46:40 and stripped off his armor," 46:41 what David had done to Goliath," 46:43 and sent word throughout the land of the Philistines 46:45 to proclaim it in the temple of their idols." 46:48 They are rejoicing, they are glorifying 46:49 these pagan gods among the people. 46:53 "And they put his armor in the temple 46:54 of the Ashtoreth's and they fastened his body 46:58 to the walls of Beth Shan. 47:00 It's interesting that the Beth Shan means 47:04 a place of peace, a house of peace. 47:07 Now Beth Shan is in the territory of Israel. 47:10 They took this city right on the crossroads Beth Shan, 47:13 you can see a picture of it today, 47:15 I think I even have a picture of it, 47:16 you can put up on the screen. 47:18 Yeah, there it is. 47:19 Up on top of that hill was this city, 47:21 it's on the crossroads in the middle of Israel 47:23 not far from Jezreel, they have big wall there, 47:25 it was a great billboard to advertise. 47:28 And there they pinned the bodies, 47:29 the headless body of Saul 47:31 and the bodies of his three sons. 47:33 Now one of those sons, what was his name? 47:36 Jonathan. 47:37 You know, this is the Jonathan who was to be prince, 47:41 who told David, 47:42 "Here is my robe, here is my belt, 47:45 here's my sword, here is my bow," 47:48 and he made a covenant with David, 47:50 and he loved David, and he said, 47:52 "You will reign in my place." 47:55 And, you know, I can't help but miss the analogy here 47:59 that here you've got that son Jonathan means 48:02 "Yehonatan" gift of Jehovah. 48:06 God so loved the world He gave His Son as a gift 48:10 that he has pinned up the wall 48:11 suspended between heaven and earth. 48:14 And the men of Jabesh-Gilead when they saw that, 48:17 they were loyal, they came risking their lives, 48:20 they took the bodies of Saul and his sons down, 48:24 and they basically had a cremation 48:26 and a burial for them. 48:28 Jesus had friends that came and rescued His body. 48:32 And so just, we're at the very end, 48:34 you even see, at the end of this book, 48:36 you can see another picture of the cross Jonathan 48:38 who I think is a type of Christ who loved David, 48:42 who traded places with David, 48:44 who gave him a sword, a belt, a shield. 48:46 Makes us think of Jesus, who said, 48:48 "Look, I will die suspended between 48:49 heaven and earth for you. 48:51 I am the Son of the King, 48:52 but I will let you have My throne, 48:55 and I'll give you My sword, His word, 48:57 and I'll give you My bow, 48:58 His strength, I'll give you My robe, His righteousness." 49:01 This is what Jesus did for us. 49:04 And this is how 1 Samuel ends. 49:06 And an interesting transition happens now 49:11 when we get into the second book of Samuel 49:14 and the story of David, 49:15 but I thought it was a good place for us 49:16 to think about the life of Jesus 49:19 and all of these stories are here 49:21 to talk to us about Christ. 49:23 Amen. 49:25 Let's face it. 49:26 It's not always easy to understand 49:27 everything you read in the Bible. 49:29 With over 700,000 words contained in 66 books, 49:33 the Bible can generate a lot of questions. 49:36 To get Biblical straightforward answers, 49:38 call in to Bible Answers Live, 49:40 a live nationwide calling radio program 49:43 where you can talk to Pastor Doug Batchelor 49:45 and ask him your most difficult Bible questions. 49:47 For times and stations in your area 49:50 or to listen to answers online, visit BAL.AmazingFacts.org. 50:10 Friends, have you ever heard of the bowhead whale? 50:13 This enormous leviathan 50:14 is the second largest creature in the world. 50:17 Dark and stocky, 50:18 it roams the fertile Arctic Northern Waters. 50:22 These massive creatures can be more than 65 feet long 50:26 and weigh more than 75 tons, 50:28 that's heavier than the space shuttle. 50:31 Yet in spite of their titanic size, 50:33 they're able to leap entirely out of the water. 50:36 Can you say belly-flop? 50:39 The bowhead whale gets its name from its bow shaped skull, 50:43 and they've got one ginormous noggin. 50:45 Matter of fact, their heads are about 50:46 40% of their body size, which comes in handy 50:50 when you find out how they use their heads. 50:52 They've got very thick skulls, sometimes they get trapped 50:55 under the surface, and they use their heads 50:57 to ram the ice 50:59 they can break a breathing hole in the ice 51:01 that is a foot and a half thick. 51:04 Friends, you have to just imagine 51:05 what it would be like to be 51:07 walking around on the Arctic ice 51:08 and all of a sudden have the ground beneath you 51:11 cracked and split and rise 51:13 as one of the sea monsters pushes its head up 51:16 to breathe for the first time in 90 minutes. 51:20 Because bowheads make their home 51:21 in the coldest part of our world, 51:23 they have the thickest blubber of any whale, 51:25 but this plus their friendly 51:27 and curious nature made them prime targets 51:30 when the European whalers discovered the bowheads, 51:33 they hunted them nearly to extinction. 51:37 Fortunately, because of conservation efforts, 51:39 we've slowly seen their numbers begin to increase 51:41 since the '60s. 51:43 One of the most amazing facts about the bowhead 51:46 whale is its longevity. 51:48 Scientists have discovered by evaluating harpoon tips 51:51 found in their skull, and examining their eye tissue, 51:54 there are bowhead whales out there 51:56 that are probably over 200 years old. 51:59 You realize that means there are bowhead whale 52:02 swimming the oceans right now that were alive 52:05 before Abraham Lincoln was elected president. 52:08 Can you imagine that? 52:10 Among the other amazing mega facts 52:12 about the bowhead whale is its mega mouth. 52:16 They have the largest mouth of any in the animal kingdom. 52:19 And when they open their pile full extended, 52:22 it's large enough to park a medium-size SUV inside. 52:26 Yet in spite of the fact they've got such big mouths, 52:28 they survive by eating the very smallest creatures 52:31 in the ocean, plankton, krill, and other microscopic animals. 52:37 Friends, I'm always amazed by the creatures God has made. 52:39 This bowhead whale is able to dive to the deepest oceans, 52:43 they can break through the ice and move mountains 52:45 with their head and completely leave the water 52:47 and fly through the air, and yet they do all that 52:50 by gaining strength from almost microscopic organisms. 52:54 Helps us remember that we survive 52:56 through the little promises in God's Word. 52:59 Jesus, when tempted by the devil, 53:01 He quoted just a few little verses 53:03 and He sent the enemy running. 53:05 You can also have that same durability 53:07 and long life as the bowhead whale 53:09 by trusting in God's Word and His promises. 53:31 You can do nothing without God. 53:34 And sometimes, He lets you get to that place 53:36 where you realize, there's nothing left, 53:38 and you're just wondering if you even want to live 53:41 because it hurts and life is dark. 53:44 When He lets you get to that place, 53:45 then that's when He can break through to you 53:47 and lets you know He's there. 53:49 And then He can work with you 53:51 to bring beauty out of the ashes 53:53 and hope out of darkness. 53:55 My mom when she was pregnant with me 53:58 was diagnosed with bipolar, and there were times 54:02 when my mom would be struggling, 54:04 they might be trying her on different medications 54:07 to help her with the mood swings. 54:10 I have kind of had a Savior complex 54:11 and had like a guilt complex that somehow 54:14 that my family's problems were my own fault 54:17 or I'm one that was supposed to try to help or fix it 54:20 which is impossible for any human to do, 54:22 only Jesus can do that. 54:23 But I believe stuffing all of those emotions 54:26 in for so long, 54:27 my world just started to crumble around me. 54:29 I started to have nervous breakdown. 54:30 I could not stuff any longer 54:31 everything that I had grown up with. 54:33 I just slowly but surely 54:34 just started to withdraw completely, 54:37 and it got to the extent where I was like a prisoner 54:40 of my own house of my own fears, 54:42 and it wasn't for my mom making me 54:43 come out of the basement, and sometimes, 54:45 you know, making me eat, 54:47 I would just stay down in my room in the basement, 54:49 and I remember how awful the darkness was 54:53 and how terrible it is to live without hope. 54:57 I can still feel that in my throat, 55:00 in my heart, I remember what that feels like. 55:05 I had been still contemplating suicide on and off 55:08 for several months, 55:09 and I knew that it was getting worse 55:11 and that I was going to be successful 55:13 unless something happened, 55:15 and, you know, 55:16 just trying to talk yourself out of it every day, 55:18 but still it just always being there, haunting me. 55:21 And I just went to bed feeling really, really sick 55:25 and just told myself, in counseling they'll tell you, 55:28 you know, don't do it, make any impulsive decisions, 55:31 it will always be brighter in the morning. 55:33 You know, just see it through the night, 55:35 sometimes the night are the longest darkest hours, 55:38 and I just went to sleep telling myself that." 55:41 And when I woke up in the morning, 55:42 there was no relief, it was worse than it was... 55:45 It was just like I knew it was waiting for me 55:47 when I woke up in the morning. 55:48 And so then I went to class, 55:50 and as soon as the classes going on, 55:54 I asked the teacher if I could go get 55:55 a drink of water, and I went into the kitchen. 55:57 And I started drinking some of the different cleaners. 56:01 And as I was there drinking the cleaners, 56:03 choking on the cleaners, 56:05 just such an awful place to be in, 56:11 the chaplain, a very kind chaplain, 56:13 he flipped on the kitchen lights 56:14 and he comes in with his bright smile, 56:16 and he's like, "Heather?" 56:17 He is like, "How are you doing today?" 56:19 And I'm like, you know, "I'm killing myself." 56:24 And I look at his face and I could not lie to him. 56:27 He's such a kind man, 56:28 I just had to get it out of my head, 56:29 I just started sobbing, 56:30 and he just doesn't make a big deal, 56:34 he just kindly and sweetly helps pick me up off the floor, 56:37 then walks me to his office, and so he just talked to me. 56:41 I told him what I drank, and he called the ambulance. 56:44 After that hospital staying, everybody was so scared for me 56:46 because that was not expected at all. 56:48 But after that somehow I knew that 56:51 suicide was not an option, I closed that door 56:54 even though I still had that same pain and fear 56:56 and I had no idea how God was gonna pick up the pieces, 56:59 and I still had to be honest with God. 57:00 I was like, "Okay, God, obviously you care, 57:02 obviously I know that you spared my life, 57:05 and I don't have any idea 57:06 how you're gonna help me fix this mess of my life." 57:09 But it was the beginning of me trusting Him again 57:12 and just shutting that door to suicide 57:15 as not ever being an option again. 57:17 God used Amazing Facts and Pastor Doug 57:21 in a powerful way to make His love for me, 57:25 He's soon coming for me, and that He was calling me 57:28 to share that with others, real, 57:30 and it was making it personal, God's love for me, 57:34 and that was really, 57:35 that's a seed that I will never forget. 57:37 And I'm so grateful that my family didn't have 57:40 to go through the pain and the tragedy 57:42 of me taking my life 57:44 and that I have the joy of being able to encourage 57:46 other people that there's always hope. 57:49 Amazing Facts just changed my life. 57:52 I'm so grateful for their ministry. 57:55 It's a precious blessing. 58:11 For life-changing Christian resources, 58:13 visit AFBOOKSTORE.com. |
Revised 2019-04-03