Talk

The King and the Cave

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Ben Stuart
Oct 17

In this message, we see David go from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. Ben Stuart leads us through how King David handled the crisis. Through three practical points, we discover how we can follow David’s example in handling hardship.

Key Takeaway

When you are walking through your lowest low with the entire world coming against you, you can still trust God who is walking through that with you. Sometimes the wilderness is God's way to redirect, sometimes the cave is where He forges kings. You don't have to love the darkness, but you can love the King who leads you through it. You don't have to love the beating, but you can kiss the rod of the One who carries it because you can trust His heart.

In 1 Samuel 18:1-4 David gains a friend in Saul's son, Jonathan. He gives particular articles of his clothing to David that symbolizes the power of royalty. David goes on to receive a military promotion and fame, and marries into King Saul's family. Saul becomes very jealous of David and tries to kill him twice. In chapter 19, Saul attempts to kill David again and David is forced to flee. In one day he loses his career, his home, and his wife. He would later go on to lose his mentor, his best friend, and had to seek refuge in the land of the Philistines, his enemy. He loses his safety and his self-respect. In chapter 22, we find David holed up in a cave. He would go on to spent 10 years in the wilderness. That time would define him more than anything he had previously experienced; it would forge a king.

What do we do when we go from castle to cave? When following God isn't fun anymore? When we have gone from anointed to attacked?

1) Get Honest. Look at the verbs used in Psalm 142: cry, plead, complain, tell my trouble. Are we allowed to complain to God? Yes! It's called lament! David complains to God that he has no where to go, no one even cares about him.

We can't have intimacy without honesty. We have to let sadness in if we have any hope for joy. If we don't allow ourselves to be completely honest with God, we deny the emotions that drive our actions and we are sacrificing intimacy with God, ourself, and others. Honesty and authenticity are the starting place, but we are not meant to stay there forever. Our honestly allows us to move forward.

2) Get Perspective. External circumstances cause us to reflect on what is going on internally inside of us. Through his honesty, David was able to gain perspective on where he was and start reminding himself of who God is. The cave wasn't his refuge, God was. Saul wasn't in charge, God was. David addresses God as "God Most High" which harkened back to Abraham, the father of his faith, who called God by this name when he was in the wilderness and battling earthly kings. And just like Abraham had to leave his idols, David's idols were revealed to him while he was in isolation. David had accomplished nothing on his own. The clarity of the cave applies to us as well.

God Most High rules over us.

God will fulfill his promises to us.

God will send out His covenantal, steadfast love for us. He will never let go.

3) Get Moving. David does not wait for deliverance before he starts praising God. While David is in the cave, God brings him men that will eventually become his cabinet, men willing to fight with him. When David starts to move where the Lord leads, they go with him. David lands in the forest of Hereth, which means "to cut". God was doing that exact thing to David. He was carving character into him and shaping a king. David learned to excel at the revealed things and trust that God has purposes beyond what can be seen.

Jesus took the same route. When the time had come for him to fulfill His purpose on earth, he...

Got Honest- He asked His Father is there was any other way to accomplish His purpose.

Got Perspective- Submitted to the will of His Father, which He knew was sovereign.

Got Moving- He laid down His life for us and walked toward the cross.

"Most of your unhappiness in life is due to listening to yourself rather than talking to yourself...Defy yourself, defy other people, defy the devil, defy the world, and say with this man, 'I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance'."
Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Discussion Questions

    1. Ben shared how his dream of being a star football player was shattered when his femur was broken at the height of his playing. Have you experienced something similar?

    2. Read Psalm 142. As David is forced into hiding, he becomes extremely honest with God. What are some of the forms he took to express himself to God?

    3. Are you comfortable being this honest with God? Is there a part of you that feels like you aren't supposed to speak to Him that way?

    4. David talks to himself to lead his soul into gaining perspective. Sometimes he is asking himself, "Soul, why are you so sad?" and other times, he has a different view. Read Psalm 57, including the instructions to the director, what is David's position after he fled? Do you think the tune would have been upbeat or in a minor key?

    5. Ben made is a point to mention David addressing God as "God Most High". Because this is also tied to Abraham, whom David would have been well acquainted with, it is tied to having hope in the midst of hardship. When have you needed to call God by the name "God Most High"?

    6. Isolation reveals idols. What idols have been revealed to you? Do you need to take time away to see what you have been clinging to outside of God?

    7. Ben mentioned that society today applauds complete authenticity, but that it was never meant to be a place where we set up camp. It is to give us clarity and be a stepping stone to moving forward. Have you been lingering too long or are you too quick to jump to the next thing?

    8. David stayed in a forest named, Hereth, which means "to cut" and that is where he was shaped and molded in the character of a king. How has God been carving you? What are character qualities he is chiseling at in your life?

    9. As Jesus was heading toward the cross, He also got honest, got perspective, and got moving. How do you need to do the same in your time with Him?

    10. Do you trust that God is always working and that even though it is hard, He has purposed beyond what you can see?

Scripture References

Psalm 142142 In Hebrew texts 142:1-7 is numbered 142:2-8. A maskil142:0 Probably a literary or musical term of David. When he was in the cave. A prayer. 1.I cry aloud to the Lord; I lift up my voice to the Lord for mercy. 2.I pour out before him my complaint; before him I tell my trouble. 3.When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who watch over my way. In the path where I walk people have hidden a snare for me. 4.Look and see, there is no one at my right hand; no one is concerned for me. I have no refuge; no one cares for my life. 5.I cry to you, Lord; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.” 6.Listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need; rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me. 7.Set me free from my prison, that I may praise your name. Then the righteous will gather about me because of your goodness to me.
Psalm 5757 In Hebrew texts 57:1-11 is numbered 57:2-12. For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” Of David. A miktam.57:0 Probably a literary or musical term When he had fled from Saul into the cave. 1.Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me, for in you I take refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed. 2.I cry out to God Most High, to God, who vindicates me. 3.He sends from heaven and saves me, rebuking those who hotly pursue me—57:3 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 6. God sends forth his love and his faithfulness. 4.I am in the midst of lions; I am forced to dwell among ravenous beasts— men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords. 5.Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth. 6.They spread a net for my feet— I was bowed down in distress. They dug a pit in my path— but they have fallen into it themselves. 7.My heart, O God, is steadfast, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music. 8.Awake, my soul! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn. 9.I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. 10.For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. 11.Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.
1.David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him there.
Psalm 2222 In Hebrew texts 22:1-31 is numbered 22:2-32. For the director of music. To the tune of “The Doe of the Morning.” A psalm of David. 1.My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? 2.My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest.22:2 Or night, and am not silent 3.Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the one Israel praises.22:3 Or Yet you are holy, / enthroned on the praises of Israel 4.In you our ancestors put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. 5.To you they cried out and were saved; in you they trusted and were not put to shame. 6.But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by the people. 7.All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads. 8.“He trusts in the Lord,” they say, “let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.” 9.Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast. 10.From birth I was cast on you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God. 11.Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help. 12.Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me. 13.Roaring lions that tear their prey open their mouths wide against me. 14.I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted within me. 15.My mouth22:15 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death. 16.Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce22:16 Dead Sea Scrolls and some manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, Septuagint and Syriac; most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text me, / like a lion my hands and my feet. 17.All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me. 18.They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment. 19.But you, Lord, do not be far from me. You are my strength; come quickly to help me. 20.Deliver me from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dogs. 21.Rescue me from the mouth of the lions; save me from the horns of the wild oxen. 22.I will declare your name to my people; in the assembly I will praise you. 23.You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel! 24.For he has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help. 25.From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly; before those who fear you22:25 Hebrew him I will fulfill my vows. 26.The poor will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the Lord will praise him— may your hearts live forever! 27.All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, 28.for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations. 29.All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before him— those who cannot keep themselves alive. 30.Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord. 31.They will proclaim his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn: He has done it!
35.Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36.As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”8:36 Psalm 44:2237.No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38.For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,8:38 Or nor heavenly rulers neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39.neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
1.As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2.His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”3. “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4.As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5.While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”6.After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7.“Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.8.His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” 9.Some claimed that he was. Others said, “No, he only looks like him.” But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”10.“How then were your eyes opened?” they asked.11.He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”12.“Where is this man?” they asked him. “I don’t know,” he said.
2.Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,1:2 The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God’s family; also in verses 16 and 19; and in 2:1, 5, 14; 3:10, 12; 4:11; 5:7, 9, 10, 12, 19. whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3.because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4.Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5.If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
7.Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?
1.We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. 2.Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up. 3.For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.”15:3 Psalm 69:9 4.For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope. 5.May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, 6.so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7.Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. 8.For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews15:8 Greek circumcision on behalf of God’s truth, so that the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed 9.and, moreover, that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written: “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing the praises of your name.”15:9 2 Samuel 22:50; Psalm 18:49 10.Again, it says, “Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people.”15:10 Deut. 32:43 11.And again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles; let all the peoples extol him.”15:11 Psalm 117:1 12.And again, Isaiah says, “The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; in him the Gentiles will hope.”15:12 Isaiah 11:10 (see Septuagint) 13.May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul the Minister to the Gentiles 14.I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with knowledge and competent to instruct one another. 15.Yet I have written you quite boldly on some points to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me 16.to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. He gave me the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. 17.Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. 18.I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done— 19.by the power of signs and wonders, through the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ. 20.It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation. 21.Rather, as it is written: “Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.”15:21 Isaiah 52:15 (see Septuagint) 22.This is why I have often been hindered from coming to you. Paul’s Plan to Visit Rome 23.But now that there is no more place for me to work in these regions, and since I have been longing for many years to visit you, 24.I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope to see you while passing through and to have you assist me on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while. 25.Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem in the service of the Lord’s people there. 26.For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the Lord’s people in Jerusalem. 27.They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings. 28.So after I have completed this task and have made sure that they have received this contribution, I will go to Spain and visit you on the way. 29.I know that when I come to you, I will come in the full measure of the blessing of Christ. 30.I urge you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. 31.Pray that I may be kept safe from the unbelievers in Judea and that the contribution I take to Jerusalem may be favorably received by the Lord’s people there, 32.so that I may come to you with joy, by God’s will, and in your company be refreshed. 33.The God of peace be with you all. Amen.
18.Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, 19.and he blessed Abram, saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth.20.And praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
42.“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”
8.And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!

 


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Ben Stuart
Ben Stuart is the pastor of Passion City Church D.C. Prior to joining Passion City Church, Ben served as the executive director of Breakaway Ministries on the campus of Texas A&M. He also earned a master’s degree in historical theology from Dallas Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Donna, live to inspire and equip people to walk with God for a lifetime.