Under The Oakes

When studying the Old Testament you read all about this tension & animosity between King Saul, the 1st King of Israel, and David, eventually King David, the 2nd King of Israel. Saul was the King God chose, even though through His prophet Samuel, God warned the people they didn’t want a King. Eventually Saul did exactly what God knew he would do, & God was forced to pick their next king. So He chose David, however David spent a long time under Saul’s leadership before he took the throne. In that time we read that Saul tried to kill David many times, & atleast twice, David spared Saul’s life when he had the opportunity to take it.

Everytime Saul’s life was spared, David reminded himself, & those with him, that Saul was the Lord’s anointed, & that God could remove Saul if He wanted to. Because God hadn’t done that, David wasn’t going to be the one to kill Saul. He waited to do things in God’s time, not in his own. What a lesson for us there. We often need to wait on God’s timing. We sometimes get so frustrated when God works on His timetable, simply because it is not our timetable & we are then no longer in control of the situation. However, that is not the focus of this writing today. 

In 1 Samuel 24, we read that David & a dedicted group of his soldiers are on the run from King Saul. Saul is hunting David down with 3,000 soldiers, which seems a little overkill to me. However, we read that David & his men are hiding in the depths of a cave, & it is in that cave that they have no clue that King Saul comes to the mouth of the cave & goes in there to relieve himself….. Now, the middle schooler in me wants to tell you all that he went into that cave to go to the bathroom… The ESV says he went to relive himself, so he must have gone in to go to the bathroom, right? Well maybe, maybe not, however the original word use in that writing is that he went in to cover his feet. So while “to relieve himself” to us may mean going to the bathroom, it most likely meant a nap for King Saul in that time. 

David’s men are estatic that Saul is vulnerable in that cave. In their mind, this is God’s doing! They tell David how God has clearly delivered Saul into their hands (1 Samuel 24:4). So the men convince David to go & kill King Saul, or so they thought. These men have been loyal to David & have been on the run from King Saul, not only putting their lives, but I’m sure their families lives in danger too… They are ready to be done running, so they twist the situation to convince David to go & kill Saul. Imagine their surprise, when David returns to them, having not killed King Saul, freeing these men from running for their lives, but instead, he brings back a corner of Saul’s robe! So what happened in that time?

We don’t know how many steps it was from where David & his men hid from King Saul, but I think we can safely hypothesize that it was a good ways into the cave, otherwise Saul would have heard/seen them, right? So most likely, David snaked his way through the cave & it was then he had a change of heart. For whatever reason, he decided not to kill Saul, but rather cut off a corner of his robe. Even after that, David felt so convicted, feeling he had gone against the Lord’s anointed (1 Samuel 24:5-7). So what happened between verses 4 & 5? Scripture doesn’t say, but I belive that David had a few quiet moments alone to be with the Lord, or if nothing else, to block out the noise & distractions that was his men. His men thought they were doing David right, but they took something that was not God’s will, & tried to make it His will, for their selfish sake…..

We don’t do that, right? I must be honest, some of the most concerning words in the chruch today are, “The Lord told me ________”. Why are these words so concerning? Not because God doesn’t speak to His people, He surely does, but because I have seen time & time again people do things in God’s name, that sure doesn’t appear to be His Will for our lives. False propehts don’t always look like we perceive them to be. We think a false prophet will be so obvious to everyone around them, that we’ll easily know, I’m not so sure that’s the case….. 

To bring this to a close, let me challenge us with a few things.

1) In that walk, & in that alone time, David was able to discern some of God’s will, which was not to kill Saul. Had David never had that alone time, he wouldn’t have made that choice most likely. He would have killed Saul in that cave, which while Saul does eventually die, David would have killed the Lord’s anointed.

2) We need to wait on God. Many times we think God goes too slow…. The reality is, God is a God of the process, we learn so much in that process. So while He may be going “slow” in things, it isn’t because He is incapable of doing them quicker, it is because we are incapapble of keeping up with Him! He often can go slow, waiting for us… That’s super humbling, but super rewarding. Not only is He a patient God, but He waits for His people who need to practice patience as they grow.

3) We need to be wary of false prophets. Sadly, the Bible is full of people who trusted their loved ones & were led astray. Don’t mishear me, I listen to my wife all the time, she is a wonderful sounding board & help in many things. However, I need to listen to God, His will & His Word. In ALL things! Just as my wife needs to seek Him out directly in her life as well. It’s perfectly fine to ask for advice/counsel. Ask a fellow believer, ask a pastor or counselor, that’s all well & good, but we need to be mindful that God doesn’t need any of those people to communicate to us. One of the great things about Christianity is that we only need to go directly to Him, through Christ. We don’t need to go through a saint or a mediator, we can go straight to Him! 

So it’s ok to seek advice & even affirmation, but often we listen to people who think they’re helping point people in the right direction, doing so in God’s name, when it may not be of the Lord. As a Pastor & Teacher, this is one of my greatest concerns with myself. I can either point people to Christ, or pull them away from Him. I would hope by now you know my heart, it is only to draw people closer to Him…. I would hate to become a stumbling block for those around me. So often I need to check my ego at the door & ask the Lord what His plan, Will, & intention is, not only for my life, but for my families & for those who seek His face when coming to me for advice & counsel. 

How do we do this? We start the day in His Word, we carry Him with us through the day, we stay in constant connection & relationship with Him & we take everything to the Lord in prayer! This past week I was in Mexico on a short term missions trip with my wife & 11 other believers. It was a wonderful trip, but one of the biggest blessings is being in constant contact with God. Being in a foreign country where I barely speak their language & am way out of my comfort zone will do this to a person, & I found all week I was constantly walking with Him. My prayer for myself & my teammates has been not to leave God in Mexico, & not to only check in with Him on Sundays either. That is my same challenge to us all today! As always, pursue Him, honor Him, glorify Him, in ALL you do! Be blessed!