Mercy

Here's the challenge with protecting yourself, building yourself up through deception or manipulation or any type of sinful behavior is that eventually you hit a wall that you can't lie your way through. And the opening verses of this chapter are that wall for David. David's actually in a really tough position here. The Philistines and Israel have been battling back and forth. There's been raids. There's been skirmishes. But now the Philistines are amassing the full scope of their army for a wholesale assault on Israel.

So of course, Gath, as one of the five primary cities of the Philistines, Achish is called to bring his army. So he calls up all of his vassals, David and his 600 fighting men. You're going to come with us, and you're now going to fight against Israel with the Philistines. And you're like, David, what are you going to do? You can't lie your way out of this one.

But David's reputation as being empowered by the Lord in such a profound and powerful way actually serves to help him. As Achish brings David and his men in, the other leaders, the lords, the rulers of the Philistines are like, what is he doing here? We're supposed to be fighting them. And he's like, well, no, he's been serving me great. And they're mad at Achish. They're like, how dare you bring this guy? And you got to give props to the Philistines. Like, if David wanted to earn favor to go back to Israel, this would be the perfect opportunity to do it.

6 Then Achish called David and said to him, “As the Lord lives, you have been honest, and to me it seems right that you should march out and in with me in the campaign. For I have found nothing wrong in you from the day of your coming to me to this day. Nevertheless, the lords do not approve of you.

Oh, what a verse. Achish, the Philistine pagan king, says to David, “As the LORD lives...”

He uses the covenant name of God, the covenant name that was given to Moses and to Israel as they entered into covenant with God to become his people, for him to be their God. There's a few times in scripture where we have people outside of Israel, people who worship foreign gods with the name of Yahweh on their lips. And this is one of them.

He says to him, “As the LORD lives, you have been honest with me.” And you're like, nope. Nope, that's not how that works.

David has so skillfully deceived and lied to Achish that he completely trusts him; in fact, in a moment, he's going to take it up to another level.

7 So go back now; and go peaceably, that you may not displease the lords of the Philistines.”

So David has backed himself into a corner, put himself in a position where he may have to fight against Israel. But now, he didn't do anything here. He just showed up, and now he's being given this out. Go peacefully.

8 And David said to Achish, “But what have I done? What have you found in your servant from the day I entered your service until now, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?” 9 And Achish answered David and said, “I know that you are as blameless in my sight as an angel of God. Nevertheless, the commanders of the Philistines have said, ‘He shall not go up with us to the battle.’ 10 Now then rise early in the morning with the servants of your lord who came with you, and start early in the morning, and depart as soon as you have light.”

As I meditated and thought through this whole moment in David's reality, it just strikes me how he put himself in this terrible position and God beautifully and mercifully and sovereignly gets him out.

11 So David set out with his men early in the morning to return to the land of the Philistines. But the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

So he returns home. He goes back to where he and their families are, and he's not going to have to fight against Israel. He's delivered out of the tragic position that he put himself in. But wait, there's more.

1 Now when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had made a raid against the Negeb and against Ziklag. They had overcome Ziklag and burned it with fire

I don't know if you're picking up as we've walked through these texts together. This was a difficult time to be alive. It was dangerous all the time. There were enemies all around. In a pretty small geographical area, you've got multiple cultures and religions and kings, and they're battling back and forth all the time.

So the Philistines amass to go for war against Israel. Everybody around knows that this is happening. And so the Amalekites are like, this would be a good time to go and make a raid. Right? So it's smart. So they go and they attack areas of the Philistines, areas of Judah that are going to be unprotected because all of their warriors are gathered together to go fight against each other.

We've got to remind ourselves who the Amalekites are. This is the catch-all term for the evil peoples in the land that are directly biblically connected to Genesis 6 and the Nephilim and the fall. This is the ancient foe. So David's been attacking them. They now strike back.

So can you imagine David and his men, one minute they're in this terrible position where they might have to fight against Israel. They're mercifully let out of that situation. They make the journey back home, and as they start getting closer, they see smoke on the horizon. They arrive to their home, and they find it leveled by flames.

2 and taken captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great. They killed no one, but carried them off and went their way.

Which, this is, I think, an important, ironic detail in the text. If you remember, David's deception led him to not show any mercy at all to any of the Amalekites that he killed and raided. Because he was afraid one of them would come back and tell Achish what he was doing.

So when David was going out, he killed everybody. So now we have the Amalekites, the ancient enemy of God's people, being more merciful than God's chosen king. It's a little bit messy. So they killed no one, but carried them off and went their way.

3 And when David and his men came to the city, they found it burned with fire, and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive.

I just don't know that you and I that live here can even mentally begin to comprehend what this was like for David and his men. Just the absolute devastation. The fear, the grief, the bitterness, the regret, the insane desire for revenge, just all of the plethora of emotions that must have been waging war against their hearts and minds as they come and find their homes devastated and their families taken.

4 Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept until they had no more strength to weep.

Now that I do think many of us understand what that's like. We've wept until there were no more tears to come out. That's where they're at. I mean, they're absolutely broken. David thought he could lie himself into safety and security. He thought he could do a better job of protecting himself and his family and his men and their families than God could. Only to now find out that he can't do that. So they weep until they can't weep anymore.

5 David’s two wives also had been taken captive, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 6a And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him,

So David is not only grieving the loss of his wife and his family, now the men that he's been leading, and you totally understand the men doing this, they're like, this is David's fault. We followed you. You said you'd protect us. You said you'd guide us. You said God was with you. You said, now look where we are. Our houses are burned. Our families are gone.I totally understand the reaction of the men. David, you're going to pay for this. It's because: all the people were bitter in soul.

6b because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters.

I understand that too. There's a lot of things in life that have the potential to make us bitter of soul. So David's men, they're broken, and they allow that bitterness to come in. And they're contemplating killing David.

6c But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.

And here's what makes David - David. This is what sets David apart from Saul. David is not sinless. David is sinful. But David knows how to repent. David knows how to turn back to God with honesty and integrity and entrust himself to God. Something Saul would never do.

In his brokenness, David, in his brokenness - instead of allowing himself to become bitter - instead of saying “Well, that's it! It's all done! I've gone too far and there's no coming back!” No. David strengthens himself in the lord. He doesn't strengthen himself in his wisdom or in his power or any of that, because he doesn't have any of that left. His wisdom has brought them to this. His army is getting ready to kill him. He's at the point, the only thing he's got left is God. Now the good news for him is that God is plenty.

So this is what makes David - David. He strengthens himself in God. When he is at his lowest, he doesn't run away from God, he runs to him. He doesn't blame God. He owns what he's brought to the picture and recognizes, Lord, you're the only help I've got. David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.

7 And David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. 8 And David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I pursue after this band? Shall I overtake them?” He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake and shall surely rescue.”

So he turns to the priest that he's got with him, who's got the religious priestly ephod, the garment of his office. He's going to inquire of the Lord on behalf of David and this is a clear contrast to the last chapter when Saul was in trouble. He cried out to God. He had the priest do it and he asked all the prophets, and he heard; crickets, nothing, silence. Now David is going to ask of the Lord and it says “so Abiathar brought the ephod to David and David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I pursue after this band? Shall I overtake them?”

David is at the point saying, “My decisions have not gotten us to a good place. It seems to me like I should chase after them and rescue my family but I’m not even willing to make that decision on his own at this point. God, I need your direction. I need your leading. So should I go?” And God answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake and you shall surely rescue.” Oh, I love that. I love that.

David cries out to God, not because he's perfect, not because he's super righteous and got it all together. David is a broken, sinful man, but he knows how to repent. And when it really matters... He turns back to the Lord. When he cries out, God answers him, “Pursue, you shall overtake and you shall rescue.”

9 So David set out, and the six hundred men who were with him, and they came to the brook Besor, where those who were left behind stayed. 10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men. Two hundred stayed behind, who were too exhausted to cross the brook Besor.

So David gathers his 600 men and they set off after the Amalekites. And they come to the brook Besor. Now, names matter in the Old Testament. Last week we saw that Saul went to Endor, which means “springs of generation”, the springs of life. And he goes to Endor, the springs of life, to talk to the dead. This beautiful irony, right?

Now David and his men come to the brook Besor. Now, Besor is a wadi, so it's not a river or a brook that runs constantly in the wilderness. When the rains come, up in the mountains, much like we experience here, this dry gulch will suddenly fill with water. And so this is about 15 to 20 miles away from Ziklag, where they were. They've already come from this march back from the Philistine army. They've gotten there. They've found their homes and their families gone. They've cried till they couldn't cry anymore. Now they've set off in pursuit. They've gone 15 to 20 miles. They're desperate. They're tired. They're afraid. And they come up to a body of water that's blocking their way. Does that sound like anything to you? Maybe….

Here's where it gets so cool. The name, Besor. Besor means “good news announcement.” It's the Hebrew equivalent of the Greek euangelion. Good news announcement. Besor is a joyous declaration of victory. Think about that. It's so amazing. They're devastated, but David has finally turned back to God. And God has promised him success now. And now they come up to another obstacle in their way but that obstacle is named “good news”. The good news of God's victory coming tangibly into their reality.

11 They found an Egyptian in the open country and brought him to David. And they gave him bread and he ate. They gave him water to drink, 12 and they gave him a piece of a cake of figs and two clusters of raisins. And when he had eaten, his spirit revived, for he had not eaten bread or drunk water for three days and three nights. 13 And David said to him, “To whom do you belong? And where are you from?” He said, “I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite, and my master left me behind because I fell sick three days ago.

Okay, so the band of Israelites are exhausted and tired and in danger. They come up to a body of water, and they find an Egyptian. Interesting. Interesting.

14 We had made a raid against the Negeb of the Cherethites and against that which belongs to Judah and against the Negeb of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire.”

So they find this guy dying. He hasn't eaten, hasn't drunk. They give him food, they give him water, they bring him back from the dead. And they say, well, who are you? Well, I'm an Egyptian. I was a slave. I was a servant to the Amalekites that destroyed your city and your family and all these other places around you. But I got sick, right? And my master left me behind.

15 And David said to him, “Will you take me down to this band?” And he said, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will take you down to this band.”

So now David's got some insider information, and he's going to go after them.

16 And when he had taken him down, behold, they were spread abroad over all the land, eating and drinking and dancing, because of all the great spoil they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah.

So the Amalekites have had this tremendous victory. Got to give them their due when they're due, right? They saw an opportunity. Judah and Israel, Philistia, the lands around are open game because all of their armies are amassed far away against each other. So they come in and they have just this tremendous bountiful raid. They take women and children and cattle and gold and silver and everything. They're loaded up. And so now they're back to their land. They feel safe. They do what armies everywhere do. They party. Right? They get out the food, they get out the drink, they get out their instruments, they're eating, they're drinking, they're dancing, because of all the great spoil they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. Like, we did it! Look how much we got! We're loaded!

17 And David struck them down from twilight until the evening of the next day, and not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men, who mounted camels and fled.

I don't like to exercise for more than an hour. This is intense, right? It's like a day-long battle. They are drunk so that's helpful. And it says, not a man of them escaped, except 400 young men who mounted camels and fled. I love it when the Bible does that. This is so funny to me. He got all of them, except the 400 that jumped on camels and took off. You can't run down a camel.

18 David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken, and David rescued his two wives. 19 Nothing was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything that had been taken. David brought back all.

And that's true, but don't you kind of wish it said God brought back all through David? Because that's really what's going on here.

20 David also captured all the flocks and herds, and the people drove the livestock before him, and said, “This is David’s spoil.”

Think about that. Less than 48 hours ago, they had been picking up stones to figure out which one was going to be the best to hit David with. Now, because God has given them this victory... They're like, “You the man, David. We love you!” They're going to parade with livestock and they're shouting out, “this is David's spoil.”

21 Then David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow David, and who had been left at the brook Besor. And they went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him. And when David came near to the people he greeted them. 22 Then all the wicked and worthless fellows among the men who had gone with David said,

I love alliteration. Wicked and worthless.

The wicked and worthless fellows that were among David's men. It's a pretty comprehensive phrase in the Hebrew. Wicked is רָ֣ע (ra), and worthless is this crazy word, בְלִיַּ֗עַל (Bliyya’al). This word gets shortened by the time we get to the New Testament to Belial, which becomes a name that's often attributed to Satan or the enemy, the accuser. So it's a word that has really significant negative connotations. It literally means not profitable. We might today say, that guy's a waste of space, right?

So they're evil and they're morally bankrupt. They're not profitable. They don't do what they're supposed to do.

22 Then all the wicked and worthless fellows among the men who had gone with David said, “Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered, except that each man may lead away his wife and children, and depart.”

So the 400 that went look at the 200 - that didn't go because they were exhausted - and say; “Well, you don't get any of this. You stayed here. Oh, you can have your wife and your kids, but you've got to go. You don't get any of the riches. It's all ours now.” These men are so clueless. And I hate to admit how much I resonate with them.

They've just been granted mercy by God. Mercy by God. God didn't owe them that rescue. They've just received unbelievable mercy from God, and their first impulse is to be greedy and keep it to themselves and not extend mercy to another. I wish I could stand before you and say, I don't know what that's about, but I know what that's about. You know what that's about. We have this incredible propensity as humans to want mercy for ourselves and justice for everybody else. It's just so innate. It's so deep.

Here they are. They're like, “You didn't fight and you stayed here, so you shouldn't get anything.” David, again, this is David being David, David said,

23 But David said, “You shall not do so, my brothers, with what the Lord has given us. He has preserved us and given into our hand the band that came against us.

See, I love this. They're all saying, “David, you did this. These are David's spoils.” And David looks at them and says, “You guys are crazy. This is what God has given us. He has preserved us and given into our hand the band that came against us.”

24 Who would listen to you in this matter? For as his share is who goes down into the battle, so shall his share be who stays by the baggage. They shall share alike.” 25 And he made it a statute and a rule for Israel from that day forward to this day.

David says we're not doing that. We're not going to receive mercy from God and then hoard it to ourselves. He made it a statute and a rule for Israel from that day forward “until this day”, which is one of those indications the author is writing at a later period. This rule that David institutes here is something that has lasted now for generations.

When David came to Ziklag, he goes even farther. Hot only shares with the 200 that waited behind at the brook of good news. But when they get back home - and they're going to have to rebuild as it's been ravaged by fire - they're going to have to redo everything.

26 When David came to Ziklag, he sent part of the spoil to his friends, the elders of Judah, saying, “Here is a present for you from the spoil of the enemies of the Lord.” 27 It was for those in Bethel, in Ramoth of the Negeb, in Jattir, 28 in Aroer, in Siphmoth, in Eshtemoa, 29 in Racal, in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, in the cities of the Kenites, 30 in Hormah, in Bor-ashan, in Athach, 31 in Hebron, for all the places where David and his men had roamed.

Remember, before David left Israel to go and put himself in vassalage to the Philistines, he had been hiding in the wilderness. And he'd been going from place to place to place to place. And all of these places that are listed are places where David and his men had hidden and were protected by these people there. So they had shown David mercy when he was weak and empty. Now when he is once again with the Lord and strong and has something to share, David now shows mercy back to them. It's a beautiful picture of what mercy is like.

Mercy is so dynamic. It's so dynamic. It moves. And when we truly receive mercy, it's supposed to change us. So when we receive mercy, when God is kind to us when we don't deserve it, it changes us. It's not just God getting us out of a jam. It's God... Changing us. Mercy received should make us merciful. It's a mercy cycle. Mercy begets mercy. Mercy begets mercy.

David is known as a man after God's own heart. But what is the heart of God? Church, the heart of God is a heart of mercy. I need you to really hear this this morning. That God in His nature, God in His essence, God at His... Who is God? What is God like? God is merciful. You don't have to take my word for it. You get to take God's word for it. This is how God reveals Himself over and over and over again in the Scripture. He names Himself this.

So in Exodus 34, God brings the people out of Egypt. He delivers them miraculously, supernaturally, brings them into the wilderness, takes them to Sinai, meets with Moses on the top of the mountain, gives Moses the Ten Commandments on tablets of stone. Moses comes down from the mountain to find the Israelites, like the Amalekites, throwing a party, but they've made it worse. They're worshiping a false idol, the golden calf. Do you remember what Moses did? He throws the tablets that God had made and breaks them.

So when the dust has settled after that event, God once again comes to Moses mercifully, and he's going to give them the opportunity to move forward.

6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty…

What is God like? That's what God says he's like.

This is God's revelation of himself to Moses and to the Israelites as he's entering into covenant with them. You want to know what I'm like? I am the Lord. I am the one. And I am merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. That's who God is. Wouldn't that be a nice way to talk about yourself? I am merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. I get my moments. But far too often I'm harsh and judgmental, short-tempered, quick to faithlessness.

So much of the problem with religious thought is that we take who we are and put it on God. We reverse what the Bible says. The Bible says we're made in God's image. We try to remake him in ours. This is who God is. He is merciful and gracious. He is slow to anger. He is abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

Man, this is so profound and important. God, he wants to forgive. He is merciful and gracious and he's slow to anger. He's abounding in love. And if you will be like David and own your stuff, there is forgiveness and there's freedom and there's second chances, and second hundred chances and second thousand chances. It's who He is. But if you're like Saul and you won't repent, don't think that you're going to get away with your stuff. Don't confuse God's mercy and kindness with weakness. Because He's not weak. And He won't be played. Saul tried to play him. Next week we're going to see how that goes for Saul. David... David runs to God when the wheels fall off to find that mercy and grace.

One of my favorite parables of Jesus is found in Luke 18. It perfectly illustrates this reality.

9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt:

You've never thought you were better than somebody, right? Like you've never looked at the other political party and said, oh, what a bunch of... I know you wouldn't do that, but you've maybe read about or been next to somebody. You never look down on somebody with a different opinion or a different lifestyle or a different status or a different whatever.

But if you have, then you might want to listen to what Jesus is saying here.

10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

So Jesus is creating a contrast, much like Samuel creates a contrast between Saul and David. So here's the Pharisee, the religious leader, the elite, the prestigious, the revered, the scholar, the one that everybody looks up to. He's at the top, and then here's the tax collector. Well, that means he's a collaborator with Rome. He's selling out his own people to the Romans. And so you can't, there's not much of a bigger contrast in Jesus' day than the contrast between a Pharisee and a tax collector.

One's at the heart of the culture and the people, the other's completely on the margins. One's loved and revered, one's hated and despised. So Jesus has both of these men going into the temple to pray.

11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.

What a prayer. It's funny until we start to see how we actually begin to think and pray like this. We love to compare our strengths to others' weaknesses. I thank you that I don't struggle with the sins that other people struggle with. He doesn't mention any of the sins that he actually struggles with. I'm not an extortioner. Wink, wink. Because tax collectors never take more than they're supposed to take. I'm not an extortioner. I'm not unjust. I'm not an adulterer. I'm not even like this tax collector. Can you imagine the audacity?

I almost admire the honesty. He's looking around the room. He's looking at people and praying, God, I am so much better than that guy.

Not thank you, God, for your goodness. Not thank you, God, for your blessings. Not thank you, God, for your mercy. Not thank you, God, for being who you are. Thank you that I am so awesome. And my awesomeness is defined by being better than others. And if you want to define yourself by being better than others, you can do that. You can always find somebody that's worse than you at something. Then Jesus continues the story:

12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’

One is Saul and one is David. I think you can figure out which is which. “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” And then Jesus says this.

14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

It's a pretty accurate description of the differences between Saul and David. David wasn't perfect. But when he blew it, he acknowledged his need for mercy. And he went to the God who is a fount of mercy. So if you're in need of mercy, and that's not an if, but if you're in need of mercy, when? You're in need of mercy. You're in the right place. And you've come to the right God.

I want you to just listen. I'm going to read several passages to you now about mercy. Just listen to the word of God and let it wash over you.

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—

Anybody here want to boast in their salvation? Other than in Jesus the King, who gave us our salvation by grace through faith as an act of mercy. No one stands before God outside of mercy. God is not stingy in mercy. He's rich in it.

22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

God was merciful to me in the past, but maybe I've used it all up. Maybe I've gone too far. Maybe I've tapped it dry. No, no. His mercies are new every morning. His faithfulness is greater than our faithlessness.

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

It's mercy. It's mercy that has been proven. Mercy that has been demonstrated. And mercy that has changed everything. It's mercy that sent Jesus. It's mercy that raised Jesus. It's mercy that puts us in Jesus. And it's mercy that gives us hope.

Because of that, the writer of Hebrews 4:16 says:

16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

I don't know what you're going through right now and what it is that you may or may not need, but I'm pretty sure we're all in need of the mercy of God. Not just a little bit, but as much as He chooses to give us. Not just once, but all the time. We are needers of mercy. And that's really, really Besor. That's really, really good news for us.

Because God is a God of mercy. And he loves to be merciful and gracious. And you may not be sitting here this morning thinking, “I really need that mercy.” Because you're consumed with thinking about that person that's the thorn in your flesh right now. And maybe you've been praying for justice, and maybe you've been praying for judgment, and maybe you've been praying like the disciples, call down flames of fire and burn them down.

Mercy begets mercy. Freely you have been given, freely give. We're called to be like Christ, the merciful high priest. May we not be like those wicked and worthless men who receive the mercy of God and then refuse to extend it to others. But let mercy beget mercy in a never-ending cycle of God's grace and God's love. God's mercy is for everyone who will receive it.

Amen.