The Original Robin Hood

World news symbol describes the verse to those who were doomed to stress the word means. Those who were under pressure. Everyone who is in debt. Everyone who was bitter and Saul gathered to him and he became a captain over the other with them about $400 so that caves crowded David in many ways is the original Robin Hood. One author suggested the same. He wrote that the Judean wilderness of the mountains and caves and riverbeds would be, is Sherwood Forest. In fact, the opposite is true.

The more you grow in the closer you become to God, the more you realize that you need to live by faith, and when we live by faith.

God always responds by extending his grace.

King David is an example of this, and we continue looking at his life today. This is wisdom for the heart.

Let's join Stephen baby right now with this message called the original Robin Hood. As I read and reread chapter 21, as well as chapter 22. It struck me that these scenes are really horrific nightmare to David.

I've heard many sermons from these two chapters. If we wrote what takes place here into a play.

Chapter 21 in chapter 22 is dramatic. We we would be able to divide what were going to read and look at today in three scenes. Let me title for you.

The first 1C number one would be called telling lies on knobs Hill see David is about to deceive the high priest is tough for quick Alliance one after another in his desperation to survive verse one chapter 21 and David came to knob to Ahimelech the priest and hello I came to meet David trembling and said to him, why are you alone and no one with you. He spells trouble. David said to a little like the priest.

The king is charged me with the matter said to me let no one know anything the matter about which I send you and with which I charged you, I've made an appointment with the young man that is those with them for such and such a place. In other words, dear priest, the king sent me on a secret mission.

I can't tell you anything. All my papers are classified by the way out hungry, give food around here the priest informs David in verse six they just replaced the bread presented before the Lord with fresh bread, so the priest gives David the old low. By the way, the priest didn't act out of order.

Jesus will eventually use this scene as an illustration of how human need can take priority over the ceremonies of the Sabbath, however, is no doubt suspicious. How is it that David is on a secret mission of the king, and he didn't pack a lunch box. How do you do that and then add to that suspicion. He asked a really strange question. The priest verse eight have you not hear a spirit or a sword in hand.

I brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me well because the king's business required haste more lies to notice the irony of ironies verse nine sword of Goliath is the answer the Philistine, whom you struck down in the valley of you will hold its here wrapped in a cloth behind Ethan, if you will take it and take it for there is none, but that he stuff so far. David is falling was a day a few years ago when Goliath sword meant nothing to him. Fact he charged it with a slingshot faith before he swung his sling. He shouted to Goliath you against me with a sword and a spear and a shield. I come to you in the name of the Lord. But now David is between a rock and a hard place is on the run. That doesn't seem to be around maybe sword is such a bad idea. Notice the blunt demand of David. At the end. Verse nine, there is none like that sword give it past victories by faith. Do not automatically guarantee future victories by faith. Faith in the past doesn't mean you'll operate by faith in the future I were not talking about saving faith were talking about demonstrating faith in our Savior. Live long enough to see the Lord do marvelous things in and through this church and this ministry, but I have to tell you what keeps me up at night is that our victories of faith will be all wrapped up in the past tense. It would just sit around and talk about those good old days. Whomever those those days I long for these days to be good old days, right these days everyone are we attempting for God today. What are we expecting from God today. Put Hudson Taylor to his staff of the China inland Mission.

On one occasion the problem on and he wrote and I quote, if our mission is to be fruitful and continue amid the perils that must be faced. It can only be as each one of us contributes his daily quota of faith in the living God grant a great thought daily quota of faith. The God is alive and we are his servant's true not only for an organism like a living church, but it's true for every one of us was in your greatest step of faith is always the next one while I have faith in God that you know is protection.

This provision his providence five years ago to print of that real quiet today. No, God wants us praying for daily what bread to trust him daily.

I was thinking about that as a metaphor and I was thinking you know, probably one of the greatest returns to daily faith in our lives is the invention of the refrigerator were stocked up for a week or more stuff in the freezer unlike so many believers I have traveled to see in Third World countries where they get water for that day and the next day they walk 2 miles to get water from that. I've stood in line with the missionary that stretched down a couple of blocks as they waited. We waited to get to the window of the bakery to get one loaf of bread that day. She we depend on the Lord monthly, not daily, but God isn't satisfied because he wants to conform us into the image of his son and demonstrate faith and so he has ways of developing faith in us.

In this culture so that we demonstrate fresh trust in him, so that we do not lean on our own understanding but we acknowledge him in all our ways. Every day we give him the priority and trust of the director path.

Listen what in the world is David doing with Goliath. So are the dried blood on that sword was Goliath's is no better to him than a wet noodle. Now he's gonna take them believe that somehow trusting that matters is that's the problem. David's faith is slipping into yesterday. He's sliding into fear today and it only gets worse.

Scene one could be called telling lies on knobs Hill. He runs from there seem to could be called acting in saying gaffes gate see what I mean in verse 10 David Rose and for air as he grabbed the sword was loves of bread and ran. He's running any flight that day from Saul and went to a cash. The king of Gath in the service of vacation so that he is not this David, the king of the land did they not seeing one another of him and dances. Saul is struck down as thousands, and David is 10,000s and by the way, that's 10,000 listings and David took these words to heart, and was much afraid of Lachish, the king of Gath, verse 13, three changed his behavior before them and pretended to be insane in their hands and made marks on the doors of the gate and let his spittle run down his beard. This is absolutely bizarre. First of all, David is going to Gath.

What author said Gath was the Washington DC of the felicity. This is the headquarters. David is killed thousands of them in battle, not to mention their hometown champion Gath was the hometown of Goliath. Frankly, commentators are all confused and frankly there's reason for that. We can figure out what David's thinking processes. Why in the world would David go to the hometown of Goliath. Why would he go to Gath. Some authors suggested it well. Saul would never look for David in Gath. I that's the Hebrew word by the way, means you're right, he would no doubt Saul would never think that David would do something that string. Some suggested. David thought Akers would love having Saul surprise Lieut. join him. Maybe others suggest that since David had grown and matured. Now older by few years made rugged by his military expeditions that they wouldn't recognize him well if if that's the case why would you come into town wearing Goliath's supersized sword if you didn't want to be recognized.

You want to ask, is anybody home. We really still don't know why nobody can quite figure out the utter stupidity of the reckless night nobody swirling around David's mind and we tell you whatever it was that seem to make sense as he ran from knobs. There were those loaves of bread and that sort disappeared and he was recognized in fact they remembered that to verse 13 says he wouldn't just recognize it says he was in their hand capture he didn't get past the gate, so is creative instincts kick in the Providence of God and he begins to act like he doesn't have a brain out of his mind.

Scratching his clawing at the city gates he's drooling on his beard stop for a minute. This is the king. This is how far you go is evidently a good actor is Akers says in verse 15. Do I lack mad men incited his world.

In other words, I've already got enough people like this around me. I don't want one more go. But when I kill him killed is responsible for thousands of his own people. Soldiers one ancient Jewish tradition alleges that both the wife and daughter of King Akers were mentally insane. He had seen them suffer.

He that enough to deal with already and perhaps enough PD in this one area to actually let David live ultimately was the Providence of God, third scene, hiding away in a deliverance cave verse one of chapter 23 David departed from there and escaped the cave of the dual stop here for a moment, let's climb into that dark cave for just a few minutes with the David's alone. He has just narrowly escaped with his life is now run about 2 miles in sheer panic terror to a Canaanite village of Abdullah for the hills are honeycombed with cave, he finds a large one. A deep one is what is looking for where he can go into the recesses and hide himself deep inside the cave and and there he begins to cry. He's got a lot to cry about. Don't begrudge them that he's guilty of lying to the high priest. He's humiliated Gath. He's embarrassed. He's faithless. He's defeated he is alone the early biography of David's life. Mark this this is where David reaches the bottom of the pit. The bottom there is a Saul the David begins to write as he huddles there in the cave. I want to determine their it.

Psalm 142 hold your finger for Samuel McGovern 142 that Saul David just kind of falls apart.

He says in verse one with my voice. I cry out to the Lord with my voice. I plead for mercy sees confessing his sin at the great place to begin peace confessing his faithlessness. I cry with my voice.

Notice not with my heart or with my mind but my voice that's to be taken literally. He is sobbing in his crying in his whale languages that going around the walls of that deep dark cave, he says, verse two.

I pour out my complaint before him a love that I confess my sins and now I've got a list of complaints and troubles. 200 years ago, I stumbled across this one church later studies, he lay on his deathbed is great statement he said and I quote isn't it a great blessing to know that there is someone in heaven, to whom we can complain, that's good. Finally, this song was a song that John Bunyan would quote Pilgrim's progress while he's languishing in prison. David goes on in verse four to say look to the right and see there is none who takes notice of we would miss this but the right side in a today signifies the place where one's witness or legal counsel would stand. David is effectively saying I have no legal representative. I have no recourse and anybody defending I I've been declared guilty, and then most of it is true verse three Saddam to tell all my trouble to him work for trouble refers to a cramped narrow restricted place. We would say at between a rock and a hard place and squeezed in, I'm in trouble. I got nowhere left to run. I have stuck verse five I cry to you, there's the solution the Lord I see you are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living and economics right of the margin on you attended my cry for I am brought very low got them sure you've noticed I could get any lower. I'm at the bottom of the pits you imagine David's despair in this cave. There's no escape. There is nothing left and there's no one else. All he hears in their or his sobs is crying echoing back to him. His despair Lord. Verse six. Deliver me from my persecutors because they are too strong for me.

Bring me out of prison that I may give thanks to your name. In other words, rescue me and I promise I'll never stop telling people how wonderful you are. Give me something good to hold onto never prayed that way. Sure you have give me a reason to keep living. I read recently of a man in England who had an interesting windfall financially. When was 90 years old, he made the US equivalent of $100 bets that he would live to be 100. A betting company placed his exit 250 to 1 of the recommending this for your retirement fund. Okay, but on his 100th birthday.

He collected $25,000. How long you live discredit, but the recommending betting that he was asked by one reporter how he was. He felt while he was waiting for this day to arrive. He said hello. This quote well. I was very careful.

I Do a steady diet of porridge and I frequently reminded myself to keep breathing place. You know you challenged press just keep breathing. Just keep breathing. I love the way David says the righteous will surround me, for you will deal bountifully with me. This is David grasping Mrs. David stretching Mrs. David reaching once again in faith and trust in the grace of God, not sure how long you been a couple of days.

It could have been about the time he knew he was in a star. No way to hunt nothing to eat, he hears muffled footsteps and invoices. David for Samuel 22. David would never have imagined this would happen. Verse one. And when his brothers and all his father's house heard.

They went down there to well up until this point there uninvolved whenever reasonably there uninterested. We know that Elias is jealous that Sean little concern. David hasn't seen his father's mother's brothers for some time and now there they are.

They'd heard about it. Maybe some shepherd boy was nearby and he heard wailing in this cave. Maybe somebody seen them slip inside and have the word spread and and here they are.

All of a sudden his family since his family.

What an unbelievable incredible encouraging reunion and in the text implies sympathy and unity infected implies that his brothers join these men. Hugs his mother's father evidently no doubt his brothers mean even alive… Hard said.

His little brother.

Finally. So here in this cave, God brings about nothing short of a reconciliation with his family. Then more footsteps verse two and everyone was in distress.

Everyone who is in debt.

Everyone who was bitter and so gathered to him and he became a captain over them in there with him about $400 so that caves crowded with people imagine that this is beginning to look like a Robin Hood movie is under the dense unspiritual but I think it is David in many ways is the original Robin Hood.

One author suggested the same. He wrote that the Judean wilderness. The forest of the mountains and caves and riverbeds would become his Sherwood Forest look at this band of brothers sample describes them for us verse to those who were in distress. That word means those who were under pressure, stress, everyone who was in debt more than likely this is a reference. Old Testament scholars believed to unfair taxation under King Saul everyone third notice who was bitter in soul that is every body who had given up Samuel and warned the people right Gary K tax you take your children, us as servants of the palace to demand your produce your best cattle. You need to understand that these men are running from some bad credit rating.

These men are running from some credit card bill they can pay off not bitter about bad neighbors still are apples and of these, these men are more than likely among those who have been singled out by King Saul with demands for money or land or loyalty, and they have reached their own point of desperation finished with the King who was truly a Batman by the way these 400 men soon to be 600 become David's mighty men Chronicle later is David's heroic warriors become members of his cabinet is soon coming King David's been alone in this cave.

Don't miss it here God's solution part of it to bring him out of despair was to show him the desperate lives of other people to take his eyes off himself and the focus on someone else that he could embrace and encourage and eventually lead the walk with God and then if there's one phrase to underscore, maybe even underline in your Bibles summarizes David's rediscover trusted to verse three David by the way, takes his parents to King the king of Moab for protection. Remember, David has Moabite blood running in his veins's great-grandmother was home. Ruth converted Moabite when David gets there by the weight of the king.

He was lying and manipulating. He simply says this let my father and my mother stay with you to underscore this until I know what God will do for me while until I know what God will do for me. She David's back on his feet. His life's path is once again entrusted in the hand of God. Not much change will be surrounded by other men who are as desperate as him he he was reunited with his brothers and his mother and father, but his parents were gone he and he still is the security he he is a long-range plan. He doesn't know what God has in mind for tomorrow. He still hunted and he will be for years he he still haunted by this king, but is willing the way for whatever God chooses that something my life is in the hands. David was experiencing a time of great difficulty, but he tried to walk faithfully and obediently, and God sustained him. Thanks for tuning in today to wisdom for the hearts with Stephen Davey wisdom for the heart is produced by wisdom international. Stephen is in a series called the singer as he makes his way through King David's life is calling this lesson. The original Robin Hood.

If you have a comment question or would like more information you can send us an email if you address it to info@wisdomonline.org. I hope the rest of your day is filled with God's blessing and that you will join us again tomorrow for more wisdom for the heart