Microsoft Word - Week 07 FINAL for Feb27_2019__The King of the Caves.docxSENATORS’ BIBLE STUDY • NEBRASKA STATE CAPITOL
The 2019 Nebraska Senate Series: “Rulers After God’s Own Heart—The Life of David”
The King of the Caves
aves—I’m not a big fan and a bit claustrophobic.
I got stuck in a cave while spelunking in Missouri decades ago. Have you ever been stuck in a cave? Caves are cold, dank, dark— not my favorite things.
Life has caves too. We find ourselves stuck in places we didn’t want to visit, let alone live. This week, we squint to peer into two fusty, shadowy Judean caves to study a fugitive—the “king” David. King? King of Israel, but not really. He is not ready. For now, he’s “king of the caves” in a cold, cramped, uncomfortable phase of life— his outlaw phase. The shepherd, giant-killer, courtier is now a criminal cave man.
Why? We last saw David dodging the sharp tips of kingly spears. Since then, King Krazy has tried to murder David several times. Saul used a marital setup to his first daughter, Merab, to try to get him killed. That marriage fell through, so Saul tried to kill David “on his bed” which was David’s marital bed, shared with Saul’s second daughter—Michal. She put marriage before murder and chose her dear David over Daddy. She helped him out of their bedroom window to escape death.
Saul then ordered his oldest son, Jonathan, to kill his own bosom buddy and best friend—David. You can guess how that worked out. The straw that broke the regal camel’s back was another unannounced, royal javelin fest where David realized it was time to leave his life in the palace. He then became a man on the run—for over a decade. Running from all the king’s forces and all the king’s men, will we see hero David happy again? How can you be happy in a cave? Let us listen to lessons echoing now for centuries out of “king” David’s deep, dank, dark caves.
Rev. Perry M. Gauthier, V.D.M.
C
Weekly Bible Study During the 106th Legislature’s First Session SENATORS: 6:45-8:00 a.m., Wednesdays, 13th Floor Sen. McDonnell Hot Breakfast Served
STAFF: Noon, Wednesdays, Room 1022 Sen. Halloran Catered Lunch & B.Y.O.BrownBag
FEBRUARY 27, 2019
WEEK 7
INSIDE CAVE NUMBER ONE Adullam ............................. 2 CAVE NUMBER TWO Engedi’s Spring .............. 3 ON THE EDGE Royal Garments ............ 4 I SAID I WAS SORRY True Repentance ............ 5 VERSE OF THE WEEK Romans 12:19 ............... 6 ABOUT Capitol Ministries® .......... 6
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The King of the Caves
I. CAVE LIFE 101: ADULLAM The first of two caves we will study is midway between Bethlehem and Gath. Here we learn principles of contentment, teamwork, prayer, and praise to help us “rule like a king” when we get stuck in a cave.
1 Samuel 22:1a David departed from [Gath] and escaped to the cave of Adullam;
While running for his life from an insane Saul, David ran for refuge in Gath (of all places). He then fled to Adullam (meaning refuge) in a territory he had known from years of shepherding with Jesse and Sons. This high mountainside rock cave became an asylum for the newly homeless David. There were many caves in the low hills of western Judah, and a small cave would have sufficed, since David was initially alone and lonely. Did his heavy breathing and cold cries to God echo-echo-echo in that dark grotto?
Dear God-God-God: I thought I was to be king. Now I’m just king of the caves. Some kingship. I’ve lost my wife, my best friend, my job, my rank in the army. So now I’m stuck underground, running from a mortal enemy. Lord: why-why-why?
A. CAVE MAN PRAYERS: HARNESS THE STEAM In 1 Samuel we see David’s words and actions during these events. In the Psalms, we discover more—we see how David felt and thought in those times. Their superscripted titles tell us that two such “cave Psalms” are 57 and 142. Psalm 57:1, 4, and 5 Prayer for Rescue from Persecutors. A Mikhtam of David when he fled from Saul in the cave.
1Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me, for my soul takes refuge in You; and in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge until destruction passes by. 4My soul is among lions; I must lie among those who breathe forth fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows and their tongue a sharp sword.
5Be exalted above the heavens, O God; let Your glory be above all the earth.
Remember our first study? David was found by God to be a man after His own heart. A warm heart of loving obedience was still beating in David’s chest—even in a cold cave. When God sends you into the cave of trials, harness the steam of pain and injustice and pray, pray, pray!
B. CAVE MATES: BUILD UP THE TEAM 1 Samuel 22:1b-2 When [David’s] brothers and all his father’s household heard of it, they went down there to him. 2All who were in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented [Hebrew: embittered] gathered to him; and he became captain over them. Now there were about four hundred men with him.
David would not be alone for long. His family and seven older brothers fled to him, traveling downhill 13 miles S-SW from the little town of Bethlehem to Adullam’s cave. They felt threatened by their killer king who had chased David for years.
David also drew 400 “3D” men to himself—Distressed, Discontented Debtors. In the contextual flow and story line of 1 Samuel, not unlike David’s family, this motley crew’s 3D demise was due to Saul’s rule.
[An] administration of taxation, confiscation, arbitrary law, and conscription. Saul turned it into a pure dictatorship...consumed with wickedness of various types and degrees. It [had] become a machine fueled by sin, lubricated with corruption, and capable of producing all manner of tyranny and cruelty.
a
Thus, David becomes the leader of everyone who had suffered some kind of loss or deprivation and was discontented, disenchanted, and mistreated in the society. Therefore, they were passionate for change and were willing to share David’s fate.
b
Adullam was a town in the low hills (the Shephelah)
of west Judah about twelve miles east of Goliath’s home in Gath. A rag-tag body of men who had “had
enough” of decades of King Saul’s rogue leadership
began filtering in to join David there.
We should not picture a cave as a cramped hole in the
side of a hill. There are caves in the area today that
easily rival or exceed the largest of hotel lobbies for space. A game of full-court basketball would be no
problem in some of them.
The cave of Adullam has even been honored in the name
of a number of Christian congregations. In so doing, they
honor this memory of David—the LORD’s king with the
LORD’s remnant—a picture of the church in the
wilderness.
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C. EVEN IN THE DARK: WORK FOR THE DREAM
Our Cave Life 101 story ends noting that this sore, ragtag group of 400 damaged men was the raw material God would use to help David create a fiercely loyal personal army. From Adullam’s musty mountain haunt, this band of brothers was groomed into a 600-man army out of which rose King David’s world-famous warriors—The Thirty Mighty Men.
CAVE LIFE 101: HARNESS THE STEAM, BUILD A TEAM, WORK FOR THE DREAM.
II. CAVE LIFE 201: ENGEDI 1 Samuel 24:1-2 Saul was told, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.” 2Then Saul took 3,000 chosen men from all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the Rocks of the Wild Goats.
Months had passed since Adullam. Saul’s ever-present spies informed him “king” David was “reigning” in a limestone wilderness near the western shores of the Dead Sea.
Engedi was mostly limestone amidst bare mountains and ridges 200-400 feet in height, full of caverns and lurking-places for David’s men (as well as present-day outlaws). It is very desolate and inaccessible with rocky, steep walls rising for hundreds of feet. It shows no signs of being habitable or being a halting-place to anything but wild goats. It has a large chamber in which the deepest darkness reigns, at least to anyone who has just entered the limestone vaults from the dazzling light of day…this cave is on the road from Bethlehem to Ain-jidy perhaps the largest cave in the district. Arabs call it Elmaama, (hiding-place) and relate how at one time 30,000 people hid in it to escape an evil simoom dust storm.c
A1. DO THE “CAVE WAVE”: & SAY GOODBYE TO PERSONAL VENGEANCE & UNBIBLICAL ADVISORS
1 Samuel 24:3-4a [Saul] came to...a cave and...
went in to [Hebrew: cover his feet] relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the inner recesses of the cave. 4The men of David said to him, “Behold, this is the day of which the LORD said to you, ‘Behold; I am about to give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it seems good to you.’”
Nature called so Saul sought a cave privy—a private place for his private business, meeting his bodily needs without bodyguards. David’s army, by God’s providence, was in that cave. Was this a golden opportunity for taking personal vengeance, or a time for the Golden Rule?
1 Samuel 24:4b Then David arose and cut off the edge of Saul’s robe secretly.
Fresh from his army’s advice, David crept unnoticed to secretly slice a special segment of Saul’s set-aside royal robe (meil: ). Ü David did not take Saul’s life. Killing an unarmed man would have been murder. David obeyed the apostle Paul’s Romans 12:19 prohibition about taking one’s own personal vengeance a thousand years before Paul even wrote it.
1 Samuel 24:5-7 Afterwards, David’s conscience bothered [Hebrew: heart struck] him because he had cut off the edge of Saul’s robe. 6So he said to his men, “Far be it from me because of the LORD that I should do this thing to my lord, the LORD’S anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, since he is the LORD’S anointed.” 7....Saul arose and left the cave.
His soldiers were angry and sick of suffering and running and living lives like Neanderthals. David was wise to “not listen to the words of men,” reproving them all.
The British cleric Alcuin told King Charlemagne, “Nor are those to be listened to who are accustomed to say, ‘The voice of the people is the voice of God.’ For the clamor of the crowd is very close to madness.” a
LIMESTONE CAVES OF ENGEDI
THE CRAGS OF THE WILD GOATS
ENGEDI (Ayin Gedi = YDG NIYE) means “the spring of the kid” or “fountain of the wild goat” since it is one of the two places in Israel where fresh water flows into the Dead Sea. The Spring of Engedi is where the 400 men of David drank.
Also called the Mountain of Goats, this is one of the lowest places in the world and where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. A shepherd boy threw a rock into a cave in an effort to find his lost goats. His rock scared no goats and made not the solid
sound of rock hitting rocks but the sound of a rock hitting a pot which contained
the Dead Sea scrolls.
An oasis and nature reserve, Engedi was listed in 2016 as one of the most popular nature sites
in the country of Israel.
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A2. DO THE “CAVE WAVE”: & SAY GOODBYE TO USURPING AUTHORITY
David’s conscience bothered him; he knew he’d mentally assassinated a God-ordained civil authority.
David’s confiscation of a portion of the royal robe signified the transfer of power….David made Saul’s robe to be in a state of noncompliance with Torah requirements…Saul’s most obvious symbol of kingship was unwearable....It had powerful implications…voiding Saul’s claim to kingship…it was rebellion against the Lord, Who had commanded the Israelites not to curse their rulers (Ex. 22:28).
d
B1. DO THE “DAVE SAVE”: DOUBLE DOWN ON HUMILITY
1 Samuel 24:8 David arose and went out of the cave and called after Saul, saying, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the ground and prostrated himself. David left the cave’s cold shadows and took a warm-hearted mental and physical posture of humility. He sought to save/salvage his relationship with his father-in-law. Verbal and actional humility are good places to begin in cease-fires.
B2. DO THE “DAVE SAVE”: ASK QUESTIONS, BUT DO NOT ACCUSE
1 Samuel 24:9 David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men, saying, ‘Behold, David seeks to harm you’”?
David pleaded with Saul under the 120°F desert sun in his longest recorded speech (114 words) to Saul. Outside, he preached what he practiced when inside Engedi’s cold cavern. He didn’t listen to the words of men—the majority opinion of his well-intentioned soldiers. David did not listen. Why had Saul listened?
B3. DO THE “DAVE SAVE”: PRESENT YOUR CASE
1 Samuel 24:10-11 [David said,] “Behold, this day your eyes have seen that the LORD had given you today into my hand in the cave, and some said to kill you, but my eye had pity on you; and I said, ‘I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is the LORD’S anointed.’ 11Now, my father, see! Indeed, see the edge of your robe in my hand! For in that I cut off the edge of your robe and did not kill you, know and perceive that there is no evil or rebellion in my hands, and I have not sinned against you, though you are lying in wait for my life to take it.”
David presented fresh, eyewitness evidence of his innocence. Saul and his men trumped up false charges that David had murderous intent. “Father” is an honorific title for a horrific leader. David was in fact married into the family as part of the triple reward for slaying Goliath and would replace Jonathan, Saul’s son, on his throne. David presented his best evidence in a most-humble posture, however human conflicts are about more than human efforts.
B4. DO THE “DAVE SAVE”: ASK GOD TO JUDGE AND DELIVER YOU
1 Samuel 24:12-15 “May the LORD judge between you and me, and may the LORD
avenge me on you; but my hand shall not be against you. 13As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Out of the wicked comes forth wickedness’; but my hand shall not be against you. 14After whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom are you pursuing? A dead dog, a single flea? 15The LORD
therefore be judge and decide between you and me; and may He see and plead my cause and deliver me from your hand.”
David reasoned horizontally to Saul but also now pleaded vertically up to Heaven and the ultimate Judge.
FRESH MATERIAL EVIDENCE
James J. Tissot (1896-1902)
The word “kanap” means literally “wing,”
“‘extremity.” David probably cut off just a corner
of the hem of Saul’s robe. In the second
millennium, this was taken as a symbol of
disloyalty and rebellion, whereas ‘to seize the
hem of a garment’ was a symbol of faith, loyalty
and covenant-making. In Matthew 9:20-21, we
see a woman “suffering from a hemorrhage for
twelve years, came up behind Him and touched
the tassle fringe with a blue cord of His outer
garment for she was saying to herself, ‘If I only
touch His garment, I will get well.’”
The verb “cut off” forms something of a recurring
theme, a leitmotiv, in 1 Samuel 20-24. Jonathan
had reiterated it when he and David exchanged
oaths of loyalty (1 Sam. 20:14-17): “When the
Lord cuts off every one of the enemies of David,”
Jonathan asks not to be among their number. In
the present chapter, David cuts off the corner of
Saul’s robe and symbolically makes a bid for his
status as king—for the royal robe stood for the
royal office, and already the robe-tearing had
been interpreted by Samuel as a symbol of the
cutting off of Saul’s dynasty (1 Sam. 15:28). Now
David had “grasped at” the kingship of Israel by
cutting away part of Saul’s robe.
*Joyce G. Baldwin, 1 & 2 Samuel (Tyndale Old Testament
Commentaries: Volume 8) (InterVarsity), © 1988, p. 155.
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SENATORS’ BIBLE STUDY • NEBRASKA STATE CAPITOL
[David was] innocent of any revolutionary intent…Saul, on the other hand, appears as the real villain [he who was graced with the title “king of Israel.”]…hunted down the innocent Bethlehemite with great force even though David was no more significant than the last flea on a dead dog. e
Obsessive Saul had five times the military muster (3,000 to 600) and fed those troops 6,000 meals a day to find a microscopic flea bouncing in the mountains of Judea. How wasteful of national resources since ever-faithful David was no security threat to King Saul. So, he appealed to Heaven’s throne, as should we.
C1. AVOID THOSE WHO RAVE BUT DON’T BEHAVE (THEY “CONFESS” SELF- RIGHTEOUSLY)
1 Samuel 24:16-17 When David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” Then Saul lifted up his voice and wept. 17He said to David, “You are more righteous than I; for you have dealt well with me, while I have dealt wickedly with you.”
JESUS SAID, “LOVE YOUR ENEMIES.” HE DID NOT SAY,
“DON’T HAVE ANY ENEMIES.”
David’s relational warmth melted Saul’s cold heart temporarily. His tears flowed out as did the awkward question about his “son’s” voice. He then gives a shallow Saul-like confession. He was murderous and envious, not “less righteous.”
C2. AVOID THOSE WHO RAVE BUT DON’T BEHAVE (WHO ADMIT BUT DO NOT SUBMIT)
aDr. Joel McDurmon, In the Midst of Your Enemies: Exposition and Application of 1 Samuel (The American Vision, Inc.), © 2013, p. 298, 305-306. Also, the Alcuin quotation is page 325. bDr. David Toshio Tsumura, The First Book of Samuel (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company), © 2007, p. 539.
1 Samuel 24:18-20 “You have declared today that you have done good to me, that the LORD delivered me into your hand and yet you did not kill me. 19For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away safely? May the LORD therefore reward you with good in return for what you have done to me this day. 20Now, behold, I know that you will surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hand.”
Saul added a proverb of his own to the interaction before finally verbalizing what everyone else in Israel now already knew: the next king of Israel would be David.
CAVEOLOGY THEOLOGY May we be like that man who was after God’s own heart and learn how to be kings of the caves from those Old Testament heroes of the faith,
[Who] went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated. 38(men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts & mountains & caves & holes in the ground. Hebrews 11:37-38 Dear Senator:
None of us like cold, cramped caves in life or enemies who are out to get us and chase us into tight spots. May our hearts dwell deeply in two Biblically famous caves: Adullam and Engedi. May we all grow in the dark so God can use us in the light. May we all grow in good graces in relational reconciliation (as far as it is possible with us). Let us all count on Heaven to handle all the rest.
Your fellow pilgrims,
Rev. Perry (and Faith) Gauthier Cell/text: 402.770.6270
cC.F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament—Volume 2 (Henderson Publishers), © 1996, p. 523. dDr. Robert D. Bergen, 1, 2 Samuel (B & H Publishing Group), © 1996 p. 239. eRalph W. Klein, Word Biblical Commentary, 1 Samuel, Volume 10, 2nd Edition (Thomas Nelson, Inc.), © 2000, p. 242.
REPENTANCE
Sorrowful Saul? How so? How long?
Sorrow dripped from every word in Saul’s shallow confession. There is a difference
between Godly sorrow and worldly sorrow (2 Corinthians 7:10). There was an honesty in that moment, but it was the honesty of
hell that made his tears flow. There is a reluctant realism in the reprobate lost— here and in hell. Lost sinners in hell know
what lostness means. Their agony is compounded by undying hatred. *
Matthew Henry said the evidence David presented was sufficient to prove David
innocent, even his enemy himself being the judge; but not enough to prove Saul himself a true penitent. He should have said, “Thou
art righteous, and I am wicked,” but the most he will say is this, “Thou art more
righteous than I.” Saul was never evangelized more winsomely than by David
on that day, but he held to his eternally suicidal course anyway.
* Gordon Keddie, Dawn of a Kingdom, The Message of 1
Samuel (EP Books), © 1988, p. 258.
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My Personal Application
Making disciples of Jesus Christ in the political arena throughout the world
Capitol Ministries® provides Bible studies, evangelism, and discipleship to political leaders. Founded in 1996, we
have started ongoing ministries in over 40 U.S. State Capitols and dozens of
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VERSE OF THE WEEK
beloved, but leave room for the
wrath of God, for it is written,
‘VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,’
says the Lord.”