All Share Alike | Dana C. Baldwin

Introduction

Strength Found in God

A. One of the things that we can appreciate about Scripture is that is doesn’t sugar coat anything. David is noted as God’s great king, but the Bible goes into great detail to show us that he didn’t get to be a great king without a whole lot of troubles and trials. From 1 Samuel 16 on, David has been on the run. No place to call home. Living in caves. Surviving by war. In chapter 27, David is hired to be the bodyguard of one of the kings of the Philistines. He takes the job to save his life. Failure to take the job would result in his being hunted by the Philistines. By taking the job he is now in the position of having to fight against his own people. The Philistines are going to battle Israel and David is going to have to fight on the side of the Philistines against his own people. What a dilemma. Chapter 29, the other kings of the Philistines do not trust David. They send him back home. He is delivered from having to kill his own brothers.

B. Things have been tough for David. Nothing has been easy since being anointed king. It is a three day journey back to Ziklag. We can see David and his men making it a leisure journey. When they arrived, they found their homes destroyed, burned to the ground. Their wives and children were gone. Just when you think it couldn’t get any worse for David he is devastated by this raid on his family. So David and his men weep until they have no strength left to weep. And then once the men’s strength returned they took a vote to kill David.

C. You can see it coming. 600 men with families in tow have wandered the hillsides of barren lands surviving by the plunder they take from destroying cities. These are men of war, but there is only so much that a person can take. They trusted David. They believed in him. But when their family is adversely affected, this is too much. And David not only mourns the loss of his family, but now he has to defend himself from certain death. What do you do when you don’t know what else to do. Look at verse 6. “But David found strength in the Lord his God.”

D. Where else can you turn when you are in the pit of despair? Where else can you find strength if it isn’t from our God? But what does this mean? How do we find strength in God? First, we do so from being reminded of God’s promises. Verse 6 is very familiar to what we read in 23:16 when Jonathan helps David find strength in God. In that passage, Jonathan reminded David of the truth that he was going to be king. ILL. “God’s Promises: Strengthening.” We need to be reminded of God’s promises and as we are reminded hang on to them. They will provide strength.

E. Second, note verses 7-8. David called upon the priest to intercede for him to discover God’s desires. David found strength in seeking God’s direction. He didn’t remain in a state of grief, but instead sought what the next step was to be. Let me be specific. As important as grieving is, it is not in grieving that you find strength. David and his men according to verse 4 had shed all the tears they could. It was now time to seek out God’s new direction. In fact, they lost strength in the process of weeping.

Don’t misunderstand. Grief is a part of life and is necessary as we experience tragedy, but it doesn’t bring strength. It drains us of strength.
What brings strength is God and part of that is searching for God’s direction when tragedy befalls us. Like David, we have a priest who we can go to. The Hebrew writer in 4:14-16 says that Jesus is our high priest who provides help in our time of need.

F. When things were falling around him, David found strength in the Lord. He held on to God’s promises and sought God’s direction. He went through his priest to be near to God; to communicate with his God. Our strength will come in the same way and from the same God. I find it helpful to know that David’s God is my God. David’s strength from his God can be the same strength that he will give to me. Let’s enter a time of singing and praying expressing the truth that God is our strength.

God’s Providence

A. In order to appreciate this point, you must understand the nature of marauding groups. David and his men come to Ziklag and find it destroyed. Which way do you go? Understand there are no paved highways leading from Ziklag. There are hills, barren land, and too many choices. He has to choose which way to go and he has to look behind every rock and hill. Marauding groups like David hid out in caves, valleys, hills, or any place which provided shelter. Where does one begin to look?

B. Verse 11. They found an Egyptian. An Egyptian who just happened to be found in the open. An Egyptian who was just a few days ago was too sick to walk. An Egyptian who just happened to be a former slave of the marauding group who had attacked Ziklag. An Egyptian who was willing to help David. Do you understand the odds of finding just such a person. Too many variables. Too many other fields to look in. How is it that David’s men find this Egyptian?

C. We are supposed to fill in the blank. Only God could have brought this Egyptian to them. Just as God had done in chapter 23 when Saul was on the verge of capturing David, he used the Philistines to divert Saul. So here God uses an Egyptian to help David locate the needle in a haystack. God works in the small ways. In the obscure times, God is working. When through your tears you only see too many choices, God is working to help lead and guide. This discarded Egyptian is God’s tool. We should not be surprised. Our faith is to be renewed. God is always at work.

D. Comments — God was working through Jesus. The providence of God is most evident when we look at Jesus. From his birth to his death, God’s work is obvious.

A. David and his men return from victory. Verse 18, everything is recovered. Nothing is left behind. 200 men have remained behind too exhausted to continue the trip. They have taken care of the supplies so that the other 400 men can continue their mission unencumbered. Verse 22, the 400 men who have fought do not want to share the plunder with the 200 who remained behind. “We will not share the plunder we recovered.”

B. David takes the initiative. He appeals to their sense of camaraderie by calling them brothers but then he corrects their thinking. This plunder did not come by their own hand. The spoils came because God gave them the victory. Isn’t it amazing what we assume we accomplish. It is only when we become convinced that God has given us whatever we have that we will find ourselves on our knees thanking God for his precious gifts. Employment, wealth, loved one, health, meal all come from God’s hand. Either we honor the one who gives us the gifts or we plunge into idolatry in which we honor ourselves. The 400 honored themselves; David honored God. One worshiped God; the other worshiped themselves.

C. Chapter 30 is a long chapter. It begins with tragedy and ends with triumph. Only God can take tragedy and bring triumph. Whatever tragedy may be in your life, hang on, God will bring triumph eventually. In his time with his own means, he will bring victory. Invitation.

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