David:The Shepherd King, #10
The Backslider Returns
1 Samuel 30:6-31
By Dave Redick
Hwy 20 Church of Christ, Sweet Home, OR

God's mercies are great, my friend! No matter where you are, or what you have done, you can return to Him if you are genuine and He will accept you without condition. David, a man who experienced it more than once in his life says to you, "...His mercies are great!"

Introduction

A former mayor of New York City once befriended a man who had committed a crime but had expressed to him his extreme sorrow for what he had done, promising that if he were given another chance he would not make the same mistake twice. During the trial the Mayor was reproved by the prosecuting attorney who said, "That tramp's no good. He's getting only what he deserves." As the judge listened, he interrupted the counselor by asking, "Did you ever hear of the mother who visited Napoleon on behalf of her condemned son? The emperor told her the young man had committed the same offense twice, and justice demanded the death penalty. `But Sire,' she pleaded, `I don't ask for justice--I ask for mercy.' `He doesn't deserve it,' said Napoleon. `No, he doesn't,' she admitted, `but it would not be mercy if he deserved it.' The emperor granted a full pardon to the man according to the mother's request for mercy."

That mother had a good grip on the concept of mercy: "It wouldn't be mercy if he deserved it," she said. Mercy is not pardon granted after a debt is repaid. Mercy is something given freely by the giver out of a sense of graciousness and concern for the one who has offended. It is not earned and it is never deserved. When a man receives mercy he doesn't get what he deserves - he gets what he needs.

We have come to a place in our study of the life of David where David is in great need of mercy. In deep discouragement, he has backslidden, actually living with the enemy for 16 long months. Now he has come to his senses. In brokenness he turns back to God. What did he receive when he turned? Was it justice or mercy? What he deserved or what he needed? That will be the main subject the message this morning.

Please turn with me in your Bible to I Samuel 30. We will begin reading in verse 7.

(Read v. 6-7)

We need to take just a moment to set the stage to understand what is going on here.

David has not yet become King over Israel. Saul, the incumbent king has been trying to kill David. We are told back in chapter 27 that David became so discouraged with Saul's nearly constant pursuit of him that he abandoned Israel and went to live among the Philistines, long-time enemies of God's people. For a year and four months David worked for the king of Gath in a backslidden condition, compromising more and more until he was nearly willing to join the Philistines in a battle against God's own people. God intervened providentially, I believe, and stopped that from happening. David was sent back to Ziklag where he and his men had left their families. As they came to the city they found that the Amalekites had destroyed the city and carried away all of their wives and children. This event brought David back to his senses. With his men considering stoning him, David finally turned back to God. This passage says he "strengthened himself in the Lord his God." He returned to trusting God.

This period of David's life typifies the person who backslides because of discouragement and we applied its teaching that way in the last message.

Once David had turned back to the Lord, his first act was to inquire of the Lord's will for him. He summoned the priest to bring the ephod.

(Read v. 8)

The reference here is to that band of Amalekites who had carried away the families of David and his men. David wanted to know if he should pursue them and attempt a rescue. Had God given him what he deserved, there would have been no answers to this inquiry.

But notice that God did answer David's inquiry. Though David had virtually excluded God from his life for 16 months, the minute he turned back, full fellowship between himself and God was restored. That is mercy, because David certainly did not deserve it.

It is important that we see that. God accepted David back and fully restored him to fellowship immediately after he turned. There was no probationary period. There were no assignments given for David to in some way earn his way back into God's favor. He was not told to prove his sincerity. Restoration was instant, total, and without condition. David just picks up with God where he left off.

Many of us have a hard time believing that God handles backsliders that way. But He does. We see it here. As another example of the way God receives backsliders, consider the case of the prodigal son. There the father received back his son without reservation when he turned. He restored him to his place in the family instantly, totally, and without condition.

Why is it that we have a hard time understanding and accepting that? How is it that God can be so merciful to one who has gone against Him the moment he turns? Our mercies are not that great. If you and I were God I'm afraid we might not have been so willing to receive David back.

In Second Samuel, later in David's life, after he had sinned and numbered the people and God gave him a choice as to the resulting consequences, when faced with deciding what his punishment would be for disobedience, David said:

"Let us now fall into the hand of the Lord for His mercies are great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man." (II Sam. 24:14).

Why didn't David want to fall into the hand of man? Because he knew that God is far more merciful than man.

God's mercies are great, my friend! No matter where you are, or what you have done, you can return to Him if you are genuine and He will accept you without condition. David, a man who experienced it more than once in his life says to you, "...His mercies are great!"

You know, someone here in this building right now could be in a backslidden condition - away from the Lord and afraid to come back because of the distance you have fallen. Perhaps you think it would take too long and too much effort to restore your relationship with God. Perhaps you are thinking that you just don't have what it takes to earn your way back into His grace. Maybe you feel you've just been gone too long or you've fallen too far. You don't deserve to be forgiven.

Look at David! He had completely deserted God's people, yet, the moment He turned, God was back in his life just as before!

You see, God doesn't have to sit around after you have declared your repentance and wait for you to prove yourself. He can see your heart right this instant. He knows the condition of your heart. Man cannot do that, so man must wait to see if repentance is genuine. With man trust must be rebuilt. God isn't like man! He is God.

If you are a backslidden Christian and you would like to return to the Lord, do it. You could walk out of this building this morning fully restored! Let me share with you a favorite Scripture that reminds me of what I have been talking about.

"The Lord's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness!" (Lam. 3:22-23)

David could have been an emotional cripple for years after this, beaten down by guilt over his time of backsliding, except for the fact that he knew about and understood God's mercy. Consequently, there was a victory in the making out of the ashes of defeat. Watch it.

(Read v. 9-10)

200 of David's men, due to their grief over the loss of their families, their loss of morale and trust in David's leadership, and the humiliation of being devastated by the Amalekites, were just too exhausted to go on, so David left them behind with the baggage.

400 went on, not knowing exactly where they were going.

Then suddenly, God provided direction through a young Egyptian slave.

(Read v. 11-13)

Stop there for just a moment. Get a good look at this Egyptian. His face is probably covered with flies. His lips are cracked from the heat and thirst. His eyes are empty with the hopeless stare of death. How did he get that way? His master, an Amalekite, abandoned him when he got to be more of a burden than he was worth. Just left him to die with no mercy.

Kind of reminds you of the way Satan treats his slaves, doesn't it? As long as they are useful to him, he keeps them and makes them feel like they are important. But the moment they aren't useful to his purposes anymore, he dumps them to die without mercy. That is so unlike the God of heaven who has mercy on those who are a burden. When you see the way David treats this desperate man, in contrast to the way his Amalekite master treated him, remember the one of Whom it would be said nearly 1000 years later:

"A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out until He leads justice to victory." (Matt. 12:20 NIV)

A contrast between the Lord and the devil and the Lord's people and the devil's people. Listen, if you are down and out, you can find comfort and concern among God's people. That's the way they are because that's the way their Lord is.

Well, after the kindness given by David and his men, this Egyptian tells his story.

(Read v. 14)

That must have riveted David's gaze on this man like a laser beam! "...we burned Ziklag with fire..."

(Read v. 15)

Remember, God had said "Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them, and you shall surely rescue all." Now God is making that promise come true. He's giving them directions. David must have been brimming with anticipation!

(Read v. 16)

The Amalekites, knowing that the Philistines were far away and thinking that David was with them, had totally abandoned themselves to debauchery. Campfires had been lit. The fragrance of roasting meat rose into the still evening air. The wineskins had been opened for a bout of heavy drinking. Weapons were carelessly laid aside. The huge camp was spread out all over the vast region with the majority of the soldiers too drunk to fight. Under more normal circumstances David and his men would have been vastly outnumbered, but God was setting up this battle so that David and his men would win.

David and his men leapt on them like a pride of lions on a herd of defenseless gazelles in the semi-darkness. Knowing that these enemies had taken their loved ones, they fought with a fury beyond what was normal. The element of surprise gave them a tremendous advantage.

(Read v. 17)

We wince a bit when reading about that kind of slaughter. Why would God leave such a description in the Bible for us to read? We are told in the NT that these things are to be examples for us. How on earth could something like this be an example? Well, there are in the Bible such things as "types." Stories in the OT that have parallels to truths in the NT. The way David dealt with these enemy Amalekites who remained in the land after the conquest under Joshua is the way we are to deal with the last vestiges and strongholds of sin in our lives. We are to battle them and slaughter them without mercy. Paul wrote in II Corinthians 10:3-5 -

"We do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ."

We are to treat sin in our lives like David treated those Amalekites.

David was doing exactly what Saul was supposed to have been doing over the last thirty years but had been powerless to do because of his unwillingness to walk with God. And he was doing exactly what we are to be doing in our lives against the last remaining strongholds of sin.

Before we go on, notice that David is once again living in victory. So soon after his return from apostasy, yet God is with him once more. Remember what I said earlier? When you turn, forgiveness is instant, complete, and without condition.

(Read v. 18-20)

What a tremendous victory it was! They recovered all! What a reunion it must have been for David's men and their rescued families! Men and women falling into one another's arms in warm embrace. Tears streaming down flushed faces as tough warriors, stained with blood and covered with dust gather up children in their arms in huge hugs and burning kisses. Not a woman was missing, not a single child was lost. All were there! Not only that, but there was a huge booty that the Amalekites had taken in their raids. God gives that kind of victory to those who put Him first. It can even be soon after one returns to the Lord if he fully gives his heart back to God.

As David returned to the brook Besor to the place where they had left the 200 men with the baggage, he must have been filled with gratitude and amazement toward God. But such was not the case among some of his men. An undercurrent of discontent ran through a part of the ranks.

(Read v. 21-22)

Uh-Oh. This could be a problem unless David has some wisdom to deal with it. These men are fresh off the battlefield. The smell of blood was still in their nostrils. They could easily turn on David or those who had stayed with the baggage.

(Read v. 23)

David is saying, "We aren't to be stingy with what God has given to us freely."

You see, these men were doing what we are tempted to do when we've seen victory in our lives: suddenly we think that we were the cause of it. Look back in verse 22:

"Because they did not go with US, WE will not give them any of the spoil that WE have recovered..."

"Wait a minute!" says David. This is God's victory, not ours. He gave it to us!"

(Read v. 24-25)

This is a great illustration of the NT principle taught by Jesus in Matthew 10:8. In that passage the disciples had been empowered to heal the sick and raise the dead, and lest they take credit for that themselves and use it selfishly, Jesus said,

"Freely you received, freely give."

We don't charge people for the gifts God has given us. We aren't supposed to hoard them and use them for our own selfish advancement. That goes for money, talents, property, or anything else God has given. We need to remember where it came from and we need to be generous with it when God calls us to use it or, He just may take it away.

This response of David which ultimately became an ordinance in Israel would serve David well in the future, endearing Israel to many for their magnanimity. It could do the same for the Lord's church today.

Look in these next verses at how generous David was with what God had given to him and then realize that this is here for us to read because God wants us to be just a generous.

(Read v. 26-31)

Some of the booty was no doubt returned to it's rightful owners. It would not be difficult to identify which livestock belonged to which people. Some of the other possessions would be the same. What remained, rather than being hoarded by David and his men, was passed on to others less fortunate.

God would later honor David with enormous wealth - probably in the equivalent of multi-millions by our standards - and it was to a great extent given by God as a result of David's generosity.

The NT teaches that to us also. In II Cor. 9:6 we read,

"He who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and he who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully..."

Ask yourself whether you are a stingy person or a generous person with what God has blessed you with. Then ask yourself why your financial and\or spiritual condition is like it is...

The grace of God in our lives should foster grace in our lives toward others. It should cause us to be generous and ready to share.

Conclusion

A great portion of David's generosity and merciful nature toward others came from the fact that he was usually mindful of the generosity and mercy of God toward him.

Are you mindful of that mercy?

If you are a Christian, are you still impressed by the fact that you are forgiven of your sins and going to heaven in spite of the way you have lived? Do you realize that God has treated you with mercy and not justice? Because of his great love for you He has given you what you needed, not what you deserved. That should foster grace and mercy in your life toward others and gratitude toward God.

If you are not a Christian, then a glimpse of the mercy and grace of God should cause you to want to become one. You see, God has given the life of His only begotten Son for you, in spite of the way you have lived against Him. He has done that because of his great love for you. And He wants you to come into a relationship with Him.

If you are right now a backslider, then you need to understand from this message that you need God's mercy. If you are willing to turn back to God in repentance, you are only a confession and a prayer away from full pardon. You don't have to earn your way back. You couldn't do it anyway! You don't have to prove yourself to God. He can see the condition of your heart right now. You only need to turn and get back to living with Him and for Him. He will accept you instantly, totally, and without condition. Won't you repent of your waywardness and come back to Him? He is waiting for you...

Dave Redick is Minister of the Hwy 20 Church of Christ in Sweet Home, Oregon and Editor of The Preacher's Study. He may be reached at pstudysupport@comcast.net.

Copyright © 1996-2008 by The Preacher's Study. Permission is granted to subscribers to use this document in total or in sermon preparation in the context of the local congregation only. Publishing it in a book, on the Internet, or anyplace beyond the local congregation is prohibited.

All Scripture quotations and references are from the New American Standard Version unless otherwise stated.

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