David:The Shepherd King, #6
Cave Training
1 Samuel 22:1a; Psalm 142
By Dave Redick
Hwy 20 Church of Christ, Sweet Home, OR
"[It] has been man's problem since Eden, and it, I'm convinced, is the reason why God didn't deliver the remedy for sin to man while Adam and Eve were still in the garden. Man had to be shown that he couldn't save himself before God could reach out and save him. Very few of us acknowledge our need for God without first seeing our own insufficiency."
Introduction
Corrie Ten Boom writing in her book, THE HIDING PLACE, relates an incident that taught her to be thankful for things not normally considered good. She and her sister, Betsy, prisoners of the Nazis, had just been transferred to the worst prison camp they had seen yet, Ravensbruck. Upon entering the barracks, they found them extremely overcrowded and infested with fleas. Their Scripture reading from their smuggled Bible that morning in 1 Thessalonians had reminded them to rejoice always, pray constantly, and give thanks in all circumstances. Betsy told Corrie to stop and thank the Lord for every detail of their new living quarters. Corrie at first flatly refused to give thanks for the fleas, but Betsy persisted. Corrie finally succumbed. During the months spent at that camp, they were surprised to find how openly they could hold Bible study and prayer meetings without guard interference. It was several months later when they learned that the guards would not enter the barracks because of the fleas.
Corrie and Betsy had something in common with the Old Testament Bible Character, David. No, it wasn't fleas. It was a lesson they learned about contentedness. That is one of the things I want to talk to you about in this message.
When we left David last time he was running for his life with the murderous King Saul and his army in pursuit. It had not started that way, if you recall. He had been a hero in Israel: Champion of the Giant, Goliath, boy wonder in the King's army, Son-in-law of the King, best friend of the King's son, trainee of the Prophet Samuel. The most popular ballad of the land was the one with the words, "Saul has killed his thousands and David his ten-thousands." But Saul could not stand David's popularity. Jealousy consumed him. The King made two unsuccessful attempts to kill David with his spear. The young shepherd fled, leaving behind all of his earthly securities: his job, his wife, his counselor and mentor, his best friend. Finally, even his personal dignity was forfeited as he disguised his sanity before the King of Gath, drooling in his beard and scribbling mindlessly on the door of the city gate when he feared he would be recognized.
We saw last time a man whose engines of earthly security failed, one at a time until he had nothing left to trust in but God. Being as popular as he had been among the people, there was no place to hide among men. As soon as he could, he fled from the city of Gath. We will resume the story in 1 Samuel 22:1.
(Read it)
It's a long way from the airy palace of a king to the dark, dampness of a remote cave, whether you measure it in miles or in status lost. As David stumbled into this remote hideout that first night, just glad to be alive, he was a man completely stripped of means. He had only the shirt on his back, and perhaps the sword of Goliath to his name. His humiliation before the King of Gath must have stung as he recalled it. In those early days in the blackness of the cavern, David was a troubled man. Like you and me, when we suddenly see our situations reverse for the worse, and it seems we've done nothing to deserve it, turmoil ripped through his mind.
The writer of 1 Samuel has spared us the description of David's turmoil, and, if all we had were what is written in these few verses, we might conclude that David just shrugged it off and went right on with his life, unaffected. But such was not the case. Like you and me when things go bad, he was hurting.
David was a man of music if you recall, skilled on the harp and lyre. Like many men of that bent today, he turned in his troubles to song. If he had lived in this century, he would have been playing the blues. Much powerful music has come from the troubled experiences of songwriters. Such was the case with David.
We have in our possession several Psalms David wrote during this time of loss and there is one in particular that must have been written in those early hours or days in the Cave of Adullum. I would like to look at it, since it fills in what the writer of 1 Samuel has left out.
(Turn to Psalm 142)
Try to imagine David composing this Psalm there in the dim light of the cave as we read it.
(Read the Psalm)
Now, notice the heading on this Psalm. It says, "A Maskil of David, when he was in the cave. A Prayer." That word "Maskil" has reference to a contemplative or didactic Psalm. This Psalm was written as a teaching psalm. It was meant to give instruction to those who would read it or sing it. Considering that, we might ask, "What does it teach us?" "What was it that David learned while in the cave of Adullum that he wanted to convey to others who have similar experiences?"
I see at least four things in David's song that are common to all people who go through dark, discouraging times. Each item is something that is harder to see and understand in happier times.
Before I begin, though, let me say that you don't have to actually live in a physical cave to experience what David experienced. You need only to be the recipient of circumstances that have brought you very low. A string of losses and reversals would qualify, for instance. Though you did not deserve it, it came upon you. And now it seems that no one can help you. There is no answer or solution in sight. The future is unsure at best, probably doubtful. Your resources are exhausted. You feel as though you are in a prison with no way out. The only direction left is toward God. What does such a "cave" experience do for you? What could be the sense of it? Why does God allow such things to happen? We will try to get some answers from this teaching Psalm David wrote.
The first thing that cave experiences do for us is
I. They Show Us Like Nothing Else Can the Need For Prayer.
One of the hardest of the spiritual disciplines to maintain for many Christians is consistency in prayer. Would you agree that is true? We are busy so we neglect to pray. We go days and maybe even weeks without a meaningful conversation with God. Most of us know that isn't good, but we have a hard time breaking the pattern of neglect.
The reason in many cases is that the need to pray is harder to see in prosperous times.
The following incident took place in 1968 on an airliner bound for New York. It started as a routine, uneventful, flight that soon proved to be otherwise.
Descending to the destination, the pilot realized the landing gear refused to engage. He worked the controls back and forth, trying again and again to make the gear lock down into place. No success. He then asked the control tower for instructions as he circled the landing field. Responding to the crisis, airport personnel sprayed the runway with foam as fire trucks and other emergency vehicles moved into position. Disaster was only minutes away.
The passengers, meanwhile, were told of each maneuver in that calm, cheery voice pilots manage to use at times like this. Flight attendants glided about the cabin with an air of cool reserve. Passengers were told to place their heads between their knees and grab their ankles just before impact. It was one of those I-can't-believe-this-is- happening-to-me experiences. There were tears and a few screams of despair. The landing was now seconds away.
Suddenly the pilot announced over the intercom:
"We are beginning our final descent. At this moment, in accordance with International Aviation Codes established at Geneva, it is my obligation to inform you that if you believe in God you should commence prayer."
I'm happy to report that the belly landing occurred without a hitch. No one was injured and, aside from some rather extensive damage to the plane, the airline hardly remembered the incident. In fact, a relative of one of the passengers called the airline the very next day and asked about the prayer rule the pilot had quoted. No one would volunteer any information on the subject. Back to that cool reserve, it was simply, "No comment."
It seems to be a characteristic of human nature that for many, unless there is a crisis that threatens life or limb, they have "no comment" when it comes to talking to God.
That kind of independence and self sufficiency is not what God made us for. So, sometimes our inattention is interrupted by crisis. We are shown once again our need of communication with God.
Listen to David as he pours out his heart to God.
(Read v. 1-2)
Can't you hear David's prayers echoing off the walls of the cave? He is hurting. He is despairing. He is intensely aware of his need to talk to God. Cave experiences do that to us. When you experience one, it will probably bring you closer to God in prayer.
A second thing that such cave experiences do for us is
II. They Uproot Our Self Sufficient and Independent Spirit.
Probably the real root behind our prayerlessness is a sense of self sufficiency and independence. We don't want to admit that we have need. Most of us have a deep running independent spirit that would rather say "I can do it myself." Even when we don't say the words, we sometimes live like it.
That has been man's problem since Eden, and, I'm convinced, it is the reason why God didn't deliver the remedy for sin to man while Adam and Eve were still in the garden. Man had to be shown that he couldn't save himself before God could reach out and save him. Very few of us acknowledge our need for God without first seeing our own insufficiency.
It's like a man swimming across a particularly large body of water. You see him out there and you know he'll never make it, so you pull beside him in your boat and offer a life preserver. He won't take it because in his pride he believes he can make it on his own. He drowns in his pride.
It is the same reason why many reject the gospel. They think that they are good enough on their own to face God in judgement so they neglect or refuse His offer of forgiveness. They don't know that to be right with God you have to be a perfect 10. A 7 or 8 or even a 9 just won't do. Yes, they may be doing better than their neighbors and maybe even better than some church goers they know. But they don't realize that it only takes one unforgiven sin to doom them to hell! The only way a man or woman can survive the judgement is if God has taken away his sin through the payment Christ made on the cross.
Coming to God for the benefits of his mercy requires that a person admit his weakness and insufficiency and, in humility, accept God's offer of grace. Until he does that he cannot be saved.
So many people coast through life not facing that issue. They don't need God, they feel they're immortal. They're going to live forever, or at least for a long time!
God is just a "crutch" for weak people, they say.
For such a self-sufficient person, it often takes a cave experience to get him to wake up and face reality.
How much of that self sufficient spirit is in you? Only you and God know.
I don't know how much of this independent spirit David had in him, but I do know that in the Psalm he acknowledges his own insufficiency.
"my spirit was overwhelmed within me." (3a)
"There is no escape for me..." (4c)
"I am brought very low...they are too strong for me." (v. 6)
Those are the words of a man who has realized his mortality! David is humbled. Cave experiences do that to you, and it is a good thing that they do sometimes, because otherwise we might die in our independence and never reach out to God.
A third thing that cave experiences do for us is
