Sermons
July 16th, 2023 by Pastor Solley071623AM David Was Greatly Distressed
Sub. David
Theme: David distressed
Text: 1 Sam 30:6
“David Was Greatly Distressed” 1 Sam 30:6
Introduction
I want to speak to you this morning about David and a critical time in his life. When one thinks of David there are many things that may come to mind and by the record of Scripture we know these things to be true. David was a man after the heart of God. David was a man close to God. David was a man anointed by and filled with the Holy Spirit of God. David was a man of courage. David was a man of conviction. David was a mighty warrior. David was a great leader. David was the greatest king that Israel had. David received special promises from God. David was a man of character. David was a man of prayer. David had power in prayer. From the Word of God we know all of those things about David to be true. David was a man of God.
I. Yet we find this as well about David, that David was greatly distressed: 1 Sam 30:6 With all of those things being true of David we still find David was greatly distressed. – 1 Sam 30:6 – Perhaps we could say that David had become weary in well doing. In the New Testament the child of God is commanded in two places “Not to be weary in well doing”. Could we say that David had become weary in well doing? David was following after the Lord, David was faithful in all that God had given him to do.
A. But that good man of God, that one after the heart of God, found himself in a place no one wants to be: 1 Sam 30:6 David was distressed. When we think of one being distressed we think of one in sorrow, of anxiety, of frustration, discouragement, perhaps of depression. But the Hebrew word translated distressed goes beyond those meanings, well beyond those meanings.
1. The way that the Hebrew word for distressed is used here means to be squeezed or molded into shape and not in a good way: David was being squeezed and molded into something he did not want to be. All that was mentioned of David that we know from Scripture was being squeezed out of him. David was under Satanic attack and he was being squeezed beyond what he could endure.
2. And note that the Bible tells us that David was greatly distressed: 1 Sam 30:6 Not just distressed, greatly distressed. Perhaps David began to wonder where God was. Perhaps David wondered why certain things were happening to him. Perhaps David wondered why God did not deliver him from the present trial. Perhaps David wondered the very same things we wonder at times today.
3. What we do know is that David found himself in a place no one wants to be: David was greatly distressed.
B. David was not alone in being distressed: Satan will let no work of God, no child of God alone. Satan put many a child of God in the very same place that David was in and still does today. Think of the distress that came upon these ones.
1. Elijah told God it was enough and requested that he die: Elijah was distressed.
2. Jeremiah told God he would speak no more in His name: Jeremiah was distressed.
3. Peter left the work of the Lord and returned to the fishing boats: Peter was distressed.
4. Even John the Baptist sent some to Jesus questioning if He were the Messiah; John the Baptist was distressed.
5. Don’t think it a strange thing if from time to time you are distressed: But none of us should want to remain in that state.
II. What was the answer, what would bring David out of this state? The answer is in the verse. – 1 Sam 30:6 – David encouraged himself in the Lord. – 1 Sam 30:6 – David did not sink into a deep depression, did not sulk to the point of doing nothing, did not quit on the Lord. David encouraged himself in the Lord.
A. But how did David do that, how did David encourage himself in the Lord? The answers to that question is before us this morning in the life and actions of David.
B. I want to look this morning at how we can encourage ourselves in the Lord: In doing so we will look at the example of David in not only being in great distress and the cause but also how he encouraged himself in the Lord.
PROP: Are there time when you feel exactly like David felt, greatly distressed? TS. The way to escape that feeling is to encourage ourselves in the Lord and the way to do that is found in the example of David.
Body
I. The cause of David’s distress: 1 Sam 30:1-6 David and his family, his mighty men and their families had taken up residence in the city of Ziklag. Ziklag is far south of Jerusalem, in the land occupied by the Philistines and David had his family as well as the families of his mighty men there because King Saul was seeking to kill them.
A. The immediate cause of David’s distress is found in the context: 1 Sam 30:1-2 The Amalekites, enemies of Israel and of David, had attacked the city, burned it, and taken all captive. – 1 Sam 30:1-2 – Several things to note here.
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1. They didn’t kill anyone, just took them captive: 1 Sam 30:2-3 Why? They wanted David to follow. They outnumbered David and his small army and they wanted David to follow so they could destroy him and his mighty men. David knew this.
2. David’s heart as well as those with him was broken: 1 Sam 30:3-4 David was devastated as well as his mighty men.
3. A mutiny was about to erupt: 1 Sam 30:6 The people were his army. Remember everyone else had been carried away. The only ones left were David and his army, David and his mighty men. They wanted to stone David. – 1 Sam 30:6
4. No wonder David was distressed, greatly distressed: But that is just the immediate cause. There is more going on here.
B. David had been under constant Satanic attack for some time: What takes place in this passage is what we might call the “Straw that broke the camel’s back”. Satan will let no work of God, no child of God go unopposed. Man or woman, young or old, great work or little work, Satan is constantly attacking the child of God and the work of God. No exceptions. If not under attack you are not following after the Lord, the work is not of the Lord. Satan is constantly attacking the child of God and the work of God.
1. The high point of David’s life thus far is found in 1 Sam 16 & 17: 1 Sam 16:11-13 ; 17:45-50 That is the high point in the life of that young man, just a teenager at the time.
a. Anointed to be the next king of Israel. David knew he would be following Saul to the throne.
b. Bringing down Goliath and securing a great victory for Israel. Something no one else was even willing to try to do.
c. And the people praising David. – 1 Sam 18:7
d. Could anything be better, could David have been more blessed?
2. Right away Satan goes on the attack: 1 Sam 18:8-11 David did only good for Saul. David served Saul. David was faithful to Saul. For all of those things Satan stirred up hatred in Saul and the king wanted to kill David.
3. Saul then gave David his daughter to be his wife so she could work against David: 1 Sam 18:20-21 Saul demanded a dowery so great that he was sure David would die trying to obtain it.
4. Saul then enlisted his son and his servants to kill David: 1 Sam 19:1
5. Saul tries again to kill David: 1 Sam 19:10-11
6. David then has to go on the run and into hiding: 1 Sam 19:18 ; 21:10 It is one thing after another, the Satanic attacks upon David.
7. David loses the one who had been advising him spiritually: 1 Sam 25:1
8. David is separated from his closest friend: David can no longer be around Jonathan.
9. Then David has to take up residence in the land of his enemies: David was in Ziklag because he had no place else to go.
10. Can you see how this was all building up upon David: It one thing after another, after another, after another.
C. And now the last straw, the straw that would break the back of David: 1 Sam 30:6 David was greatly distressed. David was in a place no one wants to be. David was being molded into something he did not want to be. The spiritual life of David was being squeezed out of him. David was in a place no one wants to be.
D. The cause of David’s distress: 1 Sam 30:1-6
II. David’s response to being greatly distressed: 1 Sam 30:6 David encouraged himself in the Lord.
A. David could have responded to this distress in any number of ways: They would be responses that we would understand.
1. David could have said it was enough and it was time to die: That is what Elijah did.
2. David could have said he was not going to speak for the Lord ever again: That is what Jeremiah did.
3. David could have said he was going back to being a simple shepherd: That is what Peter did.
4. David could have questioned God: That is what John the Baptist did.
5. David could have gotten angry with God: That is what Jonah did.
6. David could have gotten angry with the people: That is what Moses did.
7. David could have responded in any number of ways: And it would have been understandable.
B. But David decided to encourage himself in the Lord: 1 Sam 30:6 Just as much weight as the Hebrew word for distress carries in this verse so does the Hebrew word for encouraged. It goes well beyond what we think of when we think of one encouraged.
1. It means to grab hold of and not let go: It is the same word that is used when the angels grabbed hold of Lot and drug him out of Sodom before the judgment of God destroyed that city.
2. It means to be strong in: The same word is used when the Lord commanded Joshua “Be strong and of a good courage”.
3. It means to conformed, to be repaired to what once was: The same word is used over and over again in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah as the city of Jerusalem and the temple were repaired.
4. The word encouraged carries even more weight than the word distressed:
C. David’s response to being greatly distressed was to encourage himself in the Lord his God: 1 Sam 30:6
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III. How then did David encourage himself in the Lord? 1 Sam 30:6 Several things, but we will look at just three.
A. David decided to get closer to the Lord, not move farther away: 1 Sam 30:7 The ephod was part of the garments of the High Priest. I was a beautiful blue garment that hung from his shoulders. Part of the ephod was the breastplate that contained three rows of stone, four in each row, that represented each of the tribes of Israel. These over the heart of the priest to show a closeness to the Lord.
1. When David put on that ephod he was showing a desire to get closer to the Lord: David decided not to allow trouble, and David had a lot of troubles that were going on for years, David decided not to allow them to drive him away from the Lord.
2. David knew it was time to get closer to the only one who could help him: It was no time to turn away from the Lord.
3. If David was going to find any relief from his great distress it would come from a closeness to the Lord: David put on the ephod.
4. Why is it that we so often turn away from the only one who is able to give us any rest, the only one who can deliver us from our great distress? Why do so many grow bitter, get angry, question and turn away from the Lord when they need Him the most?
5. David decided to get closer to the Lord:
B. David was determined to walk in the will of God: 1 Sam 30:8 Consider David and his military history thus far. (1) He went out against Goliath alone and watched the giant fall. (2) Then he led the armies of Israel as they put the philistines to flight. (3) It was ascribed to him the killing of tens of thousands in battle. (4) He fought in other campaigns. (5) Before that he killed a lion and a bear defending his father’s sheep. Now and enemy had burned his home and taken his family captive.
1. Why not just go get them back? That would be the thing that a warrior like David would do. Why not just go get them back?
2. David wanted to be sure he was walking in the will of God: 1 Sam 30:8 Should I go after them, should I overtake them, should I bring everyone back? That would be the thing David wanted to do. But more than that David wanted to be in the will of God.
3. David was determined to walk in the will of God: Even if that meant the trial would go on for a while David was determined to be found walking in the will of God.
4. Is that something that you want today, to be found walking in the will of God: For so many when we say yes the answer is in reality no.
a. We want the will of God when it pleases us.
b. We want the will of God when it involves no hardships.
c. We want the will of God when it demands no personal loss.
d. We want the will of God when it suits us.
5. But that is not what the Bible teaches: 1 Thess 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
6. We are to seek out the will of God and then walk in His will for our lives: Eph 5:17 There is no better place to be than in the will of God. David knew that to be true.
a. If God had told David to wait I believe David would have waited. No better place to be then in the will of God.
b. David was determined to be in the will of God.
7. Is that your desire today, to be in the will of God? There is no better place to be than in the center of the will of God.
C. David wad determined to be active for the Lord and get busy for the Lord and stay busy for the Lord: 1 Sam 30:9-10 This is going to benefit David and that no small thing.
1. Still, David went: 1 Sam 30:9 And David is going to be greatly outnumbered. David had 600 men, a small number compared to the army he would be facing. The Amalikites always had a large army going all the way back to a battle fought with Moses.
2. Then one third of his army is so tired and worn down they can’t go on: 1 Sam 30:10 The four hundred would be faint as well but still able to go on.
3. David was determined to be active for the Lord: He could have waited, he could have rested, he could have done many things but David was determined to be active for the Lord. To be active for the Lord is always a good thing.
4. Why is it that we seem content to be served instead of serving? Why is it that we would rather others be active and not us?
5. There is joy in serving Jesus and Jesus is our example in serving: David was active for the Lord.
6. Are you active for the Lord today? Do you want to be?
D. How then did David encourage himself in the Lord? 1 Sam 30:6 We have looked at just three areas in which David encouraged himself in the Lord and we could look at many, many more but consider this about David. David encouraged himself. – 1 Sam 30:6
1. David had to make the choices that would bring him closer to the Lord, no one could do that for David: Angels couldn’t do it, not even the Lord could do it, David had to make the choices that would being him closer to the Lord.
2. David had to make it his desire to be in the will of God: No one could do that for David, David had to seek out and walk in the will of God. David had to make that his desire.
3. David decided to be active for the Lord: No one could do that for him. Others were tired and faint, so was David. But David decided to be active for the Lord.
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IV. What if we made the same decisions David made in just those three areas of our lives? Many more things we could bring out about David, but what of those three? What if we made the same decisions David made in those three areas of our lives? Might it move us from distress to encouragement in the Lord just as it did David?
A. Could it be that we might get closer to the Lord than we are right now?
B. Could it be that we make a real determination to know and walk in the will of God right now?
C. Could it be that we be more active for the Lord than we are right now?
D. I wonder what might happen if we were as determined as David in those three areas? We also can be moved from distress to encouragement today.
Conclusion
I. The cause of David’s distress: 1 Sam 30:1-6 David and his family, his mighty men and their families had taken up residence in the city of Ziklag. Ziklag is far south of Jerusalem, in the land occupied by the Philistines and David had his family as well as the families of his mighty men there because King Saul was seeking to kill them.
II. David’s response to being greatly distressed: 1 Sam 30:6 David encouraged himself in the Lord.
III. How then did David encourage himself in the Lord? 1 Sam 30:6 Several things to look at here as well.
A. Get closer to the Lord:
B. Get in the will of God:
C. Serve more, not less:
IV. What if we made the same decisions David made in just those three areas of our lives? Many more things we could bring out about David, but what of those three? What if we made the same decisions David made in those three areas of our lives? Might it move us from distress to encouragement in the Lord just as it did David?