Wilderness Lessons from the Life of David - Handling Betrayal and Hostility

| Sermon Summary by Lynda Keren |

David and his men were living in the wilderness in the beginning of 1 Samuel 23. Wilderness, vast expanse of dry lands, sparse vegetation, strange animals and hardly any people. David heard that the Philistines were attacking Keilah. After inquiring the Lord, he rescued the people of Keilah from the Philistines.

We expect the people of Keilah to return David the kindness he showed to them but they were willing to betray David to Saul. David practiced a lifestyle of trusting God for guidance, he kept calling on the Lord before he made his moves. That dependency on God who never changes helped David not be disappointed by people who did not repay his kindness.

The next adversary we see in this chapter is Saul. King Saul chose to let jealousy, pride, insecurity and disobedience to God fill his life. He hunted after David, wanting to kill him. But God was David’s refuge, He never let Saul lay his hand on David. It doesn’t matter who our Sauls are or the size of his army. What really matters is, is God our refuge?

Around this time, Jonathan, king Saul’s son, came visiting David in the wilderness. Jonathan encouraged David. He not only comforted David by his friendship, he helped David to find his strength in God (1 Sam:23:16). He helped David remember the promises and purposes of God. He also expressed his willingness to let David be the king and he was content to be in the second place. He renewed their covenant of friendship before the Lord. God brings people like Jonathan into our lives which helps us survive the harshness of Sauls. They refresh our souls (Prov:27:9). How can I/we be like Jonathan to a friend who like David is going through a season of wilderness in their lives?

The last adversary we read are the Ziphites. David had done nothing, neither good nor bad to the Ziphites. But they were willing to betray David to Saul for their own personal gain. At this point David wrote Psalm 54, a psalm of lament to the Lord. Laments are songs of hope, not despair. They are cries to God, calling him to do only what he can do in that situation. Though the situation and the people around David had not changed, David was a changed person after his lament before the Lord.

We are often surprised and shocked when people betray us or are unfriendly and hostile to us. We don’t know what to do but the best place to be is before the Lord in lament. We all face betrayals and hostility of different kinds in our lives every day. When we process our reactions before the Lord, we will walk like David in safety, breaking cycles of revenge. May God help us.

“Do thy friends despise, forsake thee? Take it to the Lord in prayer. In His arms He will take and shield thee. Thou will find a solace there” -Joseph Scriven.