(Through the Bible) 1 Samuel 26-31 — Chuck Smith

David Spares Saul in the Wilderness of Ziph

Let's turn in our Bibles to 1 Samuel 26 and let's begin our study. These final five chapters, six chapters. The wilderness of Ziph actually lies between Hebron and the area of the Dead Sea. A very vast, barren area.

And the Ziphites came to Saul in Gibeah and they said, David is hiding himself there in the wilderness of Ziph. So Saul went down with 3 ,000 of his men, seeking David. And Saul pitched there his tents or his camp.

And David was staying in the wilderness and he saw how Saul came to him. And David sent out his spies and learned that Saul indeed had come. And so David arose and came to the place where Saul had pitched.

Now that wilderness area is such that there are just a lot of places where you can hide and a lot of places where you can observe the movements of others without being seen yourself. And David saw the place where Saul was lying and Abner, the captain of his host nearby, and Saul lay in the trench and the people were pitched around about him.

And David answered and said to Ahimelech the Hittite and to Abishai the son of Zeriah, who wants to go with me to Saul to the camp? And Abishai said, I will go down with you. Now again, as I have said so often, I admire David.

I admire the courage of this guy. I admire the daring. Here is Saul out to get him. And so David, you know, is looking over the camp. He sees where Saul is lying down and all. And he is so daring he is going to sneak down into the camp of Saul at night.

Rather than just running the other direction, making as much distance as he can between him and Saul, he just got that adventuresome spirit and all. He says, who wants to go with me down to the camp there tonight?

And Abishai says, I will go with you. So David and Abishai came down into the camp and they were all sound asleep. And Saul was lying there and his spear was stuck in the ground beside him. And Abishai said to David, alright David, look at that.

Lying there on the ground. Let me take the spear and run him through. I won't even hit him the second time. God has delivered your enemies into your hands. And David said, who can stretch forth his hand against the Lord's anointed and be guiltless?

Respect for the Lord’s Anointed

Now, I have to have great respect for David's respect for the anointed of God, even though the anointing of God had for all practical purposes been lifted from Saul. Still, David had such a high regard and respect for the fact that God's anointing had been upon his life that David refused to touch him.

Because God had said in the law, touch not mine anointed and do my prophets no harm. Now, God places a protection, really, around his anointed servants. And that's just one of the fringe benefits of the ministry.

There's a lot of hardships in the ministry. It isn't all glamour and excitement and, you know, drama and thrilling experiences. There's a lot of heartaches in the ministry. There's a lot of hard experiences in the ministry.

Dealing with people isn't always the easiest thing in the world. There are a lot of situations of which there seems to be absolutely no way out and you just don't know what to do, what to say. You're at a loss.

And you're not infallible. You can make a lot of mistakes. The Lord knows I've made my share of them. But one of the fringe benefits is that He stands with you. As I stand here to minister the Word of God, I don't stand alone.

The Lord stands with me. And it's wonderful to know that protective power of God upon your life and surrounding your life. Now there are a lot of people who feel that they know much better how to run the church than I do.

Now let me confess, I don't know how to run the church and I don't pretend to know how to run the church. I do my best to get my orders from the Lord. But there are some people who feel that they are like the Lord.

That they can give me the orders. And they seek to conform me into their image. Now my wife tried to do that for years. Obviously we're not on the radio tonight. I don't think. And finally one day I said, honey you're not God.

I'm not to be conformed into your image of what you think a husband should be. I want to be conformed into His image. And I'm not so sure that you and He are lined up in what I ought to be. So my wife finally gave up.

Trying to conform me into her image. But there are people who write and try to tell me how the services ought to be conducted. What we ought to be doing. And it's sort of sad because I see that when a person once gets their mind bent towards criticism.

That it grows and grows and grows. And it becomes like a cancer. It soon overwhelms them and they become so critical of everything. And you know we have people that come and say, well why don't you do this in your services?

Why don't you do this? And they have all these ideas of what we ought to be doing. And in reality nearby there are churches that are doing those very things. Why don't they go to those churches where they are doing those things?

If that's what they want the church to do. You see I must follow the Lord and the leading of the Lord. And if you want a lot of shouting and a lot of demonstrations. There are churches that have these kind of things.

I suggest you find one. I got a letter from a lady a while back and said, I've been looking for years for a church where the Word of God was being taught. And we came to your church and we were just so thrilled because the Word was being taught.

But then the usher told us that we couldn't bring our little two year old baby into the services with us. And if my baby isn't welcome then I don't feel welcome. And she began to lay a trip on me because her baby wasn't allowed in the church.

And I was so disappointed. Well I wrote her back and told her that we have some 180 babies to 220 two years old and under. That are here on an average Sunday morning. And that if all of those babies were in the service.

No one would be able to hear the teaching of the Word of God. So I told her that I was praying that the Lord would help her to find a church where the Word of God is being taught. Where her baby would be welcome.

But I also just hoped that if her baby was welcome. That she'd be able to hear the service and the teaching of the Word in that particular church that she might find. Now there is a reason why we don't have children in the services.

It's so that we can minister to people on an adult level. With a high level of attention so that there aren't the distractions of children going in and out. Children going through song books. Babies crying and so forth.

And that's the way the Lord has led us to do. And if you want to go to a church where you can sit and have your baby on your lap crying through the whole service. There are churches that will let you get by with that and you're welcome.

Go find one. And it's interesting to me too, you know. In the New Testament Jesus said, you know. How that the people were getting around the law that said. You're to honor your father and mother. You're not to curse them.

And if you curse your parents you're to die. And so they had developed. It's like the fellows in Israel told me. Well he said I'll talk to the rabbi. He said they can always figure a way around it, you know.

So on the Sabbath day you're not to spend any money. But you can use credit cards now on the Sabbath day because that's not money. They always figure a way around. So they said if you tell your mother and father before you curse them.

Say this is just for your benefit. This is for your good. I want you to know that you're just a lousy creep, you know. And then you can tell them anything you want. As long as you say this is a gift for you.

This is for your benefit and you're good. Then say whatever you want. And so circumventing the law completely. Someone writes me notes and signs agape. Well because they sign agape they think they can say all kinds of mean.

Critical things in their notes. Because after all they signed it agape. No agape there at all. It's hypocritical. Touching the anointed of God should never be considered something that should be light.

David had a high respect. He wouldn't touch Saul. And he said look God is going to take care of him. And that's the proper attitude. If he is God's servant God is going to take care of him. Paul said who are you to judge another man's servant before his own master either stands or falls.

And God is able to make him to stand. Now if I were serving you. Then I should be taking orders from you. But I'm serving the Lord. And my responsibility is to the Lord. And someday I'm going to stand before him and give an account of myself.

And of my ministry to him. Therefore I've got to listen to him. Because I'm going to be accountable and answerable to him. One day. So David said God's going to take care of him some way or other. God is going to smite him.

He's going to fall in battle. God will take care of him. I don't want my hand to be against the anointed of God. I don't want to be guilty of that. The Lord forbid he said that I should stretch forth my hand against the Lord's anointed.

But I pray thee take now the spear that is at his bolster and the cruise of water and let's get out of here. So David took the spear and the cruise of water from Saul's bolster. And they got away. No man saw it or knew it.

Neither did they wake up for they were all asleep because a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen upon them. Then David went over to the other side and stood on the top of a hill that is far off. A great space being between them.

David cried to the people and to Abner the son of Nersene. Answers thou not Abner? Then Abner answered and said who art thou that cries to the king? Now David got a great way off and called. There is an interesting thing about that country.

And that is that there is a tremendous acoustics of some kind that you can hear for miles. I was pointing it out to the people when we were up on the Herodian. There were children that were at least three quarters of a mile away that were playing out there.

And I said listen to those kids. And you could hear them. You could hear them as they were playing. You could hear them calling to each other and all. And when they had gone up to the top of the Herodian as we were going up the hill, I saw some caves about half way up the hill.

And I was curious what might be in those caves. And so I rather than walking up the road to the top of the Herodian, walked around the side of the Herodian to explore these caves which I found to be big cisterns there in the side of the Herodian and some interesting ruins of the walls.

But the people were up on the top and I could hear them just talking to each other in their conversations. Though I was almost half way down the mountain. And so I started talking to them and we could converse back and forth over an area of 400 feet in normal voice without yelling or lifting our voices.

We could converse at a distance of over 400 feet very clearly. There's something about the atmosphere or whatever, but sound really is conducted very easily over there. And you can actually hear for miles.

And so David went over to the other mountain just a great way off and he cried back and they could hear him. You can actually sound transfers so well in the atmosphere or whatever that it's really amazing.

People wonder how in the world could Jesus ever talk to 5000 people. But the way the acoustics are there, there isn't any really problem at all. To address large multitudes of people without public address systems.

It's really something that is quite unique and interesting. I've always found it extremely interesting. So David went over to this mountain and he called back Abner. Abner said, who is it that's crying unto the king?

And David cried to the people and to Abner saying, don't you answer Abner? And David said to Abner, are you not a valiant man? And who is like unto you in Israel? And why have you not kept thy Lord the king?

For there came one of the people in to destroy the king thy Lord. It's not good what you have done. As the Lord liveth, you ought to be put to death. Because you have not kept your master, the Lord's anointed.

And now look where the king's spear is. And the cruise of water that was there at his bolster. And so David is sort of chiding Abner, the chief general of Saul. Saying, hey, your job is to guard the king and you aren't doing a good job.

You ought to be put to death. Someone came in to destroy the king and you were just sound asleep. Look where the king's spear is. And the cruise of water. And Saul, of course, waking out of his sleep said, is this thy voice, my son David?

And David said, it's my voice, my lord, O king. And he said, why does my lord pursue after his servant? What have I done? Or what evil is in my hand? Now, David, I think one of the phrases of David all the way through was, what have I done?

Always saying, what have I done? He seemed to always be getting into trouble, you know. And always really for not very much, but what have I done? And so when he went down to the camp where his brothers were fighting against the Philistines and the Goliath came out and David began to say, hey, why are you guys hiding and why doesn't one of you fight him?

His brother started getting on his case and he said, hey, what have I done? I only asked a few questions. And here with Saul, what have I done that you would pursue me like this? Now therefore I pray thee, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant.

If the lord has stirred you up against me, then let the lord receive an offering. Let's offer a sacrifice and let's get it over with. But if it is the children of men that have stirred you up against me, then let them be cursed.

For they have driven me out from abiding in the inheritance of the lord. Now therefore let not my blood fall to the earth before the face of the lord, for the king of Israel has come out to seek a flee and as a partridge has chased me over these mountains.

Then said Saul, I have sinned. Return my son David, for I will no more do thee harm, because my soul was precious in thine eyes. This day, behold, I have played the fool and erred exceedingly. Now here's a confession of Saul.

And Saul, if David's phrase was, what have I done? Saul's phrase was, I have sinned. But he never repented. He only declared a fact. And this is sort of tragic. And so many people do that today. They say, oh I have sinned, but they don't change.

It's more than just the confession of guilt that is necessary. It's the turning from the sin which is important. Except I'll repent, Jesus said, you're going to perish. And repent means to turn. So it isn't just saying, oh I have sinned.

It's turning from your sin which is so important to the lord. And here is Saul again and many times on many occasions. Whenever he was faced by Samuel the prophet, he said, oh I have sinned. But there wasn't any sign of repentance.

I have sinned, I've played the fool. I have erred exceedingly. This is Saul's confession. Of course it's a very tragic confession. It's the truth. He did play the fool. All through his life he played the fool.

He was a man who was endowed by God with many natural talents and abilities. He was a man who was given every opportunity by God. But yet a man who blew his opportunities of really being a servant of God.

He is a man who failed to do the work of God. Though he had all that he needed to be a marvelous king over Israel. He became exalted and lifted up with pride and played the fool and erred exceedingly.

And so his autobiography. I have sinned, I've played the fool, I've erred exceedingly. So David answered and said, behold the king's spear. Let one of your young men come over and get it. And the Lord render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness.

For the Lord delivered you into my hand today. But I would not stretch forth my hand against the Lord's anointed. And behold as thy life was much set by this day in my eyes. So let my life be much set by in your eyes.

Or in the eyes of the Lord and let him deliver me out of all tribulation. Then Saul said to David, blessed be thou my son David. Thou shalt both do great things and thou shalt still prevail. Now Saul underneath knew that someday David was going to take the throne.

He was trying to protect the throne and to pass it on to his own children. But yet in his heart he knew that God had anointed David. And that David was God's anointed king. Then Saul said to David, blessed be thou my son David.

David’s Negative Confession and His Flight to Gath

Thou shalt both do great things and still prevail. So David went on his way and Saul returned to his place. Now David made a negative confession in chapter 27. And if what these people are preaching today, David would have been killed by Saul.

If what they say is true. If you are what you say, if words have the creative force. And words become a creative force. And you can say it into existence and so forth. Then you've got God's divine fire power and you've become as God.

But David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul. What a negative confession. One day Saul is going to get me. Now if what they teach is true, then it should follow that Saul one day killed David.

But that didn't happen. Don't let people lay a trip on you because you may have a negative personality and say negative things. Oh that's going to happen to you. You shouldn't be saying that. That's just what's going to take place.

That's not true. There are a lot of negative people that have positive things happen to them. And a lot of positive people that have negative things happen to them. The Bible says the sun shines on the just and the unjust alike.

And the rain falls on the just and the unjust. And I don't care who you are. You're going to have problems in your life and you're going to have good times in your life. And you can say negative things and not have to just go around cringing and fearing.

Oh I said it. Now it's going to happen. David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul. There's nothing better for me than I should speedily escape to the land of the Philistines and Saul will despair of seeking me anymore in the coast of Israel.

And I'll escape out of his hands. So David arose and passed over with the 600 men that were with him to Achish, the king of Gath. Now Gath is one of the five major Philistine cities. It lies about 10 miles inland from Ashdod and Ashkelon.

Ashdod and Ashkelon being on the coast. And Gath made sort of a triangle about 10 miles inland from these two Philistine cities. Down in the southern part, 50 kilometers from Beersheba, this city of Gath.

The ruins are still there today. We stopped by just the other day and looked at the ruins of the city of Gath. And in my mind I tried to picture David as he first came to Achish and let the spit run down his beard and slobbered all over and acted like a madman, scrabbling on the walls.

And I could see the walls of the ancient city of Gath and I could in my mind picture old David there, you know, doing his little scene in front of Achish. Now this time he comes to Achish again and he is seeking actually political asylum almost because Saul is after him.

And so Achish received David and David said, Look, I don't need to dwell in this city, but just give me a city around here. I don't need to dwell in the royal city. So he gave him Ziklag. And so David then and his men began to invade areas around them.

Now, though I admire David for a lot of things, yet I don't admire David for other things. And this I cannot really find any real excuse for David's actions. He would go out and he would totally wipe out a city and he'd kill everybody so that there'd be no one to come back and tell people what was happening.

And he was making excursions against these cities and when Achish would see him he said, Well, where you been, you know, where you been building a road today? And he said, Oh, over against Judah and all.

And so actually he was wiping out a lot of these little Philistine villages and Canaanite villages and making out to King Achish that he was fighting against Judah. So he thought, Oh boy, they're going to utterly hate David over in Judah now.

But he would kill everybody so that there would be no one to tell what he was doing. That is not at all right. It isn't admirable. I don't have any excuses for David in these actions. The only thing I think that it does point out is that God can use men that aren't perfect.

And David was far from perfect. I think that many times we have some kind of a concept that God only uses perfect people. That isn't so. Many times we disqualify ourselves from serving the Lord, being used of God because we're so conscious of our own imperfections.

But God used David. And that's always an encouragement to me. That God could use a guy like David, then God can use a guy like me because I'm far from perfect also. And He can also use a person like you because I don't think you're so perfect either.

Saul Consults the Medium at Endor

So it came to pass in those days that the Philistines gathered their armies together for warfare to fight with Israel. And Achish said with David, Know assuredly that you shall go out to battle with me, you and your men.

So David said to Achish, And you shall know what your servant can do. Achish said to David, Therefore I will make you the keeper of my head forever. In other words, sort of putting David over as his personal bodyguard and all.

Now Samuel was dead and Israel had lamented for him and buried him in Ramah, even in his own city. And Saul had put away those that had familiar spirits and wizards out of the land. And the Philistines gathered themselves together and came and pitched in Shunem.

And Saul gathered all Israel together and they pitched in Gilboa. Now Gilboa is clear up in the area just south of the Sea of Galilee. So the Philistines had really moved a long way against the Israelites.

Gilboa is clear over actually. The one side of Gilboa goes down to the Jordan River. So the Philistines had really taken a lot of the territory at this point. Saul was being boxed in to just a very small area.

And there he was encamped in Gilboa. And when Saul saw the hosts of the Philistines, he was afraid and his heart greatly trembled. And Saul inquired of the Lord, but there was no answer, either by dreams, nor by the Urim, nor by the prophets.

God’s Guidance Through Dreams, Visions, and His Word

Now God speaks to us in many different ways. God can speak to us by dreams. Now, I don't believe that I personally have ever had a dream that had any spiritual significance to it. But now that I'm getting to the age, as the Scripture said, your old men shall dream dreams, maybe I'm going to someday start getting dreams with spiritual significance.

Let me say this. Though to my own belief I have never had a dream with any spiritual significance, it doesn't stop me from realizing that I may someday have a dream that has spiritual significance and I'm open to it.

Just because I've never had it, I don't say, well God doesn't speak to men through dreams anymore. I believe that God can still speak to people through dreams and I'm open to dreaming. If God wants to speak to me in a dream, I'm open to it.

I'd be thrilled and delighted to have God speak to me in a dream. God also speaks to people through visions. Now, I have had visions in which God did speak to me. God speaks to people through the prophets.

And I have had God's Word come to me through anointed brothers and sisters in Christ that I recognize as God's Word to me. In the Old Testament, God also spoke through the Urim and the Thummim, which were a part of the priest's garments.

They were a little sort of a pouch that he wore. And they say that there was a black stone and a white stone and that the black stone was a no answer and the white stone was yes. Whether or not that is actually so, I don't know.

But somehow, God spoke through the Urim and the Thummim. Now, the words actually means lights and perfections and it could be that rather than stones, which have become sort of the traditional kind of a thing, it could be that this thing would light up.

That the priest wore when God would say, yes, that this thing would light up. But God was not answering Saul's prayers by any of these methods by which they were accustomed to God speaking to them. Now, I am interested in God speaking to me, however.

God spoke to some of them through angels. But God has spoken and God continues to speak to me constantly through His Word. And this, I think, is the place where you learn to start to know and to hear the voice of God getting into the Word.

And it's so important that you're in the Word and God has that opportunity to speak to you through His Word. So, God wasn't answering the prayers of Saul. So, Saul said to his servants, find me a woman that has a familiar spirit that I may go to her and inquire of her.

And the servants said to him, behold, there's a woman that has a familiar spirit at Endor. So, Saul disguised himself and put on other raiment and he went with two men. And they came to the woman at night and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit and bring me him up whom I will name unto thee.

And the woman said to him, behold, you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off all of those that have familiar spirits and the wizards out of the land. Why are you laying a snare for my life to cause me to die?

And Saul swore to her by Jehovah saying, as Jehovah lives, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this saying. Now, there, of course, is that weird admixture in Saul. Here he is talking to a witch and swearing by the Lord that no evil will come to her if she goes ahead and practices her witchcraft and brings forth the spirit that he is desiring.

As Jehovah lives, swearing by the Lord, there are a lot of people that are really mixed up in their whole spiritual life. Just a total confusion in spiritual things. Using spiritual phraseology. You know, it's like planning to rob a bank and then having a prayer meeting.

Now, Lord, help us to pull off this job successfully, you know. It's just really confusion. Here he is engaged in this woman who is possessed by a demon. Actually, that's what it means, a familiar spirit, a demon-possessed woman.

And going to her for counsel and advice. Bringing back a spirit. And then the woman said, who shall I bring up to thee? And he said, bring me up Samuel. And when the woman saw Samuel, she screamed. And the woman spake to Saul saying, why have you deceived me?

For you are Saul. And the king said unto her, don't be afraid. What did you see? And the woman said, I saw the gods ascending out of the earth. And he said unto her, what form was he? And she said, he was like an old man covered up and he was covering with a mantle.

And Saul perceived that it was Samuel and he stooped with his face to the ground and bowed himself. And Samuel said to Saul, why have you disquieted me to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed, for the Philistines make war against me and God is departed from me.

And he answers me no more, neither by the prophets nor by dreams. Therefore I have called thee, that you may make known to me what I shall do. Then said Samuel, why do you ask me, seeing the Lord is departed from you and has become your enemy?

And the Lord hath done to him as he spoke by me, for the Lord has taken the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, even to David. And because you obeyed not the voice of the Lord, nor executed his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the Lord done this thing unto thee this day.

Moreover, the Lord will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. That would be a heavy thing to lay upon somebody wouldn't it? And he will deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.

Now, did Samuel really come back? Did this witch actually bring back a spirit from the dead? I would like to say I see no reason at all for not believing the story just as it is written. I always feel that the obvious interpretation is the correct interpretation and if you try to force another interpretation into the text that actually the very fact that you're trying to force something means that it doesn't fit.

I do not understand this whole issue, but I am convinced that even as it is written so it happened and that somehow Samuel did come back and that it was indeed Samuel that talked with Saul. The spirit of Samuel was brought back and that it was a genuine experience of dealing with spirits that have departed and are in the other world.

It would seem that the witch herself was shocked because of what happened. She screamed when she saw Samuel. It could be that she had been using as these spirit mediums often do just a particular demon spirit that gives them information.

Now, there is a reality to the spirit world. There is a reality in spiritism, but you are warned by the Bible to stay away from that kind of stuff. That it isn't something that you should be dabbling with.

But it is possible to contact spirit entities, but as a general rule what a person is contacting is a demon that can disguise himself as different persons. Now, these demons having lived in the various ages and being in the spirit realm able to observe many things are naturally able to tell you facts about your life and about the past that nobody else ever knew.

And usually people are drawn into these kind of things because the person is able to tell them names and to tell them experiences that they had as a child or that they had sometime during their life that is sort of locked up in their own heart.

They've never told anybody else. And now this spirit has told me and revealed these things to me and you get all of excited and you think, Oh, I'm actually contacting, you know, the spirit of my mother because that was something that only my mother and I knew.

Not so, demons knew it too. And thus they are able to rehearse for you conversations that you had, experiences that you had, things that took place. Lying spirits disguising themselves as one of your dead loved ones.

And there is a reality to the demon spirits and all. And this woman having a familiar spirit or a demon spirit was able to consult the demon spirit. Now there are people who dabble into this realm of spiritism and some of them get spirit guides and they direct their writing or they direct their arts and people get into all kinds of things using spirit guides.

But they are demon spirits who disguise themselves as say the spirit of a writer of the past or something of this nature. There is a real world of spirits. There is a real world of demon spirits as there is the real world of the angelic spirits that are still obedient to God.

But it is the world that we are warned not to dabble with, not to get involved with. And the fact that they can hypnotize a person and put them in age regression, take them back before their birth and then supposedly go back to previous lives and get the names of Annie Murphy and the streets she lived on, all this kind of stuff, doesn't prove reincarnation at all.

It only proves demons have been around for a long time and they can use all kinds of guises in order to deceive people and draw people into their deception. Now I personally believe that this woman was shocked and surprised when Samuel came back.

She expected to have a little conversation with her demon guide and her demon spirit and from him to get the information that Saul was seeking. But to her amazement, this spirit actually came out of the earth and she shrieked when she saw it.

And all of a sudden she realized the truth. That's Saul. And Samuel began to talk to Saul. And God allowed this to happen, a special dispensation of God. But surely it isn't a criteria for us to seek to contact the spirits of those that have departed to be with the Lord.

Sheol, Resurrection, and the Destiny of the Dead

Now, Samuel came up out of the earth. Prior to the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, everyone who died went into Sheol, which is in the lower parts of the earth, or in the heart of the earth.

Prior to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, Sheol was divided into two separate compartments as is taught by Jesus in Luke's Gospel chapter 16. There was one compartment where Abraham was encouraging and comforting those who died in faith.