Amen. Let's turn the reading of the Holy Word of God this morning. 1st Samuel chapter 28 and we'll read the first two verses and then we'll jump over to chapter 29 and we'll read the 11 verses of chapter 29 and there's an interlude between there as the narrator will take us back to the land of Israel and to what's going on in the life of Saul. Lord willing we'll come back to that next Sunday, but for now we'll take the narrative of what is going on in the life of David, which just sandwiches that account of Saul. And so we'll read the first two verses of chapter 28, and then we'll go over to chapter 29. This is page 319 in most of the Bibles under the seats. 28 beginning at verse one. In those days, the Philistines gathered their forces for war to fight against Israel. And Achish said to David, understand that you and your men are to go out with me in the army. David said to Achish, very well, you shall know what your servant can do. And Achish said to David, very well, I will make you my bodyguard for life. And then going over to chapter 29. Now the Philistines had gathered all their forces at Aphek, and the Israelites were encamped by the spring that is in Jezreel. As the lords of the Philistines were passing on by hundreds and by thousands, and David and his men were passing on in the rear with Achish. The commanders of the Philistines said, what are these Hebrews doing here? And Achish said to the commanders of the Philistines, is this not David, the servant of Saul, king of Israel, who has been with me now for days and years? And since he deserted to me, I have found no fault in him to this day. But the commanders of the Philistines were angry with him. And the commanders of the Philistines said to him, send the man back, that he may return to the place to which you have assigned him. He shall not go down with us to battle, lest in battle he become an adversary to us. For how could this fellow reconcile himself to his Lord? Would it not be with the heads of the men here? Is not this David, of whom they sing to one another in dances? Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands? Then Achish called David and said to him, As the Lord lives, you have been honest, and to me it seems right that you should march out and in with me in the campaign, for I have found nothing wrong in you from the day of your coming to me to this day. Nevertheless, the lords do not approve of you, so go back now and go peaceably that you may not displease the lords of the Philistines. And David said to Achish, But what have I done? What have you found in your servant from the day I entered into your service until now that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my Lord the King? And Achish answered David and said, I know that you are as blameless in my sight as an angel of God. Nevertheless, the commanders of the Philistines have said he shall not go with us into battle. Now then rise early in the morning with your servants of your Lord who came with you and start early in the morning and depart as soon as you have light. So David set out with his men early in the morning to return to the land of the Philistines, but the Philistines went up to Jezreel. So far the reading, the grass withers, the flower fades, the word of our Lord endures forever. Dear congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, we spoke for those who are here, last week about how David ended up in the right place. He ended up in Ziklag, which is part of the tribal inheritance of Judah, but that David got into the right place in chapter 27 in the wrong way, that he got into Ziklag through Gath and through the gift of a Philistine king, Achish. And so we praise the Lord, that he often carries us to the right places despite our stumbling ways. But as we come into chapter 28 and 29, we're also seeing now this week, that flirtation with the enemy in zigzagging ways often brings pain and complications with it. As it says in Proverbs chapter 26 verse 27, whoever digs a pit will fall into it and the stone will come back on him who starts it rolling. For by coming into Ziklag through Gath and through the gift of a Philistine king, David has put himself into a position of compromise. And once a path of compromise starts rolling like a boulder rolling down a hill, it is difficult to stop. Specifically, we see that David's lies here will multiply. One lie leads to another, or as a wise elder recently said to me, lies beget lies. But we will not only see the danger of lies here, we will also see God's providential care, a care which will spare David from further compromise. And that's our theme this morning. David keeps, or God, keeps his faltering servant David from fighting his own people. God keeps his faltering servant from fighting his own people. And so first we're gonna see entering the Philistine camp, and then number two, should this man be here? Or the question that we can often ask ourselves, should often ask ourselves in life, what am I doing here? And then our third point will be exiting the Philistine camp. Well, the Philistine, they're gathering their forces and the army is getting ready to fight the Israelites. It's going to be a major battle. And as they're gathering together, the word comes from Achish to David, understand, you and your men are to go out with me. in the army. Now, David could not have welcomed this word. He may have feared that this word would come. He has been in the land of the Philistines now. We saw back in chapter 27, verse 7. He's there for some time. He's there for a year and four months. And now this command comes. You must march with the Philistine army. This might remind us of back in chapter 22, when David was just in the beginning of his flight and his fugitive run from Saul, and David's parents, who were also in danger, were allowed to stay in the land of Moab, but the prophet, Agad, brought the word of the Lord to David in chapter 22, verse five, and to David, the word comes, you must go to Judah. Why is that? It's for a number of reasons. David, unlike his parents, is young. He's able to run. He's able to fight. He's also the Lord's anointed prince. He's also a commander. He's a military man. He simply cannot live in the land of the Philistines the way that his parents could live in the land of Moab. We can almost imagine his parents seeking asylum in Moab and speaking the truth of the gospel and saying whatever they want to their, even their old relatives because they're descendants of Ruth, the Moabitess. The text doesn't give us all those details, but we can basically picture them doing that over there in Moab. But David cannot do that. He's a military commander. He has 600 men under him. He's the anointed prince of the people. He is called to be in different places, in different circumstances. He should have known that going into the land of the Philistines in the way that he did could lead to a day like this. Understand, Akish says, that you and your men are to go out and march with the Philistine army against the army of Israel. People of God, do we know the warnings of the word of God about who we associate with? The picture of Psalm 1, I've used this picture before, I know, because it's a startling picture in warning against the digression of falling into ungodly company. What's the picture of Psalm 1? It's someone who first walks in the councils of the wicked and then stands together with them and then ends up sitting down with them and scoffing at the things of God. And that's the digression which is contrasted with the man of God who would meditate on the Word of God day and night and that one is strong like a tree planted by the waters and can even bear fruit in seasons of distress. Perhaps in making friends with the Philistines, David was hoping that a situation like this would never come up. Perhaps he was hoping that he could just walk among them without ever having to stand and march with them as they scoff at and attack the army of Israel. But whatever David was hoping, this day has come. The command from Achish has come. Perhaps some who make close friendships with people of the world hope that they'll never have to hear their friend blaspheme the name of God so that they won't have to decide whether to defend God's name or not. Perhaps they hope that in making close friendships with people of the world, They'll never hear something said negatively about church and God's people and God and people who believe those kinds of things so that they won't have to stand up and say something that's not cool. This does not mean we can never associate with unbelievers in any way, but we must be cautious. Believers cannot be our chief allies, and there are certain relationships which are outright condemned, not allowed. 2 Corinthians chapter 6, the Apostle Paul speaks of it this way, of the call to know that there's a distinction between the people of God and unbelievers and how that should impact how we think about potential relationships. And the Apostle Paul says this in 2 Corinthians 6 verses 14 and 15, do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers, for what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial, and what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? Now the first context of that is worship. We cannot worship together with an unbeliever. Many have rightly noted that that continues to other relationships as well, such as the relationship of husband and wife. And so we can simply ask the question this way, whenever we're entering into a relationship with an unbeliever, we ask, is this a yoked relationship? And to now list a yoked relationship, which David is entering into, to march with the uncircumcised against The hosts of the Lord, the army of the Lord, which is what the army of Israel is. This is the time of the theocracy. Israel is God's people. To march with the enemy is a yoked relationship. It is fellowship with darkness. David should not be here. One question we should ask is, is this a yoked relationship? Another question, a specific question we can ask ourselves when considering our relationships with others is this, can my witnessing light continue to shine? Or is this a relationship where I would have to hide my light under the basket to keep the relationship going? That's another way we can think about it. We should never be in a relationship where we have to hide our light. Well, what does David have to do? He has to hide his light. He has to say, very well, you shall know what your servant can do. He's just been called the bodyguard, the guarding man of an uncircumcised Philistine king. And he says nothing about it. Nothing negative about it. He hides his light. He marches with them. 29 verse 2, he's passing on in the rear with Achish. He's marching on with the enemy. So as we see David in this circumstance, we are reminded of a question that we should often ask ourselves in life. What am I doing here? or another way to put that, is this a relationship that I should have, that should be built up, and these kinds of things. And in many ways, our first point is that David is not asking this question the way he should. He's not asking this question of himself the way he should be. But our second point, as we come to our second point now, our second point is about this, how God provides, in this case, unbelievers to ask the question for David, which he's failing to ask himself. And so we come into verse three, the commanders of the Philistines ask Achish, what are these Hebrews doing here? You see, sometimes, as God's people, we forget that there's warfare between the kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness. Sometimes as God's people, we forget to ask ourselves questions like, what am I doing here? And sometimes by God's providential care, he'll provide someone else, maybe even an unbeliever, to ask that question for us. and to spare us from falling further into our own pits. And that's the providential care of God here. He has a faltering, stumbling servant. David, who should have been asking himself these questions, and God has the Philistine commanders ask the question for him. What are these Hebrews doing here? people of God let it be a comfort to us that God can work out all things for good and that God can even do that by using the members of the kingdom of darkness unwittingly to accomplish his purposes and preserve his people from places we should not be. God can use any means that he wishes to accomplish his purposes, to preserve his people. Well, as the objection of the Philistine commanders comes, Achish. Achish is defending David. He's been with me now for days and years. That's a Hebrew idiom. It's a way of saying more than a year. Probably all or nearly all of the 16 months referred to in 27 verse 7 have passed by this time. But the commanders respond in verse four in anger with Achish. Basically, they're saying, do you remember who this is? Wouldn't his way back into the arms of the Israelites be to turn upon us and even to take our heads, they say at the end of verse four? What might that be a reminder of? That's kind of their way of saying, Achish, do you remember? This is the guy who beheaded Goliath. And then in verse five, Achish, do you remember the song of the Israelites? Saul, who, what's the one thing that Saul has done right, is he's attacked the enemies of the people of God. He's won victories against the Philistines and others, right? So that's the song. Saul has slain his thousands, but David, his ten thousands. What are you doing, Achish? The Philistine commanders say. And so God uses them to persuade Achish to persuade David to go back. Now we might ask ourselves, were the Philistine commanders right? Was this David's plan to turn upon the Philistines and to attack them? And quite possibly they were right. And this was David's plan. In fact, when David responds to Achish in verse 8 and he says, why can't I go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king? It may be that David's trying to be cryptic again, my lord the king. That's how he refers to Saul again and again throughout 1 Samuel. And so David is quite possibly planning or at least hoping that he can get into the battle. and be a turncoat and try to turn the tide of the battle in some way. But there's a couple of problems with this. First of all, if that's his plan, it's going to be difficult to pull it off at all. Battlefields are chaotic. Second, if David does pull that off, what has he done? He has compromised his reputation before the world. as a turncoat warrior. This is not the kind of thing which would win souls or advance the cause of God's people. And that's part of the job of the king of Israel, is to defeat God's enemies, but also to shine God's light, to bring them in. We're gonna see in chapter 30 that David does that by giving gifts to the Jeremelites and the Kenites. He does sometimes shine the light brightly and bring other tribes into the people of God, but this is not the kind of thing that would accomplish that purpose. This is not the way to shine the light of God's people before the Lord. David, as the Lord's anointed, is called to win battles. He has a calling on the battlefield that we do not have as New Testament Christians in 2022. But David is also called to be a witness to the world, just as we are called still to this day to be a witness to the world. And whatever scheme David had here may have helped to win one battle on the field, but it would have compromised his witness to the world. Turncoat warfare is not looked on kindly. One commentator said it this way, quote, the world respects out and out Christians, but neither God nor the world respects an inconsistent one, end of quote. I appreciate that terminology because it takes David's situation and puts it into terms of our New Testament Christian life. We should not be inconsistent Christians. We should not put ourselves in situations where we would have to compromise our witness. To be respected does not mean that one will be loved. Certainly we can say that Jesus was respected, even always respected, but not always loved. From his youth, Luke chapter 2 verse 52 says this, Jesus grew in favor with God and man. The Pharisees hated Jesus, but they also respected Jesus in the sense that they dare not ask him any more questions. They dare not capture him in daylight. You see, Jesus was the Savior without compromise. He's the perfectly righteous, anointed one and king that we need for our salvation. We're gonna talk about that more as we get into our third point, but let's come to that third point now, exiting the Philistine camp. Remember the proverb from our introduction that whoever digs a pit will fall into it? Well, we might hope that David would be grateful for the deliverance which he has been given. But whatever reckless plan David may have had, he is too set in his ways to see the providential care of God and to leave in gratitude. Instead, David says, what have I done, Achish? Why are you sending me away? He is going to carry out his lies to the end. He is going to continue in his compromising lying position. He doesn't want to do anything uncool in Achish's eyes. He doesn't want to even have a hint of what his desires at least should be. The narrator never tells us exactly what David is planning to do here. People of God, we might say that this is exhibit A, in the life of David of the danger of multiplied sins. His deceit has led to his marching with the uncircumcised, and he is a deceiver of Achish. Whatever Achish says, at the end of chapter 27, we know that he's really deceiving Achish about what he's been doing in the land of the Philistines all along. And so whatever his plans on the battlefield were for this upcoming battle, he's been deceiving Akish. And all of this deceit and all of this getting into Ziklag through Gaf and through the hand of the Philistines, it's led to now more lies. Surely David isn't anxious to fight against the Israelite army, is he? He should have learned his lesson here about the danger of letting sins add on top of sins, about the danger of falling into a pit of lies and lying more to try to cover your tracks. He should have learned a lesson of gratitude for God's deliverance from this situation. through the uncircumcised Philistine leaders. But, but maybe when I said exhibit A, maybe you knew where this was going because we maybe know the story of David's life and is there another time when he allows sin to add on top of sin? What's exhibit B? It's when lust leads to adultery, leads to lies, leads to murder, leads to more lies. and it's the account of David and his dealings with Bathsheba and Uriah. David does not learn the lesson here of the danger of sin adding on top of sin. People of God, brothers and sisters, may we be a people of repentance. And if we fall into even a deep pit of sin, Let's know it's never too late to repent. Thankfully, David is an example of that. He repents in dust and ashes. But may we also know that the day to repent is now. Let us also know that we should repent now and pray for God's grace to deliver us out of our pits of sin. and out of our rolling stones of destruction. Hebrews chapter 12, please turn with me to Hebrews chapter 12. And this is in the context of after Hebrews 11 in the hall of faith which ends by describing severe difficulties that can come, great suffering which can come from being God's faithful people on this earth. And all of that leads to Hebrews 12 verse 1 and 2. Hebrews chapter 12 verse 1 and 2. Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, or the NESB says it this way, the sin that so easily entangles us. And let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." Indeed, Jesus is the innocent one. Remember that Jesus was the one with a good reputation. Let's continue to compare that. Let's think about the words of Achish, who says to David, as the Lord lives, you have been honest And notice that Akish, like many polytheists, or what today we would call religious inclusivists, Akish, he's fine with using the name of the Israelite God. That's not a problem. He can use that and worship his own God, too. That's the attitude of many polytheists. So he says, as the Lord, that's the divine name, Yahweh, the name of, as he lives, You have been honest and then he says again after David's protests in verse 9, I know that you are as blameless in my sight as an angel of God. But if we've been reading the whole narrative again we know from the end of chapter 27 that David has not been honest with Achish. Well now compare this with the very similar words that Pilate speaks to Jesus In Luke chapter 23 verse 14, 13 and 14, Pilate then called together the chief priests and the rulers of the people and he said to them, you brought me this man as one who was misleading the people. And after examining him before you, behold, I did not find this man guilty of any of your charges against him. Neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us. Nothing deserving death has been done by Him. You see, Jesus Christ had the perfectly good reputation before all men. And His light of truth always shone. No compromise. Even though it cost Him suffering to the point of death on the cross. Jesus is the one who is not guilty. He is the one who saves us from our lost ways, for we are all like David. We are all sinners, standing in need of the providence of God to rescue us from our follies, standing in need of the blood of Jesus Christ to pay for our sins and wash away our guilt. And so, people of God, let's praise God. Praise His providential hand, saving us from pits of our own making and praise God for salvation from even the eternal pit as He gives His Son, the uncompromising, perfectly righteous Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. Let us let us pray. Lord God Almighty save us.