Dealing with Opposition

In the last chapters of the book of 1 Samuel, we find the conflict between King Saul and David drawing to a close.  There has been quite a contrast between the underdog, David -- ruddy, righteous, and anointed by God to be the new King of Israel -- and the King, Saul -- tall, good-looking, and rejected by God as King.
 

Saul	David
Legal but rejected King (1 Sam. 15:26)	Anointed King (1 Sam. 16:13)
A believer, but will not fully obey God	A believer, a heart for God
Human and demonic advisors	God's wisdom
Murderous intent	Noble intent

Throughout David's life, he dealt with Saul's opposition with honor and respect.  He was acting righteously but Saul opposed him anyway.  In these last chapters we find some important principles for dealing with such opposition.

Main point:

God does not create opposition to His people but as it occurs in the life of the believer, He teaches us to trust in His Sovereign power and plan.

Scripture Passage: 1 Samuel 26-30

Scripture Outline

1 Sam. 26:1-25 David confronts Saul and Abner
1 Sam. 27:1-12 David flees to Philistia
1 Sam. 28:1-25 Saul fears the Philistines and consults a medium
1 Sam. 29:1-11 Philistine rulers reject David in their war against Israel
1 Sam. 30:1-31 David rescues his family from the Amalekites
 

Sermon Outline:

1. Respect the office of those in authority over you who oppose you and trust in the LORD for deliverance and protection.
2. Do not overlook the possibilities for how God can take care of you and protect you from opposition.
3. God will deal justly with those who treat you unjustly.
4. In times of opposition, remember the source of your strength.

 

1. Respect the office of those in authority over you who oppose you and trust in the LORD for deliverance and protection.

A quick summary of chapter 26 (1 Sam. 26:1-25) where David confronts Saul and Abner:

• Saul chases David and his men into the Wilderness of Ziph.
• David and Abishai secretly visit Saul's camp at night when all are sleeping.
• They find Saul sleeping unprotected and Abishai wants to kill him.
• David refuses to strike the king since He is "the anointed" (1 Sam. 26:9)
• David says either the LORD will strike him, his day to die will arrive, or he will be killed in battle.
• Instead David took the King's spear and water jug.
• On a hill facing the camp, David confronted Abner for failing to guard the king.
• He confronted Saul with the life he spared -- obviously David was not trying to kill Saul.
• Saul admitted his sin, invited David to come back with him, and assured David he would not kill him.

Why did David go to Saul's camp?  It is not clear from Scripture.  Perhaps David wanted to speak with the king privately.  Maybe he started out to inflict harm on the king but changed his mind when his plan actually succeeded.  It was clearly an opportunity arranged by God (1 Sam. 26:12) to test David's heart.

Here is what David concluded in this test:

(23) May the LORD repay every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness; for the LORD delivered you into my hand today, but I would not stretch out my hand against the Lord's anointed. (24) And indeed, as your life was valued much this day in my eyes, so let my life be valued much in the eyes of the LORD, and let Him deliver me out of all tribulation. (1 Samuel 26:23-24 NKJV)

Many may treat you unjustly -- parents may get angry at you for no reason, coworkers may accuse you unjustly, the government may strike at you accusations of unlawfulness. How will you respond?

For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. And again, "The LORD will judge His people" (Heb. 10:30, NKJV).

So it does not matter whether it is an ungodly person who opposes you -- God will repay -- or another believer -- God will judge His people.

A while back I moved from one division to another within my company.  A new project with my old division was started so I, being a subject matter expert, was the perfect person to work on it.  Unfortunately, someone at old division challenged my professional competence -- from an incident 9 years before.  Rather than attack, I went to the person privately to discuss what was wrong.  The accuser had no facts and no specifics -- just a general "feeling" about how I had handled the situation.  The person quickly saw the folly of making such a direct accusation without any real support and backed down.  However, there was never apology to anyone at my new division.  My reputation was tarnished.  I was only able to help on that project from a "hands-off" position.

Like David, I had to trust in the LORD to deliver me from unjust opposition and, in the end, be willing to allow the LORD to judge between me and the other person.  God will be just and will enact justice -- you can count on it!

Note -- Saul actually apologized and asked David to come back. David did not go back to Saul (there was no trust).

 

2. Do not overlook the possibilities for how God can take care of you and protect you from opposition.

(1)  And David said in his heart, "Now I shall perish someday by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape to the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me, to seek me anymore in any part of Israel. So I shall escape out of his hand." (2)  Then David arose and went over with the six hundred men who were with him to Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath. (3)  So David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, each man with his household, and David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal's widow. (4)  And it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath; so he sought him no more. (1 Sam. 27:1-4, NKJV)

A quick summary of chapter 27 (1 Sam. 27:1-12) when David flees to Philistia:

• (1-4) David fears for his life and seeks asylum from King Achish of Philistia.
• (5-7) David requested and was granted a city, Ziklag, for their families to live.
• (8-12) David raids the enemies of Israel but deceives King Achish about his efforts.

It is easy to despair when your life is in danger -- David had a crisis of faith:

• God has anointed him King
• Saul wants Jonathan to be King so he pursues David to kill him.
• David can not keep running -- he has men, wives, and children to feed.
• He can not return to Israel.

What should David have done?  David should have exercised faith in the LORD for his vindication and deliverance.  Frankly, it is reassuring to see even great men of God who learn how to walk by faith by stepping in a spiritual hole in the ground along the way.  In any event, David fled to the land of the Philistines, enemies of Israel.

Now who is the most famous Philistine in the Bible?  Goliath the giant whom David defeated!  So why did David go to Philistia?  We see in 1 Sam. 21:10 to see that David has followed this path before:

• He convinced King Achish he was a crazy man before to escape execution.
• Now he convinces the King he is an enemy of Israel just like Philistia.
• As the saying goes, "Politics makes for strange bedfellows."
• David convinces King Achish that Israel is their MUTUAL ENEMY.

Watch in this chapter how God provides for David's needs and protects him even in the midst of Israel's great enemy.

During this time in Philistia, David continuously misled the Philistines about his activity.  He told them he was attacking southern Judah but really Israel's enemies.  King Achish thought David was making himself despised in Israel.  It was quite a crafty plan and it worked.

Was it right for David to mislead King Achish who graciously allowed David and all his men and their families to live in his country?  Remember it was war between Israel and Philistia.  When you are at war with an enemy, things can seem confusing regarding right and wrong.  David had no problem misleading the enemies of Israel nor is he condemned for it in Scripture.  The enemies of Israel, remember, were the enemies of God.

While in this land, God provided for David by the hand of his enemy for more than a year!  King Achish provided an entire city for David, his men, and all their families to live.   David conquered 3 other enemies of Israel, following God's mandate to Joshua as they entered the promised land to annihilate the Canaanites as God's judgment upon their rebellious ways.

When you are facing continuous opposition, don't overlook the possibilities for how God can take care of you and protect you.  His provision may not be your first choice but you can count on the LORD for provision for all your needs:

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things [the needs in your life] will be given to you as well. (Matt. 6:33, NIV)

 

3. God will deal justly with those who treat you unjustly.

A quick summary of chapter 28 (1 Sam. 28:1-25) when Saul seeks the help of a medium:

• Saul fears the Philistines.
• God will not answer Saul's request for wisdom (ref. James 1:5-7).
• Saul consults a medium to see if Samuel will help.
• Samuel rebukes Saul for consulting a medium.
• Then Samuel reminds Saul of God's judgment.

(16) Then Samuel said: "Why then do you ask me, seeing the LORD has departed from you and has become your enemy? (17) And the LORD has done for Himself as He spoke by me. For the LORD has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David. (18) Because you did not obey the voice of the LORD nor execute His fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore the LORD has done this thing to you this day. (19) Moreover the LORD will also deliver Israel with you into the hand of the Philistines. And tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The LORD will also deliver the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines." (1 Samuel 28:16-19 NKJV)

There were four judgments of the LORD that Samuel declared to Saul:

1. The kingdom had been torn from Saul and given to David.
2. Saul would not fully obey God and that was the cause of his downfall.
3. Israel would be defeated by the Philistines the next day.
4. Saul and his sons will die in the battle.

As the spiritual leader of God's people, Saul was accountable in greater measure for his life of faith, his spiritual example.  He obeyed God to a point.  Selfishly (foolishly) he refused to carry out all that God required of him.

Was Saul a believer?  It is impossible for you and I to judge the heart of another, only God can do that (Jer. 17:9-10).  Scripture, however, records an interesting promise in Samuel's statement: "tomorrow you and your sons will be with me" (1 Sam. 28:19, NKJV).  We know that Samuel and Jonathan were believers.  Since Saul will be with him then he must have been a believer also.  So Saul and his sons were believers but Saul was disobedient in many ways.  His life reflected a confusion of faith and fleshly living -- a holding back of part of his life from God.

Saul lost eternal rewards because he failed to fully trust and obey God's commands.  It is the same for you and I today.  Every believer will face the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:9-11).  There the LORD Jesus Christ will test the quality of your life of faith (1 Cor. 3:13-15).  There will be rewards for acts of faith (eternal rewards) and loss for acts of the flesh (eternal loss).  Just as there are different levels of punishment in Hell, there will be different levels of reward in Heaven.

Looking at Saul's fate in context, we see a man who was David's enemy, the one who opposed him at every turn.  The opposition was unjust.  David had been nothing but good to Saul and yet Saul wanted to kill him.

God will deal with the unjust.  In fact, God will deal justly with those who treat you unjustly.  Your motivation as a child of God is not toward revenge.  God's love motivates you to walk by faith, to do what is right.  Even when people oppose us, attack us, or treat us unjustly.  Know that in the end, God will mete out justice -- perfect justice.  That certainty frees us to love, forgive, and walk by faith and not by revenge.

 

4. In times of opposition, remember the source of your strength.

In chapter 29 (1 Sam. 29:1-11), the Philistine rulers reject David in their war against Israel.  They were afraid David and his men would turn on them.  I believe they were correct because David would have: would not harm God's anointed king (1 Sam. 24:6).  Then in chapter 30 (1 Sam. 30:1-31), David family is kidnapped by the Amalekites:

(1) Now it happened, when David and his men came to Ziklag, on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the South and Ziklag, attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire, (2) and had taken captive the women and those who were there, from small to great; they did not kill anyone, but carried them away and went their way. (3) So David and his men came to the city, and there it was, burned with fire; and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive. (4) Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep. (1 Samuel 30:1-4 NKJV)

You can mess with me but don't mess with my family! David was now opposed by everyone -- Philistines, Amalekites, his own country Israel, and now even his own men turn on him:

(6)  Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. (1 Sam. 30:6a, NKJV)

Did you ever have a time in your life like that?  Sometimes it just seems like the whole world is against you.  Then again, sometimes the whole world is against you!

It would be natural to want to give up.  But David did not give up:  " … But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God" (1 Sam. 30:6b, NKJV).  How did David do that? "So David inquired of the LORD…" (1 Sam. 30:8, NKJV).

David obeyed God fully and was successful in defeating the Amalekites, regaining his family, and capturing tremendous loot.

Remember the source of your strength:  The LORD Jesus Christ.  As David would later write:

(1) I will love You, O LORD, my strength. (2) The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. (3) I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies. (Psalms 18:1-3 NKJV)

Even if the whole world is against you, in Christ God is for you!

• Rom. 8:31 If God is for us, who can be against us?
• Rom. 8:33 Who shall bring a charge against God's elect?
• Rom. 8:34 Who is he who condemns? It is God who justifies!
• Rom. 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

 

Conclusion:

As a believer in Christ, do not be surprised by opposition in a fallen world!

• Satan and demons are opposed to God, His word, and His people.
• The whole world system turns all people away from God and His word.
• The lusts of the flesh lead people to be selfish and beligerent.

If you live for Christ, you will be unjustly accused and opposed.  Remember Jesus was absolutely perfect in His life and they crucified Him!  How much more so we His disciples?

In 1 Samuel, David gave us a wonderful example of dealing with unjust opposition: Patient endurance.

(19) For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. (20) For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. (21) For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: (1 Peter 2:19-21 NKJV)

Jesus also gave us a wonderful promise when dealing with unjust opposition: Rejoice over your reward in Heaven!

(11) "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. (12) "Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:11-12 NKJV)

Our Creator God loves you and wants you to know Him! If you would like to contact this ministry for further information or questions, please send your e-mail to:
Email: ministryrequest1@WordTruth.Com
Web Site: WordTruth.Com

Copyright 5/27/2001, Randy Lariscy.