1. "You can fall into the trap of wanting to optimize every single decision. What if something better comes along? How can you shut the door on so many good things? What if the best thing is still out there?"

2. "Every lie, though it seems to serve you, will only tie your hands together more tightly in the end."

3. "God's mercy is chasing David. God's mercy is hunting him down. God's mercy is hot on David's tracks. The same mercy that saved David from the Philistines, the same mercy that saved David from Saul now saves David from himself."

4. "We've all dug holes too deep to get out of. But God's mercy can dig deeper still. God's mercy is inexhaustible and unstoppable. God's mercy can outrun all the ways you run from him."

5. "Sometimes trials come in clusters. You thought getting pressed into service in the Philistine army was the last straw, but no. You return to find your home destroyed and your family taken captive. You thought that was the last straw, but no, now your whole army turns against you and threatens to kill you. Be wary of ever thinking you've identified the last straw."

6. "God brought David low, lower, lowest. He took away every external help. He left David threatened, isolated, alone, no allies, no resources, no friends, nowhere to turn. David's out of options."

7. "Will God stumble at your finish line? Will he drop you just before the end zone? Not a chance. He's promised to keep you to the end."

8. "Your weaknesses don't drive Christ farther from you. Instead, they draw him closer."

9. "At all costs, Saul sought to control circumstances and bend them in his favor. At all costs, he sought to secure his own kingdom even after God ripped it from his hands. At all costs, he sought to control God rather than submit to God."

10. "He came not to exalt himself, but to humble himself in order to exalt us. He came not to be a king like all those of the nations, but to take up his cross and serve us. He came not to be the king we want, but to be the king we need."

Observation Questions

1. In 1 Samuel 29:3-5, what reason do the Philistine commanders give for wanting David sent away from the battle, and what song do they reference to support their concern?

2. According to 1 Samuel 30:1-5, what did David and his men discover when they returned to Ziklag, and how did they respond emotionally to what they found?

3. In 1 Samuel 30:6, what did David's men speak of doing to him, and what did David do in response to being "greatly distressed"?

4. According to 1 Samuel 30:21-25, what dispute arose among David's men regarding the spoils of battle, and what principle did David establish to resolve it?

5. In 1 Samuel 31:3-6, how did Saul die, and why did he ask his armor-bearer to kill him before taking his own life?

6. According to 1 Samuel 31:8-13, what did the Philistines do with Saul's body after the battle, and how did the men of Jabesh-Gilead respond?

Interpretation Questions

1. How does David's situation in 1 Samuel 29—being trapped by his own deception yet rescued by the Philistine commanders' suspicion—demonstrate the sermon's point that "God's mercy can dig deeper than any hole we dig for ourselves"?

2. What does David's act of "strengthening himself in the Lord his God" (1 Samuel 30:6) reveal about the source of his character and leadership, especially when contrasted with Saul's response to his own crisis in chapter 31?

3. In 1 Samuel 30:23-25, David attributes the victory and spoils to "what the Lord has given us." How does this understanding of God's role in the battle shape David's decision about how to distribute the spoils, and what does this reveal about godly leadership?

4. How does Saul's death in 1 Samuel 31 fulfill the prophetic words spoken earlier in 1 Samuel (13:14; 15:28; 28:18-19), and what does this teach about God's faithfulness to His word even in judgment?

5. The sermon describes the plot of 1-2 Samuel as "X-shaped"—the proud are humbled and the humble are exalted. How do the contrasting outcomes for Saul and David in chapters 29-31 illustrate this pattern, and how does this point forward to Christ?

Application Questions

1. David got himself into a bind through deception that he couldn't escape on his own. What is one area of your life where you have tried to take a shortcut or told a "convenient" lie that has complicated your situation? How might you bring that before God and others this week?

2. When David was at his lowest—his home destroyed, family taken, and his own men threatening to kill him—he "strengthened himself in the Lord his God." What specific practices help you draw strength from God when you feel completely alone or overwhelmed, and how can you be more intentional about these this week?

3. David treated the exhausted soldiers who stayed behind with dignity and shared the spoils equally with them. Is there someone in your community or church who feels sidelined because of their limitations or weaknesses? How might you honor and include them this week?

4. The sermon warned against "worshiping the God of Options"—always keeping doors open and never fully committing. What decision or commitment have you been avoiding because you're afraid of closing off other options? What would it look like to trust God and move forward?

5. Israel's worst fear came true because they trusted in a human king rather than in God. What is one "if only" in your life—one thing you're counting on to make everything okay—that might be taking the place of trust in God? How can you begin to shift your hope back to Him?

Additional Bible Reading

1. Psalm 23:1-6 — This psalm, written by David, expresses the same confidence in God's pursuing goodness and mercy that the sermon highlights from David's experience in 1 Samuel 29-30.

2. 2 Samuel 7:8-16 — This passage contains God's covenant promise to David of an eternal dynasty, which the sermon identifies as the climactic turning point that all of 1-2 Samuel drives toward and which finds fulfillment in Christ.

3. Ephesians 4:7-16 — The sermon references this passage to explain how Christ, like David, shares the spoils of His victory generously with His people through spiritual gifts.

4. Romans 8:28-39 — This passage reinforces the sermon's theme that God works all things for the good of those who love Him and that nothing can separate believers from His pursuing love.

5. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 — This passage illustrates the sermon's application that our weakness draws Christ closer rather than pushing Him away, and that His power is made perfect in weakness.

Sermon Main Topics

I. The Temptation to Worship the God of Options

II. When You're Out of Options, God Can Rescue You from Your Own Sin (1 Samuel 29:1-11)

III. When You're Out of Options, God Can Still Win (1 Samuel 30:1-31)

IV. When You're Out of Options, God Fulfills His Word (1 Samuel 31:1-13)

V. The Story Points Forward to Christ, the King We Need (2 Samuel 7:12-16)

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Detailed Sermon Outline

Some of you worship the God of Options. It's hard not to when you have so many. Jobs you can apply for, an endless range of places you want to visit, a buffet of friendships to develop that you can choose from, many potential spouses to consider.

You can fall into the trap of wanting to optimize every single decision. What if something better comes along? How can you shut the door on so many good things? What if the best thing is still out there?

Of course, worshiping the God of options is something that tempts the young, healthy, and privileged more than it tempts those who are older, sicker, and poorer. But even still, even in the midst of serious suffering or loss, we often Invest all of our hope in whatever option looks like it's most going to come through for us. We have one option, one if only, one source of support and strength. If only this comes through, if only that improves, if only I turn this corner, then everything will be okay. Sometimes when you have fewer options, you cling all the more tightly to the few or to the one.

That you still have some hope of securing. But sometimes you run out of options.

You run out of options not only to get what you want, but to get what you need. You run out of money, time, friends, or strength. Or willpower. What then? Have you ever run out of options?

If so, how did you handle it? What did that running out of options reveal about you?

We come this morning to the end of the book of 1 Samuel. We'll cover chapters 29 through 31. This has been the occasional series I've been walking us through all year. The passage starts on page 251. One of the Pew Bibles.

I have to warn you, though we come to the end of the book, we will not receive a happy ending. When we last met David and Saul a couple months ago, the Philistines were preparing for battle with Israel. God refused to give Saul any direction about what to do, so Saul wickedly searched out a medium. He called up the spirit of Samuel from the grave, and he received prophetic news that he and his sons would die the next day in battle with the Philistines. David, on the other hand, had gotten himself into his own hot water.

He had sought refuge in Philistine territory, fleeing from Saul's continual efforts to kill him, and he'd sought refuge with their king, Achish. Achish had given David his own city to settle in and live in, but David lied to Achish about what he was doing and whose interests he was serving. And so he convinced Achish that he'd be loyal to him. He convinced Achish that he was acting in such a way that he was burning all of his bridges with Israel and he couldn't possibly go back. So for David, for Saul, and for the whole people of Israel, these are dark times and chapters 29 through 31 only get darker.

Outwardly, these events look like a whole lot of defeat, destruction, and devastation. It looks like David is out of options and so is the whole of Israel. But we're going to see that when you're out of options, God has infinite options. So here's a key question this whole passage answers. When you're out of options, what can only God do?

When you're out of options, what can only God do? We'll find three answers. One per chapter. Point one on chapter 29, rescue. Point one, rescue.

In chapter 29, God rescues David from the consequences of his own sin and folly. Look first at verses 1 to 5. 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 the 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.

Back in chapter 27, because David had convinced Achish of his loyalty to him, Achish had made him his permanent bodyguard, which means when Achish goes out to fight, David and all his men go with him. That is, go out with him, this time to fight against Israel, his own people. Which, of course, would be a horridly immoral thing to do. It would also be political suicide. If David in any way ever fought against his own people, how could they ever after trust him to lead them?

Hey, David, you were at the battle, you were against us, remember? So David can't fight against his own people but he can't beg off of his duty as a bodyguard. So David here has gotten himself into a bind that he can't get himself out of. He is has run out of options. He can't say to Akeesh, well, actually, I don't really want to fight against Israel.

Turns out I'm kind of loyal to them still. Akeesh might kill him on the spot. But David, by putting himself in this bind, thought he was doing himself a favor, thought he was purging himself room to move, thought he was carving out a little space in which he could wait out Saul's hostility. But by lying his way into that, David only loaded up his burden heavier. Every lie, though it seems to serve you, will only tie your hands together more tightly in the end.

David bound himself into this hardship by his own sin. So what did God do for David? God did for David what David could in no way do for himself. God turned the hearts of the other Philistine commanders against David. These were Achish's most senior military officials.

Understandably, they're suspicious of this well-known Israelite warlord who is going out to fight with them. What if he uses the battle as an opportunity to change teams and to show his true colors? So they want him gone. They want him sent safely back home away from the battle. Now here's how Akeesh responds, verses six to 11.

Then Akeesh 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 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 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 up with us to the battle.' Now then rise early in the morning with the 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.

The irony here is thick. Achish is so convinced of David's faithfulness to him that he only sends him home because he's politically forced to because all of his senior officials effectively demand it. David, miraculously relieved of the duty of having to fight against his own people, protests being relieved of duty. As Dale Ralph Davis put it, the deceived defends his deceiver and the relieved disputes his relief. I'm honestly not sure what David was up to, trying to preserve the act until the bitter end, thinking God could deliver him some other way.

I don't think he ever meant to really fight against his own people. I don't think he would have gone that far. But it's not really clear, but David's not exactly helping himself here. God is sort of lifting him out and David's like, Wait, wait a minute, hang on a second. I still got this.

What's the Lord doing here for David? In Psalm 23:6, in a beloved verse, David confesses, Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. That verb follow, you could equally translate as chase or pursue. Surely goodness and mercy shall chase me all the days of my life. God's mercy is chasing David.

God's mercy is hunting him down. God's mercy is hot on David's tracks. David has effectively run from the Lord, at least in this instance. He's dug himself into a hole too deep to get himself out of. But God's mercy easily reaches right down and plucks him out of it.

God's mercy pursues him, finds him, and lifts him clean out. The same mercy that saved David from the Philistines, the same mercy that saved David from Saul now saves David from himself. In this rescue, David deserves all the blame. And God deserves all the credit. When's the last time you dug a hole for yourself?

I don't mean like playing with sand on the beach just like I did with my kids all week. I mean when your own sin or folly got you into a mess you couldn't fix. I mean lying or shirking responsibility to try to take what you thought was the easy way out. When's the last time you got yourself into a mess you couldn't get out of? In this chapter, David is not a model for us, he is a model of us.

He's a model of mercy, not his own mercy, but God's mercy. And what God's mercy can do to the worst of what we do to ourselves and others. We've all dug holes too deep to get out of. But God's mercy can dig deeper still. God's mercy is inexhaustible and unstoppable.

God's mercy can outrun all the ways you run from him. When you're out of options, what can only God do? Rescue you from the consequences of your own sin. Point number two on chapter 30. When you're out of options, what can only God do?

Point two, when. This chapter is much longer and so will be this point.

Chapter 30 begins with David and his men being sent home from the battlefield back to Ziklag, the city in Philistia that had been given to them to dwell in. But nothing could prepare them for what they saw when they returned. Look at verses 1 to 5. Now when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had made a raid against the Negev and against Ziklag. They had overcome Ziklag and burned it with fire and taken captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great.

They killed no one. But carried them off and went their way. And when David and his men came to the city, they found it burned with fire, and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept, until they had no more strength to weep. David's two wives also had been taken captive, Ahinoam of Jezreel, and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel.

Now the Amalekites were enemies of both Israel and the Philistines. And so when David and his men were away marching into battle with Achish, the Amalekites exploited that opportunity and raided their city. They took everybody captive, they stole all their possessions. This is devastating. David and his men come home and weep until they can't weep anymore.

But then things get even worse for David. Look at verse 6: and David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. Just like the people of Israel turned against Moses in the wilderness, so David's followers turned against him now.

David's approval rating has hit an all-time low. The people blame him for all that's happened and they talk of stoning him. Sometimes trials come in clusters. You thought getting pressed into service in the Philistine army was the last straw, but no. You return to find your home destroyed and your family taken captive.

You thought that was the last straw, but no, now your whole army turns against you and threatens to kill you. Be wary of ever thinking you've identified the last straw.

God brought David low, lower, lowest. He took away every external help. He left David threatened.

Isolated, alone, no allies, no resources, no friends, nowhere to turn. David's out of options. So what does he do? Look again at the very end of verse 6. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.

This is the truest test of David, and it's one he passes. Who is he when he's completely alone? Who is he when everything and everyone is against him? David, in those painful circumstances, is someone who knows how to get strength from God alone. And that is the key to his entire character.

How did David strengthen himself in God? I think we get a clue from back in chapter 23, verses 16 to 18, which is David and Jonathan's last meeting. The very similar language is used and there, Jonathan reminded David of the promises God had made to him. And he strengthened David's heart on the basis of those promises. That's clearly what David is doing here.

He's reminding himself of the promises God had made personally to him. He's reminding himself of God's character that guarantees he will fulfill those promises. God had promised David that he would be established as king before him. No matter how bleak David's prospects look now, David knows that God's word is truer than his own interpretation of his own circumstances. David knew that God had chosen him, anointed him, that God had promised him a throne and protected him for years.

Will God now stumble at the finish line? Will God drop David just inside of the end zone? David knows there's not a chance. God will come through for him. Brother and sister, when you are at your lowest, and weakest, get strength from God.

Remember that he himself has chosen you and anointed you with his Spirit and promised you a kingdom and protected you for all the years you've known him. Will God stumble at your finish line? Will he drop you? Just before the end zone. Not a chance.

He's promised to keep you to the end. So when you're at your weakest, do whatever it takes to get strength from God. One simple way to do this is to find a passage of Scripture that's rich in promises, like Romans 8, and turn every phrase into prayer. Until your cold heart starts to warm up and catch fire again. And consider how important weekly corporate worship is for getting strength in God.

I hope and pray that one of the regular experiences you have in showing up week by week, Sunday after Sunday, is that you come in aware of your weaknesses, aware of your burdens, maybe feeling a little spiritually bruised and battered, and you can feel your heart getting strength in God as we progress on Sunday morning through singing, reading, praying, hearing God's word, encouraging each other before and after. Brothers and sisters, use every Sunday as an opportunity to strengthen your own heart in God and see what you can do to strengthen others' hearts in God too. We should get back to the story. In verses 7 through 10, David asks the Lord what he should do. That's the natural response.

He strengthened his heart in God and now he turns to God for guidance. Verses 7 to 10. And David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, 'Bring me the ephod.' so Abiathar brought the ephod to David. And David inquired of the Lord, 'Shall I pursue after this band? Shall I overtake them?' He answered him, 'Pursue, for you shall surely overtake and shall surely rescue.' so David set out, and the 600 men who were with him.

And they came to the Brook Besor, where those who were left behind stayed. But David pursued he and 400 men. 200 stayed behind who were too exhausted to cross the Brook Besor. So through inquiring of God through the ephod, David obtains God's express approval to pursue this band of raiders and his assurance that he'll succeed in rescuing all his people. So David sets out to win back their families and belongings.

And David mercifully leaves 200 men behind. They were worn out from their travels and they just couldn't go any further. But now how are David and his army supposed to find the Amalekites? They could be anywhere. It's not like they would have left instructions saying, Hey, if you would like your wives and all your belongings back, here's how you can come find us.

They could have disappeared and gone anywhere. Now, in verses 11 to 15, God's providence again does for David what David can't do for himself. Look at verses 11 to 15. They found an Egyptian in the open country and brought him to David. And they gave him bread and he ate.

They gave him water to drink. And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs and two clusters of raisins. And when he had eaten, his spirit revived, for he had not eaten bread or drunk water for three days and three nights. And David said to him, 'To whom do you belong? And where are you from?' He said, 'I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite, and my master left me behind because I fell sick three days ago.

We had made a raid against the Negev of the Kerithites and against that which belongs to Judah and against the Negev of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire. And David said to him, 'Will you take me down to this band?' and he said, 'Swear to me, by God, that you will not kill me or deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will take you down to this band. ' This Egyptian had been exploited and abandoned by his Amalekite master. Instead of feeding and caring for him, when they had completed their attack, the Amalekites just left him for dead. By contrast, David showed him kindness.

He gives him a full, refreshing meal before even asking him any questions. God kindly provides this informant for David. And David treats him and receives him with kindness. And then the Egyptian knows what David and his men can't possibly know, which is where the Amalekite army will be. So he takes them there.

Then verses 16 to 20 tell us what happens when David and his men find them. And when he had taken him down, behold, they were spread abroad over all the land, eating and drinking and dancing, because of all the great spoil they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. And David struck them down from twilight until the evening of the next day. And not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men, who mounted camels and fled. David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken, and David rescued his two wives.

Nothing was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything that had been taken. David brought back all. David also captured all the flocks and herds and the people drove the livestock before him and said, this is David's spoil.

Chapter 30 here is full of illustrations of how God's work enables and empowers our work. Back in verse six, as we saw, David strengthened himself in God. So who's doing the strengthening? Well, in one sense, David. But where does the strength come from?

It comes from God. And here we see the same thing in this battle. The narrator has shown this so many times in 1 Samuel over and over again. The battle belongs to the Lord. God is the one who granted David to rescue all their families.

And David's gonna confess that in verse 23. But at the same time, the people are right to say in verse 20, this is David's spoil, meaning we'd lost all confidence in David, but David came through. We were ready to stone him, but he still let out and rescued all that we needed. He still restored our families to us. We had lost confidence in him, but apparently we shouldn't have because David's confidence in God made him deserving of their confidence.

He proved it by courageously leading out in this expedition. So this is David's spoil and David served in the strength that God himself supplied. To win this battle required courage and resolve on David's part but ultimately it's God who gave the victory. And so we'll see that David is no hog of either glory or spoils. Look at verses 21 to 25.

Then David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow David, and who had been left at the brook Besor. And they went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him. And when David came near to the people, he greeted them. Then all the wicked and worthless fellows among the men who had gone with David said, 'Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered. Except that each man may lead away his wife and children and depart.

But David said, you, shall not do so, my brothers, with what the Lord has given us. He has preserved us and given into our hand the band that came against us. Who would listen to you in this matter? For as his share is who goes down into the battle, so shall his share be who stays by the baggage. They shall share alike.

And he made it a statute and a rule for Israel from that day forward to this day. Here, the warriors who fought wanted to receive more spoils than the warriors who stayed back and guarded the gear. They wanted a strict meritocracy. They wanted hazard pay for their risk. But David saw more deeply and more clearly.

For one thing, he saw through to the source of their victory. Verse 23, you, shall not do so, my brothers, with what the Lord has given us. He has preserved us and given into our hand the band that came against us. David understands that all this spoil belongs ultimately to God and was given to them by God, and so he's merely a steward of it. And needs to share it out justly.

David also saw what would bind his men together instead of splitting them apart. He didn't want those who were forced through fatigue to stay behind to feel any guilt or shame over their natural limits. They'd been hard pressed, they came back on a kind of forced match from the battlefield. They were tired, it's understandable. So David treated them with dignity and respect.

And his insistence on equal reward was a sign that others needed to treat them with dignity and respect. David showed both equity and kindness to those who had to stay behind, and in so doing, he bound his army together with ties of mutual loyalty and care rather than letting it be split up by a mercenary spirit. He also led his men through patient persuasion and teaching. He didn't just order them what to do with the spoil. Instead, he gently reasoned with them, trying to get them to see their shortsighted error.

And what David's doing here is he's kind of extending and applying a rule in the Mosaic law. Back in Numbers 31, there's a statute about how the spoil should be shared between basically soldiers and civilians. The statute doesn't speak to what about divisions between soldiers? But David kind of takes the principle of the law and applies it here. And the point of verse 25 is that this becomes a standing custom.

It becomes a standing way of applying that particular law. He sort of sets up a lasting rule. For Israelite armies going forward. In all these ways and more, David shows himself to be a model leader of God's people. Not only that, he's also a model of the perfect leader who was to come.

As pivotal as this victory was for David and his team, Jesus has won for us a far more decisive victory and one when we were completely out of options. God is our creator and Lord and we owe him wholehearted allegiance. But all of us have rebelled against him. All of us have turned away from him. All of us have refused to be ruled by him and have tried to rule ourselves instead.

And the just punishment that we deserve for our sin is to be eternally punished by God in hell. That's what he promises to deliver to all those who persist in rebellion and unbelief. But because God is merciful, He sent his son into the world to win a decisive victory over sin, to rescue us from the infinitely deep pit we dug ourselves into. Jesus did that by dying on the cross and paying the full penalty for all the sins of all those who had turned from sin and trust in him. And he completed that work by rising from the dead and triumphing over the grave and entering into a new eternal glorified life with God forever.

Now he reigns at God's right hand and he calls all people to repent and trust in him. If you've never believed in Jesus, turn to him in faith today and trust yourself to him holy. He's merciful, he's kind, he's faithful. He can rescue you from all that you cannot rescue yourself from. Now, not only did Jesus die and rise and then ascend to heaven, but he now reigns at God's right hand and from there he pours out the spoils of his victory.

That's what the apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians 4. First of all, he poured out his holy spirit Spirit on the day of Pentecost, and he keeps doing so in the hearts of all who believe. And Paul tells us in Ephesians 4 about other spoils of victory that Christ has enriched his whole church with. Ephesians 4:8, therefore it says, when he ascended on high, he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men. So one of the ways we should think about the whole Christian life is that every good thing we share in that's a distinctively spiritual blessing of the gospel.

Is a spoil of Christ's victory. It's what he won and what he shares out with his whole church. This is Jesus's spoil, we can say. Whenever we encounter any spiritual blessing that he so graciously gives us, Paul goes on to tell us that Christ has enriched his church with pastors, teachers, and evangelists and others to build up the saints for the work of ministry. So David foreshadowed Christ not only in his righteous suffering, but in his generous victory, David shared the spoils of victory even with the weakest of his soldiers.

And that's how generous Christ is to share the spoils of his victory with every single one of us. Brother or sister, if you trust in Jesus, don't be ashamed of your weakness. Jesus is not stingy with you. Because of your weakness. Instead, your weakness gives him all the more chance to show his strength and power.

And if you're not ashamed to receive care from Christ himself, don't be ashamed to receive care from one of Christ's people. Jesus is not ashamed to call you brother or sister. God himself is not ashamed to be called your God. Your weaknesses don't drive Christ farther from you. Instead, they draw Him closer.

Verses 26 to 31 go on to tell us how David continued to show generosity and a little political shrewdness in sharing the spoils of his victory.

When David came to Ziklag, he sent part of the spoil to his friends, the elders of Judah, saying, Here is a present for you from the spoil of the enemies of the Lord. It was for those in Bethel, in Ramoth of the Negev, in Jattir, in Aroer, in Siphmoth, in Eshtemoa, in Racal, in the cities of the Jerameelites, in the cities of the Kenites, in Hormah, in Bore Ashan, in Ataroth, in Hebron, for all the places where David and his men had roamed.

These are all cities that had been raided by the Amalekites at one point or another, and they were all cities that had provided for David and his men on their wandering journeys. So David is both restoring what the Amalekites took, and offering personal thanks for the help that these cities had given him. That last named city is the most important, Hebron. In 2 Samuel 2, we learn that after Saul died, Hebron was the first city to recognize David's kingship. He wound up reigning there for seven years before he moved the capital to Jerusalem.

So David was also paving the way for a favorable reception after Saul's death. Service of others and self-interest don't always conflict. If we take in this chapter as a whole and ask, what is God doing in this kind of interlude before the climactic battle with Israel and the Philistines? He's showing us who the real king is, David, not Saul. And he's preparing his people for that king's reign.

He's training their eyes on him.

Revealing his character. He's paving the way for David's kingship to get established. As we'll see in a moment, Israel is about to suffer a devastating defeat and it's probably taking place on the very same day that God gives David this victory. So the contrast could not be starker. He's leading the true king to this kind of behind the scenes victory and rescuing his people and restoring them all on the same day, as we'll see.

That the king who's been judged is going down. God is showing us the marks of the true king in David's character. It begins with David's faith, his strengthening himself in God. And it follows through in persistence, endurance, kindness, integrity, generosity. When you're out of options, God can still win.

And we should be careful to notice here that in this chapter, God not only wins through David, he also wins in David. That is, he secures David's devotion to him. He conquers in David's heart before he conquers through David outwardly. Point three. On chapter 21, Fulfill His Word.

When you're out of options, what can only God do? Fulfill His Word.

In this case, the word fulfilled is a word of judgment. God fulfills His word by ending Saul's reign, his life, and his dynasty. Look first at verses 1 to 7. Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines, and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines struck down Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul.

The battle pressed hard against Saul, and the archers found him, and he was badly wounded by the archers. Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, 'Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through and mistreat me.' But his armor-bearer would not, for he feared greatly. Then Saul took his own sword and fell upon it.

And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died with him. Thus Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men, on the same day together. And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley and those beyond the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead. They abandoned their cities and fled. And the Philistines came and lived in them.

Here, Saul is totally out of options. We saw back in chapter 28 that Samuel foretold that Saul and his sons would all die on this so Saul knew he couldn't escape death, but he still tried to control it. Even now, instead of simply submitting to God's sovereignty and allowing God to judge him however he saw fit, Saul literally took matters into his own hands. Even to the bitter end, Saul feared being captured and tortured before being put to death. So he asked his armor bearer to slay him.

The armor bearer rightly refused, so Saul did it himself. This is not at all a justified act of self-protection. It is never morally right to take your own life because that seems preferable to what you anticipate suffering in the present or the future. And so we see Saul's sadly consistent character. At all costs, he sought to control circumstances and bend them in his favor.

At all costs, he sought to secure his own kingdom even after God ripped it from his hands. At all costs, he sought to control God rather than submit to God. As the Bible commentator Matthew Henry put it, See what a king he proved for whom they rejected God and Samuel. Saul's death was a fitting judgment on a man who did not submit to God. But Saul's death didn't affect only him.

Look at verse 7. And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley and those beyond the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled. And the Philistines came and lived in them. Here the people of Israel are being driven out of their homes and the Philistines are coming and settling in them. It is a partial reversal of the conquest of the land.

The Philistines were what Israel feared all along. The Philistines were the threat that they asked for a king to protect them from. This is the whole reason they wanted a king in the first place. This is their worst fear coming true. In the end, Israel winds up worse off than when they began.

They rejected God from being their king so God in the end let their enemies rule over them. They wanted security more than they wanted God so God gave them up to their own worst fear. If you're not a believer in Jesus, entertain for a moment the possibility that this God of the Bible is real, that he is who he says he is, that he has a claim on your life. And ask yourself, what are you so devoted to that you might not want to give it up, even if God himself told you to? For all of us here today, what do you want more than you want God?

As Chad was leading us in confessing our sins in prayer, the question for all of us today is, what might you be willing to forsake God in order to get?

What options are you absolutely committed to keeping open?

Israel's defeat at the hands of the Philistines is an object lesson for all of us. This chapter does not mean that God always treats his people this way. After all, there are serious differences between Israel's relationship to God under the old covenant and ours under the new. But still, this is an instructive instance of divine discipline. Israel did the very opposite of what Psalm 146:3 tells us.

They put their trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. In this judgment, God is mingling mercy and kindness as well. In defeating their king, God is showing Israel the emptiness and weakness of their idols. He's poking and prodding them toward repentance. What idols have failed to come through for you lately?

What might God be teaching you through the failure of those idols? As Jesus says in Revelation 3:19, those whom I love I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. How is Jesus disciplining you right now? What do you you need to repent of. This divine discipline mingled with mercy continues from verse 8 to the end of the book in verse 13.

The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. So they cut off his head and stripped off his armor and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to carry the good news to the house of their idols and to the people. They put his armor in the temple of Ashtaroth, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth Shan. But when the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, all the valiant men arose and went all night, and took the body of Saul, and the bodies of the sons of his sons from the wall of Bethshan, and they came to Jabesh, and burned them there. And they took their bones, and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

After the Philistines defeated Saul and Israel, they did a little dance in the end zone. By putting Saul's armor in the temple of their gods, they were claiming not only that they had defeated Israel's king but that their gods had defeated Israel's God. They added theological insult to military injury. But back in Israel itself, some loyal Israelites are rightly honoring Saul after his death. Way back in chapter 11, in the first big battle of Saul's career as king, he rescued the city of Jabesh-Gilead from the Philistines and the men of Jabesh-Gilead remember.

So here even after his death, the men of that city repay Saul for his service and rescue his remains from further harm by the Philistines. It's a small act, but it's a fitting acknowledgement of the good that this deeply flawed king did for them. All this in chapter 31 took place to fulfill God's word. Way back in chapter 13, verse 14, God promised Saul through Samuel, your kingdom shall not continue. Two chapters later, chapter 15, verse 28, again the Lord says through Samuel, the Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours who is better than you.

As we've already reflected on in chapter 28 verse 18, the spirit of Samuel tells us all this will happen the very next day. And all of this fulfills what Hannah prophesied at the very beginning of the book in chapter 2 verse 9 when she announced that the adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces. Against them he will thunder in heaven. The whole plot of 1 and 2 Samuel is shaped like an X. Those who start low wind up high, those who start high wind up low.

So here we're seeing overseeing Saul who started high from his physical height, his appearance, his stature before the people, his being anointed king, he exalted himself and God humbled him. David who started low, the youngest son, the shepherd boy, despised by his brothers, persecuted by Saul, God chose him, God selected him, and God has been all along exalting him. He's not quite at his peak yet. But he will be in the rest of the story to come. When Israel was out of control, God was still in control, fulfilling his word of judgment.

Throughout 1 Samuel and here at the end, most of all, God has been humbling the proud and exalting the humble. And so 1 Samuel ends on a dark note. No happy ending here.

It's a little like the middle movie in a trilogy. Say, for instance, the Empire Strikes Back. No happy ending, but there isn't supposed to be. We're only at the halfway mark. The story isn't over yet.

Remember that 1 and 2 Samuel were originally composed as a single book. So in the very next chapter, you can just flip over and scan through, in 2 Samuel chapter 1, David learns of Saul's death and that of Jonathan and his brothers. And then David laments. He sings this psalm spontaneously, weeping and lamenting their death. And then in the next chapter, 2 Samuel chapter 2, as I mentioned, David is proclaimed king in Hebron and he begins to consolidate his reign.

But then the biggest turning point comes in 2 Samuel 7. If you flip ahead just a couple pages, 2 Samuel chapter 7, when God promises David not only a continuing dynasty, but that one of his sons will reign forever. Listen to 2 Samuel 7:12-16. If you have your own Bible, you can mark it up, put a little bracket or a star or whatever you want. These are some of the most important verses in the Old Testament.

This is really where the plot of 1 and 2 Samuel has been driving toward all along. God promises to David, When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you. Who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son.

When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever. This promise speaks of David's descendant as a singular, your son, him. But it does so to both include a kind of succession, a dynasty of multiple kings, and at the same time to point to one king who will be the full fulfillment of this.

So as a partial fulfillment, an initial fulfillment, David's son, Solomon, does build a temple for God. As a partial fulfillment, the bit about sinning and being disciplined, but the steadfast love not being taken away. Well, David's sons do reign after him. They do sin, they are disciplined. So there is a partial fulfillment of this in the kind of wave of succession of David's sons reigning in Israel, but The full realization of this promise only comes a thousand years later when God the Son himself becomes incarnate to fulfill this very promise.

And that same Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, reigns even today at God's right hand in heaven. He came not to exalt himself, but to humble himself in order to exalt us. He came not to be a king like all those of the nations, but to take up his cross and serve us. He came not to be the king we want, but to be the king we need. That's been the contrast all throughout 1 Samuel.

Saul is the king the people wanted, but they didn't know what was good for them. God was teaching them by giving them what they wanted to show them they didn't want the king they wanted. They wanted the king they needed. That's the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's who all of 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel is driving us toward, pointing us toward.

The realization of this promise in his earthly ministry and in his ongoing reign from heaven at this very moment.

On June 7th, 1891, Charles Spurgeon preached his last ever sermon at the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London. Ill health kept him out of the pulpit for months afterward. He died in the south of France early the next year. And in the last sermon he ever preached, he chose for his text a portion of the passage we've just covered. First Samuel 30:21-25.

Where David shares out the spoils of his victory. That sermon is a marvelous meditation on the tenderness of Christ toward our weaknesses. And Spurgeon closes with a stirring testimony of how Jesus is the King we need, how Jesus has proved this to him personally through 40 years of ministry.

So, as a last word on 1 Samuel, here are Spurgeon's last public words to his congregation. Jesus is the most magnanimous of captains. There never was his like among the choicest of princes. He is always to be found in the thickest part of the battle. When the wind blows cold, he always takes the bleak side of the hill.

The heaviest end of the cross lies ever on his shoulders. If he bids us carry a burden, he carries it also. If there is anything that is gracious, generous, kind, and tender, yea, lavish and superabundant in love, you always find it in him. These 40 years and more have I served him, blessed be his name. And I've had nothing but love from him.

I would be glad to continue yet another 40 years in the same dear service here below if so it pleased him. His service is life, peace, joy. Oh, that you would enter on it at once. God help you to enlist under the banner of Jesus even this day.

Amen. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we praise you for sending Jesus to be the King we need. We praise you because when we are fully at an end of ourselves, you're just getting started. So Father, we pray you teach us patience, We pray you'd teach us to rely on you.

We pray that you would teach us to have a firm confidence in your promises. We pray that we'd glorify you by having our weakness drive us to your strength all the more. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.