The Christ Church Wednesday Bible Study Group is studying God's providence or divine providence in the lives of David and Joseph and how we can apply His providence in their lives to our lives today.
The providence of God or divine providence is the governance of God by which He, with wisdom and love, cares for and directs all things in the universe. Divine providence asserts that God is in complete control of all things. He is sovereign over the universe. He is in control of the physical world. He is in control of the affairs of nations. He is in control of human destiny. He is in control of human successes and failures. He protects His people.
The doctrine of divine providence can be summarized this way: “God in eternity past, in the counsel of His own will, ordained everything that will happen; yet in no sense is God the author of sin; nor is human responsibility removed.”
We learned in Session 6 that David loses his position in the palace, his wife, Jonathan, his best friend, Samuel, the one that anointed him king, and he loses his self-respect. He ends up in a cave discouraged and probably depressed. How did he respond? We talk about it in Session 7.
For our study we will be using Great Lives: David: A Man of Passion and Destiny, by Charles R. Swindoll, and The Hand of God by Alistair Begg. To study along with us you can purchase the books by clicking the Links here or the images after the notes.
The providence of God or divine providence is the governance of God by which He, with wisdom and love, cares for and directs all things in the universe. Divine providence asserts that God is in complete control of all things. He is sovereign over the universe as a whole, He is in control of the physical world, He is in control of the affairs of nations, He’s in control of human destiny, He’s in control of human successes and failures, He protects His people. Through divine providence God accomplishes His will.
Last week we saw that David the man God picked to become the king of his chosen people, the man that had become a hero and military leader, king Saul’s son-in-law, and the best nd to Saul’s son Johathan, began to lose everything because Saul had become jealous and then afraid of him, so things started to slip away. Chuck Swindoll, the author of the book we are studying, says that David started to lose his crutches.
The first thing to go was his position in the kingdom. The next thing was his wife. He lost his counselor Samuel, he lost his best friend Johathan, and we said that he lost his self-respect. He actually went to the enemy.
1 Samuel 21:10-15 NIV That day David fled from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath. But the servants of Achish said to him, “Isn’t this David, the king of the land? Isn’t he the one they sing about in their dances: “ ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands’?” David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath. So he pretended to be insane in their presence; and while he was in their hands he acted like a madman, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard. Achish said to his servants, “Look at the man! He is insane! Why bring him to me? Am I so short of madmen that you have to bring this fellow here to carry on like this in front of me? Must this man come into my house?”
David had hit rock bottom.
The enemy doesn’t even want him around.
1 Samuel 22:1-2 NIV David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him there.
This was the lowest moment of David’s life to date. He had no security, he had no food, he had no one to talk to, he had no promise to cling to, and he had no hope that anything would ever change.
The way he felt about now is reflected in Psalm 142
Psalms 142:1-7 NIV I cry aloud to the Lord; I lift up my voice to the Lord for mercy. I pour out before him my complaint; before him I tell my trouble. When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who watch over my way. In the path where I walk people have hidden a snare for me. Look and see, there is no one at my right hand; no one is concerned for me. I have no refuge; no one cares for my life. I cry to you, Lord; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.” Listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need; rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me. Set me free from my prison, that I may praise your name. Then the righteous will gather about me because of your goodness to me.
He was alone in a dark cave, away from everything and everybody he loved. Everybody except God, so he cried out to God.
He had nowhere else to go. He couldn’t go to Saul because Saul would kill him, he couldn’t go to his wife, Saul’s daughter, he couldn’t go to Samuel because he would be captured, he couldn’t go his friend because he was Saul’s son. His enemies didn’t want him around because they felt they couldn’t trust him and for good reason so the only place he could go was to God.
Human perspective says, “Aha, you’ve lost this, you’ve lost that. You’ve caused this, you’ve caused that. You’ve ruined this, you’ve ruined that. End your life!” But God says, “No. No. You’re in the cave. But that doesn’t mean its curtains. That means it’s time to reroute your life. It’s time to start over.
Now’s the time to start anew!” That’s exactly what he does with David.
What did I say Sunday
Philippians 4:6-7 NIV Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
So, watch God work. First, he brought his family to him in the cave. You remember we said last week that he couldn’t count on his family. His father had forgotten about him when Samuel told him that he was there to anoint one of his sons king.
1 Samuel 16:10-11 NIV Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen these.” So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.” Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.”
His brothers were jealous.
1 Samuel 17:28-29 NIV When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.” “Now what have I done?” said David. “Can’t I even speak?”
Now that God had stepped in the first people to come to David now that he has lost everything is his family.
1 Samuel 22:1-2 NIV David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him there.
Not only did God send his family He also sent some other folk who like David had hit the bottom of the barrel.
1 Samuel 22:3 NIV All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their commander. About four hundred men were with him.
So here’s David with his family and about 400 other misfits and their families all in a cave or series of caves.
So what does David do now that he sees a glimer of hope. His family is there and supportive and there are now another approximately 400 more men. Well David does what we should do when we see that God has moved and giving us resources that we need. He realizes that he is a leader, he was after a leader in Saul’s military, in fact his success is what caused the problem with Saul. So, David decided to train these folk. He would accept his situation and make the best of it.
David is beginning to come out of the doldrums because he know has a purpose to train these men so that all these people who he is now responsible for can survive.
As a leader he wants all those he is leading to depend on God just as he does Psalm 34 is the way he wants them to respond and the way that we should respond when God delivers us for difficulties.
Psalms 34:1-22 NKJV I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; The humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together. I sought the Lord, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears. They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing. Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Who is the man who desires life, And loves many days, that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil, And your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all. He guards all his bones; Not one of them is broken. Evil shall slay the wicked, And those who hate the righteous shall be condemned. The Lord redeems the soul of His servants, And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.
The first thing that we should do is focus vertically. For those of us like many of the malcontents that came to David who are depressed David says
Psalms 34:3-4, 8-10, 19 NKJV Oh, magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together. I sought the Lord, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
What does the change in David’s perspective mean for us today?
First David admitted that he had a need.
When you are hurting, you need to declare it to someone, and especially to the Lord. Remember what I said Sunday about how we should deal with need. When we have a need, we are not to hide it, deny it, or disregard it. Declare it to the Lord.
Second, he was honest enough to cry for help.
Today in our culture we don’t cry for help we worry. We don’t want to feel vulnerable, so we don’t ask for help. We would rather worry. Again, from Sunday’s sermon about facing need.
The natural tendency in a time of need is to worry, fret and often lash out. But worry is not the answer!
God’s Word says we are not to worry about anything.
Matthew 6:25-34 NIV “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
When we worry, we are sinning by showing a lack of trust in God. Instead, we are instructed to commit our requests to God in prayer and allow him to be Lord in our lives.
Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
Philippians 4:6-7 NIV Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Peace comes through prayer as an act of worship, through through asking earnestly for our personal needs to be met, and through thanking God for meeting those needs whenever He meets them. This brings a peace that is beyond human understanding which keeps guarding our inner life. It calms us.
We have lived under such a veneer for so long in our generation that we hardly know how to cry for help. But God honors such vulnerability. He did then . . . He does now
And third, he was humble enough to learn from God. Remember one of the characteristics of being a man after God’s own heart is humility.
We need to be humble enough to be teachable.
The Lord may use a need to develop us. The Lord sometimes uses a need to develop us and sometimes He uses a need to discipline or test us. Nothing happens in your life that He is not aware of. God has a great plan for your life! He knows that you will struggle through painful situations, but He can sustain you during the worst of times.
God used the time in the cave to further develop David for his role as the king of Israel. Today the church can be our cave the place where we can admit that we have a need and we can learn how to respond to those needs as a child of God not as the world responds.
The church can be our cave or refuge. When David hit the bottom of the barrel like we will from time to time he ran to a cave and sought God’s help. Today we should be able to run to the church and find refuge in God.
Psalms 31:1-24 NKJV In You, O Lord, I put my trust; Let me never be ashamed; Deliver me in Your righteousness. Bow down Your ear to me, Deliver me speedily; Be my rock of refuge, A fortress of defense to save me. For You are my rock and my fortress; Therefore, for Your name’s sake, Lead me and guide me. Pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me, For You are my strength. Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O Lord God of truth. I have hated those who regard useless idols; But I trust in the Lord. I will be glad and rejoice in Your mercy, For You have considered my trouble; You have known my soul in adversities, And have not shut me up into the hand of the enemy; You have set my feet in a wide place. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in trouble; My eye wastes away with grief, Yes, my soul and my body! For my life is spent with grief, And my years with sighing; My strength fails because of my iniquity, And my bones waste away. I am a reproach among all my enemies, But especially among my neighbors, And am repulsive to my acquaintances; Those who see me outside flee from me. I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind; I am like a broken vessel. For I hear the slander of many; Fear is on every side; While they take counsel together against me, They scheme to take away my life. But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in Your hand; Deliver me from the hand of my enemies, And from those who persecute me. Make Your face shine upon Your servant; Save me for Your mercies’ sake. Do not let me be ashamed, O Lord, for I have called upon You; Let the wicked be ashamed; Let them be silent in the grave. Let the lying lips be put to silence, Which speak insolent things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous. Oh, how great is Your goodness, Which You have laid up for those who fear You, Which You have prepared for those who trust in You In the presence of the sons of men! You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence From the plots of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion From the strife of tongues. Blessed be the Lord, For He has shown me His marvelous kindness in a strong city! For I said in my haste, “I am cut off from before Your eyes”; Nevertheless You heard the voice of my supplications When I cried out to You. Oh, love the Lord, all you His saints! For the Lord preserves the faithful, And fully repays the proud person. Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart, All you who hope in the Lord.
We need a refuge because we are in distress and sorrow accompanies us.
Psalms 31:1-5 NKJV In You, O Lord, I put my trust; Let me never be ashamed; Deliver me in Your righteousness. Bow down Your ear to me, Deliver me speedily; Be my rock of refuge, A fortress of defense to save me. For You are my rock and my fortress; Therefore, for Your name’s sake, Lead me and guide me. Pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me, For You are my strength. Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.
Psalms 31:4-5 NKJV Pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me, For You are my strength. Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.
We need refuge because we are sinful, and guilt accuses us.
Psalms 31:10 NKJV For my life is spent with grief, And my years with sighing; My strength fails because of my iniquity, And my bones waste away.
We need a refuge because we are surrounded by adversaries and misunderstanding assaults us.
Psalms 31:10-12 NKJV For my life is spent with grief, And my years with sighing; My strength fails because of my iniquity, And my bones waste away. I am a reproach among all my enemies, But especially among my neighbors, And am repulsive to my acquaintances; Those who see me outside flee from me. I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind; I am like a broken vessel.
Discouraged people don’t need critics. They hurt enough already. They don’t need more guilt or piled-on distress. They need encouragement. In a word, they need a refuge. A place to hide and heal. A willing, caring, available someone. A confidant. A comrade at arms. You can’t find one? Why not share David’s shelter? The One he called “my Strength. . . my Mighty Rock. . . my Fortress. . . my Stronghold. . . my HighTower.”
We know Him today by another name: Jesus. He’s still available. . . even to cave dwellers, lonely people needing someone to care.
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