I SAMUEL
Listen to this study TH3107
Please turn in your Bibles this evening to I Samuel chapter
22 as we continue our study through the Word of God. As we have
seen in our study of I Samuel, David is on the run, Saul, the
king of
And
last week we left off with David running to the Philistine city
of
Once the Philistines recognized that this man was David, David pretends to be mad, insane. He has spit running down his face, he is scratching at the doors and thus, the king tells his men to get rid of this insane person, he has no need of him. And that is where we will pick up our study this evening, in I Samuel chapter 22, starting in verse 1 as David is freed from the city of Gath, from the hands of the Philistines.
VERSE
1a
As David flees Philistine territory he heads for safety
to the
And as David sees himself in this mess, he is discouraged. He went from the height of slaying Goliath to now running for his life and hiding out in a cave from king Saul. And I believe that it was out of this that David wrote Psalm 142. The introduction to this Psalm says this, “A contemplation of David. A prayer when he was in the cave.” And this is what David cried out to the Lord, “I cry out to the Lord with my voice; With my voice to the Lord I make my supplication. I pour out my complaint before Him; I declare before Him my trouble. When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, Then You knew my path. In the way in which I walk They have secretly set a snare for me. Look on my right hand and see, For there is no one who acknowledges me; Refuge has failed me; No one cares for my soul. I cried out to You, O Lord: I said, ‘You are my refuge, My portion in the land of the living. Attend to my cry, For I am brought very low; Deliver me from my persecutors, For they are stronger than I. Bring my soul out of prison, That I may praise Your name; The righteous shall surround me, For You shall deal bountifully with me.’” Psalm 142:1-7.
David’s strength, his safety was not in this cave but in the Lord as He cried out to the Lord and David also wrote Psalm 57 during this period of time as the introduction to this Psalm tells us, “A Michtam of David when he fled from Saul into a cave.” And this is what David wrote, “Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me! For my soul trusts in You; And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, Until these calamities have passed by. I will cry out to God Most High, To God who performs all things for me. He shall send from heaven and save me; He reproaches the one who would swallow me up. Selah God shall send forth His mercy and His truth. My soul is among lions; I lie among the sons of men Who are set on fire, Whose teeth are spears and arrows, And their tongue a sharp sword. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; Let Your glory be above all the earth. They have prepared a net for my steps; My soul is bowed down; They have dug a pit before me; Into the midst of it they themselves have fallen. Selah My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and give praise. Awake, my glory! Awake, lute and harp! I will awaken the dawn. I will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing to You among the nations. For Your mercy reaches unto the heavens, And Your truth unto the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; Let Your glory be above all the earth.” Psalm 57:1-11.
You see, David’s situation did not change, but his focus did. He looked to the Lord to be the strength of his life and not himself. We may find ourselves in a cave like David, on the run in a sense and yet, we can take refuge in the Lord, He can be our strong tower from our enemies if we are willing to go to Him and rest in Him instead of doing it on our own, in our own strength, which will never work!
VERSE
1b-2
How gracious the Lord is. David is down, alone and the Lord brings to him his family, the ones who were against him at one time are now there to encourage him. Keep in mind that Bethlehem was not too far away from this cave of Adullam and maybe David’s family thought it would be safer to go to this cave with David since Saul is so unstable, who knows what he will do. But in either case, and I think both do apply, as we will see when we get to verse 3 of this chapter, but what we see here is that they comforted David during this time.
Not only that, but there are 400 men who join with him. Now keep in mind these are not the movers and shakers of society. These are not your high-class important people. These men that came to David were a bunch of malcontents, they were dissatisfied with their present situation they were in, dissatisfied with life itself probably! These were men who were fleeing from trouble, men who owed money, men who were ostracized by society, and they came to David! Now David does not say, “Thanks for nothing Lord! Isn’t there anyone else you could have sent me besides these men?” No, David becomes their leader and this rag tag group of men, who are nothing more than outcasts of society, become mighty men of God because David, by his life, teaches them lessons of faith!
Don’t misunderstand me here, but let’s face it, that is all of us and as we surrender our lives to the Lord, as we submit to Him, He is transforming us into mighty men and women of God. You see, who is the captain of your life? And as you read this story you can see that David is a type of Christ. Remember what Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30. That was truly David here!
And listen to what Redpath wrote regarding this picture that is being painted for us here. He wrote, “Do you see the truth of which this Old Testament story is so graphic a picture? Just as in David’s day, there is a King in exile who is gathering around Him a company of people who are in distress, in debt, and discontented. He is training and preparing them for the day when He shall come to reign.” He also wrote, “These are the kind of men who came to David: distressed, bankrupt, dissatisfied. These are the kind of people who come to Christ, and they are the only people who come to Him, for they have recognized their distress, their debt, and bankruptcy, and are conscious that they are utterly discontented. The sheer pressures of these frustrations drives them to the refuge of the blood of Christ that was shed for them.” What a beautiful picture this is!
Now why in the world would David bring his parents to Moab for safety? Yes, Saul was a man out of control and maybe if he couldn’t find David he would put to death his parents or even his entire family, but again, why Moab? Keep in mind that David’s great-grandmother, Ruth, was a Moabite. (Ruth 1:4, 4:18-22). Thus, David had Moabite blood in him! Also, look at the love and concern he had for his parents. He was more concerned for the welfare of his parents that for his own life! That is the heart of Christ and that is what should be manifested in our lives. And here’s the thing in regards to David, he knew that the Lord anointed him to be king but how and when that was going to happen, what was going to transpire until that time he did not know. Thus, he wanted his parents safe and he brought them to Moab to live!
Why did this prophet Gad, through the inspiration of the Lord want David to go to the forest of Hereth instead of hiding out where he was? And keep in mind that Gad wants him to go back to the area of where Saul’s power was. I think God wanted David in the place where he was involved. Yes, David could have sat it out on the sidelines waiting for Saul to die or be removed, but God had other plans. He wanted him active and the same is true for us. It is in the midst of danger, the midst of battle where we will grow and if we are doing nothing, we will not grow in the Lord!
Saul is feeling sorry for himself and he is whining, complaining because he sees that the world revolves around him and his world is a little shaky right now! Saul wants to know where David is at, it can’t be that easy to travel with 400 men in secret so he appeals to his men, his family, the Benjamites by telling them that David is not going to provide for them like he would. Thus, “Why are you against me, why are you not exposing the sin of my son who is against me? Why are you not telling me where David is?” And notice that Saul does not speak of David kindly, he does not say, “David, that giant killer” or “David, the man of God” or “David, the one who has defeated the Philistines in battle.” No, he says, “the son of Jesse.” What is interesting is that Saul’s men knew the integrity of David, that he did no wrong to deserve this treatment, to deserve death and thus, they said nothing.
That dirty dog Doeg. He has no problem telling Saul what Ahimelech did for David, making this priest look like he was conspiring against Saul, and he wasn’t. Ahimelech had no idea that Saul wanted David dead for David lied and told him that he was on a secret mission for Saul. Ahimelech was in no way an accomplice with David but that is not how Saul will see it as he hears these lies from Doeg! Keep in mind that the name “Doeg” means one who acts with unrestraint or one that can’t rest, one that is restless. He is like Satan, moving about like a roaring lion, going to and fro, very restless, seeking whom he may devour!
The priests, along with Ahimelech come before Saul as he called for them and Ahimelech can’t figure out what the problem is here. David has been good to Saul, he is family, married to his daughter and if there was anything going on between Saul and David, he knew nothing about it. That was the truth; he was not lying or making this up! But Saul, in his paranoia, thinks that Ahimelech and David are out to kill him and that is the farthest thing from the truth! How is Saul going to respond to what Ahimelech has told him? He should have accepted it but he will not as we will see as we read on in the next few verses.
Isn’t it interesting that Saul refused to kill the enemies of the Lord, the Amalekites when he was commanded to do so, (I Samuel 15), and now, the priests of God he is willing to put to death, why? Because in his mind the Amalekites were not a threat to him, he took from them what he saw was good and did not utterly destroy them. But these priests were, in his mind, going against him and thus, he wanted them dead! Saul is spiraling out of control and thank God that his men refused to obey his command to kill these priests. And think about it, Saul could have had them put to death for their rebellion but they realized it was better to obey the Lord than an earthly king!
But here is Doeg, not a Jew but an Edomite and he has not problem killing all these priests and destroying the city. We see 85 priests, their families, their animals all wiped out by the command of Saul and the hand of Doeg!
Look at how this bitterness in Saul exploded outwardly in this wrath and what happened with Saul can happen to us if we let bitterness grow in us. J. Vernon McGee had this to say regarding this incident. He wrote:
The bitterness and vengeance of this man Saul was terrible. Bitterness is something that we need to beware of today. We are warned about it in Hebrews 12:15 which says, “Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.” When bitterness gets into the hearts of God’s people, it is a vicious and an awful thing. I have seen it in churches. I have seen officers of the church use their positions, not to bring glory to Christ, but to vent their spleens, bitterness, vengeance, and hatred against someone else. It is a terrible thing when bitterness takes over, and this is what happened in Saul’s case. He was definitely Satan’s man. . . .
- J. Vernon McGee, Thru The Bible Vol. II, p. 168
Abiathar escapes and tells David all that Saul and Doeg had done, the destruction and devastation upon Nob and the killing of all the priests and their families, except for Abiathar. And David recognizes that it is his fault that this has happened. If he would have spoken the truth to Ahimelech at least he would have been warned about Saul, but this took him and the rest of the priests by surprise. And David does repent of this because in Psalm 52, written of this experience, we see that take place. Again, the introduction to this Psalm says, “A contemplation of David when Doeg the Edomite went and told, Saul, and said to him, ‘David has gone to the house of Ahimelech.’” David wrote, “Why do you boast in evil, O mighty man? The goodness of God endures continually. Your tongue devises destruction, Like a sharp razor, working deceitfully. You love evil more than good, Lying rather than speaking righteousness. Selah You love all devouring words, You deceitful tongue. God shall likewise destroy you forever; He shall take you away, and pluck you out of your dwelling place, And uproot you from the land of the living. Selah The righteous also shall see and fear, And shall laugh at him, saying, ‘Here is the man who did not make God his strength, But trusted in the abundance of his riches, And strengthened himself in his wickedness.’ But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever. I will praise You forever, Because You have done it; And in the presence of Your saints I will wait on Your name, for it is good.” Psalm 52:1-9.
David despised what Doeg did and it caused him to not only repent of his lies, but to draw close to the Lord and trust in Him. What a great lesson for us, no matter what the Doeg’s in our life may do, may we look to the Lord and walk by faith!
As this chapter closes David tells Abiathar to dwell with him and he will be safe because Saul is not only after Abiathar, but he is also after David. The same is true for us. The Doeg’s and Saul’s of this world will come after us and the only safety we will find is in the arms of our Lord. May we not forget that!
If David was hiding in the stronghold, away from everyone, then what help could he be? Thus, God calls him out and interestingly enough, instead of the people of Keilah going to their king, to Saul for help, they go to David. Why did they do that? Because Saul was busy trying to kill David instead of what he should have been doing, defeating the Philistines and protecting the people of Keilah! You see, we must also note that whenever God’s people are divided or caught-up in conflict over an issue, be it spiritual or secular, the enemy moves in and tries to exploit that controversy. Saul was fighting against David, as I have said and he was not as concerned with the Philistines. And so the Philistines believed they could take advantage of the situation and they did, until David caught wind of what was taking place.
Now please understand what was going on here, what the Philistines were doing. The Philistines were no fools, the men of Keilah had done all the work, harvesting their crops, and the Philistines were coming by the threshing floor and robbing them. This was their livelihood. It is what they lived on and what they sold for money to help them throughout the year. That is why we saw Boaz, in the book of Ruth, sleeping by the threshing floor, protecting his harvest from invaders.
As David hears of what is going on in Keilah, he brings it before the Lord, the right thing to do. And the Lord told David to go and attack the Philistines. Great, and as he tells his men, they are not too sure about this. They told David, “Are you kidding me? We are no match for them. If we are hiding out here in fear, then how are we going to go up against this army?” I like what David does here, he just brings his request before the Lord again, not for him but for his men so that they can see that God is in this. And this time the Lord not only tells David to go and fight against the Philistines but the Lord will give David and his men this victory.
Folk’s, it is one thing to seek God’s will and then to know God’s will but you must take it a step further, you must obey God’s will, even when it is difficult! That is where faith came in for these men. And just imagine how the faith of these men grew in the Lord as they obeyed the Lord’s command and God gave them a great victory, they rescued the people of Keilah!
Saul gets word that David is in Keilah and in his own twisted mind he thinks that God has trapped David there so that Saul could kill him, that was the farthest thing from the truth! Saul was not seeking God’s will but his own selfish will and as he saw David within a city that has gates and bars, he saw David as a sitting duck, a dead man and he calls for his men to go to war not against the Philistines, not against the Amalekites, not against the Edomites, not against the Moabites but against David and the people of Keilah, the ones that Saul refused to protect against the Philistines in the first place because he was so focused upon killing David! What a sad state for Saul and yet, he is there because he refused to surrender to God’s will and he is doing his own thing, which is never good!
What is this ephod that Abiathar had? This was most likely the ephod of the High Priest, which had the breastplate of judgment attached to it. (Exodus28:15, 28). And in the pouch of this breastplate were two stones, and they were known as the Urim and Thummim, (Exodus 28:30) and they were used to discern the will of God. That is probably what David used to discern if he should fight against the Philistines and I believe it is what is being used here.
How did they discern the will of God using this Urim and Thummim? These words mean, “Lights and Perfections” and we are not sure how they were used. Some feel that one stone was white and the other black and the “yes” answer from the Lord was the white stone and the “no” was the black stone that the priest pulled out of this pouch. Others feel that it would light up and give you the answer. I am not going to speculate any further because it will get us nowhere but here is the thing. This ephod, with the Urim and Thummim was more valuable, more helpful to David then a thousand soldiers because it helped him to discern the will of God!
In a sense we have a Urim and Thummim to use today, it is called the Word of God and it tells us what is right, what is wrong, how to get right when we have gone astray and how to stay right or as Paul tells us, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” II Timothy 3:16-17.
You see, today, if we have the same focus on God’s Word, He will guide us just as the Lord was guiding David. There is a story of one old preacher who was asked to explain the Urim and Thummim. He said, “Well, this is how I understand it. When I need to know God’s will, I get out my Bible and I do a lot of usin’ and thummin’ through my Bible, and God always speaks to me.” The bottom line is this; more Christians would know God’s will if they did more usin’ and thummin’!
Now as David inquires of the Lord, the Lord tells him that the men of Keilah will deliver him into Saul’s hand. Now that can’t be too encouraging. He just saved them from the Philistines and now they are going to turn him in, why is that? Because they knew what Saul did to the priests and the city of Nob, destroying them and their city and they felt if they did not give David up, they would be in jeopardy of being destroyed by Saul and no one would be able to save them, not even David! So what is David going to do? Let’s read on and see.
Now did God’s Word fail here? The Lord told David that the people of Keilah would turn him over to Saul, but it did not take place. No, God’s Word did not fail. Look at what is said. If David remained in Keilah the people would turn him over to Saul and thus, David leaves the city and in doing so he probably spared the city and the people from the hands of Saul!
Notice that the army of David is growing, it is up to 600 men and they are hiding out in the area around the Dead Sea, the southern tip of the Dead Sea in the Wilderness of Ziph. Interestingly enough, the name “Ziph” means, “refining place” and it is quite possible that there was a smelter in this area to refine the iron ore into iron.
But I also think there is another important lesson that the Lord is showing us here. This was also the place where God was going to refine David and his men. The Lord was going to teach them lessons in faith. The Lord was going to help them to grow in the faith. And folk’s, it is also the place where our faith is tempered, in the Wilderness of Ziph. And yes it is difficult, but necessary. For Moses, he spent 40 years in the wilderness as a shepherd before God sent him to Egypt to lead his people out of Egypt and to the Promise Land. We get upset many times when we spend a week in the wilderness; imagine 40 years of training before God used you. In fact, the world would look at this 80-year-old man, Moses, and put him in retirement. He could in no way complete the task. But God was just done schooling him and he was now ready to be used! Learn the lessons that God is teaching you and don’t fight the desert times, grow in them!
And look at the heart of Saul; he is spending every day of his life coming after David to kill him! He was supposed to be the king but now his time, his energy, his resources are all being spent on killing one man, one of his brethren, David instead of the enemies of God! Don’t let bitterness, anger cause you to try to kill the reputation of another man or woman of God because God will watch over them as He is watching over David and you will find yourself on your own going nowhere fast!
VERSES
15-18
Think about this, to be around more people like Jonathan would be wonderful, wouldn’t it! You see, as these two men who loved the Lord and each other in the Lord met, David must have been down, maybe discouraged and we are told that Jonathan “strengthened his hand in God.” In other words, Jonathan encouraged David not by saying, “Don’t worry be happy!” but in the Lord! I like the way the Poole puts it as he writes, “He comforted and supported him against all his fears, by minding him of God’s infallible promises made to him, and his singular providence which hitherto [up till now] had and still would be with him.” That was Jonathan. And folk’s, keep in mind that we are not going to be able to rescue everyone, we are not going to have all the answers to what others are going through, we might not be able to stay with them, but we can strengthen them, we can encourage them in the Lord! What a precious gift that is! It is great to be around those who build you up, encourage you. It is also difficult to be around those who are always dragging you down, discouraging you. Jonathan’s heart was right with God and it showed in his actions towards David. May we, like Jonathan be people builders instead of the wrecking crew!
David and Jonathan had already made a covenant and I think they are just reaffirming it here. That David was the next king in Israel and that David would be kind to Jonathan and his family. And tragically, this is the last time on this side of heaven that these two men will see each other but because of their love for the Lord, they would see each other in heaven!
Notice the contrast from Jonathan to the Ziphites. Jonathan built up, strengthened David while the Ziphites are looking to destroy David! The word, “Ziph” means, “Mouth or mouthful, falsehood” and what their mouth was full of was deceit, treachery! And as they were willing to expose where David was at, Saul, in his warped mind thinks that these people are blessed of God when in reality they are servants of Satan just as Saul was!
It is during this time that David wrote Psalm 54, which has an introduction that tells us this fact as it reads, “A contemplation of David when the Ziphites went and said to Saul, ‘Is David not hiding with us?’” And this is what David wrote, “Save me, O God, by Your name, And vindicate me by Your strength. Hear my prayer, O God; Give ear to the words of my mouth. For strangers have risen up against me, And oppressors have sought after my life; They have not set God before them. Selah Behold, God is my helper; The Lord is with those who uphold my life. He will repay my enemies for their evil. Cut them off in Your truth. I will freely sacrifice to You; I will praise Your name, O Lord, for it is good. For He has delivered me out of all trouble; And my eye has seen its desire upon my enemies.” Psalm 54:1-7.
Notice what David is doing in this situation. He calls out to God to help him, and even though he knew his enemies and what they were capable of doing, his trust was in the Lord to deliver him. He was not bitter towards Saul or the Ziphites, how do I know that? Because he was able to freely sacrifice to the Lord, to praise God and if you have bitterness in your heart it is not easy to praise the Lord! It is as Redpath said, “Observe how David left the treachery of his supposed friends with the One who is sufficient to deal with them. He is now looking at God. First he was looking at his enemies and these supposed friends of his, but now he sees them through God. If you begin with God, your enemies grow small. If you begin with the enemy, you may never reach God.” These are very wise words that we can apply to our lives or should apply to our lives.
Now we see a kind of cat and mouse game between Saul and David. Saul is closing in on David and David tries to keep a step ahead of him. But now they are on the same mountain, on different sides and Saul does what he can to capture David. He encircles this mountain or hillside and is closing in on David, they are trapping David and his men, and from all practical purposes, it looks like David is a dead man!
When we look at things through the eyes of man they often look hopeless, there is no way out, we are dead! But the Lord never tells us to look at things through the eyes of man but through the eyes of faith and when we do the perspective we have will change. In Psalm 5:11-12 we are told, “But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name Be joyful in You. For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous; With favor You will surround him as with a shield.”
In Psalm 32:6-11 we are told, “For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You In a time when You may be found; Surely in a flood of great waters They shall not come near him. You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. Do not be like the horse or like the mule, Which have no understanding, Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, Else they will not come near you. Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; But he who trusts in the Lord, mercy shall surround him. Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous; And shout for joy, all you upright in heart!”
And in Psalm 125:1-2 we are told, “Those who trust in the Lord Are like Mount Zion, Which cannot be moved, but abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, So the Lord surrounds His people From this time forth and forever.” You see, who are you trusting in? Are you trusting in your own strength, your own wisdom, your own resources? If you are you will be discourage, you will be down. But don’t look at life like that, look at life through the eyes of faith that are focused on the Lord and see the salvation that He will bring to the situations you are facing! He will surround you, He will watch over you, and all you need to do is walk by faith and that downcast spirit will be lifted up in the Lord!
Remember, when things look bad, and the enemy seems to encircle you, God has a plan to get you through the situation. It is as Paul said in I Corinthians 10:11-13, “Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” God will see us through, may we trust in Him and walk with Him!
Saul had David, he was a dead man and yet, out of the blue, or really out of heaven here comes this report that the Philistines had invaded the land and Saul turns his attention from trying to kill David to protecting his kingdom. That is interesting to me because before, with the inhabitants of Keilah who were being attacked by the Philistines, Saul did not help them but was more interested in killing David, but now he forgets David and goes after the Philistines. God’s perfect timing you might say! You see, God delivered David from Saul and He will do the same for us if we would only trust in Him!
As Saul goes to fight against the Philistines David and his men flee to En Gedi, which is a beautiful oasis in the desert and we will talk more about this place where David is hiding out next time. As I close let me leave you with this. During the reign of Jehoshaphat, the king of the Southern Kingdom of Judah, we see 3 nations rise up against them. We see the Moabites, the Ammonites and the Edomites, and there was not a lot the king could do except bring it to the Lord and he did. And in II Chronicles 20:5-12 we are told, “Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, and said: ‘O Lord God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You? Are You not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever? And they dwell in it, and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name, saying, “If disaster comes upon us — sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine — we will stand before this temple and in Your presence (for Your name is in this temple), and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save.” And now, here are the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir — whom You would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them and did not destroy them — here they are, rewarding us by coming to throw us out of Your possession which You have given us to inherit. O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.’”
Folk’s, we may not know what to do in a given situation but that is not the point. May our eyes always be upon the Lord for He surly knows what to do and He will show us the path we are to take. May we be looking to Him as David was! And, as we are told in II Chronicles, “Now all Judah, with their little ones, their wives, and their children, stood before the Lord. Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. And he said, ‘Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the Lord to you: “Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.”’” II Chronicles 20:13-15. May we not forget that fact, the battle is the Lord’s and I would not want it any other way!