This past weekend at Eastbrook, we continued our summer preaching series entitled “The Pursuit of God: The Life of David.” In my message, I gave a high-level overview of David’s flight from King Saul in 1 Samuel 21-23, and then used Psalm 63 as an example of worshiping God in the wilderness or in unstable circumstances.
You can find the message outline and video below. You can access the entire series here. Join us for weekend worship in-person or remotely via Eastbrook at Home.
““David stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands.” (1 Samuel 23:14)
David’s Flight to Elude King Saul
David’s flight to Nob, where he is offered provisions by the priest, Ahimelek, and then to the Philistine city of Gath, where he feigns madness (1 Samuel 21)
David flees to Adullam, then Mizpah in Moab, then to the forest of Hereth; King Saul kills the family of Ahimelek (1 Samuel 22)
David is led by God to protect Keilah, moves from place to place, hides in the Judean wilderness, and En-Gedi (1 Samuel 23)
David’s Unstable Circumstances
David is fleeing for his life
David is moving from place to place
David receives the distressed and discontent who gather around him
David’s Stability in Instability
Psalms written during this time (possibly 7, 59, 56, 34, 52, 63, 54, 18, 57, 142)
David’s call to God in Psalm 63
Pursuing God in Unstable Circumstances
Naming our circumstances for what they are
Remembering God amidst our circumstances
Choosing to be satisfied in God in unstable circumstancesFinding streams in the wilderness through worship (Isaiah 43:19)
Dig Deeper
This week dig deeper in one or more of the following ways:
- Memorize Psalm 63, either a verse from it or the entire psalm
- Consider writing your own “psalm” that reflects your current circumstances as a means for reaching out to God. Find a guide here.
- Explore some or all of these resources:
- Lifeway Publishing, “Map: David Flees from Saul”
- Bible Project, “The Book of Psalms,” in How to Read the Bible
- Vinnie Zarletti, “Psalm 63 (O God, You Are My God)”
Discover more from Matthew Erickson
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Matthew Erickson 
Matt, thank you for your sermon outline, it is great to read your sermon outline for 1 Samuel 21-23. Interestingly, the church I attended yesterday in Bangkok, Thailand had a sermon from the same passage, except that the Psalm that was referred to here was Psalm 53. I pasted below the notes that I took from the 1 Samuel 21-23 sermon at Bangkok City Baptist Church.
Thank you for sharing your sermons, you are a blessing!
Philip Baarendse
1 Samuel 21-23
God uses seasons of waiting not to harm us but to refine us. God is shaping a heart of faith.
Test of fear – Run to the house of God and worship God. Let worship silence fear, don’t let fear silence worship – Run to the Word of the Lord and hear the voice of God. Don’t be distracted by other voices or distractions and substitutes for God’s voice. Trust in God and his Word. Feed faith, not anxiety. E.g. Psalm 56. – Run to the people of God.
Test of injustice – The day of justice is coming. Christ is the judge. Stay with Christ and we will be safe and justice will come. Our wait is not wasted. Justice will come.
Test of betrayal – David’s identity and security is not shaped by those who betrayed and rejected him, but by the voice of God who will never forsake him. – David did not grow bitter by the pain and wounds of betrayal and rejection. He does not let his heart be hardened by the poison of other people’s sin. – We endure betrayal by looking to King Jesus, who was himself betrayed.
Thank you so much for sharing this feedback, Philip. How ironic/providential that this was the same text for your church in Thailand this weekend. I enjoyed reading your notes. It’s great to hear from you.