Someone once asked me, “Why do you believe the Bible is God’s Word, and not a collection of writings from different people?” My response is simple. First, I believe God’s Word because it’s always proved itself to me. The Bible says of itself:

2 Peter 1:20-21 … knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is {a matter of your own interpretation}. 21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy {Spirit}.

When I DO what God’s Word tells me to do, my life has always been blessed. Case in point: as a young man in the U.S. Air Force, I was lonely. I prayed and asked God to send me a wife – and He did. We have been married 42 years TODAY … and our marriage is blessed. Why? Because God keeps His Word. If you do as God says in His Word, the Bible, and trust in Him, you WILL be blessed.

There’s another reason I believe the Scripture, this Bible, is God’s Word and not man’s writings. It is true of every human that when we do something stupid, we do not want to put our stupidity on a bulletin board for all to see. That is human nature. I have done stupid things in my life that I have no intention of telling you about, and you have the same experiences. When we come to the Bible – like Psalm 34 which we’ll be studying tonight – we see stupid and embarrassing things recorded. That doesn’t make sense from a human viewpoint. It does make sense from the Divine standpoint.

In Scripture God highlights the foolish and stupid mistakes our ancestors made, so that we know not to do the same things.

The heading of Psalm 34 states,

A Psalm of David, when he changed his behavior before Abimelech;
who drove him away, and he departed.

David got his eyes off of God. Because he got His eyes off of God, he put himself in an embarrassing and quite dangerous situation. David learned a lesson from his foolishness with Abimelech, and this Psalm is God’s teaching to keep us from making the same foolish mistakes.

Abimelech is not a person’s name, but a title. Gentile kings often have specialized titles.

Pharaoh is the name that the leader of Egypt had. Pharaoh was considered by the Egyptians to be a type of god (they we Pantheists), and his name literally means “the Great House”. He was the builder of Egypt.

Many Roman emperors were called Caesar, in honor of both leading figures of the early empire, Julius and Augustus Caesar.

The title Abimelech was taken by many of the Philistine kings. It is suggested that Abimelech means “the god Moloch is my father”. Abimelech would have been considered a “son of god” by their followers, making them gods in the eyes of the people. The title Abimelech is found 62 times in the Scripture.

Our God Often Used Abimelech To Test And Strengthen The Faith Of Our Forefathers

Psalm 34:1-3 I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2 My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. 3 O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.

The Christ follower is to keep the Lord in our mouths and in our lives. David encourages us to join him in “blessing the Lord at all times”. The word for BLESS is the Hebrewבָּרַךְ bârak, {pronounced baw-rak’}, which means “to adore or kneel before, to praise”. The word is in the Piel stem, which denotes a deliberate action. David said “I will make myself adore the Lord no matter what may come. I will do this AT ALL TIMES.”

It is easy to praise God while in the comfort of your recliner, or in the ease of your local Church. It is easy to praise Him when you feel good, when the atmosphere is just right, when you are on the mountaintop. But what of the valleys? What if we are in pain, or in a scary situation? Case in point: some of those who profess Christ as Savior are in absolute FEAR of this Coronavirus Pandemic. Some are so frightened they refuse to leave their homes, refuse to see their children, refuse even to receive a food delivery from friends. They have allowed fear to fill them, rather than praise and adoration of God.

Illustrate Fear makes us look foolish! Did you hear about the little boy with two lines in a play? He was supposed to say, “It is I. Be not afraid.” But when he got on stage, he blurted out, “It’s me. And I’m scared!”.

Illustrate Fear overwhelmed the child, and made him look foolish. It embarrassed him. I heard another story I thought applies here. Onboard an aircraft the passengers were terribly frightened. The plane was being tossed about by turbulence. The clouds outside looked more like coal. Lightning streaked the sky, flashing throughout the cabin. Some passengers cried out, while others just cried. But one small child sat comfortably throughout the storm, focused on drawing a picture of a tree, a boy, and a sunny day. One lady nearby reached out and patted his head. “Honey, aren’t you afraid?” He looked up from his drawing, smiled, and said, “No Ma’am”. Puzzled and trembling she asked, “Why not”? The little boy answered, “Because my Daddy is the Pilot”.

The life that looks up in faith, no matter what it goes through, and says “My Daddy is the Pilot”, is the life lived in confidence. It was this David who, as a young man, took his brothers lunch one day as they gathered with the army of Israel against Abimelech and his forces at Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim (designated PAS-DAMMIM (1 Chronicles 11:13). The ground there is red like blood, which was why it was called ’ephes dammîm, or boundary of blood. This would be a spooky place to do battle, but this was where the Philistines challenged Israel to come. And it was in this place that a giant champion called Goliath would call out:

1 Samuel 17:8-10 … choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me. 9 If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us. 10 And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.

All those in the camp of Israel that day – King Saul included – allowed the size of this warrior of Abimelech to frighten them. When the young boy David rode up, and heard the curses that Goliath was throwing at God’s people, David did not look at Goliath but looked upward and knew that His Father was flying this plane. When David volunteered to go and fight Goliath,

Saul looked at David’s size and youth.
The people looked at Goliath’s size and strength.
But David looked at the Lord.

Psalm 34:4-5 I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. 5 They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.

The greatest enemy you have, dear Christian, is not the Coronavirus, it is not sickness, or even death. The greatest enemy you have is fear. Fear keeps us from trusting God. Fear keeps us from the Promised Land. Fear makes us wander in the wilderness for 40 years until we die, never enjoying the promise of God. Fear robs us. Fear is a liar, a thief. Jesus said

John 10:10 This thief comes to steal, to kill, to destroy you. Turn from this thief and to Me. I, Jesus Christ, came that you might have life, abundant life. (my paraphrase)

You know how the story ends when David met Goliath. David, with a slingshot and a smooth stone, knocked down this monster of a man, then cut his head off with his own sword. David knew that this was going to happen before he ever engaged Goliath. How? He told Goliath:

1 Samuel 17:46-47 This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 47 And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hands.

“The battle is the Lord’s”. David did his part. He boasted in God. He praised the Lord. God did His part. God caused the stone to fly true, and gave David the strength to lift Goliath’s sword to finish the job.

Psalm 34:6-8 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. 7 The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. 8 O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.

When David says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good”, He is calling us to do as He did. Not just to hear of how God blessed him, but to step out in faith and do that which God has told you to do. “Taste” is something that “you must do to experience it”. In America today too many believers have sat quietly on the side lines, wanting “someone else” to make a difference. Beloved, “Someone else” is YOU. We are to step out in faith and serve our Lord, magnifying Him with our lives. This is the only thing that will return our nation from this present darkness.

To Defeat Abimelech We Must Walk In The Light

Psalm 34:9-11 O fear the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him. 10 The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. 11 Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

If we will defeat life’s Abimelechs, we must not fear the darkness, but we MUST FEAR THE LORD. Throughout the Scripture, God commands His children to “Fear not”:

Genesis 15:1 FEAR NOT, Abram, I Am thy Shield …
Genesis 46:3 FEAR NOT {Jacob} to go down into Egypt …
Deuteronomy 1:21 FEAR NOT, neither be discouraged ..
Deuteronomy 20:3 FEAR NOT, and do not tremble …
1 Chronicles 28:20 … FEAR NOT, for the Lord thy God is with you..

We are not to fear the things that are around us … but we ARE to FEAR God. What does it mean to FEAR GOD. David will teach us in this Psalm. He says:

Come, ye children, hearken unto me:
I will teach you the fear of the Lord

David tells us if you desire life, and want to live many days, and see good throughout those days (my paraphrase of verse 12), then…

Psalm 34:13 Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.

The FIRST thing that the believer must learn to control is THE TONGUE. Our tongues are to be God controlled. We need to be careful what we say, and how we speak. James, the stepbrother of Jesus our Lord, wrote:

James 3:3-11 Behold, we put bits in the horses’ mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. 4 Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the {rudder turns}. 5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. 7 For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: 8 but the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. 9 Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. 10 Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. 11 Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? 12 Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.

Our tongues have the power to destroy. We can speak defeat, and speak fear, and spread destruction through the body of Christ with our tongues. As a Pastor I always hate it when, after our Church meets, little clusters of people gather together to whisper to one another. If they were praising God they would be doing so in the light. If they were preaching Christ, they would do so from the rooftops (Matthew 10:27).They are not praising God. They are speaking faithlessness, and spreading faithlessness to other susceptible younger members. These are whispers of satanic origin, whispers of hell!

I have seen too many young members leave the Church forever because a professing Child of God who should be an Ambassador of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20) instead became a spokesman for the devil, and brought poison into the Body!

The Irish poet (April 1818-October 12, 1895) Cecil Frances Alexander, wrote:

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.
… He gave us eyes to see them,
And LIPS THAT WE MIGHT TELL,
How great is God Almighty,
Who has made all things well!

Guard your tongues from speaking evil. Make sure that what you say mirrors what God says. Do not let our lips speak “guile” {Hebrew מִרְמָה mirmâh, pronounced meer-maw’}, which means “deceitfully or falsely”. The Bible declares that as believers we are to be:

Ephesians 4:15 … speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ

We are to be like Jesus, and help others be like Jesus. Our lips are to foster this. If we want to have long and good lives we are to remember that God is watching us. David said:

Psalm 34:15-16 The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. 16 The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.

It is a universal truth that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Sin destroys. When you do righteousness – that which GOD defines as right – then God sees this and watches over us. But when we do evil, even if we profess we are Christians, then the face of the Lord is against those that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. We are to do that which pleases God, knowing that what we do will yield either a good fruit or an evil fruit. The Apostle warns:

Galatians 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

To fear the Lord is to cry out to Him when we are tried, so seek God first. David writes:

Psalm 34:17-19 The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. 18 The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. 19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.

We are to humble ourselves before God, honoring Him as our Father and our Lord. We are to seek Him first. God told Israel:

Isaiah 31:1 … Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the Lord!

Our God Is The God Of Abimelech

We have talked about the Philistine Abimelech throughout this message tonight, but have not seen the place in Scripture where, as our title tells us,

A Psalm of David, when {David} changed his behavior before Abimelech; who drove him away, and he departed.

What was the shameful thing that David did, a thing that so embarrassed him? The David who defeated Goliath in 1 Samuel 17 is a David being chased by King Saul. Saul wanted to kill David, because he knew David was to be his successor. David is on the run when we come to 1 Samuel 21.

David comes to the Tabernacle, to Ahimelech the priest. He is hungry, and asks for some bread. The priests give David five loaves of bread. This is significant. David is alone and hungry – but God is still with him. When David defeated Goliath:

1 Samuel 17:40 {David} took his staff in his hand, and chose him FIVE smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.

Though David only needed one one stone to knock Goliath down, he chose FIVE. Throughout Scripture FIVE is the number of Grace. As David comes to the priests, he says:

1 Samuel 21:3 … give me FIVE loaves of bread in mine hand …

David gets this. God is with him. God never abandons His children. Has He not said:

Hebrews 13:5-6 … I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. 6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

God is with David. David now asks for a weapon.

1 Samuel 21:9 And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod: if thou wilt take that, take it: for there is no other save that here. And David said, There is none like that; give it me.

David grabbed the sword of Goliath. Now let me ask you, how much did this sword of Goliath help Goliath in his battle against David? It helped not a bit. So David grabs this sword, a sword too large for his small frame, the five loaves of bread, and begins running.

1 Samuel 21:10 And David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the {Abimelech} of Gath.

David is no friend of the Philistines. Not only this, he is carrying the sword of Goliath, the champion of Philistia. Achish is not going to save David, but to kill him.

and David let fear fill his heart.

1 Samuel 21:13-15 … {David} changed his behavior before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard. 14 Then said Achish unto his servants, Lo, ye see the man is mad: wherefore then have ye brought him to me? 15 Have I need of mad men, that ye have brought this fellow to play the mad man in my presence? shall this fellow come into my house?

Abimelech wanted nothing to do with this foolish madman David. David looked stupid, cowardly, pitiful. Abimelech let him go. But David learned from this. He wrote:

Psalm 34:20-22 He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken. 21 Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate. 22 The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.

The Lord looks after His Children. Why? Because God paid so much for our salvation. God gave His only Begotten Son for us. Jesus Christ shed His Blood on Calvary to purchase our redemption from evil. We are brought into His Family by faith in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:26). There is a remembrance of what Christ did for us in these final verses, a hidden prophecy of Christ’s death on Calvary. On the day that Jesus died for you and I, the Scripture says:

John 19:31-36 The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. 32 Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him. 33 But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs: 34 but one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. 35 And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe. 36 For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken.

This is a reference to

Psalm 34:20 He {our Jesus} keepeth all His bones: not one of them is broken ..

Christian, you are very important to God. You need not be driven by fear of man, but MUST fear and love the Lord. If you do so, your life will be blessed. God did the most for you at Calvary … He will certainly care for you now! May God touch your hearts with His Word and Spirit. Amen and Amen!