I Samuel 22:1-2 says, “David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father’s house heard it, they went down thither to him. And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men.”
Shortly after David was anointed king, he fought with Goliath and won a great victory for the Lord. He was the darling of Israel. However, in this passage, we find David at a low time in his life. Running from Saul for fear of his life and living in exile, he fled to the cave of Adullam. If ever there was a time when David was discouraged, this was probably that time. The maiden’s song, “Saul hath slain his thousands, but David his ten thousands,” must have seemed a lifetime ago. In spite of the fact that David was hiding in a cave and Saul was trying to kill him, David was still anointed by God to be Israel’s king.
Scripture tells us that there were 400 men who found their way to that cave to join David. Who were these men? The Bible tells us, “…every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented.” The Bible says they, “gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them.” In other words, these outcasts came into David’s cave and formed an army behind the anointed king.
This was undoubtedly one of the most unique groups of people ever recorded in the pages of Scripture. Perhaps we could call them the Adullam Baptist Church. In our day, there are those who work hand in hand with Satan to destroy the people of God who seek to do the work of God. There are some ways this group relates to those of us who call ourselves independent Baptists today.
1. We have always been people of “the cave.”
Independent Baptists have always been oppressed and persecuted. Hebrews 11:35-38 says: “…and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.”
We who stand for the old-time Gospel need to embrace the cave because that is where our forefathers have always been. We need to quit apologizing for being Independent Baptists. We need not to be ashamed when people say, “Oh, you go to that church, that believes the Bible is the very words of God that have been preserved for all time.” People may ridicule and criticize us because we are of the cave. This world does not understand. The liberals do not understand. The God-denier and the compromiser do not understand. What they do not understand is that we are camping in the cave with the King. Quit apologizing for it. Why would we want to be anywhere else but with the King in the cave? Embrace the cave.
People of the cave can be traced back to Jesus Christ. Jesus said in Luke 9:58, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.” To those outside looking in the cave is just a dark, damp, dreary place of rejection; but to the people of the cave, it is a heavenly haven for the heavyhearted. The cave is where prayer becomes powerful. It is where the Holy Spirit becomes a Companion. It is where the Bible comes to life. It is the cave that makes us.
Those who entered that cave with David came with the labels of “Distressed,” “Debtors,” and “Discontented,” yet those labels were never again used to describe them. In fact, the Bible labels them as “David’s Mighty Men.” The cave is where God makes us mighty in power. It is where God allows us to grow close to Him. It is where God prepares us to do things we were never before able to do. The Bible gives an account of some in that cave. Adino slew eight hundred at one time. Abishai, slew three hundred men with a spear. When a person is forced into the cave, that is where God makes him, and transforms him.
Jack Hyles was of the cave. Lee Roberson was of the cave. Every one of our Baptist forefathers was of the cave. If a person is not of the cave, his crowd and his numbers matter to him. But when a person is of the cave, numbers do not mean that much. Personalities do not mean that much. All that matters is that the King is in the cave with him. One of God’s mighty men can do so much more than those who have no stress, no debt, and who are happy with the status quo.
2. Those who went to the cave were all alike.
Scripture gives no exception, so it is safe for us to say that every man who gathered in that cave had those things in common. That is why it feels good to be in the cave with God’s people. We might have different addresses, we might have different personalities, but we have the same Bible, the same Saviour, the same Baptist faith, and the same salvation. It has always been God’s plan to gather a group of peculiar people in the cave. In the Old Testament, they are referred to as “the remnant.” These are they who have followed Christ and have stayed faithful to Him and to His Word.
The cave was not a place of exclusion but it was a place of distinction. We gather together because we are the same. These men were there for a reason. They did not need or want anybody else in their cave who was not like them. Likewise, why do we want people in OUR cave who do not belong?
We live in a day when some are trying to bring people into the cave who are not like us. I do not want to have to sleep with one eye open because there are those working against the King. We have some who claim to be like us, but they want to bring their purpose-driven or seeker-sensitive philosophies into our cave. We are of the cave and you are not like us.
There are some Independent Baptists, who want to bring contemporary music into our cave. Contemporary music has never been in the cave of fundamentalists. We need to stand and say, “Not in our cave. We are not going to bow to the pressures of this world. We are not going to allow that in our cave.”
There are some who want to bring the teachings of emerging church leaders into our cave. They want to attend their conferences and learn their methods. Do not bring your teachings into our cave. Our cave is for those who are like us. Our cave is for those who are distressed, in debt, and discontented.” Likewise, anyone who denies the blood of Jesus Christ is not of the cave of the Old-Time Religion.
There are some who want to bring different Bibles to our cave. There is only one Bible welcome in our cave. Do not bring another Bible to our cave. There will not be a warm reception for your false Bibles.
There are others who are trying to bring Calvinism into our cave. How can we evangelize the world when our cave partners do not believe the world can be evangelized? Calvinists do not belong in our cave. We have never been of that. We will never be of that.
Sadly, there are some who were born in our cave, but who now want to leave the cave. They call themselves “New Fundamentalists.” This is my generation who say, “There is no love in the cave of the Old-Time Religion. There is too much fighting in the cave.” The New Testament sheds some light on it: No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life: (II Timothy 2:4) These men had no home. These men had no properties. The only thing they knew how to do was fight for the king and fight for David. The reason people think there is too much fighting in fundamentalism is that they are too entangled with the affairs of this life and too enamored by the things of the world.
I have a name for these New Fundamentalists, “the sons of Gideon.” Gideon commanded his son to, “Slay this king.” He could not and would not do it. These New Fundamentalists do not have what it takes to pick up the sword of the Old-Time Religion. Contending for the faith is just a little too intense for them. Fighting is the heritage of the people of the cave.
3. The cave was a place to rally to a cause.
The passage reads, “…they went down thither to him.” They went because David was there. They did not go because the cave was a cool place to hang out, nor because it was where they wanted to live. They went because David was there and he was the anointed king. There were some trying to stop the will of God and prevent David from getting to the throne. They came to fight for the cause. They forsook their dreams, their comfort, their will, and desires for one purpose: to fight for their king.
That is what we need to do. The Independent Baptist cave is a place to rally to the cause of our King. We need to abandon our wills and our wishes and surrender to Him so that we can fight for the King. It is our duty, to rally to the cave because that is where the King is. The world has pushed Him aside, but we must rally to the cause of the King and use our lives for Him. Our purpose is to fight for the King.
4. They freely and deliberately made David their king.
The passage says, “And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them.” These men chose David to be their captain. He did not force his leadership on them. They came to the cave and said, “Be our captain. We will fight for you.” David did not send out a recruiter saying, “Everybody come to the cave.” They freely and deliberately went to the cave to make David their king.
Why would people leave everything they knew to go to a cave to make David their captain? There are two reasons: One, he accepted them when they had nothing to offer. Two, he identified with them.
Why would a holy God leave Heaven and put on flesh? He did so in order to identify with us, and so that we could identify with Him. The Bible tells us that He was in all points tempted like we are. Jesus allowed Himself to be tempted because He knew that we would be tempted and that we could identify with Him identifying with us.
Why did Jesus delay in coming to see Lazarus? Jesus knew he was sick, yet He waited until Lazarus died to go. He stood outside of the tomb where everybody could see Him, and, “Jesus wept.” Why did he not prevent Lazarus from dying? Because He knew there would come a time when those whom He loved would have a broken heart and would stand outside the tomb of one of their loved ones. He was saying, “I can identify with you. I know what it is like to hurt. I know what it is like to have that emptiness inside of you. I want you to know, that as your Captain, I identify with you.”
Sinless, He hung on a cross after the angry mob had beaten and mocked Him. Why would Jesus Christ allow Himself to go through that? That angry mob knew He had healed the sick; and yet, they chanted, “Crucify Him.” They knew He had healed the blind; and yet, they chanted, “Crucify Him.” They heard Pilate say, “I find no fault in Him;” yet, they chanted, “Crucify Him.” Why would God allow His Son to go through that? He knew that the day would come his own would be persecuted, lied about, and the angry mob would gather themselves against them. As He was hanging on the cross he was saying, “When they treat you that way, remember that I have been there. I identify with you.”
Jesus Christ walked across this earth and never committed a sin. He never had a thought that He should not have had. He never went anywhere He should not have gone. He never said a curse word. When He could have had hate in His heart, He had love in His heart. How could sinful man ever identify with the God-man who had never sinned? Because there was a time when He was hanging on the cross, and He became sin. Why would Jesus, who had never sinned, allow Himself to become sin? Because He knew that we were sinners, and He was doing it for us.
This is why we freely come to Jesus Christ and say, “Be our Captain.” God Himself has chosen to lower Himself and identify with us. We are not drawn to Mohammed or to Buddha because these false gods have done nothing to identify with us. I do not understand why an almighty God would want to identify with us. The only answer is that there is a love that we do not understand or comprehend.
If you are in distress, if you are in debt, if you are discontented; remember, you are camping in the cave with the King. The liberals have pushed us in this cave. They have mocked us. They have lied about us. They are trying to destroy the King, but when the Lord of lords has His rightful place; we are going to have our part in knowing we never forsook Him. We never left Him, and we went all the way to the end, because we are the people of the cave.
Pastor Neal, through his preaching and his counseling, displays the compassionate heart of a pastor, follows the true leading of the Holy Spirit, and expresses a fervent desire to see lost souls come to know Christ. It is his ultimate desire to see the greater Jacksonville area reached for the cause of Christ and for revival to come to Northeast Florida.
