Welcome! Today we will do the third part of our series on David, a part of our larger series called Broken Vessels, a series where we have looked at how God has used people as part of His larger plan even though they repeatedly sin and fail, and how God has even used these failings into His larger plan.
Last week I left you with a cliffhanger! We were reading in I Samuel 30 how David and his men had just come back to their town, Ziklag, a town deep in Philistine territory, only to find that the town was a smoldering ruin and all the women and children and the few men that had been there were gone! Upon seeing this calamity, the passage says that “David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep. David’s own wives had been taken – Ahinoam and Abigail; David’s first wife, Michal, if you recall, was now another man’s wife, this all having been arranged by Saul, who was fixed on killing David because of jealousy and his fear of losing the throne to him.
As bad as this was for David, the passage points out that David had an even more immediately pressing concern – his men wanted to stone him! They blamed David for this outcome because he was their leader. He had led them out of the territory of Israel into this Philistine land and they had lived there for 16 months, pretending to be on the side of a Philistine king, pretending to raid Israelites, when in fact, they were brutally destroying nomadic bands of people, even killing their children (so there would be no witnesses to what they were doing) and keeping most of the plunder, living a pirate-like life. I think it likely some of the men had qualms about what they were doing, but David was their leader, so they followed him.
They had just avoided a very touchy situation in which the king of the Philistines who had given them this town of Ziklag had requested they they go assist them in war against Israel! The only reason they got out of this was that the Philistine military leaders didn’t trust them (and rightly so). But now, they were seeing evidence that David had just been doing his own thing, fleeing Israel because, although God had indeed provided for him there, he was tired of how God was providing for him there – always on the run, living in the woods, in caves, in deserts – it sort of reminds me of the Israelite’s 40 years in the wilderness!
Our very first verse today may be the most important, because it reveals something terribly important about David.
But David found strength in the Lord his God. – I Sam. 30:6b
David didn’t despair. He didn’t try to fix things himself. He turned to God, weak in his own strength, seeking strength from God. How does one do this? There are many examples of expressions of this in David’s Psalms. Here are just a few examples:
Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my sighing. Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to You I pray. – Psalm 5:1-2
It’s not that we shouldn’t fret! Yes, there is a place of peace – the peace that transcends all understanding – that is available to us via the Holy Spirit. But let’s be honest – we aren’t continually filled with the Spirit, even though we should be. I think there is a valuable lesson here from David: when you do fret, fret in the Lord! It is so easy to just run around problems over and over in our mind. It is a relatively small thing to include the Lord in on our mental conversations with ourselves! I say it is a small thing, but really it is a giant thing. It is the difference between being like Saul – fretting and then doing what seems best to you – and being like David – fretting and then waiting upon the Lord, seeking His wisdom, and by faith, letting Him lead you forward.
I am worn out from groaning; all night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears. My eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of all my foes. Away from me, all you who do evil, for the Lord has heard my weeping. The Lord has heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayer. – Psalm 6:6-9
Here we see more of what it means to go forward by faith. David is right! The Lord certainly has heard his weeping, his cry for mercy. And the Lord hears our weeping, our cries for mercy, if we cry out to Him (and not just ourselves). And do you notice that David mixes in with his prayer a conversation with himself? He talks to himself! This is OK – it is good – if you do this to build yourself up in the faith, to remind yourself what is true about God.
Look on me and answer, O Lord my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death; my enemy will say, "I have overcome him," and my foes will rejoice when I fall. But I trust in Your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in Your salvation. – Psalm 13:3-5
David in this prayer knows that God loves him! David is rejoicing in the salvation of God while he is going through a terrible trial. This is important – David does not focus on why things happen to him – some of it is indeed his own fault, and there is certainly a place for repentance – we will see this in the next example. But so many people think like this:
(1) This is happening to me because God is mad at me because of all the sins I have done.
(2) This is happening to me because I made it happen – it is my fault.
Both of these kinds of thinking are futile. What do I mean? Well, (1) is false if you are a believer, if you have put your faith in Christ – believing and accepting His sacrifice for your sins. Is God mad at you anymore? No! There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1) And (2) may be true or it may be false, but so what? Repent – reconnect yourself with your Savior and go forward. There is no value in stewing over what has already happened. It won’t change your situation, and it won’t make it better.
Who can discern his errors?
Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. – Psalm 19:12-14
This is where the focus should be: on the future, not the past.
This is a beautiful prayer, and it is impossible to pray in this direction if you are still stuck thinking about whose fault your problems are. This is what it means to move forward – commit yourself into God’s hands. Then, as it says of David, you will find strength in the Lord your God.
So what happened? David inquired of the Lord, and learned that they were to pursue the Amalekites, the ones who had done this to them, and that they would succeed in rescuing the captives. They pursued so rapidly that some 200 of the men had to be left behind on the way because of exhaustion. Then they met an Egyptian, left to die after falling ill, a slave of the Amalekite group. He had been there when they burned Ziklag. They gave him food and revived him, and he agreed to lead them to the raiding party. He agreed on condition that they would let him live and not give him back to the Amalekites. Do you not see the hand of God in this? Without finding him they might have never found them – the trail might have been hard to follow, or they might have betrayed themselves with suddenly stumbling into them and then being forced to fight while exhausted. With his help, they came on them with the element of surprise – they were busy celebrating and getting drunk – and David and his men had total victory – only one group of them escaped. But everyone who had been taken captive was recovered, safe, and all of their valuable possessions were also recovered.
Upon their return, as they met up with the men who had stayed behind because of exhaustion, a quarrel broke out over who got to keep the plunder. (The men who fought didn’t want to share with those who did.) Listen to David’s faith-filled reply:
David replied, "No, my brothers, you must not do that with what the Lord has given us. He has protected us and handed over to us the forces that came against us. Who will listen to what you say? The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike." David made this a statute and ordinance for Israel from that day to this. – I Sam. 30:23-25
David also sent some of the plunder to the elders of Judah “who were his friends,” as well as to various people that had helped him and his men over the years. Now, in I Sam. 31, we read of the battle David just managed to get out of, the war of the Philistines against Israel. In this war, Saul and three of his four sons, Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua, were killed. Now, the story of what happened to Saul isn’t fully explained until II Sam. 1, but what we are told here is that Saul was badly wounded by archers whose job it seems was to specifically hunt out the king (Saul) and his sons. Saul did not die, but asked his armor-bearer to kill him so that he would not be tortured and abused by the Philistines. His armor bearer would not do it, so Saul fell on his sword. Now, for the rest of the story. A man came from Saul’s camp to David in Ziklag with his clothes torn and dust on his head – a sign of mourning. He explained that many men had died, including Saul and Jonathan. David asked for more information, and the man said this:
"I happened to be on Mount Gilboa," the young man said, "and there was Saul, leaning on his spear, with the chariots and riders almost upon him. When he turned around and saw me, he called out to me, and I said, 'What can I do?' "He asked me, 'Who are you?' " 'An Amalekite,' I answered. – II Sam. 1:6-8
They had just avoided a very touchy situation in which the king of the Philistines who had given them this town of Ziklag had requested they they go assist them in war against Israel! The only reason they got out of this was that the Philistine military leaders didn’t trust them (and rightly so). But now, they were seeing evidence that David had just been doing his own thing, fleeing Israel because, although God had indeed provided for him there, he was tired of how God was providing for him there – always on the run, living in the woods, in caves, in deserts – it sort of reminds me of the Israelite’s 40 years in the wilderness!
Our very first verse today may be the most important, because it reveals something terribly important about David.
But David found strength in the Lord his God. – I Sam. 30:6b
David didn’t despair. He didn’t try to fix things himself. He turned to God, weak in his own strength, seeking strength from God. How does one do this? There are many examples of expressions of this in David’s Psalms. Here are just a few examples:
Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my sighing. Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to You I pray. – Psalm 5:1-2
It’s not that we shouldn’t fret! Yes, there is a place of peace – the peace that transcends all understanding – that is available to us via the Holy Spirit. But let’s be honest – we aren’t continually filled with the Spirit, even though we should be. I think there is a valuable lesson here from David: when you do fret, fret in the Lord! It is so easy to just run around problems over and over in our mind. It is a relatively small thing to include the Lord in on our mental conversations with ourselves! I say it is a small thing, but really it is a giant thing. It is the difference between being like Saul – fretting and then doing what seems best to you – and being like David – fretting and then waiting upon the Lord, seeking His wisdom, and by faith, letting Him lead you forward.
I am worn out from groaning; all night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears. My eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of all my foes. Away from me, all you who do evil, for the Lord has heard my weeping. The Lord has heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayer. – Psalm 6:6-9
Here we see more of what it means to go forward by faith. David is right! The Lord certainly has heard his weeping, his cry for mercy. And the Lord hears our weeping, our cries for mercy, if we cry out to Him (and not just ourselves). And do you notice that David mixes in with his prayer a conversation with himself? He talks to himself! This is OK – it is good – if you do this to build yourself up in the faith, to remind yourself what is true about God.
Look on me and answer, O Lord my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death; my enemy will say, "I have overcome him," and my foes will rejoice when I fall. But I trust in Your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in Your salvation. – Psalm 13:3-5
David in this prayer knows that God loves him! David is rejoicing in the salvation of God while he is going through a terrible trial. This is important – David does not focus on why things happen to him – some of it is indeed his own fault, and there is certainly a place for repentance – we will see this in the next example. But so many people think like this:
(1) This is happening to me because God is mad at me because of all the sins I have done.
(2) This is happening to me because I made it happen – it is my fault.
Both of these kinds of thinking are futile. What do I mean? Well, (1) is false if you are a believer, if you have put your faith in Christ – believing and accepting His sacrifice for your sins. Is God mad at you anymore? No! There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1) And (2) may be true or it may be false, but so what? Repent – reconnect yourself with your Savior and go forward. There is no value in stewing over what has already happened. It won’t change your situation, and it won’t make it better.
Who can discern his errors?
Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. – Psalm 19:12-14
This is where the focus should be: on the future, not the past.
This is a beautiful prayer, and it is impossible to pray in this direction if you are still stuck thinking about whose fault your problems are. This is what it means to move forward – commit yourself into God’s hands. Then, as it says of David, you will find strength in the Lord your God.
So what happened? David inquired of the Lord, and learned that they were to pursue the Amalekites, the ones who had done this to them, and that they would succeed in rescuing the captives. They pursued so rapidly that some 200 of the men had to be left behind on the way because of exhaustion. Then they met an Egyptian, left to die after falling ill, a slave of the Amalekite group. He had been there when they burned Ziklag. They gave him food and revived him, and he agreed to lead them to the raiding party. He agreed on condition that they would let him live and not give him back to the Amalekites. Do you not see the hand of God in this? Without finding him they might have never found them – the trail might have been hard to follow, or they might have betrayed themselves with suddenly stumbling into them and then being forced to fight while exhausted. With his help, they came on them with the element of surprise – they were busy celebrating and getting drunk – and David and his men had total victory – only one group of them escaped. But everyone who had been taken captive was recovered, safe, and all of their valuable possessions were also recovered.
Upon their return, as they met up with the men who had stayed behind because of exhaustion, a quarrel broke out over who got to keep the plunder. (The men who fought didn’t want to share with those who did.) Listen to David’s faith-filled reply:
David replied, "No, my brothers, you must not do that with what the Lord has given us. He has protected us and handed over to us the forces that came against us. Who will listen to what you say? The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike." David made this a statute and ordinance for Israel from that day to this. – I Sam. 30:23-25
David also sent some of the plunder to the elders of Judah “who were his friends,” as well as to various people that had helped him and his men over the years. Now, in I Sam. 31, we read of the battle David just managed to get out of, the war of the Philistines against Israel. In this war, Saul and three of his four sons, Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua, were killed. Now, the story of what happened to Saul isn’t fully explained until II Sam. 1, but what we are told here is that Saul was badly wounded by archers whose job it seems was to specifically hunt out the king (Saul) and his sons. Saul did not die, but asked his armor-bearer to kill him so that he would not be tortured and abused by the Philistines. His armor bearer would not do it, so Saul fell on his sword. Now, for the rest of the story. A man came from Saul’s camp to David in Ziklag with his clothes torn and dust on his head – a sign of mourning. He explained that many men had died, including Saul and Jonathan. David asked for more information, and the man said this:
"I happened to be on Mount Gilboa," the young man said, "and there was Saul, leaning on his spear, with the chariots and riders almost upon him. When he turned around and saw me, he called out to me, and I said, 'What can I do?' "He asked me, 'Who are you?' " 'An Amalekite,' I answered. – II Sam. 1:6-8
"Then he said to me, 'Stand over me and kill me! I am in the throes of death, but I'm still alive.' "So I stood over him and killed him, because I knew that after he had fallen he could not survive. And I took the crown that was on his head and the band on his arm and have brought them here to my lord." – II Sam. 1:9-10
So what was the rest of the story? Let’s put it together. Saul was wounded by the archers. Then he fell on his sword. But apparently that didn’t work out so well. He still needed someone else to kill him, and this man, an Amalekite, of all people (remember who David and his men had just destroyed, who had burnt Ziklag down and taken their women and children) – this man was the one who killed Saul. What a tragic, sorry end for Saul!
There is a detail in this story that makes it even more like a Greek tragedy. Saul is out on the battlefield, knowing that he is doomed – he had just before consulted a witch, summoned Samuel, and was told he and his sons were about to die in battle. It was also common practice for archers to be sent on a special mission to try to kill the generals, the leaders of the army, so as to cause panic and despair among the rest of the troops. So, here is the detail: what was Saul wearing into battle? His (gold) crown and (gold) bracelet! Not a helmet, but a crown! That would make him pretty easy to spot, don’t you think? Why did Saul do this? Because he just couldn’t give up the crown, even though it would be the death of him! To the last, Saul refused to give up being king. Shakespeare could not write a fitter ending to one of his plays than what really happened here.
Now, what’s going on with this Amalekite? To his credit, he didn’t keep the crown and bracelet, though they were certainly worth a considerable fortune. Does he expect anything in return? Well, in the passage he doesn’t come out and say so, but it is reasonable to think that, since in a literal sense he is handing David the kingdom, that he would expect something – perhaps a lofty position in David’s inner circle. But David was not impressed.
David asked him, "Why were you not afraid to lift your hand to destroy the Lord's anointed?" Then David called one of his men and said, "Go, strike him down!" So he struck him down, and he died. For David had said to him, "Your blood be on your own head. Your own mouth testified against you when you said, 'I killed the Lord's anointed.'" – II Sam. 1:14-16
There is one more great irony here – the Amalekites were the group God, through Samuel, told King Saul to totally destroy in I Sam. 15, and Saul did not do it. Instead, he kept their king, Agag, alive, as well as the best of the sheep and cattle and lambs. And it was because of this event that the Lord rejected Saul as king. And it was an Amalekite who finally brought an end to Saul’s life. It seems fitting, in a dark way, that it would end like this.
Now, David almost certainly knew that the Amalekites should have been destroyed by Saul long ago, that this was God’s order. In a sense, they had no business being alive at all, let alone killing God’s anointed king, hopelessly flawed and defiant and ungodly though he was. After the intense temptations David had had to kill Saul, yet he didn’t because he was still God’s anointed, to see that an Amalekite could do such a thing – well, David put an end to that. The rest II Sam. 1 is a beautiful poem David wrote in honor of Saul and Jonathan. I don’t have time to go through this poem, but I want to comment on one line:
I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother; you were very dear to me. Your love for me was wonderful, more wonderful than that of women. – II Sam. 1:26
Now, some have read something into this verse that is not there – that there is something wrong with David’s love of Jonathan. This is nonsense – David’s love of Jonathan is as he says like that of a dear brother. But it does say something perhaps disturbing about David’s love of women, and I do want to comment on this.
David has already had multiple wives at this point, and as king he will get more and more, about ten or so, including concubines. To David, wives were not people you poured out your life into, as we as Christians are told to do (love your wives as Christ loved the church). How could they be, if you have so many and are always on the lookout for more? Multiple wives were not forbidden in the Old Testament, nor even in the New, but a qualification for leadership in the church was that you be a husband of only one wife. If you look at the ideal back in the beginning of Genesis, the husband-wife relationship is to be unique, special. David failed at this, and it is no surprise that his sons (especially Solomon) failed at this in an even more spectacular manner.
Now I want to briefly summarize the events of II Sam. 2-5. It gets a little confusing because of all the names of people, so I think this chart will help.
David (made king of Judah)
Ish-Bosheth (Saul’s 4th son, made king of Israel by Abner)
Joab (commander of David’s men)
Abner (commander of Saul’s army)
Abishai (Joab’s brother)
Mephibosheth (Jonathan’s son, badly crippled)
Asahel (Joab’s brother)
Recab and Baanah (leaders of Jonathan’s army, not Jews)
So here is what happens. Battle breaks out between Joab’s and Abner’s men. Asahel chases Abner, and Abner kills Asahel. The result is war.
Next, Ish-Bosheth, a very weak ruler, offends Abner, who then meets David seeking to end the war. At David’s request he brings Michal, and returns home. Joab and Abishai hear of this, and in revenge for Asahel, kill Abner. This is done despite the fact that Abner was in a truce type situation, and despite the fact that his killing of Asahel was in battle, and despite the fact that Abner was in a city of refuge in Judah. David realizes that he, like Ish-Bosheth, is weak. His men do what they want.
Then Recab and Baanah, remembering that Saul had tried to slaughter their people in violation of a covenant they had made with the Jews back in the days of Joshua, kill Ish-Bosheth. Apparently not hearing what happened to the Amalekite who killed Saul, they bring Ish-Boseth’s head to David. One particularly galling thing they tell David is this:
This day the Lord has avenged my lord the king against Saul and his offspring. – II Sam. 4:8b
You can guess what happened: David is not impressed with this claim to have done the Lord’s doing. Yes, David has Recab and Baanah killed for what they had done.
With nobody left except Mephibosheth, Israel finally agrees that David should be king of all Israel. I think the fact that David publicly mourned for Saul, that he mourned for Abner, and that he punished the murderers of Ish-Bosheth finally won the northern tribes over. Perhaps, if he had never gone to Ziklag, as we talked about last week, this could have been a lot easier and less bloody.
And so, at the age of 30, David became king of all Israel. What happens next is a good period in David’s life. He is inquiring of the Lord in what he does, and the Lord is giving him victories. First, he takes Jerusalem, from the Jebusites, a subtribe of Canaanites who have held it against the Israelites for more than 400 years. Ironically, David’s years of fleeing Saul probably prepared him for this tricky attack, which is to go up through a cave-like water tunnel to breach the city’s defenses. According to I Chronicles 11, Joab volunteers to lead the attack, and is rewarded with command of the unified army of Israel. After capturing Jerusalem, David makes it the capital city and Hiriam, king of Tyre, provides for a fine palace to be built.
David realizes he is really, at last, king of Israel! He is a fulfillment of promises made to Abraham and to Moses. Unfortunately, as they say, “wherever you go, there you are.” David’s weaknesses have moved with him to Jerusalem as well. He continues to amass wives and concubines, because, well, it is what he likes.
What you see in the coming years is David’s relying on the Lord in military battles, and the Lord helps them finally have major victories against the Philistines, the Moabites, the people of Zobah, the Arameans, the Ammonites, and others. You see David worshiping the Lord with abandon as the Ark is brought to Jerusalem. You see David burning foreign idols (I Chron. 14) and re-establishing the roles of the Levites and priests (I Chron. 16). You see David show great kindness to Mephibosheth, letting him eat at David’s table like one of his own sons. (II Sam. 9) You see David responding humbly and thankfully to the Lord for the amazing promise given to him through the prophet Nathan that although David is not to build a house for the Lord, the Lord will build a house for him; in an obvious reference to Jesus:
When your days are over and you go to be with your fathers, I will raise up your Offspring to succeed you, one of your own sons, and I will establish His kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for Me, and I will establish His throne forever. I will be His Father, and He will be My Son. I will never take My love away from Him, as I took it away from your predecessor. I will set Him over My house and My kingdom forever; His throne will be established forever.' " – I Chron. 17:11-14
David’s response is spectacularly beautiful, and I have to read it:
"Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my family, that You have brought me this far? And as if this were not enough in Your sight, O God, You have spoken about the future of the house of your servant. You have looked on me as though I were the most exalted of men, O Lord God. – I Chron. 17:16-17
So what was the rest of the story? Let’s put it together. Saul was wounded by the archers. Then he fell on his sword. But apparently that didn’t work out so well. He still needed someone else to kill him, and this man, an Amalekite, of all people (remember who David and his men had just destroyed, who had burnt Ziklag down and taken their women and children) – this man was the one who killed Saul. What a tragic, sorry end for Saul!
There is a detail in this story that makes it even more like a Greek tragedy. Saul is out on the battlefield, knowing that he is doomed – he had just before consulted a witch, summoned Samuel, and was told he and his sons were about to die in battle. It was also common practice for archers to be sent on a special mission to try to kill the generals, the leaders of the army, so as to cause panic and despair among the rest of the troops. So, here is the detail: what was Saul wearing into battle? His (gold) crown and (gold) bracelet! Not a helmet, but a crown! That would make him pretty easy to spot, don’t you think? Why did Saul do this? Because he just couldn’t give up the crown, even though it would be the death of him! To the last, Saul refused to give up being king. Shakespeare could not write a fitter ending to one of his plays than what really happened here.
Now, what’s going on with this Amalekite? To his credit, he didn’t keep the crown and bracelet, though they were certainly worth a considerable fortune. Does he expect anything in return? Well, in the passage he doesn’t come out and say so, but it is reasonable to think that, since in a literal sense he is handing David the kingdom, that he would expect something – perhaps a lofty position in David’s inner circle. But David was not impressed.
David asked him, "Why were you not afraid to lift your hand to destroy the Lord's anointed?" Then David called one of his men and said, "Go, strike him down!" So he struck him down, and he died. For David had said to him, "Your blood be on your own head. Your own mouth testified against you when you said, 'I killed the Lord's anointed.'" – II Sam. 1:14-16
There is one more great irony here – the Amalekites were the group God, through Samuel, told King Saul to totally destroy in I Sam. 15, and Saul did not do it. Instead, he kept their king, Agag, alive, as well as the best of the sheep and cattle and lambs. And it was because of this event that the Lord rejected Saul as king. And it was an Amalekite who finally brought an end to Saul’s life. It seems fitting, in a dark way, that it would end like this.
Now, David almost certainly knew that the Amalekites should have been destroyed by Saul long ago, that this was God’s order. In a sense, they had no business being alive at all, let alone killing God’s anointed king, hopelessly flawed and defiant and ungodly though he was. After the intense temptations David had had to kill Saul, yet he didn’t because he was still God’s anointed, to see that an Amalekite could do such a thing – well, David put an end to that. The rest II Sam. 1 is a beautiful poem David wrote in honor of Saul and Jonathan. I don’t have time to go through this poem, but I want to comment on one line:
I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother; you were very dear to me. Your love for me was wonderful, more wonderful than that of women. – II Sam. 1:26
Now, some have read something into this verse that is not there – that there is something wrong with David’s love of Jonathan. This is nonsense – David’s love of Jonathan is as he says like that of a dear brother. But it does say something perhaps disturbing about David’s love of women, and I do want to comment on this.
David has already had multiple wives at this point, and as king he will get more and more, about ten or so, including concubines. To David, wives were not people you poured out your life into, as we as Christians are told to do (love your wives as Christ loved the church). How could they be, if you have so many and are always on the lookout for more? Multiple wives were not forbidden in the Old Testament, nor even in the New, but a qualification for leadership in the church was that you be a husband of only one wife. If you look at the ideal back in the beginning of Genesis, the husband-wife relationship is to be unique, special. David failed at this, and it is no surprise that his sons (especially Solomon) failed at this in an even more spectacular manner.
Now I want to briefly summarize the events of II Sam. 2-5. It gets a little confusing because of all the names of people, so I think this chart will help.
David (made king of Judah)
Ish-Bosheth (Saul’s 4th son, made king of Israel by Abner)
Joab (commander of David’s men)
Abner (commander of Saul’s army)
Abishai (Joab’s brother)
Mephibosheth (Jonathan’s son, badly crippled)
Asahel (Joab’s brother)
Recab and Baanah (leaders of Jonathan’s army, not Jews)
So here is what happens. Battle breaks out between Joab’s and Abner’s men. Asahel chases Abner, and Abner kills Asahel. The result is war.
Next, Ish-Bosheth, a very weak ruler, offends Abner, who then meets David seeking to end the war. At David’s request he brings Michal, and returns home. Joab and Abishai hear of this, and in revenge for Asahel, kill Abner. This is done despite the fact that Abner was in a truce type situation, and despite the fact that his killing of Asahel was in battle, and despite the fact that Abner was in a city of refuge in Judah. David realizes that he, like Ish-Bosheth, is weak. His men do what they want.
Then Recab and Baanah, remembering that Saul had tried to slaughter their people in violation of a covenant they had made with the Jews back in the days of Joshua, kill Ish-Bosheth. Apparently not hearing what happened to the Amalekite who killed Saul, they bring Ish-Boseth’s head to David. One particularly galling thing they tell David is this:
This day the Lord has avenged my lord the king against Saul and his offspring. – II Sam. 4:8b
You can guess what happened: David is not impressed with this claim to have done the Lord’s doing. Yes, David has Recab and Baanah killed for what they had done.
With nobody left except Mephibosheth, Israel finally agrees that David should be king of all Israel. I think the fact that David publicly mourned for Saul, that he mourned for Abner, and that he punished the murderers of Ish-Bosheth finally won the northern tribes over. Perhaps, if he had never gone to Ziklag, as we talked about last week, this could have been a lot easier and less bloody.
And so, at the age of 30, David became king of all Israel. What happens next is a good period in David’s life. He is inquiring of the Lord in what he does, and the Lord is giving him victories. First, he takes Jerusalem, from the Jebusites, a subtribe of Canaanites who have held it against the Israelites for more than 400 years. Ironically, David’s years of fleeing Saul probably prepared him for this tricky attack, which is to go up through a cave-like water tunnel to breach the city’s defenses. According to I Chronicles 11, Joab volunteers to lead the attack, and is rewarded with command of the unified army of Israel. After capturing Jerusalem, David makes it the capital city and Hiriam, king of Tyre, provides for a fine palace to be built.
David realizes he is really, at last, king of Israel! He is a fulfillment of promises made to Abraham and to Moses. Unfortunately, as they say, “wherever you go, there you are.” David’s weaknesses have moved with him to Jerusalem as well. He continues to amass wives and concubines, because, well, it is what he likes.
What you see in the coming years is David’s relying on the Lord in military battles, and the Lord helps them finally have major victories against the Philistines, the Moabites, the people of Zobah, the Arameans, the Ammonites, and others. You see David worshiping the Lord with abandon as the Ark is brought to Jerusalem. You see David burning foreign idols (I Chron. 14) and re-establishing the roles of the Levites and priests (I Chron. 16). You see David show great kindness to Mephibosheth, letting him eat at David’s table like one of his own sons. (II Sam. 9) You see David responding humbly and thankfully to the Lord for the amazing promise given to him through the prophet Nathan that although David is not to build a house for the Lord, the Lord will build a house for him; in an obvious reference to Jesus:
When your days are over and you go to be with your fathers, I will raise up your Offspring to succeed you, one of your own sons, and I will establish His kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for Me, and I will establish His throne forever. I will be His Father, and He will be My Son. I will never take My love away from Him, as I took it away from your predecessor. I will set Him over My house and My kingdom forever; His throne will be established forever.' " – I Chron. 17:11-14
David’s response is spectacularly beautiful, and I have to read it:
"Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my family, that You have brought me this far? And as if this were not enough in Your sight, O God, You have spoken about the future of the house of your servant. You have looked on me as though I were the most exalted of men, O Lord God. – I Chron. 17:16-17
"What more can David say to You for honoring Your servant? For You know Your servant, O Lord. For the sake of Your servant and according to Your will, You have done this great thing and made known all these great promises. – I Chron. 17:18-19
"There is no one like you, O Lord, and there is no God but You, as we have heard with our own ears. And who is like your people Israel—the one nation on earth whose God went out to redeem a people for Himself, and to make a name for Yourself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations from before Your people, whom You redeemed from Egypt? You made Your people Israel Your very own forever, and You, O Lord, have become their God. – I Chron 17:20-22
"And now, Lord, let the promise You have made concerning Your servant and his house be established forever. Do as You promised, so that it will be established and that Your Name will be great forever. Then men will say, 'The Lord Almighty, the God over Israel, is Israel's God!' And the house of Your servant David will be established before You. – I Chron. 17:23-24
"You, my God, have revealed to Your servant that You will build a house for him. So Your servant has found courage to pray to You. O Lord, You are God! You have promised these good things to Your servant. Now You have been pleased to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue forever in Your sight; for You, O Lord, have blessed it, and it will be blessed forever." – I Chron. 17:25-27
Have you ever prayed like this? You should! We have “great and precious promises given unto us” – promises of eternity in God’s own house, promises that He will wipe away every tear, promises that we will no longer battle the world, the flesh, or the devil – that, indeed, in God’s own house there is no darkness, as the Lord Himself is our light – and indeed, this only scratches the surface of God’s promises to us.
David was a man after God’s own heart. He failed – he failed a lot! He did some terrible things – we didn’t even get into Bathsheba and how David was responsible for killing her husband, Uriah. One of the saddest things is that David gave Joab’s instructions to withdraw from the fighting so that Uriah would die in a letter that he gave to Uriah! Uriah trusted his king until the end while David cheated on his wife.
But even there, if you read Psalm 51 you will understand why David remained a man after God’s own heart. For me everything comes down to what he says in one verse:
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. – Psalm 51:17
Today’s world would call David a hopelessly embarrassing hypocrite. God calls him a shining example of faith.
Will you be, for however many days God will give you on this earth, a man or woman, boy or girl, after God’s own heart? Filled with faith, praising Him for His goodness, confessing to Him your sins, getting back up after you fall and praising Him again? God wants your heart – all of it. He wants your love of Him to go beyond anything – good or bad – that is on this earth. Let us choose to follow David’s example.
Have you ever prayed like this? You should! We have “great and precious promises given unto us” – promises of eternity in God’s own house, promises that He will wipe away every tear, promises that we will no longer battle the world, the flesh, or the devil – that, indeed, in God’s own house there is no darkness, as the Lord Himself is our light – and indeed, this only scratches the surface of God’s promises to us.
David was a man after God’s own heart. He failed – he failed a lot! He did some terrible things – we didn’t even get into Bathsheba and how David was responsible for killing her husband, Uriah. One of the saddest things is that David gave Joab’s instructions to withdraw from the fighting so that Uriah would die in a letter that he gave to Uriah! Uriah trusted his king until the end while David cheated on his wife.
But even there, if you read Psalm 51 you will understand why David remained a man after God’s own heart. For me everything comes down to what he says in one verse:
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. – Psalm 51:17
Today’s world would call David a hopelessly embarrassing hypocrite. God calls him a shining example of faith.
Will you be, for however many days God will give you on this earth, a man or woman, boy or girl, after God’s own heart? Filled with faith, praising Him for His goodness, confessing to Him your sins, getting back up after you fall and praising Him again? God wants your heart – all of it. He wants your love of Him to go beyond anything – good or bad – that is on this earth. Let us choose to follow David’s example.
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