First and Last in the Kingdom

Matthew 19:16-20:16
 

Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is do to get eternal life?”
only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.”
“Which ones?” the man inquired. Jesus replied, “‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’” – Matthew 19:16-19

Family Matters

 Matthew 19:1-15

Welcome! Today we continue our series into the book of Matthew. Today we are looking at Matthew Chapter 19, beginning with verse 1.
 
When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan. Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there. Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?” – Matthew 19:1-3

When Others Sin

 Matthew 18:15-35

 

Today we continue our study of Matthew in the middle of chapter 18. Our series title highlights Jesus as the King of Kings, and much of this book is devoted to describing and demonstrating the unusual nature of his kingdom. As John mentioned last Sunday, this chapter begins the fourth discourse, a sizable chunk of Jesus’ teaching about the kingdom, in contrast to the stories about what he did as he traveled around with his disciples and lived out kingdom realities by ministering to the needs of people.
 
This discourse is sometimes referred to as the Discourse on the Church, since Jesus addresses the ways in which his followers should relate to each other. The word “church” appears for the second time in Matthew, after 16:18 where Jesus tells Peter that “on this rock I will build my church.” The Greek word is ekklesia, and these are the only two places in any of the gospels that this word appears, though it appears over 100 times elsewhere in the New Testament.
 
Ekklesia originally referred to a political assembly in the Greek system of democracy. It literally means “the called-out ones,” a civil body of elected members. The disciples at this stage would probably have had a vague understanding that Jesus was referring to some sort of body that he would be the head of, extending beyond them to encompass all of his faithful followers. The ekklesia would be the universal church that Jesus would establish and lead. This word would also come to refer to a local congregation of believers.

Children and the Kingdom

Matthew 17:14-18:14

 

Of course, we are continuing on in our series on the book of Matthew titled “Jesus, King of Kings.” Today’s message spans Matthew 17:14 through 18:14. Before we go into the passage, I just want to remind you briefly about the passage which preceded this one.
 
The first half of Matthew 17 tells the account of the transfiguration. Jesus climbed up a high mountain together with Peter, James, and John, but not any of the other disciples. Once they reached the top, Jesus was transfigured or transformed before their eyes. His face shone like the sun. His clothes became as a bright white light. Then, Moses and Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus. Peter not knowing what else to do said some funny things. God spoke audibly declaring loud and clear, “This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.” Peter, James and John immediately fell face down on the ground. Jesus came and touched them. When they looked up from the ground, the moment had passed. They saw only Jesus.
 
As they returned down the mountain, Jesus told them not to tell anyone what they had seen until He had been raised from the dead. They talked on for a bit, approaching a large group of people waiting on them. Perhaps even with Peter, James and John still seeing spots.
 
Let’s pray, and then we will pick up the action in Matthew 17:14.

Messiah

Matthew 16:13-17:13
 

As we pick back up in Matthew 16, Jesus ministry is beginning to wind down.  Most Bible historians and those who study the time line of the Bible believe that the point we are at in Matthew’s gospel would have been only about 6 months prior to Jesus’s death.  He has been teaching and training the disciples, but He is about to give them one more exam.  This exam would show them that they still do not really have it all figured out yet.  They do not yet have the whole story down. 

Kingdom Illustration: Bread

 Matthew 15:21-16:12

Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.”  Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”  He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”  The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.  He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.”  “Yes, Lord,” she said, “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”  Then Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour. – Matthew 15:21-28
 
The Canaanite woman came to Jesus asking for mercy.  There is nothing wrong in coming to Jesus with requests.  Matter of fact, in James 4:6 we are told, “let your requests be made known to God.”  But the context of those requests must be done in thanksgiving.  She must have known that Jesus had some kind of great authority and power.  You typically do not beg for mercy from someone that is weaker than you or has less authority than you.  I think that this was one of the things that constituted her “great faith”.  She was in a desperate situation, a situation that she did not have any control over.  Have you ever been in a situation like that?  Can you imagine what it would be like to enter their home?  It would have been chaos.  It probably felt like a hopeless warzone.  And it would have been hopeless without Jesus. 

Defilers and the Kingdom

 Matthew 15:1-20

 

The past couple of weeks have been an important time to consider the nature of political power in our nation. As a democracy we say that this power should reside with the people – each individual having an equal say in choosing who the leaders will be at all levels. But we have all seen how some votes matter more than others. It’s a complicated, messy business, where the ideals of equality and freedom do not work out the way they should. The leaders in a democracy are not always accountable to the people. Important, balanced information may not be readily available for making good decisions. So much happens behind the scenes that we never really hear the truth about. And would-be leaders on all sides often try to assume more power than they should, aided by efforts to make their opponents look bad.

 

The King is in Control

 Matthew 14:13-36
 

I feel very blessed to have the honor of teaching on this passage. It is a super encouraging and even fun passage. I like the title, the King is in control. That is what we will be reminded of today. Jesus is Lord overall.
 
Before I jump into today’s passage, I would like to offer an observation about chiasms. Carl has used this recurring structure in scripture to draw us to the central point in both books and individual chapters. A few weeks ago, when he introduced this chiastic structure with respect to the book of Matthew, I was prompted to think about God’s affinity for chiastic structure. When I say God’s affinity, I just mean that God likes chiasms. It is kind of “how He rolls.”
 
I never heard the word chiasm before Carl shared the concept, but I do remember seeing the idea highlighted years ago with respect to human beings as the pinnacle of all of creation. Most people in our culture tend not to see what is in the middle as being the most important. We tend to think of whatever is at the extreme, the biggest or strongest or fastest, as being the most important.
 
Think of pictures from the Hubble space telescope. We are just awed by the magnitude of the universe and the galaxies and nebulae and other things that I don’t even know the names for.  Going the other way though, it is possible to go just as small on a logarithmic scale getting down to subatomic particles like quarks and neutrinos. I’m not going to go into all the math and 10 to the power of positive whatever and 10 to the power of the minus whatever. If that sort of thing is interesting to you, there are many resources that can get into the details at many different levels.
 
The long story short is that human beings are essentially at the logarithmic midpoint of the sizes of creation between the largest thing (the whole universe) and the smallest subatomic building blocks. God’s most amazing creative work, that which He made in His own image, is placed in the middle of the size spectrum of the universe. For me, that is just another way of relating to chiastic structure and thinking, “Yep, God really digs it.” He really does like to put the important stuff, the boom, in the middle.
 
Let’s pray and jump into today’s passage.
 
Lord God, teach us from Your Word today. We need Your insights and understanding. We love You. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.
 

Opposition to the King

Matthew 13:53-14:12
 

Welcome! We are continuing our study of the Gospel of Matthew. Three weeks ago, I spoke on Matthew 12:38-50 and I described something I called the “Boom.” Both Tim, two weeks ago, and Fred, last week, made reference to my description. In my message, I told you that you would hear the “Boom” over the following two weeks, that is, in the passages that Tim and Fred have discussed with you.
 
In preparation for their messages, both of them asked me what I thought the “Boom” was. I confess that I was pretty coy, not really giving them an answer. I really wanted them to depend on the Lord, not me, and to be honest, I was still formulating ideas myself.
 
So, if you have been on these Zoom calls over the past two weeks, or if you have been reading the transcripts or watching the archived recordings, I have a question for you. What is the Boom? What do you think it is?
 

Kingdom Secrets: Reaping

 Matthew 13:24-52

Good Morning Saints!

 

Welcome back to the second half of what Carl called two Sundays ago the boom in the chiastic structure of the book of Matthew. As you recall Carl pointed out how the series of ideas in the first half of the book of Matthew are reflected in the second half in reverse order. This chiastic structure reinforces important points and creates a particular focus on the midpoint of the chiasm, the very center of the text and its key theme.

 

So, last week Tim shared the first half of the midpoint Boom in chapter 13 verses 1 through 23. That half of the boom contained the parable of the sower and the seed. Jesus explained that the seed represented the message of the kingdom. This parable focused more on the four different types of soil that the seed fell on and how the soil represented the four different attitudes of the hearts of the people that heard the message of the Kingdom. Some fell along the path soil and the Satan came and snatched it away. Some fell on rocky ground and it was received with joy but it had no root so it withered and died and some fell among the thorns and the worries of life and the deceitfulness of wealth came and choked it out. Finally, some fell on good soil and it yielded thirty, sixty and a hundred fold.

 

Kingdom Secrets: Sowing

 Matthew 13:1-23

 

Welcome back to the heart of Matthew’s gospel. Last Sunday Carl showed us the chiastic structure of this book, pointing out how the series of ideas in the first half of the book are reflected in the second half in reverse order. This structure reinforces important points and creates a particular focus on the midpoint of the chiasm, the very center of the text and its key theme. So, the end of chapter 12 and the whole of chapter 13 are what Carl labeled in his outline as “Boom!” – the focus of the chiasm that encompasses the entire book.

 

At the end of chapter 12, which we looked at last time, Jesus asks an important question about his mother and brothers: “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” He was in a house, while his family was waiting outside, wanting to speak to him, it says. The assumption in that culture was that family deserved special treatment. Family is important to us as well, but in societies around the world that are more honor-shame oriented, the ideas of preserving family honor and fulfilling family obligations are some of the most powerful motivators of a person’s behavior. One’s extended family provides one’s identity to a very great extent. Individuals do not have the freedom to choose their own identity, as so many people try to do in America. That is why, for example, the book of Acts records entire households converting to Christianity at once. Such decisions may not have been considered on an individual basis. This is also why in many places in the world today an individualistic approach to evangelism, encouraging one person to make a decision for Christ, is less effective than trying to reach entire extended families or even communities. Sometimes God does want a person to stand up against the opposition of their family in following Jesus, but sometimes he works it out for entire families to proceed together toward right relationship with him.

 

In any case, when Jesus asks the question, “Who are my mother and brothers?” he was shaking the foundation of Jewish worldview. He was not disparaging family but he was redefining it, in particular the family of God. He was making the point that the family that one is physically born into is less important than being born again into the family of God. The Jews had blurred this distinction. They thought they were automatically part of God’s family because they were Jews, his chosen people. But Jesus says that “whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

 

Jesus does not mention following the Jewish law. He, in effect, opens the way for anyone to become part of God’s family, to have that as their new identity, a new place to belong. In chapter 13 he talks a lot about the kingdom of heaven, another way of describing this new community and new identity for his followers to be a part of, as they acknowledge his lordship and the fellowship of all believers. Being able to join this universal family is part of the “Boom!” that Carl identified last time. This is an amazing work and blessing of the Holy Spirit, making us heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, as Paul describes in Romans 8, sharing in both his sufferings and his glory. “You who were once far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” That’s Paul in Ephesians 2. Everyone everywhere is invited to be part of this family. This was yet another part of Jesus’ message that would seem radical to his audience.

Who Are My Brothers

 Matthew 12:38-50

Welcome! As we continue our journey into the Gospel of Matthew, I want to start by discussing a few things from what you could call a 40,000-foot-high level. Although all four gospels are fundamentally written chronologically, starting with Jesus’ early ministry (or even His birth) and ending with His death and resurrection, the Gospel of Matthew is generally considered to be the least chronological of the four gospels. I believe that Matthew is doing this for many reasons, hopefully some that we can get into more deeply in later messages in this series, but today I want to highlight just one of those reasons: to create a powerful narrative structure. Before I go further, let me mention that some of these ideas have been mentioned in previous messages by our other wonderful speakers. But I think this bears repeating, in part because of the particular passage we are going through today.

King of the Promise to David

Matthew 12:1-37
 

We have a lot of ground to cover today, and sadly being creatures bound by time, we are going to have to move quickly across our passage to get it all in today. So, I am not going to review, we are going to jump right in and begin.

The Prophet

 Matthew 11:1-30

Good morning! We are underway in our new series from the book of Matthew. We picked up last week in at the end of Matthew 9. There, Jesus exhorted his disciples to pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers because the harvest was plentiful but the workers few. Then, directly at the beginning of chapter 10, Jesus called his twelve disciples and sent them out to do miracles and preach that the kingdom of heaven is near.

 

Jesus gave them instructions on what to do and told them of the challenges they would face both in those days and in days to come. Jesus’ words do not gloss over or cover up difficulties. Jesus’ words ring true. There will be difficulties, yes, but we should take heart because He has overcome the world. And there is great reward in following Jesus.

 

That is a quick intro, and it brings us to the immediate continuation of events in chapter 11. Let us pray and jump in.

 

Lord Jesus, speak to us from Your Word. Give us eyes to see and hearts to retain the good news. I pray for each soul who will hear this message. Guide us to Yourself and what You have prepared for each individual. Glorify Your Name we pray. Amen.

 

Working for the King

 Matthew 9:35-10:42

There have been many times when I have taken my kids to work with me while doing lawn care. My kids have never said anything to me like, “Daddy, I really like picking up sticks. It’s one of my favorite hobbies.” They did not go with me because they were into sticks. They went with me because they were into their dad. They wanted to spend time with me. Of course, not all of these excursions were voluntary. They did not always have completely pure motives. I do pay them for working, at least when they got older. Sometimes I would say there was no choice. They had to go even though they wanted to stay home. They claimed that they had more important things to do like petting the cat or performing some kind of ground breaking science experiment (not on the cat).

Somewhere in those experiences lies a good reason why we work for the king. There may be certain things that we are not quite into yet. But that will come in time. Right now, the question you can probably ask is, “Do I want to be with the king?” In John 5:17, “Jesus said to them, ‘My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.’” Do you want to join him in working?

Song of Praise

 2 Samuel 22:1-51

 

Today we come to the end of our message series on the life of David, and next week we will start on the second half of Matthew’s gospel, which will take us until next Easter. At this juncture, therefore, we will be turning our attention from David to the Son of David, the promised descendent who would fulfill the prophecy of David’s throne lasting forever. You may recall back in 2 Samuel 7, when David wanted to build a temple, that God told him that his son would be the one to do that, but that God would also establish his house or his lineage. The Lord stated it clearly: “Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.” The Jewish people who recognized Jesus as the Messiah referred to him as the Son of David, for example during the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, when people shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” It was an important part of where he had come from, who he was, and how he was identified. And we, too, as believers, have been brought into that eternal House of David that God promised to establish and sustain.

 

As he wrote his account, Matthew was careful to point out how Jesus fulfilled so many Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah. Jesus is the eternal, perfect king that David could never be. As we have studied the life of David, especially the latter part here in 2 Samuel, we have seen just how human he was. His sin with Bathsheba was not the solitary wrong thing that he did, though it was an indication of the lust that was in his heart at times. He certainly made mistakes in raising his children, resulting in much conflict and heartache. That seems to have been the focus of the last several messages in our series. And yet we know that his heart was continually turning to God in repentance, love, and worship. He was indeed “a man after God’s own heart” who recognized his need for forgiveness and grace.

Securing Peace

 2 Samuel 20:23-21:22 

Finally, this week, we come beyond the consequences of David’s sin.  However, today we will see some of the consequences of Saul’s sin.  The first portion of chapter 21 covers this sad situation, and I would like to give a word of caution to those who may have younger listeners.  The Bible does not conceal what happened.  It does not glorify wrong, nor does it hide the consequences of evil.  I have shared a couple of times in this series that we should be aware that sin is bad, and we should seek to stay far from it.  Again, I can say the same in light of this passage.

 

Before we move into chapter 21, I will reread the last few verses of chapter 20.  As you likely remember, the conspiracy of Absalom against his father David has ended.  David has been restored in Jerusalem as the king over all the tribes, over the whole nation of Israel.  As such, he has a number of officials in his government.

 

With that rather brief introduction, let’s pray and jump right in.

 

Lord Jesus, speak to us from Your Word we pray.  Please connect what we read today with our own lives.  Help us to walk in the light as You are in the light.  We pray in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

 

Joab was over Israel's entire army; Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Kerethites and Pelethites; Adoniram was in charge of forced labor; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was recorder;  Sheva was secretary; Zadok and Abiathar were priests; and Ira the Jairite was David's priest. – 2 Samuel 20:23-26

 

Before looking at individuals, let’s consider the roles of David’s officials.  The first two are military positions.  Due to the nature of the region in which Israel is placed, we see a great deal of conflict among the nations there.  Then, we have the leader of forced labor.  During David’s time, there was unprecedented prosperity for the kingdom of Israel ultimately setting up Solomon as the wealthiest man who ever lived.  As a result of the military conquests, there were conscripted workers from among the defeated nations who in turn were put to work on public works.  Then, we have two administrative roles, recorder, and secretary.  Then, we come to the chief priests of the nation as well as David’s own priest.  Israel was a nation created by God and as such, the nation has a priesthood also established by God.

Revolt Quelled

 2 Samuel 20:1-26

 

Good morning Saints. Before we start, I want to take a minute and ask the Lord to bless this message and also bless our breaking of bread and sharing time afterwards.

 

Now we are continuing our series titled “David: Kingdom Builder”.  Last week we learned how David replaced Joab as commander-in-chief of his army with his former enemy Amasa who was the commander of his rebel son’s army. David did this in order to reunite all the tribes of Jacob and once again be recognized as King over all of Israel. Today we are going to examine passages in 2 Samuel 20 to see how this plan to replace Joab as commander-in-chief worked out. Before we do that let’s first look back at how Joab originally obtained the battlefield promotion to the rank of commander-in-chief for bravery by reading 1 Chronicles 11:6

 

David had said, “Whoever leads the attack on the Jebusites will become commander-in-chief.” Joab son of Zeruiah went up first, and so he received the command. – 1 Chronicles 11:6

 

Fast forward a bit from here to the time period just after Joab murdered David’s former enemy Abner who commanded Saul’s army. David had just that day made an alliance with Abner. In the alliance Abner agreed to help David bring all the tribes of Israel under David’s reign as King. Does that sound familiar? It should because we learned just last week that David made a similar arrangement with his former enemy Amasa for the same reason. David was so upset with Joab for murdering Abner that he cursed Joab, his father’s house and Joab’s future generations saying in 2 Samuel 3:28-29:

 

I and my kingdom are forever innocent before the LORD concerning the blood of Abner son of Ner. May his blood fall upon the head of Joab and upon all his father’s house! May Joab’s house never be without someone who has a running sore or leprosy or who leans on a crutch or who falls by the sword or who lacks food. – 2 Samuel 3:28-29

 

Fast forward again to Joab murdering Bathsheba’s husband Uriah the Hitite in 2 Samuel 11:14-17.

 

In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. In it he wrote, “Put Uriah in the front line where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.” So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were. When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David’s army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died. – 2 Samuel 11:14-17

 

Fast forward again to Joab murdering David’s son Absalom despite the fact that David had given Joab a direct order to deal gently with him.

 

“Joab said, “I’m not going to wait like this for you.” So he took three javelins in his hand and plunged them into Absalom’s heart while Absalom was still alive in the oak tree.” And ten of Joab’s armor-bearers surrounded Absalom, struck him and killed him. – 2 Samuel 18:14-15

 

Now let’s begin where Carl left off last week in our series to see if Joab’s pattern of murdering David’s enemies and former enemies continues.

Return

2 Samuel 19:1-43

 

Good morning! Today we continue with our account of David, focusing on chapter 19 of 2 Samuel. Today’s message will be family friendly, as much as is possible for any message from 2 Samuel.

 

A quick reminder of past events. Starting in 2 Samuel 15, we see David’s estranged son Absalom prepare and implement a long plan to usurp the kingdom from his father. Over time, he drew more and more people to his side, playing loosely with the truth, presenting himself as a kinder, more compassionate, and more effective leader than his father all the while casting aspersion on his father’s rule. Receiving warning that a coup was imminent, David and his household hurried to leave his palace, and leave Jerusalem, preventing Absalom from slaughtering everyone, which he almost certainly would have done. We are told that the people wept for David as he left, and David also wept. He was barefoot and his head was covered, all signs of mourning. The people and David mourned together.

 

David and his party crossed the Jordan, going to one place; Absalom and his men also crossed, going to another. Each had an army. David’s army went out to fight Absalom’s. David stayed behind, at his general’s request. David asked them to “be gentle” with Absalom. Based on Absalom’s discussions with his counselors, we know that Absalom had no such inclination towards his father. Although one can understand why David is conflicted, words like this are never what an army wants to hear. The job and purpose of an army is to obtain victory, not “be gentle.”

 

O My Son!

2 Samuel 17:24-18:33

 

I would like to start my message today with a parable. I will call it the parable of the kudzu vine. It is a story that actually happened this week across the street from our house. I’d noticed kudzu growing in that area for some time, but this year I realized that it was actually killing a large tree by taking over a huge area of its topmost branches and blocking the sunlight from the tree. I traced where the vine came out of the ground in two places, and I cut it just above ground level. It was very simple, really. Within a couple of days, all the growth at the top of the tree had withered, and by the end of the week it was hardly noticeable anymore. Cutting the vine at the right places had dramatically taken care of the problem for that tree.

 

You can probably guess the spiritual application. How do we deal with sin in our lives – or indeed with any issue that we would like to transform? Too often we look at what is readily apparent and try to do something about that. But that is about as straightforward and effective as if I had tried to climb the tree and pull off each kudzu leaf. Not only would that have been an impossible task, but the leaves would have immediately re-sprouted. I needed to cut it off at its root.

 

We need to be careful to identify the root in dealing with any problem. Why do we react to things the way that we do? There is no use just trying to change the behavior; we need to dig deeper and examine past experiences that first put us on a certain path: choices that we made, things that other people did to us. Sometimes we have to go way back, even to previous generations. Why are we the way that we are? God wants to bring deep healing and forgiveness and transformation, if we are willing to go to the root. A surface treatment is not enough. It will be like picking the leaves off of a kudzu plant. It will just regrow.

Counsel

II Samuel 16:15–17:23

 

Disclaimer: It has been said that if the Bible was used as a Hollywood screen play, the ensuing film would be rated X; not for the fact that Hollywood is brazenly opposed to the Gospel, but because the Bible has several scenes that are full of violence and sexual sin as it displays the depravity of Man and God’s great redemption.  Again, this week we will encounter several things that may be inappropriate for younger ears.  I am not trying to hide the Bible from our children, but having three small children myself, I am not sure I want to discuss some of the things we will read about today with them yet. So, I understand if you want to remove them from the room.  Sadly, we will see suicide and open fornication, in addition to the continued family estrangement we have had the last several weeks.  I will be discrete about it as much as I can, but take what measures you feel are appropriate if you have young ones around.  Once I get out of the text and on to application, I will not return to the topics, so you can let them back in for that.  Let us spend some time reviewing and give parents time to set up their children with other activities.  I will warn you before we hit one of these topics, just in case.  As always, the message is recorded if you want to listen to it later, or the transcript will be sent out early this week and you can read it when you don’t have younger ones around. 

 

In chapter 15, Absalom had finally put his conspiracy into action.  He invited 200 people from Jerusalem to go to Hebron with him.  These 200 are completely innocent and know nothing of the coup d’état that Absalom is about to embark on.  Absalom sent messengers to all the tribes of Israel; most likely to the sympathizers he had turned away from David over the past 4 years by lying to them at the gates of Jerusalem.   He told them to announce him as king when they heard the trumpets from Hebron.  We do not know how or why, but somehow, Absalom has won the favor of one of David’s most trusted advisors, Ahithophel, and he has accompanied Absalom down to Hebron.

 

Messengers have come from Hebron telling David of Absalom proclaiming himself king of Israel.  David fled Jerusalem.  I have always wondered why David would flee.  Why not stay and fight?  I am not sure if he knew how large Absalom’s following was.  David probably was not sure if he could defend Jerusalem if all Israel was truly behind Absalom.  Absalom is also a man with a temper.  He’s very sly, but acts out of emotion.  He killed his brother about 10 years prior.  I am sure David feared Absalom would do the same to David in order to seal Absalom’s claim to the throne. 

Exile

2 Samuel 15:13-16:14

Good morning!  We are now about three quarters of the way through our series on King David which has primarily focused on the account in 2 Samuel.  The final message in this series is planned for September 13^th, 6 weeks from today.  Last week, we saw David’s son Absalom very craftily working his way into the hearts of the people of Israel.  Carl gave a family friendly disclaimer last week.  I will say something similar for today’s message.  I will try to keep today’s message family friendly, but we will talk about family estrangement and angry exchanges, so depending on the age and emotional maturity level of your children, portions of the message may or may not be appropriate for them.

Let me start with some of the backstory, Absalom, King David’s oldest son, had returned from his own self-imposed banishment.  He had manipulated Joab in an aggressive way to at least outwardly be restored to his father.  Remember that Absalom had spent three years in the kingdom of Geshur, his mother’s home country.  Then, he spent two more years in Jerusalem without seeing his father.

Why was Absalom estranged from and not allowed to see his father for five or more years?  Absalom had taken vengeance into his own hands against his brother Amnon.  Amnon’s guilt is not in question.  But, Absalom did not have the right to take the law into his own hands and have his brother killed.

As Carl explained last week, there remained a gigantic unspoken disagreement between David and Absalom. Absalom believed he was right to take action against Amnon, and David did not. Underlying the disagreement between them is the broader question of whether justice was served in the two years prior to Absalom’s actions against Amnon. Despite David’s desire to reconcile with Absalom, David did not see how this broader disagreement could be solved unless Absalom were to admit he was wrong.

Conspiracy

2 Samuel 15:1-12

Good morning! Today we continue with our account of David and his son Absalom. I think a good place to start is reviewing David’s family situation and the events that have happened so far. As much as I can, I will try to keep today’s message family friendly, but we will talk a lot about family estrangement, and so, depending on the age and emotional maturity level of your child, this topic may or may not be appropriate for them.

Estrangement

2 Samuel 14:1-33

Last week, we heard about the rape and heartbreaking disgrace of Tamar by her half-brother Amnon followed by the vengeance that Absalom wrought on Amnon.  Absalom had Amnon killed in front of all his brothers.  After this, Absalom fled to the neighboring country of Geshur for three years.

David mourned the loss of his two oldest sons: Amnon to death and Absalom to exile.  2 Samuel 13 closed with David being consoled concerning Amnon’s death but longing to go to Absalom.  David and Absalom are estranged over Absalom’s treachery against Amnon no matter how justified.  That is where we pick up the story in 2 Samuel 14.  David is conflicted by anger toward and love for his son Absalom and possibly remorse over his failures that contributed toward this heart-breaking situation.  David allows himself again to skip taking the initiative to resolve a difficult situation among his children.  This time it is reconciliation with Absalom that he avoids.

Let us pray before we continue.

Father God, help us to see what it is that you want us to see in 2 Samuel 14.  Speak to us from these difficult circumstances.  We desire to see how we might better honor You in how we live.  Help us we pray in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Like Father...

2 Samuel 13:1-39

“The wages of sin is death.” We know that from Romans 6. Sin has consequences. And far-reaching sin has far-reaching consequences. The source of David’s sin with Bathsheba was the lust in his heart. He fed his sexual desire in an unhealthy way. This was not its only expression. He had 8 wives and at least 10 concubines. His son Solomon would go well beyond that with 700 wives and 300 concubines. Their power gave these men access to many women, and they took what they wanted. So David’s problem was bigger than Bathsheba. He took what he thought he deserved as king, and that attitude led him away from God.

Turning away from God always results in loss of some kind. When David sinned with Bathsheba he lost his intimacy with God. It started when he allowed himself to become lazy and not go out with his army. When discipline starts to slip in one area the slide has a tendency to extend to other areas. David decided to take it easy, and he became soft. He lost his vital connection with God and became susceptible to his lust, his own selfish desire.

Following God requires self-discipline. This applies to us as well. We need to be willing to do hard things and not just take the easy, comfortable way. For example, why read the Bible every day? To learn more about God, yes, but even more importantly it is a spiritual discipline that will impact our entire lives. If we do it even when we do not feel like it, there is inherent value in that. God may not speak to us through his word every day, but the discipline of consistently giving him that opportunity will help keep our hearts in the right place. Discipline in one area leads to discipline in other areas; just as laziness in one area will creep into other areas.

Consequences of the Fall

2 Samuel 12:1-31

Today’s message is titled “Consequences.”  We will see some of the consequences of David’s sin in chapter 11, but we will only begin to hear about further consequences which are yet to come beyond 2 Samuel 12.

For those who may not have heard the message from last week, we are in the middle of the story about David and Bathsheba.  At the beginning of chapter 11, the army is fighting against the Ammonite city of Rabbah.  David though remains at home in the city of Jerusalem in spite of the fact that it is spring, “the time when kings go off to war.”

While at the palace one evening, David goes out for a walk on the roof.  He sees a beautiful woman bathing.  Rather than turn away, rather than go to his own wives, David inquires after the woman and has her brought to him.  David knows that she is married and knowingly commits adultery.  Bathsheba becomes pregnant and sends word to David.  Bathsheba’s husband is a soldier in David’s army and is stationed at Rabbah.  In fact, Uriah, her husband, is one of David’s mighty men (2 Samuel 23:39), one of his 30 bravest and strongest warriors.

To make matters worse, David recalls Uriah from the front and tries in vain to get Uriah to go home to his wife.  Uriah is a man of character and honor.  He is not willing to disrespect or dishonor his commander Joab or his fellow soldiers.  He will not go home to the comfort of his own bed or the arms of his wife while his comrades-in-arms are still sleeping in tents.

Things go from really bad to worse still.  David then sends word to Uriah’s commanding officer by Uriah’s own hand that Uriah should be put into a compromising situation on the battlefield so that Uriah “will be struck down and die.” (2 Samuel 11:15)  And that indeed is what happens, and Joab sends word to David that Uriah has been killed.

2 Samuel 11:27 says that after the time of mourning was over, David had Bathsheba brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son.  That time of mourning may not be as long as we might imagine.  Other times in the Bible when an observed time of mourning is mentioned, it is seven days.  We don’t know for sure, but it is certainly plausible that it was only a week after Uriah had died that Bathsheba became David’s wife.

This is the point at which 2 Samuel 12 begins.  Let us pray and ask God to speak out of a difficult passage.

The Great Fall

2 Samuel 11:1-27

Good morning! Today we continue our series on King David. I want to start by reviewing where we’ve been the last month or so. Back in Chapter 7, we saw that because of the Lord, things were beginning to go quite well for King David and for the kingdom. David, living in a fine palace had had built, thought about how the ark and other priestly objects were in a tabernacle, a tent, and he thought it was inappropriate. David decided to build a fine Temple for the Lord, and he told a prophet of the Lord about this. God responded to the prophet, who explained to David that God did not want him to do this; someone who would come after David would be the one to do this.