David: Kingdom Builder Introduction

David: Kingdom Builder Introduction

Welcome! Once again, we are having church via video conferencing, in our “new normal.” You may remember that before our world took this sudden dramatic shift to social distancing, isolation, and all the strangeness that goes along with this, we were doing a series on the book of Matthew. We interrupted this series for a set of 3 messages addressing the new world we found ourselves in, and following this, on Palm Sunday we had a message on Christ in the Passover, and last Sunday we had our Easter message along with the world premiere of the movie spectacular, Rogue Twelve.

 

Well, today we begin a new series on David, based on the book of 2 Samuel. You may be wondering what happened to the rest of the Matthew series. Well, the plan all along was to only go through the first half of Matthew, up through Chapter 12, and to finish Matthew in a separate series at a later date. We ended up making it through Chapter 9 of Matthew. We have decided to make the three planned final messages of the current Matthew series become the first three messages of the later series. Matthew 10 will need to wait. Ironically, this passage is all about Jesus sending out the twelve into various towns throughout Israel. Israel is currently in a lockdown just like us. You could say that Jesus’ disciples will just have to wait before going on their journey, just like us.

In any case, as we know, and as 2 Timothy 3:16-17 states, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” And so let us pray that God gives us ears to hear and hearts to apply the timeless truths of 2 Samuel.

This new series is our third series on the books of 1 and 2 Samuel. The first series was entitled “Prophet and King” and it took place in over 5 months in 2017. This series focused on the prophet Samuel and Israel’s first king, King Saul. The second series was entitled “Walking Through and Stepping Up” and it took place over 6 months in 2018. This series focused on David’s journey from shepherd boy to king. This new series picks up where the second left off, and looks at David’s successes and failure as king.

Since it has been a few years since the previous series, I think it will be helpful to point out some key events and themes of the first two series, both of which come from the book of 1 Samuel. The early part of the book focuses on the prophet Samuel’s early life. But let us skip ahead to chapter 8, where we learn that Samuel has grown old and has appointed his sons as Israel’s leaders. Unfortunately, the sons did not follow God like Samuel; they accepted bribes and sought after other forms of dishonest gain. The elders of Israel told Samuel that they wanted a king like the other nations had. Samuel asked the Lord about this, and God told him that it was not him they were rejecting, but God Himself. God told Samuel to warn the people that the king that they want at first will turn out to tax them and take from them what he wants. Samuel did so, but the people replied that they didn’t care. They wanted a king! So God told Samuel to tell them that a king they would get.

Saul told Samuel to anoint Saul son of Kish as king. Saul certainly looked the part. He was a head taller than anyone else and had what we might call a princely face.  Samuel privately anointed Saul. The Holy Spirit came upon Saul and he prophesied, causing people to wonder what was up with him, as he hadn’t previously acted like one of the prophets. Later Samuel gathered the people to publicly declare the king that God has chosen for them. People came up by families, and when it was Saul’s family’s turn, Saul hid. But people saw him hide, and Samuel had them bring him out, and Saul pronounced him king and explained to the people rights and duties of kingship. It was an inauspicious beginning for King Saul.

After some early successes leading the people into battle, intending to fully take the Promised Land for the people of Israel as they had been told to do back at the time of Joshua. Saul had his son Jonathan attack a Philistine outpost, after which the Israelites and the Philistines gathered for war. Samuel had told Saul he would come in seven days, but badly outnumbered, Saul and his troops were quaking with fear. On that seventh day, Samuel had not yet appeared, so Saul took matters into his own hands and took the role of a priest, a role he had no right or authority from God to take, and made burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Samuel then arrived and told Saul that he had done a foolish thing (an action totally opposed to the Law handed down at the time of Moses), and that as a consequence, God would not allow his kingdom to endure. Samuel told him that God had sought a man after his own heart to replace Saul. In later battles, it was seen that Saul was increasingly erratic and unwise. Saul’s men and even his son Jonathan saw the increasing instability and rashness of his father.

Samuel then relayed to Saul that God says it was time for him to attack the Amalekites, who had continued to cause trouble for God’s people all the way back to the time of Moses. Saul was told to totally destroy everything, the people, their possessions, their animals, everything. Saul did attack them, but he spared their king and the best of their animals. The Lord told Samuel He had seen this, and instructed him to confront Saul. At the appointed location he found that Saul had gone on to a city to put up a monument in his own honor. Samuel went to Saul and confronted him with his disobedience. Saul first tried to argue he had done everything, lying to Samuel, and then, when confronted with his lies, begging for forgiveness. Samuel refused. As he turned to leave, Saul grabbed his robe and it tore. Saul pronounced that God had similarly torn the kingdom away from Saul.

After some period of time, God led Samuel to the family of Jesse to privately anoint the next king of Israel. This time, God did not choose the oldest, or the tallest, or the handsomest, but the youngest, a shepherd boy named David. Although David was God’s selection, it was quite some time before David became king, for a multitude of reasons.

King Saul was increasingly erratic and unstable, and his attendants suggested that he find someone to play the lyre for him so that he would feel better. Ironically, the person that was chosen was none other than David.

Soon after, another war with the Philistines was brewing. This time, a giant of a man named Goliath taunted the Israelites, daring them to send their best warrior to fight them and decide the battle through one-on-one combat. The Israelites, including Saul, were all afraid to go. When David came to the camp and learned about what was going on, he volunteered to fight Goliath. Saul initially refused, but eventually agreed, perhaps convinced by David’s speech about his past successes and his reliance on God. Saul’s own relationship with God was complicated. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe in God, but he just didn’t want to do things God’s way. In the past he had relied on Samuel’s relationship with God as a kind of substitute for his own. Perhaps at this point he saw the same potential through David. We all know what happened next – David was successful with his sling, and after felling Goliath he cut off his head and the Philistines fled. (So much for surrendering, as per the agreement.)

David’s remarkable success made him famous, and Saul became jealous of him. Meanwhile, David became great friends with Saul’s son, Jonathan. Saul put David in the military, and success after success caused the people to sing that “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands,” further irritating Saul. Saul started to suspect that David might be the king that God would use to replace him. Saul offered him his daughter Michal in exchange for 100 Philistine foreskins. His plan was to get David killed in battle. But David and the men under him killed double that amount, and David got his bride. This made Saul even more determined to put an end to David.

Saul twice tried to kill David by throwing his spear at him while he was playing the lyre for him, and the second time, David escaped. Saul sent his men after him, and thus began a long campaign of Saul attempting to find David and kill him.

Saul’s actions became more and more terrible. On the run with his men, David visited a group of priests and asked for food. The priestly leader there gave him food and also Goliath’s sword. One of Saul’s men, Doeg the Edomite, witnessed all this, and later told Saul. Saul made the priests come to him, accused them of conspiring against him, and then told his men to kill them. They refused to do such an abhorrent act. Saul then had Doeg the Edomite do it. Doeg, presumably with men of his own, killed the priests and their families; indeed, he slayed all the people of their town. Only one son of the high priest, Abiathar, escaped, and he later joined David’s men.

David fled to the Philistine town of Gath. When people started to suspect who he was, he pretended to be insane. David left and went to hide in other places, including the caves of Adullam and Mizpah, all the while gathering a larger collection of followers, people who had various problems with Saul such as debt or simply discontentment.

Despite being continuously pursued by Saul, when David learned that the Philistines were fighting against the Israelites in Keilah, he asked the Lord for direction, and the Lord told him to defend them against the Philistines. When Saul learned of this, he sent his men also, not to defend the Israelites against the Philistines, but to kill David and his men. David helped defend Keilah but then escaped before Saul could get him. Saul and David continued to play a cat and mouse game, but the Lord protected David and his men.

At En Gedi, Saul entered a cave that David was hiding in at the back. David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. But then David was conscience stricken for having done this. He said, “The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the Lord.” At a safe distance from the cave, David called out to Saul, told him what he had done, but told him that he would not kill him. He said, “May the Lord judge between you and me.” Saul, at least at that moment, repented of his actions, and wept. He asked David to take an oath that he would not wipe out his descendants, and David did so, and Saul went home.

David was far from perfect. He asked Nabal, a man with thousands of goats and sheep, for some food and hospitality in exchange for how his men had treated Nabal’s men and flocks previously. But Nabal was surly, and replied with a message that basically said, “And who are you? And why should I?” David responded hotly, preparing his men to massacre them. Abigail, Nabal’s wife, took matters into her own hands. She had plentiful provisions gathered and brought to David and his men. She came personally, and spoke eloquently and wisely, and managed to calm David. Later, when she told her drunk husband what she had done, his heart gave out and he soon died. When David learned of this, he asked her to become another of his wives, to which she agreed. David had also married Ahinoam, of Jezreel, and Michal, daughter of Saul. Michal, however, had stayed behind when David fled, helping him to do so, and in retaliation, Saul had given her to another man.

Saul “forgot” about his repentance and again pursued David. At one point, David snuck into Saul’s camp and again had the opportunity to kill Saul, but again he spared his life. David again had a conversation with Saul at a safe distance, and Saul again “repented,” going back home. David knew this repentance would not last, and so he decided to take his men and live among the Philistines. He and his men would attack the neighboring peoples and take their animals and supplies. Eventually the Philistine king gave him and his men a small town called Ziklag to live in. He lived in Philistine territory for more than a year. The Philistine king allowed this because he thought David was not only an enemy of Saul but also of the entire Israelite people, and therefore he was convinced that he would stay loyal to him.

Achish, the leader of the Philistines, then planned on a massive assault against Israel, and told David he must participate. David, in a very tight spot, told the king “you will see for yourself what your servant can do” (a cleverly vague statement). Meanwhile, the prophet Samuel had died, and Saul could see that the Philistines were amassing for an attack. Filled with terror, he inquired of the Lord but received no reply. He then visited a medium in Endor, asking her to raise the spirit of Samuel so that, even after death, he could get Samuel to inquire of the Lord for him. Now, I don’t want to even get started on how many ways this is terribly wrong and in violation of the Law of Moses. In any case, the spirit, rather than giving Saul what he wanted, told Saul that Israel would fall to the Philistines in this battle and that Saul and his sons would soon be “joining him”, dead.

Everyone on both sides had assembled for the great battle, but Achish’s men told him that they were not comfortable with David being there, as they were worried that David would turn against them. Achish told David to leave with his men. When David and his men got back to Ziklag, they found that it had been raided, and their wives and children and old men had been carried off, along with their possessions. David inquired of the Lord through Abiathar the surviving priest, and was told to pursue them and they would be successful. This is exactly what happened, although some of David’s men were too exhausted to make the entire journey. After recovering the captured people and taking the spoils, some people objected to allowing the men who stayed behind to receive anything of the spoils, but David overruled them, decreeing that all would get an equal share. 

Meanwhile, the great battle between the Philistines and the Israelites began. As prophesied, the Philistines were successful, and they killed Saul’s sons, including David’s dear friend, Jonathan. Saul too was critically wounded. Saul asked his armor-bearer to run him through, so that he would be dead before the enemy could capture and torture him, but the armor-bearer refused. Saul then fell on his own sword and died, and the armor-bearer then did the same. The Philistines celebrated their massive victory.

And with that extremely long introduction, this brings us to today’s passage, starting from the very beginning of the book of 2 Samuel. I hope you are all still with me; we have just gone through an entire book of the Bible in about 15 or 20 minutes.

After the death of Saul, David returned from striking down the Amalekites and stayed in Ziklag two days. On the third day a man arrived from Saul’s camp with his clothes torn and dust on his head. When he came to David, he fell to the ground to pay him honor. – 2 Samuel 1:1-2

There’s no internet back then, no television, no radio, so David has no idea what has happened. He has been sent home only to have his own battle for his own people, but he does not know what has happened between the Philistines and the Israelites. He does not know this man who has come, but torn clothes and dust on his head means that the news he brought was not good news.

“Where have you come from?” David asked him. He answered, “I have escaped from the Israelite camp.” “What happened?” David asked. “Tell me.” “The men fled from the battle,” he replied. “Many of them fell and died. And Saul and his son Jonathan are dead.” Then David said to the young man who brought him the report, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?” – 2 Samuel 1:3-5

This man’s wording is strange, and David’s question reveals that David has caught on to this. The man did not say he fought for the Israelites or even that he was an Israelite; instead, he says he escaped from the Israelite camp. What does this mean exactly? David’s question is a good one – fleeing a large battle in the midst of a breakdown of one side, a random, unimportant person would not know much of what was going on beyond what was in front of his face. 

“I happened to be on Mount Gilboa,” the young man said, “and there was Saul, leaning on his spear, with the chariots and their drivers in hot pursuit. 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. “Then he said to me, ‘Stand here by me and kill me! I’m in the throes of death, but I’m still alive.’ – 2 Samuel 1:6-9

This man tries again to be coy, but he also apparently loves to talk. “I happened to be on Mount Gilboa” begs the question “Why? What were you doing there?” But then he describes this encounter with Saul in great detail, revealing that he is an Amalekite. Is this report believable? Let’s read on.

“So I stood beside 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.” Then David and all the men with him took hold of their clothes and tore them. They mourned and wept and fasted till evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the army of the Lord and for the nation of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword. – 2 Samuel 1:10-12

So whatever David might have thought of the story, the crown and arm band really were proof that Saul was dead. Now, let’s talk for a moment about what this man may have expected to happen. I think he thought they would rejoice, not mourn and weep! He undoubtedly knew of the great enmity between David and Saul – everyone knew this, even the Philistine king. It was why he had allowed David to live in his land.

Why did this man come all the way to Ziklag to see David? He already had somehow managed to obtain the extremely valuable crown and arm band of Saul. He could have undoubtedly sold them for a fine amount of money. But he chose to bring them to David because he figured David would immediately put them on and reward this man even more handsomely.

But this man’s “intel” was highly flawed. He apparently had no idea about the deep brotherly friendship between David and Jonathan. Nor did he understand (and few did) David’s complicated relationship with Saul. David did not wish Saul to die. He wanted him to return wholeheartedly to the Lord. Despite all of horrible things Saul had done, David longed for Saul to come to his senses, truly repent, and be his friend, father-in-law, and king. This commendable attitude of David was a foreshadowing of Christ’s love for us, for as it says in Romans 5,“While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” and “while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son.” And so David and his men did not celebrate at the death of Saul and Jonathan, but they grieved. In the same way, I believe God grieves for us when we refuse to receive His gift of salvation paid for by the death of His Son. As it says in 2 Peter 3, the Lord is “not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

David said to the young man who brought him the report, “Where are you from?” “I am the son of a foreigner, an Amalekite,” he answered. David asked him, “Why weren’t you 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.’” – 2 Samuel 1:13-16

This young man I think realizes that he is in big trouble when a grieving David asks him again “Where are you from?” His answer is suddenly a little more coy – “I am the son of a foreigner.” That’s interesting. He didn’t say that before. One commentator brilliantly compares this to a wonderful childhood story called The Wide-Mouthed Frog. Have you ever heard it?

In this story, the title character wanders around asking the other animals what they like to eat. Depending on the version of the story, the frog is either somewhat rude, or over-talkative to the point of being annoying, or just naïve, but eventually he comes to either a lion, a crocodile, or a snake, depending on the version of the story, and he asks him, with wide open mouth, “And what do you like to eat?”

The animal replies that he likes to eat wide-mouthed frogs. The frog, realizing that he is in trouble quite literally because of his big mouth, immediately scrunches up his mouth like a fish and says, “Hmm. I haven’t seen any around here.”

David had the messenger killed because he wasn’t just the messenger. His story didn’t really add up, yet here he was with the royal crown and arm-band of Saul. And as we can see from the earlier account, the story really doesn’t add up. Saul fell on his own sword. This man must have been looking among the fallen for the spoils of war to keep for himself. When he realized what he had found, he thought he could get an even greater reward bringing this to David than to anyone else. Again, he thought David would celebrate. But he was very wrong. 

David took up this lament concerning Saul and his son Jonathan, and he ordered that the people of Judah be taught this lament of the bow (it is written in the Book of Jashar): - 2 Samuel 1:17-18

Just a quick note on this book – it is mentioned in multiple books of the Bible; it is apparently a book of poems or songs. It is mentioned in Joshua 10 referring to a victory song about how the sun and moon stood still during the victory of the Israelites over the Amonites. Based on the Septuagint translation, it was also believed that Solomon’s dedication in I Kings 8 was also in this book.  Here is the lament:

“A gazelle lies slain on your heights, Israel. How the mighty have fallen! Tell it not in Gath, proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines be glad, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised rejoice. – 2 Samuel 1:19-20

“Mountains of Gilboa, may you have neither dew nor rain, may no showers fall on your terraced fields. For there the shield of the mighty was despised, the shield of Saul—no longer rubbed with oil. From the blood of the slain, from the flesh of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan did not turn back, the sword of Saul did not return unsatisfied. – 2 Samuel 1:21-22

“Saul and Jonathan—in life they were loved and admired, and in death they were not parted.
They were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions. – 2 Samuel 1:23

“Daughters of Israel, weep for Saul, who clothed you in scarlet and finery, who adorned your garments with ornaments of gold. How the mighty have fallen in battle! – 2 Samuel 1:24-25a

Jonathan lies slain on your heights. 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. How the mighty have fallen! The weapons of war have perished!” – 2 Samuel 1:25b-27

That David is here praising Jonathan, his great friend, is easy to understand. But David is also praising Saul, his enemy who had tried to kill him again and again. Because of Saul, David was forced to flee his wife. Because of Saul, David lived in caves and deserts. Because of Saul, David had had a very hard life for a very long time. Yet David praises him effusively in this eulogy.

I love this about David. It is truly a kingly response. Certainly among politicians today it is a lost art. But I fear it is lost by our society in general. This kind of behavior feels like it is from a bygone era. And that is unfortunate. I am preaching to myself here. During this covid crisis, I have repeatedly found myself incredibly frustrated by other leaders – at my job, at the local level, the state level, and the national level. I don’t know if you have felt the same frustrations, but I doubt many of you have felt them at the levels of intensity that I have.

I don’t think David would have done this. More importantly, I don’t think Jesus wants me to be like this. I find myself wanting to blow up like David when confronted by Nabal rather than being measured and effective like Abigail. I know that some of this is due to the extraordinary pressures we are all facing and feeling due to this covid situation. Confinement is relatively easy for a week. But as the weeks turn to months, it gets much more difficult. But then I think about all that David went through, and I am silent when I look at David’s kingly eulogy. David rises far above the common expectations, far above his culture. And as Christ’s ambassadors, so should we. This is the primary lesson that the Lord is teaching me through this week’s passage.

But we have a few more verses, so let’s finish up:

In the course of time, David inquired of the Lord. “Shall I go up to one of the towns of Judah?” he asked. The Lord said, “Go up.” David asked, “Where shall I go?” “To Hebron,” the Lord answered. – 2 Samuel 2:1

Understand that David is still not king. He might have the crown and the armband, but clothes or jewelry don’t make the king. So after a time of mourning, David inquires of the Lord what to do next. Would we all do this, order our steps after prayer and not before! One of my favorite lines in the Rogue Twelve play is in the shed when the disciples ask John (played by Jonathan) what they should do – and John says, “We should pray.” Now we may not get such clear direction as David did here, but that does not mean that Lord cares about us any less. I believe audible answers to prayer still do happen today, but they are the exception to how the Lord works rather than the rule. I believe it takes more faith to seek to follow the Lord when answers are uncertain than it does to follow a direct command, and one of God’s greatest desires is that we all grow in faith.

So David went up there with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. David also took the men who were with him, each with his family, and they settled in Hebron and its towns. Then the men of Judah came to Hebron, and there they anointed David king over the tribe of Judah. – 2 Samuel 2:2-2-4

One sentence describes the basic commemoration, that’s all. No giant coronation scene like in Lord of the Rings. Now it is true that this is only the beginning – David is now only king over Judah. But as we will see in the coming weeks, the other tribes will follow.

I have made the comparison between what David would do and what Jesus would have us do, and I have explained that David is in some ways a prototype or a foreshadowing of Jesus. It is no accident that we have chosen to put this David series in the middle of Matthew. Let me explain.

Matthew, more than any other gospel writer, emphasizes Jesus’ kingly character. The first half of Matthew emphasizes what life is like in the kingdom of God, and the second half emphasizes more and more Jesus as king. The book of 2 Samuel also has a first and second half – David before his tumultuous fall, and David after. By pausing the book of Matthew and looking at how David, the prototype and foreshadow of Jesus, started strong but finished weak, we will appreciate even more how Jesus started and ended perfect. Jesus, and Jesus alone, is the King above all kings, the one that we not only serve, but worship.