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"David's Favor"
• 10.25.15 •
Calvary Christian Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service
Intro
- Our last study turned on an accusation of
sexual scandal, as Ishbosheth, the puppet, man appointed King of the North, accused
his general Abner of wrongdoing.
- The final obstacle to a united kingdom was
about to be done away with, as Abner began his campaign to transfer the
territory under his control from Ishbosheth to David.
- The process is interrupted when David's general
Joab kills Abner in a cold blooded assault, avenging the death of his brother
Asahel.
- We know what transpired from there, but the
news of Abner's passing is the only headline in the North. Let's see how this
plays out here in verse 1.
Text
• II Samuel
4:1-4 : "When
Saul’s son heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he lost heart, and
all Israel was troubled. Now Saul’s son had two
men who were captains of troops. The name of one was Baanah and the name of the
other Rechab, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, of the children of Benjamin.
(For Beeroth also was part of Benjamin, because the Beerothites
fled to Gittaim and have been sojourners there until this day.) Jonathan, Saul’s son, had a son who
was lame in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and
Jonathan came from Jezreel; and his nurse took him up and fled. And it
happened, as she made haste to flee, that he fell and became lame. His name was
Mephibosheth." : Ishbosheth didn't take the
news of Abner's death well. All of his strength politically was tied directly
to Abner.
- When he heard the news he "lost
heart." Literally, his hands became feeble, a picture of a man who has let
down his hands in hopeless resignation.
- In the days before a 24 hour news cycle, his
death signaled a potential violent threat from the South. Had David rejected
Abner's offer in favor of continuing his war against the North?
- If that were the case, with Abner dead, there
was no hope. There was no one to rally the troops or rise to heroic status.
- Sadly, because he was appointed by a man and
not annointed by God, when that man died, Ishbosheth had no ability to stand!
He had been in over his head and his people knew it!
- Israel's was terrified right alongside of
him. That fearful response paralyzed Ishbosheth, but mobilized his men.
- When this news hit the stands, two men,
perhaps Ishbosheth's bodyguards, Captains in Israel's army began to see an
opportunity.
- Baanah and Rechab were loyal members of the
tribe of Benjamin, being part of an adopted people group within the tribe.
- If you remember our studies in the book of
Judges, you'll remember that the people of Benjamin were fairly aggressive and
staunch military men.
- If the Beerothites were in league with the
Benjamites, they would be cut from the same cloth.
- They are in the throes of a decision: Shall
they remain loyal to Ishbosheth or shall they follow their General Abner's
direction? At this time, the author sets up what seems like a digression.
- He points our attention to Jonathan's son and
the condition that he had suffered stemming from a childhood accident. He
writes simply that he was "lame in his feet."
- The language indicates that he fell and that
a dislocation occurred which had not been properly attended and thus never
properly healed.
- Mephibosheth was a crippled young man,
receiving pallative care in the King's palace.
- The author's point in bringing this to our
attention, is that Ishbosheth is the last in line. Mephibisheth would not have
been considered to be a viable successor.
- With Abner gone, a wicked opportunity
presents itself for these Beerothites.
• II Samuel
4:5-8 : "Then the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, set
out and came at about the heat of the day to the house of Ishbosheth, who was
lying on his bed at noon. And they came there, all the way into the house, as though to
get wheat, and they stabbed him in the stomach. Then Rechab and Baanah his
brother escaped. For
when they came into the house, he was lying on his bed in his bedroom; then
they struck him and killed him, beheaded him and took his head, and were all
night escaping through the plain. And they brought the head of Ishbosheth to David at Hebron, and
said to the king, 'Here is the head of Ishbosheth, the son of Saul your enemy,
who sought your life; and the Lord has avenged my lord the king this day of Saul and his
descendants.'" : These two men decided that
it was time to make a move. In the East, int the middle part of the day, it's
fairly common to enjoy a siesta of sorts.
- These men had great access in the King's
house, as they went in unchecked, all the way, as though going to the wheat
storage. This was their normal activity.
- But when Ishbosheth was defenseless, they
crept into the house and killed their Master.
- What a heinous act! They took his head and
raced to Hebron and eventually stood proud before David offering him Ishbosheth's
head and their allegiance.
- To make matters worse, they even give credit
to the Lord for the activity. "The Lord has avenged my lord the
king!" It's moments like these that remind us of our true wickedness.
- In our minds, the ends justify the means.
They, and those who think like them, are in for a rude awakening!
• II Samuel
4:9-12 : "But David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of
Rimmon the Beerothite, and said to them, 'As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life
from all adversity, when someone told me, saying, ‘Look, Saul is dead,’ thinking to
have brought good news, I arrested him and had him executed in Ziklag—the one
who thought I would give him a reward for his news. How much more, when wicked men have
killed a righteous person in his own house on his bed? Therefore, shall I not
now require his blood at your hand and remove you from the earth?' So David commanded his young men,
and they executed them, cut off their hands and feet, and hanged them by the
pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ishbosheth and buried it in the tomb
of Abner in Hebron." : The word "but"
stands out in stark contrast.
- They reported all of their activity and in
their wicked way of thinking, there should have been a corresponding
"then!" They stand there awaiting reward for their wicked actions.
- Any other ruler in the world who stood to
gain from their action would applaud their heroism, their forward thinking,
their out of the box maneuvering.
- But David is not like them. His first words
set the tone. The Lord is the One who bought my life out from the slavery of
adversity.
- David had never needed to resort to
ungodliness to be in the position that he was now in. He owed that entirely to
the Lord! That was bad enough for Rechab and Baanah.
- Then David tells them a story that we are
familiar with. There had been a man who had come to report that he had killed
Saul and he thought he would be rewarded, as they had.
- Like him, they assumed David would celebrate
and reward their fleshly labor. They assumed he would shake their hands and
promote them into ranks of prominence.
- They believed that this was their chance to
get "a head" in this world!
- He looks at Rechab and Baanah and says,
"You know this isn't the first time this has happened and the last time it
happened I put that man to death!"
- You could almost hear the swallow and
assuredly, you can see their faces drop in shock! If that is what he did to the
man who brought news of Saul's death, how much more these men!
- He doesn't call them heroes. David calls them
wicked men and Ishbosheth, his presumed rival, David calls righteous, speaking
mostly of the fact that he had died without provoking anyone.
- Immediately, instead of handing out their
reward, David hands out their sentence and they are executed! He ordered that
their hands and feet be removed as well.
- These men had used their hands and feet for
the sake of cruelty and when David had them removed, he then hung their bodies
in the middle of town, by the pool of Hebron, for all to see.
- The message was exceedingly clear: This King
will not reward blatant unrighteousness! The ends will not justify the means
when the ends are wicked!
- David then orders that Ishbosheth's head be
placed in the same tomb that Abner's body occupied in Hebron.
- Once again, though not to the same degree,
David honors a man who had been considered his enemy. The road is now
completely clear. There is simply one choice for rule in Israel.
• II Samuel
5:1-5 : "Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and spoke,
saying, 'Indeed we are your bone and your flesh. Also, in time past, when Saul was
king over us, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them in; and the Lord said to you, ‘You shall shepherd
My people Israel, and be ruler over Israel.’ Therefore all the elders of Israel
came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron
before the Lord. And they anointed David king over Israel. David was thirty years old when he
began to reign, and he reigned forty years. In Hebron he reigned over Judah
seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over
all Israel and Judah." : After all of this carnage,
none of which was promoted or encouraged by him, David is made King of Israel.
- Notice the distinction: All the tribes of
Israel came to David at Hebron! From the beginning of this book to now, the
story has remained the same. The Kingdom comes TO David!
- They are now willingly offering themselves to
him, acknowledging his fitness to rule them!
- We aren't told of the scope of this ceremony
here, but I Chronicles 12:23ff
detail the profound number of men who united behind David were in the
neighborhood of 350,000 men!
- Listen to some of the adjectives used to
describe them: "Mighty men fit for war."
- These were "men who had understanding of
their times." They were describe as being "Stouthearted men that
could keep ranks." All had a loyal heart!
- All of the tribes of Israel and Judah are now
united before David. The leaders of the North recall David's relation to them
as well as his past military leadership under Saul.
- The elders and the assembly of Israel convey
a memory of their belief that the Lord had spoken to David that he would
shepherd God's people and be their ruler.
- That remains a fascination to me. Abner had
acknowledged God's plan and now the elders of Israel acknowledge this as well,
but both parties actively conspired to oppose it for several years!
- Here, lacking any viable option for rule,
they are left with David as the de facto ruler.
- The leaders of Israel acknowledge that
David's rule was to be compared with that of a shepherd. It's not much of a
stretch, as David had been a shepherd for years.
- A shepherd's job is manifold, beginning with
leading sheep to the best food sources in the most safe environments.
- A shepherd was constantly, actively
protecting the sheep from predators. David had done this with physical sheep.
Israel now allows him to fulfill this call as the Shepherd and ruler over
Israel.
- I don't want to belabor the point here, but
really, when a person is a shepherd, they are in a servile position before the
sheep, though they may be in the lead.
- The shepherd ruler then is one with a gentle
heart, who leads with the very best intention of the sheep in mind. The elders
affirmed that David was worthy of this covenant and annoint him there.
- This is David's third annointing. In God's
mind there had not been another choice. But it took an untold amount of years
before that call came into the public united view.
- Never underestimate God's timing for events.
Here is David at 30 years old. I can't help but note that the Spirit records
David's age.
- Numbers
4:3 tells us that this was when a Priest could begin his ministry,
something that we noted had been the case with Ezekiel in Ezekiel 1. Who else began their ministry at 30 years of age?
- Luke
3:23 tells us that this was when Jesus began His earthly ministry! David
began his ministry at just the right time. And it was certainly not without
preparation.
- David had been on the run from Saul for the
better part of a decade! Prior to that, Samuel annointed David privately as a
teenager!
- God will always have His way in your life.
When He calls, He equips and prepares and that will often take much longer than
we think!
- David has been in Hebron for 7 years. He's
about to begin a 33 year stint from Jerusalem.
•
II Samuel 5:6-10 : " And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the
Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who spoke to David, saying, 'You shall
not come in here; but the blind and the lame will repel you,' thinking, 'David
cannot come in here.' Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion (that is,
the City of David). Now David said on that day, 'Whoever climbs up by way of
the water shaft and defeats the Jebusites (the lame and the blind, who are
hated by David’s soul), he shall be chief and captain.' Therefore they say, 'The
blind and the lame shall not come into the house.' Then David dwelt in the
stronghold, and called it the City of David. And David built all around from
the Millo and inward. So David went on and became great,
and the Lord God of hosts was with
him." : This is one of the few times in scripture that
we see the King of Israel on the offensive.
-
David sought a new capital for his administration. Abner had settled Ishbosheth
on the other side of the Jordan river. Hebron seemed to be a little too far
south into Judah's territory.
-
If you look on any map of Israel, you'll note that Jerusalem is the middle
point. Having grown up in it's shadow, it's likely that David always believed
it to be the best place.
-
However, because of it's naturally imposing geography, the Jebusites had long
held the city without having faced a serious threat.
-
The Jebusites, by virtue of having the high ground maintained a superior
position and taunted David's men. "We'll guard the walls with the lame and
the blind." Bad move!
-
David issues a challenge to his men to climb up through a 165 foot water shaft
which remained hidden to us until a 2008 archeological dig exposed it.
-
According to I Chronicles 11:6, Joab
accepted David's challenge and took the city from the Jebusites. David went to
live in the Jebusite fortress, which became known as the city of David.
-
When you hear the city of David or Zion, understand that these are synonymous
terms referring to David's fort, his strong tower.
-
As he occupied the city, he immediately began to renovate the structures that
were present, beginning with this structure called the Millo, which according
to scholars is a guard tower of sorts.
-
From these outer fortifications, David moved inward and made the city of
Jerusalem a great and rich city. He became an important man on the Earth and
the Lord God of hosts was with him.
-
Those two considerations go together: God made Him an important man and he was
an important man because God was with Him! They are inseparably compatible.
•
II Samuel 5:11,12 : "Then Hiram king of Tyre sent
messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters and masons. And they built
David a house. So David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, and that He had
exalted His kingdom for the sake of His people Israel." : Tyre was an interesting city located both on the Mediterranean
coastland, as well as on an island off of the mainland.
-
Whenever the people were threatened, they would abandon their mainland
territory and gather on the island for protection.
-
Seeing that they shared the mainland most of the time, Hiram sent messengers,
likely conveying congratulations to David as well as materials and people who
could build David a house.
-
This Gentile King seizes the moment to provide the very best of his Kingdom's
resources for the newly crowned King of Israel.
-
For the first time, David is no longer a wanderer or a pilgrim. He's been in
Hebron for 7 years, but Jerusalem will be the center, where God will place His
very Name!
-
David knew that God had firmly positioned him over the people of Israel. David
knew for certain that he had not had a hand in any of this!
-
God had orchestrated events and was now confirming this through a heathen King.
Why did Hiram do so much to curry David's favor? Because God had lifted up
David's Kingdom!
-
The sense seems to be that God bore David's Kingdom and brought it to
prominence in the eyes of the surrounding nations, beginning with Tyre.
-
God also raised David's prominence among the people for their own sake. This is
the way of the Lord. God raises a person's profile high enough for all to see
and low enough to benefit His own!
-
David, like the rest of us, is a vessel that God used to exemplify God's favor
among the nations and God's blessing to His own people!
Conclusion
- David would not tolerate anyone who thought to
bring the Kingdom to him by violence. His is a voluntary Kingdom, a belief that
played out when Israel offered themselves to him.
- Jesus would not allow anyone to make Him
King, but would welcome all who would willingly offer themselves to Him.
- In turn, as with David, Jesus, the perfect Shepherd
of our souls, will begin to lead us and feed us, to concern Himself with our
best health.
- God's Kingdom citizens are beacons to the
nations and blessings to each other!
- As with David, there came a time when Israel
finally acknowledged what had always been true. God had annointed and placed
His stamp of approval upon Him.
- Someday in the future, as many of us have
today, Israel will acknowledge Jesus as the Christ Messiah that they have
longed for.
- And the nations surrounding Jerusalem will
pour into the Kingdom with their best resources to honor the King of Kings and
Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ! Turn with me to the last page in your bible.
• Revelation
22:1-5 : "And he showed me a pure
river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of
God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its
street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore
twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree
were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no
more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His
servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face,
and His name shall be on their foreheads. There
shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord
God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever." : This is the Kingdom that is worth submitting to and living for!