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"The Final Act"
• 3.20.16 •
Calvary Christian Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service
Intro
- Our text begins with these words.
Text
• II Samuel 23:1-4 : "Now these are the last words of David. Thus says David the son
of Jesse;
Thus says the man raised up
on high,
the anointed of the God of
Jacob,
and the sweet psalmist of
Israel:
'The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me, and His word was on my tongue. The God of Israel said, the
Rock of Israel spoke to me: ‘He who rules over
men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.
And he shall be like the light of the morning when
the sun rises, a morning without clouds,
like the tender grass springing out of the earth,
by clear shining after rain.’" : These are
the final poetic and public expressions of the King, not his final words.
- They are written in his final year, but not
on his final day. These read like a proclamation and final testimony, as David recounts
his unlikely heritage. He's the son of Jesse first.
- He wasn't the son of a King, but of a farmer
who didn't think to bring him to Samuel's King making ceremony but God exalted
to the highest office of the land! No pedigree? No problem!
- David was the anointed, the
"mashiach" of the people of God, the God of Jacob. Jacob, the cheat.
Jacob the conniver. God chose an unlikely King for an unlikely people!
- The King's favorite designation however, was
wrapped in the fact that he was the "sweet psalmist of Israel." Why
not close with "Giant Slayer" or "Great King?"
- I'm convinced that after weighing it all out,
he found his most profound enjoyment in God when he wrote songs of praise.
- He may also have realized their enduring
legacy as they were compiled into a 5-part national songbook called the
"Book Of Psalms!"
- As powerful as he is, he steps aside to
communicate what had been communicated to him.
- He asserts that the Spirit of the Lord spoke
by him and that His word was on his tongue.
- In this particular instance, God, by His
Spirit came upon David and breathed out these words through David, the very
definition of biblical inspiration. God had revealed His mandate for rulers.
- Primarily, he was to be just, righteous, fair
with the reminder that he answers to God for how he rules! We who rule over
families and employees would do well to consider this verse!
- Fear of the Lord begets a certain quality. He
will be like the early sunrise, shinining brightly as a beacon for all men. He
is like a morning without clouds, as there is no threat from him.
- He would be tender, not hardened, and well
watered like grass after the refreshing rain. He is clean and pure. How did
David fare against the standards that God set out for His King? Verse 5.
• II Samuel
23:5-7 : "Although my house is not so with God, yet He has made with me an
everlasting covenant, ordered
in all things and secure. For this is all my
salvation and all my desire; Will He not make
it increase? But the sons of rebellion shall
all be as thorns thrust away, because they
cannot be taken with hands. But the man who
touches them must be armed with iron and the
shaft of a spear, and they shall be utterly
burned with fire in their place.'" : David
rule had not reached the Divine standard! His flaws are clearly presented for
all to see.
- This humbling admission leads to a tremendous
statement of God's grace: "Yet He has made with me an everlasting
covenant!" This is the essence of all Christian thought and theology.
- Men, people, are ever failing, but God is
ever faithful! Everything He promises is powered and kept by Him! Consider
David's next statement in light of the covenant agreement you received.
- All things are ordered. Everything has been arranged,
properly and legally! All things pertaining to His promise are secure, sure,
kept in reserve for the time of their fulfillment!
- This was what David's life depended on and the
logical conclusion is that God would cause him to succeed! The same cannot be
said for those who are sons of rebellion.
- David said this with the greatest regret, as
His son Absalom had chosen that life.
- Instead of flourishing plant life, the
rebellious are looked upon as thorns that are only good to be thrown away. They
are harmful to the touch and the one that deals with them must be strong!
- Their end is sure. They will be utterly
burned with fire in their place! For those looking to soften the reality of
hell and separation from God, understand that you do so with little scriptural
help!
- Where there is great covenant faithfulness
toward those who are righteous, there is implicitly and explicitly, a equally
dire warning for those who refuse to enter into the safety of those confines!
- Rebels are worthless, but the author turns
our attention now to men worthy of our attention. They are David's most honored
and loved men. Verse 8.
•
II Samuel 23:8-17 : "These are the names of the mighty
men whom David had: Josheb-Basshebeth the Tachmonite, chief among
the captains. He was called Adino the Eznite, because he had killed
eight hundred men at one time. And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo, the
Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David when they defied the
Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel had
retreated. He
arose and attacked the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand stuck
to the sword. The Lord brought about a great victory that
day; and the people returned after him only to plunder. And after him was Shammah the son
of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines had gathered together into a troop where
there was a piece of ground full of lentils. So the people fled from the
Philistines. But
he stationed himself in the middle of the field, defended it, and killed the
Philistines. So the Lord brought about a great victory. Then three of the thirty chief men
went down at harvest time and came to David at the cave of Adullam. And the
troop of Philistines encamped in the Valley of Rephaim. David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the
Philistines was then in Bethlehem. And David
said with longing, 'Oh, that someone would give me a drink of the water from
the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!' So the three mighty men broke through the camp of the
Philistines, drew water from the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate, and
took it and brought it to David. Nevertheless he would not drink it, but poured
it out to the Lord. And he said, 'Far be
it from me, O Lord, that I should do this! Is this not the blood of the men
who went in jeopardy of their lives?' Therefore he would not drink it. These things were done by the three mighty men." : David's mighty men were certainly that: Mighty! They didn't
arrive to the Cave Of Adullam that way!
-
They were distressed, in debt and discontent with Saul's policies when they met
David and chose exile when they fell behind public enemy number 1. We've read a
sampling of their exploits.
-
David's top three began with Adino who killed 800 men at one time. I Chronicles 11:1 tells us that the
number at one time was 300. Either way, it's impressive.
-
Eleazar attacked the Philistines when everyone else retreated and until his
hand became part of his own sword and Shammah made a defense of a field of
lentils against the Philistines.
-
These men didn't shrink back. Eleazar thought, "If I'm going down, I'm
going down having taken a few with me!" As the day wore on he found that
he also scored the victory!
-
Shammah wasn't defending the most valuable crop. It was likely barley that was
about to be harvested and as such, was the food that fed animals. He stood
there anyway on principle!
-
He stationed himself in the center of the field and stood alone. Verse 12 tells us that the Lord brought about
a great victory. By God, David could run through a troop. This was true for his
men too!
-
I would suggest that we see an illustration of the truth found in John 14:12. Jesus tells his disciples
there that those who believe in Him will do greater works because of His
ascension!
-
These men were courageous and willing to stand alone, but they also worked well
together. When David sought for a drink from the well of Bethlehem, these three
conspired to make it so!
-
There wasn't a command, but these three stood so close to the heart of the King
that they knew this would simply bring him pleasure! They didn't have to
receive a command.
-
Verse 16 declares that the men broke
through, cleaving their way through the Philistine camp. They brought the water
back to David who promptly poured it out before the Lord!
-
Was he rejecting their daring effort? Numbers
28:17 speaks of the drink offering that was to be offered before the Lord
after the sacrifice of the meat offering was complete.
-
David recognized the blessing of having men who were this daring and courageous
and essentially toasts them before the Lord!
-
These men were amazing examples of the bravery needed to be in David's company,
but they weren't alone. The men that were next in rank were equally as
impressive.
•
II Samuel 23:18-23 : " Now Abishai the brother of Joab,
the son of Zeruiah, was chief of another three. He lifted his spear
against three hundred men, killed them, and won a name among these three. Was he not the most honored of three?
Therefore he became their captain. However, he did not attain to the first
three. Benaiah
was the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man from Kabzeel, who had done
many deeds. He had killed two lion-like heroes of Moab. He also had gone down
and killed a lion in the midst of a pit on a snowy day. And he killed an Egyptian, a spectacular man.
The Egyptian had a spear in his hand; so he went down to him with a staff,
wrested the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and killed him with his own
spear. These things Benaiah the son of
Jehoiada did, and won a name among three mighty men. He was more honored than the thirty, but he did not attain
to the first three. And David appointed him over his guard." : The author puts two more men before us, Abishai and Benaiah.
The third man is ommitted. Why?
-
Most speculate that the third man had offended the King by killing his son! The
best theory is that Joab was left off due to disciplinary measures.
-
Abishai was promoted after he defeated three hundred men but was not on the
level of the first three. The same could be said for Benaiah whose lion and
Egyptian killing were legendary.
-
Consider what we have just read. These 5 men were responsible, singlehandedly,
for killing thousands of men, God having enabled them. This makes our next
section very curious. Verse 1.
• II Samuel
24:1-4 : "Again the anger of the Lord was aroused
against Israel, and He moved David against them to say, 'Go, number Israel and
Judah.' So the king said to Joab the
commander of the army who was with him, 'Now go throughout all the tribes of
Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and count the people, that I may know the number
of the people.' And Joab said to the king, 'Now may the Lord your God add to
the people a hundred times more than there are, and may the eyes of my lord the
king see it. But why does my lord the king desire this thing?' Nevertheless the
king’s word prevailed against Joab and against the captains of the army.
Therefore Joab and the captains of the army went out from the presence of the
king to count the people of Israel." : The
anger of the Lord aroused against Israel again. Understand that there was a
pre-existing context.
- We aren't given the specifics, but this isn't
the first time. The first time had been when Saul had sought to exterminate the
Gibeonites.
- God's wrath against Israel isn't troublesome,
as we understand the conditional elements of God's covenant with Israel and
that His anger was always corrective and never capricious.
- The issue here is that the text seems to
indicate that God moved David to number the people of Israel which in some
men's minds, implicates God's eternally good nature.
- "Does God inspire evil?" The controversy
is over the word "He." When you read this account in I Chronicles, I believe the confusion
lifts right away.
• I
Chronicles 21:1 (KJV) : "And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number
Israel." : It appears from this verse that
the "He" in chapter 24 of II Samuel is the "Satan" of I Chronicles 21! It was Satan who
provoked David to take this census.
- Some still have the trouble of knowing that
God left the door open for Satan to provoke. In this case you and I have to
rest our case, as David still was given ample opportunity to succeed.
- Now, you must be considering why a census was
such a big deal. Israel could do a census.
- Exodus
30:12 tells us that when a census was taken that a ransom should be
collected. The book of Numbers
features two different accountings, but something doesn't add up here.
- You know you are in the wrong when Joab and
the captains of the army object!
- Consider all that we have just read regarding
David's song and the exploits of his men. Think back to verse 12 of chapter 23. The Lord brought about a great victory!
- David in numbering the people for military
readiness gives into the temptation of seeing the strength of Israel
represented not by God's victory, but by Israel's number!
- With such great pride and in such a public
manner, Joab goes out to accomplish his King's order after David's word
"prevailed" over his own. He wasn't happy about this.
• II Samuel
24:5-9 : "And they crossed over the Jordan and camped in Aroer, on the
right side of the town which is in the midst of the ravine of Gad, and toward
Jazer. Then they
came to Gilead and to the land of Tahtim Hodshi; they came to Dan Jaan and
around to Sidon; and they came to the stronghold of Tyre and to all the cities of
the Hivites and the Canaanites. Then they went out to South Judah as far as
Beersheba. So when they had gone through all
the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. Then Joab gave the sum of the
number of the people to the king. And there were in Israel eight hundred
thousand valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were five hundred
thousand men." : Joab dispatched his duty
beginning on the Eastern side of the Jordan, then coming back into Northern
Israel proper.
- He covered the entirety of Israel in 9 months
and 20 days. This isn't a random number. God is reminding us that David's sin
had a gestation period. He had 9 months to repent and didn't!
- Joab's census revealed that Israel had 1.3
million men capable of going to war! Once Joab revealed the number, David's
heart rose and then something strange occurred.
•
II Samuel 24:10-14 : "And
David’s heart condemned him after he had numbered the people. So David said to
the Lord, 'I have sinned greatly in what I
have done; but now, I pray, O Lord, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very
foolishly.' Now
when David arose in the morning, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying, 'Go and tell David, ‘Thus says the Lord: 'I offer you three
things; choose one of them for yourself, that I may do it to you.' So Gad came to David and told him; and he said to him, 'Shall
seven years of famine come to you in your land? Or shall you flee
three months before your enemies, while they pursue you? Or shall there be
three days’ plague in your land? Now consider and see what answer I should take
back to Him who sent me.' And
David said to Gad, 'I am in great distress. Please let us fall into the hand of
the Lord, for
His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man.'"
-
After Joab left the palace, David's heart condemned him. It's not that Joab
condemned, nor did the people condemn him. He wasn't even visited by a prophet!
-
His own heart rose out of his chest and cried foul. The word speaks of beating
or scourging him continually. David found himself in a fight with himself and
it led him to confession.
-
He had committed iniquity and he knew that he had acted foolishly! These were
his private statements before the Lord. The next morning, God responded through
Gad.
-
God offers David three terrible consequences. There are always consequences for
our sin and the truly repentant will never have a problem absorbing them! David
doesn't argue.
-
Rather, the King makes the choice to place himself and his country into the
mercies of God! • II Samuel 24:15-17 : "So the Lord sent a plague upon Israel from the
morning till the appointed time. From Dan to Beersheba seventy thousand men of
the people died. And when the angel stretched out His hand over
Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord relented from the destruction, and said to the angel who was
destroying the people, 'It is enough; now restrain your hand.' And the angel of
the Lord was by the threshing floor of
Araunah the Jebusite. Then David spoke to the Lord when he saw the angel who was striking the people, and
said, 'Surely I have sinned, and I have done wickedly; but these sheep, what
have they done? Let Your hand, I pray, be against me and against my father’s
house.'" : God released the plague, upon the
people for the appointed time and it affected the entire nation.
-
Out of 1.3 million men, 70,000 perished. As the angel came to destroy those in
Jerusalem, it was God who mercifully put an end to it, with the angel standing
by this threshing floor.
-
The angel is visible to David and broaches the topic that we all wonder about.
"Why are you punishing them when it's my sin! Let all your punishment come
against my house!"
-
Listen to the words of the shepherd King: I have sinned, but these sheep? Even
David didn't quite understand that it wasn't entirely his action which brought
this upon Israel.
-
He had been wrong and he had sinned, but this time, the plague wasn't entirely
his fault.
•
II Samuel 24:18-24 : "And Gad
came that day to David and said to him, 'Go up, erect an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah
the Jebusite.' So
David, according to the word of Gad, went up as the Lord commanded. Now Araunah looked, and saw the
king and his servants coming toward him. So Araunah went out and bowed before
the king with his face to the ground. Then Araunah said, 'Why has my lord the king come to his
servant?' And David said, 'To buy the threshing floor from you, to build an
altar to the Lord, that the plague may be withdrawn from the people.'
Now Araunah said to David, 'Let my lord the king
take and offer up whatever seems good to him. Look, here are oxen for burnt
sacrifice, and threshing implements and the yokes of the oxen for wood. All these, O king, Araunah has given to the king.' And Araunah said to the king, 'May the Lord your God accept you.' Then the king said to Araunah, 'No, but I will surely buy
it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that which
costs me nothing.' So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty
shekels of silver." : When the plague suspended,
God sent Gad to instruct David to build an altar on the spot where the angel
stood. This was another man's property.
-
Araunah, who also went by the name "Ornan" could not have been very
comfortable, either when the angel parked himself there or when David came to
visit.
-
But he was a loyal subject, willing to offer both his threshing floor and the
animals necessary to make the offering free of charge. David counters that he
won't offer what doesn't cost him.
-
If David offered something that had been given to him, he wouldn't have offered
anything at all. He would have only offered what another man offered and that
wasn't what God called him to do.
-
David took on the full price and purchased the threshing floor from the
Jebusite. This was necessary on two counts and interesting for three.
-
First, once the altar was built, this became sacred ground. It was sanctified
for that purpose alone. Second, as a matter of record, this piece of property
belongs to David outright!
-
You'll discover when you read the corresponding account in Chronicles that David secured the entire area. For the author's
purpose here, he only records what is necessary.
•
II Samuel 24:25 : "And David built there an altar to
the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and
peace offerings. So the Lord heeded the prayers for the land, and the plague was withdrawn
from Israel." : I told you that there was
an interesting third point. David built his altar and offered his sacrifices.
-
The King paid full price in obedience to the word of God through Gad and the
plague was withdrawn. Do you know what became of this threshing floor and area.
-
II Chronicles 3:1 tells us that
Solomon built the temple on this very spot, on the mount of Moriah, the same
area that most scholars believe to be the place where Abraham took Isaac!
-
It is on the same mount where Jesus will be crucified in roughly 1,000 years!
Conclusion
- Can the picture be any more clear? David was the
King that could have been the bright shining beacon. He wasn't, but Jesus
Christ is!
- David had to ask God to pour out His wrath
upon he and his family because the people were innocent in his mind. God
answered that prayer when He poured out His wrath upon Jesus Christ.
- Our King prayed, "Is there any other
way?" and then endured the cross for the sins of His sheep, those who
would believe upon Him for salvation.
- When Jesus walked up on the northern slope of
Mt. Moriah, He wasn't going to make a sacrifice or to wait for God to prepare a
lamb.
- He was going to BE the sacrifice, the very
Lamb of God! He is the King that shines as bright as the morning, for He is the
Morning Star!
- He is the King that rules in the fear of God
and from whom we as Christians have no threat. He is the One who ever refreshes
us and draws us close to the Father.
- In every way, He is the King that David
wishes he could have been which is why He is the Son of David!
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