Back up in 3:39 and Joab's murder of Abner we mentioned this. Since then, I came accost this while studying in Isaiah 11. When I came to Isaiah 11:4, I found this remark by Hengstenberg (Christology, pg.470): "The King shall be adorned with perfect justice, and, in the exercise of it, be supported by His omnipotence,--differently from what was the case with David, who, for want of power, was obliged to allow heinous crimes to pass unpunished (2 Sam. iii, 39)."
With this we see that it was David's lack of power that prevented him from being able to deal with Joab for the slaying of Abner and for his other dirty deeds. Joab was just to strong for David to deal with without having a civil war on his hands.
And this problem was not unique with David. There have been many pastors who have faced the same situation. They wanted to take a stand and do right, but because of some one in the church who has worked hard at gathering their group together, the division, 'civil war' if you please, that it would cause prevented them from being able to follow through with their desires.
And how many of God's people have been sacrificed to keep an ungodly person like Joab in power or in a place of authority?
No doubt David weighed the situation out the best he could and saw that only needless blood would be spilt if he tried to deal with Joab.
And let us not think for a moment that Joab did not realize that he had David over a barrel. We see this latter in his very disrespectful attitude toward David as king. In fact, Joab almost controls the king.
King Jesus will not be hampered by any such problem.
Evidently, Joab was not sufficiently weakened enough to be dealt with without causing a civil war, until the time that Solomon came to the throne. If that is the case, it would be difficult for us to imagine the power that this man had over people, and especially over the army of Israel. But, as the case every time, it caught up with him 33 years latter.
5:1.
Now all of the line of Saul has been cut off, except the cripple
grandson. David waited for the Lord to work it out and He has.
There are none left who would be a threat to David.
Vs. 1-5.
The elders of all Israel (except Judah because David already
reigns in Judah) come to David. Abner had sent messengers to them
to do this very thing, 3:17-19. Now they do it.
3 reasons given here:
1) Thy bone and flesh. -- You feel for us. You are concerned for us, He. 2:17; 4:14, 15.
The Son of David is now our High Priest, bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh. He can feel for us, He knows all that we face.
Notice though, He will Not reign over us until we allow Him to, even though the kingdom has been promised to Him. He will sit on the side lines and let men fight it out, until the Father subdues all to Him, 1 Cor. 15:24.
2) Thou - leddest out and broughtest in.. You have led us in the past when you weren't king, now do it as king.
As we said in 2:12, God leads (the Lord) even the unsaved. How much more could He direct them if they would willingly submit to His Kingship - rule.
Notice though that David led them even though he was not their king. Thus, just because Christ leads, guides and protects, does not mean He is King of your life. I have talked to many people who, when asked "Are you saved?" they proceed to tell about how much the Lord has led them in times past.. Almost makes you wish the Lord would let them flounder like a fish on a rock so they would turn to Him. We cannot understand the mercy of God at all.
3) The Lord said.. A. You will feed.. B. you will be captain.
The Lord has promised you that you would be the king, now we
want you to be. (Might mention that the Lord is King whether man
agrees or not, and one day in the Father's good time, every knee
will submit to that.)
A. This is something.
Notice these people knew David was chosen to be the king by the
Lord, but they tried every thing else first.
They knew that he was bone of their bone.
They knew that he could lead them to victory and bring them back safely.
They knew that God had chosen him to feed His people Israel and be their captain. This was general knowledge, yet they chose to follow the Man of Shame, the lazy man, over David, 2:8-11.
These people wouldn't set David up as king until Abner was gone, Ishbosheth was gone and all else had failed even though they knew David was chosen by God to be the one.
(The man of shame would have known this also, therefore, he placed himself in an extremely dangerous position when he allowed them to do this to him. Probably pride caused him to allow them to do this to him, and it cost him his head.)
This is very applicable today. The fallen human nature seeks leadership from every source except the Lord of the Scriptures, king Jesus.
The Lord Jesus Christ has been promised us.
We have been promised that He will feed and lead us, but how
like human nature.
We know that Christ is flesh and bone like we are.
We know that He alone can lead to victory and bring back safely.
We know God has chosen and anointed Him to be King of kings,
Heb. 1:9.
We know that following Him as revealed in His word is the only
hope.
We know all of this but we will not 'set Him up as King' to lead us in every area until all else fails.
And I wonder what will have to happen to remove all the false hope that has developed in the lives of God's people.
As a whole, God's people are to well settled with the Man of Shame who has no self-discipline and lots of leisure. God's people do not want the law of God (and we know the heathen don't) over them because it would demand sacrificing what they enjoy.
I personally do not see people finding time to return to KING JESUS out of their busy schedule. I would like to see our society return to godly law as it was even 100 years ago, but God's people seem to enjoy serving the man of shame and laziness, and they have a strong important man named Abner (father of light) leading them down the Rose Colored Path that seems right. Broad, wide and with multitudes on it.
Neither Abner or Ishbosheth were going to voluntary submit to David. If they wouldn't, then the people wouldn't. Therefore, the Lord God had to use some violent means to do away with them so the people would come to David.
God then judged the violent men that He used to deal with this problem.
(The question comes into my mind: If God used these violent men to fulfill His purpose and plan, then how could He judge them so harshly? The answer! We have referred to it several times. It is found in Psalms 76:10. These were wicked men who were intent on doing wickedness. All that the Lord did was to extend the bounds in which they operated. In their wickedness, they did more than they had been allowed to do up to that time, and then they did even more evil. It was their character. All the Lord did was allow them to go further in their wickedness.)
The application for our day is so obvious that all we will say is we wonder what it will require to get people today to recognize King Jesus? These people wouldn't recognize the rightful king David who was right among them, until all other hope was gone. I do not believe that people today will recognize King Jesus until everything else is removed from them. (What are some things that require removing before people will return to the rightful King?
> A government that tries to be everything to everyone.
> The good secure jobs.
Another interesting point here. I wondered why Abner was the name of the man who tried to get God's people to follow the Man of Shame when the meaning of Abner is FATHER OF LIGHT. (Take a guess.)
2 Cor. 11:13-15.
Abner's end was according to his works, a violent death, proving that he was a false light. Many things look good on the surface, but there is death in the pot. The end will reveal the truth.
He succeeded in getting God's people to follow the man of Shame for 2 years. Now, there is always a group (Judah here) who will serve the true One who is anointed by God - King of His people, but 11 out of the 12 followed the man of Shame at the urging of Abner, the father of light. He had to be a false light.
This would suggest that Abner he had a very strong personality that easily attracted people to him, then he led them astray. All under the guise of serving God or loving God. And this obviously applied to Joab, but as long as David appeased Joab, he led them under David. How many strong personalities today are leading God's people for their own gratification?
God's people today have bought the lie of the father of light that says they no longer have to set Jesus up as King according to His law in order to prosper and be a success.
And this lie is propagated by the father of light in many ways:
1. from the Pulpit.. Not under law but under grace. (This is correct only in the area of justification. But even here we are under the law for condemnation then the law of the sinless sacrifice.)
God's people are clearly under the Ten commandments for peace with God, clear conscience and the earthly blessings of God, 1 John 3:4.
2. from the work place. The government is inflating the economy so fast and much that there is a false prosperity.
This makes it appear that there is prosperity without having to return to godliness, whereas, the good pay and jobs are actually the result of the government social programs, financed by inflation which is theft from the people of the value of their property.
The father of light is being very successful today in convincing God's people that they do not need to establish the Son of David as the King of their lives and of society in general. Therefore, God's people are serving the man of shame instead of the anointed King, Jesus.
How so we know? the end shall be according to their works.
The word of God reveals which is the real king.
Try to tell the work place you are a Christian. They will say,
"OK, as long as it doesn't interfere with your job of working
and serving us at our every whim. As long as you are a more productive
worker,great, but don't let it interfere with our control over
your time and family."
Is that of God?? Which are God's people serving?
Notice who murdered Abner who was the father of light, (on Ishbosheth's side). It was Joab - Jah is father, (on David's side).
One or the other will control.
Until God does away with the man of Shame, God's people will serve him at the urging of the father of light.
The storm will come one day and destroy the man of shame and God's people will come to the Anointed One with hat in hand and a humble sprite (5:1) and ask Him to reign over them.
The 2 that killed him, Baanah - son of grief, Rachab - companion, both the sons of Rimmon - the Syrian god of weather, storm. The wicked are used to destory what God's people are following in place of the Son of David.
Will that day be before the King of kings comes back with His power by force?
I really do not think that we will see any kind of general return to Biblical principles until all hope in everything else is lost. We are no different than these men were here that came to David in vs. 1-5. Only when all hope is gone in the man of shame will there be a return to God's beloved One, David. Almost makes me want to pray for everything to fall apart and for God to judge evil.
It is indeed sad that the sinful human nature demands that we hold out untill everythig else fails, but it doesn't have to be that way.
Who are we serving?
Will everything else have to fail before we get our priorities
right?
End.
____________________________________________
Have God's people become so addicted to 'the good times' even though it is inflation, that they will not let go? It seems like a drunk with his empty bottle. But then again, I think that it is passing the stage of being a slave of 'the good times.' The 'good times' are being replaced with survival, as the living standards are lowered.
Has society become so dependant on the man of shame, government social programs, that when a depression does come, they will rob and kill instead of seeking the King, Jesus?
I am afraid that society is much further away from the King of kings and His government laws than they were in the 30's and the late 1800's. In both of those our money was still tied to gold and silver. Now it is only paper. That had to be done so inflation could be used to give the government the ability to make FIAT money. This money allows the ones printing it to gain tremendous power.
I really don't know if God's people can live or be weaned
or be broken from serving the man of Shame, which would cost them
money. I don't even know if I would or do have the courage to
go against the father of light, Abner, to try to take them back
to the anointed King, Jesus.
<God give me the courage to preach against such things as
working on Sundays, sacrificing personal relationships with the
Lord for money.>
God's people know 1. Jesus is flesh and bone like us. He knows our every need. 2. He will lead to victory and return safely. 3. That God has chosen Him to Feed us and be our captain, leader. But are they willing to let Him? It is so much easier to serve the man of shame at the urging of the father of light.
God's people know, but they will not turn to King Jesus until
all else fails. Not until the economy fails will they turn to
Him for their prosperity. Not until their way fails in their families
will they turn to god's way. Problem is here, it is usually too
late to rescue the kids.
____________________________________________
1/13/91 Pm.
2 Sam. 5
start
We saw last time that it was only after God's people lost all hope in everything they tried instead of God's anointed, David, did they submit to David. Only after the death of Abner and the Man of Shame, Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, did they do what they knew they should have done in the first palace. That is, made David king over all Israel.
We also mentioned that I really do not think that we will see any kind of general return to Biblical principles until all hope in everything else is lost. We are no different than these men were here that came to David in vs. 1-5. Only when all hope is gone in the man of shame will there be a return to God's beloved One, David. Almost makes me want to pray for everything to fall apart.
And sad to say, everything points to the removal of all false hope. Everything that is not founded on Biblical principles is going to be and is being shaken. It will fall. Only what is built on Christ will last.
Notice when times were hard the center of activity was the church - the house of God. It was always kept up and in good shape, but as God's people's hearts have turned to the man of shame, their attention has turned to self.
Under Zerubbabel many Israelites returned to the land from Babylon. The people who returned were hard-pressed for finances and time because they were working at reestablishing their own lives. But look at the complaint that the Lord levels against them, v. 2-4. Then look at the results of this sin.
Haggai 1:4, more concerned about their paneled homes than about the house of God. Look at the results.
Hos.4:6 my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Notice: His people are destroyed.
For lack of knowledge.
They don't know because they have not been taught .
They don't know so they are destroyed.
They are destroyed because the principles of God's law are still
in effect whether they believe them or not, whether they know
them or not.
They don't know them so they are destroyed and they don't know
why they are.
Why don't they know the principles of God?
the priest did not teach them.
Therefore, I have no choice but to go against the father of light that is causing God's people to follow the man of shame. I cannot do it in myself but the Captain of the army of God's beloved One is stronger. Jah is father. There is strength, victory and power over the father of light, and by his grace I must take my stand and teach God's people.
5:6
David's very first act as king over Israel was to take Jerusalem,
the city of the Jebusites. This city belonged to Benjamin (Judges
1:21), but Benjamin did not drive them out when they had the chance
to do so. Benjamin was strong enough to, but didn't. To much work?
Satisfied with what he had?
The Jebusites dwelt with the children of Benjamin instead of Benjamin removing them as they were told to do. What was allowed to co-exist within God's people in Judges, now mocks David.
The enemies of God are very confident. Just talk at the door to them or on the job. Until they see their walls of confidence start falling beyond control, they will mock God in their confidence.
Vs. 7, 8.
Instead of the mockery making David turn away, notice what it
did. Caused him to become more determined. This is the lesson
we need to learn. As the enemies of God mock us, we need to become
more determined to reach them for the Son of David.
Mockery should make us more determined to stand for the Lord. This is the effect mockery and ridicule had on the Son of David.
Whoever smites them will be chief and captain (1 Chron.11:6). We find that Joab did this. This shows us what kind of a man Joab was, there evidently wasn't another like him in the kingdom.
Was this an effort on David's part to remove Joab from being the chief over his men for killing Abner in the time of peace (2:13)? This is just speculation because David tried to remove Joab again with Amasa (2 Sam.20).
David then moves his throne to Jerusalem after they take it from the Jebusites.
Jerusalem: The city of peace. What a name for a city that has seen so many wars. It has been raised to the ground at least 7 times, and what is over there is not the streets that Christ walked on. That is a ploy for the tourist dollars. Notice, once David conquered it, he moved his residence in, strengthened it and called it the city of David.
As unsaved, we are at war along against the Son of David,
maybe at times we even mocked Him. Even at the best, we are nothing
but blind and lame.
The Spirit of God overcame our resistance and we fall before
the Son of David.
The blind and lame cast out.
The Son of David moves in.
He sets up His residence.
He builds, strengthens from Milo in, from the town hall in or
from the seat of government, in. Milo was the innermost of the
city.
As we resist him, there is war in the city of Peace.
Vs. 11, 12.
As we allow the Son of David to rule and reign and grow strong
in us, He will give us after our hearts desire.
V. 11 we see that Hiram built a house for David.
V. 12. contains a strange statement. It says that and David perceived that the Lord had established... Evidently the sending by Hiram to build David a house was to him a sign that the Lord had established his kingdom. This showed him that his kingdom was exalted. I think this shows us that as the Lord directs us and we follow that direction, He will provide help for us.
For his people.. sake.. As we allow Him to rule and strengthen Himself in us, we will be a blessing to others.
Vs. 13-15.
Of course we must condemn David for more than one wife. God never
meant it to be that way, but He permitted it. This shows to us
David's weakness, women. Women caused him to fall, cost him his
family and Solomon the kingdom.
Notice that he took more without checking with the Lord about it.
Psalms 127:5 As Matthew Henry says: "Happy is the man that has his quiver full of these arrows but one vine by the side of the house with the blessings of God, may send boughs to the sea, and branches to the river."
David's many vines and arrows got him in a barrel of trouble.
V. 17-20.
The Philistines heard how the servant of Saul was now king. Surly, if Saul was such an easy pushover, his servant would be. This is about 7 1/2 years after the battle that killed Saul.
And I might mention that Jesus the Son of David came the first time as a servant. Since then He has been exalted to His Throne. Let all of the pagans gather together against Him and they are going to meet the same fate as did these Philistines.
David didn't wait for them to get to him but went to them.
We have to much of a reactionary Christianity. We wait until the Philistines are scaling the walls before we move. David didn't . As soon as he heard they were moving against him, he enquired of the Lord and the Lord said, Go. And by the way, when the Lord said that the GATES OF HELL SHALL NOT PREVAIL AGAINST HIS CHURCH, this speaks of the Church on the move against the forces of hell.
In other words, we are to look for areas that is controlled by the forces of hell and charge them. If they are beyond attacking and conquering for the kingdom of God, then start something new to win support away from it.
Example: A church. If it has gone liberal and there is no hope of turning it around, get out and start a new one.
Also here, if we will stay right with God and go in His strength, He will doubtless deliver the areas that are controlled by the forces of hell to us.
They gathered at Rephaims - Strong or Giants.
The defeat was at Baal-perazim - Lord of breaches or The Destroying
stroke. (Near Rephaims.)
David was set up in the kingdom to deliver Israel out of the hands of the Philistines, and he sets about this task immediately. The Son of David will deliver us and the task starts as soon as we set Him up as King over every area of our life.
This valley of Rephaims was close to Jerusalem. You can rest assured that as soon as the Son of David brings peace to the City of Jerusalem, there will be a valley full of Philistines waiting to overthrow HIM, but in the Lord we can and do have the victory.
It is a strong valley and only the Lord can give the victory. But, even after they are defeated once, they try again, v. 22. Just because the Lord delivers us once does not mean the battle is over. They will be back but there is victory over them again, and again and again.
How many have fallen by the wayside because they gave up the battle which they didn't expect in the first place?
V. 21. If God's people are smart they will burn the images of the Philistines - cigarettes, liquor, music, drugs, pictures... or they will be serving them.
To here 1/15/91
Vs. 23-25. David was promised victory the second time, but notice:
If he had gone to battle the second time as he did the first, he would have lost. "Well, God was with me before, so I know He will be this time, therefore, no need to check with Him again." He and his men would have been all over the battle field. We MUST NOT take anything for granted.
The battle was in the same area (valley of Strength, strong valley or as the marg. says, valley of the Giants.)
The battle was against the same people, the Philistines.
The battle was in the Lord's hands and the victory promised.j
The battle was fought in a different way at the Lord's direction. If they had tried to do this the same this time as last, they would have lost.
How many people do I know that were saved and the Philistines attacked them.
They sought direction from God (His word and prayer) and it was an easy victory over the Philistines.
The Philistines didn't give up (never do) and they regather for another battle. The person said, "It was such an easy victory last time, no need to check with the Lord this time. I'll just go out and have at it." Then they fall because they didn't flee to the Lord in prayer and His word as they did the first time.
We are promised victory. This is the reason the Son of David took the throne (3:18) in our life, but the victory will be on the Lord's terms, not on ours. We must check with Him before any and every battle or we will take His presence for granted and He will not be there.
Notice vs. 23, 24. sound of going....
Acts 2:2 There came a sound from heaven as a rushing mighty wind...
The Holy Spirit.
The victory will be by the Lord fighting, going before us in the person of the Holy Spirit. But, the Holy Spirit only goes before us for the victory as we enquire of the Lord, and the Lord spoke to him.
Another point here is that the Lord going before His people
into battle speaks of:
1> a battle to be fought, a job to be done. And that job a
hard job.
2> His people going into battle. The Lord cannot go before
most of His people because they are not going anywhere at His
direction.
Notice here that the first time the victory was at Ball-perazim.
This time the victory was at Geba to Gazer.
We must keep in close contact and communication with the Lord of Host so we will know where the victory lies or where the Lord wants the battle against the Philistines fought. We might be trying to fight at Baal-perazim while the Lord is at Geba. Or the other way around. We must remain in close contact or we will be fighting in the wrong place.
Notice:
It was right to fight the enemies of the covenant-people.
The Lord was in this fight, in fact told David to fight.
But if David had been in the wrong place even at the right time,
he would have lost. Then human nature blames the loss on the Lord
when the problem was that we were in the wrong place.
Very seldom does the victory lie in the same area twice, but the enemy is always there ready to gather together again and attack. Only a close personal walk with the Lord will give wisdom for victory in whatever area he chooses to attack in.