Well, as we come back to our series, then this evening entitled The Survey of the Bible, I ask you to turn with me, please, in your Bibles to First Samuel, chapter one, and please follow with me as I read verses one to 20. First Samuel, chapter one, actually make that eight to 20, page 310 in the Pew Bible. First Samuel, chapter one, picking up at verse eight. And I'll read to verse 20. And speaking about the husband of Hannah, we read 1 Samuel chapter 8, chapter 1 rather, picking up at verse 8. We read the words which say, Then Elkanah, her husband, said to her, Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? And why is your heart grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons? So Hannah arose after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the tabernacle of the Lord and she was in bitterness of soul and prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish. and she made a vow and said, O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your maidservant and remember me and not forget your maidservant, but will give your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life and no razor shall come upon his head. Verse 12. And it happened as she continued praying before the Lord that Eli watched her mouth. Now, Hannah spoke in her heart, only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Therefore, Eli thought she was drunk. So Eli said to her, How long will you be drunk? Put your wine away from you. But Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor intoxicating drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord. Do not consider your maidservant a wicked woman, for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief I have spoken until now. Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant you grant your petition, which you have asked of him. And she said, Let your maidservant find favor in your sight. So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad. Then they rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord and returned and came to their house at Ramah. And Okana knew Hannah, his wife. And the Lord remembered her. So it came to pass in the process of time that Hannah conceived and bore a son and called his name Samuel, saying, because I have asked for him from the Lord." Before we come to The Word of God for this evening, dear congregation. Let's once again pray and ask the Lord's blessings upon our time. Let's pray. Our Father, we thank You for Your rich mercy and grace to us in and through the person and work of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Again, Lord, we thank You that Emmanuel has come not only to this world, but to His people. He's come through the Gospel. He's come in the power of the Spirit making us His very own subjects, His willing servants. And we thank You, Lord Jesus, that tonight You have many here who worship You and who bless Your name. We thank You that You are the greater Son of David. You are our King reigning on high. And we thank You, Lord, for Your great grace wherewith You've saved us and have promised to keep us until the last day. We ask, O God, now that as we come to Your Word that You would Open it to us, that You would teach us much, that You would help us to embrace the teaching in this Old Testament book. O God, drive away tiredness. Send the Spirit to quicken us, O God. Give us what we lack. We look to You then, Lord, to do us good. Come, we pray, we ask it through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. One author has rightly said that The world around us is filled with winners and losers, champions and chumps, and that the same was true in the Old Testament. Now, to be sure, friends, this certainly is the case in the Old Testament, and it's especially seen when we come to the books of 1st and 2nd Samuel. In these books, which were originally one book in the Hebrew Bible, we read of the accounts of such individuals as Hannah, Samuel, and David, who throughout the overall record of their lives were indeed true champions for God. And yet we also read about some losers, some chumps, if you will, even the sons of Eli the priest and King Saul himself. Now personally, what I like so much about the books of 1 and 2 Samuel is how clearly the lives of people are set before us, teaching us what we ought to do and ought not to do if we are going to live pleasing to the Lord our God. Here in these books, as we transition from the theocracy to the monarchy, we are shown the strengths and weaknesses of many. And from this, we learn invaluable lessons for our lives as the people of God Church. If we want to read some of the greatest accounts of the successes and failures of others so that we can be instructed and helped on our way to heaven, then We need look no further than the books of Samuel. Here we have people set forth in their best and worst conditions. Here we have examples to either follow or to flee from. As we come then this evening to consider our survey of the books of Samuel, which in part were written by Samuel and then the rest by an unknown author, perhaps Nathan or Gad. And this roughly between the years 1100 BC to 900 B.C., 970 B.C. rather, I ask you to consider with me first for tonight the background and setting of these books, the background and setting. Now, as far as 1 Samuel is concerned, the background and setting of this book is the time in the life of the Jewish people when the leadership goes from the last judge, who was Samuel, to the first king of the nation, of course, who was Saul. A new day has dawned. The long period of the Judges is now over, and the loose band of twelve tribes will soon become a full-blown nation under the leadership of King David, and that's seen in 2 Samuel. As we think then about Samuel, first let's come and consider some things about him. So again, Samuel. was the last judge of Israel being the son of Hannah, as we considered in the outset. Now Samuel, who was raised under the leadership of Eli, the priest, operated as a true leader among God's people. Speaking of Samuel, he was a great man of God, being a true prophet of God, who was the real man of God who was used to bring the nation to moral and spiritual reform, especially concerning the worship of Jehovah when the nation was steeped in great idolatry and chaos. So, friends, in summary, Samuel's influence on the nation of Israel was profound. As one writer said, quote, he taught the people the word of God and he founded a school at Ramah and trained young men to read and write, fostering the growth of a system of national education. The writer says that Samuel even guided the first steps of the monarchy as he spoke fearlessly with the voice of divine authority as occasion demanded. Surely, the writer says, Samuel was one of God's giants. And this is true. Well, church, then, with all of these great qualities concerning Samuel and again, much of the opening chapters of the first book of Samuel focusing upon him, it's easy to see why these books bear his name. Samuel, in the truest sense, was one in whom the world was not Worthy concerning the background and setting of Second Samuel, whereas First Samuel is primarily concerned with such people as Eli, Hannah, Samuel, Saul, Jonathan and David. We see that Second Samuel is primarily taken up with David himself. David is the central figure of this book and Second Samuel grows right on the heels of First Samuel. What we read about David follows naturally into Second Samuel from First Samuel. So in 2 Samuel, we learn concerning such things about David. Firstly, about his coronation into office. Secondly, his control as king. Thirdly, his conquest as a leader. Fourthly, his crime of adultery. And then finally, his census of Israel and Judah. Now before we come to talk about David specifically, let's first talk about Saul, his predecessor. Who then was Saul? As I said in the outset, Saul was the first king of Israel. You have the United Kingdom, the United Monarchy. The first king, of course, is Saul. And secondly, David and Solomon. So Saul was the first king. Now remember the context in which the kingship of Saul comes to us. In chapter 8 of 1 Samuel, we read that the Jewish people came to Samuel saying that we want a king to rule over us. Literally, they said, make us a king to judge us like all the other nations. You remember the phrase there in chapter 8 of 1 Samuel. Now we might ask the question at this point, was it wrong for Israel to have a king, to desire an earthly human king? Well, to answer this question, in one sense I would say, no, it was not wrong, and in another sense I would say, yes, it was wrong. So in one sense, then I would say no, because if you recall a key reason why the twelve tribes of Israel were in such bad spiritual condition, because as we read in the book of Judges, in those days there was no king in Israel. And the people did what was right in their own eyes. The point is, is that there was no one to lead and guide the people, hence they followed the dictates of their hearts and wound up in great sin. So in this sense, I would say, humanly speaking, it was good for the people, to have an earthly king, to have a good and godly leader amongst them. Yes, I would say it was good in this sense. God himself in various places in the Old Testament even gave permission for a king and made provision for this in his word. Of Abraham, we read that king shall come from him and God never abrogated the monarchy. And of course, as we know, God would ultimately use the monarchal line of King David to be the avenue through which he would bring his own son into the world, even Jesus Christ, our Lord. And we'll speak about this some more a little later. So then in what sense can we say that the desire for the people to want a king, an earthly human king was wrong? Well, I think that it was wrong for the people to desire a king in this sense because of their motive, their motive. The people say, make us a king to judge us like all of the other nations. You see where the problem was in that statement? The language, like all the nations, we see that the people are going totally astray from their calling as the people of God. They want to be separate as a nation and have God as their king. And yet they're saying, we want to be like our neighbors, the pagans around us. God was their king. God, as you recall in earlier studies, visually was among and in the center of the people. That's where the tabernacle was, right? It was in the middle of the camp and all of the tribes on the outskirts. Well, if you study the kings of the pagan nations of that time, where would they place their king? Right in the middle of the camp. His abode was in the middle. But for the people of God, God Himself was in the middle, no earthly king. And God in the middle of His people spoke to the other nations saying, our king is Jehovah. So for the people to say we now want to be like them and have an earthly king, wrong desire, wrong motive, wrong reason to have a king. Friends, first and foremost, they were to understand that God Himself was to be their king. And that in his time he would have brought an earthly king, as he does, we know the man of his choice, David, later. But he would have brought them an earthly king through which king he would mediate his rule to the people. But instead of waiting upon the Lord, the people pressed Samuel to give them a king so that they could be like others. Well, as you know, God condescends to their request and says in first Samuel eight, Verse 7 and following. Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you. Why? For they have not rejected you, Samuel, but they rejected me, that I should not reign over them. According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day, with which they have forsaken me and served of the gods, so they are doing to you also. Not good. And we see then, friends, What a terrible thing it is for people to reject God as king. God is ultimate ruler. What a sad thing it is for people to say, we want to substitute instead of God. No, that's wrong. This was the sin of the people at this point in their lives. And then we're told that the man that was called to rule over them was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Saul. Saul. Saul the Benjamite. And that really is a problem right there, right? Because we know that God would bless the people through the kingly line of Judah, not Benjamin. Israel wanted the king, so God gave them what they wanted. But Saul was not the man after God's own heart. No, David was. And Saul, as many of you know, was a great, great disappointment among the people. Great disappointment to God. He was a man who, although at first showed great promise being outwardly impressive, Later we see that he was impatient and impenitent. Friends, in sum, Saul was an arrogant, jealous, self-reliant individual who did not have a true heart for Jehovah. Even dabbled in witchcraft. Towards the end of his life, seeking the witch of Endor. Saul was impulsive, presumptuous. And this is seen specifically in his unlawful sacrifice. that he offered. He was disobedient to God, and this is seen specifically in connection to the sparing of Agag's life. And because of his sins, as you know, ultimately the kingdom would be torn away from him and given to David. Let's speak then for a moment about David. Who was he? Well, David was many things, of course. As a young man, we're told that he was a warrior in the making who defended his father's sheep from the lion and the bear. Also, we're told that he was an individual who had great faith in God, because he went against Goliath when others were in their tents, cowering before the great Philistine giant. Also, David was a man who was anointed by Saul to be king, who, and this is interesting, even though Saul hunted him for approximately ten years, David loved Saul. David wept bitterly when Saul died. Well, eventually, as you know, David becomes king over all Israel. And he reigned for 40 years in total, being a great military leader. David also was a poet and a musician. In short, friends, David was God's ideal king. His rule over Israel was the golden age of the nation. When he came into power, he conquered all the nations around Israel that threatened their security. Now it'd be great if I can go on to somebody else and not speak about David's great wicked sin before God, but I must. Great things are said about David in the Bible, but of course there's one horrible blight in his life, and that is the sin of adultery that he committed with Bathsheba, and the setting up of her husband Uriah the Hittite to be killed. Well, thank the Lord that through the ministry of Nathan the prophet, David does come to genuine repentance, as Psalm 51 clearly shows us. And although the sword would not depart from his house because of his rebellion against God, thank the Lord. This is very important. Thank the Lord that throughout the entirety of David's life, he always had a heart for God. That's very important to remember. Although David was a sinner, throughout the entirety of his life, he remained a monotheist. And some people say, what really makes David differ from Saul? or from Solomon. They all sinned, but why is it said that David was a man after God's own heart? Because David always remained a monotheist. He was a sinner like the other two who reigned over the United Monarchy. But Saul was given to witchcraft. Solomon, as you know, would go a-whoring after idols. But David always worshipped Jehovah. and Jehovah alone. In this he's a very good example. Unlike Solomon, unlike Saul, David never forsook Jehovah, his God. He loved the Lord with all of his being, even though at times he sinned against him. Well, having seen in the background and setting of the two books of Samuel, consider with me secondly, then the major themes and purposes, major themes and purposes. Firstly, then the major themes. Now, it seems to me that if we were to survey these two books, we would come up with three major themes. And the first is this, the major theme of the Davidic covenant, of course. Now, this covenant is spoken of specifically in second Samuel, chapter seven. And in summary, the Davidic covenant is God's pledge to David that he would establish his throne forever. Okay. God's covenant with David speaks about David's permanent rule, or to state the matter another way, in quoting Greg Nichols in his book on covenant theology, Greg says that in the Davidic covenant, quote, God swore to David that his dynasty and kingdom would abide in perpetuity. That's the essence of the Davidic covenant. Now, later on, we'll see how this ultimately gets to Christ, but we'll talk about that in a few minutes. But God, in the Davidic Covenant, makes a promise to his servant David, and it is ultimately fulfilled in Jesus. So first major theme, the Davidic Covenant. It's central to the books of Samuel. Secondly, then, by way of major themes, we have the ministry of the Holy Spirit, and that's important. We see the Holy Spirit in both 1 and 2 Samuel, working very actively. But mostly in First Samuel, and this in several places. First, we see the Holy Spirit coming upon both Saul and David after they were anointed as kings. First Samuel 10, First Samuel 16. Secondly, we see the Spirit of God brings forth prophecy from Saul in First Samuel chapter 10, while prophecy was still operative among the people of God. Thirdly, we see that the Spirit of God gives Saul victory in battle, First Samuel chapter 11. And then finally, we can certainly say, in connection to the Holy Spirit's work in the lives of people, that in 2 Samuel, certainly the Holy Spirit was working in David's heart, convicting him of sin, righteousness, and judgment to come concerning his evil, adulterous act that he committed with Bathsheba. So we see, then, that in the books of Samuel, uniquely, we see much of the Holy Spirit at work in the lives of God's people. Well, third, then, major theme. for 1st and 2nd Samuel is that of God's sovereignty in all things. God's sovereignty in all things. Now, this again is something that we see throughout both of these books. We see it in several places. First, we see it in the fact that although the nation was headed for utter ruin, right on the tail end of Judges, we see that nonetheless, God would establish the people as a nation as he promised. Right? He's sovereign over the whole event. Much sin is happening. Idolatry. But God said, I will form you into a nation. And he does it despite their sin. He's sovereign over all that happens. Secondly, we see God's sovereignty in that although men would pick a king hastily, namely Saul, God would have his men to rule over the people. He would have David on the throne. Thirdly, we see God's sovereignty in the fact that although Absalom's conspiracy against his father David was judgment on David for his sin with Bathsheba, God still nonetheless remains sovereign over the evil that sought to destroy David, because Absalom would have destroyed him if he could. But God protected David from ultimate destruction. Well, finally, then, although we read in 2 Samuel, chapter 24, that it was God who prompted David to number Israel, and this apparently because of David's pride. We see nonetheless in 1 Chronicles 21 that it was actually Satan who moved David to do this. And thus we see that God is even sovereign over the devil, using him to do his bidding, since God Himself tempts nobody. James 1 verse 13. Secondly then, under this heading, consider with me the purposes of the books. of First and Second Samuel, and there are three, and the first is this. Number one, to teach us, rather to teach the future generation of Israelites, how the monarchy was established. That's very important. What's the purpose? to teach future generations of Israelites after this time how the monarchy was established. This is something we don't think about often because the Bible wasn't given to teach us about our own history as Americans, per se. No, but friends, the Bible in its original form was given to teach subsequent generations that would be born. The new generation would ask the question, how did David become king? Why is he on the throne and not somebody else? Ah, it was God's doing. The books of Samuel would answer these questions for the new Israelites who were to come. Just as when we want answers for the history of our nation, we go to books to search it out and find the answers. Same thing for the Jewish nation of old. These books would be read and taught to the people and they would understand this is how we got the kings that we currently have or had had in the future. Second purpose then of the books of Samuel. was to teach the people that God requires faithfulness from their leaders if the people would be blessed. And over and over again we see, brethren, especially in the books of 1 and 2 Samuel, a connection between what the people of God received from God's hand and how the leaders of the land were acting. For example, in chapter 4 of 1 Samuel, We see that the Philistines defeat Israel under the leadership of Eli's evil sons. This happens again under the leadership of evil Saul in chapter 31 of the same book. Even the sin of David, as I mentioned earlier just briefly, numbering Israel. We see that in 2 Samuel chapter 24. There we read that the Lord sent a plague upon Israel from morning till evening. At the appointed time from Dan to Beersheba and 70,000 men of the people died because of David's sin. So, brethren, there's a connection here between the godliness of the leaders and the blessings or the judgment that come to the people of God. Let me just pause at this point to make an application and say, brethren, pray for us, your leaders. Never stop praying for your leaders. It's good for you. It's good for us. And it's good for the glory of God. Pray that we'll be faithful in all things, brethren. Pray that we won't veer to the left or to the right. Pray that the Bible and the Bible alone will be the rule of the day that we follow. Brethren, pray for us. The third purpose in these books is to teach us that despite us and the people of old, that despite our many failures, God continues with us. Despite our many failures, God continues with us. Now this, like in the book of Judges, is seen in how God raised up deliverers for the people at this time in the life of the nation. So Samuel, considered to be the last judge of the nation, God raised him up at a time when the people were in great moral and spiritual trouble. It's seen in how God raised up David and even Saul to defeat the enemies of God. And as people would read 1 and 2 Samuel, they would see that God is faithful to His people. All of these men were used of God to deliver the people from oppression. And dear friends, at this point I say by way of personal application and encouragement, the fact of the matter is God keeps on keeping with His people. He just does. When we are faithless, God remains faithful. But Paul says he cannot deny himself. That's an important thing for the people to see. Read the history. God continued with His people. God has made a covenant with them to be with them. God has made a covenant with us in Christ to be with us all of our days. And so He is. He promises never to leave us nor forsake us, though we make many foolish mistakes before Him and sin. And that's a real encouragement. One of the purposes of these books is to teach us that very thing. God remained faithful. God helped his people when they were in a real bad way. Consider with me next, then, the key doctrines and key verses of these books, key doctrines and key verses. Now, by way of key doctrines, the first thing we see is the doctrine of human sin, the doctrine of human sin. Friends, over and over again we see throughout the books of 1 and 2 Samuel, the truth of the expression which says, the best of men are men at best. In these books we see the sins of Eli, the priest, set before us. And that according to 1 Samuel 3 and verse 13, he did not restrain his sons from doing evil. It's bad. Also we see the sins of his two sons, Hophni and Phinehas. And how they committed great evils against the Lord. They were wicked sons. They committed grave sins against the house of God. Also, we see the sins of Saul and the sins of David. We also see the horrible sin of Amnon, the son of David with Tamar. We also see Absalom's treason all over the place. We're seeing human sin, the doctrine of human sin. Well, we can say then, friends, in the truest sense that these books are open books. Nothing is hidden. Human sin is laid bare before us to read, and I ask, why? Why are these things in the Word of God for us to see? Is it so that we can mock and say, ah, look how much better we are than they? Was it so that we can say, oh, I would have never done such things as they did? Is that why God has left these things in His Word? No, friends. Rather, the purpose for us seeing the shortcomings, the sins of God's people was as the Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10, namely, that we would learn from their examples and be warned. Paul says that the sins of the old covenant people of God were written for our instruction, for our admonition. And friends, may it be then that we would be instructed by the sins of God's old covenant people. We're not to mock them. No, we're to cry out and say, Lord, search me and see if there be a Hophni and Phinehas in me. Lord, search me and see if there be an evil Saul within my own heart who would only be partially obedient. A David, O God, who has a lustful eye and a murderous spirit Oh God, search me, search me. The second key doctrine in these books is the doctrine of prayer and how God answers the prayers of His people. This is seen, of course, in the classic example that we read in the opening of Hannah and how she prayed to God for a child. 1 Samuel chapter 1, here we have this barren woman in bitterness of soul weeping to God in anguish and God gives her the desire of her heart. And then secondly, we see in that marvelous passage in 1 Samuel chapter 7 that the Lord mightily answered the prayer of Samuel when he earnestly prayed concerning the attacks of the Philistines, which were coming against the people of God. And God answered in a great way, marking a significant turn of events for the condition of Israel in connection to her near neighbors. And church, these two great examples should really stir us up to pray. and to see that God does answer the prayers of His people. God says, I'll never turn a deaf ear to you. No, rather He says, call upon Me and I'll show you great and mighty things which thou knowest not. Call upon Me. I will prove Myself to be faithful to you. The doctrine of prayer and the answers thereof are given for our good, for our example, to stir us up to call upon Jehovah the Lord through Jesus Christ our Savior. Well, thirdly, then, by way of key doctrine, we have the doctrine of the glory of God among His people, the glory of God among His people. The teaching of the Shekinah, if you will. Now, with what do I connect this in these books? Well, of course, I connect it with the Ark of the Covenant, which, as you know, takes up much of the first several chapters of First Samuel. Most of you are familiar with the opening accounts of First Samuel, where we have the matter of the Ark of God. being captured by the Philistines and then eventually returning back to the nation. Well, friends, the Ark of God, which was the key piece of furniture in the tabernacle being in the Holy of Holies itself, the Ark of God represented God himself among his people. It represented God for his people fighting their battles. Well, because it's clear from these opening chapters that the Ark was captured because the people were not living right before him, they were being disobedient. I say, church, that there's something to be said to us in this regard. Friends, when the Ark of God departed, we're told that the glory of God had departed from Israel, Ichabod. The glory of God has departed. And so listen friends, if we want to have God's glory, God's honor, God's presence, God's blessing among us, we must be sure that we are being an obedient people. Dear ones, God is the same yesterday, today and forever. And where sin is in the camp, being fostered, not dealt with, God will not dwell among us. The doctrine of the glory of God. If we want God's honor, His Person by His Spirit to be among us, we must be sure that we are not grieving Him. So, dear ones, each one of us individually must keep short accounts with God. May it be, brethren, that we are not playing games with God in our Christianity, but that we are being holy men and women based upon the Scripture. The glory of God is at stake, brethren. And may it never be said of us that the glory of God has departed. Secondly, then under the heading that we are now consider with me the key verses and key verses rather in first and second Samuel key verses. There are many, many key verses, but I give you several. First, of course, we have that well-known verse, those well-known words of Samuel to Saul. 1 Samuel 15 and verse 22, where Samuel says to Saul, has the Lord have great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices? As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, here's the verse, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. That's a key verse in the books of Samuel. To obey is better than sacrifice. You should have obeyed, Saul. You should have listened. Next, in 1 Samuel 16, verse 7, when Samuel is commanded to go to the house of Jesse to pick a new king for Israel, anoint him at least, because the Lord said he rejected Saul. We read that while Samuel's there, he picks one of the older brothers of the household of Jesse to be the king. But God says to Samuel, in correcting him, Samuel, do not look on his appearance or his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees. Why? For man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. Samuel says, well, let's have the oldest brother here, the next one, the next one, the next one. Well, lo and behold, God's man was going to be the youngest one, the sheepherder David. Next, of course, in chapter 17 of 1 Samuel, how could I possibly not mention the words of David to Goliath when he says in verse 45 and following, You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defiled. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. Oh, what a beautiful scene that is. He's bold, he's courageous, Saul's in the tent, the armies are back, and here goes this little David with his five smooth stones and his sling. Lastly then, we have that key verse in 2 Samuel chapter 12 as Nathan rebukes David for his adultery after he gave his illustration about the poor man's lamb, which was taken by the rich man, saying to David, thou art the man, David. David says, who is this man who has done this great wickedness? Surely justice will be wrought. And Nathan says to him, you are the man, David. You have committed this great sin. Fourthly, then, consider with me the outline in Christology of the books of Samuel. Outline in Christology. To outline these books is quite simple. For 1 Samuel, we have in chapter 1 to chapter 7 and verse 17, the decline of the judges being Eli and Samuel. The time of the judge is coming to an end. And then in chapter 8, verse 1 to the end of the book, we have the rise of the kings being Saul and David. So the decline of judges the rise of the Kings. And then for second Samuel, the outline is in chapter one to chapter ten. We have the triumphs of David. In chapter eleven, we have the transgression of David. And then in chapters twelve to twenty four, we have the troubles of David triumphs, transgression and troubles. Well, secondly, then under this heading, consider with me the Christology of this book, that is to say, where do we see Christ in the books of 1st and 2nd Samuel. Now, while we could certainly say that there are similarities between Jesus and the boy Samuel, in that they both were children of promise and both dedicated to God before birth, et cetera, and while we could definitely say that David himself, barring his sin, was a type of Christ and that they both were hated without cause and had devout followers, et cetera, I think the clearest picture of Christ that we have in the books of 1st and 2nd Samuel which, again, were one book in the original Hebrew Bible. It's that passage that I spoke about earlier, and I'd like us to take a brief look at it in 2 Samuel, chapter 7. Turn with me there in your Bibles. 2 Samuel, chapter 7, concerning the Davidic covenant. 2 Samuel, chapter 7. Here is God speaks about the covenant with David. He tells Nathan, the prophet, these words, picking up in Verse 8, and I'll read to verse 13. 2 Samuel 7, verses 8 to 13. Read, Now therefore, thus shall you say to my servant David, Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel. And I have been with you wherever you have gone. and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a great name like the name of the great men who are on the earth. Moreover, I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more. Nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them any more as previously, since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused you to rest from all your enemies. Also, the Lord tells you that He will make you a house." Of course, David wanted to make the Lord a house. Well, God says, I'm going to make you a house. Notice verse 12. "'When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed Singular after you who will come from your body and I will establish his kingdom. Verse 13 he shall build a house for my name and I will establish the throne of his kingdom. Then get the last word forever. I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. Now quite obviously when God speaks about one coming from David's body to establish his kingdom and to build a house for him. Quite obviously, he's speaking about Solomon, David's son, who would rule after him, being the third and final king of the United Monarchy. However, again, look at the end of verse 13. God says that I will establish, verse 13, the throne of his kingdom forever. So we ask the question, could this really and ultimately be referring to Solomon himself? In other words, has Solomon's kingdom been established forever? Well, friends, the answer to the question is no. Which shows us that although in the immediate setting Solomon is in view, there is still yet another in view, a greater than Solomon, who would come from the lineage of David and his kingdom would be established forever in church, this one is none other than Jesus Christ the Messiah, the ultimate heir of David himself. You see, the threefold use of forever in the next several passages. 16, and your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever, forever, forever. Man, is Solomon going to live forever? No, he's not. But a greater than Solomon will come. And so, friends, in the promise here that David will have one who will sit on his throne forever, we have a double fulfillment. First, in Solomon. And then secondly, ultimately, in Christ. David would have dynastic succession. And this is all filled and fulfilled in Christ. And dear friends, this is why we read, for example, in Acts chapter 2 and verse 30, Peter can say that David being a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne. This David spoke concerning the resurrection of Christ. And this is why, for example, dear friends, in Luke 1, the angel could announce to Mary and say concerning Jesus that He will be great, and He will be called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end. Jesus is the greater than Solomon. And friends, what a glorious truth this is concerning our Savior. His kingdom shall know no end. And in Jesus' day, at various points in the Gospel, what do we see? That the people asking, could this be the son of David? Why? Because they had this messianic hope that one would come and reign on his throne, be from his ancestral line, and Jesus Christ fulfills that to a T. And dear friends, Contrary to what our dispensationalist friends tell us, Jesus is not waiting to reign. He's not waiting to be King. He already is reigning as King. He's King right now. And this is why after He rose from the grave, He can say, all authority in heaven and earth has been given to Me. He's not waiting to get it. He has it now. Friends, according to the Bible, Jesus is the monarch of the world. He's fulfilled the Davidic covenant promise. He's the ruler of heaven and earth. The nations have been given to Him as an inheritance. The ends of the earth for His possession, Psalm 2. He reigns victoriously. He fulfills the prophecy. And I say again, it's beautiful. Because we have a reigning Savior. A glorious Savior. a Savior who fulfills what God promised to David of old. Well, so ends then our study of the books of Samuel. And what great books they are. As I said in the outset, these books set forth the best and worst of people. And they give us many invaluable lessons for our own lives. So what are some of those lessons? Well, I mentioned three, and the first is this. Friends, when it comes to living well before God, we must be more concerned about our character than our appearances. Now, what do I mean by this? Well, when we read about King Saul, who was a bad king, only had a half-heart for God, disobeyed and had the kingdom taken away from him. When we read about him in 1 Samuel, he's described as, quote, a choice and handsome man. As a matter of fact, the writer describes him as saying that there was not a more handsome man among all the people. And that from his shoulders upwards, he was taller than any. Now, someone might have looked at Saul and said, wow, very impressive. Let's get him in. What a great ruler he would be indeed. But was he friends? No, he wasn't. He was a sham. He was a bad man. Not a man after God's own heart. He was a terrible leader. He was prideful. And contrary to his young days, when we read that he was little in his own eyes, he turned from God. Outward appearances, not true character. And my dear friends here tonight, while with our outward appearances we ought to do all we can to glorify God, we need to be sure that we are developing godly character. that we're being godly men and women. The world says, like if they saw a Saul, wow, what a great choice he would be. God says, I've rejected him. Give me David. We learn that we must be concerned with character more than outward appearances. So what are we doing in our lives, brethren, to work on our character? To be godly? And while again I say this doesn't mean we walk around disheveled and not concerned about our outward appearances, ultimately we want to say, oh God, what is precious in your sight is a heart that loves you and wants to live for you and serve you. And that radically is different than the way the world views things. But friends, outward appearances come and go. But he that does the will of God shall abide forever. May God help us in this area, especially some of you young people. I had the opportunity to speak to a young person the other day at my house for the TNT meeting. It was a couple, actually. It was the group there. It wasn't one individual. But I said to them, some of you single people, when it comes to picking a mate, men, go for the woman who is most godly. Because outward appearances will fall away But a woman of God, she is to be praised. Character. And young women here may be looking for a husband one day, when you're ready to be married. Oh, he's so cute! That's the one I want. It's the wrong criteria. See what kind of man he is with his parents, in his home, in his community. Is he godly? Does he love his Bible? Does he love Jesus? Because you find out after you get married that all of the looks and hoopla, all that stuff, doesn't amount to a hill of beans. Oh, but if you find a woman of God or a man of God, you'll be blessed all your days. You'll never regret that. Now, praise God if you could find both in one person. Because I believe that The Bible talks about someone being in connection to our spouses, the desire of our eyes. God describes the prophet's wife like this. That woman ought to be beautiful to us, that husband ought to be handsome to us. But friends, character is king over all things. Seek godly character in the individual. that you want to be with. And for us who are Christians already, may it be that we're not worldly in our thinking, but rather we're saying, Lord, help me to be Christ-like. I'm not so fixated on form and fashion. I'm not saying do all you can to walk around ugly. That's not what I'm saying. Because that doesn't honor God either. But I'm saying focus on what's important most. Be a man or a woman. who has character that bears the image of Christ and bears much of the fruit of the Spirit. Secondly, then, we have an important lesson from the books of Samuel about friendship, of course. Friendship. There's a positive and negative example. Positively, we see that a good and godly relationship could be established, especially with people from the same sex. And this is seen very clearly in that wonderful relationship that David had with Jonathan, right? These two men had mutual respect and mutual affection for each other, so much so that we read in 1 Samuel 18, verse 1, that the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David. And Jonathan loved him as his own soul. That's a wonderful picture. It's a beautiful thing. And dear ones, in the church, we ought to have friendships like this. We ought to have rich and deep relationships with members of the same gender especially. And how do we do this? We do this by honoring each other, by esteeming one another, by praying for one another. By holding others better than our own selves. We have good relationships with the brethren by not gossiping about each other. or by pressing our opinions about matters too far. Well, may it be, brethren, that we would be like this in this house. That our friendships would continue to grow deep. That we would have many Jonathans and Davids in this house. Brethren who can say that my soul is knitted together with this brother. It's a joy. It's a wonderful thing to have those relationships run deep. This goes back to, again, what we talked about at the TNT hour this week. What a joy it is to come to the church to have fellowship with Christians and to look at the brethren and say, oh, these are the excellent ones of the earth. I love these people. Christ has saved them. He shed his blood for them. He's put us together in the same house to worship him, to labor together. Positively, we learn much good concerning friendships in this, but negatively, of course, we see the jealousy. Jealousy is the great killer to any relationship. And this, of course, is seen most clearly in David's relationship to King Saul. We read in 1 Samuel chapter 18 that after David's great victory over the Philistines, that the women of the city came out singing, saying, what? Saul has slain his thousands, but David his ten thousands. Oh man, Saul did not like that. Saul did not rejoice over David's great victory. And so we read in the very next verse that Saul was angry. And this saying displeased him. And that from that day forward, Saul eyed David. That pesky little punk. I don't like him. He's stealing my glory. He was jealous over David. And as you know, his jealousy eventually would continue and eat at his heart so that he would begin to persecute David, causing him to flee like a fugitive for many years. Friends, jealousy is a relationship killer. It's terrible. How many relationships have been destroyed because of this matter right here? Well, again, brethren, may God help us in this place not to be jealous over our brethren, but to rejoice over our brethren. To praise God for one another. To esteem the brethren highly and when one rejoices, rejoice with them. Not to envy one another. which Paul says in Galatians chapter 5 is a work of the flesh. How do we not be jealous of our brethren? Well, I would say most importantly, we act content with what God has given to us. This is what God has given me and I'm happy with it. I get to do the best with what I got. And if God over and abundantly blesses my brother or my sister, I'm just going to say, praise God that God is so good to that man in that way. But I'm content with what God has dealt me. I rest in that and I'm thankful for that. And I'm happy that this brother has those things that I don't have. And I rejoice with him because that was God's kindness to him. Be content, brethren. and may jealousy never be named among us." Well, thirdly then and finally for this evening, not only do we learn about character over appearance, the lesson about friendship negatively and positively, but lastly we learn the lesson about patiently waiting and relying upon the promises of God to be fulfilled. Patiently waiting for and relying upon the promises of God to be fulfilled. Now, this most clearly is seen, of course, in the life of David, right? Remember, David was anointed king of Israel many years prior to him becoming king. But he had that in his back pocket. I'm going to be the king. It's going to happen. But friends, here's the point. Never ever do we see David taking action to make this come to pass. He waits God's day. At times, he only had the bare promise of God to cling to. But never do we see him seeking to speed up the purpose of God by his own actions or by manipulating events so that his own will would come to pass. Never do we see that. Friends, God has made us many promises in His Word that sometimes He answers immediately, but sometimes He says you must wait. And wait we must do. So I exhort you, dear Christian, here this day, wait God's day. Don't seek to force His hand by manipulating situations. Because if you do that, it will never turn out good. Christian here tonight, whatever your desires are, God knows them. And if it's in His will that you have those things, He will bring them to pass when He ordains that they should come to pass. Now, of course, I'm not saying be passive in your life. No. Be diligent in your life in all things. In your desire for this, your desire for that, whatever it may be. But wait on the Lord for the occupying of such things. The Lord has promised good things in His Word to those who wait on Him. He really has. For what do we read in Isaiah 40? For that they who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and Not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. If God has promised you something in His Word, my dear friend, wait for God to bring it to pass. God will accomplish His good purpose in your life. He knows what He's doing with you. Rest in Him. Wait on Him. And as you do, be of good cheer. Wait on the Lord, I say. And be of good cheer, we read in the Word of God. David has left us an example. He knew what was his, but he didn't claim it in a time when it shouldn't have been his. God will accomplish His purposes in our life, in His own time and in His own will. So again I say, wait His day. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your mercies. We thank you, Lord, for the abundant lessons in the books of Samuel. So much could be said, Lord, but we thank you for giving us some understanding. We thank you, Lord, for the good examples that we see in this book. We thank you for Hannah. We thank you for Samuel. We thank you for David. We thank you for Jonathan and others. And Lord, for us, Your people, help us to learn much. Help us to thank You, Lord, not only for those written commands that we see, but the lives that we have lived out before us in the pages of Scripture. Help us, God, to model the right things that were done. And may they be a real prod to us to holiness and truth. O God, Burn Your Word into our hearts. Help us to be the kind of people that You would have us to be. Raise up many Davids in this place, O God, who would be fearless for You, who would be faithful in all things. And keep us from sin. Help us to be holy. We pray these things in Jesus' name, Amen.