All right, you should have a copy of the outline. If you don't, there's some in the back. Lessons from the Life of David. We're in 2 Samuel, Chapter 15. And we've been, of course, studying the life of David since last, this January or February of this year. And we've seen, gone through a lot of his life, but at this point in time, David is, is coming out of some rather dreary and lengthy, dull days of his life. Days when he's been, uncharacteristically, David has been rather passive. It seems like his son, Absalom, has rebelled against him and is building a rebellion right under David's very nose. And David has done nothing. And years have passed since his sin with Bathsheba. Some commentators have added up the years. Approximately 10 years have passed since the sin with Bathsheba, maybe 11 years. And his sons have grown up, and Absalom's rebellion. And the rebellion that Absalom's been leading is now reaching maturity. You see, Absalom, just by way of introduction, Absalom has been sowing some seeds of discontentment in David's kingdom. David is king in Jerusalem, and Absalom has been going about throughout the city, and really throughout all of Israel, sowing seeds of discontentment. And these seeds of discontentment are not being sown amongst the enemies of God, the Philistines. They're being sown among God's own people. God's own people. And there's grumbling on the left and on the right. David has been, some commentators believe that David had been sick at this period of time. There's some Psalms that indicate a period of prolonged illness. So perhaps David wasn't as active as he was normally. He wasn't as visible. He seemed like, you know, the government David was the government, and the government seemed like it didn't care. It didn't care much about what happened to the people. It wasn't very visible. But Absalom was visible, and he had his chariots, he had his horses, he had his friends, and he was busy alienating the affections of the people away from David, rendering the people of Israel disloyal. It says in 2 Samuel 15, verse 6, that Absalom was stealing the hearts of the men of Israel. Really, it was one gripe at a time. Gripe By gripe, he stole their hearts. He says, oh, if there only was a king or a judge in Israel, who was actually doing his job, if there only was a judge in Israel, he would render your case in your favor. He would hear your case. If only I were judge, I would hear your case. If people were coming with complaints and gripes, and Absalom said, there's no one to hear you. There's no one to hear you. But if I were king, I would judge in your favor, that's how he stole the hearts of Israel. His tactics were really straight, Absalom's tactics were straight from the devil's playbook, the devil's playbook. You know, the devil's got a playbook. It's not a very complicated one, but he sort of checks it out every now and then. And you can look over his shoulder, as Absalom did, right out of the Devil's Playbook, The Lust of the Flesh. That's in the Devil's Playbook. And Absalom, with his good looks, his long, flowing hair that he had shorn once a year in a great public ceremony, it seems like, The Lust of the Flesh. Absalom was a very handsome-looking man. He looked the part of a king, you know, and for it seems like the majority of the people that's all that matters is the looks. All that matters is you have to look the part of the king, an absolute part of a king. I mean he's tall, he was handsome, he's rugged, he was a full of energy. David Well, we didn't see much of David, and David is approaching 60 years of age, and he's perhaps getting a little decrepit. You know, we need a robust king. Absalom, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes. Absalom played right to that aspect of the devil's playbook. He had his chariots. Chariots weren't of much use in Jerusalem because it's on top of a mountain. You couldn't really run the chariots except up and down the streets, but that's how Absalom did. run the chariots up and down the streets, you know, to gather attention. You could hear the rattling, the clanking of the chariots, you know, the galloping of the horses. And here comes Absalom, looking like a king, and his hair flowing behind him, zooming down the streets with 50 men to run beside him, to run beside him. So that's the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. Absalom was promising everybody something. something, whatever they needed. Absalom says, your case is just and good, your case is just and good. Whatever the case was, Absalom said it was just and good, just and good. It was a pride of life. And he caused the people to grumble, not so much at David the king, but to grumble at his government, his way of running the country. Satan works the same way. He can't attack the Lord Jesus Christ. I mean, if you're a Christian, you're in, all right? So you're behind the Lord Jesus Christ. God's providences, you know? Satan can't attack them. I mean, has the Lord been treating you right these last four years? Are you better off now than you were four years ago? And you think, well, no, I've had this doctor bill, and I've had this illness, and I got laid off of work. You know, the Lord hasn't been treating me. really well. And we start to grumble, that's what Satan's tactic is, the same as Absalom's, grumbling about God's providences. We see Absalom's rebellion, 2 Samuel chapter 15, Verse seven, well, let's read verse six. And on this manner did Absalom to all Israel that came to the king for judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel. And verse seven, and it came to pass after 40 years that Absalom said unto the king, I pray thee, this is to David, I pray thee, his father, we might add, I pray thee, let me go and pay my vow, which I have vowed unto the Lord in Hebron, For thy servant vowed a vow while I abode at Gersher in Syria, saying, if the Lord shall bring me again, indeed, to Jerusalem, then I will serve the Lord. And the king said unto him, go in peace. So he arose and went to Hebron. This is Absalom's rebellion. Really, the beginning of it, his pretense, Absalom's pretense, .1a on your outline. Absalom's duplicity and his hypocrisy are like on full display, full display. He tells his father, the king, that he has a vow to the Lord to fulfill, that he must leave Jerusalem to do it, and he asked the king's leave. He must go to Hebron to fulfill this vow. He says, Absalom says here that he has longed to When he was back in exile, remember, the reason why Absalom was in exile was he had murdered his brother. He had murdered his brother, the king's son, the king's eldest son, who was in line for the throne. Absalom had murdered him. And then he had fled to Gersher and had hid out there for some three years. And Absalom now tells his father, the king, that while he was in exile, he had longed to return to Jerusalem. And now, Absalom says, now I'm determined to serve the Lord wholeheartedly. That's what Absalom says. That was 100% lie. 100%, that was even like 50-50 lie. Didn't have even a little bit of truth in it. What a lie, what a fabrication. See, Absalom is very cunning. We'll find out in just a few minutes where his cunningness is coming from. But Absalom's very cunning to deceive his father. the king. He's playing upon David's hopes for his son. David has been hoping that his son Absalom would return to the Lord. He's been hoping that Absalom could be restored to fellowship with him, not only with him but also with God himself. David was hoping for these things as a father might well do, and now his wayward son Absalom appears to be turning to God. This was hypocrisy, you see, of the very worst kind, the very worst kind. It's wickedness here. Absalom's plotting a rebellion. He's plotting a coup, coup d'etat, against his father, the king. And as he's plotting this coup, he's cloaking his wickedness in spirituality. Cloaking is wickedness in spirit. Can you imagine that wickedness? He absolutely couldn't very well assemble his co-conspirators Well, perhaps he could. I mean, David seems to be really, David was aware, all right. I have to say, David was aware of all that was going on. David was not unaware. And so Absalom could not assemble his co-conspirators right under David's nose in Jerusalem. He had to do it a little ways away in Hebron. So he cleverly invites 200 leading dignitaries of the city and says, Verse 10, but Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, as soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then you shall say, Absalom reigneth in Hebron. And with Absalom went 200 men out of Jerusalem that were called, and they went in their simplicity, and they knew not anything. These are 200 of David's leading men out of Jerusalem. Effectively, Absalom decapitates David's leadership, because now 200 of his leading men are now duped into attending this supposed ceremony that Absalom is having in Hebron, and they go not knowing what they're going to, but to the eyes of the common people, it appears that all of Jerusalem is behind Absalom. I mean, you have 200 leading men who are meeting in Hebron, plus all of Absalom's co-conspirators are all in Hebron. Wow. It was 40 years. Perhaps that phrase has confused you. It did me. So I did some research on it. It says, it came to pass, verse 7, after 40 years, that Absalom said unto the king. You're thinking 40 years. You're thinking, like, how old is Absalom? I mean, has he been plotting his rebellion for 40 years? And so now Absalom is like 60? How old is David? Anyway, so there's some things. It's a confusing phrase, but I know why the commentator, the writer, the man who wrote this down, the Holy Spirit was inspired by the Holy Spirit. But I know why the commentator wrote this down. It's because 40 years is a sign of completeness. And Absalom's rebellion, his preparations for his rebellion were complete. But where does the 40 years go? It's not 40 years of Absalom's plotting. Clearly, that doesn't make any sense at all. So it's clearly not that. It's clearly not 40 years of David's being king. in Israel, because that would be the end of David's reign. And there's quite a bit more of David to come. So it's not 40 years of that. So perhaps the best answer we can get for the 40 years, it was perhaps 40 years from the time when David became king in Hebron. King, remember he's in Hebron for seven years as king, and then he was king in Israel after that. So perhaps, or perhaps it was a different time, but the reason why it's there is because Absalom's rebellion was now complete. And we see his pretense, which was 100% a lie. And then we see Absalom's plot. He takes great care. That's point 1B in your outline. Absalom takes some great care in his planning. He sends men throughout Israel, it says in verse, verse, chapter 15, verse 10. It says, Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel. And there was a cue they had to hear. They had to hear the sound of the trumpet. So these men were spaced, I suppose, however far a sound of a trumpet will carry. Now, I used to play in the marching band. I played the trumpet. But I know that the trumpet carries Quite a distance, so a mile, two miles. But every couple of miles, Absalom had men with trumpets. They'd blow it and they'd sound the next trumpet, sound the next trumpet, just like setting off fires, signal fires or something like that. Absalom was gonna send word, it was like a text message, all right? Throughout all Israel, except there's just a tits bit slower, and all Israel was going to rise up together against David. That was his plot. Absalom Reyneth was going to be the signal at the sound of the trumpet. Some would no doubt conclude that David was dead. I mean, you know, they didn't have the instant messaging that we have, even though some of it's fake news, but they didn't have that in their time, so some would, perhaps many would, assume that David, the king, he'd been ill for some time, he'd been out of sight, perhaps he was dead, and Absalom now was king. Others would think, well, maybe David had abdicated, David had stepped down. The result would be that many would rally behind Absalom, unaware that David still reigned, Unaware, totally unaware. This was a coup, you see, not a coronation. A coup and not a coronation. And these 200 leading men give this appearance of legitimacy. And the lesson here is clear. The lesson's clear for us. This lesson's from the life of David. In matters of state, which is a particularly applicable time to say that, in matters of state as well as matters of religion, let's take time to try the spirits. In other words, don't believe Everything you're told. Don't believe everything you've read. Take time to check it out. See, Absalom sends his message out, Absalom reigneth, but hey, where'd this message come from? And what's behind it? And is it really true that David has abdicated or David the king is dead? That's Absalom's plot. He's gonna act quickly before people have a chance to find out the truth. It says, verse, Absalom's person, point one C in your outline, says in verse 12, and Absalom sent for Ahithopel, the Gileanite, David's counselor from his city, even from Gilath, where he offered sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong for the people increased continually with Absalom, his person. From the shadows, emerges this person, Ahithopel, the Gilanite. As the narration makes clear, this is the brains behind Absalom's strategy. It says, Absalom sent for Ahithopel. In other words, Ahithopel is just waiting for the message. He's waiting for the message. He's already in the plot, Ahithopel. Absalom's not requesting him to join. Ahithopel's just simply waiting for the message from Absalom out of the shadows, comes to brains. David's very guide, David's counselor, David's friend, that's Ahithopel, a man of a sharp mind and a clear head. Ahithopel was the thinker. No doubt, in my mind, Ahithopel is behind Much of Absalom's rebellion, much of the planning that went behind, much of the cunning deceit that Absalom is using against David, playing David against his own hopes and his own wishes, is Ahithopel's thinking, Ahithopel's planning. The fact that Absalom is able to send for him indicates that Ahithopel's been waiting for this moment. But who was Ahithopel? We have to do a little detective work here to find this out. But in 2 Samuel 16, one chapter over, verse 23, it records that the counsel of Ahithopel was, quote, as if a man had inquired at the oracle of God. So was all the counsel of Ahithopel, both with David and with Absalom, Ahithopel. His counsel was as if a man had inquired at the oracles of God. Ahithopel was a man who was able to see clearly through the issues and make decisions, carefully thought out decisions, a man of intellect, a man of much thinking. Previously, he had been David's trusted advisor, but apparently, He's no longer in David's court because Ahithopel has to send from him from Gila, which is his hometown. So Ahithopel no longer is in David's court, but he seems to be the chief instrument in this conspiracy. Perhaps it appears he's a prime reason why so many turned against David because Ahithopel was with Absalom. I said, well, if Hithepel has cast his vote for Absalom, then I'm in. I'm in. Hithepel had said his lot with Absalom. His departure from David and his arrival with Absalom was like a double blow for David. So why was Ahithophel so willing and ready to join this rebellion and coup? Well, if you turn back to 1 Samuel chapter 23, and do that just for a second, 2 Samuel chapter 23, in verse 34, it says, it's a list of David's mighty men, the men that were his inner guards, so to speak. And it says in verse 34, At the end of the verse, it says, Elam, Eliam, the son of Ahithopel, the Gileanite. Well, there is Ahithopel's son. Ahithopel has a son named Eliam, and he's one of David's mighty men, okay? Because it's Ahithopel the Gileanite, so it's clearly the same Ahithopel. But if you scroll down to verse 39 of the same scroll, If you have a Bible, just move your finger down to verse 39. It says, the last of David's mighty men that's named is Uriah, the Hittite, 30 and 7 in all. So Eliam, Ahithopel's son, is one of David's mighty men, along with Uriah, the husband of Bathsheba. And if we turn back to 2 Samuel chapter 11, turn back to chapter 11, Verse three, it says, this is where David falls into his sin with Bathsheba. David sent and inquired after the woman, and one, one of his servants said, is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? The daughter of Eliam, well, that's Ahithopel's son. Eliam is one of David's mighty men, Ahithopel's son, and his daughter is Bathsheba. So that makes Bathsheba Ahithopel's granddaughter, Bathsheba. So there's a relation here that's actually pretty close. And Uriah was, by marriage, Ahithopel's grandson, grandson by marriage. And Uriah And Eliam, Ahithopel's son, no doubt knew each other. I mean, there's only 37 of David's mighty men, so they knew each other by name. I mean, Eliam is older than Uriah because Uriah marries Eliam's daughter, but there's clearly a connection there. Ahithopel's son, a fellow officer with Uriah the Hittite, whom David had murdered. Wow. So we can see a motive that's beginning to emerge. David's familiar friend, as he calls Ahithopel in Psalm 41, had now become his deadliest foe, seeking to avenge the dishonor that David had brought upon Ahithopel's house by the murder of his grandson by marriage and the taking of his granddaughter for his own, is what David had done. David's retreat, Absalom's rebellion, David's retreat, back to 2 Samuel chapter 15, and then picking up in verse 13, there came, 2 Samuel chapter 15, in verse 13, And there came a messenger to David, saying, The hearts of the men of Israel are after Absalom. And David said unto all his servants that were with him at Jerusalem, Arise, let us flee, for we shall not else escape from Absalom. Make speed to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly, and bring evil upon us, and smite the city with the edge of the sword. We see David's retreat. You see his haste. You can hear his haste right there in verse 14, his haste. David, he receives this alarming news. Absalom was not going to offer, complete his vow to the Lord. Absalom had lied. My son, David had, you know, David's hopes were like sky high for Absalom. And now they've gone to the depths. I mean, boy, what a, you know, it's a shock, just a shock. Absalom is leading a rebellion. What, what, what? I can't believe it. He just went to make his vows to the Lord. Absalom, the son he loved, the son that David was so indulgent toward, the son he hoped had returned to the Lord, was now in open rebellion, and he was daring to challenge his father. with arms. Worse yet, he's stolen the hearts of all of Israel. That's when the message came, the hearts of the men of Israel are after Absalom. As if David already didn't know this from all the grumbling that was taking place on every side. What a blow. Unexpected. Just when things were looking up, so David thought. David makes a very quick an uncharacteristic decision. Now David was used to making quick decisions. That's not the uncharacteristic part. The uncharacteristic part is David decides to flee. Flee rather than fight. What's going on, David? David's been a fighter from youth. He's always fought his battles. He's always won. And so why is David so quick to flee? Why this decision? Well, tactically, it appears that this was a good decision to make because the rebellion is all around. It's inside of Jerusalem already. You can't exactly shut the gates and keep the rebellion out. There's rebels on every side, you know, vipers. I mean, who's on Absalom's side? You know, you're looking out and you think, well, maybe everybody. Maybe everybody. So tactically, it does not appear that Jerusalem was well fortified as it was later from some of the later kings. And so it was not that David could have held out the city, because there's traitors within, traitors without. So tactically, it seems like that was a good decision to do, to flee. But spiritually, it's the main reason David made this decision. It appears David is now quick. to submit to what he perceives to be the divine rod of chastening. And that's just sealed like 100% when he hears that Ahithopel has joined the rebellion in a few verses. David is sure now this is from the Lord. And to resist the Lord would be to resist God himself. So David says he bows his head and accepts the consequences of his wrongdoing. It's been some 10, 11 years in the past. When he sinned with Bathsheba, he ordered Uriah's death. But David is thinking in his heart, no doubt, God's Word is being fulfilled. It's not for me to contend against God's Word. God's righteous, and I submit myself unto Him. This is a beautiful spirit, a beautiful attitude. David for 10 years has seemingly been away from the Lord to one degree or another. But now David has been shocked back into coming back to the Lord. It took quite a shock in the end. It's like when they have to put those paddles on you and give you the electric jolt. That's kind of what David had. David's attitude, his decision to flee is not an attitude of defeat. or resignation, it's the attitude of submission. David is submitted to the Lord's will. We see his helpers, verse 2, point 2B on your outline, point 2B, it says, And David said unto all, let's see, verse 14. And David said unto all the servants that were with him at Jerusalem, sorry, let's skip down to 15. And the king's servants said unto the king, behold, thy servants are ready to do whatsoever whatsoever my lord the king shall appoint. And the king went forth and all his household after him. And the king left 10 women which were concubines to keep the house. And the king went forth and all the people after him and tarried in a place that was far off. So we see David's helpers. The king's servants, praise the Lord. The king's servants were ready and willing to go with the king. They said, we're not with Absalom. We're with you, O king. We'll go with you. We'll accompany you. The king's servants. Absalom stole the hearts of many, but he hadn't stolen the hearts of all. Amen? Absalom hadn't stolen the hearts of all. Notice the hearts of those that Absalom had not stolen. were those closest to the king. There's a lesson there for us as believers. You see, Absalom presented no attractions to those who were closest to the king. No attractions. So Satan will not have any attractions to you. if you're close to the king. Stick close to the Lord Jesus Christ, and he won't be led astray. He won't be taken captive by Satan to do his will as Absalom's followers were. Also note that adversity here revealed who David's true friends were. It exposed Absalom's hypocrisy, adversity did, and it revealed David's true friends. And David takes care here to look after his family. He had quite a few children. Solomon was like 10 years old. And David knew Solomon was chosen to be king. He shouldn't have been coddling Absalom. He knew the Lord had chosen Solomon to accompany the king, to be king in his place one day. But Solomon is only 10 years old. He can't be king yet. So David takes care of his family, but he leaves these 10 concubines to keep house. keep things dusted, keep the rooms clean. He supposed, David supposes, they'll be safe from the ravages of war. He little knows that his own decision, a free decision David made, it seemed like a right thing to do at the time. And God would use that to fulfill his word. And these 10 women that David leaves behind would be abused and raped publicly by Absalom. It fulfills God's word. But note that God is not the author of sin. God did not decide to leave these 10 women behind. David decided that. God did not order Absalom to rape them. Absalom made his decision. It was Absalom's decision. It was Absalom's sin alone. Nevertheless, God used David's actions as part of his chastisement. He had announced in chapter 12, 2 Samuel, thy neighbor shall be with thy wives in the sight of the sun. Thou did it secretly with Bathsheba, but I will do this thing before all Israel. And so, solemnly, and we see God's word being fulfilled here, even as David makes this decision. And finally, a number of loyal supporters are announced, are listed. It said, verse 18, and all the servants passed on beside him, and all the Cherethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the Gitanites, 600 men, which came after him from Gath, passed on before the king. These men, these helpers, all the Cherethites, all the Pelethites, all the Gedites, these were no fair weather friends of David's. They would be with David in the storm. They would not desert David in the storm. Fiercely loyal, this is believed to be David's inner guard. There's not a single defector. amongst them. Who were these people? We don't exactly know. This inner guard, the Cherethites, the Pelethites, the Gittites, but we know that Gittites were Philistines. Gittites were Philistines, and perhaps Soteritites and Apellitites were Philistines either, Philistine converts, Philistine converts to Judaism. It says, verse 19, then said the king to I, the Gittite, apparently the leader of the Gittites, wherefore go with thou also with us, return to thy place and abide with the king, for thou art a stranger. and also in exile. Again, leading more evidence to the fact these are Philistines. Whereas thou camest but yesterday, David says, should I this day make thee go up and down with us? Seeing I go, whither I may? Return thou, says David, and take back thy brethren. Mercy and truth Be with thee. And then that phrase, mercy and truth, indicates that these were, in fact, believers in the Lord. These were converts to Judaism out of the Philistines. And David, in his humility, he encourages them to go back. You saw his haste, his helpers, but David's humility. And we see this beautiful picture of this penitent soul, this David. who realizes injustice he's being afflicted. And now he's looking out for his people, for his people, for his inner guard. He says, this is risky. You're not even Hebrews. Go back and return and be safe. From a spiritual viewpoint, there's much to be pondered here. David here is humbly bowing to God's rod. Submissively, he receives the blow. He alone had sinned. He alone had provoked God's anger. Therefore, he counsels the Gittites to depart in a lowly spirit. David also, in a few verses, sends the ark back to Jerusalem as a symbol of God's presence. And David's chief joy, he says, no, the ark needs to go back to Jerusalem, where it will be safe. Take the ark back. Now, Japheth's chief thought is not for himself. I mean, if he had the ark, that was perceived by some to be a symbol of God's presence and God's power. So if you had the, remember in the days of Saul, they tried to take the ark forth into battle, and that didn't work out so well. So the ark was perceived to be a symbol of God's power. David could have made use of that, perhaps, but David sends it back. His chief thought is for the safety and the welfare of those around him. But the Gittites refused to leave, refused to leave David. They're being affected not only by David's person, but also David's profession. They state their desire to serve the Lord of heaven and earth. Ittai answers, verse 21, answers the king. It says, as the Lord liveth, and as my Lord, as the Lord, as the Lord God liveth, and as my Lord, lowercase l, as my Lord the King liveth, surely in what place my Lord the King shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be. And David said to Ittai, go and pass over. And Ittai the Gedite passed over, and all the men and all the little ones that were with him. And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over. The king also himself passed over the brook Kidron, and all the people passed over toward the way of the wilderness. We see the people weeping. All the country wept. It says as David left, at least all those who weren't part of the rebellion, they wept with a loud voice as this aged king, 60 years old perhaps, and his relatively small band followers, small group of followers, make their way down the hill from the palace in Jerusalem, down to the Brook Kidron. It's rather a steep hill. Sue and I were there some years ago in our tourist bus, and we went down this steep hill. It kind of zigzagged along the side of the hill, down to the Brook Kidron, which is at the bottom. And it used to be deeper than it is nowadays because it's been filled in with rubble and trash because the Brook Kidron is literally a sewage, at least in David's day, it was a sewage stream flowing out there and David's going down in his humility down to the lowliest, stinkiest place. around Jerusalem as he makes his way out of Jerusalem, down this hill to the Brook Kidron, and then back up to the Mount of Olives, which we'll look at in our next lesson. All the country weeps behind David, and their weeping is recorded in scripture. God takes our Lord, another lesson from the life of David, takes note of genuine tears shed for a godly cause. You know, he shed a few tears in a prayer for a loved one, for a missionary, for the church, just for a state of our spirituality, of our nation. God takes note. of each of those tears. All the country wept with a loud voice. The brook Kidron is also, the word Kidron means black, a dank creek, an ugly, unclean place David has to go down to. It's the same brook, Kidron, that our Lord and Savior crossed. on his way to Gethsemane. As he crossed the Brook Kidron, he went up to the Mount of Olives to pray on that night before he was taken by the Roman soldiers. It was the beginning of our Lord's humiliating journey to the cross. It's the beginning of David's humiliating journey out of Jerusalem. Christ went forth. despised, a despised and rejected king. So David leaves Jerusalem, despised by many and rejected king by many. Accompanied by a small band of faithful followers, our Lord was, and so was David. David's own familiar friend, Ahithopel, had betrayed him. And so our Lord was betrayed by his familiar friend, Judas. Although the multitudes Opposed, David. Some sympathized. and some wept. Although the multitudes opposed our Lord, some sympathized and some wept. David commands the Levites to return the ark. In the next few verses, David recognizes here that everything now, everything depends on the unmerited favor of the Lord. Everything depends on the unmerited favor of the Lord. Verse 25, David says, And the king said to Zadok, carry back the ark of God into the city. If I shall find favor in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me again and show me both it and his habitation. But if he thus say, I have no delight in thee, this is the Lord speaking, behold, here am I, says David, let him do to me as seemeth good unto him. David's total submission to the Lord. I say David is back. Amen. Now, not back as king, he's fleeing in his flight, but spiritually speaking, David, the David we love, the David we knew, know, and And the man after God's own heart is back spiritually. He's making right decisions. He's submitting himself to the Lord, and he's acting in the Lord's will here in his flight out of Jerusalem. And next week, I suppose I should say in two weeks, Lord willing, we have a guest speaker next week. but a surprise speaker. But in two weeks we'll return to this same passage and look at David's descent into Kidron and then his ascent up the Mount of Olives as we finish out this chapter. Let's look to the Lord