Amen hope y'all are ready for some heavy lifting tonight Say we got a got a lot to go over I'm gonna try my best not to just go through as fast as the caffeine can carry me what the end of the night y'all might be say preacher you need to switch to decaf and I'm gonna say no I Drink coffee for a reason that is the purpose of it and I add so much stuff that it tastes really good and it's gonna just keep me running running on coffee and Jesus tonight, so that's a more Jesus than coffee, because coffee will fade, Jesus won't. Got your Bibles tonight? If you would turn to 1 Kings 2. 1 Kings 2 it's going to start off sounding pretty familiar because I mentioned a couple of weeks ago whenever I preached out of 1 Kings 2 that I was going there for a different sermon and I found one along the way and I already preached that one to you. And So tonight I went with intent back to 1 Kings 2 and now I get to preach to you the one that I had intended on preaching now because the Lord said this is the one for tonight. But don't worry this sermon is going to be completely different than the last one. If you remember this is, we're reading this, this is right before King David dies. And in 1 Kings 2 we're going to start in verse 1 we'll go ahead and read through all of it here. 1 Kings 2, verse 1, the Bible says, keep the charge of the Lord thy God to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, and His commandments, and His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself. that the Lord may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee, said he, a man on the throne of Israel. Moreover, Thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruah did to me, and what he did to the two captains of the host of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet. Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his whore head go down to the grave in peace." Whore there H-A-O-R, that means white, okay? His whore head go down to the grave in peace. Verse 7, "'But show kindness unto the sons of Barzillai, the Gileadite, and let them be of those that eat at thy table. For so they came to me when I fled because of Absalom thy brother. And behold, thou hast with thee Shimei, the son of Gerah, a Benjaminite, of Behurim, which cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim. But he came down to meet me at Jordan, and I swear to him by the Lord, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword. Now therefore, Hold him not guiltless, for thou art a wise man and knowest what thou oughtest to do unto him. But his forehead bring thou down to the grave with blood. So David slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David. Let's pray. Amen. So like I mentioned before, right here, right before David dies, he's instructing Solomon on what to do concerning three men. Okay, remember the Bible says that David is a man after God's own heart. The Bible mentions that twice. And remember, we went over this before, that the heart is not only the seed of emotions, but it's also the seed of your thoughts. It mentions several times in the Bible that somebody ponders something in their heart. Whenever Mary was visited by the wise men and everything, it says Mary pondered these things in her heart. Okay, the heart is a place of pondering. It's a place for us to understand things. And it is also where our sense of justice comes from, where our sense of judgment, our sense of righteousness, it comes from our heart. And the fact that David is a man after God's own heart, I believe that through looking through this passage and by seeing what David is imparting to his son right before he dies, I think there are things in here that reveal to us the heart of God. Because David is a man after God's own heart. So I think it's very important and it's very significant that right before David dies, he not only charges his son with three things, we went over that last time, that was a different message, but he also lists these three men. that treated him in different ways. We're going to go over these men. That's why I made this cheat sheet up here to kind of help you keep the name straight. As we read through it, if you say, man, who in the world is this? And then we say somebody else and how they're related to this one and their relation with these different ones, it can get all sorts of jumbled up. And it wasn't until this last time I was reading through Chronicles and Kings that some of these names started sticking in my head. And I said, whoa, hold on. This is the same guy that did this. Wait, wait a minute. He's the one that did that. Oh, this is what he's talking about. And then it culminates here in First Kings chapter two. And all of it came together. And it's like the Lord turned on a light bulb, kind of like this one that just finally went on again, at least halfway, that the Lord just kind of shows us something out of the word of God. And I go, whoa, that's really good. So like I said, I'm gonna try to go through this at a steady pace and not my excited pace tonight, and I wanna see what the Lord has for us. David's way of thinking, especially in his latter years, is very similar to God's way of thinking. And it's my prayer that by studying what David said about these three men, we will better be able to understand God's way of thinking regarding men like these three that are mentioned. So on each one of those, I wanna do three things on each one of these men and these occurrences. First, I wanna see what they did. Who are these men? Why are they even worth mentioning? What did they do that David would talk about them to Solomon right before he died? So what did these men do? How did David respond to them when they did it during his lifetime, earlier in his lifetime when that happened? And the third thing, what they deserve now from his son Solomon. That's what he charges them to do. So we're gonna look at those three things on these three men. But to do that, I want us to understand it. I want us to be able to get it. So we're gonna have to look through a lot of scripture and see what the Bible says about these men so that we understand. So I hope you do your stretches. I hope you got your nap tonight. And if not, we'll put a pot of coffee on and maybe we'll all be okay and we'll just go. All right? The first one I want to look at is Joab. I say, who is Joab? I got him down here. I put David's general. He is the captain of Israel at this time, captain of the host of Israel at this time. He is a leader of their army. And just from my understanding, I put general for that. That's probably not the accurate military description of him. But if it makes sense to me, hopefully it makes sense to some of you. But what did Joab do? Look at 1 Kings 2, verse 5. Moreover thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zerua did to me, at what he did to the two captains of the host of Israel, under Abner the son of Ner, and under Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet." David gives us a little summary here of what Joab did. He said, Joab did something to three people. He did something unto me, David, king, He did something unto Abner, the son of Ner, and unto Amasa, the son of Jether. So let's look and see what Joab did to each one of these. Let's look at what Joab did to Abner. Keep a place here, we'll reference this often tonight, 1 Kings 2, but turn with me, if you will, to 2 Samuel 3. That's to your left, just one book. 2 Samuel 3. And let's see what Joab did to Abner. Abner, he was the captain in Israel under King Saul. I put Saul up here. He was the wicked king before David. And Abner is Saul's general. So he's the captain in Israel under King Saul. Abner tried to make Saul's son king instead of David. Okay, he tried to push, I think Ish-bosheth was his name, he tried to push him into being king instead of David. And when Saul's son offended Abner, he lobbied to get David to be king. Abner ends up killing Joab's brother, and we pick it up to see what Joab does to Abner here in 2 Samuel 3, once I get there. 2 Samuel 3, verse 22. 2 Samuel 3, verse 22. The Bible says, And behold, the servants of David and Joab came from pursuing a troop, and brought in a great spoil with them. But Abner was not with David in Hebron, for he had sent him away, and he was gone in peace. This is when Abner has turned over to David's side, and he's helping Israel to get behind David. Verse 24, Then Joab came to the king, and said, What hast thou done? Behold, Abner came unto thee. Why is it that thou hast sent him away, and he is quite gone? Thou knowest Abner the son of Ner, that he came to deceive thee, and to know thy goings out, and thy coming in, and to know all that thou doest. And when Joab was come out from David, he sent messengers after Abner, which brought him again from the well of Syrah. But David knew it not." Joab is going behind David's back. verse 27, And when Abner was returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gate to speak with him quietly, and smote him there under the fifth rib, that he died for the blood of Asahel his brother. So Abner gets killed by Joab because Abner killed Joab's brother. Let's see how David responds at this time when it happens that Joab kills Abner. 2 Samuel 3, 28. And after when David heard it, because it happened behind his back, he said, I and my kingdom are guiltless before the Lord forever from the blood of Abner the son of Ner. Let it rest on the head of Joab and on his father's house, and let them not fail from the father of Joab, one that hath an issue, or that is a leper, or that leaneth on a staff, or that falleth on the sword, or that lacketh bread." David didn't want anything good to happen to any of Joab's kids, or his descendants, or his whole family. Verse 30, so Joab and Abishai his brother slew Abner, because he had slain their brother Asahel at Gibeon in the battle. David strongly disapproves of Joab's actions, but he leaves vengeance up to God. He says, this is what Joab deserves. Joab deserves that anybody in his father's house is a leopard or a starving or all these different things are happening to him. This is what Joab deserves because he went behind my back. He killed Abner in a time of peace. This is what he deserves, but I'm leaving it up to God to deal with him. So David doesn't kill Joab. We say, what did Joab do to Amasa? Who is Amasa? Now, before we get into Amasa, I want you to understand that here we're in 2 Samuel 3. We're about to turn to 2 Samuel 19. That's where we're going to be next, is we're going to be in chapter 19. But in chapter 15, 16, and 17, an important thing happens. That's whenever David's son, Absalom, He comes to power because he turns Israel's heart against David and he steals their heart. He basically makes him, he gets enough of Israel back behind him that he pushes David out of power. David flees for his life, him and a lot of people that still backed him up. They're on the run. Absalom is now king for a time. what we are reading from here on happens after that. Ok, because that Absalom coming to power, deceiving Israel, stealing their heart, all that happens in 15, 16, and 17. But we are here in chapter 19, and Amasa who we are dealing with now, who Joab also killed. Amasa is captain of Israel under Absalom. Absalom is now the king. Now Amasa is in Joab's seat. There's been a shift in power, right? It's kind of like whenever a new president gets in, his cabinet, the cabinet of the old president's not good anymore. They're not on his side. They're not in his pocket and don't have his best interest in heart. So there's a whole cabinet change. That's what's happening here. Mesa gets promoted to Joab's position. For some reason, Joab didn't like that. Let's see, whenever David comes back into power, though, Amasa gets to keep Joab's position. Okay, Absalom's king right now, David's on the run. Absalom says, Amasa, you're my guy now, you're gonna be the general. Absalom gets killed, David comes back to power, and David says, Amasa, you're my guy now, you're gonna be in Joab's spot. Look at 2 Samuel 19, verse 13. 2 Samuel 19, 13. And say ye to Emesa, this is David speaking, and say ye to Emesa, art thou not of my bone and of my flesh? God do so to me, and more also, if thou be not captain of the host before me continually in the room of Joab. David condones Emesa being there. He says, you're a pretty good leader. We're all Jews anyway. We're good. Why don't you go ahead and stay there? But look at what happens. David sends Emesa out on a mission. And here's what happens. 2 Samuel 20. 2 Samuel 20, verse 8. 2 Samuel 20, verse 8. When they were at the great stone, which is in Gibeon, Amasa went before them, and Joab's garment that had been put on was girded unto him, and upon it a girdle with a sword fastened into his loins in the sheath thereof, and as he went forth, it fell out. And Joab said to Amasa, Art thou in health, my brother? And Joab took Amasa by the beard with the right hand to kiss him. But Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab's hand, so he smote him therewith in the fifth rib, and shed out his bowels to the ground, and stuck him not again, and he died. So Joab and Abishai his brother pursued after Sheba the son of Bichri. David sends a mace. He says, you're my captain now. You're my go-to guy. He sends him out to go after this guy from Bickery that we just read about. I'm missing it here. Sheba, the son of Bickery, he sends about to get him. Joab, he's still in some sort of a leadership position. He's going out, got some guys with him. And yet again, Joab does it secretly, does it quietly. Come here, buddy. We're on the same side. And then he pulls out that sword, that dagger, and he fifth-ribs them again, right? I mean, they go with the kids on the fifth-rib stuff. They think anybody dies, it happens because of the fifth rib now. But Joab ends up killing Amasa because of this. Joab kills another captain in Israel due to subtlety. It's interesting that Joab killed Abner and Amasa, and they were both captains in Israel. Problem is, they took Joab's spot. Joab didn't like the competition. He said, I need to move up the chain here. Amesa, he took my job. He's got an issue. Joab's got an issue with Amesa. Question is, what does David do to Joab now? Nothing. As a matter of fact, Joab gets his old job back. Joab gets to be David's general yet again. Look at 2 Samuel 20, verse 23. 2 Samuel 20, verse 23. Now Joab was over all the host of Israel and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherithites and over the Pelethites. So now Joab He's the lone general. He's the only one left. He's the captain of the host in Israel right now. Okay, he got his job back. He got it back by subtlety. Joab's sneaky ways earn him rewards, prosperity, and position by the world's standards without incurring the wrath of David. But when David's son comes into power, David gives him this command concerning Joab. Turn back to 1 Kings 2. This is what David tells Solomon to do concerning Joab because of these events that we just went over. 1 Kings 2 verse 6. This is what David tells Solomon. Do therefore according to thy wisdom and let not his whore head go down to the grave in peace. David's telling Solomon, I've been dealing with Joab for a while now. I have not brought him to destruction. I have not reaped the vengeance in and of myself. But Solomon, you're going to be the guy in charge, and this is what I expect you to do to Joab. Don't let him die in peace. Don't let his whorehead go down to the grave in peace. He's a wicked man. He deserves things done to him. He deserves judgment and justice. He says, son, make sure Joab gets what's coming to him. Because punishment and wrath is to be carried out by David's son. The second guy we're talking about, we talked about Joab. He was the first one mentioned. Let's talk about Barzillai. And like my wife mentioned, he is not a type of pasta. But maybe he made some good pasta, I don't know. Barzillai, 1 Kings 2 verse 7, we're right there. David tells Solomon, his son, this concerning Barzillai. He said, but show kindness unto the sons of Barzillai, the Gileadite, and let them be of those that eat at thy table. For so they came to me when I fled because of Absalom thy brother. Well, let's look at what Barzillai did. Okay, why David is fleeing due to Absalom coming to power in 2 Samuel 17. Let's see what Barzillai did. 2 Samuel 17, you get to learn what a lot of these names do. These guys are interesting and hopefully we're getting it to where it's understandable enough to maybe get something out of it. 2 Samuel chapter 17, look at verse 27. David's on the run, he's leaving Jerusalem, he's no longer going to be there on his throne. And he meets up with Barzillai in Mahanaim here in verse 27 of 2 Samuel 17. 2 Samuel 17, 27. And it came to pass, when David was come to Mahanaim, that Shobi the son of Nahash of Rabbath of the children of Ammon, and Maker the son of Amiel of Lodabar, and Barzillai the Gileadite of Ragalam, What did they do? They brought beds, and basins, and earthen vessels, and wheat, and barley, and flour, and parched corn, and beans, and lentils, and parched pulse, and honey, and butter, and sheep, and cheese of kind for David and for the people that were with him to eat. For they said, the people is hungry, and weary, and thirsty in the wilderness. Barzillai is one of the guys that brought David supplies. He knew David was getting kicked out. He's on the run. He's leaving Jerusalem. He's no longer going to be king for the time. Barzillai and a couple other fellas, they meet up with him and they provide David and all his band with him, all these different food and provision and beds and all this stuff. They're trying to be a blessing to David. Even when he's no longer on the throne, even though he's off that throne, he's on the run. Someone wicked is on his seat right now. He's on the run and yet Barzillai, he's the one that wants to comfort and to help King David. How did David respond to this? Whenever he's coming back to the throne, whenever Absalom's dead and he's coming back, here's what David says, 2 Samuel chapter 19. 2 Samuel 19, verse 31. 2 Samuel 19, verse 31. And Barzillai the Gileadite came down from Moroghulim and went over Jordan with the king to conduct him over Jordan. He's seen his way back in. Verse 32, now Barzillai was a very aged man, even four score years old, he's 80, and he had provided the king of sustenance while he lay in Mahanaim, for he was a very great man. And the king said unto Barzillai, come thou over with me, and I will feed thee with me in Jerusalem. Barzillai said unto the king, How long have I to live, that I should go up with the king unto Jerusalem?" David's saying, you blessed me, you took care of me on my way out, I'm going back in, why don't you come with me? This is your retirement, you're 80 years old, why don't you come with me? You'll eat at my table, your worries are going to be over, why don't you just come on with me? But verse 34, and Barzillai said unto the king, How long have I to live? I'm 80 years old. that I should go up with the King unto Jerusalem? I am this day fourscore years old, and can I discern between good and evil? Can thy servant taste what I eat or what I drink? Can I hear any more the voice of singing men and singing women? Wherefore then should thy servant be yet a burden unto my Lord the King? Thy servant will go a little way over Jordan with the King, should the king recompense it me with such a reward?" Let's see here, let's keep going. Verse 37, "'Let thy servant, I pray thee, turn back again, that I may die in my own city, and be buried by the grave of my father and of my mother. But behold thy servant Chimham, let him go over with my lord the king, and do to him what seemed good unto thee.'" Excuse me. And the Lord answered, Chimham shall go over with me, and I will do to him that which shall seem good unto thee, and whatsoever thou shalt require of me, that will I do for thee." So David tries to reward Barzillai for his goodness to him. Barzillai, he is 80 years old and he's afraid of being a burden to David. Still, whenever David's trying to bless him, Barzillai says, no, no, no, I'm just going to hold you back. I don't want to be a bother. You know, I mean, you can give that food to somebody else. You know, Barzillai is still thinking about David. He's still wondering, well, what's in David's best interest? What's gonna help him? I don't wanna be a burden to him. I still wanna bless him. He's going back to sit back on his throne, and Barzillai is still trying to be a blessing to David. That's a good friend. That's a good follower. That's somebody you want on your side. So what does David tell Solomon to do concerning Barzillai? 1 Kings 2. 1 Kings 2, verse seven. Remember Barzillai didn't go back with him and he's very old. He's probably dead at this point in time, whenever David's old and David's about to die. But David didn't forget about him. 1 Kings 2.7, But show kindness unto the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of those that eat at thy table. For so they came to me when I fled because of Absalom thy brother. David tells Solomon, you need to feed and you need to bless Barzillai's children because of the kindness he showed to me. Barzillai might already be dead and gone, it kinda sounds like he is. And David says, hey Solomon, I want you to deal with three guys, this one here in the middle, this guy Barzillai, you need to take care of his kids. They need to come and eat at your table, you need to bless them, because he was such a good friend to me. He was concerned about my well-being, he was concerned about my comfort, and he didn't ever want to be a burden to me. Then we got the third guy, Shimei. 1 Kings 2.8, we're right there, 1 Kings 2.8, and behold, thou hast with thee Shimei the son of Gerah. which cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim, but he came down to meet me at Jordan, and I swear to him by the Lord, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword." So whenever David's fleeing, he's going down to Mahanaim, that's where he met Barzillai, that's where Barzillai blessed him, but he also came across somebody else, he came across, where are we at, Shimei, And look at 2 Samuel Chapter 16. Let's see what Shimei did to David whenever David is leaving from the throne. 2 Samuel 16 verse 5. 2 Samuel 16 verse 5. And when King David came to Behurim, behold, thence came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gerah. He came forth and cursed still as he came." So he's a descendant of Saul. He doesn't like David. Verse 6, and he cast stones at David and at all the servants of King David and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left. And thus said Shimei when he cursed, come out, come out thou bloody man, and thou man of Belial. He's calling David a man of Belial. Verse eight, the Lord hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose stead thou hast reigned. And the Lord has delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son. And behold, thou art taken in thy mischief because thou art a bloody man. Shimei, he's the one saying, hey, you remember Saul, my relative? This is the one, you deserve what you're getting, David. You don't deserve to be on that throne. That's my daddy's throne. He should be the one on there. You're getting what you deserve. I'm glad Absalom kicked you off. I'm glad you're running. And he's chucking rocks at him. He's saying, you deserve this, David, you son of Belial. He's cussing at him. He's throwing rocks at him. And look what happens. Look how David responds at the time. Verse nine. Then said Abishai, the son of Zeruah, unto the king, why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over, I pray thee, and take off his head. That's gonna fix the problem. Let's see what does David say, verse 10. And the king says, what have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruah? So let him curse, because the Lord hath said unto him, curse David. Who shall then say, wherefore hast thou done so? And David said unto Abishai and all his servants, Behold my son, which came forth of my boughs, seeketh my life. How much more now may this Benjamite do it? Let him alone, and let him curse, for the Lord hath bidden him. David's saying, this guy's cursing me. Come on, David, why don't you let us go over there and kill this guy? He shouldn't be talking that way about you. You're the Lord's anointed. God put you in that position. I know your son Absalom's done this wicked thing, and you're on the run right now. This guy shouldn't be cursing you. Let's go and just pop his head right off, right? That's gonna fix it, right? How many Newtons is that? Plenty of pressure there. Absalom? I gotta give something to the kids every now and then. But Shimei, Shimei's got a different change of heart whenever he sees David come back to the throne. He's cussing right now, he's throwing rocks, David you deserve what you're getting, this is what you deserve, I mean Saul's the rightful king. But look what happens, 2 Samuel chapter 19, I'm sorry, yeah, yeah, 2 Samuel chapter 19, Look at verse 15. This is whenever David's returning to power. Good old Shimei shows back up, but he's singing a different song right now. His tone has changed a little bit. Let's see if you can tell the difference. 2 Samuel 19, verse 15. So the king returned and came to Jordan, and Judah came to Gilgal to go to meet the king to conduct the king over Jordan. He's coming back to the throne. And Shimei, The son of Gerah, a Benjamite, which was of Behurim, hastened and came down with the men of Judah to meet King David. Here comes Shimei. I wonder if he's going to be cursing this time. Verse 17, And there was a thousand men of Benjamin with him, and Zeba the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons, and his twenty servants with him. And they went over Jordan before the king. Now he's bringing all the house of Saul with him, right? And there went over a ferry boat to carry over the king's household, and to do that, do what he thought good. And Shimei, the son of Gerah, fell down before the king as he was come over Jordan, and said unto the king, let not my lord impute iniquity unto me, neither do thou remember that which thy servant did perversely the day that my lord the king went over Jerusalem, that the king should take it to his heart, For thy servant doth know that I have sinned. I mean, I recognize it now. Therefore, behold, I am come the first day of all the house of Joseph to come down to meet my Lord the King. So, I mean, he kind of changed his tone a little bit there, didn't he? David, you're coming back. I hope you don't hold the things that I said against you, you know, all the rocks that I threw at you. And, you know, Saul, you should really be king, David. I know I sinned then. Please don't, it's okay. It's okay, king. Let's see how David responds this time, right? Get him, let's still pop off his head. Let's see what happens. But Abishai, the same guy, But Abishai the son of Zeruah answered and said, shall not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the Lord's anointed? And David says, what have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruah, that ye should this day be adversaries unto me? Shall there any man be put to death this day in Israel? For do not I know that I am this day king over Israel? Therefore the king said unto Shimei, thou shalt not die, And the king swear unto him. David had every right to kill Shimei. He's coming back into power. This is the guy that cursed him. This is the guy that chucked rocks at him. And now he's changing his tone. I'm sure it's sincere. No, it's not sincere. And Shimei, he's still there saying, his head's still in the wrong place. Let's take it off of there. And David says, no, I'm not going to do that. As a matter of fact, I promise that I'm not going to kill you. That's what David tells Shimei. Shimei's true colors were shown when he was cursing David and throwing stones. It wasn't until his neck was on the line that he gave David some lip service and said, oh, you know, I've sinned, you know, please don't hold it against me. But let's see what David expects Solomon to do with Shimei, 1 Kings 2. What does David instruct Solomon? to do to Shimei because of all this. 1 Kings 2, 9. Yeah, verse 9, Now therefore hold him not guiltless, for thou art a wise man, and knowest what thou oughtest to do unto him. But his whorehead bring thou down to the grave with blood. David tells Solomon, I want you to kill Shimei. It's time you bring him down to the grave with blood. That's all introduction. I'm ready for the message now. Y'all ready? David acts a lot like God the Father when dealing with these three men. David, like God, is long-suffering, but he is not ever suffering. There's a time that David puts up with these two bad guys, okay, we're talking about Joab and Shimei. He deals with them. He doesn't pour wrath upon them. He doesn't use his kingly power to kill them at the time. He doesn't strike instant vengeance. He allows them to live. He is long-suffering, but there comes a time that judgment's going to be cast on these people. God has to deal with Joabs. Joabs are people today that they seem righteous, but they serve the king for worldly gain. They will kill to get ahead in this life. Somebody stands in their way of a promotion or money or status, they will kill to get what they desire. They trust in their popularity and in their position and in their prosperity as a sign of God's blessing or acceptance on their wicked ways. That's what Joab said. He said, hey, I killed Abner and Amasa. He said, I killed them both and I took back my spot. Now I'm over, I'm captain in Israel again, I'm the only captain, I'm the only one with this status now. And look, God must be with me because I'm back in my spot. I'm way up high, I've got this prestige, I've got this position. And you know what God does? God lets them have that position for a long time. He lets them be prosperous. He lets them think that, oh, look, all this money, all this wealth, all this position that I've got, I'm okay with it. And God will let them do that. But when His Son comes to reign, that's when justice and judgment is going to be handed out. God deals with these people time and time and time again. He allows this wickedness to go on for a long time, but when His Son, Jesus Christ, comes to rule and reign, God the Father's gonna say, hey, you see these Joabs over here? Don't let them go unpunished. Don't let their whorehead go down to the grave in peace. There's justice that they deserve, there's wickedness, there's evil that is due their actions. And son, I want you to carry that out for me. I let them have the rest of this time up until my death that they could get right with me, and they never did. They never made it right. Son, it's your turn to let them have it. That's what he's doing with Joab. Look at, and the Lord says this. Keep your place here. Turn at Luke chapter 13. Luke chapter 13. coming a day when the Son is going to be on the throne. And these people that think they are so prosperous, that think they are so blessed by God, they are going to find out what God really thinks of them because of the action of His Son in that time. Luke 13, verse 24, Jesus speaking He says, "...strive to enter in at the straight gate. For many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in and shall not be able." when once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us. And he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are. Then shall ye begin to say, we have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are. Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth when ye shall see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God. and you yourselves thrust out. Joab says, I've got this good position. I'm tight with the king. I know I betrayed him. I know I've killed different people in peace times. I know that I've done all this bad stuff, but he hasn't punished me yet, so I'm good. It's okay. Oh, Solomon's coming to king. I'm good with you, Solomon, because I was tight with David. You know, I know I betrayed him and I killed these people, but he never punished me, so that means we're good, right, Solomon? Solomon's been directed to kill Joab. There's a lot of people out there today that think, oh, me and God, we're good because, I mean, I've got this position. I've got this prestige. I've got this prosperity. God's blessing me. At least I think it's God. So therefore, he's okay with my lifestyle. He's okay with me killing to get to the top. He's okay with all the wickedness that I do to get worldly monetary gain at this time. And they think that until The son's in charge. Then you're thrust out, and you're knocking at the door, Lord, Lord, let me in, Lord, you forgot, you shut the door here. And he goes, I don't know you. You're not mine. He cast him out. You know, whenever the son's on the throne, he does get to deal with some Barzilleis, though. God deals with Barzilleis today. Barzillaios, these are those who love God and they want to serve him without being rewarded on earth to do so. They say, I just want to be a blessing to God. He's my king. He's not on the throne right now. He's getting cursed at the same places I'm trying to bless him. People are casting stones at him, saying God is dead. God doesn't deserve this. God's not here. He's not real. He doesn't exist. It's all science and evolution and government and this, that, and the other. But there's still some Barcelais out there. Say, God, can I be a blessing to you? And God tries to bless them, and God does bless many of them. And he says, God, the blessing's good. The monetary gain, that's good. The position that you may have given me, that's good. But Lord, I don't want it to be a hindrance to you. I don't want to be a liability to you. I just want to be a blessing to you, Lord. Turn to Psalms chapter 24. Psalms chapter 24. I'm glad there's still some Barzillai's out there who love the Lord and don't serve Him for money. They don't serve Him to get rich or to get a title or to get a position. They just love the Lord. Psalms 24. Verse three, a Psalm of, guess who, David. Psalm 24, three. Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart. Who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord. and righteousness from the God of his salvation. David told Solomon, his son, to bless Barzillai's kids. He said, this man was a blessing to me. He helped sustain me. He helped provide for me. He was with me and those that came with me, me and my followers. He helped them out. I want you, Solomon, to make for sure you bless his kids. You realize Barzillai had no problem with Solomon being king? You say, how can you tell that? Because he had no problem with David being king. He loved David, therefore I'm sure he accepted the son. Those who know and love God, they have no problem accepting his son. God not only appreciates those who love him and accept his son, he blesses their children. He says, even after they're gone, they were such good servants to me, they cared so much for the things of God, I'm gonna bless their kids. Look at Psalms 103. Psalms 103, look at verse 17. You know there's blessings that come down to your kids whenever you decide to serve the Lord with a pure heart and just to love him because he's God. Psalms 103 verse 17. But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him and his righteousness unto children's children. God blesses you for following him. He'll bless you as much as he can right now, whether it's, it might be monetarily, it might not be, but there's blessings that gets passed on to your kids for your decision to obey and love and serve the Lord. At least God's got some bars of lay eyes nowadays because God still has to deal with some modern day shimmy eyes. Say shimmy eyes, who are those today? Shimmy eyes are those who curse God when things are going good for them and they think they're untouchable. Who's God? What do I need God for? What do I need church for? Why do I need this Jesus? Things are going good. Life's going real good. Yeah, except there's a problem because whenever things don't go good and they're in fear for their life, there's a change in power. They only come to God and they try to make up when their necks are on the line or when they need God's help. I mean, how many times have you heard godless, heathen people that you know they've got nothing to do with God and yet some tragedy befalls them and they say, can you pray for me? Weren't you taking the Lord's name in vain like 20 times yesterday? And I've invited you to church and you say, I don't need that junk, I don't believe in God, this, that, and the other. But now, now that your life's falling apart and these hard times are coming, now you wanna give God lip service? Well, hold on there, Shimei, which one is it? I mean, are you cursing God or now, oh, I'm sorry, I know I've, I didn't really mean that, God, can you spare my life? Better watch out for those shimmy eyes. But the thing is, God, just like David, God will allow people to curse him and to give him lip service, but when his son comes to power, God's gonna turn to Jesus Christ and say, this is the one that was cursing me. This is the one that, yeah, they, They said they believe in me, and they turn to me when things are going bad, when they thought they were dying, or when this was going on, or when that was going on. But God's gonna tell Jesus the same thing that David told Solomon. His whorehead bring thou down to the grave with blood. He's been cursing me. Okay, I'll allow it for a while. But when my son comes back, you're not gonna be cursing me anymore. Turn to Matthew 7. Matthew 7, look at verse 22, because Shimei, he did at least sound like he was trying to make it right with David to spare his life. There's people that do that with the Lord now. Matthew 7, verse 22. Let's do 21. Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. But he that doeth the will of my Father, which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then, While I profess unto them, I never knew you, depart from me, ye that work iniquity." Just because someone turns to God when they're in trouble doesn't mean anything. God knows their heart. The Bible says this, Galatians 6, 7 says, Be not deceived, God is not mocked. For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. God, just like David, he is long-suffering. He is not ever suffering. And he will put up with a lot of junk from people. He will put up with them cursing his name. He will put up with people being happy about the current situation of the world and how people hate God and how they're going against God. And God will just sit there, and He'll deal with all that. He'll let them do whatever they're doing, and you won't see hardly any punishment to them in this lifetime. Some of them seem to prosper the worst that they get. I mean, if you look at a list of the most rich people in America right now, you'll see a list of a lot of godless heathens that specifically go against God. And the world will seem to be like, well, God's been blessing them, or somebody's been blessing them. It works out pretty well for them. Yeah, that's because right now God is long-suffering. But when Jesus Christ comes back, when the Son is on the throne, all those people that have been cursing God, they are going to get what they deserve. Their best bet is to make things right with the Father before He commands His Son what to do with them. That's their hope. And I hope that I'm talking to a room full of Barzillai's. Those that just love God, you just want to serve him, just because he's been so good to you. Not because he's going to increase your bank account or prolong your health. You might still be poor. You might still have illness, hardship. You might still have it. But when Jesus Christ comes back, you'll get your reward. It'll be worth the wait.