off and all of us please take our Bibles turn to 2 Samuel chapter 4 and glad you're here tonight and we're back I'm sorry 2 Samuel chapter 5 we're back for study here life of David it's nice to string some of these Wednesday nights together and continue our study and our Bible study has been a bit brutal for the past fortnight we've had two brothers last two Wednesday nights and Two different sets that were involved in murders and so we've been studying those stories. We had Abner, captain of Israel murdered by Joab and it was kind of a blood feud because Abner in warfare had killed his brother but Joab and his brother murderer Abner and then Ishmael last week, king of Israel was murdered by two of his own military leaders, right? And so, they got to David and expected that David would reward them and to their shock and awe, he passed judgment upon them and took their life for their wicked deed. Now tonight, in contrast, we have a refreshing love story, all right? It's gonna be good to be refreshed tonight. It's not a romance. But it is a romance of God's people, Judah and the rest of Israel, all the other tribes have been separated for seven years as Judah came under David, Israel did not, and there's been a civil war that's been running for the last years up until this point. And so, tonight, they joined forces together under God's king, David. Now, Saul, when you think about King Saul, he was more of the people's king than God's king, even though God set him up. 1 Samuel 12, 13 says, Now, therefore, behold the king whom ye have chosen, whom ye have desired, and behold, the Lord hath set a king over you. Really, Saul was kind of what people expected about a king. He was big, he was tall, but he was also proud, right? and in pride he fell. When he was little, in his own eyes, then God made him king, but then in his pride, he was cast down. David, on the other hand, was God's king. He was a man after God's own heart, and once, Abel 16.1, when he was anointed, God said to Samuel, how long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill thine horn with oil and go, I will send thee to Jesse, the Bethlehemite, for I have provided me a king among his sons. And so, God had put David there. What's interesting to me, and I haven't said this out in commentaries, but I did note that you don't see Ishbosheth called a king. I don't think, it'd be interesting to go back and see if I'm right about that. I don't think so. I don't think like king Ishbosheth, but he was definitely a self-appointed man put in there by Abner and not a man that God had put in there. 15 years later, God is fulfilling his word to David, and really, more than that, 22 years later, 15 years later, he becomes king of Judah, 22 years later, he's become king of Israel. You know, a lot of times, we can get rushed seeking God's will. We know God's gonna do something. I mean, we've been, as a church, in that position of we've got the money, and no building, and waiting on God, knowing that God had a property for us, but not knowing what it was, I mean, sometimes there's things like that, that God has worked in our heart about, we really believe it's of God, and we're excited about it, that God's gonna do it, and I can think of different times for us as a family like that, when God called us to Scotland, but then it was more years than we wanted until we got here, and it's often the way it is. God told Abraham that he'd be a father of many nations, and then he's waiting, waiting, waiting, 25 years later, Isaac is born. He got impatient, and we know Hagar had a son, Ishmael, and that was the son of the flesh, because Abraham started to doubt God, and Sarah said, take my handmaid, and he did, but God had a plan that would happen in his time. Joseph was sold into slavery. He was put into prison, and then eventually, he became what he knew God would have him to be, as that ruler that he'd had the dreams about. Sadly, he told those dreams and boasted about those dreams, and some of the calamity that came, though it was in God's will, was that idea. Joseph was like, hey, I know this is gonna happen, but it was in God's timing, and he had to go through it before he got there. Moses knew that God had raised him up to lead his people Israel. He thought other people wouldn't know it. Of course, he's got the 40 years as a shepherd before God brings him back as a deliverer for his people. And so, God's timing's perfect. You know, tonight we see the fulfillment of that. David, for 22 years, I mean, it was over half his life ago that God anointed him king at 15. Finally, God's putting him into this position at 37 years of age, as king over all his people. And so let's pray, and then we'll jump into the story and look at some things here that we got tonight. Father, we thank you for the grace that you have. Thank you for a fun story tonight, or refreshing story after the difficulties of last events that have taken place, but it's part of the pageantry of how you worked to bring David into the position that he's in. And though you don't sanction sin, you're not surprised by sin. Judas betrayed the Lord Jesus Christ and fulfilled your will. The Jews put Jesus Christ on trial and then cried out crucify him. And then the Romans physically abused the Lord Jesus Christ and people mocked him. And all that sin was taking place, but it was all part of your plan. And so even in the details of the story, the sad reality of men's failures and things like that, yet behind the scenes, Father David is coming to power over Judah in Israel. And Father, we thank you that all things in your timing. and that you make things perfect in your timing, and Father, that we can trust that your will about that. There might be some things that are touching the hearts of your people tonight that they think about and think like, oh, God's got this, and yet, Father, we can become impatient. So I just pray, may the Spirit of God remind us just to continue to wait upon you, trust you in your timing. But then tonight, other things that we'll look at in the story, just ask that the Spirit of God would feed us, we pray that you challenge us, to be everything that we can be for you father and may this time be a benefit bless the kids class as well thank you for each one that's here may the spirit of god speak to each heart and father i can't speak without your enablement i do ask that you help me as i speak and help us as we listen it's in christ and you pray yeah okay so the restoration of israel under king david is what we're looking at And so, as we look at Israel's posture as David's coming to power, it's a posture of humility. And they humble themselves and they submit to David. And so, verses one and two. Then came all the tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron, and spake, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh. Also in time passed, when Saul was king over us, thou wast he that led us out and brought us into Israel. And the Lord said to thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be a captain over Israel. Okay, so as they're speaking, they're reminding him, first of all, of their kinship, that they're relatives, they're related to David. And so a quick review of the Jewish people so that we can understand who we're talking about here, the Jews come from Abraham. And so Abraham had the promise that you're gonna have a son that we spoke about, and that son was Isaac. I had that taken from him by Jacob but God honored that and so the blessing came through Jacob and so Jacob had twelve boys and those boys become the leaders of the tribes and included with that would be Joseph's children as well and his boys. was not a foreigner, he was of the tribe of Judah. Okay, it's the tribe that Jesus would be part of the tribe of Judah, the son of David. And so all the other tribes comprise Israel. Later, when we talk about in the future, you know, you got the Northern Kingdom and the Southern Kingdom, Northern Kingdom Israel, Southern Kingdom Judah. When you speak about Judah in the future and King's ruling over Judah, Benjamin joins with Judah in the future. Okay, but right now, Benjamin's separate from Israel, or from Judah, from Judah. And so, Israel's out of sorts with David, but then they're gonna get reconciled at this point to King David. You guys, God's creation, as we think about our relationship with God, obviously, as we're born into this world, we're sinners, and our sin separates us from God. But when we are reconciled to God, we become related to God, okay? And so John 1, 12, but as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. Now, they come to David and they've got a plea, something they're burdened about. It's the man that they want to be their king, but as they come to him as king, they plead their kinship, we're related, they remind him. You know, it's good for us, again, as we think about our prayer life and things like that, we might have a need that we need to go to the king about and ask him to meet our needs, it's right for us to plead our kinship, our relationship before anyone. So they do that, they use that as leverage in a sense, you know, we're related to you. And then they remembered his faithful leadership. Verse two, it says, also in time past, when Saul was king over us, thou wast he that led us out and brought us in Israel. Now, if you remember, Abner had used this with the leaders of the children of Israel. He'd come to them and say, remember, you know, we're fighting the Philistines, and remember David? David's the guy that fought Goliath. David's the one that was with King Saul and was champion that went out and he fought. And by the way, David was undefeated. He's a great, he's a great warrior, okay? But it was when the wicked king, King Saul, ruled that their heart was turned away from David. Okay, if you think about the story, When David first comes into the court, he's their guy. And I mean, he is loved. He's number one, you know, under King Saul, but he begins to become number one, almost kind of above King Saul. King Saul gets jealous and realizes David's going to be king in the future and begins to seek his life. But as he does that, he begins to turn away the hearts of the people from David. All right, how can you be for David and not for me? Anybody that's for David is against me. And he begins to turn away their hearts from him. You know, isn't that the case in the world which we live? We've got a champion, the Lord Jesus Christ, and everything that Jesus has done, defeating death and hell at Calvary. He took on the greatest adversary, Satan, and defeated him. He ought to be recognized by mankind. I see people walking past. I'm up here speaking tonight. Every single one of them ought to recognize who Jesus Christ is. But what has happened is there's an ungodly king, the god of this world, that has turned their heart away from their champion, Jesus Christ. And so instead of honoring him, they bow down to the king. the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. But now they're gonna get right. In this case, in this story, the king, the bad king is dead. King Saul, they're rebelling against God that led them to kind of hate David, despise David. He's gone, he's off the scene. What are they remembering? They're remembering the champion and David and how he fought for them and how their hearts should be right to him. I'll tell you tonight, if your heart's not right with God, it's right with the wicked king. You're listening to him. I mean, why wouldn't you recognize your champion, Jesus Christ, everything that he did and everything that he is? And the thing is, tonight, just like them, there ought to come a point where we put ourselves under the good king and say, man, I get it, you're my champion, you did all this for me, and begin to plead that with him. That's a good thing, isn't it? To be able to say, you're the one, you're the one, and we recognize that and we honor you. And then they remembered his divine right. They remembered his faithful leadership, but then they remembered his divine right. Verse two, and the Lord said to thee, thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be a captain over Israel. Okay, now we've seen statements in the word of God recognizing David's position. We know from the word of God that Samuel anointed David. But the story gets out to the point that King Saul knows about it, he tells Jonathan about it, Abner knew about it, he tells Ishmael, look, we looked at that a couple times where he makes a definite statement about Israel is to be under David and it's God's command. It's acknowledged right now by the tribes. They come and they say, David, by divine right, you're to be the shepherd, you're to be the one providing for us and leading us. Again, tonight, as we look at this story, just seeking application that is appropriate to the text, do you recognize Jesus' divine right to lead you? They come to David and say, David, you're the one that God has put over us. Tonight, you recognize Jesus as the one that God has put over you, that he has a divine right to lead you, that because of that, you submit to him. And I'll tell you this, if you ever tried to lead something, you can only lead it if it was. if it wants or if it follows you, right? It's gotta follow. You can't lead if it won't follow. I mean, you as a dad, you're gonna be the leader of your family and you're walking down the road and you can tell your kids what to do or whatever, but if they're not gonna yield to that, it doesn't matter that you're a dad and God's giving you that authority and that right. Those that follow have to what? Submit. It's the same with us and God. Tonight, we have to recognize, just like Israel, David, you're the one that God has put over us, and we're acknowledging that, and we wanna get under you. And so for us tonight, I mean, that would be great, right? Because if we get under Jesus, then what? And all the truth, we talk about this a lot, Psalm 23, that precious, precious Psalm and what God desires to do, but it's awesome what he desires to do. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restores my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his namesake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. And David, David is saying that he's saying, God, you're everything and I follow you. And when I follow you, I get all those blessings. And that's Israel saying to David, David, we wanna get behind you. If you're gonna feed us, you're gonna lead us because God ordained you there. We recognize that, we wanna get behind you. And again, I encourage us tonight, let's get behind the Lord Jesus Christ that way. He can't lead us if we don't follow. And so we've gotta be willing to step out and follow him. And then continuing on, Israel's leadership signed the treaty. It says, so all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron, and King David made a league with them in Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel. So they head to the tribes of Israel, come into David's smaller kingdom, Judah. They come to where he's ruling at that time in Hebron, and they make a league, okay? The league is the same word that speaks about what Joshua did with the Gibeonites. The Gibeonites came, and we talked about them last week, and they looked poor and bedraggled, off distant place and Israel made a league with them. That means they entered into a covenant agreement with them saying you can join with us. And so they're saying the same thing to David. We wanna join together into a covenant relationship. And so they testify again of their recognition as David as their sovereign. Just like Samuel anointed David, now they anoint David as well. How many of you watched the coronation that took place King Charles last year? Yes, all right. It was one of those historic things, and I half wanted to, half didn't want to, okay? But I did, I did watch it, and there was much I didn't like. The mysticism, the paganism, the ecumenism, all right? There were things that I looked at and thought, that's, you know, I don't like that at all, very dark things. But what I did recognize is that for a king to become the king, The people have to have a ceremony where they recognize him as king. There has to be coronation. And we see that it's biblical and we've talked about things that have a biblical basis and why we do what we do. It's here in the word of God. They had to come to a point where they openly recognized him and had a public ceremony where they put him into that position as king. And I'm reminded our Lord's great coronation day is coming. There's coming a day where the Bible speaks about where people are gonna acknowledge that he's king, right? Every knee shall bow, every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father, and it has to take place. Otherwise, he's not been installed into that office, and even though he is king, people must recognize him as such, and they will, praise God. And so if you recognize Jesus as your sovereign, do you bow to him? And that's a great thing as a believer. We don't have to someday at the judgment submit, praise God, we can be submitted in life, recognizing again, Him as King. Now moving on. So the historical record of David's rule, verses four and five is kind of a summary that's inserted here. David was 30 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned 40 years. In Hebron, he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem, he reigned 30 and three years over all Israel and Judah. Okay, so at this point in his life, David's not an old man. He's borderline middle-aged. Here he is at, what is he, 33 years, I'm sorry, 37 years of age, okay? And being recognized as over God's people. king. And so he's going to get his three square years in ten. Moses speaks about that in Psalm 90 verse 10. It says the days of our years are three square years and ten and if by reason of strength they be four square years yet is their strength labor and sorrow for it soon cut off and we fly away. Okay so it's interesting right here in the middle of the story it gives us an idea He's been seven years over Judah. He's got 33 left over all Israel and all Judah. The prophet Gad or Nathan or whoever the human instrument is that wrote the scripture and recorded it for us gave us a glimpse into the future reign of David. And praise God, David's gonna not fail God in the long term. He's gonna be faithful to God. And even at the end of his life, desire to serve God. Psalm 71, 18. Now also when I'm old and gray-headed, O God, forsake me not, until I've showed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to everyone that's to come. And so praise God. David, not without failure, we understand, but David's gonna continue on for God, and praise God, he's gonna end his rule well. Now, David's first 10 verses, you know, become whatever position that is Prime Minister, First Minister, President of the United States or whatever. They have a test that's kind of their first test. Well, how are they going to respond? What are they going to do when they're tested? Liz Trust, sorry, failed her first test, right? And how many of you remember Liz Trust's premiere show? Seven weeks long? Yeah, very short. Okay. And she put in an emergency budget, you know, and that emergency budget dropped a pound to a dollar and three cents. OK, a historic low. And so amazingly, she served for seven weeks, but she served under two monarchs. Okay, and so Winston Churchill is the only other one in recent history that had two kings or monarchs that he served with. So Liz Truss failed it. Mike Johnson, I've spoken about him, he was the Speaker of the House in United States. So he's a congressional leader, a Republican. And there's an article that talks about when he was installed in November 2023. There was an article that said the House is scheduled to vote this week on assistance to Israel, but not Ukraine. Can the new speaker thread a tricky legislative needle? OK, and it's called the article is called Johnson's first test. Now, he succeeded. He's still doing well, and I encourage you, find out about him a little bit. He's a believer, born-again Christian, and I'm very pleased that God's raised him up for such a time as this. I heard him say, what Congress needs to do is get back to what they used to do, and that's get on their knees and seek God in time of trial, and so there's much we can appreciate about him. And so these tests come and they can be devastating or they can be good and David's first test comes and it's a good result that comes of it. And so he's moving down to Jerusalem, but Jerusalem is inhabited by the Jebusites. The Jebusites had been allowed to live there with Benjamin. in this area, and they held a city that God wanted David to take. And again, the city is Jerusalem. Okay, Jerusalem is a historic city that has divine purposes, as you see it in the word of God. You've got Melchizedek, king of Salem. That's likely Jerusalem that Abraham gives ties to, and he's a picture of Christ. This city had Mount Moriah. That's where Abraham offered his son Isaac, okay? This is where the Messiah would die for the sins of the world. This is where Jesus Christ was crucified. This is a place where Jesus Christ is gonna reign. It's gonna be called the city of God. So David would need to take this place for God and for God's glory. This is not David being ambitious and where am I gonna live as king and oh, I like Jerusalem. No, it was something that God did and David saw that that was a city very specific to God's intent. and David would need to take that for God. And I just want to ask us tonight, is there any ground that God wants you to take for him and for his glory? Is there something that God has for us? You know, Jerusalem, here's David's first task. What's he gonna do? Is he supposed to take that for God? Is there anything like that for us, that God wants us to take some ground for him? Okay, it's not gonna come without effort. It's not gonna come without overcoming adversaries. It's gonna be a real test, but will we do that for God? 1 Corinthians 16, nine, Paul said, a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries. Okay, so God opens the door to David. David, okay, you gotta be the king over all Israel. Here's your test. There are many adversaries, and that's the way it is. We do something for God. Let's not be surprised that there's gonna be a battle as we seek to do that. antagonizing him. Okay, to go back to my youth as a teenager, they dissed him. They disrespect him. You read it in the word of God, and it's almost childish what's said here in verse six. And the king and his men went to Jerusalem unto the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, which spake unto David, saying, Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither. and they're taunting him from the walls there of the old city and saying, except you defeat the blind in the lane, you're not gonna come in. And so it's possibly a reference to the idols that they had that maybe the believing Hebrew people would say, they're blind and they're dumb and they're this and that. And so except you take the blind in the lane, you'll no wise enter in. Or it's suggesting that the city could be defended by a handicapped army. You know, it's kind of like in our day saying something like, I can beat you with both hands, tie me on your back, right? You're nothing, you know? And so they're taunting him. If our entire army was blind and lame, you couldn't defeat them and come into this place. Now, it's all bravado, and it's all empty in a sense. It doesn't make a difference. It can be intimidating and frustrating. You know, you got somebody taunting you up there on the walls. You know, Satan's gonna make a lot of noise to try to stop us from doing God's Word. We've seen it. There's gonna be a lot of noise. People saying things and saying whatever about it can't happen. doubters and naysayers right it's all the time in the Word of God if you ever watch a duck get wet you watch the water beat up and then fall off right and water for ducks back you know that's the way we need to be as believers just like You know, somebody says something and it's negative about what God's maybe called us to do here as a church, Southside Free Baptist Church, Lone Head. And somebody, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You can't do it. You're not gonna do it. You know, you're inept. It's gonna fail. I mean, these things are being said. These things will be said. How do we respond? It doesn't matter. Why? Because God said to do it. It didn't matter what they said. That didn't change anything. It just could have made them afraid, it could have made them anxious, but instead, they just faced it. You know, you're not going to really do something for God to go forward without overcoming what Satan says. I mean, he's got all these things that he wants to attack us with. We gotta be able to trust God and say, no, God wants us to take it, we'll take it for God and for God's glory. He's not gonna speak audibly, but he does through his people. He's not gonna say it, but his will say it, and they do, and so let's be ready for that. But they make a severe error of judgment. Notice what it says, thinking. I love it when the word of God gives that extra insight. You're like, na-na-na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na-na-na-na, and then it goes, You know, I don't think you should taunt a bear, but if you do, make sure it's in a cage, all right? Don't poke a bear, don't poke a lion, but if you do, make sure it's in a cage. I'll tell you this, we had a bear walk through the back garden last month in North Carolina, and I wasn't about to let the kids come running out there with sticks or throwing discs at it, as one person suggested. Throw a disc at him. All right, no, why? Because the bear's not in a cage. The bear can come right this way and take care of us. And so, you know, the wicked can say a lot of negative things when they think themselves defended, right? When they think that they've got this hedge of protection about them and the government or whatever's got their back. I'll tell you this, is God afraid of the government? Is God, look at the government and go, oh, that's a barrier I can't get over. Wicked someday will eat their own words, right? When God's judgment falls. And I have a question, and I don't know that this will be the case, but I asked the question, could the 4th of July be that day? Could that be the day when some of that, you know, na-na-na-na-na-na to God and to God's people? Could it be the day of their downfall? Could it be the day where, surprisingly to them, God turns them on their head? I think it could be, I'm not saying it will be, but there's some interesting things happening. We've got Reform UK, I don't know if you've been watching the polls and things like that, and Nigel Farage and his, you know, sudden, you know, back into the ring in this position of leading this party. In Midlothian, Stefan Garbowsky is running for reform. And I don't know him or anything about him, but I was interested enough to look at his statement. And part of it is this. I'm also extremely concerned about indoctrination of schoolchildren and the constant sexualization of them. School should be a place of learning with a focus on knowledge, skills and value, not ideology. and therefore I would support the banning of transgender ideology and critical race theory in primary and secondary schools. British values, including freedom of speech, are being lost. I would like to see a return to personal liberty and free speech for all. I feel that Reform UK Scotland is the only party that will stand up for British values, British people, and the British way of life. Tolerance, equality before the law, free speech, and most important of all, common sense. I can agree with that statement, right? Common sense. And so, is that the answer? I'm not here tonight to say we need to vote Reform UK. I'm not here to say that. But I am here to say God can turn the government on its head when God wants to turn the government on its head. God can turn educators on the head, or, as in the case of the United States, Target and all the junk that they were putting out in their stores and their stock plummeted because of what they did. God is able to do that. Now, I mean, that's one instance of application of what I'm speaking about, and that is that the ungodly are very loud, they're out there saying their thing, Well, let's keep our eyes on the Lord, let's keep our focus on what God has for us to do, and let's trust God to overthrow things that you look at and say, there's no way, this is a dark day, I mean, it's a great atmosphere. Well, we're reminded tonight we have a great God, and it doesn't matter to him what they're saying, okay? And so David passes this test with flying colors. In verse seven, it says, nevertheless David took city of David. Okay, the city of David is gonna become the city of God. It's like Edinburgh Castle, I've been there. It sits on a prominent position that looks down into a valley and yet they would take it, they would go up as, we'll look at it next week. The Bible does tell us a little bit more about this story and how this takes place, but David takes his city for God and for God's glory. We are reconciled to our king when we bring ourselves under him and acknowledge him as sovereign. When we in our heart say, man, I see your divine right. I see that you're the one that God intends to rule over me. And I submit and I put myself under your good care, right? And we complete our kinship. We're praying about something. I'm a child of God. I'm a brother, a sister of Lord Jesus Christ. and praise God for that, adopted into God's family. God's timing isn't often our timing, so don't be impatient. Remind me of this, say, pastor, don't be impatient. You know, I mean, I'd love, there's things I wanna see, there's things I believe that God's gonna do at our church, and maybe you too, and you're praying about it too, and you're burdened about it too, let's remind each other, in God's timing. You know, let's wait on the Lord, together, it might be something else, you're burdened about your family, something you're praying about, in God's timing. and just remind him, keep waiting on the Lord. And then you'll face tests as you enter into new arenas in the world of God, okay? As you step out, it's gonna, the verbal stuff's gonna come. You're gonna have to have courage to go forward, but you can be confident that God's gonna help you be victorious. Romans 8, 37, nay, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. And so praise God for that. great, a God that's good, and we are fully capable of doing everything that God intends for us to do. We can take it for God. Let's pray. Father, may the Spirit of God put the Word of God deep into our hearts tonight. It might be somebody that hears this message online or is in need of that truth about submitting to Jesus Christ as King and getting saved, being born again. And Father, certainly as believers, we need to recognize that you are sovereign. Therefore, we must follow you. And Savior, we thank you that all things in your timing, we might be burdened about something, maybe very much believe it to be the will of God, but it hasn't happened yet. Father, give us grace to be patient and continue to walk by faith. And Father, pray that whatever it is that you want us to take from you, and whatever that first test is, God give us grace to succeed and glorify your name. It's in Christ that we pray, amen. Amen, all right. Okay, we're gonna have prayers here.