Alright, we're back in the Lessons from the Life of David. There's copies of the outlines in the back if you don't have one. I'm a little echoey up here. Lessons from the Life of David, 2 Samuel chapter 2 is where we'll pick up. Some have said, just by way of introduction, that when you become a Christian, that's when your adversary, the devil, takes notice. Some have said this, and they say, I've heard this illustration, a target is painted or put, placed on your back, and you can expect some opposition. I'm not gonna, there may be some validity in this analogy, I'm not gonna debate that right now, but I think there's a better and a more biblical analogy is that when you become a Christian, you become a son or a daughter of God. You're part of the family of God now. As a believer, you're a member of the family, and you now have a Heavenly Father who loves you and cares for you. And because He loves you and cares for you, He will now discipline and correct you. It's not so much you have a target on your back for the devil to attack, as you have a Heavenly Father who is concerned about your actions, concerned about what you do. In David's life, so far that we've studied, much has depended upon how he has conducted himself. When he had God-pleasing choices in his life, God blessed his life. When he had poor or faithless choices, was corrected, much dependent on what, I should say almost everything depended on how David conducted himself. And David has now reached a time that is considered to be a dividing line in his history, in his career, a dividing line. In the past was his time of rejection, his time of rejection by Saul, and his time of rejection by the people of Israel. Israel, as a nation, had not received David immediately. It took some time. They followed Saul, and they followed Shibboleth, Seth, his son. So in the future, in the past, lies his time of rejection. In the future lies David's time of exaltation, when he will reign over the kingdom of Israel, but now David is in the middle. In the middle, in the present, he stands at the divide. How he conducts himself, the choices he makes, the decisions he chooses, will profoundly affect his future. And may I say they're going to profoundly affect the future of others as well. David stands at the divide. That's what I've titled our lesson today, David at the Divide. We see, first of all, David's direction in 2 Samuel 2, verse 1. It says, and it came to pass after this that David inquired of the Lord, saying, shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? And the Lord said unto him, go up. And David said, whither shall I go up? And he said, the Lord, unto Hebron. So we see David's seeking direction from the Lord. If you look at your outline, I've got, of course, three points. David's directions, David's decision, David's delay. And I've got kind of a big space under A in each of those points because I'm going to say more about letter A, about David's direction, his inquiry, his inquiry, David's direction. David, by nature, was was a commander by nature. He was a leader. He was impatient. He was impetuous. He made swift decisions and even swifter actions. That's one of the signatures of a leader, the ability to make swift decisions that are hopefully good ones, at least some of the time. Most of the time, if you're a leader, you want to be making quick decisions that are good decisions. And that was David. He made a lot of good decisions, swift decisions. But it's also something that you're trained. If you've been in the military and you've been in a position of command, you've been trained to act that way. We had a team leader when I was back in Shell who used to be in a tank battalion. And his team members used to call him, ready, shoot, aim. Ready, shoot, aim, because that's what he did. It was like he was shooting, he was making really fast decisions, you know, before he was even aiming at what he was shooting at. Now some of those were good decisions and some of them weren't so good. That's David, impetuous, swift decisions. And Israel here is in a state of despair and chaos. It says, and it came to pass after this, in verse 2 of 2 Samuel. After this, chapter 2, verse 1. After what? After Samuel, after Saul and Jonathan were both dead. Saul and Jonathan, two of the men that were standing in the way between David and the throne of Israel. This was a time for action. If you're a man of action, this is a time to seize the moment, to take advantage of the opportunity. But David, we see David's greatness here in verse one. To his credit, his great credit, David refuses to take a single step until the Lord had made his will clear. Wow, that's why David is, that's one of the reasons we can elevate David so high as we do. We can look up to him because he refuses to take a single step. I mean, the time called for action. His men were saying, David, David, David. But David, 2 Samuel 2, verse one, David inquired of the Lord. And look what he says. He says, shall I go up into any, of the cities of Judah, and to any David seeking direction from the Lord. Not only in times of distress and trial, it's kind of natural to seek direction from the Lord. When you have troubles on the horizon, or maybe you're in the midst of troubles, you want to seek some direction from the Lord, but also in times of prosperity, times of God's favor. When all appears to be in our favor, We ought to, the words of our heart ought to be, Lord, I need thee. Lord, I need you. I need you at all times, not just when the storms are on the horizon, but when the sea of life is calm. Lord, I need you. There's a familiar scripture passage in Proverbs 3, verses five and six. It reads, trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding, in all thy ways acknowledge him, And he shall direct thy paths. And we love that verse, rightly so. We especially like the last part. He shall direct thy paths. And we pray, Lord, direct my paths. Lord, this is a promise. Lord, direct my paths. But there's a condition. There's a condition. Acknowledging God is a condition. In all thy ways, acknowledge him. And then, He shall direct thy paths. The requirement for the promise that we like so much, the Lord's direction, is to acknowledge Him, seeking His wisdom. It's acknowledging God, but it goes beyond just simply seeking his wisdom. It means acknowledging God means begging, begging God on our knees to give us light from his word for our path, begging God to give light for our path, seeking God's honor, God's glory in all that we attempt. This is exactly what David did. Shall I go up into any? of the cities of Judah, or, I mean, the unspoken part, but it's clear from the phrase, the unspoken part is, or shall I stay in the ruins of Ziklag? What should I do, Lord? You know, you think, well, don't stay in the ruins of Ziklag. I mean, that's a poor choice, David. Well, not if the Lord wants you there. I mean, you need to, it's not a, hey, now's the time to go. David said, should I go into any of the cities? Lord, what do you want me to do? And the Lord's answer, the Lord is good. He gave David an answer. The Lord said unto him, go up. You know, that's often how we receive a direction from the Lord. At first, it's somewhat general. Go up. Go up where? That's David's next question. And David is not content with go up. I mean, David could have just gone, but David wants some more specificity. And so he asks, whither shall I go up? Whither shall I go up? You know, the Lord, I thank the Lord. Thank God. The Lord is never wearied by our asking. David goes back to the Lord and asks again for some clear direction. And the Lord doesn't say, hey, I already told you to go up, get busy and start going. No, the Lord's not wearied by us asking again and again and again. We can't wear out the Lord by too much asking. The Lord's answer is clear now unto Hebron. That name is significant in a spiritual sense because Hebron, the word in Hebrew, means communion, communion. Go up into communion with God. But there's a darker note, the sounds, in David's inquiry. It says in verse 2, so David went up thither and his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jesualitus and Abigail, Nabal's wife, the Carmelite. David's two wives ablot on the fair picture. a blot on the page. You know, you might say, Brother Papke, you've already talked about this several times, about David's two wives, his sin. I mean, let's move on. Let's don't, I'm not going to talk about long, okay? But some of you might be thinking, let's move on. Well, I can't move on. Because the Holy Spirit, it's not me. I haven't been bringing it up again and again and again. The chronicler of 1 and 2 Samuel has brought it up again and again and again. And the Holy Spirit, who is the author, has brought it up again and again and again. You know, the Lord's not happy with David and his two wives. Is that clear yet, that the Lord's not happy? He keeps bringing it up, two wives, two wives. You say, well, hey. That's just the way I am. I mean, I'm in this sin, and that's the way I am. The Lord understands. No, he doesn't understand that you're stuck in the sin, stuck in the sin. Well, you say, what could David have done? Well, he could have put away at least one of his wives, maybe both of them, since technically he was still married or perhaps divorced from Michael, his first wife. So David is living in sin. And so it's a blot that's gonna come back again, but it's just an ill omen for the future. That's David's inquiry. We see his anointing, verses three, and his men that were with him, did David bring up? There was quite a group now had gathered at Ziklag, not just the 600 men that had been following David, but more and more. You can read about that in Chronicles. Men had been coming to David at Ziklag, men especially from Judah. So the group had been growing in size, not just numerically, But also quality. If you read in, again, Chronicles, you can read about the quality of the men who were joining him. Many of his mighty men had joined David at this time, men of renown. David had built up a formidable fighting force. And his men that were with him, did David bring up? Every man with his household, and they dwelt in the cities of Hebron. And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king of the house of Judah. And they told David, saying that the men of Judah, Jabez Gilead, were they that buried Saul. So we see his anointing. The men of Judah publicly come. They acknowledge David. as their king. They take him as their king. David was not, I mean, he was anointed by God as king, but there's no sign that he asked, campaigned, or put up posters on the telephone poles, that kind of stuff. He didn't run a campaign. The men of Judah came freely of their own will to anoint David as king. And we see David's acknowledgements in point 1c on your outline. It says, the men of Jabesh-Gilead, were they that buried Saul? And verse 5, and David sent messengers unto the men of Jabesh-Gilead, and said unto them, blessed be ye of the Lord, that ye have showed this kindness unto your Lord, even unto Saul, and have buried him. And now the Lord show kindness and truth unto you, And I also will requite you this kindness, because ye have done this thing. Therefore now let your hands be strengthened, and be ye valiant, for your master Saul is dead. And also the house of Judah have anointed me king over them." At David's acknowledgment, she expresses his appreciation to the men of Jabesh Gilead who had risked their lives to rescue the bodies of Saul and Jonathan. And he asks the Lord to reward them for their sacrifice. And he honors, David honors the memory of his predecessor, Saul. And David shows he has no personal ambitions for the throne. This was also a conciliatory overture at reuniting the kingdom. The men of Judah, after all, had come. One tribe out of 12 had come to anoint David as king, but there still are 11 tribes, including the men of Jabesh-Gilead. A conciliatory overture, David is attempting to reunite the kingdom. But we see that was not to be David's decision. We see in verse seven. Abner's opposition. Verse seven, Abner's opposition. He says, verse eight, sorry. But Abner, the son of Ner, captain of Saul's host, took a Shibboseth, the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim, and made him king over Gilead, and over the Asherites, over Jezreel, over Ephraim, over Benjamin, and over all Israel. Shibboleth, Saul's son, was four years old when he began to reign over Israel and reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David. We see Abner's opposition. A quick ascension to the throne of Israel. was not gonna happen, was not gonna happen. There would be opposition. Verse eight, it says, but Abner, but Abner, Abner was captain of Saul's army. He was also Saul's uncle, if you look at the family relationships, and he desires here to secure his own position, secure his own position. So Abner, captain of Saul's army, finds the shibboleth Seth, Saul's remaining surviving son, and makes him king. Matthew Henry, and this is not a political statement, but it could apply, it does apply, to many in our world today. This is a statement made by Matthew Henry many years ago. Matthew Henry says, see how much mischief the pride and ambition of one man may be the occasion of. See how much mischief the pride and ambition of one man may be the occasion of, I'm thinking right now of Putin, but there's others we can think of as well. See how much mischief, the pride and ambition of one man may be the occasion of Abner. David was not to take the throne without opposition, even though it was the Lord's will and declared express intent of the Lord to make David king. It was not going to be without opposition. Abner takes Saul's surviving son, It makes him king. He moves quickly to secure the allegiance of the other 11 tribes. It says, Shibbolteth, sorry, I'm sorry we read all that. In verse 11, in the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months. This word, Shibbolteth, means man of shame. Man of shame. Saul's son, Shibbolteth, was apparently not considered fit to go into battle. But now that we need a king, he's deemed qualified to occupy the throne. When it's expedient. We're not told why he wasn't fit to go into battle. Perhaps it was some physical deformities. Perhaps it was some mental problems. We don't know what the problem was here. But it's interesting how A man that is rejected on one hand is now, when it's expedient, he's the man, he's going to be king. Abner is clearly in control here. There's a little confusion over years because it says that Shibboleth reigned for two years. but it says David was king over Judah for seven, actually, seven and a half years. So I think, wait a minute, wait, wait. So while we don't know, we can't resolve it, it's unresolvable, that conflict, but apparently, I'm going to say, Abner was effectively king over Israel. For five of those years, Shibboleth was only ruled over effectively or in part for two of those years, maybe the first two, maybe the last two, we don't know. But anyway, that's what it is. Now Shibboleth is deemed qualified. This opposition, Abner's opposition wasn't just so one man, and neither is the situation in Russia, simply due to one man. It wasn't all Ebner's doing. Israel's rebellious spirit is again exposed. The nation had rejected, Israel as a nation, had rejected God's judges, one after another after another, not failing to follow the judges. Well, then they threw out the judges, demanded a king, like all the other nations, and now they refuse the prince that God has chosen for them and anointed. And through it all, through it all, David remains quiet. David offers no resistance. This is his decision. Point two, David's decision was not to oppose Abner actively, not to oppose Abner actively. He's honoring his oath to Jonathan, made in 1 Samuel 24, chapter 24, verse 21. Honoring his oath, a saint from years past, Thomas Scott, said, must be gradual. His faith, his graces must be proven and tested. His pride must be subdued before he can endure any kind of prosperity. The saint's progress must be gradual. We see Abner's opposition, but we see also a skirmish. There's quite a large section of scripture I'm gonna cover. It says David's seven and a half years in Hebron, so we're not gonna read all of it, but there's this skirmish. It's clearly not a major battle. Abner initiates it. In the beginning, there's 12 men from each side that come forth and they do battle, one with each other. And it's a way of sort of deciding a conflict with minimal bloodshed. It's whichever side wins, you can be the victors, was the way it was supposed to work. However, all 12 men kill each other. So there's 24 dead, soldiers laying on the field, 12 from Job's side, 12 from Abner's side. So the contest was inconclusive. And so there's a battle, a skirmish really, that follows, ensues. Not between the full armies, because the casualties are relatively light. It says at the end of chapter two that 20 men died, perished on David's side, 333 on Abner's side. But Abner and his men are routed in this conflict. And there is, buried in the middle of this, there's an interesting little story that I'm just going to, again, summarize, but we won't study in detail. But it's about Ashahel, one of Joab's well, a brother of Joab. So there's three brothers, Asahel was one of them, and Asahel was a very fast runner. And this is a story about pride, if you run that. He was fleet on the foot, and much faster runner than Abner. And Asahel, I'm gonna guess that perhaps he was the younger brother of Joab, and wanted to prove himself. You know, pride, we have to watch out for pride. Pride is deadly, and Asahel's pride led to his death because he refused. He was pursuing, Joab and his troops were pursuing Abner. Abner's fleeing, and his forces, they're running, and Asahel sets his sights on Abner. He's gonna take out the head, get some glory for himself in his, perhaps his big brother's eyes if he kills Abner. So Asahel's pursuing Abner. Abner tells Asahel several times to turn aside, turn aside, turn aside, and take down some other man. But stop. He said, how can I face your brother, Joab? Abner's saying all this as he's running, kind of turning his head, talking backwards to Asahel, who's gaining on him. But Asahel, although he was a faster runner than Abner, he was not a better warrior. And Abner uses a trick that he's obviously practiced and used before with his spear but as he's running he catches Asahel unawares because Abner suddenly stops and he takes his spear, stops running, he takes his spear and rams it backwards precisely aimed and Asahel running right behind him impales himself on that spear thrusts forward and Asahel runs into it right below the fifth rib where his vital organs are. Asahel falls dead. His pride led to his downfall. Be careful about pride. So the battle comes to an end. Joab's restraint, point two C. It says in verse 28 and 30, Joab blew a trumpet and all the people stood still and pursued after Israel. No more, neither fought they anymore. So Abner sued for peace, called it to Job, and Job generously agrees to halt the battle, reminding, he reminds Abner that he had started the conflict, except thou had spoken, there wouldn't have been a fight, Abner started it. But Job is clearly here respecting David's wishes. not to be the aggressor, not to be the aggressor. This is the only battle in their long seven years of civil war that is recorded. But Joab is seemingly not willing, or perhaps not ready, to avenge his brother's death. That's going to come back again. But Abner has killed Joab's brother. But Joab does not pursue Abner at this time, he lets him go. It's not for some six or seven years later that Abner, Joab, I should say, murders Abner. We'll come back to that. David's delay. David's delay. Let's look at his cause. Chapter three. Now there was long war between the house of Saul in the house of David, but David waxed stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul waxed weaker. and weaker. Long wars, the kingdom of Israel was rent asunder, not a devastating civil war like occurred in our country years ago, or has occurred in other countries even to the present time, but a long war, seven years. It appears that Abner was the aggressor in these cases, on the offensive in some skirmishes, and David was defensive, took a defensive position. Now David, I believe clearly could have taken out Abner if he had desired to. If you look at the mighty men David had, the fighting force, his own expertise as a military commander, David could have taken the kingdom, but he doesn't. Seven years, seven years. Why? so long a delay. David was clearly in the right here. So why couldn't he take the throne? Why seven years? David doesn't appear to have made any effort to take it by force. He's waiting for the Lord. Again, to his great credit, David's waiting for the Lord. So why Did the Lord wait? Why did the Lord delay for so long? This question has puzzled commentators throughout the years. Why seven years in Hebron? I'm going to suggest, so we don't know for sure, all right? You can read commentators and different opinions. But I'm going to suggest the cause is David. David's the cause. David, I believe, is missing God's best, missing God's best. You know, we talked in the past about God's sovereignty, His eternal, His immutable decrees, God's sovereignty. And David had been anointed king over Israel by God's sovereignty, all of Israel. God would certainly accomplish that. God would certainly accomplish that. But we need to say, in counterpoint to God's sovereignty, His sovereignty is absolute and total, but in counterpoint Man has a responsibility. Man has a responsibility as well. Each of us has a free will, and we can choose. We're not under a compulsion. We're not under a direction. We're not under some controlling hand, as it were. We can make choices. God is 100% sovereign. and man is 100% responsible. And I know that doesn't make sense and we can't explain it entirely, but that's what the scripture teaches. God is sovereign. God's purposes will definitely take place. Man is responsible. You are responsible for the choices you make. You see, God's decrees are immutable. but many of its promises are conditional. That doesn't mean they're unreliable, uncertain. They're infallible. God's promises are infallible declarations of what God will do if we conduct ourselves accordingly. What God will do if we conduct ourselves accordingly, 1 Samuel 2, verse 30, we quoted that before in connection with Eric Little and the chariots of fire. Them that honor me, I will honor. Boy, we love that. That first part of that verse, that's the best part of the verse. It is the best part of the verse. Because the rest of the verse says, that we often don't quote, they that despise me, shall be lightly esteemed. They that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. In Church of Fire, you see both aspects of that verse in play. If you haven't seen the movie, go see it. They that despise me will be lightly esteemed. You see, there are consequences to our actions, and the very I have to say, the very next verse in 2 Samuel 3 gives us some direction. It says, there's long war, verse one, but verse two says, and unto David were born sons in Hebron. Sons in Hebron. David, after the statement that there's a long war, it shows David giving way to the sins of the flesh. There's no longer the two wives. Now there's six. Six wives, six wives and sons are born to him. It says, and this is David, sons, were sons born in Hebron. During that seven years, his firstborn was Ammon of Hinnohem, the Jezreelites. His second, Cheliab of Abigail, the wife of Nabal, the Carmelite. That was his first two wives. And the third, Absalom, the son of Mekah, the daughter of Temel, king of Gershu, and the fourth, Adonijah, the son of Hagath, and the fifth, Shepetiah, the son of Abital, and the sixth, Ethreum, by Eglah, David's wife. These were born to David in Hebron. In Hebron. The very next verse, David here is sowing to the flesh, and he's reaping. corruption in the very same, practicing and advancing his polygamy. Three of the six sons that are mentioned here, three of them will be murdered. Three of them will be murdered, Ammon, Absalom, Adonijah. And not only did David take multiple wives and concubines and clear defiance of the scripture. We've read that passage about the kings having one wife, clear defiance of the scripture, setting a bad example for his son Solomon and for Israel. But David also violated other scriptural commands. He notices the third wife that's mentioned here, it says, Absalom, the son of Mekhi, the daughter of Temel, king of Gershu, Gershur. He had a son, Absalom, the daughter of a heathen king, a heathen king, in clear violation of Deuteronomy chapter 7 verse 3. David took a heathen princess as his wife, and then a little bit later he demands that Abner return to him Michael, his first wife, taking her from her husband. She had been remarried That's a clear violation of Deuteronomy chapter 24, verses 1 through 4. David, a few men have experienced the social and domestic trials that David did. The latter chapters of 2 Samuel unfold this tragic scene. They were not only political trials, but family troubles. His first wife, Michael, turns on him. His daughter, Tamar, is raped by her half-brother. His son, Ammon, is murdered. His favorite son, Absalom, tries to take the kingdom and is murdered. Another son, Adonijah, also tries to take the kingdom and is murdered. And the troubles, may I say, they're all beginning here. They're beginning here in Hebron, all from David's besetting sin, one that he yielded to so freely. And his son, Solomon, followed his example, a holy God will not tolerate evil. And I believe he brought a long and severe chastening on David as a result. Seven years, seven and a half years, long war, seven years during which six sons were born to six different wives. Is there a connection? Well, you be the judge. You be the judge. It's often said that the key is at the door regarding scripture. Now, maybe that's the way it is at your house. If you've got to hide a key, a good place to hide it is by the door, under the rock, under the mat. The key is at the door. Well, in scripture, if you want to find an explanation, look in the beginning of this section. The key often is at the door. Why was there seven years of long war Well, consider David's polygamy that he practiced and continues to advance. There's also many confrontations. David's delay, the confrontations that occurred. We won't read these next few chapters, but there's a confrontation between Abner and Shibboleth Seth. It was over Saul's concubine, Rizpah. Shibboleth accuses Abner of having sexual relationships with his concubine. Abner denies that. We don't know who was right and who was wrong. It's quite possible that Abner did. But as a result, there's a conflict between Abner and Shibboleth that got violent. Abner makes a peace agreement with David. Abner says, I will turn the kingdom over to David. Then there's a conflict. I believe the conflicts are coming out of David's delay and his sin with his six wives now. There's a conflict between Abner and Joab. Joab and Abishai, later in this chapter, murder Abner. Now this is clearly murder. Conflict in wartime is not considered murder. Abner did not murder Abishai when he killed him, but Joab and his brother clearly I said the wrong name, not Abishai. But anyway, Joab and his brother clearly murder Abner. The reason is stated in scripture as being revenge. But I disagree. I know that's what's stated. That's the excuse they gave. But the real reason, if you look carefully at the scripture passages, Joab, his job was in trouble. Joab's job was in trouble because David told Abner that he would be commander over his armies. Joab heard that. And now Joab says, I'm going to get rid of Abner. So he kills him. And then he uses that as an excuse that because Abner killed my brother, I'm taking revenge. Revenge is not an excuse anyway for murder. But Joab's murder is clearly Joab's murdering of Abner is clearly political. Then there's a conflict between David and Joab. David states in verse 39 of chapter 3, the sons of Zariah, be too hard for me. And David allows Joab to continue as his commander, even though he's a murderer. Between the sons, there's a conflict between the sons of Rimean, the Beorothite, and Isphoseth. Isphoseth is murdered in his sleep on his bed. And then there's a conflict between David and the sons of Rimean, the Beorite. David orders him slain for their murder. And there's consequences, of course. The path to the throne and the kingship over Israel is opened up for David. David, to his credit, did not take it by force. Nevertheless, the pathway was long and it was bloody, and the seeds for much future family anguish have been sown. David still has job as his military commander, a murderer, a schemer, a treacherous man. who will later murder David's favorite son, Absalom. Joab will later murder Absalom. But Joab also is a capable and competent military commander. He's also family. He's related to David. Hard to get rid of some family members, isn't it? They're just there. So David's got stuck with Joab. It isn't until after David is dead that he, on his parting words, David commands his son Solomon to deal with Joab, and Solomon does indeed deal with Joab many, many years later, are consequences which all came, I believe, out of David's sin that he refused to give up his multiple wives. So there's much to be said that's good and positive about David, but the scripture doesn't leave out the lessons either. We can learn positive lessons. We also need to learn from the negative lessons. Let's put away sin in our lives. Put away sin. The Lord's not happy with any sin. Let's look to the Lord in prayer. Our most gracious Heavenly Father, we're thankful, Lord, for the