This evening we return to 2 Samuel, to chapter 20. Tonight we are looking at verses 1 through 7. This is the word of the living and true God. Now a worthless fellow happened to be there whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite. And he blew the trumpet and said, We have no portion in David, nor do we have inheritance in the son of Jesse, every man to his tents, O Israel. So all the men of Israel withdrew from following David and followed Sheba, the son of Bichri. But the men of Judah remained steadfast to their king, from the Jordan even to Jerusalem. Then David came to his house at Jerusalem, and the king took the ten women, the concubines whom he had left to keep the house, and placed them under guard, and provided them with sustenance, but did not go into them. So they were shut up until the day of their death, living as widows. Then the king said to Amasa, Call out the men of Judah for me within three days, and be present here yourself. So Amasa went to call out the men of Judah, but he delayed longer than the set time which he had appointed him. And David said to Abishai, Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom. Take your Lord's servants and pursue him, so that he does not find for himself fortified cities and escape from our sight." So Joab's men went out after him, along with the Charithites and the Pelethites and all the mighty men, and they went out from Jerusalem to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri." Let's pray and ask God's blessing. Lord, we thank you for your goodness in giving us this, your word. And now, Lord, open this passage to our minds and inform our understanding that we might live before you faithfully and that we might follow your word. We pray it in Jesus' name. Amen. For the thoughtful observer of life on planet earth, a certain weariness can sometimes set in. As we watch people behave badly and then experience predictable consequences, we can grow weary. Rebellion against authority has never been a successful strategy, though it has been tried times without number. And sooner or later, the heavy hand of power comes down upon the upstart and the rebellion is squashed. The wreckage that results is also tiring to consider. Innocent bystanders get injured by the shrapnel of the rebellion, and their lives are forever changed. Some live out their days in despair, and there seems little that can be done to help them. And so it goes. year after year, decade after decade, and it becomes very tiresome, so difficult to witness. Deep within us, there is a longing for a world where no evil will exist, where wickedness will be a distant memory, where righteousness reigns unchallenged, While some think that just getting back to the Garden of Eden would be ideal, the Christian knows better. We are looking for the new heavens and the new earth, the land where righteousness dwells. For the believer knows that only then will he experience the true, lasting, unadulterated joy that our hearts yearn for. Only then will the believer be in the presence of his God and among the glorified angels and saints. But for now, in the present, we are still living in a fallen, cursed world where sin is the rule rather than the exception. Tonight we look at another instance of yet more rebellion. And although this may be wearisome to consider, I think the Lord has good encouragement here for us. So let's begin by examining another worthless rebel. Then we're going to look at ten sad women and finally at David's military quandary. When last we tuned in to what was happening with King David, we were treated to some very childish bickering between the tribes of Israel. The northerners had been miffed because Judah had taken a position of priority in transporting King David back to Jerusalem. they had complained that it was not fair for Judah to hold such an advantage. After all, there were ten tribes in the north who claimed to have ten times as much interest in David as the men of Judah possessed. For their part, the men of Judah fired back at the northerners, insisting that their physical affinity to David was reason enough for them to hold the top spot. The men of Judah spoke with greater nastiness than the men of the northern tribes, and Judah shouted down Israel. It was really disgusting. Into that cacophony, a new voice was heard. Someone stood up, blew a trumpet, and started shouting to the northerners. He was Sheba, the son of Bichri. Now Sheba was of the tribe of Benjamin, and he's really not that different from another Benjamite rebel, Shimei. Benjamin was Saul's tribe and they still held out some degree of loyalty to the memory of King Saul. David was an interloper from their perspective and so it figures that a Benjamite would be at the head of this new insurrection. Sheba opportunistically seized on the unrest of the tribes and he sought to lead a new revolt in the north with himself at the head. How convenient! Now I'm sure that Sheba would have gotten absolutely no traction if there hadn't been corresponding rebellion in the hearts of the northern soldiers. Just having a random stranger blowing a trumpet and shouting slogans doesn't really work unless there is an openness and a readiness to rebel. He struck a chord. It resonated in their own rebellious hearts. And there certainly was readiness among the tribes who were not named Judah. These northerners were demonstrating fickleness, as we saw last week, and they're still fickle. In fact, they're more fickle than ever before. And thus they turn away as one man, and they follow this worthless rebel, Sheba the son of Bichri. This movement at this moment did constitute a serious threat to David's efforts to reassert his leadership. David sensed this and he tells Abishai in verse 6 that now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom. And that was probably true. To a certain degree, Absalom had presided very shortly over a still unified kingdom. But that unity was now breaking apart, and Sheba plays upon that fact. He deliberately seeks to drive a deep and permanent wedge between Judah and the other tribes. Now if a large percentage of his kingdom disavows his return to power, David's reign is essentially over. There's nothing he can do. And so he knows that he must hold together all of these tribes if they are to return to any semblance of national power. This is a very crucial time. Now the actions proposed by Sheba the son of Bichri were wrong and they were wicked. Back in the early days of David's reign, a covenant had been made between the king and the people. And Sheba's plan was a violation of those covenant arrangements. He was seeking to break the covenant bond between David and the northern tribes. Covenant breaking is always a serious matter and it shouldn't be quickly dismissed. But even more wicked is the fact that David remained the Lord's anointed. God had set David up. God had sustained David's rule over these decades. God had blessed and used him to subdue the Philistines. He was the Lord's anointed. But now Sheba is proposing rebellion, not only against David, but against the Lord himself. when he counsels the rejection of the Lord's anointed. So again, this action that's being proposed by Sheba is very wrong. It's entirely wicked. This rebellion against the Lord and against His anointed is commonplace among sinful men. All sin is at heart an act of defiance against God and against His authority. Whenever God says, Thou shalt not steal, and man determines to go ahead and steal anyway, that sinner is striking out against God Himself. This is why David confesses in Psalm 51, against you, you only have I sinned and done evil in your sight. Sin is always rebellious and sin always constitutes an offense against the God of heaven. As we look around at our society and even more broadly at the world, We see almost nothing but sin and misery. We see countless examples of rebellion, of evil, and men and women and all sorts of people behaving contrary to God's ways and God's commands. And we cannot sugarcoat this and say, well, that's just their culture. That's just what people do. We have to be honest. They are in rebellion against the Lord and against Jesus Christ. And for their rebellion, they are bringing judgment upon their own heads. Well, to David's dismay, the troops from the northern tribes heeded Sheba's call and they desert David. Each one returns to his own home, and David is left with only the men of Judah at his side. And to their credit, the men of Judah remain steadfast to their king, from the Jordan even to Jerusalem. But as they go, It's very obvious they have lost a large portion of support. And once these loyal troops from Judah finish their journey and deposit David safely in Jerusalem again, then they too will return to their own homes in weariness over all that has happened to them. For his part, back in his palace, David has a priority that takes precedence over every other concern. The very first thing that David did when he returned to his palace was to deal with the ten women whom he had left behind to guard and keep his house during his absence. These women had been his concubines, functioning as his wives, though without the title or the privileges of officially being designated as wives. These ten women had experienced trauma themselves since they had last seen David their master. When Absalom rose to power, he had violated all ten of them as part of a very public display of disdain for his father. This came at the advice of the late Ahithophel, counselor to the kings, and it was really nothing less than rape. Moreover, this thing had been done openly to the public shame of these ten women. Now as we consider the backstory of this act of indecency, we know that it was all part of God's curse upon David for his sin with Bathsheba. David had done what he had done in secret, God said, but his rival would do it openly and publicly to David's great shame. So what had happened to them? was David's fault, ultimately. So returning again to Jerusalem, David took these ten women and he put them elsewhere. They were placed under guard. They were forced to live out their days in seclusion as widows. David provided them with sustenance but he would have nothing further to do with them. They were violated, defiled, and blighted women, and now they live out their lives in confinement, forgotten, neglected, and lonely. They didn't even have freedom of movement. They were cooped up until the day they died. These women are very much like Tamar. Tamar's only flaw was her grace and her beauty. A beauty which had excited the lust of her half-brother Amnon. And after she was raped, Amnon had unceremoniously cast her out of his house. She had gone to live with her brother Absalom in his house, but now Absalom was gone as well. And so beautiful Tamar lived out her days forlorn and abandoned. And these ten women share her plight, though they too had done nothing, nothing to deserve such treatment. Sadly, such situations continue to occur even in our day. People sometimes suffer serious repercussions for the sins of other people. Not because they've done anything bad or wrong, not because they have deserved it, but they just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sin swings through like a wrecking ball, obliterating everything and everyone in its path. People's lives are destroyed by the sins of others, and they then live with the wreckage and the carnage caused by sin. It's a very sad situation. And we can't close our eyes to this reality and say, oh, that doesn't really ever happen. It happens way more than we would care to admit. Just think of this. in sleepy Sheboygan, such an ideal community, such a perfect place. There is human trafficking. Some of it comes up the interstate from Chicago and Milwaukee, but human trafficking is an issue in Sheboygan and Sheboygan County. I don't know about you, but I don't like to think about human trafficking. I don't like to think about innocent lives that have been taken and turned into slavery, sometimes very degrading slavery. And while it's tempting to just push that away and say, I don't want to face it, I don't want to look at it, I don't want to think about it. Those sorts of things happen here. You could say the same thing about gang activity. You could say the same thing about drug usage. People's lives often destroyed by the sins of others. For us as Christians, These facts should remind us that God and God alone can redeem such a blighted life and restore dignity and hope to people who have been deeply damaged by sin. And that's not a hard thing for Him to do. It should also remind us that the gospel is the first thing that is needed to begin repairing the damage caused by sin. Sin sweeps through like a wrecking ball, destroying things. The gospel comes in as the power of God unto salvation to transform and to rebuild what has been damaged and destroyed by sin. And so while the power of sin is significant, the power of God is greater by far. And although sin does its work to the detriment of many, the power of Christ through the gospel can reconstruct broken, damaged people. Sin does not have to take the upper hand and claim the victory. The God whom we serve can change things for the better. No, it's not quick. It's not easy. It's not simple. If you've ever dealt with someone whose life has been ravaged by sin and who are living in misery, You know that there's a lot of complexity to such situations. But you see, God is able to go into the most complex, difficult, dysfunctional situation and bring real change. And yes, it may take time. It may take a lot of work. It may take hours of listening and caring for broken, hurting people. But the power of God through the gospel can be used to change and reform and renew and rejuvenate what has been destroyed. So wherever abuse of any sort has been perpetrated and practiced, the gospel is the beginning of the answer. It's not everything. There are other things that could and should be helpful, but we always start with the good news. The late Dr. J. Adams was well known for his counseling, and he would always start a counseling session with a counselee by going over the gospel with them. And sometimes those counselees would say, I have problems that I need to get to, to fix. Why are you talking to me about these things? And Dr. Adams was always to the point that unless the spiritual problems are addressed and solved, all of the resulting problems can't really be remedied. Now you can find ways to alleviate symptoms, But unless the root problem is solved, the symptoms will just keep coming back. And so this is part of what it means to be driven by the gospel. That we see the problems caused by sin, we see the misery produced by sin, and we see lives that have been ravaged. And we say, we've got to give the gospel to these people. And as they come to understand that they too are sinners who need a Savior, until they embrace Christ, nothing much is really going to change. But once they embrace the Gospel, once they trust in Christ, then that rebuilding work can undergo significant progress in a not long period of time. but it always begins with commitments to the gospel, to Christ. Having taken care of his ten concubines, David pivots to face another problem. He has to do something about Sheba, the son of Bichri. If he is allowed to go unchecked, Sheba could wreak havoc upon the kingdom. Sheba would probably occupy fortified cities in the north, and that would allow him to disappear from view at least for a time, and from there he could foment more rebellion against David's rule. In David's estimate, this really could prove far worse than what had happened with Absalom. Knowing that he no longer had use of his northern troops, David turns once again to the war-weary men of Judah. To activate the National Guard, David sends out his newly minted general, Amasa, to call out the troops. This must be done quickly and so David gives Amasa a three-day deadline and he specifically wants to see Amasa back in Jerusalem to report at the conclusion of the three days. Now perhaps this was too short a time in order to effectively rally the weary troops of Judah for yet another campaign But time was of the essence. Amasa accepted his assignment and he rode away to rally the tribe. And we think, so far, so good. David's plan is working. But then on the third day, there was still no sign of Amasa. He did not return as David had ordered him. Now, there's one thing about the military. When they give orders, it's not optional. They don't tell you, if you feel like doing this, we'd like you to do it, but if you don't, that's okay. We'll understand. Orders are orders. When David says, three days and be back here, Amasa has no choice. Three days. He better be back. He better be standing there looking eyeball to eyeball with David, but he's not. The king was growing antsy. They needed to move now, and they really couldn't afford to delay even another day. Impatient as he was, David turned to a familiar figure, and it is Abishai, the son of Zariah, the brother of Joab. Remember that Abishai was the one who wanted to remove Shimei's head from his shoulders for daring to curse the Lord's anointed. David had forbade it, insisting that he wanted nothing more to do with these sons of Zariah, but now David has no choice. Abishai it is, but not Joab. Joab is conspicuously absent, overlooked on purpose by David. David didn't trust Joab. David didn't believe Joab was truly on his side. Well, despite David's own feelings about Joab, the men of Judah were loyal to their captain. They would not forget Joab, their general, so quickly. And thus, while Abishai led them, they remained Joab's men. And together with the Charithites and the Palithites and all the mighty men of David, they obediently left Jerusalem to pursue that worthless rebel Sheba the son of Bichri. David's pragmatism and Amos' incompetence will bear bitter fruit, though Sheba's rebellion would be successfully extinguished. There's one last observation that I want to close with from this passage and it has to do with the God of Israel. Yahweh is his name and he remains the true king over his people. And yet look at how utterly godless this passage really is. As I read those verses God's name was not mentioned, His guidance was not sought, His word was not consulted, and His glory was not even considered by anyone, even by David. Wouldn't you think that this would be a classic time for David to humble himself and go before the Lord and seek the Lord's help? I have just successfully pushed away Absalom's rebellion, but Lord, now I have another rebel on my hands, and this man, Sheba the son of Bichri, could do great damage to your kingdom, O Lord. Lord, what should I do? How should I lead? Whom should I send?" All of those would have been excellent prayers. excellent petitions, and yet David never even seems to think about that. It's just, go here, do this, do that, three days, and then we're gone. He's nowhere to be found. Abishai, you, you, go, go. And where is God in this? Where is the Lord? He's nowhere to be seen. Now of course we know that the Lord is still the King, and He reigns and rules over Israel, and He is sovereignly governing by His providence whatsoever comes to pass here. We don't deny that at all, but what we do see is that David is drifting. And he's drifting further and further away from devotion to his God. This is a thing that sometimes can happen in life. It can happen at any point. It could happen to a two-year-old, a five-year-old, a ten-year-old. But I think it often, often happens to older people. people in their later years of life. Perhaps when they were young and vibrant, they ran with perseverance, the race marked out for them. They were on fire for Jesus and for the gospel. And that was so present and so obvious before their eyes. And they were living deliberately for God and His glory. But the years have taken their toll, and weariness sets in, and a drift, sometimes imperceptible at first, begins taking place. And as that drift happens, it begins causing other reactions. Lately, I have been on an intensive study of the Battle of Midway because I just get interested in things like World War II battles and they are really fascinating to me. I am listening to a biography of a man named Joe Rochefort and it tells a story which I think illustrates this very clearly. Rochefort was an officer on an oil tanker. and this is in the 1920s, before the war with Japan, and his tanker was given the task of pumping fuel oil into a whole series of Navy ships. And the tanker was anchored at a specific spot and the ships could just come up and get their tanks filled and be on their way. And as they were there, in the middle of the night, the sea surged, the tanker lifted, and the anchor was dislodged. And it began drifting. And as the tanker drifted into San Francisco Harbor, it began running into other ships. And it took them hours, hours to get that tanker under control and to stop the drift. But in the process of those hours, that tanker bumped up against, sideswiped other ships some kind of seriously. When a person loses their anchor and begins drifting spiritually, theologically, it doesn't just impact them privately. It impacts others, friends, family, other church members. I'm personally aware of two former OP ministers who began drifting. And the drift became obvious. It came out into the open. And in both cases, these men who had been good, faithful ministers basically ruined their testimony. They left their churches. They were put out of the ministry by their presbyteries because they had lost track of the things that matter most. It's a real danger. It can happen to anyone, again, at any age, but especially to those of us who are in later years of life we have to run with perseverance to the end of the race and not allow ourselves like David to become godless people who rarely seem to consult the Lord and don't give the time and energy and attention to his word and to our own sanctification. Sometimes people assume that I'm preaching a secret message at them and they can harbor suspicion. Oh, pastor was talking about me in that sermon today. If you want to know whom I'm preaching to tonight, it's me. It's my heart. Because as I've watched my friends drift away to their own destruction, I'm very conscious of the fact that I too could endure and engage in such drift and how damaging that would be to so many people. And so have a care for your own heart and your own soul as I do. and pray for each other. Pray that the Lord would keep us all steadfast to our King, from the Jordan even to Jerusalem, so that we might finish our course faithful and not falter in the final days of our lives. Let's pray. Lord, help us and Lord, help me to remain faithful to you, my King, that we might continue walking steadfastly at your side, in your train, until the day when we have finished this life and cross over to your heavenly dwelling. Keep us, Lord, mindful of our own sins and the dangers of our own souls. And help us, Lord, to rely more and more on You, not less and less. For we pray it in Jesus' name, Amen.