Grace for the Least Likely

2 Samuel 2:1-7
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Pastor Colin begins a new series – “A Leader You Can Follow.”

He recalls the historical context of the Israelites entering the promised land where each of the twelve tribes, excluding Levi, received a portion of land. These tribes were loosely governed by elders and responded to conflicts on an as-needed basis, often lacking unified national structure or defence strategy.

Over time, it became evident that this lack of unified leadership was a problem as some tribes didn’t pull their weight during conflicts. Eventually, God’s people decided they needed a king to unite them and provide justice and defence. Their first king, Saul, initially popular, quickly disappointed due to his arrogance, deception, and foolishness, ultimately leading to his tragic end.

Pastor Colin then introduces David, who was anointed as king during Saul’s reign but had to wait years before becoming king. He highlights David’s triumph over Goliath and how Saul’s jealousy and instability led him to try to kill David multiple times, forcing David to live in exile.

Despite Saul’s hatred, David honoured him as king and did not retaliate. When Saul died, David became king in exile. At this point in 2 Samuel 2, God’s people were defeated, divided, and demoralised. David’s kingship eventually united the tribes and brought prosperity, making him the greatest Old Testament king.

Pastor Colin emphasises that David’s story is not just historical but has multiple applications for contemporary life, especially in terms of leadership that unites. He points out the current widespread anger and conflict, asking where the leaders are who can bring people together.

1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:05,260 Well, good morning everyone. And please open your Bible at 2nd Samuel in Chapter 2. It 2 00:00:05,260 –> 00:00:12,640 is my delight to be beginning a new series in this part of the scriptures together today. 3 00:00:12,640 –> 00:00:18,360 Our series is called A Leader You Can Follow. And I want you to know why I’ve been drawn 4 00:00:18,360 –> 00:00:23,420 to these chapters, so that we will see right from the beginning how they speak into our 5 00:00:23,420 –> 00:00:26,040 lives today. 6 00:00:26,059 –> 00:00:30,900 When God’s people came into the promised land, each of the tribes, with the exception of 7 00:00:30,900 –> 00:00:39,459 Levi, received a portion of the land. Each of these 12 tribes were governed by their 8 00:00:39,459 –> 00:00:46,680 elders. And if one of the tribes was attacked by an enemy, the alarm would be raised and 9 00:00:46,680 –> 00:00:53,500 the other tribes would come to their defense. But there was no national structure to bring 10 00:00:53,599 –> 00:01:00,599 them together. The tribes were simply a loose association bound by family history, family 11 00:01:00,660 –> 00:01:07,660 loyalty and affection. But there was no army, there was no strategy for national defense, 12 00:01:07,900 –> 00:01:14,900 just 12 tribes, helping each other out on a kind of as needed basis. 13 00:01:14,900 –> 00:01:20,800 Now, the problems with this over time became very obvious. Some tribes very simply didn’t 14 00:01:20,800 –> 00:01:27,120 pull their weight. If, for example, there was a problem in the tribe of Naphtali in 15 00:01:27,120 –> 00:01:32,639 the north, then it would be of obvious interest for the people of Assur and Zebulun who were 16 00:01:32,639 –> 00:01:39,639 close by to come and help. But when the call for help from Naphtali got all the way down 17 00:01:41,599 –> 00:01:48,059 to the people of say Ruban in the south east, well you can imagine what the reaction might 18 00:01:48,180 –> 00:01:53,040 be. I mean, can’t these brothers sort out their own problems up there, hundreds of miles 19 00:01:53,040 –> 00:01:59,000 away from us? I mean, do they really need us to up stakes and to go and to help them? 20 00:01:59,000 –> 00:02:05,000 Besides, what has the tribe of Naphtali ever done for us? And is it really in our interest 21 00:02:05,000 –> 00:02:12,000 to get involved here? And so forth and so on. Why should we go and fight for them? 22 00:02:12,000 –> 00:02:18,740 Well in the absence of a leader who was able to bring these tribes together, what happened 23 00:02:18,740 –> 00:02:25,580 was that over the years the tribe simply pursued their own individual interest. And that of 24 00:02:25,580 –> 00:02:33,300 course was why they were weak, and that was why they kept being picked off by their enemies. 25 00:02:33,619 –> 00:02:40,259 God’s people over time realized that they had a problem and eventually came to a consensus 26 00:02:40,320 –> 00:02:49,220 about what the answer would be. We need a king. We need someone who can unite us as 27 00:02:49,220 –> 00:02:57,039 one. We need someone who can secure our defense. We need someone who can govern us all with 28 00:02:57,039 –> 00:03:01,580 justice. And so in the First Book of Samuel, chapter 29 00:03:01,580 –> 00:03:07,339 eight and verse twenty, you have people saying there shall be a king over us. That we shall 30 00:03:07,339 –> 00:03:13,899 be like the other nations and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight 31 00:03:13,899 –> 00:03:22,660 our battles. Now as many of you know, the first king was a man by the name of Saul. 32 00:03:22,660 –> 00:03:30,740 He came to the throne, really on a wave of popular support. But very quickly, he proved 33 00:03:30,740 –> 00:03:38,360 to be a big disappointment. The first book of Samuel tells us the sad story, and it was 34 00:03:38,360 –> 00:03:48,139 an increasingly sad story of his reign. Saul became arrogant. He actually built a monument 35 00:03:48,139 –> 00:03:58,279 to himself. Can you imagine that? He was devious. The bible says he was foolish, and over time, 36 00:03:58,339 –> 00:04:05,619 the first king of Israel became increasingly unstable. And the chapters of 1 Samuel trace 37 00:04:05,619 –> 00:04:14,320 the story of Saul s sad reign that ended when he died, taking his own life after he had 38 00:04:14,320 –> 00:04:22,899 been injured on the field of battle. So God s people had wanted a king to deliver them 39 00:04:23,059 –> 00:04:30,299 from their troubles. What they found was that the wrong king actually made their troubles 40 00:04:30,299 –> 00:04:39,739 worse. Well, early in the reign of Saul, God said to the prophet Samuel, I have provided 41 00:04:39,739 –> 00:04:47,220 for myself a king. And at the direction of the Lord, Samuel anointed David who is the 42 00:04:47,220 –> 00:04:53,859 focus of our attention in these series over these next weeks. Now David, as most of you 43 00:04:53,859 –> 00:04:58,859 know, after he had been anointed by Saul, he would only have been a teenager at the 44 00:04:58,859 –> 00:05:06,119 time. But after he was anointed, he came to people’s attention when word got around about 45 00:05:06,119 –> 00:05:11,940 the remarkable triumph that by the grace of God, he had won over a notorious enemy by 46 00:05:11,959 –> 00:05:22,320 the name of Goliath. And when David’s fame and popularity grew, Saul became jealous. 47 00:05:22,320 –> 00:05:29,500 The bible tells us that, the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, but the Lord was 48 00:05:29,500 –> 00:05:38,200 with David and so Saul feared David. Saul, as the years went on, out of this jealousy 49 00:05:38,519 –> 00:05:45,519 and anger and his increasing instability, actually tried on several occasions to kill the man 50 00:05:47,000 –> 00:05:52,420 who would be his own successor. What an extraordinary thing to do. To kill the man who would be 51 00:05:52,420 –> 00:05:59,420 his own successor. He was unsuccessful because God protected David, but for years what this 52 00:06:00,019 –> 00:06:06,779 meant was that David was on the run, trying to find refuge wherever he could find a safe 53 00:06:07,100 –> 00:06:10,940 place. Sometimes among the people of God, sometimes even among the enemies of God who 54 00:06:10,940 –> 00:06:17,940 seemed glad to harbor the enemy of Israel’s king. Saul hated David. Hated him viscerally. 55 00:06:27,739 –> 00:06:34,700 That did not mean that David hated Saul. In fact, throughout his life David honored Saul 56 00:06:35,019 –> 00:06:42,019 this very unstable, often foolish, self-absorbed king. As long as Saul lived, David honored him as 57 00:06:44,700 –> 00:06:51,700 king and refused to raise a hand against him. But when Saul died on the field of battle, 58 00:06:53,579 –> 00:06:58,220 as I’ve described, David was actually a king in exile. 59 00:06:58,299 –> 00:07:04,500 At that point where we take up the story in 2 Samuel and chapter 2, God’s people were 60 00:07:04,500 –> 00:07:11,500 defeated, they were demoralized, and they were deeply, deeply, divided. Their enemies 61 00:07:12,980 –> 00:07:19,980 had triumphed. They were at a low point in their story until David became king. 62 00:07:20,040 –> 00:07:27,040 David became king. Now David was without question the greatest of the Old Testament kings. Under 63 00:07:29,079 –> 00:07:35,000 his leadership, and this was his remarkable achievement, he for the very first time really 64 00:07:35,000 –> 00:07:42,000 brought the twelve tribes together and united them as one people. A nation was born. And 65 00:07:42,339 –> 00:07:49,339 the enemies of God’s people were pushed back. A kingdom was established and God’s people 66 00:07:50,980 –> 00:07:57,980 prospered under the rule of David as they had never done before. And the story of how 67 00:07:58,000 –> 00:08:05,000 all of this happened is told for us in the second book of Samuel. Now let’s get our 68 00:08:05,040 –> 00:08:12,040 minds tuned in then to the multiple applications of this story for all of us today. We are 69 00:08:14,279 –> 00:08:21,279 surely living at a time where we desperately, desperately need leadership that unites. In 70 00:08:24,559 –> 00:08:31,559 every sphere, what we see all around us is growing anger and conflict. Where are the 71 00:08:32,280 –> 00:08:39,280 leaders who can bring people together? And I am saying that is a pressing issue before 72 00:08:40,900 –> 00:08:43,299 us in every sphere of life. 73 00:08:43,299 –> 00:08:49,599 So let me start with the most immediate. Let us start with the world of churches. How many 74 00:08:49,599 –> 00:08:56,440 times have I had a call or a conversation at a conference with an elder from a church 75 00:08:56,440 –> 00:09:01,460 somewhere in the country who has some connection with us here and they’re reaching out in 76 00:09:01,460 –> 00:09:06,000 a general way? And the conversation will go like this, Collin our church has gone through 77 00:09:06,000 –> 00:09:13,000 a difficult time. We’re looking to find a pastor who can bring people together under 78 00:09:14,580 –> 00:09:21,580 a common vision. Do you know anyone who you think could help us? Anyone in Christian leadership 79 00:09:23,099 –> 00:09:27,760 knows what it is to have a conversation like that many, many times. It’s the great need 80 00:09:27,780 –> 00:09:34,780 of the hour. Where are people who can bring others together? And we need leadership that 81 00:09:35,380 –> 00:09:42,380 unites in every sphere of life. What does it look like to exercise an influence where 82 00:09:42,900 –> 00:09:49,900 God has placed you to bring people in this divided world together? In business, in industry, 83 00:09:50,780 –> 00:09:57,780 in education, in politics? Where is hope going to be found for a troubled marriage where 84 00:09:59,679 –> 00:10:06,500 even two people find it very difficult to come together as one? And what about the dysfunctional 85 00:10:06,500 –> 00:10:11,719 family where everyone is pooling in a different direction. What would it look like to exercise 86 00:10:11,719 –> 00:10:18,719 in that family leadership that unites? That’s the question that is before us. 87 00:10:20,099 –> 00:10:27,099 And it’s all around us. We love to say here in America, out of many one. Isn’t that a 88 00:10:28,039 –> 00:10:34,380 marvelous phrase? Out of many one. That’s a glorious vision. 89 00:10:34,380 –> 00:10:39,380 The question is, how in the world is it going to happen? 90 00:10:39,380 –> 00:10:45,659 How do we get beyond the power of special interests and the rule of the loudest voices 91 00:10:46,179 –> 00:10:53,179 actually seek again the common good? Well, I’m saying to you that that is exactly what 92 00:10:53,840 –> 00:10:59,539 these chapters that are before us for these coming weeks address. 93 00:10:59,539 –> 00:11:06,539 We’re going to be looking together at the story of how David was able to unite a nation. 94 00:11:07,059 –> 00:11:11,559 We’re going to discover here what godly leadership looks like, and it’s much more than having 95 00:11:11,719 –> 00:11:18,719 confidence in strength. It takes wisdom, it takes courage, and it takes skill. 96 00:11:20,059 –> 00:11:26,479 And bringing these disparate tribes together was not the work of days or weeks or months. 97 00:11:26,479 –> 00:11:33,059 We will see in these chapters, it took years. It took perseverance. It took patience, as 98 00:11:33,059 –> 00:11:40,059 bringing people together always does. But by the grace of god, David did it. 99 00:11:41,039 –> 00:11:49,159 And these chapters are the story of how god’s people were brought into the best 100 00:11:49,159 –> 00:11:52,039 years they ever knew. 101 00:11:54,760 –> 00:11:57,859 Now one more thing to say by way of introduction, as we’re 102 00:11:57,859 –> 00:12:02,020 getting ourselves oriented to where we are in the Bible’s story for these 103 00:12:02,020 –> 00:12:08,359 weeks. The life of David really falls into three parts or three chapters if 104 00:12:08,659 –> 00:12:14,419 you like. The first we could call his trials, the long years in which he was 105 00:12:14,419 –> 00:12:20,340 hunted and persecuted by King Saul. The second chapter which is the one we’re 106 00:12:20,340 –> 00:12:25,940 focusing on in the coming weeks we could call his triumphs. When by the grace of 107 00:12:25,940 –> 00:12:31,820 God he brought people together and established the Kingdom. Then there was 108 00:12:31,820 –> 00:12:37,260 as many of you know a third chapter in his life that we could describe as his 109 00:12:37,919 –> 00:12:46,479 troubles that came of course through his own sins and his own folly. Three very 110 00:12:46,479 –> 00:12:53,419 distinct chapters in the life of this remarkable man David. We did actually 111 00:12:53,419 –> 00:12:58,280 look some years ago at the first chapter of David’s life and God’s willing at 112 00:12:58,280 –> 00:13:03,039 some point in the future we will look at the last chapter of his life. But in 113 00:13:03,179 –> 00:13:08,979 these coming weeks we’re looking at this middle chapter. The greatest chapter of 114 00:13:08,979 –> 00:13:14,599 his life his triumphs when he established a kingdom. So this middle 115 00:13:14,599 –> 00:13:18,520 chapter of David’s life is David at his best. 116 00:13:20,440 –> 00:13:26,739 This is the high point of his life. These chapters are the ones in which 117 00:13:26,739 –> 00:13:32,919 more than anywhere else in his life he clearly points us to the Lord Jesus 118 00:13:32,919 –> 00:13:41,679 Christ. But I want to say even here that the Bible never presents David as if he 119 00:13:41,679 –> 00:13:48,820 were a paragon of virtue. He had in each of his chapters of life as 120 00:13:48,820 –> 00:13:53,520 we all do sins and failings that were many and the scripture never hides them 121 00:13:53,520 –> 00:13:58,039 from us. I mean right here in the verses that were read for example 122 00:13:58,640 –> 00:14:01,500 we’re told in verse 2 that David had two wives 123 00:14:01,500 –> 00:14:06,700 Ahinoam and Abigail and we will see in the later chapters that more were added 124 00:14:06,700 –> 00:14:12,719 quite clearly contravening the pattern of God set out in creation and the 125 00:14:12,719 –> 00:14:17,599 command of God with regards to Kings not taking many wives that was set out very 126 00:14:17,599 –> 00:14:24,440 clearly in the book of Deuteronomy. So let’s be clear David needed a savior as 127 00:14:24,460 –> 00:14:30,940 much as every one of us do that by the way is why he called the Messiah who was 128 00:14:30,940 –> 00:14:38,859 to come his Lord. He’s the King and he calls the Messiah His Lord, but having 129 00:14:38,859 –> 00:14:46,940 said that in his life he does give to us remarkable glimpses of the Great King 130 00:14:46,940 –> 00:14:53,380 Jesus Christ and of the great kingdom that he has come into the world to 131 00:14:53,719 –> 00:15:00,219 establish, and as we see David gathering together as One 132 00:15:00,219 –> 00:15:07,900 the peoples of these 12 tribes we are surely to be thinking in our minds of 133 00:15:07,900 –> 00:15:14,219 the David’s greater son our Lord Jesus Christ who comes into the world to 134 00:15:14,219 –> 00:15:20,580 gather people as one from every tribe and nation, delivering them from the 135 00:15:20,880 –> 00:15:27,400 enemy who has enslaved them and making them One under his sovereign rule and 136 00:15:27,400 –> 00:15:34,080 these anticipations of the Lord Jesus Christ I think are especially clear in 137 00:15:34,080 –> 00:15:39,640 this middle chapter of David’s life where we see his remarkable achievement 138 00:15:39,640 –> 00:15:45,900 of bringing God’s people together and so I’ve chosen for the series the simple 139 00:15:45,940 –> 00:15:51,580 title A Leader You Can Follow. First because David does give to us here a 140 00:15:51,580 –> 00:15:55,479 marvelous example of what godly leadership looks like, leadership that 141 00:15:55,479 –> 00:15:58,539 unites. We’re gonna see what it’s like here and 142 00:15:58,539 –> 00:16:04,239 we might go about pursuing such influence in our world today and also 143 00:16:04,239 –> 00:16:10,140 I’ve chosen this title because David points us to Jesus, the one that we are 144 00:16:10,140 –> 00:16:16,380 committed to follow, the great King who invites us to live under the blessing of 145 00:16:16,380 –> 00:16:22,820 his marvelous rule. Well now I hope then that you have your Bible open at 2nd 146 00:16:22,820 –> 00:16:29,140 Samuel and chapter 2 as we begin this marvelous story. And I want you to notice 147 00:16:29,140 –> 00:16:35,099 that the very first thing that David did as he launched out on this new chapter 148 00:16:35,820 –> 00:16:42,559 the first thing to do in any new chapter and any new initiative he sought the 149 00:16:42,559 –> 00:16:50,679 face of God in prayer. After this, verse one, that is after the death of Saul and 150 00:16:50,679 –> 00:16:58,760 the mourning that followed, after this David inquired of the Lord, shall I go up 151 00:16:59,080 –> 00:17:09,760 into any of the cities of Judah? Now remember that David had known since his 152 00:17:09,760 –> 00:17:16,040 teenage years that God had anointed him to be king. That had happened at the hand 153 00:17:16,040 –> 00:17:23,280 of Samuel pouring the oil on him. It recorded in 1st Samuel and chapter 16. 154 00:17:23,959 –> 00:17:32,640 But for more than a decade, David has been a king without a people. And the 155 00:17:32,640 –> 00:17:41,680 question when Saul died was very simple. Are there any people anywhere who 156 00:17:41,680 –> 00:17:48,160 actually want to own David as their king? In any of the towns. That’s the 157 00:17:48,160 –> 00:17:55,359 question. Shall I go up, verse 2, to any of the cities of Judah? Now of course 158 00:17:55,359 –> 00:17:59,719 Judah was David’s own tribe and so it made sense that that would be where he 159 00:17:59,719 –> 00:18:04,239 would go first. But here’s the question. Even among my own people you see he came 160 00:18:04,239 –> 00:18:08,560 to his own and his own received him not. But to as many as received him he gave 161 00:18:08,560 –> 00:18:14,160 the right to become children of God. Those who were born of God. And this is 162 00:18:14,160 –> 00:18:17,959 where David is. Is there going to be any welcome for me? Is there going to be any 163 00:18:18,060 –> 00:18:28,439 reception, for my rule, my reign, any place for my kingdom on this earth? And the 164 00:18:28,439 –> 00:18:35,719 answer is yes there is. There are people who will welcome the reign of God’s 165 00:18:35,719 –> 00:18:42,479 anointed King. David you go up to Hebron and you’ll find them there. 166 00:18:42,500 –> 00:18:48,599 Now, Hebron was hardly a major city, of course, it’s known in the Bible as the 167 00:18:48,599 –> 00:18:56,439 place where Abraham, and later Isaac and Jacob, resided. But one commentator 168 00:18:56,439 –> 00:19:03,599 describes Hebron as a provincial backwater. Don’t think that this is some major city, 169 00:19:03,599 –> 00:19:10,160 this is out in the Styx. A provincial backwater. And David goes to this place 170 00:19:10,339 –> 00:19:16,880 out in the Styx and we’re told that there, verse 4, the men of Judah came and 171 00:19:16,880 –> 00:19:27,900 they anointed David king over the house of Judah. Now remember that God had 172 00:19:27,900 –> 00:19:35,140 already anointed David as king through the Prophet Samuel. And so when these 173 00:19:35,180 –> 00:19:38,959 people at Hebron anointed him as their king, 174 00:19:38,959 –> 00:19:46,260 they were simply agreeing with what God had already done. And that actually gives 175 00:19:46,260 –> 00:19:52,040 us a marvelous picture of what faith means for us today. You see, long ago God 176 00:19:52,040 –> 00:20:00,780 anointed Jesus Christ his son as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. He 177 00:20:00,939 –> 00:20:06,959 exalted him to the highest place and gave to Jesus the name that is above 178 00:20:06,959 –> 00:20:11,880 every name that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue 179 00:20:11,880 –> 00:20:18,280 confess that he is Lord to the glory of God the Father. So, when you crown Jesus 180 00:20:18,280 –> 00:20:23,640 Christ as Lord of your life, you are simply saying amen to what God has 181 00:20:23,640 –> 00:20:27,979 already done. You’re agreeing with God over Jesus. Actually, that’s the essence 182 00:20:28,079 –> 00:20:34,459 of what faith is. It’s that you agree with God in regards to Jesus because God 183 00:20:34,459 –> 00:20:38,459 has highly exalted him. When you exalt him as your king and as your Lord and 184 00:20:38,459 –> 00:20:42,560 submit your life to him you’re in line with what God has declared and done in 185 00:20:42,560 –> 00:20:53,839 regards to his Son Jesus Christ. Now this anointing at Hebron was a great moment 186 00:20:54,040 –> 00:21:01,380 in the flow of the Bible’s story because think about it here out in the sticks in 187 00:21:01,380 –> 00:21:10,579 our rural backwater for the very first time there were people on earth who 188 00:21:10,579 –> 00:21:21,339 lived under the rule of God’s chosen king. God’s anointed King David ruled in 189 00:21:21,420 –> 00:21:29,479 Judah. A tiny postage stamp on the map but at least there was some place on the 190 00:21:29,479 –> 00:21:37,040 face of the earth where God’s anointed King actually reigned. By the way that’s 191 00:21:37,040 –> 00:21:43,160 what the church is isn’t it it’s a community of people in particular 192 00:21:43,160 –> 00:21:50,119 locations across the whole of the earth who gather together under the rule of 193 00:21:50,880 –> 00:21:56,819 God’s anointed King Jesus Christ and seek to live under the blessing of His 194 00:21:56,819 –> 00:22:04,760 rule. And that first gathering of such people that first gathering of those who 195 00:22:04,760 –> 00:22:08,920 lived under the blessing of the rule of God’s anointed King was not exactly 196 00:22:08,920 –> 00:22:17,079 numerically impressive. I mean if the data analysts had got going on a survey 197 00:22:17,479 –> 00:22:23,239 of the whole area covered by the Twelve Tribes and brought in the report on the 198 00:22:23,239 –> 00:22:27,040 prospects of David, I think it wouldn’t have been very impressive in those days, 199 00:22:27,040 –> 00:22:35,880 you know. What percentage of people acknowledge the kingship of David? Well 200 00:22:35,880 –> 00:22:41,760 he’s got one tribe for him and eleven who don’t acknowledge him at all. How 201 00:22:41,760 –> 00:22:46,520 many college students believe that life will be better under David’s rule, you 202 00:22:46,839 –> 00:22:53,640 know? The answers would not be encouraging. And sometimes Christian 203 00:22:53,640 –> 00:22:57,319 believers, we do kind of look at each other and we say, well you know our in 204 00:22:57,319 –> 00:23:04,640 the vastness of the world. Here we are acknowledging the rule of King Jesus. 205 00:23:04,640 –> 00:23:12,119 And sometimes we have the feeling that maybe we’re not that much. But the story 206 00:23:12,180 –> 00:23:16,660 that’s before us reminds us that from these very, very small beginnings in the 207 00:23:16,660 –> 00:23:25,020 rural backwater of Hebron. A Great Kingdom was established and when you 208 00:23:25,020 –> 00:23:29,060 think about that story that we’re going to follow over these weeks. Surely what 209 00:23:29,060 –> 00:23:35,719 it does. Is it points us forward as a kind of foretaste or forecast of the 210 00:23:35,719 –> 00:23:39,979 Kingdom of Jesus. When he comes into the world. And you remember what he said. The 211 00:23:40,280 –> 00:23:45,260 kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, the smallest of all seeds. But it does 212 00:23:45,260 –> 00:23:53,439 grow and it becomes a great and a marvelous tree. And you remember the 213 00:23:53,439 –> 00:23:58,280 story of the New Testament is exactly on that pattern. When Jesus ascended into 214 00:23:58,280 –> 00:24:04,819 heaven what was left there were a hundred and twenty people, and they’re in 215 00:24:04,819 –> 00:24:09,160 an upper room and they’re all pretty scared, and they feel overwhelmed by the 216 00:24:09,219 –> 00:24:14,800 vastness of the world, and the weight of the culture against them, and all of this. 217 00:24:14,800 –> 00:24:20,439 What’s the prospect for this little group of a hundred and twenty people who 218 00:24:20,439 –> 00:24:28,000 are gathered? What kind of influence are they ever ever going to have? But you see 219 00:24:28,000 –> 00:24:32,560 within a generation you have John who was there in that upper room and he’s 220 00:24:32,560 –> 00:24:38,599 given a marvelous vision of what one day every Christian will see. We have it 221 00:24:38,640 –> 00:24:42,199 recorded in what we call the book of Revelation, and John says this, 222 00:24:42,199 –> 00:24:49,479 I looked and behold a great multitude that no one could number. And they’re 223 00:24:49,479 –> 00:24:55,760 from every nation and notice this, from all tribes, and all peoples, and all 224 00:24:55,760 –> 00:24:59,400 languages, standing before the throne of God and the Lamb and they’re crying out 225 00:24:59,400 –> 00:25:04,439 with a loud voice, salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to 226 00:25:04,439 –> 00:25:11,599 the Lamb. Now this journey from the hundred or so in Jerusalem who own the 227 00:25:11,599 –> 00:25:16,739 rule of Jesus to the multitude that no one can count to rejoice under the 228 00:25:16,739 –> 00:25:24,020 benefits of his rule, that marvelous journey of which we are a part is 229 00:25:24,020 –> 00:25:31,199 forecast in the story that we are looking at. It’s foreshadowed in the 230 00:25:31,400 –> 00:25:37,579 story of how starting from that little enclave in Hebron people from the 231 00:25:37,579 –> 00:25:42,040 north and the south and the east and the west, from these twelve tribes one by one 232 00:25:42,040 –> 00:25:48,400 gradually came to own allegiance and become part of this great kingdom of 233 00:25:48,400 –> 00:25:54,699 which God had anointed David to be the head. So what we’re following here is 234 00:25:54,719 –> 00:26:00,579 then the story of a great king and it’s the story of two groups of 235 00:26:00,579 –> 00:26:05,140 people. There are those who are for his and there are those who are not, some of 236 00:26:05,140 –> 00:26:11,040 them are implacably opposed to him, and what it is, is the story of how this 237 00:26:11,040 –> 00:26:18,099 great king reaches out to his enemies and wins them and causes them to become 238 00:26:18,099 –> 00:26:24,939 his friends. It is therefore as it were a story that illustrates how people come 239 00:26:25,020 –> 00:26:31,459 into God’s kingdom, how the mission that is given to the church actually 240 00:26:31,459 –> 00:26:39,420 advances in the world. It is a story then that speaks volumes to us about how we 241 00:26:39,420 –> 00:26:44,739 are to pursue our mission in a world that doesn’t honor our king. That’s what 242 00:26:44,739 –> 00:26:52,160 David’s doing, how do you reach out when there’s a huge majority who owe no 243 00:26:52,500 –> 00:27:02,319 allegiance to our king. Now the very first reaching out that David ever did 244 00:27:02,319 –> 00:27:10,479 after this remarkable anointing in the backwater of Hebron was to people of a 245 00:27:10,479 –> 00:27:20,520 town called Jabesh Gilead. Look at verse 4, when they told David it was the men 246 00:27:20,520 –> 00:27:28,599 of Jabesh Gilead who buried Saul. David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh 247 00:27:28,599 –> 00:27:37,640 Gilead let’s go talk to them first he says. Now the significance of this is 248 00:27:37,640 –> 00:27:44,319 that the people of Jabesh Gilead were hardcore supporters of Saul and there 249 00:27:44,319 –> 00:27:49,739 was a reason for that you can read about it in 1st Samuel in chapter 11. Years 250 00:27:49,739 –> 00:27:55,859 earlier there had been a wicked enemy today I think we would without question 251 00:27:55,859 –> 00:28:03,939 call him a terrorist. A man by the name of Nahash who came with his force to 252 00:28:03,939 –> 00:28:12,459 this town of Jabesh Gilead and threatened the most vulgar violence. He 253 00:28:12,839 –> 00:28:21,099 said, I will give you two choices. One I wipe you out, two you surrender to me and 254 00:28:21,099 –> 00:28:30,079 become my slaves and as a condition of that compromise I will gouge out the 255 00:28:30,079 –> 00:28:37,359 right eye of every citizen of the town. I mean talk about terror right and you’ve 256 00:28:37,359 –> 00:28:41,760 got seven days to make up your mind which you want. 257 00:28:41,760 –> 00:28:45,599 The people of Jabesh got a message 258 00:28:45,599 –> 00:28:56,859 to Saul. Saul brought an army and wiped out Nahash and his terrorist army and 259 00:28:56,859 –> 00:29:04,040 the people of Jabesh as you can imagine never forgot what Saul had done for them. 260 00:29:04,040 –> 00:29:11,300 They loved him and they were intensely loyal to him more loyal to Saul than 261 00:29:11,300 –> 00:29:22,219 anyone else anywhere in the 12 tribes. So this is the hardcore of Saulism. Years 262 00:29:22,219 –> 00:29:27,099 later you can read about this at the end of First Tamul when Saul died on the 263 00:29:27,099 –> 00:29:31,459 field of battle as I’ve described the Philistines, the enemies in that 264 00:29:31,459 –> 00:29:36,219 battle they came the following day and when they found his body they thought 265 00:29:36,219 –> 00:29:41,979 oh we can humiliate all of our enemies here and so they took the corpse of Saul 266 00:29:41,979 –> 00:29:49,239 back to a temple of one of their gods one of their idols and they put his body 267 00:29:49,239 –> 00:29:55,380 his corpse on public display as an act of humiliation and degradation. The man 268 00:29:55,459 –> 00:30:01,579 wasn’t even given a proper burial and when the people of Jabesh heard about 269 00:30:01,579 –> 00:30:07,660 this they were outraged and so they undertook what we today would call a 270 00:30:07,660 –> 00:30:13,219 commando raid. Under cover of darkness they went into enemy territory right 271 00:30:13,219 –> 00:30:18,939 into the temple itself of one of the Philistine gods and retrieved the body 272 00:30:18,939 –> 00:30:25,479 of their fallen king and brought it back to Jabesh and gave him a proper burial 273 00:30:25,479 –> 00:30:32,040 and that’s what’s referred to here when the people tell David what they have 274 00:30:32,040 –> 00:30:37,599 done. it was a daring and dangerous mission but they were willing to risk 275 00:30:37,599 –> 00:30:44,199 their lives even for a dead king. They had loved him that much. 276 00:30:44,479 –> 00:30:50,319 So then if ever there were people who were Saul’s people, it was the people of 277 00:30:50,319 –> 00:30:56,880 Jabesh Gilead. I mean here’s their worldview. What Saul is for, we are for. 278 00:30:56,880 –> 00:31:06,280 What Saul is against, we are against. And for years the person that Saul was 279 00:31:06,280 –> 00:31:12,719 most against was David. So you can imagine this was the most hostile 280 00:31:12,760 –> 00:31:19,819 audience imaginable. If there was any group of people anywhere in the land who 281 00:31:19,819 –> 00:31:26,599 were gonna hate David, it was the people of Jabesh Gilead. The most hostile 282 00:31:26,599 –> 00:31:34,020 audience you could imagine for the message of this king. And David says 283 00:31:34,020 –> 00:31:43,900 let’s go talk to them first. Isn’t that remarkable? Let’s go talk to them. Now 284 00:31:43,900 –> 00:31:53,619 think then about the person in your life who you think least likely to own King 285 00:31:53,619 –> 00:32:01,359 Jesus. Think about the people in your workplace, in your broader circle and you 286 00:32:01,400 –> 00:32:07,319 say, I couldn’t in my wildest dreams imagine them ever being Christians. 287 00:32:09,140 –> 00:32:12,780 That’s what we’re talking about here, that the people furthest away, most 288 00:32:12,780 –> 00:32:19,719 hostile, least likely ever to own the kingship of Jesus. How would you 289 00:32:19,719 –> 00:32:26,260 approach them? How would you try and win them? That’s the question that’s 290 00:32:26,760 –> 00:32:32,300 in these verses today, because they tell us how David went about winning 291 00:32:32,300 –> 00:32:33,280 the least likely. 292 00:32:35,500 –> 00:32:41,319 Now put yourself in the shoes of the people of Job, when the messengers of 293 00:32:41,319 –> 00:32:46,540 David arrived. Here are these men, they’ve been sent by David, who has 294 00:32:46,540 –> 00:32:50,560 been crowned as king by some of the people of his own tribe on the sticks 295 00:32:50,560 –> 00:32:52,619 somewhere down in Judah. 296 00:32:53,020 –> 00:32:56,119 And what would you expect to hear. 297 00:32:56,140 –> 00:33:00,920 Now if you’re standing in the shoes of a person in Jebesh you’ve been loyal 298 00:33:00,920 –> 00:33:06,020 to Saul all of your life, intensively so, and Saul has been trying for years 299 00:33:06,199 –> 00:33:07,500 to destroy David. 300 00:33:08,900 –> 00:33:13,060 Well you’re going to be braced and ready for this messenger and your body 301 00:33:13,060 –> 00:33:17,239 language is going to say it all when you stand in the town square or whatever 302 00:33:17,260 –> 00:33:18,660 to hear this proclamation. 303 00:33:19,660 –> 00:33:21,420 We’re ready bring it on you know. 304 00:33:21,819 –> 00:33:23,920 This is the most resistant, crowd imaginable. 305 00:33:24,979 –> 00:33:31,459 What you’re expecting is, you were for Saul, I David amongst you. 306 00:33:32,739 –> 00:33:38,380 May you be cursed by the Lord, your days are numbered and I will destroy you. 307 00:33:38,380 –> 00:33:42,979 That’s what you’re expecting to hear if you are a person in Jebesh Gilead, 308 00:33:43,020 –> 00:33:49,599 but notice very strikingly that is not what the messenger of this King says. 309 00:33:49,599 –> 00:33:55,020 David sent messengers to the men of Jebesh Gilead and said to them may you 310 00:33:55,020 –> 00:33:59,380 be blessed by the Lord. People are looking at each other’s in did he say 311 00:33:59,380 –> 00:34:06,579 blessed did he say he wanted us to be blessed. 312 00:34:06,719 –> 00:34:16,379 May you be cursed. May you be blessed by the Lord. Then he goes on. 313 00:34:16,379 –> 00:34:25,620 I will do you good. 314 00:34:25,620 –> 00:34:27,620 I will do you good. 315 00:34:28,159 –> 00:34:33,020 Nobody in Jbeish ever expected to hear this. 316 00:34:36,040 –> 00:34:41,500 Here is a King, who goes to the people most hostile towards him, 317 00:34:43,439 –> 00:34:48,439 and he says, Now you were for Saul and Saul was against me. 318 00:34:49,360 –> 00:34:51,360 That does not mean that I am against you. 319 00:34:53,199 –> 00:34:55,199 I will do you good. 320 00:34:55,679 –> 00:34:58,239 And my word to you is that I want to bring you into the 321 00:34:58,239 –> 00:35:00,679 knowledge of the blessing of God, His love and of His 322 00:35:00,679 –> 00:35:01,679 faithfulness. 323 00:35:03,959 –> 00:35:06,600 Now I want to speak to the person listening today who is 324 00:35:06,600 –> 00:35:11,000 least likely to own Jesus Christ as Lord and King. 325 00:35:13,540 –> 00:35:17,340 There is an inner resistance that has developed over time 326 00:35:17,340 –> 00:35:24,919 towards Him, and you’ve got used to pushing Him away. 327 00:35:25,760 –> 00:35:28,399 And I want to say to you from this passage in the Bible, 328 00:35:28,399 –> 00:35:31,520 you may have set yourself against Jesus, that does not 329 00:35:31,520 –> 00:35:34,760 mean that Jesus has set Himself against you. 330 00:35:36,439 –> 00:35:42,540 King Jesus reaches out to those who are least likely to 331 00:35:42,540 –> 00:35:43,919 welcome Him as King. 332 00:35:46,639 –> 00:35:49,679 You may have set yourself against Jesus, that does not 333 00:35:49,679 –> 00:35:52,439 mean that Jesus has set Himself against you. 334 00:35:55,760 –> 00:35:58,939 You may imagine because you’ve set yourself against Jesus 335 00:35:58,939 –> 00:36:03,360 that it must be that His Word to you is I hate you and I 336 00:36:03,360 –> 00:36:04,459 will destroy you. 337 00:36:06,600 –> 00:36:09,399 But what Jesus says to you as He draws near in what the 338 00:36:09,399 –> 00:36:13,100 Bible calls grace is I will do you good. 339 00:36:14,840 –> 00:36:18,159 I have come to bring you into the knowledge of the love and 340 00:36:18,159 –> 00:36:19,699 of the faithfulness of God. 341 00:36:20,379 –> 00:36:24,199 And so no doubt as people are reeling from what they’re 342 00:36:24,199 –> 00:36:26,340 hearing can we believe this. 343 00:36:28,139 –> 00:36:30,379 That the one we hate is actually 344 00:36:32,080 –> 00:36:36,939 reaching out to us in love to seek to do us good. 345 00:36:38,760 –> 00:36:40,419 Could there be a King like that. 346 00:36:42,760 –> 00:36:46,100 David follows this Word of grace with a marvellous invitation 347 00:36:46,520 –> 00:36:51,739 He says now therefore let your hands be strong be valiant. 348 00:36:52,800 –> 00:36:57,879 For Saul your Lord is dead and the House of Judah has anointed 349 00:36:57,879 –> 00:36:59,699 me as the King over them. 350 00:37:00,919 –> 00:37:01,939 You see what he’s saying. 351 00:37:03,500 –> 00:37:07,199 And he’s reaching out to them to try and make them his friends. 352 00:37:07,979 –> 00:37:11,379 And he’s saying Look the kingdom you’ve been living for is 353 00:37:12,179 –> 00:37:13,739 passing away. 354 00:37:14,340 –> 00:37:16,399 You know that you know that. 355 00:37:18,340 –> 00:37:21,860 But the good news is that a new kingdom is rising and there’s 356 00:37:21,860 –> 00:37:26,260 room in it for you and there’s a welcome for you in it even 357 00:37:26,260 –> 00:37:29,139 though you have long set yourself against it. 358 00:37:30,560 –> 00:37:33,300 And this is the word of the king who lives. 359 00:37:33,340 –> 00:37:36,060 Thank God our King is the king who lives right. 360 00:37:36,979 –> 00:37:40,239 And this is the words of the king who lives what you’ve been 361 00:37:40,239 –> 00:37:44,500 giving yourself to now has no power to help you. 362 00:37:47,159 –> 00:37:52,100 But I will do you good and you know what when you come to 363 00:37:52,100 –> 00:37:57,219 believe that Jesus Christ will do you good even though you may 364 00:37:57,219 –> 00:38:01,500 long have set yourself against him you will be ready to 365 00:38:01,500 –> 00:38:03,459 embrace him as your king. 366 00:38:03,820 –> 00:38:07,199 But that takes courage. 367 00:38:09,379 –> 00:38:12,679 And David knows that and that is why he says let your hands be 368 00:38:12,679 –> 00:38:14,459 strong and be valiant. 369 00:38:16,879 –> 00:38:20,300 If you grow up surrounded by Christian faith and then you 370 00:38:20,300 –> 00:38:24,639 have chosen to go in a different direction it will be no small 371 00:38:24,639 –> 00:38:27,860 thing for you now to own Jesus Christ as your king. 372 00:38:28,840 –> 00:38:31,199 You become used to pushing him away has become part of your 373 00:38:31,199 –> 00:38:34,679 identity. Everyone knows that’s what you do. It will be no small 374 00:38:34,679 –> 00:3:36,080 thing for you. 375 00:38:37,320 –> 00:38:41,040 To embrace Jesus Christ is your care. So David says here now 376 00:38:41,040 –> 00:38:43,439 you got to be strong you’ve got to be courageous at this point. 377 00:38:44,840 –> 00:38:48,719 You can’t go on living. Putting your hope in a dead king who 378 00:38:48,719 –> 00:38:52,500 can help you. You’ve got to come to the living King who says I 379 00:38:52,500 –> 00:38:53,620 will do you good. 380 00:38:56,000 –> 00:38:59,520 If you were brought up in a different faith a growing 381 00:38:59,520 –> 00:39:05,060 number of us come from a background a tradition a family 382 00:39:05,060 –> 00:39:08,760 an upbringing that was entirely alien from Christianity or 383 00:39:08,760 –> 00:39:13,040 perhaps you were brought up with absolutely no faith at all. 384 00:39:14,919 –> 00:39:17,879 Well it will be no small thing for you to take your stand with 385 00:39:17,879 –> 00:39:22,520 Jesus Christ. You need to hear this word. You may have been 386 00:39:22,520 –> 00:39:26,639 against Jesus but that does not mean that Jesus is against you. 387 00:39:26,639 –> 00:39:32,520 And he invites you to live now under the blessing of His rule 388 00:39:32,840 –> 00:39:37,300 and He says to you today I will do you good and if you will 389 00:39:37,300 –> 00:39:41,879 believe that you will gladly freely submit your life to him 390 00:39:41,879 –> 00:39:43,540 as your Lord and as your king. 391 00:39:45,479 –> 00:39:47,719 You may be saying that at this point why in the world would he 392 00:39:47,719 –> 00:39:48,879 want to do good to me? 393 00:39:50,959 –> 00:39:53,199 And that’s what the Bible calls grace. 394 00:39:54,159 –> 00:39:59,020 We were enemies of Jesus but that that does not make Jesus an 395 00:39:59,020 –> 00:40:00,219 enemy to us. 396 00:40:02,100 –> 00:40:08,780 While we were still his enemies Christ died for us and it’s 397 00:40:08,780 –> 00:40:12,320 when you understand the grace of this King who reaches out to 398 00:40:12,320 –> 00:40:16,439 the least likely to his enemies to people or hearts set against 399 00:40:16,439 –> 00:40:19,020 him and wins them over as his friends. 400 00:40:19,300 –> 00:40:22,879 It’s when you understand the grace of this king that the 401 00:40:23,179 –> 00:40:28,139 response of faith and taking your stand with him becomes 402 00:40:28,139 –> 00:40:28,719 possible. 403 00:40:28,739 –> 00:40:32,659 You get the courage to take your stand with Jesus Christ when 404 00:40:32,659 –> 00:40:37,260 you understand the grace with which he reaches out to you when 405 00:40:37,260 –> 00:40:40,840 you know and believe that this king will do you good. 406 00:40:41,139 –> 00:40:45,860 You will gladly and freely submit to his rule and knowing 407 00:40:45,860 –> 00:40:50,919 that he will do you good and that he is for you even when you 408 00:40:50,919 –> 00:40:55,879 were against him is what you discover at the cross. 409 00:40:58,260 –> 00:41:01,820 So friends in this little story I’m suggesting to you that we 410 00:41:01,820 –> 00:41:06,020 actually have the whole story of the Bible in a tiny little 411 00:41:06,020 –> 00:41:10,280 nutshell because what is the story of the Bible. 412 00:41:10,320 –> 00:41:14,399 The story of the Bible is that there is a great king anointed 413 00:41:14,399 –> 00:41:19,800 by God and there are some people for him and there are some 414 00:41:19,800 –> 00:41:21,080 people who are against him. 415 00:41:22,679 –> 00:41:26,040 But this king is always reaching out and especially to those 416 00:41:26,040 –> 00:41:30,000 least likely to receive him and he speaks words of grace. 417 00:41:30,020 –> 00:41:36,659 He says I will do you good God did not send his son into the 418 00:41:36,659 –> 00:41:41,360 world to condemn the world but that the world through him might 419 00:41:41,360 –> 00:41:42,280 be saved. 420 00:41:44,439 –> 00:41:50,159 Well me his grace give to every one of us the courage to stand 421 00:41:50,159 –> 00:41:56,879 with him as our king and then to be messengers of his grace so 422 00:41:56,879 –> 00:42:01,699 that people from every tribe and every nation including the least 423 00:42:01,699 –> 00:42:07,159 likely they come to live under the blessing of his marvelous 424 00:42:07,159 –> 00:42:07,580 rule. 425 00:42:08,159 –> 00:42:08,840 Let’s pray together. 426 00:42:09,820 –> 00:42:13,639 Father thank you for the grace that is in the Lord Jesus 427 00:42:13,639 –> 00:42:14,159 Christ. 428 00:42:16,040 –> 00:42:22,360 May each of us come to believe and therefore gladly and freely 429 00:42:22,360 –> 00:42:27,840 to submit to the king who will do us good and may we be 430 00:42:27,840 –> 00:42:30,919 messengers of grace and in a divided world. 431 00:42:31,760 –> 00:42:37,320 Learn more and more of how we in the name of Jesus may play our 432 00:42:37,840 –> 00:42:41,800 part and have an influence for good in the lives of others. 433 00:42:41,840 –> 00:42:44,000 And these things we pray in Jesus name and everyone 434 00:42:44,000 –> 00:42:44,580 together said Amen.

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Colin Smith

Trustee / Founder and Teaching Pastor

Colin Smith is the Senior Pastor of The Orchard Evangelical Free Church in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. He has authored a number of books, including Heaven, How I Got Here and Heaven, So Near – So Far. Colin is the Founder and Teaching Pastor for Open the Bible. Follow him on X formerly Twitter.

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Sermons on 2 Samuel Also see these sermons on 2 Samuel: The Life of David, Part 1: His Trials The Life of David, Part 3: His Troubles We desperately need leadership that unites. What does that look like? The life of David falls into three parts: 1. His Trials—when he was hunted and persecuted by

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