From Promise to the Palace

Let's continue our study in the life of David and in the books of Samuel, 2 Samuel chapter 2. Um, this is a I think it's going to be a chapter that speaks to a lot of you there because there are seasons in our life where it feels like God has finally brought you to the edge of what you've prayed for, hoped for, cried for, or maybe waited on for years and and and then somehow life, you know, things get complicated. You finally get the job, but the pressure is not what you expected. You finally get married and find out that they leave the cap off the toothpaste like it's some sort of spiritual gift. You finally have children and then suddenly a full night's sleep is it becomes something you speak of like the Israel talked about the promised land. You know, I've heard stories about it. That's the emotional world that we find ourselves in in 2 Samuel chapter 2. Remember, David has spent years running hiding in cave, dodging Saul's jealousy and spears, wondering if the promise of God would finally come pass. And now Saul is dead. Now look, if I were writing the story, the music would start to swell. You know that theme from Gladiator, inspirational music in the background, David riding into Jerusalem on a white horse, people cheering, the kingdom uniting, credits roll. But that's not what happens here in 2 Samuel chapter 10. It's messy. It's slow. It's complicated. It's human. And then here, David becomes king. we're going to see in this chapter, but only over the tribe of Judah. And another king rises up in the north and then civil conflict starts to brew and the nation starts to fracture. And honestly, this feels a whole lot more like real life than the movie version that I would have written in my head. Because what most of us have discovered is that God's promises usually unfold a lot slower than we expect. And we tend to think that if God is in something, everything, it's one of the great myths, but we tend to think that if God is involved in something, everything's going to be smooth, everything's going to be quick. But scripture repeatedly shows us that God is far more interested in developing us as people rather than simply accelerating the outcomes that we want so desperately. So God here, and we've seen this, is not just preparing the throne for David. He's actually preparing David for the throne. And there's a difference because anybody can receive a blessing, but not everybody can sustain it. You know, some people pray for influence before they develop their humility. They they praying for success before they develop their character. They pray for open doors before they um while while secretly hoping that God skips over the process of them walking through that door. But God, listen to me, God just doesn't merely give gifts to people. He also shapes hearts in the process. And and that shaping takes longer than we want. That's why David's story matters so much because David is living in that uncomfortable place between a promise and the fulfillment of that promise. And many of us are living and some of us are going through that right now. So let's jump into the scriptures. And it says, "And it came to pass after this after Saul had died. It came to pass after this. David inquired of the Lord." forward. You might want to underline that pause because there's a lot going on in just this one verse because David opens up with one of the most beautiful statements in his life. David inquired of the Lord. Now, now that phrase might not sound dramatic at first glance, but if you know David's story, it matters greatly because there were seasons in David's life, if you remember, where David stopped asking. He stopped inquiring and he simply started surviving. And and fear has a way of doing that to people. When when people become exhausted emotionally, they come spent physically, they're tired spiritually, they often stop seeking God and they start managing outcomes desperately. Let me say that again because this is a danger to all of us. When people become emotionally exhausted, spiritually worn out, mentally burned out, often they stop seeking God's guidance and start trying to manage the outcome. And that's their focus. And David, if you remember, he had reached that moment earlier in 1 Samuel where discouragement would cloud his judgment, where he fled into the Philistine territory where he started operating out of fear instead of faith. It was David who said, "I I'm not ever going to become Saul's going to kill me." But now something has changed. David has slowed down again. And he inquired of the Lord. Saul is dead. The path appears. The throne is near. And David asks, "Lord, where do you want me to go?" That is spiritual maturity. Because what immature people do is that they assume. What mature people do is they seek. And this is what the Lord says. He says, "I want you to go to Hebrin." He is not just some random place, y'all. He is a special place deeply connected to the people of God. Abraham had lived there. Generations of God people had passed through there. It was a place that reminded Israel of God's faithfulness over the years. The patriarchs were buried there. Abraham and Sarah were buried there. Isaac and Rebecca were buried there. Jacob and Leah were buried there. All the patriots were buried there. And not only that, Hebrin is kind of special because in Genesis chapter 13, Hebrin is where Abraham first built an altar to worship. Caleb, you know, in Numbers chapter 13, he went in with Joshua into the land of the Israelites with 10 other spies, but only he and Joshua came back and said, "Let's take the land." Even though they be as giants, we can take it. And so because of that in Joshua chapter 14, he was awarded whatever land he wanted and he said, "Give me the mountain Hein." So that was a reward for Caleb's conquering. And and then in Joshua chapter 21, Hebrin was established to one of these cities where the priests would actually minister and it was a home for the Levitical priesthood. In Joshua chapter 22, Hebrin was known as a city of mercy so that fugitives could flee there. So by the time that David shows up on the scene, this is hein where you walked into the city and you have thoughts of the patriarch, thoughts of the faithful ministry, thoughts of of Caleb being rewarded, thoughts of the fugitive finding mercies. This is Hebin. And it's almost like when the Lord says, "Hey, David, go to Hebin." The Lord is telling him, "This is what I want you to do. I I want you to go to a place where you can't help but think about my faithfulness to you." And that's a good thing for us who struggle on a daily basis, who have mental struggles, spiritual struggles, physically exhausted, to remember God's faithfulness to us, not our faithfulness to God, because that will wear you out because we are altogether unprofitable. There is none righteous, know not one. The poison of asps is upon our lips. Our righteousness, the best we have to do, is as filthy rags. That's all scripture. So, we aren't that faithful, but God is. And God says, "I want you to go to Hebin, David. I want you to go to the city where you can't help think about my goodness." And it's almost as if as if God has reminded David, hey, David, you're not just stepping into political power. You're actually stepping into a purpose that I have been building all along. And that distinction matters because there's a difference between ambition and calling. Ambition says, "How high can I rise?" But a calling says, "Lord, what do you want me to do with the gifts that you've given me?" And this is what's led to that moment. David has a calling on his life, but to get to that calling, he had to go through a process that involved pain. And pain has a way of polishing the rough edges off people. Nobody, let's be honest, nobody enjoys suffering. Nobody wakes up and says, 'Hey Lord, if it's possible, could you really devastate my comfort today? I I feel like my spiritual growth has become entirely too manageable. But the fact of the matter is David suffered and suffering does deepen people. It strips away illusions. It exposes pride. It teaches dependence. And so these caves that David have been through were painful places, but they were often every time transitional places for David because David learned in the caves before his public ministry. So God is never in a hurry. And listen to this, he is always on time. Let's go to verse four. And the men of Judah came and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, saying that the men of Jabeshgile were they that buried Saul. So here it is. God says, "Go go to Hebrin." Dave and David goes to Hebrin and the men of Judah anoint him as king finally. And and David becomes king over Judah, but not over all of Israel. And he had been promised all of Israel. What's up with the promise of God? Why aren't we there yet? Why do I only have partial fulfillment? And partial fulfillment can really feel emotionally confusing at times because now you can see the promise, but you can't you can't fully hold it. Y'all get this, right? David is king, but not fully. He's victorious, but not settled. He's he's chosen, but he's still opposed. And and that's how it feels spiritually sometimes. You know God's moving in your life. You know he's brought you through this impossible season. You know he's changed you. You know he got you over the cancer. But things still feel unfinished. God's done all that with you. He's done all that through you. But you still wrestle with anxiety. You still battle insecurity. You still carry grief. You still wonder when some of the other prayers are finally going to get answered. And one of the greatest lies we could tell ourselves. And this is a one of those great li we tell ourselves. If God were really with me, everything would feel complete and finished. That that's just a flatout lie. Because here's what scripture consistently shows us that God works progressively. Think about that from the you know first stage the first chapter of Genesis. Even creation happened in stages and many times God gives us enough fulfillment to strengthen our faith while still leaving enough incompleteness to deepen our dependence. Y'all, David served as king of Judah for seven and a half years before he became king over all of Israel. Seven and a half years. And that's after all that running away from Saul, David had already waited a long time, which means that the throne was really never the ultimate lesson. Trustw was yet, and some of us struggle because we think that delay means denial. But God develops people slowly. He Abraham waited. Joseph waited and spent time in prison. Moses waited. Israel waited 40 years Israel and and then David waits and and then Jesus spent 30 years before he started his public ministry. So the kingdom of God doesn't operate at microwave speed. And and when he's growing his people, he's growing his oak trees, not as weeds. The kingdom of God just is uh it moves at the pace that the Lord wants. So we go to verse 5 and it says, "And David sent messengers unto the men of Jabish 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 showed kindness and truth unto you, and I also require you this kindness, because you have done this thing." This is one of the more moving moments in the chapter because David had just learned that the men of Jabish Gilead had recovered the body of Saul and that they gave him kind of military honors in the burial and he was glad about that. And I want you to think about that kind of carefully, too. Dave David's a good guy. He's so much better to me. Because if if somebody who had been hunting me for years had finally died, I would want their bodies rotting publicly with maggots coming out of their eyeballs. And I would ha they deserved it. Then I'd call everybody around to joy over the humiliation. I'm not David. And anybody had a right to be bitter was David. Why? Because Saul had cost him years of peace. years without his family. Saul had cost him years of stability, years of emotional exhaustion. But David responds with grace and he blesses the men that had honored Saul. This is extraordinary because honestly myself, wounded people usually want validation for their anger. And if we're honest, bitterness can sometimes feel strangely comforting because people hold on to offenses because pain becomes familiar. And resentment sometimes it's almost like an emotional armor. But here's the problem with bitterness because it'll eventually harden your soul. It turns people cynical, suspicious, harsh, and eventually wounded people start wounding others and they certainly spread their poison to other people. That's why the Apostle Paul tells us, "Don't let the root of bitterness take root in our heart." And here's the thing about David, though, because David refused to let Saul define him emotionally. And that didn't mean, like we said last week, that David pretended that Saul was righteous. He certainly want wasn't. But grace is not about pretending evil is acceptable. Grace refuses to let hatred become your identity. And and honestly, that might be one of the clearest signs of spiritual maturity. Can you speak with restraint about people that have hurt you? Because y'all, anybody can retaliate. Anybody can nurse an offense. Anybody can be consumed with grievance. But David understands something profound here. Saul's failure did not erase the fact that Saul had once been anointed by God for leadership. And David refused to dishonor what God had once established. And that takes some maturity, especially in a culture where everybody seems eager to destroy everybody else online. We had a third shooting at the White House yesterday. Ratcheted down. Some gunman wasn't able to p penetrate the the the the perimeter of the White House, but let loose another salvo on the third one this month outside of three assassination attempts. Ratchet it down. When you start to nurse your anger, it starts to control your It starts to control your actions. And David didn't do that. David had a different spirit. Look, David could acknowledge Saul's failure without being consumed by hatred. That's strength. Let me put it another way. Weak people explode. Strong people restrain themselves. The chapter has become increasingly tragic because watch this as Abnner establishes Ishbashth Saul's son as king over the northern tribes. Here we are. Verse eight. But Abnner the son of Nur, captain of Saul's host, took Ishbasheth, the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanium, and made him king over Gilead over there in the northern tribes. Made him king over Gilead and over the Azerites, and over Jezrael, and over Abraham, and over Benjamin, and over all Israel. So, Ishbasheth, Saul's son, was 40 years old when he began to reign over Israel. and he reigned for two years. But the house of Judah followed David. So here we are in a pivotal moment in Israel's history. I want you to notice something which should have been because God was very clear with the prophet Samuel that all the tribes recognized as God's anointed prophet. All the tribes of Israel recognized it. The entire nation recognized uhh Samuel. And Samuel had anointed David as the next king. But here, what should have been a tr peaceful transition becomes an eternal internal conflict. And Israelites begin fighting Israelites. And there's something uniquely heartbreaking about internal divisions. Let me say that again. There's something uniquely heartbreaking about internal divisions, whether they're in churches or families or friendships or nations. Divisions create wounds that run deep. And that's why Satan loves it so much. If he cannot destroy us completely, he's going to divide us gradually. And you can feel sadness underneath this chapter because David himself does not seem hungry for civil wars. Matter of fact, the exact opposite. He's he's not clawing for power, but it's the people that are around him that are trying to escalate the conflict. Joab especially becomes a central figure in this. Joab is complicated. He is brilliant. He is effective. He is loyal in many ways, but he's also dangerous emotionally. And some people can win battles publicly without creating while creating destruction privately. Joab often accomplishes David's goals externally while undermining the spirit of David generally. So he's accomplishing David's goals externally, but he's undermining David generally. And and it reminds us that that tal and this is so important. It reminds us that talent without surrender is dangerous because ability alone is not maturity. A person can be gifted and still be spiritually deeply unhealthy. You can you can sing on key and still be spiritually offkey. You can you can quote scripture and still have an unsubmitted heart. You can build platforms and and still be quietly neglecting your soul. So the conflict here escalates until Abnner and Joab all allow young men to fight in representative combat just like David and Goliath did. This is what goes on. Verse eight. But Abnner the son of Nur the captain of Saul's host took Ishbasheth the son of Saul and brought him over to Mehannam and they made him king over Gilead over the Azerites over Jezrael and Era Ephraham and over Benjamin over Israelth Saul's son of 40 years was 40 years old when he began to reign. He reigned two years but the house of David house of Judah followed David and here we go. And the time David was king in Hebrew and over the house of Judah was seven years and six months. And Abner the son of Nurr went from Mehannam to Gibian. And Joab the son of Zariah, the servants of David went out, and here we go. And they met together by the pool of Gibian. And they sat down, one on one side of the pool, the other on the other side of the pool. And Abnner said to Joab, "Let the young men arise now and play before us." That's King James. It means, "Let them fight. Let them play before us." And Joab said, "Let them arise." And then there arose and went over number 12 of Benjamin and 12 of the servants of David. And they caught every one of his fellow by the head. And here we go. Thrust his sword in the fellow's side. And they fell down together worked for the place called that thing which is in Gibian. So what began kind of suddenly small all of a sudden turns deadly. And before long there's bodies all over the place. And this is how sin works. Sometimes it starts out gradually. It never stayed contained. Bitterness spread, pride spreads, unforgiveness spreads. Nobody plans on wreck in their life. People rarely wake up and say, "You know what would really honor God today?" Ah, complete emotional collapse followed by unchecked pride. Yeah. No compromise usually starts small. It always starts with a little resentment, a little ego, a little jealousy. But here's the thing about unresolved sin. It always grows and eventually everybody else around it starts to bleed too. And there was a very sore battle that day and Abner was beaten and the men of Israel before the servants of David and there were three sons of Zariah there Joab, Abashai and Ashel. And Ashel was light of foot as a wild robe and Ashel pursued after Abnner. So Abnner killed the guy and Ashel started to follow after him. And let me summarize the rest. Abnner turned to him and said, "Stop following me. Why you keep on following me? Turn thee aside, the right hand or the left. Lay thee hold on one of the young men. Take the Yazar." But Ashel would not turn aside. And Abner said again, verse 22, to Ashel, "Turn aside from following me. Wherefore should I smite thee to the ground? How then should I hold up my face to Joab thy brother? How be it, Ashel refused to turn aside? Wherefore Abner with the hinder and the end of the spear smote him under the fifth rib that the spear came out behind him and he he fell down there and died the same place. So the death of Ashel here we are becomes one of the most sobering moments in the entire chapter. Ashel is fast. He's young. He's relentless. He's passionate. He's light of foot. Super fast. Running like a deer. There been an Olympic event, Ashel would have had endorsement deals by the time he crossed the finish line. So he chases Abner aggressively and Abnner keeps telling him, "Turn aside. Turn aside. Turn aside." But Ashel refuses. And there's something very painful about it's very painfully human in the story because Ashiel mistakes his intensity for wisdom. And our culture does that constantly. We assume that louder is stronger, that faster is wiser, that passion means maturity. You see it online all the time when these people are ramping it up and starting to scream in other people's faces to get them to change their mind or just to make a scene or a show. Intensity and passion does not mean you're wise. Sometimes you're just a Karen. Is that okay to say? Is there any Karen's in the crowd? If there's a Karen online, I'm so sorry. You know what I mean? But not every pursuit is a healthy pursuit simply because it's energetic. Sometimes wisdom means stopping. Sometimes maturity means restraint. Sometimes spiritual growth means learning what battles not to chase. And there are moments when God quietly warns us, "Turn aside. Let this go. Do not keep pursuing this." But pride says, "One more step. One more step. One more step. I got to get mine." And people will destroy relationships, ministries, peace, and sometimes entire futures because they refuse to turn aside. And there is a difference between perseverance and stubbornness. One flows from faith, the other flows from ego. And eventually ael dies because he chased something that he was not prepared to handle. And there's a warning in this for all of us. Not every opportunity is from God. Not every open door should be pursued. Not every fight should be fought. Sometimes wisdom will tell us, "Leave this alone." And one of the saddest statements in the chapter comes when Abnner finally cries out because his brother Joab said, "He killed Ashel. We're going to keep on pursuing. We're going to hunt him down." And Abnne takes them up to a ridgeeline where there's all these other people and they're prepared to fight. And then he stands up and he says, "Shall the sword devour us." Verse 24. Joab also and Abashi pursued Abnner. And the sun went down when they were come to the hill of Amma lith. And the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together after Abnner and became one troop and stood on top of the hill. And Abnner called to Joab and said, "Shall the sword devour forever? Knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end? How long shall it be then thou bid the people return from following after thy brother?" And Joab said, "As God liveth, unless thou had spoken, surely then in the morning the people would have gone up, every one of us following his brother." So Joab turns his people back because of this statement. Shall the sword devour forever? What a question. Because eventually when it comes to violence, somebody has to stop the cycle. Eventually, somebody has to decide that revenge is not worth the endless destruction. And one of the deepest marks of grace is the willingness to end the cycle of bitterness, to end the family feud, to end the church conflict that you have, to end the revelational hostility. Because one wound creates another wound, one offense creates another offense. It's like in some marriages, you ask, you know, what are y'all arguing about? And they answer, we honestly don't know anymore. We're just deeply committed to it. But eventually somebody has to sound the trumpet and stops fighting. And let me tell you something, grace sounds the trumpet. Grace does that not because justice doesn't matter, but because hatred destroys everybody eventually. And so by the end of this chapter, the kingdom is still unresolved. It's still divided. David is king, but not fully. Conflict remains. Bodies are buried. Questions linger. And and perhaps that's why 2 Samuel chapter 2 resonates so deeply with us because a lot of our life feels unresolved, unfinished. We worship while grieving. We trust while waiting. We hope while we're confused. We pray while we're hurting. And the Bible never pretends otherwise. Scripture is remarkably honest about human experience. Faithful people struggle. Godly people still wait. Promises still unfold slowly. And ultimately ultimately all of this points beyond David to Jesus. Because even David, the greatest king that Israel ever knew, could not fully heal a kingdom. We needed another king for that. So Jesus came and he came not to rule externally, but he came to transform our hearts internally. And while David's kingdom rose through conflict, Jesus's kingdom rose through love. And while earthly kings are preserving their kingdoms through violence and and through manipulation, Jesus established his kingdom, not through violence, but by laying down his life. And through his death and resurrection, Jesus did what David could never fully do. He reconciles his enemies. He heals the division. He brought us peace and offers a subjective peace that we can know as we surrender to him. That's the gospel. This is what it says in Romans chapter 5:5. I'm sorry, Romans chapter 5:10. For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled by the death of his son, much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. So if we're in a state of reconciliation and it says we shall be saved by his life, how's that go? Well, when you learn to turn the other cheek, you destroy bitterness and you end the cycle of violence. When you pray for your enemies and those that despitefully use you, you lower the internal temperature in your own heart. When you look out for the betterment of the people that have been your enemies, you're mirroring Jesus Christ. And perhaps the greatest encouragement of 2 Samuel chapter 2 is this. God is still working in the unfinished seasons and the promise and the dreams that may not yet feel complete and the waiting that may have continued longer than expected and the parts of your life that still feel unresolved. And the same God who guided David through Hein is still guiding today. But sometimes the greatest evidence of grace is not that everything immediately comes together all at once. Sometimes grace is simply this. God stays with his people all the way from the promise to the palace. If you'd like to worship Christ as we do here, we'll give you that chance as we stand to sing the first and last stanza of

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