2 Samuel Chapter 21:1-24

Abishai and David had reasons not to be in that battle together. Abishai had been an irritant to David on many occasions, but he was still there for David.

Abishai doesn't look at David and say, oh yeah, look at you now, Mr. King. You're just getting what's coming to you, buddy. How many times have we given people advice like that when they got a spear poking at their chest? Life is just taking this twist and all of a sudden they're at that point and we're like, hey, you know what you did wrong, don't you?

That's not what they need at that point. Welcome to Cross the Bridge with David Magee, Senior Pastor of the Bridge in Kernersville, North Carolina. Today, Pastor David is teaching through 2 Samuel chapter 21, and we have as our guest in the studio one of David Magee's associate pastors. Welcome, DA. Hey, Bob. We want to take just a minute to pray for some cities in our listening audience.

In California, we have Bellevue, Sonora, Blythe, Borrego Springs, Burney, Byron, and Caliente. God, we thank you for these cities and we pray that many will tune in today. We pray if there are some who are sick and going through some battles that you would please heal them, Father. God, we pray that many would put their trust in you today for their eternal salvation. We pray that these cities would get excited about following you, and we pray for these churches and pastors that they would fill up, Lord, that they would apply your Word in their hearts and that many others would be impacted in these cities through that teaching.

In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you, DA. Appreciate your prayers for our listeners. As Pastor David teaches through this chapter, we're going to see a lot of battles and suffering that goes on, and yet even in those things, there are life lessons we can take out that are very encouraging to us.

DA, can you share some of that with us? God's Word speaks to every area of our life, including to be there for one another when we're going through battles. What are some of the ways that we can be there for our friends and family and neighbors and other believers in their battles? Bob, it could be cooking a meal for someone and taking it over their house. We wonder, how can I be a blessing to someone when they're going through a battle? Just do something practical and God will use that practical gift and turn it into a spiritual blessing for your brother or friend.

That sounds awesome. So let's listen as David McGee finishes teaching verse by verse through 2 Samuel chapter 21. We're looking at the life of David. We're beginning really to wrap up the life of David.

We've got a few chapters left with David, been through a lot of things, learned a lot of things. And as we get into chapter 21, let me point out something that's not obvious, but these last few chapters don't necessarily follow the timeline of the rest of the book. Up till now, 2 Samuel, 1 Samuel has been in sequence.

Okay. Meaning, you know, one event after the other, and they're reported just as they happen. When we get to chapter 21, that changes. It's almost like there's kind of a, an appendix, if you will, that the author wanted to include a few more events and put them on the end of 2 Samuel. So let's understand that, because if you don't understand that, you look at this and you go, wow, well, this is happening right after this, especially the first 14 verses go somewhat back into the early part of the reign of David and 15 through 22 go a little bit later into the, to the reign of David.

So give you that background. 2 Samuel chapter 21 says, now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year, and David inquired of the Lord and the Lord answered, it is because of Saul and his bloodthirsty house because he killed the Gibeonites. So the King called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites and the children of Israel had sworn protection to them, but Saul had sought to kill them in his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah. Therefore, David said to the Gibeonites, what shall I do for you? And with what shall I make atonement that you may bless the inheritance of the Lord. And the Gibeonites said to him, we will have no silver or gold from Saul or from his house, nor shall you kill any man in Israel for us.

So he said, well, whatever you say, I will do for you. Then they answered the King as for the man who consumed us and plotted against us, that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the territories of Israel. Let seven men of his descendants be delivered to us and we will hang them before the Lord in Gibeah of Saul, whom the Lord chose. And the King said, I will give them verse seven, but the King spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the Lord's oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan, the son of Saul.

So we remember that this chapter encapsulates so many different things from, from preceding chapters and stuff and preceding books. Mephibosheth was the son of Jonathan. Jonathan was the son of Saul. David made a pact with Jonathan.

He would look after him in his house forever. After Jonathan was killed, David inquired if there was anybody left of the house of Saul, he found Mephibosheth. And during the time, uh, somebody had ran with Mephibosheth, they dropped him. He was laying and he had, he found a place at the, at the table of David for the rest of his life.

David looked after him. Verse eight. So the King took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons of Rizpah, the daughter of Ai, whom she bore to Saul and the five sons of Michal, the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel, the son of Barsilea, the Mahalithite.

Now let me mention something. Michal didn't have any children. If you remember when, when David was bringing the ark into Jerusalem and he was dancing and he was worshiping God and his wife Michal, um, you know, sat up there and said, Oh, I can't believe you embarrassed yourself and just tried to rebuke David. And then we're told in that passage, second Samuel chapter six, verse 23, he says, therefore Michal, the daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death. These children were probably the children of Merab.

Merab was the daughter of Saul that Saul had promised to David when he killed all the Philistines and then Saul didn't carry through with his promise. Verse nine. And he delivered him into the hands of the Gibeonites and they hanged them on the hill before the Lord.

So they fell all seven together and were put to death in the days of harvest and the first days in the beginning of the barley harvest. It seemed grisly and harsh, but let's remember something. We don't even have half the story. We don't know what happened with Saul. We don't know what Saul was doing when he chased the Gibeonites. We don't know what all actions he took when he was trying to wipe them out. Now we can know that Saul did not inquire of the Lord before he did this with the Gibeonites.

Why? Because God's upset about it. If Saul had inquired of the Lord, God had said, no, don't do that. Joshua made a treaty with these people.

Leave them alone. So Saul didn't inquire of the Lord. He went and did what he wanted to do.

Then years later, his relatives are still paying for it. So we don't have the whole story. There's two words we get confused on. One is discernment and one is judgment. Discernment is looking at something and going, gee, I think that's of God or I think that's not of God. The Bible encourages us in discernment. The Bible discourages us in judgment. In judgment, we look at people and go, well, absolutely God would never have anything to do with that person. That's absolutely not God. They're never going to get saved.

There's just no hope in Jesus for them, et cetera, et cetera. That's a dangerous place. Why? Because we don't have all the information. We don't have all the information.

Who has all the information? God does. So who's the appropriate one to judge?

God is. Who's an inappropriate one to judge? We are because we don't have all the information. Let me ask you a quick, how many times have you heard something or read something or somebody, you know, told you something and you arrived to this snap decision in judgment about what the situation was and what the person was going and that whole thing. And then later he found out you were wrong. Somebody had given you misinformation.

Somebody give you faulty information or somebody had just left something out and yet we made this decision in this vacuum. Next life lesson. Never make rash judgments about anything or especially any one.

Never make rash judgments about anything or especially any one. Now Rizpah, the daughter of Ahad took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock from the beginning of harvest until the late rains poured on them from heaven. And she did not allow the birds of the air to rest on them by day nor the beast of the field by night. And David was told what Rizpah, the daughter of Ahad, the concubine of Saul had done. Then David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan, his son, from the men of Jabesh Gilead, who had stolen them from the streets of Betschian, where the Philistines had hung them up, after the Philistines had struck down Saul in Geboah.

So again, time some pieces in. Saul, one of his first actions when he became king was go to the rescue of the men of Jabesh Gilead. These men, when Saul had been killed by the Philistines, they took him and they displayed Saul and his sons at Betschian.

Betschian is still there. We visit it whenever we take trips to Israel. This is the place.

We know it's the place. This is the place where Saul and his sons were displayed. So the men of Jabesh Gilead went and got Saul and his sons and brought them and buried them to honor them because he had come to the rescue. Verse 13, so he brought up the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan, his son, from there. When they had gathered the bones of those who had been hanged, they buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan, his son, in the country of Benjamin and Zelah, in the tomb of Kisha's father.

So they performed all that the king commanded and after that, God heeded the prayer for the land. Now, why were they so interested in the bones? Well, and to this day, Jewish people were very interested in the bones of the dead.

As a matter of fact, there was a spy that was in Syria and when Syrians found out that this guy was an Israeli spy, they killed him very graphically, very publicly. The nation of Israel came out and offered 200 prisoners for the bones of this one individual and they wouldn't take the deal. Why did they want the bones for the individual? Because there's a belief in Judaism as far as the resurrection that they want all the bones and they want all the bones together so that in the time of the resurrection, the person is a whole complete person. I know you're probably thinking, well, if God's a big God, God create us, you know, can't he create the new bones and the resurrection?

I would say yes. I'm just telling you what, and then there's another phrase that you'll come across a lot, laying with your ancestors or, or, or sleeping with your ancestors. He slept with his fathers, those sorts of things. That's a very literal thing because as the people would die, they would, after a season, they would take their bones and they would put them in what's called an ossuary, a little box, a little tomb box, and then they would gather the bones and they would place the bones with the other family members.

So when it talks about laying with your fathers, it literally means your bones would be placed with the bones of family. So I had this habit of never dealing with his sin. So I would not follow God. And then what did we do?

He would make excuse after excuse after excuse after. You see, it's almost comical in his exchanges with Samuel because Samuel comes and say, you know, God told you to do this. I told you to do this.

Why did you do this? You know, you have that exchange of first Samuel was at 16 Samuel comes up and goes, Hey, you know, did you kill everybody and wipe them out? Like God said, Oh, absolutely. And Samuel goes, why do I hear animal sounds in my ears? And then Saul says, we saved the best to sacrifice for the Lord.

And Samuel said, you know what? God told you what to do. When you mess up, tell God about your mess up, tell God about your sin, deal with it right then and there, because if you don't friend, it could be years later, you're dealing with it. It could even be your descendants that have to deal with your sin all because you wouldn't go. According to first John chapter one, seven, eight, nine, 10. When, when we're told if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Little word there. If, if you're willing to confess your sins, what's the flip side. If you're not willing to confess your sins, God will not forgive you. God will not cleanse you from all unrighteous.

That's why first John talks about the fact that you say you don't have any sin. You're a liar, real, a real seeker friendly there, isn't it? You're listening to Pastor David McGee on Cross the Bridge. He'll be back with more in just a moment. But first, if you haven't been to our website at crossthebridge.com yet, what are you waiting for? Go to crossthebridge.com to learn more about how listeners like you are helping get the life-changing truth of God's word to more people through the radio, internet and mobile technologies. At crossthebridge.com, you can also check out our broadcast schedule, listen to more teaching from Pastor David and sign up for Pastor David's free daily devotional. And there's more there too.

So visit crossthebridge.com today. Now here's Pastor David as he continues sharing verse by verse. Verse 15. When the Philistines were at war again with Israel, David and his servants with him went down and fought against the Philistines, and David grew faint. Then Ishba Benab, who was one of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose bronze spear was three hundred shekels, who was bearing a new sword, thought he could kill David.

But Abishai the son of Zirai came to his aid and struck the Philistine and killed him. Then the men of David swore to him, saying, you shall go out no more with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel. Now this could have been when we hit verse 15, it could have been around the time of second Samuel chapter five, when they're conquering, they're continuing to conquer Jerusalem. It's obviously after David had killed Goliath. David's probably, at this time he's older.

He's still got that warrior spirit. As soon as he hears there's a battle on, he's like, I'm there. So he's in the midst of this battle and this big guy, son of the giant, son of Goliath. It sounds like from the account that this guy had David dead to rights. And Abishai, who's been with David a long time, comes to the rescue of David. Again, Abishai had been with David for a long time, going way back. First Samuel chapter 26 verse six says, then David answered and said to him, him elect the Hittite and to Abishai the son of Zirai, brother of Joab, saying, who will go down with me to Saul in the camp?

And Abishai said, I will go down with you. So Abishai has been with David for a long time. He's done some things that David didn't like, David didn't approve of, but they're still friends. I think there we got a little reminder because a lot of times we think we can be friends with somebody as long as we agree about everything with them, never have a disagreement. For some people, that's what they think friendship is supposed to be. If that's your perception of friendship, you're never going to have any friends. And I know people like this. I know people that the moment they have a disagreement, they cut off that person that they have the relationship with friend.

When you have a disagreement, it's okay. Maintain the relationship because some of us have written off friends simply because we had a disagreement and we've been ripped off. We've lost out on that relationship simply because there was a disagreement. And in this example, what if David had written Abishai off?

Abishai wouldn't have been there that day. David would have died, but he maintained a relationship even though there was these disagreements. Now they introduce in this, they say, you know what, David, the time has passed for you to be on the front lines. You're the King. We need you as King. You're the light of Israel.

You're what you've done. And the things that you're doing are important to the wellbeing of the nation of Israel. And you no longer should be on the front lines with the foot soldiers. There comes a time, I guess, in everybody's life when everybody has a place in the battle, but you know, there's a time when you shouldn't be on the front lines. Sometimes you're going through something in life and you just, you shouldn't be on the front lines. You should maybe be praying for the battle line. And that's appropriate. But do you think David was glad Abishai was there that day?

I guarantee you he was. Because David, as he's looking down this sword or this spear, he's thinking, this is it. We've all been kind of in the position of David.

Maybe not literally, but we've been kind of at the end of our rope emotionally, or we're going through something and we just feel like hi, man, this is it. And in those times, aren't you grateful and glad that Abishai shows up? So let me ask you a question for him. If you desire in those times that somebody like Abishai shows up, shouldn't we also desire to be Abishai's to people? The life lesson here is we should be there for one another in our battles. Abishai and David had reasons not to be in that battle together. Abishai had been an irritant to David on many occasions, but he was still there for David.

And Abishai in that moment, Abishai doesn't look at David and say, oh yeah, look at you now, Mr. King. Thought you were so special. You're going to tell me how to live and what to do. You're just getting what's coming to you, buddy.

Let me ask you a question. How many times have we given people advice like that when they got a spear poking at their chest? Life is just taking this twist and all of a sudden they're at that point and we're like, hey, you know what you did wrong, don't you? That's not what they need at that point.

That's not the ministry that they need at that point. I got an interesting email and it had photos in it. So the story is, the story is true. This farmer was walking past this pond and there was a ball out floating on the pond and he looked at the ball and he thought, you know, I don't remember seeing that ball around, but then he's, the ball started moving across the water. He thought, that's weird. You know, kind of thought he was seeing something for a minute and he had seen things, walked back, he walked down there and then the ball was moving the other way. He thought, man, this is weird. So he went back to his house, he got this net, you know, to get the ball out of the water cause he just, cause it wasn't the wind, it wasn't the waves. He couldn't figure out what was moving this ball. When he got his net and he went to scoop up the ball, there was a largemouth bass that was under the wall and the fish had gotten his mouth on the ball and couldn't let go. And he was swimming around in the pond trying to let go of the ball, but couldn't.

And so the farmer was able to pry the ball off of his mouth and put the fish back in the pond. That's a cool story. But what really got me at the end of that email was the caption that said, everybody's fighting a battle that you can't see. Everybody's fighting a battle you can't see. You look around this room tonight, do you understand there's people in this room right now that are recovering over the loss of a loved one? There's people in this room right now that are struggling with a relative that's dying. There's people in this room that are struggling with addictions. There's people in this room that are struggling with bitterness and unforgiveness. There's people in this room struggling with all sorts of stuff. The person that's beside you is fighting battles you don't know about. The person seated in front of you is fighting battles you don't know about the person seated behind you is fighting battles that you don't know about. Think about that for a minute. God has given us the power to pray and to encourage one another. You don't have to know the battles.

As a matter of fact, at times it's inappropriate to ask somebody what the battles are, but you can still pray for them. Verse 18, it says, Now it happened afterward that there was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob. Then Sibichai the Hushathite killed Saf, who was one of the sons of the giant. Verse 19, Again there was a war at Gob with the Philistines, where Ehenan the son of Jerah or Agim the Bethlehemite killed the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver's beam. And yet again there was a war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number, and he also was born to the giant.

Verse 21, So when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shemaiah, David's brother, killed him. These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants. This is interesting, this is interesting, because we're told when David approached Goliath he had five stones. And some of the commentaries that I read said we got five stones because, you know, he needed to be prepared in case he missed, and so he needed five stones so if he missed he had other stones with him, right?

And they say so, you know, you should always be prepared and they make these parallels and stuff. That's not why he had five stones. You just read why he had five stones. Goliath had four sons. And David went out to battle that day and he said, I got one stone for Goliath and four for his boys in case they decide they want some of me. David was ready, man. I don't think he thought, well, God's with me, but maybe I need like a machine gun or several hundred rocks. He took five rocks.

Now here's an interesting thing. David was a giant killer, he was a warrior. But notice what happened in the life of David. It wasn't enough for David just to be a giant killer.

He had every intention and it was very deliberate for him to raise up other giant killers. It's not just about you getting into heaven, friend. It's about how many people you're going to take with you when you go.

It's not just about you being discipled. It's about how many people is God using you to disciple. It's not about how many giants you kill in your life. It's about how many people are you training to kill giants in their life.

It's not just about you anymore. And as we look at David, he raised up other giant killers and let me ask you a question. What giants do you have in your life?

What is there in your life right now tonight that you just think, you know what, there's no way, there's just no way that I can overcome this or overcome that, or this is always going to be an obstacle or a barricade in my life. God can do anything. God says in the New Testament, he says, without me, you can do nothing, but with God, all things are possible.

What giants do you have in your life? God can deliver you from your enemies. God delivered David from all of his enemies. You think all that David went through with Saul, with Goliath, with the bear, and then with Absalom and Sheba and all these things, the Philistines, all this stuff, God always brought him through, always God's going to bring you through.

If you know Jesus as your savior, there's an awesome promise given Philippians chapter 1 verse 6 says, that which he started in you, he will be faithful to complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. In Jude 23 it says, now unto him who is able to present you faultless before the throne of glory, to keep you from falling. God can kill your giants. As a matter of fact, what's the biggest giant in everybody's life? I would think it's probably death. I mean, when you think of all the things that you potentially fear, the thing that you dread the most, the thing that you look forward to the least, I would say it's death. It's kind of interesting when you're talking to people, and I always think that, you know, people, hey, you're having a good day, oh yeah, you know, every day above ground is a good day. And I think, you know what?

The day they lay me in the ground, I'll be having the best day of my life. Death is another giant that has fallen. It's not something to fear. Friend, if you're here tonight and you fear death, do you really understand the gospel? Because Jesus gave us this assurance that, you know what? You don't have to fear death.

Why? Because that enemy has fallen. Paul goes into great lengths in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, he says this, he says, for he must reign till he has put all enemies under his feet. And the last enemy that will be destroyed is death.

Continue on a few verses later. For this corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. Oh death, where is your sting? Oh Hades, where is your victory?

The sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Friend, do you know for sure that your sins have been forgiven?

You can know right now. I want to lead you in a short, simple prayer, simply telling God you're sorry and asking him to help you to live for him. God wants you to pray this prayer so much that he died to give you the opportunity and the ability to ask him to forgive you.

Please pray this prayer with me out loud right now. Dear Jesus, I believe you died for me, that I could be forgiven. And I believe you were raised from the dead, that I could have a new life and I've done wrong things, I have sinned, and I'm sorry. Please forgive me of all those things.

Please give me the power to live for you all of my days. In Jesus' name, amen. Friend, if you prayed that prayer, according to the Bible, you've been forgiven, you've been born again.

So congratulations, friend, you just made the greatest decision that you will ever make. God bless you. If you prayed that prayer with David for the first time, we'd love to hear from you. You can visit crossthebridge.com to receive our First Steps package with helpful resources to help you begin your walk with Christ. Or you can write to Cross the Bridge at PO Box 12515, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27117, and share how God is working in your life. Well, DA, before we go, what are some ways that we can bless our listeners? Each day you can wake up with encouragement from Pastor David through the Word of God with his email devotional, life lessons to consider, a daily reading plan, and a thought to meditate on throughout your day from the heart of David McGee.

That sounds good, Pastor DA, and again, it's been great to have you with us on the program today. But tell us, what else can our listeners find on crossthebridge.com? If you're not able to make it to your home church this Sunday, why not join us for our live stream at 10 a.m. Eastern Time or on Thursday nights at 7 p.m. Eastern Time? Just visit crossthebridge.com and click on our live stream link. There you'll experience a live service from David's Home Church, The Bridge in North Carolina. Again, that website is crossthebridge.com.

Those are terrific, and it's easy and it's free. So folks, sign up today at crossthebridge.com. And thank you for listening. We hope you'll join us again next time as we continue studying verse by verse through Second Samuel.