God understands what sin has done to us more than we would ever understand. And yet, he has made it clear in his word that he's not going anywhere, and it is not in our best interest that we go away from him. To understand and to appreciate the man, David. All you gotta do is read the Psalms. You read the Psalms, especially Psalm 119, and you begin to see how this man thinks.
About God and about life and about sin. This is Cross-Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher, Rick Gaston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of 2 Samuel. Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about Cross-Reference Radio, specifically, how you can get a free copy of this teaching.
But for now, let's join Pastor Rick in 2 Samuel chapter 1 as he begins his message, Mixed Feelings. 2 Samuel, if you have your Bibles, please turn to 2 Samuel chapter 1. Mixed Feelings is the title.
Now 2 Samuel continues the story from First Samuel. The two books originally published as one book, a single volume, a single work. The Dead Sea Scrolls, when they were discovered, First Samuel was. in one book. a single book and the Dead Sea Scrolls were found around two hundred years before or put together 200 years before Christ, not found.
the events in this book. Second Samuel Are about a thousand years. This is a little bit over a thousand years before the coming of Christ.
Now, Samuel, of course, does not appear in this book himself, having died in the first Samuel? And Yet the book still carries his name, since he was the last of the judges. And Israel's first king maker, and a fitting appointment For Samuel, being such a godly man, such a man of prayer and a man of action. And God chose him. to lead the transition from the judges to the time of the kings.
Now, Jewish tradition says that Samuel wrote 1 Samuel chapter 1 through 24, as we know, they didn't have chapters when. The books were written and the letters and into the New Testament those were later given. And Samuel, of course, did not have to even write the book for it to carry his name. He's such a figure, such a character, a righteous man. That even if someone else wrote the book and said Samuel gets the name because he kicks off this new.
age, this new era in Israel's history and the anointing of God is all over it. But I do believe he did very much was because there are things that he at least told uh someone else, but I believe he wrote much of it. Because of the content, there are things that only he could have written or have a personal touch. that uh go along with it And if you read a book long enough, you begin to appreciate things that you otherwise would have missed had you just read it once. And so there's great value in in rereading material.
The problem is, after a while, you can Become so familiar that you miss things because your brain is drifting, it's so familiar, and that. is a discipline. It takes a discipline to overcome that. After the death of Samuel, of course, in The first book. On the 25th chapter, the story just continues without him.
And some notes have been added by others, no question, even into the days of the monarchy of Solomon, all the way up to Hezekiah, seven hundred years Before the coming of Christ, there were just little things, and for example, in First uh in Samuel chapter 27. Uh Therefore Ziglag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day.
Well, somebody made that distinction between the kings of Judah and the kings of. Israel. That's a sort of a time stamp to say that little note was put in after the kingdom split. Like 95% sure that would have been put in. After, and no less anointed for that.
It doesn't mean that, well, if Samuel didn't write it, it's not anointed. No, that's not how it works. The truth is what gives it life, and the source of that truth, the revelation coming from God. Also, there's no mention of the northern kingdom, Samaria, which means it probably early in the split. Of the kingdom, or maybe Hezekiah's age, as I mentioned.
The majority of it though done by the date by Solomon's time.
Now 1 Samuel, as we just completed, Focuses on Israel's last judge, Samuel, and the first king, Saul. and David as a rising figure.
Now, if you didn't have 2 Samuel and you were just reading 1 Samuel, you certainly would know that, well, David's going to be somebody in Israel. And you start reading it, you're liking this guy. Samuel's dead. You're not liking Saul. And so it's it's an easy fit.
Of course, 2 Samuel concentrates on David and his reign and his relationship with God and his relationship with men. Where will we be? Without Second Samuel knowing, hearing about The things David did. Knowing how godly he is without having his failures, if he was just held up like Daniel, you know, this man that is spotless. That would have been such a loss.
But to be able to read the life of David, to know how God embraced this man, even after his. Crimes, God does not abandon him. How much power and strength is in that for any believer? In fact, David Who is Israel's greatest king among men?
Sorry that I have to add that. It should be a given. I shouldn't have to say, well, I'm talking about men, because someone might come, well, Jesus is the great king. Of course, Jesus is the great king. There's no contest there.
So I won't be doing that much more. Anyway, the 2 Samuel, David is Israel's greatest king, and it comes out that way. God establishes a covenant with David after his failure, promising him a throne that will last forever. Actually, he does it before the failure, but it continues after, even when David commits a horrendous sin. Plural, I should say, horrendous sins, the covenant still stands.
God does not abandon David. He does not abandon the sinner. The sinner may abandon God, but God does not abandon the sinner. I will never leave you nor forsake you. He doesn't say, I will never leave you so long as you behave.
That's legalism. That is one form of legalism. That means you're earning the relationship with Christ. And we can't do that. He's too good.
He'll never be able. to earn a relationship. We receive the relationship out of His goodness. And based on that, imparted to us is His Spirit that begins the recreation of man in God's image, the likeness of Christ on us. And so throughout First and second Samuel What we see is Yahweh's faithfulness.
In the midst of unfaithfulness, And it is pronounced. and it is profound. In other words, it is very clear. and it is very powerful. Paul continues, the New Testament, of course, picks this up and just puts it on steroids.
The thief on the cross. I mean, what did he earn? Nothing. And Jesus said, Today you will be with me. Nobody's ever going to take that from him.
But Paul writes to Timothy: He says, If we are faithless, he remains faithful. He cannot deny himself. It's who he is. God understands what sin has done to us more than we would ever understand. And yet, he has made it clear in his word that he's not going anywhere, and it is not in our best interest that we go away from him.
To understand and to appreciate the man, David. All you got to do is read the Psalms. You read the Psalms, especially Psalm 119, and you begin to see how this man thinks about God and about life and about sin. And you're moved by it, and you say, Well, Psalm 119 doesn't have his name written on it. And Well, who else's name could go on it?
Just David. Nobody writes like maybe somebody was a one-hit wonder. And they just happened to stumble across. No, I don't think so. It is this man, no matter what we find in David.
He is God's man to his death. Into the new Kingdom the Millennial Reign For a thousand years, David's name is held up, not Abraham. Abraham would be there, he'd be no less Abraham, the great man of God. It's not a contest, but there's a point here. God holds this man up, unlike anyone else in Scripture.
Why? 'Cause he had a heart after God. And so do we, and so can we. It's not little stuff. Ezekiel 37 verse 25.
Ezekiel prophesying about what's going to happen when the Messiah is ruling on earth. the world from Jerusalem. David appears to be ruling Jerusalem, Christ ruling the world, Jerusalem under that authority, too. Then they shall dwell in the land that I. have given to Jacob My servant.
Where your fathers dwelt.
Now, pause there. Just that God is calling Jacob his servant, when we know Jacob was oftentimes a knucklehead, yet God does not call him that. He left that for me.
So again, the grace of God is so big. Otherwise, Satan wins. Because we just can't come up to the standard of holiness that we know we should. come up to. Ezekiel continues, he says, Where your fathers dwell, and they shall dwell there.
This is Israel, the current land of Israel, geographically speaking. They, their children, and their children's children, forever, and my servant David shall be their prince forever.
Now some Some don't see this as David, they see this as a veiled. Reference to Messiah being David. I don't agree with that. I can't say, well, they're totally wrong. I did.
What were they thinking? I don't know that. Much against that. approach, but I I do not agree with it. I believe that it means David.
himself It remains an extraordinary honor, even if it's not David. It's an extraordinary honor to have your name associated with Messiah ruling for a thousand years. Imagine if he said to my servant Rick. It's like, whoa, I mean you can see, well, that ain't happening. Yeah.
For David to be singled out from all the Old Testament figures, to have his name associated with ruling Jerusalem for a thousand years. It's quite It's unprecedented. In Scripture. It is quite remarkable. Directly applied to Messiah, When he says forever, the Bible forever does not always Always mean eternally.
You can say I'm going to love vanilla ice cream forever.
Well, when you get to heaven, they're gonna be better stuff. I mean, as much as I love trees, I think most trees are quite impressive and beautiful, but they're nothing, they're wheeze compared to what we're going to see at the tree of life in heaven. And the point is, of course, you have to keep it in context.
Some things do mean forever without end, and some things, when the word forever is used in Scripture, it means for the duration of that period. Because there's a new heavens and there's a new earth going to come, and Jerusalem and the rest of this planet is going to be gone, and who knows what God has in store, it's going to be amazing. Therefore, This again still is an extraordinary position to be in.
Now The history of this second book runs about 40 years.
So we're going from chapter one to the last chapter, I think it's chapter twenty-eight. We get 40 years of history.
Now, part one, the first ten chapters of the triumphs of David. He's going to get through this experience here in chapter 1, and then he's going to say, Lord, what do you want me to do? And God's going to say, Go to Hebron. And he goes to Hebron, and he becomes king there. uh but uh he's going to triumph.
The but the problems start Later When David is at home, and his men are at war. And as king, he doesn't have that luxury. There are that there are luxuries That goes away as you move up with the Lord, as you mature in Christ, even if it's in your position. I had many luxuries before I became a pastor as a Christian, and they're gone. They have to look at other things to really think this through.
People are listening to what you're saying, they're counting on your advice, and you just can't give them a, you know, yeah, I think so, go for it. And it's a disaster. You have to, it's much more. The game has to because you step up the game. God does this, and he certainly keeps his servants dependent upon him.
Uh Paul had it pretty easier in pretty easy in Uh Tarsus It's when he was pulled back to Antioch by Barnabas that Paul had to step everything up, too. And it's just for all of us, it's this way. The second part from chapter 11 through 24: the transgressions and therefore the troubles. That's what we'll get. Yet, yet, as the book closes, picks up in 1 Kings, the first couple of chapters, there David's still standing.
Key verse, if I had to choose a key verse, and I did. I mean, you could pick a different one. Same for 1 Samuel. But one that stands out to me is found in the 24th chapter. Which is the last time, I think it was said 28, 27 was anyway.
Here it is, 2 Samuel 24, 24.
Well, before I give it to you. David has committed yet another sin because of pride. He gets ahead of God. God holds this to him. And there's a plague that comes, and people are dying because of David.
And uh to Atone for this sin. David is instructed to make a sacrifice to the Lord, and he buys the threshing floor of Arunah. And Aruna says, I'll give it to you. You're the king, and this is for God. You can have it.
David says, No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price. Nor will I offer Burn offerings. To Yahweh, my God. With that which costs me nothing. Is that not profound?
I'm not giving God my junk. Whatever I give to God is going to be something that costs me something.
Someone asked me about: take up your cross and follow me. How was that received by the people back then? because the cross of Christ Was at that point non-existent. It was to come, it just hadn't happened.
So they did not view the cross as we view the cross. And my answer essentially was: it is the element of duty and sacrifice in our faith. That was present all the way back at the beginning. And even present in the Garden of Eden before sin, the duty of Adam and Eve was to sacrifice an urge to take from that tree, which they did not do. Of course, they took from the tree.
So to this day, Belonging to our faith is the sense of duty and sacrifice. And this is what David is expressing. It's kind of cheesy when someone says, I don't think we don't shouldn't tithe. You're crazy then. Give me that.
Don't sit down on that chair. You didn't pay for that. Yeah. It's just silly doctrines that creep in because I think people are up to something. Anyway.
Now, the third cycle begins. We're discussing the prophets and the kings and the heroes of the faith. We could bad the priests to that. There's Samuel, he was a priest, not a high priest, he was a priest, but the age, he was the prophet for sure, and the era of Samuel is closed. The First King Saul, the era of Saul is gone.
And now, the hero, prophet-king, who is not a priest, David, who will typify the prophet, priest, king of Christ, who is the only one that fulfills all three offices. David will sort of give us a type of that when he dons the ephod, the vest, not the pouch, and he dances before the ark. And there you have the king, the prophet, and the image of the priest, all rolled into one, dancing before. the entrance of God into the or the visible entrance of God. Into The kingdom.
And so, Christ, of course, only fulfills that.
Now we finish the introduction. We begin with the first verse, and I had a good time preparing this because I like solving. I like making it fit. Whereas that doesn't make sense. I'm uncomfortable with that.
I think most of us are. I hope nobody says that it doesn't make sense, and I kind of like it. Uh we said we've got to crack this uh Puzzle here. I mean, I'm not into Rubik's Cubes or anything. I would shoot one.
I would gladly shoot a Rubik's Cube, but I can't solve it. Except by okay, never mind. I guess you go, you know, anyway. We have one brother who's moved away, but his family's still here. He can solve a rubber cube while he's driving.
That was quite impressive. I could shoot one while I'm driving.
So there. Anyway, verse 1.
Now it came to pass After the death of Saul, that David had returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had stayed two days in Ziklag.
Well, it's been about a week since David left the Philistine muster, when the Philistine troops mustered together to move into Israel's territory to fight this big war with. Saul and his forces, it's been about a week since they dismissed David. Say, you can't come with us, you might trade on us. And so he, of course, goes home, finds out that the Amalekites had Plundered and pillaged his home, Ziklag, his home, and taken off the with the goodies and the people. He goes after them, catches them, kills them, except for the 400 that escape on camels.
But the Amalekites burn the city.
So David goes back to Ziglag after he recovers the people and all of their property, and now they have to rebuild the city. And he's busy doing this. His mind is distracted. He's not thinking about where's the battle, when's it going on? He's got to rebuild.
He doesn't think he's going to now. enter to become king. He's not seeing that. Saul and Jonathan are going to die. He's being the leader where he is.
He knew this large-scale battle was going on, but he did not expect them to be killed in action. Verse 2. And on the third day, behold, it happened that a man came from Saul's camp with his clothes torn and dust on his head.
So it was when he came to David. that he fell to the ground and prostrated himself. He knew who David was. Where he was And of course he shows this great respect for David. David, of course, received used to that at this stage in his life.
This is again on the third day, likely three days after the slaughter of the Amalekites.
Well, that factors into the story, because that's fresh in David's head, because this guy is an Amalekite. And that's going to come out in a little bit, and that's a big part of the story. The Amalekite is a type of person, this Malachite, he comes to the camp, his clothes torn, dust on his head, everything on the outside. Looks like he's a participant. with the Jews and his heart is with Israel.
But it's on the outside. It's not the inside. And In this, he is a type of person who observes some or maybe all of the rituals of religion. Yet, as a true enemy of God, and the Amalekites were a doomed people, sentenced by God Himself. God says they are to be removed from the earth, but He doesn't do it instantly.
Isaiah 20. 29. Therefore, the Lord said, Inasmuch as these people draw near me with their mouths and honor me with their lips. but have removed their hearts far from me And their fear toward me is taught by the commandment of men. Men are teaching doctrine, not receiving doctrine from God.
And Jesus quotes this, and so what Isaiah is saying, what Jesus was saying. There are people that play at religion. There is a such thing as a Sunday religion that is void of true faith. And many have played that game. The Pharisees and Sadducees, who Jesus had to deal with, with their corruptions, Paul had to deal with them.
Paul had dealt with them in Gentile Gentile world as well as the Hebrew world. Anyway, he's got all the outside signs that he's grieving. He's, you know, this is a serious thing. And it I believe very much part of his act. Verse 3, and David said to him, Where have you come from?
So he said to him, I have escaped from the camp of Israel.
Now, this statement is going to raise a flag, not at the moment, perhaps, but later.
Sort of walks away from this at the end of this man's speech. He grieves, and then he comes back and he says, Let me ask you some other questions. And then he has the guy executed. Because. David had mixed feelings about what he was listening to.
And rightfully so, because the the man is is withholding information. And for personal gain, no less. He did not have to come here, but he wants a reward. He's in for the money, and that will come out in a moment. As the story unfolds, the facts, he is not a soldier.
Verse 6 will say this, which makes you say to him, what's he doing on Mount Gilboa? Where the battle is. Why is he up there? Because mountains, you don't just stroll up a mountain. Yeah I mean If you ever had to go up a mountain, it is, I mean, that's not Everest, but there are smaller mountains with not so big of an incline, and there's difficult.
It's, you know, they're in the way, mountains. They keep people, ancient folks, they kept them away from each other. Otherwise, they'd be even more war. Anyway, verse 4. Then David said to him, How did the matter go?
Please tell me. David now has a witness here. And he answered, Now, David knows bad news is coming because the guy's got the clothes torn and he's a little ready for this. And he answered, the people have fled from the battle. Many of the people are fallen and dead.
And Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also. This is the first time David's hearing this. We read about it in the last chapter, but David didn't read about it. By the time David the news reaches him, it's days old. But he's saying there were bodies everywhere.
So the slaughter took place. David will not learn the details. about the bodies of Saul and Jonathan till he makes it to Hebron. Uh Mm. This has been the latest edition of Cross Reference Radio.
Pastor Rick Gaston is teaching through the book of 2 Samuel, which details the reign of David as king of Israel. There are so many life lessons to be learned during these years of David's life. We're glad you've tuned in to hear more from God's Word. This radio ministry comes to you from Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville, in Mechanicsville, Virginia. If you're interested in accessing more messages just like this one, you can listen online or download these messages at crossreferenceradio.com.
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