He'll not be there to see David take the throne. He is going to be really the human point. Of getting David to consolidate the nation, the North and the South will come together. This was a very big move. And it did speed things up.
A lot. It wasn't instant, but it did speed it up. God, as I said, will not allow him to ride with David, and God will not allow those who reject his rule to ride with. Ride with him either. They won't ride with Jesus Christ when he returns to take his kingdom as king of kings.
Um I'm not sure if I can do it. 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. And now, here's Pastor Rick with part two of his message called Big Mistakes in 2 Samuel chapter 3. This is the worst kind of mistake. It is the big mistake again. First, we have David making the big mistake of marrying a Gentile and then adding wives and creating a harem.
And then we have Ishbosheth. He is accusing his right-hand man, the man with the power, the kingmaker in the north, Abner. with a serious crime, treason.
Now, Abner's big mistake is he knew God wanted David on the throne, and not only did he not lift a finger to make that happen when he could really have done it. He works against it. He's been fighting against David. The house of Saul versus the house of Judah. They were going at it with swords.
So Abner admits that he knew that it was God's will for David to be king, yet, seriously, and willfully battled against the known will of God. What makes people do this?
Well, unbelief. It's a simple answer. They don't believe it. To them, God is not as real as what's in front of them. This was Esau's problem.
To Esau, what was real was, you know, meat and food and having a good time. Whereas Jacob, even though he was. Criminal in many ways, he still knew that God was above all this and God was going to work this out, which comes with knowing God. You know that He is every bit sovereign. Ignoring God's will is never a good idea or plan, it is always a step in the wrong direction, and it is always a bad decision and a big mistake.
Yet, your flesh, my flesh, does not care. that we believe that.
Well, how is that going to get settled?
Well, it's going to get settled through prayer, a study of the Word, fellowship, communing with the Lord. When we talk about communion with the Lord, we're not talking only of limiting it to the cup and the bread. Anybody can have the cup and the bread, can take it at least. That doesn't mean they have a relationship with Christ. That they know him and they know he knows them.
That's what communion is. Communion is this. being in common. Going in the same direction in unity, and it's rhythm in the heart.
So anyway, verse 10, he says, in part of his threat to Ishbosheth. That He's going to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and set up the throne to David over Israel and over Judah from Dan to Bathsheba. Dan to Bathsheba was like saying from coast to coast. In their case, 150 miles, but it would cover all of the promised land. Abner was hot.
I mean, there was no bringing him back. If he sent him a fruit basket, he wasn't gonna say, Oh, you know what, maybe I was a little hard on the kid. Ishma Sheth's in his forties, and Abner's not putting up with this. Years ago I worked on a job, a big job, a bridge, and the floor boss, one of the big bosses, He was a good man. And everybody liked working with him and under his leadership.
And there was a holiday came up, and they did not pay him for that holiday. And he was hot. I mean, he was like, there was no bringing him back. He left. And they lost.
It was our loss. We noticed his absence. And this kind of the situation here. Abner had done so much for the kingdom. How dare you launch a charge against me, especially when he's innocent.
But spiritually, He was dead to God's word.
So as men go, he was a great man. Just wasn't a good man. He will be physically dead. and unable to join into God's will before this is all over. Because of these big mistakes.
to remind us Big mistakes count.
So does big love. to counteract it. I mean, I think about how in my younger years I did not have the Christian love. How would I have done?
Well, later on I did get to Christian love and I would have done like that. If you're young, work on that Christian love now. Don't waste a moment. develop the love of Christ. Verse 11.
And he could not answer Abner another word, because he feared him. That fear characterized his father Saul. And now it's his. Saul always feared, and he feared the wrong thing. when other men did not.
And in his position, he did not have that right. as king. We've covered this. But it's good to review it. He feared his calling.
How many Christians are afraid to serve?
Well, I might fail. People might find out I'm not all that. Joel? No guts, no glory. And if you want to live your life hiding behind that, have at it.
He's not going to shove you out the plane with the you know your parachute. Saul feared his own army. I'm afraid, you know, the people, you're the general, you're the king. That's upside down. He feared Goliath.
Well, that one kind of makes a little sense. But but He shouldn't have shown it in front of the men. And that's what he did. He quaked in front of them and everybody was afraid. They had the high ground.
They could have bumrushed Goliath. That's a lot of bad guys coming at you real fast. Who have nothing to lose, incidentally. That's the punchline to the whole thing. Anyhow, they did not.
When Goliath was strutting out there, the army should have said, Let's attack. They would have dealt with that giant. He feared David. Three times in one chapter, that comes out. That's a big fear.
He feared that there would be a coup against him. In chapter 22 of 1 Samuel, he feared the Philistine army. which he was called to fight.
Well, he feared them because he wasn't ready for them because he was too busy chasing David. And then finally, He feared Death. and defeat On Mount Gilboa That Samuel told him from the grave was going to happen. He fears so much he collapsed.
So that fear. You look at that and you say, okay, if I struggle with fear, I'm going to do just that, struggle. But Saul never seems to have struggled against it. We all have fear. The bravest of the brave have fear.
But they try as best they can to corral that thing, to keep it in check as best they can, whereas. Saul never made that effort. At least we have no evidence of it. Verse 12. Then Abner sent messengers on behalf to David, saying, Whose is the land?
Saying also, make your covenant with me, and indeed my hand shall be with you. to bring all Israel to you.
Well, I want to just pause before I comment on verse 12 and say, you know, Saul. Though he was a man of fear, he was still relatively gallant on the battlefield. But outside of that, that fear really messed him up. Here in verse twelve Abner realizes that now is the time. Ishbosheth is as incompetent as he thought.
And it's pointless to continue to commit to him. And he's still hot at the insult. I mean, that's fueling the whole thing. He's going to look out for himself and change teams. Not because God anointed David.
That is not his motive. It's just better for him. This is of course less than ideal. But he'll not be there to see David take the throne. He is going to be really the human point.
Of getting David to consolidate the nation, the North and the South will come together. This was a very big move. And it did speed things up. a lot. It wasn't instant, but it did speed it up.
God, as I said, will not allow him to ride with David, and God will not allow those who reject his rule to ride with him either. They won't ride with Jesus Christ when he returns to take his kingdom as King of kings. Revelation 19:14, and the armies in heaven. clothed in fine linen, In other words, as troops, we're going to make a fashion statement. It's probably going to be warm weather, thus, the linen.
White and clean. You you won't Draw too much of attention to yourself because we'll all be in dress whites. followed him on white horses. We're like super camouflaged. The clouds, you know.
Anyway, what a scene. I believe that. That is a little depiction of what's going to happen. I don't know that it's going to really be horses or not. I would like a Corvette.
Abiya It's just my preference. But anyway, I know.
Now, don't call me out on this and say, what do you mean it won't be really horses? You know, maybe a few mules tucked in there or something. You could have a lot of fun with that. Unless you're really uptight. Anyhow.
And no, it's not blasphemous or sacrilegious. Revelation is so filled with symbols that you just got to be careful. Verse 13. And David said, good. I will make a covenant with you.
So he's telling the messenger this to go back to Abner. But one thing I require of you: you shall not see my face unless you first bring Michelle, Saul's daughter. When you come to see my face, FaceTime with each other is going to be predicated by Michelle. being back where she belongs. David's first wife.
who initially loved him. She helped him escape. Assassins, David would have died that night were it not for Michelle. What a lesson to newly weds and older weds You know the love from before, you've got to fight for it. Yeah, so surprised when Gee, I don't have the same feelings.
Grow up. Life is that way with a lot of things. Look, you stick around long enough, there'll be a lot of desserts you won't like as much as you used to like. You'll find other desserts. That's okay with desserts, not okay with people.
Ultimately, Saul gave Michelle? Her father gave her to David, then he gives her after David flees to another man. He had no right to do that, but typical Saul. Make a problem for as many people as he could as long as he felt good about himself. The word again is a sociopath.
No feelings for anybody else, just himself. And if he exhibited any feeling for anybody else, because he was up to something. And there are people like this. All right, we're not supposed to go back to Saul, we're done with him. I don't even like Saul's dog.
Uh no, anyway, this is As king, David knows he's coming to the throne now of all kingdoms. You know, once Abner comes over, it's all going to be his. And he cannot leave her with another man. That is a big no, a big mistake in that culture at that time, especially if she bore sons for that. Illegitimate husband, which he was, David was still married to her.
He never divorced her. Abigail, we remember, left her very well to do ranch, with servants and a lot of live stock, to be with David in exile on the run. She even ends up being kidnapped with the rest of the village in Ziklag. Michelle Did not go to David. Instead, she became unfaithful to David.
Yeah. Michele remained childless. Apparently, later in life, she does a noble thing as a person goes, and she raises. Her sister Mirab's children for her, and we get that in 2 Samuel 21. And it's just a sad story because We're not told how she felt about going back to David.
But we do know that she was resentful. and she didn't care for his brand of worship. And she let him know that she couldn't wait to let him know that. She ran out the house. Oh, I could hell.
And she just, man, he's just loving the Lord. The little foxes that spoil the vine, and in this case, the Michelle that spoiled the worship.
So she's not a Bible hero. I mean, it's just a fact. There are others who are, though.
So, I mean, I like Abigail so much that I plan to talk to David about this. Because if we can't beat me up, we'll be in heaven. What can he do? If he doesn't like the question, I can follow him and annoy him and nag him. He can't do anything.
We're in heaven. It's like being on base.
So David, verse 14, sent messengers to Ishbosheth. Saul's son Saying, give me my wife Michelle, whom I betrothed to myself for a hundred foreskins of the Philistines.
Now, if he had divorced her, he would not be able to do this according to Deuteronomy 24 if they separated and she married someone else. But that's not what happened. She was Ishbosheth's sister. And Ish-bosheth, the king of the north, was David's brother-in-law. And seeing how he is now the eldest or the head of the home.
The oldest surviving male in the home, he is the patriarch. He's accountable and he's king. He has to enforce this. David says, I paid for her. He says a hundred foreskins, that was the agreement, but he brought back 200.
And the equivalent has not been given to him as compensation, so the marriage is intact. If someone had paid him here your dowry back, then things would have gone the other way.
So they were still married, is the point. Verse 15. And Ishbosheth sent and took her from her husband. From PAL TL. The son of Laesh.
So, as the king enforces, he is the one that annuls the enforcement. Annulling the marriage of Michelle to Paltiel, verse 16. Then her husband went along with her to Bahurim. Weeping behind her.
So Abner said to him, Go return, and he returned. You read that with no emotion, like it's like there's nothing happened, but it's a lot. Bohurim, incidentally, is. Near Jerusalem, just east of the Mount of Olives, and he followed for a while. Again, we're not told how she felt, but we know how he is feeling.
He's sniveling behind them. And yet, a single word from Abner is sufficient. He ends that because Abner was that tough a man, and you don't make him say it twice. My dad was like that. I never got hit because I saw what he could do to my brother.
And I just figured it was smart to do what he said the first time he said it. And he was not you know, not a quick draw at all, very patient. But anyhow, So PALTL sniveling behind Michelle. Not wanting to give her up, he is forced and life is hard. Verse 17.
Now Abner had communicated with the elders of Israel, saying, In time past, you were seeking for David to be king over you. Verse 18, Now then do it, for Yahweh has spoken of David, saying, By the hand of my servant David, I will save my people Israel from the hand of the Philistines and the hand of all their enemies. Also, now it's convenient for Abner to make this speech. But when Saul was hunting him like a partridge, it was not something to bring up. But now he's campaigning for himself.
Again, God's will in David being king is really secondary. It's important, he's going to be the number two man in this kingdom, and he's going to have a better man to serve than Ish-bosheth. That is how Abner is thinking. Joab's not going to be ready to give that up on several levels, and we're coming to that. Verse 19, and Abner also spoke in the hearing of Benjamin, that's the tribe of Benjamin.
Then Abner also went to speak in the hearing of David in Hebron, All that seemed good to Israel and the whole house of Benjamin.
So he's on a speaking tour. You know, he's stumping for David. Saul's tribe would be the hardest. to when you would think But it actually looks like they're relieved, not a hard sell. But the formalities, you couldn't skip anybody.
Don't do that. And you go, hey, you didn't even mention us in the thank you speech. Oh, brother. It's just safer with thanking mom. And leave the list short.
Verse 20.
So Abner and 20 men with him came to David at Hebron, and David. made a feast for Abner and the men who were with him.
So they're spending some time bonding there. It'll take a while to get all the food ready. And I always often picture a luau, though it's not, but I picture, you know, lamps burning and a lot of meat and pineapples, things like that. Verse 21. The brain is such a rascal, is it not?
It just throws things into the picture that just don't belong there, like dreams. Like, oh, that was crazy. I would never buy a car that color. But anyhow, verse 21: Then Abner said to David, I will arise and go and gather all Israel. To my lord the king, that they may make a covenant with you, and that you may reign over.
All that your heart desires.
So David sent Abner away and he went in peace. You can hear David's hands clapping and rubbing together. Yes, finally, we can do something with the kingdom now. He's been thinking about this for years, what he's going to do as king. He's not coming onto the throne like as a rookie.
So now he thinks this is it. Hebron, where this is taking place. is a city of refuge. If you accidentally kill somebody, And you know that their family members, they're not going to want to hear it was an accident. They have the right to kill you.
So you run to one of these cities of refuge for refuge. And if you make it, You're safe. They hear you out. If your story meets the requirement, then you get to hide in the city. If it doesn't, they throw you to the family, and that's it.
Abner, he killed David's nephew. We read about that last week. He said, Stop chasing me. He didn't stop. He poked him.
He kills the guy in battle. That's going to come back to the story a little bit. I will say Heaven, of course, is the final refuge. Bonuses that belong to having no politicians No lawyers, not one. I mean, people who are lawyers will make it in, but they will be disbarred.
No lobbyists, no journalists, no snooping around trying to find a story to ruin your life. No broke, woke, it's a joke, people. Woo! A lot of sin will be smacked down, all of it. And looking forward to that.
Well, I don't know how I got onto that. But anyway, verse 22. suppressed vitriol. At that moment the servants of David and Joab came from a raid and brought much spoil with them. But Abner was not with David in Hebron, for he had sent him away, and he had gone in peace.
Again, Abner was not going to be a number three guy. He was too seasoned for that, and Joab was not either.
So you have a problem, and David already doesn't like Joab.
So he's thinking this is going to be a good fit. Where it says they came back from a raid, you know, nowadays we complain about a lot of things because we have a lot of things to complain about. But nowadays Conquest in the time we live in until Antichrist gets into power, mostly in. Western civilization. The raids are launched by giant tech, giant finance.
Puppet politicians and their activists, flunkies, financial oliarchs. These are the ones that are coming against us. We don't have hordes coming over the hill, gonna burn down the village. They come against us in different ways. They find out what we like.
What we love. And they now are targeting that. You love your kids? Let's attack the kids. You love your religion?
Let's go after that. You love your guns? Let's go. Whatever you like, that's where the battlefield is. For these people in those days, you had to fear.
An army coming and wiping you out, looting you as Joab did. Satan at work. Today, again, these overrule the voting ballots. Rating into lives. They are the giants in the land.
So when next time you hear the giant tech, Connect that to the Nephilim and the Ghibors of Genesis 6, because those people had to deal with the giant tech of their day. People that had so much control they enslaved the world.
Okay. Global cabal is what We are facing, though, unlike, well, they did back in Genesis before the flood. Everybody was centered in Shinar. Power plotters with unlimited resources. They think they're calling the shots on the earth.
And we, the Christians, we understand this. We see it. We're not phased by it. We will fight. For the faith that we have, and that's it.
It's not simplifying it, but I'm not complicating it either. I guess, you know, when you're young in ministry, you get all these catchy phrases and sayings from pastors, and I can't think of one at the moment. But as you serve, you find out that All those phrases are relatively useless against the indulgences of the flesh. And it's no longer about catchy phrases, standing up in the pulpit telling you, and you, ooh, I love that saying, you write it down. I found that it comes down to just a toe-to-toe bare-knuckle fight.
The flesh versus spirit. But You can't jade everybody. Tell them, you know, get rid of those sayings. I'm not saying that. I am saying That It's a long Struggle.
And the main things will always be the main things. And Paul said this to the Colossians: he said, all that stuff is useless against the indulgences of the flesh. You're still going to have to fight your kingdom versus the flesh's kingdom. And if those things help you, continue with them. If you find they're no longer helping, don't lose your faith.
Because many do. They write books with all these catchy things. They find out the flesh is relentless and beating them up. They leave the faith. Because they made demands on God that they weren't entitled to demand.
And so I rather the as honest as we can approach. It's just tough. Because we get plugged into other people. And people we love. And we see them struggle, and the fight is ours.
It should be. Every one of us should have somebody that we're fighting for on our knees. When Lot was stolen from Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham went to get him back. He didn't say, you know, I never liked that kid anyway. He was a hard-headed lad.
He armed himself and went after him. And that's a picture of us not settling for Satan taking captives.
Now, we can't get an army together and retrieve our loved ones. We go on our knees to do these things and we stay strong in our faith. But you 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. You can also subscribe to our podcast by going to your favorite podcast app. We can't wait for you to step into the next teaching that Pastor Rick has for us.
So come back next time for Cross Reference Radio.
