1 Samuel 18 - 2 Samuel 7
Peace be with you, listening
friends. We greet you in the name of God, the Lord of peace, who wants everyone
to understand and submit to the way of righteousness that He has established,
and have true peace with Him forever. We are happy to be able to return today
to present your program The Way of Righteousness.
Today we are continuing in the story of the
prophet David.
Two lessons ago, we saw how God chose young David to be the second king of
Israel, though he did not begin to reign the day God appointed him. God
rejected Saul, the first king, because he was unconcerned about doing the will
of God. However, God testified concerning David, saying, "I
have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything
I want him to do." (Acts 13:22) In our last lesson, we saw
David kill the giant, Goliath, defeating him with a sling and a stone and a
solid faith in the living God. Now let us continue the story of David
and see how David replaced Saul as the king of Israel.
Continuing in the first book of Samuel, the Scripture
says:
(1 Sam. 18) 6When
the men were returning home after David had killed [Goliath] the Philistine,
the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing
and dancing, with joyful songs and with tambourines and lutes. 7As
they danced, they sang: "Saul has slain his thousands, and
David his tens of thousands." 8Saul was very
angry; this refrain galled him. "They have credited David with tens of
thousands," he thought, "but me with only thousands. What more can he
get but the kingdom?" 9And from that time on Saul kept a
jealous eye on David.
Thus, the Scriptures relate how the Israelites dearly
loved David. But the more they loved David, the more Saul hated him. Jealousy
filled Saul's heart and controlled him so that all he could think of was
what he must do to get rid of David. Consequently, David fled and hid in the
desert, together with the four hundred men of Israel who accompanied him. Saul
and his soldiers hunted for David and his men in the wilderness. Saul did
everything in his power to catch David and kill him. However, he could not do
so because the Lord was with David. But Saul did cause David a lot of distress.
For eight long years, David and his men had to run from an angry King Saul.
However, the jealousy and anger that Saul displayed
toward David did not cause David to hate him. Why didn't David hate Saul, the
man who was trying to kill him? David could not hate Saul, because David
walked with the God who causes His sun to rise on the righteous and the
unrighteous.
As the Scripture says:
"Everyone who loves
has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God,
because God is love. We love because He first loved us. If anyone
says, 'I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does
not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not
seen." (1 John 4:7,8,19,20)
We do not have time to read all that happened between
Saul and David, but we do want to look at one story and observe David's
humility and love.
Reading in the first book of Samuel, chapter twenty-four, the Scripture says:
(1 Sam. 24) 1[Some
people came to Saul and said to him], "David is in the Desert of En
Gedi." 2So Saul took three thousand
chosen men from all Israel and set out to look for David and
his men near the Crags of the Wild Goats. 3He came to the sheep
pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself.
David and his men were far back in the cave!
4The
men said, "This is the day the Lord spoke of when he said to you, 'I will
give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.'" Then David
crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul's robe. 5Afterwards,
David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. 6He
said to his men, "The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my
master, the Lord's anointed, or lift my hand against him; for he is the
anointed of the Lord." 7With these words David rebuked his
men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his
way.
8Then
David went out of the cave and called out to Saul, "My lord the
king!" When Saul looked behind him, David bowed down and prostrated
himself with his face to the ground. 9He said to Saul,
"Why do you listen when men say, 'David is bent on harming you'? 10This
day you have seen with your own eyes how the Lord gave you into my hands in the
cave. Some urged me to kill you, but I spared you; I said, 'I will not lift my
hand against my master, because he is the Lord's anointed.'11See, my
father, look at this piece of your robe in my hand! I cut off the corner of
your robe but did not kill you. Now understand and recognize that I am not
guilty of wrongdoing or rebellion. I have not wronged you, but you are hunting
me down to take my life. 12May the Lord judge between you and
me. And may the Lord avenge the wrongs you have done to me, but my hand will
not touch you. 13As the old saying goes, 'From evildoers come
evil deeds,' so my hand will not touch you.
16When
David finished saying this, Saul asked, "Is that your voice, David my
son?" And he wept aloud. 17"You are more righteous
than I," he said. "You have treated me well, but I have treated you
badly. 18You have just now told me of the good you did to me;
the Lord gave me into your hands, but you did not kill me. 19When
a man finds his enemy, does he let him get away unharmed? May the Lord reward
you well for the way you treated me today. 20I know that you
will surely be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your
hands."
After that, Saul returned home, but it wasn't long
before jealousy took hold of his heart again and incited him to go back into
the wilderness and resume his hunt for David. Saul did this for eight years,
all because of jealousy! Yet, every time, God
rescued David from the hands of Saul. In the end, Saul reaped the evil he had
sown. Listen to what is written in chapter thirty-one.
The Scripture says:
(1 Sam. 31) 1Now
the Philistines fought against Israel; the Israelites fled before them, and
many fell slain on Mount Gilboa. 2The Philistines pressed hard
after Saul and his sons, and they killed his sons Jonathan, Abinadab and
Malki-Shua. 3The fighting grew fierce around Saul, and when the
archers overtook him, they wounded him critically. 4Saul said
to his armorbearer, "Draw your sword and run me through, or these
uncircumcised fellows will come and run me through and abuse me." But the
armorbearer was terrified and would not do it; so Saul took his own
sword and fell on it.
On that day, Saul and his three sons died. Thus, the
descendants of Saul were completely exterminated, just as God had said they
would be. In the chapters that follow, the Scriptures relate how God
turned the kingdom of Israel over to David. David was a just king who loved
righteousness and hated iniquity. David loved the Lord God with his whole
heart. The Word of God and the glory of God occupied first place in David's
thoughts. Therefore, when David began to rule over Israel, the first thing that
he wanted to do was to bring the Tent of Meeting (Tabernacle) and the ark
(chest) of the covenant to Jerusalem. Jerusalem had become the capital of
Israel, which is why David wanted to set up the tent of worship and the altar
of sacrifice there.
After David had moved the tent of worship to
Jerusalem, the Scriptures relate how he planned to build a beautiful temple to
honor the name of the Lord. David wanted to build a temple in which the ark of
the covenant could be placed and where sinners could present to God sacrifices
which cover sin. However, the Lord told David that he was not the one to build
a house for God, but that God would build for him a house, that is, a
posterity which would endure forever! Listen to the
covenant God made with David. He said to him:
(2 Sam. 7) 12"When
your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your
offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will
establish his kingdom. 13He is the one who will build a house
for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14I
will be his father, and he shall be my son. 16Your house and
your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall be established
forever."
Do you understand the covenant God established with
King David on that day? It was a tremendous promise that surpasses human
comprehension! God promised David, "Your house
and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall be
established forever!"
What?! How would David's kingdom endure forever? How could this be? How
could David, who was only a man, have a government that would last forever?
Here is the answer: God promised David that one of his descendants would establish an
everlasting government. A Man would be born in David's royal family line who
would receive the authority to reign in heaven and on earth forever. He would
be called the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the Prince of Peace. Hundreds
of years after David's time, and about seven hundred years before this King of
kings was born, the prophet Isaiah penned these words:
"For to us a child
is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his
shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his
government and peace there will be no end! He will reign on David's throne
and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and
righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord
Almighty will accomplish this!" (Isa. 9:6,7)
Do you know who, among the descendants of David, has
been given the authority to establish an eternal government? Do you know who
will judge the children of Adam on the Day of Judgment and reign throughout
eternity? Yes, it is the Redeemer, the
King from heaven,
who was born of a virgin, a virgin who belonged to the descendants of David.
Concerning this King, the Scripture says: "God
exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every
name!"(Phil.
2:9)
When David understood God's plan to send the Redeemer
through his family line, David kneeled and worshiped the Lord saying,
(2 Sam. 7) 18"Who
am I, O Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this
far? 19And as if this were not enough in your sight, O
Sovereign Lord, you have also spoken about the future of the
house of your servant. Is this your usual way of dealing with man, O Sovereign
Lord? 22"How great you are, O Sovereign Lord! There is
no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own
ears. 28O Sovereign Lord, you are God! Your
words are trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to
your servant. 29Now be pleased to bless the house of your
servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you,
O Sovereign Lord, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant
will be blessed forever."
That is how David thanked the Lord for His promise
concerning the King who would come forth
through his descendants. You who know the Holy Scriptures know that God has
already fulfilled part of this promise. For in the Gospel {Injil} we read that, a
thousand years after David's time, God sent an angel to some shepherds who were
tending their flocks in the same hills of Bethlehem where David had tended his
father's flock. The angel of the Lord said to the shepherds, "I
bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he
is Christ the Lord." (Luke 2:10,11) Yes, the
King God
promised to bring forth through David's posterity has been born. Presently, He
is back in heaven, awaiting that terrible and glorious day when He will return
to judge the world in righteousness. In that day, everyone will know that the
promise God made to David concerning his eternal kingdom is true. In that day it
will be said,"The kingdom of the world has become
the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever
and ever!" (Rev.11:15)
We must stop here today. Thank you for listening. Next
time, in the will of God, we will continue the story of King David and hear
about an event that will make your ears tingle. Thank you for listening.…
God bless you. We leave you with this verse from the
Holy Scriptures:
"Oh, the depth of
the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!…For from him and through him and
to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen!" (Rom. 11:33,36)
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