1 Samuel 17 - 2 Samuel 10 - David: From Shepherd to King

I had a student years and years ago when I first taught seminary. It was the first time I ever taught the Old Testament. So the first chance I got to teach the story of David and Goliath in the church setting and I love this story. First Samuel seventeen is so rich in detail that goes beyond the veggie tail, okay? Goes beyond the simplistic depictions of a boy with a sling and a and a giant with a sword, and that's kind of all you see. So we got into the details.

And little did I know that I had an artist extraordinaire in that class that was envisioning every detail that we discussed. Later when he'd graduated and was in college. We became close friends through sem those seminary years and we still keep in touch. He's a great, great soul, uh, incredibly gifted artistically. And he said that in college he was in an art class and the assignment was to paint a page. To take something from literature and depict it in art.

So that was going to be the challenge of reading closely enough and critically enough to really paint the picture l literally of what an author was describing in literature. Well, he decided to to paint first Samuel 17th. And he gave me a copy of this masterpiece. It was amazing. It's still the most detailed David and Goliath picture I've ever seen. He even included so many details that were so shocking.

At one point he includes a third figure and he even writes it very faintly across the chest, who's this? Basically calling out what everybody's wondering. Like, wait, I thought this was David and Goliath. Who's the third guy in between them? Well, we'll see that. Uh there were so many added extras, but they're they all find their source on this scriptural page. And when he gave me a copy of that painting, he also gave me a note to explain it. And this is part of what he said.

I remember as a little punk sophomore walking mindlessly into my second semester Old Testament seminary class, and being greeted with a handshake by a happy go-lucky seminary teacher that liked to talk about his wife a lot. Well, go figure. Guilty as charged. As he proceeded to teach the class, the story of David and Goliath, which I had been told since the days of flannel board figures in Sunbean class, I began to wonder why I even went to Seminary.

Furthermore, I felt the previous semester had taught me nothing, and that the seminary stuff was a waste of my time when I could be so much more productive at the skate park. And I'd have actually seen him skate at the skate park, and he's amazing at it. I had heard this stuff over and over and over again. But then, for the first time, I started to listen, truly listen, to the words on the pages and the words speaking to my heart.

I began to realize that this story I had been subject to since my childhood was so much more than had been recited in the past. I began to see the scriptures as not just a hard to understand historical bore, but rather something very significant and wonderful that appealed to me on a personal level. Because of what this story means to me, I wanted to show throughout the painting my interpretation of its symbolic meaning, and any personal insight that I felt while reading it.

The outcome of this painting is the outcome you've shown me how to get on every page of scripture I finish reading. That was incredibly kind of him to say. Had it not been for this, the illustration would merely be some big guy, a small guy, and a rock. You have shown me how to see and hear the scriptures with my heart, and words cannot express the thanks I have for the light you have turned on. Now I just happened to be the one with my hand on the light switch at the time.

And what an honor it was for me to see this young man truly just blossom when it came to his his love of scripture, his testimony of truth. He has done incredible things. artistically and professionally, and just a a sweet friend in the celestial soul. And so I treasure this note as well as the painting that accompanied it.

And what did he depict? Well, let's jump to the page. Verse three. The Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side. Israel stood on a mountain on the other side. There was a valley between them. Yeah, that's how valleys were. But remember when we were talking about the pep rally at Ebol and Garazine? And there's the law at the base and blessings shouted from one side and curses shouted from the other. This is the valley of decision to borrow Joel's phrase.

Or Abraham setting up an altar with Bethel on one side and I on the other, house of God versus ruined world. Which mountain will I climb? Well here from the very beginning of this story, this chapter, you have a choice before you. Do you lean in the Israelite direction or are you pandering to the Philistines?

Which one is calling you? We saw that before with Ah, but the Philistines are stronger. We don't need to have any Smiths on our side. We have to go back down to the Philistines to even sharpen our our farming implements. And so some do just join the Philistines. Some simply hide from them, but end up hiding from their potential in Israel, too. Others are in Israel, but their potential.

They're not actually fighting, though they're supposed to be. You kind of start seeing all of that displayed across this spectrum in the valley of Elah. Then verse four through seven, here's our depiction of the giants. There went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines named Goliath of Gath, whose height was six cubits in a span, that's nine and a half feet tall.

He had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass. According to some estimates, that's near one hundred and twenty five pounds, just the chain man. He had greaves of brass upon his legs, there's some leg protection, a target of brass between his shoulders. The staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam, think very heavy, think very large. And his spear's head

He weighed six hundred shekels of iron, which is around sixteen pounds by most estimates. And here's the detail of who's this third guy in the scene? And one bearing a shield went before him. Now the picture our author is painting for us is that of an insurmountable foe, an opponent that no one's going to be able to to beat. There's no way around him. Certainly no way over him. Um nobody's getting through him or past him. No wonder the Israelites don't want to fight.

I mean, I looked up body armor for the modern military and some accounts say it's about forty pounds. And then you add weapons and ammunition and gear and you could be m marching around with a hundred pounds. And yet the Philistine would say, Oh no big deal. That's just a start. My chain mail weighs more than that. Add to that, the the plates between my shoulders, the helmet on my head, uh, the the greaves upon my legs.

That's nothing. Oh, and my spear Weaver's being you probably can't even wrap your hand around it, let alone throw the thing. 'Cause it has a sixteen pound give or take head point on it. I actually I mean that's that's more than uh the b uh any bowling ball ball I would ever just roll down the lane.

Uh, let alone try to throw it at somebody. I actually looked up the weight of an Olympic shot put, and it's up amazingly about the same, sixteen pounds. And the world record for that is seventy-six feet, which is amazing. To put that on the end of a weaver's beam and then try to throw it at a moving target, uh good luck. Okay.

Nobody's gonna beat the Philistine. But did you notice the tactical error among all these advantages? He had someone bearing a shield that went before him. Maybe he wanted both hands free for hand to hand combat. Maybe he used two hands to thrust or throw the spear. I don't know, but he was Talk about a mistake. Let trust someone else with your protection.

We talk about the shield of faith in the armor of God. You better be holding your own. Because if you're trying to hide behind somebody else's faith, That might be sufficient for a time, but not wi in the heat of battle. Well keep reading. Goliath calls out the armies of Israel every day. He s asks them, Send me a w somebody to fight with, and it's gonna be a winner take all, fight to the death. If I win, Philistines beat the Israelites and Like like I'm not gonna win.

Israelites, you beat me, then you take all. But nobody wants to volunteer for that post. Now verse eleven, when Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, yeah, you think. They were greatly afraid and for good reason. Now all Israel was probably justifiably afraid,'cause wait, our whole The outcome is gonna rest on somebody else.

I don't know if I want to have the whole team based on one on one. Uh maybe nobody can beat Goliath in one on one, but maybe maybe there's enough of us to defeat all of them. But know who else is dismayed and greatly afraid is Saul, and he oughta be Because if you looked across the army of the Philistines and you see one giant head and shoulders above the rest, well turn around and do the same with Israel. And who are you going to find?

a giant in Israel, one who repeatedly has been described as head and shoulders taller than anyone else in Israel. That's Saul. Who should have fought Goliath? The giant of Israel, but he's quaking in his boots.

Now verse twelve says that Jesse had eight sons. in the book of first Chronicles it says he had seven. So there's uh some discrepancy there. We don't totally know. Either way he's the youngest. Okay? And in verse thirteen and fourteen, The story says that the three eldest sons of Jesse went and followed Saul to the battle. The names of the three sons that went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and the next unto him Abinadab, and the third Shamah, and David was the youngest.

And in case you forgot, the three eldest followed Saul. Now where does that put son four, five, six, maybe seven, however many sons there are? There's at least three boys between these eldest three and David. And I don't know if it's age based or if it's different responsibilities or they just didn't make muster or whatever. But if it is age-based and only the oldest three are old enough to go out to battle, that means number four can't quite make the ranks and number five is.

Too young, which means number six is definitely off limits, which means David number seven. I think too often we overestimate his age. Thinking that oh yeah, he's got this, he can handle this. Mighty man of of war. Wasn't that what how he was introduced earlier? It's like, no, you must have got that wrong. That must have been some kind of conflation of information. Uh I it's kind of like stripling warriors.

when you see a a very young Captain Moroni and Helaman that still are so distant in age from them that they can call them my sons or my little sons. These are I've sometimes joked like, is this the deacon's quorum? Like rushing off to battle? Uh has has David even graduated from primary yet? I don't know. Okay. I don't know his age, but again, the last of the sons when only the oldest three are at war. Keep that in mind.

Verse 16, Goliath keeps taunting the people of Israel. He does it for forty days. That number should ring some bells. In terms of the flood, in terms of the wandering in in the wilderness, in terms of Moses fasting on Sinai, forty becomes a great symbol of Purification, of preparation, of cleansing. And you wonder is Is Israel having this time of

Cleansing my heart? Am I prepared? Am I worthy? Can I do this? Can anyone? Well, no one feels like the forty days have been sufficient to purify them or to prepare them.

And so it just keeps going on and on. Meanwhile, Jesse is concerned about his boys, and so he takes his youngest. I guess the one he can spare. And gives them some cheese and some bread and says, go visit your b big brothers in the battlefield and see how things are going for them. So verse twenty, David rose up early in the morning. He doesn't wait to accomplish his father's will. He left the sheep with a keeper and went to the battlefield to find his brothers. Left the sheep with a keeper?

Oh, I said he was a good shepherd. He's maybe even better than I thought. In the parable of the lost sheep, we just talk about leaving the 99 to go after the one. That's good for the one, but what does that where does that leave the 99? Well, I think the detail that's missing from the parable that David would have supplied is it's okay. No b no good shepherd is going to leave the ninety nine shepherd list.

They'll definitely be under shepherds. There'll be someone else that's taking care of them,'cause otherwise what's gonna happen? He's gonna come back with one and find ninety-nine now lost. No, a good shepherd is better than that. And so David makes sure that all of the sheep are are taken care of. Even in his own absence.

David gets to the battlefield to visit his brothers just in time to hear one more round of taunting from the the Philistine giant. But when he hears it, instead of quaking in his boots, he's looking around confused like How could who's why are we letting this guy get away with it? How come nobody's taken him on? Uh is this the first time he's done this? I mean must be. Or otherwise somebody would have defeated him long ago. There's the confidence on David's part.

In verse twenty six he looks around, asks the men, What shall be done to the man that killeth the Philistine? And taketh away the reproach from Israel? He's talking smack, he's mocking us. And then he asks, Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of a living God? Did you catch the repetition of what we saw from Jonathan's experience back in chapter fourteen? He had said, Who's going to take on these uncircumcised Philistines in the garrison?

And here David's doing the same thing. For both parties, it's a religious issue. This is covenant against non covenant. This is not Israel against the Philistines. This is the God of Israel against the God of the Philistines. And we saw that last week, this stump of Dagon with no head and no hands, bowing before the Ark of the Covenant. Come on, let's do this thing. He was ready to defend the honor of Israel and Israel's God.

Verse twenty eight, David's oldest brother overhears this, comes to David, chastens him. That's that's what big brothers are for, right? He says, Why camest thou down hither? With whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? So this was not ninety nine and one, this was some negligible flaw. But one that David still thought was worth defending. His big brother goes on, I know thy pride, the naughtiness of thine heart, for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle. That's it.

Now I wonder if Eliab, this oldest son, is just bitter. It said earlier that when when Samuel anointed David to be the next king, he did it in the presence of his brethren. And wait a minute, if it was supposed to be a son of Jesse, and even Samuel assumed it would be the firstborn Eliab, then you better believe that Eliab would have assumed the same

And I wonder if there's some envy, some bitterness on Eliab's part, like it should have been me. I'm out here ready to take on the enemy. I'm ready to lead Israel. Well, are you? You've been here for forty days doing nothing. But he's angry and he assumes I mean if there's pride he's feeling, no wonder it's pride he's assuming or assigning to his little brother. You just came to watch.

Well, again, there's an irony. Isn't that all you're doing, big brother? You're just sitting around watching no battles take place. No, he's wrong in accusing uh his brother of any of these things. And David knows it. So he responds in 29. What have I now done? Is there not a cause? I love that he says that. We've got a reason to be courageous. We've got a reason to fight. There is a cause here, and it is the cause of Israel.

So gather your courage and let's start running forward and on, on to the victory. Sound like another leader of Israel, we know? That was Joseph Smith's words back in DNC 128. Shall we not go forward in such a cause? That was Captain Roney's words in the war chapters. This is the cause of Christians, and he's emblazoning that cause upon the title of liberty. Let the cause inspire you, and it will inspire courage within you. If you're struggling, if you're hesitant, if you're feeling inadequate.

Then internalize the cause of Christ. And you will roar back to David's question. Is there not a cause? Oh, you better believe there is, and it's one worth fighting for.

David no. Now Saul overhears this and he's shocked. Who who's saying this? Who actually has the guts to go face the giant? Any somebody taller than me? And instead of looking up to someone, he looks way down at someone that is incredibly small compared to what Saul is.

In fact, Saul tries to dissuade the boy David. In verse 33, he says, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. Goliath's been fighting since before you were born. He has more experience in the battlefield than you have in life, little boy. And so I don't think you quite understand what you would be up against.

There's no way you should do this. That actually reminds me of Paul's counsel to Timothy, who was also young, but in leadership in the early church. And Paul says to him, Let no man despise thy youth. Oh, and you young listeners out there, don't let anyone tell you you can't do something just because you're too young. Unless it's like drive a car or things like that. Okay. But in terms of making a difference in the kingdom of God, let no man despise thy youth.

God called Samuel as a boy, David as a boy, Mary as a young girl, Esther, young girl. The Stripling Warriors, Joseph Smith, you name it, when God wants to change the world, he usually chal calls someone young to do it. young enough that they don't yet know any better, that they shouldn't have so much confidence. It's the older ones that get jaded and think, Ah, there's no chance. It's the young ones that feel invincible. And with God's help, in a way you are.

David knows it, and so he responds in thirty four and thirty five. Thy servant kept his father's sheep, good shepherd, all along. There came a lion and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock. Now a lamb. Notice these details here. It's just one. Of a of a flock that was barely worth protecting in its entirety. Just a few sheep. But no, a lamb. If it were me, I'd say, Well, I only lost one, Dad. We got the rest.

But not David. I went out after him. How's that for being proactive, not considering it too late by any stretch? He went out and smote him and delivered it out of his mouth. Now how that has that for you? Again, if I thought it was too late because it had been dragged out of the out of the flock, it's in the lion's mouth. It's definitely too late. It's definitely a lost cause. Well, David didn't agree. So when he arose up against me, so now I'm willing to put my life on the line?

for a mere lamb out of a flock of just a few sheep? This animal, this this predator, is now coming after me? No worries. David says, I caught him by his beard. There's hand to hand combat with a ferocious animal. And I smote him and slew him. Now those are some impressive credentials. And I would simply say, based on David's experience, that before we face Goliath, I hope we have some prior experience beating lions and bears.

God will give us opportunities to test our spiritual strength, to try our faith, to develop some righteous reflexes. I just hope we take advantage of those opportunities and pass those preliminary tests. David did. But notice what he says next, thirty six. Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear.

And this uncircumcised Philistine there's the religious dig again, shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God, David said, moreover, the Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And that makes all the difference. Notice he's not just saying, I have amazing experience. I've got credentials. I can do this. I've done it before. No, it's God has the credentials.

God got me through that. I was scared to death if he was probably being honest. But God strengthened me. I don't know, was this just adrenaline rush? And I j jumped in. Then I did the impossible because God preserved me. I trust he will do the same because I am simply trying to take care of the lost sheep of Israel.

I am facing the lions and bears among the Philistines, and they are God's enemies because they have mocked the living God, and he was alive and well with me then. He will be alive and well with me now.

David's gonna see that in a moment. David girded his sword upon his armor, and he essayed to go. He's ready to go march across the battlefield, and then he realizes, uh no, no, no, no, not a good, not a good idea. for he had not proved all this equipment he was wearing. David says to Saul, I cannot go with these, for I have not proved them, and David put them off him. There's a couple lessons there. One, again, this this similarity to Goliath. Why would I fight the enemy with the enemy's weapon?

I'm just lowering myself to their level. And if all they have is the arm of flesh and You think I'm gonna take off the armor of God and settle for the armor of flesh? Just so it's a fair fight? Uh uh. Oh, with God on my side, it w it would never be a fair fight, nor should it be. And I trust in him. I see that sometimes when people attack the faith from a position of complete absence of faith. In terms of God speaking to the mind and the heart.

and then shifting to a completely empirical secular epistemology. In other words, how do we know what we know? We only know it through the mind. We can only know it through scientific measurements. It has to be completely rational. And anytime you hint at the non-rational, I'm going to mock it to make it the irrational and laugh it off the stage. Anybody that trusts in spiritual experience is a fool.

feeling that pressure and feeling ashamed of what we cannot convey in purely rational terms. I can't weigh it, I can't measure it, I can't prove it. then we lower ourselves to that merely rational epistemology. And that's an abdication of the most important weapon God has ever given us, the sword of the Spirit. And to leave that sword. Because the enemy doesn't believe in one? Not wise. Humbly we can wield it and wield it well. We can

Hold to testimony of truth. The very end of a great book by a German theologian from the early twentieth century. Rudolf Otto's a book called The Idea of the Holy, and he's simply trying to defend the non rational aspect of religion, namely the religious experience. the spirit, the transcendent, the power of God. And as he ends this beautiful book, he simply says, Of course Someone who cannot allow for spiritual experience, none of this will make sense from the beginning.

It's speaking a foreign language. I mean it it's again, that's not a weapon in their arsenal and so they'll look at you and think, You're why would you even pick that thing up? It does no good. But he also points out, on the other hand, again there's we're not seeing eye to eye here. What I'm testifying of, my spiritual experience, will do nothing to convince you. And Otto admits, Yeah, that's true.

All the bearing of testimony in the world will not convince someone who's not open to spiritual experience for themselves. But what auto adds at the end is the reverse is also true. I can't convince them, but they can't disarm me. because they're unwilling to come close enough in real He the way he puts it is they're always outside the battlefield. their weapons are too short to reach their target. Because they can't say anything against the power and wisdom of God.

I love that statement at the end of that book. I need to memorize it so I can do better justice to it. I apologize. But to me there's something very powerful about that sense of security that comes When you realize God has given you arms and armor. Beyond anything the world can produce.

David is getting a sense of that. I don't want to look and dress and act and fight like the Philistine. Because in that battle, he'll eat me alive. What am I left with? I'm left with the arms of God. And that's those are arms I trust in. The other side of this is I am not going to make the mistake the Philistine is making. Remember who's this guy? The Philistine has an armor, a shield bearer to go before him, and I will not trust my safety to someone else's shield. I'm not gonna do it.

In the parable of the sower, it talks about one of the seeds that can't grow, well grows and then faints, you know, di just w w uh withers and shrivels and dies in the in the sun, is because it had no root in themselves. Important detail. For h for David here, no, I need root in myself. I need my own armor of God.

And I'm grateful for everyone who helps me forge the implements and all the smiths out there that are hammering iron and letting sparks fly, but I have to make it fit to myself. Exact specifications. And so I've got some work to do. I need to become a smith of my own, to create my own armor of God. And David is not going to trust someone else to do that dirty work.

Instead, what does he do? Verse forty. He took his staff in his hand. That's another thing we never see. We always see him with a sling. We don't see him with a staff. What kind of staff would that be? Ah, the staff of a good shepherd. This is a shepherd shepherd's crook, the one he uses to help lost sheep come back, the one he uses to fight off attacking lions and bears. He never wants to be without the tools of Of of the good shepherd.

And then what? He chose him five smooth stones out of the brook? Ah stones, rocks of Israel, smooth, ah rocks that were shaped by the running of living water. How many of those do I have? Have I shaped them with time? Have I had enough of the of the living water run over me to smooth out some of my rough edges?

He put them in a shepherd's bag. There's that element again. Every time you look, David is the good shepherd. Into the shepherd's bag which he had, even in a script, and his sling was in his hand. Now this is artillery over infantry. Malcolm Gladwell has talked about this. This is going to be safer distance than the lion or the bear. And with all of that, David now draws near to the Philistine. We didn't see the sling before.

Uh back then he grabbed the lion or the bear by the beard. Remember that is hand to hand combat. Uh He's progressed and he realizes that the weapons that helped me through one fight might be insufficient for the next one. So I keep getting stronger. I keep developing deeper habits of spiritual strength, and I'm ready for whatever comes next, because I'm not reliant on what came before.

If things are getting harder and harder, or we're up against bigger and bigger enemies, then we need to up our game. And David has done just that.

In verse forty one, the Philistine came on, drew near unto David, and the man that bare the shield went before him. There's our third figure. When the Philistine looked about, he's like, wait, where's the guy? I d I don't I can't even look down that far. He saw David, and he disdained him. In other words, he despised him. He looked down on him, literally as well as figuratively. For he was but a youth.

And ruddy and a fair countenance. His face is still flushed. He probably does not even old enough to shave. The Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog that thou comest to me with staves? There he is still holding his shepherd's staff. And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

Oh, let no man despise thy youth. Goliath's doing exactly that. And not just despising this youth of Israel, but despising the god of Israel too. He's cursing David by Dagon. So this isn't just Goliath versus David, this is Dagon versus Jehovah. Who's gonna win that battle? Well, we've seen it before.

Unfazed, David tart starts talking smack back to the Philistines. Maybe that's why he had to be young, because young people are are better at talking smack than old people usually are. He says in verse forty five, Thou comest to me with a sword and with a spear, and with a shield. although you're not even holding it. In other words, looks to me like you're trusting the arm of flesh, and boy do you have mountains of it. Meanwhile, how about me?

I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. So this is not going to be man against man, because I'm going to lose that one, and everybody knows that. This is man against God. And God's on my side.

Verse forty six This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand, and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee, and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day, unto the fowls of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth. And here's why. That all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. That's the same kind of language we saw in Exodus. Uh Jehovah beating the Egyptian pantheon that they may know a god they refused to acknowledge.

In the next verse forty seven he expands it beyond that, and all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear, for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hands. It's not enough that the world will know. Israel has to know too. And do we do we trust that the battle is the Lord's and are we willing to go in the power of his might? in any direction he sends us.

Well, what direction did David go in? Verse forty eight and forty nine, it came to pass when the Philistine arose, he's ticked, this little boy's talking smack. He came and drew nigh to meet David. So picture Goliath lumbering across the valley, rushing towards David. Well, what would I do? I'd run too, and I'd run away, but not David. David hasted and ran toward the army to meet the Philistines.

Remember Joseph's statement about the cause Go forward, brethren, and not backwards, and on, on to the victory. That's what David's doing. David put his hand in his bag. He took thence a stone and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead. One spot that wasn't clear. a chink in the armor, and the stone sunk into his forehead and he fell upon his face to the earth. By the way, so hi. And so fast the stone was flyant that there was no chance for this armor, this shield bearer

And Dave is running forward just as fast himself. There is courage among this or in the within this boy. In verse fifty, So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine and slew him, but there was no sword in the hand of David. You see how David won? Oh, no sword in the hand of David. David might have disagreed. I said, Oh I had a sword, not not the visible kind though. Sword of the Spirit and the Word of God. Oh I wield it well.

Ah, and then the sling and the stone. Again, I think I've mentioned it Malcolm Gladwell talks about a difference in military technology. And Goliath was old school. He trusted in swords and spears and shields, and David was ready to go from infantry to artillery. And forget the hand to hand combat. That worked with a lion and a bear. There's no way I'm getting out of the grasp of this Goliath.

But if I s keep my distance and stay far enough away that this heavy spear can't be thrown in my direction, and then let the stone fly. then the this artillery will beat infantry any day. In some ways it's a matter again, spirit over flesh, that Goliath's weapons in some ways were earthbound, far more than what David had in his shepherd's bag. And the trust in the spirit. To trust in what was said.

In in in something further developed. I'm not going to fight today's battles with yesterday's weapons. I have to be better prepared than that. But since he had no sword of his own, literal one anyway, he unsheathed the sword of Goliath, and with it he cut off the giant's own head.

We see that elsewhere in Scripture that the enemy that has dug a pit for th their neighbor has fallen into the pit themselves. The sword you intended to use on me actually Caused your own destruction, your own ultimate death. Verse fifty one and fifty two then, and when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled. And the men of Israel and of Judah arose and shouted and pursued the Philistines, and as the chapter comes to its close a few verses later.

And I think sometimes if we're willing to be the one and stand alone just long enough to prove that we're willing to do so, before we know it we won't be alone anymore. Actually we were never alone to begin with, and David knew it. God was with him. But in terms of more, oh, personal companions, lead the charge.

and the army will come running. That, among so many other things, is one of the lessons of David and Goliath. Oh the masterpiece that my student painted. I am grateful for all that he saw. I'm grateful for all of the Spirit depicts for us, and I'm sure that you are painting masterpieces in your own mind. That's the case of real scripture study.

He didn't beat Goliath in seventeen, he didn't beat his own inner demons from this moment forward, and it spelled his own death and destruction by the end of the book. That's what we'll see from this moment forward. So verse one, it came to pass. When he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David.

And Jonathan loved him as his own soul. Then Jonathan and David made a covenant because he loved him as his own soul, and Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him and gave it to David and his garments, even to his sword and to his bow and to his girdle. Now we're gonna see more of Jonathan. We st I again I hope you fell in love with Jonathan back in chapter fourteen. Uh his mad scramble up the hill to take on the Philistine garrison.

But he saw in David not a competitor but a companion, not a foe but a friend. And this is not a threat to my authority. I'd rather have let him have the authority, and I will build him up This is we are cut from the same clothes. And if God wants to A heart like his to lead Israel? Well my heart is with him all the way. I love the description of all of this. Their souls were knit together.

There's no seams in knitting, right? It's just it all is interwoven. And that's what the soul to soul of these two wonderful friends. Love your neighbor as yourself. That sounds like loved him as his own soul. Where they felt good about themselves, they were confident in God and confident in themselves. So where there's no in some ways there's nothing missing in their sense of self. So they don't need to, I don't know, fill in empty holes by taking from other people. That was Saul's problem.

He but with Jonathan, with David. There's enough end to spare enough love that God has poured into me that it's pouring out into you and I can love you just as much. To the point that Jonathan would strip himself of his robe. We've talked a bit about the prodigal son already today. And there is that older brother that was next in line and should have inherited everything and and never left the father's side, and I'm the good guy. And you could kind of put a Jonathan in that place.

And yet, you can definitely put a Jesus in that place. He's the elder brother of every prodigal child that and he's the one that's never left the father's side. But unlike the older brother in the in the parable. who is bitter that his little brother has returned, is angry that Dad is taking a fatted calf out of a half that eventually will belong to him,

To be able to celebrate his little brother's return? No. He was de we were dead to him, he's still dead to me. That's not the case with Jesus. Certainly not the case with Jonathan. And you see in him. Just like the Father gives the prodigal son a robe, a ring and the fatted calf, Christ will give the robes of his righteousness. Give the ring of his authority and power. He will not just allow for the death of a fatted calf. He'll provide himself as the lamb without blemish.

And I see similar things here in Jonathan, a beautiful type of Christ. Here is my robe, the regal royal ones. Here are my garments. The garments of praise, the mantle of charity. Here is my sword, my bow, my girdle. Here's my armor of God. I know you don't need it, you've got your own.

at least spiritually speaking, but literally, let me help you out a little bit. I don't know if you know any Smiths, I do. And so take mine absolutely no jealousy on Jonathan's part, which juxtaposes him with his father.

Who becomes jealous and prideful to the very core? Now, as day we'll see this in a moment. As David returns triumphant from the battle, the women of Israel come out and are they're singing and they're dancing and they're playing music. This is like the song of Miriam after the Red Sea, the song of Deborah after Sisera's defeat.

Verse seven and eight, the women answered one another as they played, so they're kind of singing back and forth, call and response. They say, Saul hath slain his thousands, and here's the response, and David his ten thousands. And as beautiful as these echoes of praise would sound from these female voices, Saul didn't feel that way. He was very wroth.

And the saying displeased him. He hated the lyrics, and here's why. He said, Wait a minute, they have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands, and what can he have more but the kingdom? Remember President Benson's famous talk on pride? Where he said pride doesn't care about having something, it only cares about having more than somebody else. It's all comparison and competition. That's what Saul is dealing with.

He killed your thousands. It's amazing. Oh, but he's you're talking about tens of thousands for him, and I can't handle that. And what he says at the end there, what what's left for him to take, but the kingdom, that's Saul's biggest concern. It's the one thing I want to hold on to. And yes, uh Samuel has warned me that the kingdom's already passed to somebody else. It better not be David. I I will not allow that to happen. Verse 9, Saul eyed David from that day and forward.

Talk about fixating upon the object of your jealousy. And it came to pass on the morrow that the evil spirit from God Yep, there's a JST to correct it, it came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house. Now, other translations don't say he prophesied. It says he raved like a madman, and that sounds more accurate. In other words, what spirit is moving you? Spirit of God or this or this evil spirit that isn't from him?

Either way, David is playing with his hand, as at other times, he's trying to calm down and soothe the mad king as any chance he can. And there was a javelin in Saul's hand. Now this is a dangerous situation. Both David and Saul have something in their hands, but David's is a harp. Saul's is a javelin. And remember one of his motivating emotions is anger.

And it's not the Spirit of God that is moving it right now. Now, if you know your emotional state, your mental state, your spiritual state, be very careful what you hold in your hand. Be very careful about what temptations you keep handy in a moment of weakness. Because you may end up doing things that you never intended. This is God warning Adam and Eve, Don't even touch the fruit, let alone eat it. Well, what's Saul doing with a javelin in his hand?

Oh, careful, it's not gonna stay there very long. Sure enough, verse eleven, Saul cast the javelin. For he said, I will smite David even to the wall with it. And David avoided out of his presence twice. Now I'm not gonna do it for you, but try to keep track of how many attempts Saul makes on David's life. Here we see one and two in quick succession. And at some point, I get I lose track after about 12, okay, from this point forward. But notice this detail: Saul was afraid of David.

Because the Lord was with him and was departed from Saul, he was Is Saul afraid of David? If anything, David has every reason to fear Saul. Although that's only physical. And it looks like David, young David's got some quick reflexes. That's good, saved his life. But Saul fearing David because he sees in David what he once had himself, namely the power and spirit of God.

Oh, it's interesting. Even to see, we'll see more of this when Joseph Smith talks about uh all the persecution he suffered through life, and he said, It seems that I was prone to the envy and wrath of man. The envy, how they're jealous of me? They're angry at me? Is it they fear me? Just because I I'm trying to live a righteous life.

And have the Spirit of God? There's something else here about self deception. There's some great material in Bonds That Make Us Free, for example, some work from the Arbinger Institute, which is this great LDS think tank that tries to work on conflict resolution. And they often talk about s in in t turn times of self-deception, we end up attacking and blame well, we end up blaming the person we want to attack.

That's kind of how they say it. Where we make the the person that we are offending, we make them guilty in our own minds. And that what is what makes us feel justified in attacking. That seems to be what Saul is doing. Oh, I I have things to fear in him. No you don't. You have nothing to fear in David. David has everything to fear in you. And yet if I can paint him as the monster, make him appear to be the enemy.

then I'm justified in attacking him, even though it makes no sense that in terms of real logic. This is the perpetrator blaming the victim, and we'll see Saul do a lot of that.

Meanwhile, verse fourteen, David behaved himself wisely in all his ways, and the Lord was with him. Well, of course you'll be wise if God, source of all wisdom, is with you. Wherefore when Saul saw that he behaved himself very wisely, he was afraid of him. There it is happening again.

But all Israel and Judah loved David because he went out and came in before them. David seems to be a man of God and a man of the people. And Joseph Smith was the same, just really good with keeping both great commandments. And David's out among them. He doesn't feel like he's better than them or higher than them or needs to be distinct from them. It's just, can you believe what God is doing for all of us?

Saul then offers David his daughter, Merab, as a wife. I mean, okay, so Saul is trying is he turning things around? Well, or is this a chance of keep your friends close and your enemies close? Because here's what he does. He says in verse 17, You can have my daughter if you will fight the Lord's battle. For Saul said to himself, Well let not mine hand be upon him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him.

See there's no way I mean gu I guess the guy got lucky from a distance with his his sling and beat the Philistine giant. Go take on more Philistines, like my my amazing son did. There's no way that David deserves the kingdom over Jonathan. Jonathan's way better. I'll take first Samuel fourteen over seventeen any day. So yeah, let's have him go take on a garrison. Scrambling up the the hillside and hand to hand combat. No, you go fight. Go fight the Lord's battles. Let's put it that way.

And that way he'll die at the Philistines' hands, and my hands will be free. You picture Pilate washing his hands of the blood of Jesus? Now, sadly, do you see a later David sending Uriah off to battle so that David doesn't have to slay him himself? There's going to be some parallels we'll see between this week and next that are that are heartbreaking. But at this moment it's Saul is the evil one, and he's trying to

trick David into wanting to marry his daughter, and sending him off to his own death to do so. Well, as usual, Saul underestimates David and underestimates the power of God to preserve him. So he goes out and fights and everything's great. although meanwhile Saul has given that daughter to someone else. So he never apparently never meant it anyway. It was just a ruse and it didn't work and but I don't want him to actually marry into the family, so

A g quick gotta gotta marry Marab off to somebody else. Saul does have another daughter. Her name is Michal, or Michael as she is sometimes pronounced, and Saul promises her to David also, but under these conditions. Verse twenty one. I will give him her that she may be a snare to him. and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him. So he hasn't changed tactics, he's only changed daughters. Meanwhile David protests humbly, he says, I'm I'm my family's way too poor,

to even marry into the royal family. I have nothing to give by way of dowry. I don't have the ten camels that Abraham's servants brought to or servant brought to R for Rebecca. I got nothing to give. I've got just a few poor sheep. That's nothing. And Saul is like, I know, but since this is a snare and a trap, he I'm just using my daughter as bait and this is what I'm asking for. Go bring back a hundred foreskins from the Philistines.

Now there's some symbolism there. Remember the uncircumcised Philistines is how Jonathan referred to them, how David referred to them. No covenant there. And they're not going to take it upon themselves willingly. So let's go force something. This is a little like Simeon and Levi and the the town of Shechem that they trick into taking the covenant, right?

But basically i in some ways you could take this as Ammon and the servants of King Lomoni when when he s cuts off all these arms and the servants pack them up in a bag and bring them and dump them at Lamonai's feet, because this is evidence. This is proof. Uh, and you can count the casualties that fell to the sword of or the sling of of Ammon, because he here they are. Well in this case uh it's a more specific b or a different body part.

But it has some symbolism in itself as well. And there's no way that David's gonna survive. if he if he's trying to take on an army and and fight a hundred Philistines. Well, once again Saul has underestimated the power of David and the power of God to be with David and Pretty soon David has gathered an army to go with him. They go out, fight in battles against the Philistines, and come back with a dowry of not one hundred, but two hundred Philistine forces. Strange gift, but we'll move forward.

Well, that kind of backfired on Saul. But verse twenty eight, Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David. And that Michael or Michael, Saul's daughter, loved him, just like Jonathan did, and this is a family favorite to everyone but Saul, that is. Saul was yet the more afraid of David, and Saul became David's enemy continually. Again, why do people fear righteousness? Why do they make goodness their enemy when there's no sense of enemieship in return?

Why do that? Why do we sometimes want to drag down people we consider too perfect?

My daughter said that she was bullied at a certain time of her life and the complaint people said the the derision they threw in her face was that she was a Molly Mormon. And that speaks more of the people throwing that out than the person that's being targeted. What's wrong with trying to be What's wrong with trying to be faithful and righteous and pure? And yet that goes against well

I was gonna say it goes against everything Saul stands for. No, it Saul used to stand for it, but he fell short of it, and that's why he feels that he's fallen short of David's standard. This is the crab making its way out of the pot and everyone else drags it back down. Again, it's a matter of comparison. Pride is always that way. So turn to chapter 19 and we can add a few more tick marks or tally marks on the number of the counts of attempted murder against David, innocent David.

Saul in chapter nineteen commands Jonathan, his son, to kill David. And wrong one to ask because his soul is knit to David's. Fast, fast friend. So Jonathan, instead of obeying father's command, warns David about it, and in fact promises um promises him, I will be your eyes and ears within the royal palace. So whatever Dad's up to, whatever scheme he's concocting, I'll give you the heads up. Jonathan even defends David to his father.

stands up to someone who obviously is kind of unhinged and is chucking javelins and and yet Jonathan would rather preserve his friendship. and tried to keep his father from committing such evil against him. So verse four, Jonathan spake good of David unto Saul his father, again a dangerous thing to do. And said unto him, Let not the king sin against his servant, against David which is exactly what it would be, because he hath not sinned against thee.

And because his works have been to thee word very good. For he put his life in his hand and slew the Philistine, and the Lord wrought a great salvation for all Israel, including you, Dad. You should have been the one to do it. Thou sawest it and didst rejoice. Wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood to slay David without a cause? Do we have the courage to stand up for people that are being misjudged? Or spoken ill about, especially in their absence?

Do we have the courage to speak truth to power? Do we have the courage and love to try to reconcile people that One there's anger in one direction, but it not in the other, and it doesn't have to be in either direction. I love what Jonathan is doing here. In fact, he's trying to remind his father of all the good that David has done, including the good he's done to Saul. And actually for a time it worked.

In verse six, Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan, and Saul swear as the Lord liveth, he shall not be slain. And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan showed him all those things, and Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as in times past. This is forgiveness, reconciliation, trust, friendship reforming, and Jonathan gets to be in the middle of it all. I love this. If I remember correctly, in American history Jefferson and Adams were so tight in the revolutionary period.

trying to just gr develop a nation and and gain freedom from Britain. And then there was this massive falling out that lasted for decades. But Benjamin Rush, if I remember correctly, who was a mutual friend, one of the unsung founding fathers, worked tirelessly to try to reconcile the two. They said, you two founding fathers are among the the oldest men around that remember those days and you don't have to be foes. You can be friends. You once were.

And he would drop kind hints from one to the other, say things like Hey Thomas, you know John was saying some really amazing things about things you did in the presidency and Jefferson was like, Wait, what ri Adams would say something nice about me? No, there's no way. And then Russia's dropping hints on the other side. Like, you know, Thomas was so amazed with what you've been writing lately and Adams is like

Jefferson? A nice thing to say about me? Well, near the end of their lives, those two friends took upon took up a correspondence to each other that is worth worth its weight in gold. and their shared perspective on things they went through together. It's beautiful. It's amazing to see their their reconciliation. Here Jonathan is performing that role between Saul and David. And I I hope we can do that when we see people that

Well it's like Joseph Smith and W W Phelps. Come dear brother, now the war is past and friends at first. Shall be friends again at last. I wish we could end the story there.

Saul then sends messengers to kill David, another direct approach. This time Michal, Michael, helps him escape. Let's him down through a window, sounds a little like Rahab helping the spies that came to scope out Jericho. Is that now who we see Saul as a wicked king? That the righteous people of Israel need to help need help in escaping from we've gotten that to that point.

Yeah, r make me call even puts a dummy in in David's bed. I mean husband and wife. And she just kinda sets this thing up and puts the stuff there and Oh he's yeah, he's just no I wasn't feeling well. He's still there and the servants of Saul come and realize what they've done and they're angry and or report to Saul who's very angry. David runs away, he ends up staying with Samuel, and Saul keeps sending messenger after messenger in search to apprehend him.

But at one point he sends a group and they come and once they get close to David and Samuel. The Spirit of God descends upon them and they begin prophesying. Remember that happened to Saul when he was in the company of the prophets? Well now it's happening to Saul's servants. And I don't it doesn't say what they prophesied, but I'm guessing it was good things about David and bad things about Saul.

And Saul catches one to this and saw, Well, that didn't work and he sends another group of servants and they go through the same thing and a third group and And finally the fourth time Saul is like, This is not working the way I planned He goes to try to take down David himself, and as he approaches, even he feels the Spirit of the Lord descend upon him. And he prophesies just like everybody else, slang Reminds me of the old pioneer or the old stories of early Mormon missionaries in England when

Enemies of the church would tell the constable, this is a disruption of the peace, this is a nuisance. And so go after them. And they go and they're like, Well, I don't want to arrest them in the middle of a sermon. I'll just wait till they're done. And by the end, they're not arresting them, they're asking to be baptized at their hands.

And that seems to be the case of what's happening here. Well, chapter nineteen then turns to twenty, and here again you see this the souls of Jonathan and David knit together. And verse one, David's on the run. He comes back to Jonathan and he asks, What have I done? What is mine iniquity? What is my sin before thy father that he seeketh my life? Talk about Lord is it I

David's done nothing wrong. Jonathan's already reminded Saul of that. But John but Saul uh David looks inward instead of outward and assumes g he gives Saul the benefit of the doubt. I must have done something to offend him. What could it possibly be? He in fact in verse eight he says to Jonathan, If there be in me iniquity, slay me thyself. I'm not afraid of justice. I'm not afraid of facing the music if I d if I've done something wrong. I'd rather face it from your hand.

But I don't think I've done anything. Can you help me see my blind spot? Well, there aren't any. David, uh Jonathan tries to reassure David. But David honestly fears for his life and for very good reason.

So they renew their covenant of friendship, and they come up with a game plan. Here's their covenant. Verse thirteen, Jonathan says, The Lord be with thee as he hath been with my father. Uh Jonathan's in such a rough place. He loves his dad, uh he loves his friend. He knows one is guilty and the other is innocent, and he's trying to reconcile the two and it worked, but now it isn't and But he still remembers his father's good years, when the Spirit of God was upon him.

Now he sees it upon his friend and prays that it may remain there. In verse seventeen, for he loved him as he loved his own soul. There it is again, loving his neighbor as himself. Or twenty-three, the Lord be between thee and me forever. Now there's no better connection in terms of a friendship or a marriage or a relationship. If God is the only thing between you

Then in some ways there's nothing between you. Or nothing that will ever come between you that would separate you. Because God is making you at one with him and at one with one another. You want a good relationship, make sure God is the connective tissue and nothing can ever come between you. Well, that's the covenant. How about the plan?

Jonathan's still going to be the eyes and ears of David in the palace. And he comes up with this idea. Why don't you go out and hide in the woods? And I will try to get a sense of where my dad's at. Is he ready to reconcile or is he still as angry and prone to throwing javelins as before? And I'll tell you what, as you're waiting out in the woods, once I find out from my father, I'll take a bow and arrow and I'll shoot arrows out into the field or the woods near where you might be.

Careful, make sure you can dodge javelins. Hopefully you can dodge arrows in case I I I don't know where I'm shooting. I'll send a servant out around there and I'll tell the servant Oh, the the arrows are farther out. Keep going. And that's code for you, David, should keep going. Get out of here. It's unsafe.

If on the other hand I say, oh, you went too far, servant, the arrows are on this side of you, so please come back home. Wink wink, nudge, nudge, David. Come back, and you'll find the arrows along the way. Sound good? Sure. Sounds good.

And so that's exactly what they do. Now David's away in hiding. Saul starts missing him, but not for good reasons. He asks Jonathan, so where's David? Haven't seen him in a while and Jonathan tries to excuse him. So he had to go back to Bethlehem, offering sacrifice. That was kind of the same excuse that Samuel came up with to try to escape the angry Saul before. And how does Saul respond? Like, oh, okay, well.

Miss the guy, you know, haven't heard the harp in a while, and it uh life's around here's a little calmer, a little more peaceful with him. No. Verse thirty. Saul's anger was kindled, but notice its target. it was kindled against Jonathan. And he said unto him, Thou son of a perverse rebellious woman wait, what, now you're blaming Jonathan's mother, throwing your own wife under the bus?

Whoa! He says, Do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion and unto the confusion of thy mother's nakedness? Now that's a weird way to describe things. I think he's saying, don't you get that David's success will mean your failure? And even my failure as a parent, I think that's where he's getting at with thy mother's nakedness. It's like, why did we ever give birth to you?

if you're not gonna grow up to be king, this is about the dynasty. This is about you taking my place. And as long as that punk David is alive, You'll never ascend to the throne. See what he's getting at here? He's so jealous for himself that he's beginning to envy for Jonathan's sake. And Jonathan feels no envy. No, I want I'd support David in the throne any day. I'll be his right hand man.

Saul goes on, as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. Wherefore now send and fetch him unto me for he shall surely die. Well it wasn't Jonathan's kingdom Saul was worried about. It was still his own. Still, he was right. You'll never be king, but like I said, Jonathan was okay with that.

Verse thirty two, Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said unto him, Wherefore shall he be slain? What hath he done? See, he's still thinking of David, not of himself. He's still defending a friend. Or maybe he's giving his father the benefit of the doubt and allowing him to explain himself. What do you see in him? What what am I missing?

I don't see any cause, but if you do, I'll allow you to explain. Well, Saul's got nothing to explain, and so all he's got is the javelin in his hand, and this time Saul cast the javelin at him. at Jonathan to smite him. Now he's turned on his own son. Obviously not concerned that his son will actually inherit the kingdom, like he just said.

Because it's not just David's life that would get in the way of that. It's Jonathan's death that would get in the way of that too. Come on, Dad. Come on, Saul. But now Dad's intentions are crystal clear. whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to slay David. So what's Jonathan do? He arose from the table in fierce anger, anger towards his father, and did eat no meat the second day of the month, for he was grieved for David, because his father had done him shame.

I'm so amazed that Jonathan is able to hold two different emotions simultaneously. And to feel this anger towards his father, this righteous indignation, but at the same time hold nothing but sorrow for David. And and trying to navigate that. Jonathan then acts according to to the plan. He shoots the arrows, sends his servant after them, and says, They are way past you. Keep on going.

And ultimately when the servant returns, he says, Well, thanks for your help. Go back home. I'm going to stay out here in the woods a while. Don't worry about me. And he does that so he can there say goodbye. to his friend David. Verse forty one As soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of the place toward the south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times And they kissed one another and wept one with another until David exceeded, just overcome with emotion.

Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, for as much as we have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord, saying, The Lord be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed forever. And he arose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city. This was as painful a departure as two friends could ever undergo. Their souls were knit, and now the knitting is being torn apart. Because of Saul

To get in the way of true friendships. Friendships friendships that exalted and and supported and helped one another. Now, I do need to share that in modern times there have been interpreters out there that have read passages like this to suggest that, oh, surely David and Jonathan must have been engaged in some kind of homosexual relationship. Uh words like that couldn't possibly describe platonic love.

And I just want to point out that there's nothing in the text that requires that kind of interpretation. And in fact, there's so much that is in the text. that would cast doubt upon that interpretation.

First and foremost, all David's plural marriages, his heterosexual experiences, his his lusting after Bathsheba next week outside of marriage. Uh be careful, I would simply say, in terms of uh biblical interpretation and interpreting and understanding scripture. Be careful that you don't read too much of what you're hoping to see into what is actually there.

Okay. At least especially not in areas that would be as controversial as something like that. Often in the history of bo biblical interpretation, What is being said about the Bible often says more about the person speaking than about the scriptures being studied. So just keep that in mind. Let's pick up speed and keep moving forward. Chapter twenty one, David is now on the run. Okay, he knows the arrow the arrows flew and so he's gotta fly as well. And so he takes off.

uh leaves Jonathan behind uh in tears, tears himself, he comes to a town called Nob. And apparently the tabernacle had been moved there at some point from Shiloh. It's a priestly city that's not too far away, and David is on the is on the the lamb, so to speak. He's trying to escape What a friend that has become his enemy, Saul.

And so he rushes in and he and his men are are are hungry and tired and again just running for their lives. And so they go to the priest that's there at the the tabernacle, and his name is Ahimelech. And they beg for him, they ask him, Is do you have any bread that you can spare for us?

And I mean that's a good person to ask, right? They're kind of in charge of the Lord's storehouse, so to speak, and people are coming to give offerings and sacrifices, and so there's food for the priests and is there enough to spare and and they've got nothing, which means either the priests are sure enough

feasting upon th themselves, or perhaps the people have lost confidence in priests and aren't offering much. Either one's a possibility based on what we saw with Eli's sons and Samuel's sons, right? Well, what ends up happening is Ahimelech does say to him, Well, we do have the bread on the table of showbread. The bread of the presence, as it's called, the bread of faces. This is the presence of God. This is kind of the sacrament table, so to speak. But that's holy bread, that's been sanctified.

Ah, d uh do you have anything to spare? Now some have wondered what's going on in this story. Is he just asking for food, or is he actually asking for? allegiance from the ecclesiastical authority, since he has no more connections to the political authority. And if there's a separation of church and state, can I get the church on my side since the state is totally against me? Interesting things to think about, is David trying to gather some some allies on his side.

Well, whatever the reason, uh hunger I'm sure is part of it, literally. And Ahimelech, it's interesting, he says, Well, are you have your men done anything to become ritually impure? And David says, No, we've just been running for our lives and he says, Okay, then um, why don't we take the table the bread from the table of showbread and I'll give that to you. And that actually begs the question, where where is the locus of holiness when it comes to something like the sacrifice?

I my son, when he was a teacher, used to ask, What do you do with the leftover bread uh when we're putting away the trays after sacrament meeting? And for Latter-day Saints, it's simply a matter, these are tokens, these are symbols, these are meant to help us remember. It's still bread, okay? It's still water. And so if it needs to be

It can be eaten, it can be thrown away, it's not the locus of holiness is in the the ordinance itself, and the ordinance is over. Now Catholics would not agree because of the doctrine of transubstantiation, and for them it no, this has become the body and blood of Jesus.

And so there's actually some fascinating Catholic history, um, and wrestling with questions like I mean the Saint Thomas Aquinas, for example, wrestled with the question of what would happen if a dog or a mouse happened to accidentally eat the wafer, the Eucharist? And he was wrestling with that because well well, what does that mean? And again, the question is where is holiness centered? I think it's worth pondering as we partake of the sacrament, as we engage in in works of holiness.

Is it in the object? Hmm. Is it in the officiator? Maybe a little closer. Is it in the recipient? uh with their attitudes and and where their heart happens to be, is it in the act of participating in that sacrament or in that ordinance itself? I don't have clear answers on this. I am grateful though that Ahimelech must have been wrestling with this and deciding, no, this bread has served its holy purpose.

And it can now serve a more human one. To me, there's a an interesting uh contrary to prove when it comes to piety and pragmatism. And the the piety would say, No, it's holy and and must ever remain and the pragmatic would say, I'm I'm dying here. Do you have anything I can eat? And I think that's worth uh for us to wrestle with also, and strive to strike a balance between piety and pragmatism. Well, David also asks, after he's had the the bread, thank you for that.

Do you also happen to have any weapons? I know that's an odd thing to ask a Levite priest. But do you happen to have anything? And because we're unarmed, which tells you something. I've I've got my harp. It's not that doesn't not much protection. Uh and and so Ahimelech says, actually yes, surprisingly. Here we have, you'll get a kick out of this. We've got the sword of Goliath. Remember that one?

You're the one that uh first unsheathed it from from Goliath and used it to cut off his head. But here we have it. He says in verse nine, the sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley of Eloth, just in case you forgot in all of your humility. Behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If thou wilt take that, take it, for there is no other save that here. And David said, Oh, well, there is none like that, give it.

On the one hand, I'm amazed that David didn't keep it like a trophy. I think I'd have that thing hanging over my fireplace like see what I did. But for him it was like I didn't do really anything. It would look what God did. Uh in fact maybe that's where we should put this this sword in the house of God because God deserves the credit for everything that's been done.

Now that's best case scenario. Worst case scenario, what if the people, because again, David doesn't know that it's there, it comes as a shock to him. Maybe the people were thinking, we beat the Philistines. And this is our evidence. This is our trophy. So let's put it in the tabernacle where the other trophies belong. And my worry there is if it's not a matter of giving God credit, if it's instead, are we just turning the tabernacle into a trophy case? for memories of of past triumphs.

Have we turned it into a reliquary of the past instead of a house for the living God?

And my worry about those kinds of things again, I talk about the the three shelves. If shelf one is just so dusty and there's nothing going on in shelf two. 'Cause I don't think God will I'll ever have those experiences again. I do wonder, they wrapped it in a cloth. Is this like now a holy kind of thing? We're gonna put it next to the ephod, that the priestly robes or or tunic.

Ah, I do worry in fact it even makes me wonder about what's their attitude toward the the bread on the table of showbread. Remember it's also called the bread of the present. Well is there no presence anymore? Has God long since abandoned his so called house? Because his people, his so called people, have long since abandoned him.

I I'm just I'm wrestling with this. I didn't think it there's some interesting food for thought, no pun intended with a story about bread. But interesting to think is God's presence even here anymore? And am I just putting up souvenirs of past experiences I'm no longer worthy of having in my present. Where's the presence now? Well, verse ten, David arose. He fled that day for fear fear of Saul, and went to Akish, the king of Gath. Now, if you know your details, this is a shocking verse.

Where was Goliath from again? Goliath of Gath? When my son was little, my J my Jonathan turned to Jacob. When he was little he couldn't make the T H sound. It was hilarious. He'd he always thought there was an F that was supposed to come first. So anything that ended in T H would end in F T H. So uh Arthur, uh the little TV show he used to watch as a boy, he would call it Arthur.

And when he learned the story of Goliath of Gath, we couldn't wait for him to tell the story,'cause he talked about Goliath of Gath. And we just tried to keep a straight face and said, no, tell it again. Where is he from? Goliath of Gapth. Well, now here's where did where's David going? He's going to the king of Gath. The hometown of the champion of the Philistines that David himself slew and spelled disaster to the Philistine army?

Now this should tell you something about how David feels in the presence of Saul. if he feels safer in the hometown of his old enemy. Well he's got a worse enemy now. And it's Saul. So David goes there, and when he gets there the king's servants look at him and like this guy kind of looks familiar. Uh maybe a little older, um but is he the Does he have a shepherd's bag and shepherd's staff? What's he l what's he carrying?

Uh if he's got the sword of Goliath, do they recognize that? I mean, again, it's shocking that David would put himself in a harm's way like this. They feel like they recognize him. So they run back to the king and they say, I think this guy's David that beat our hometown hero. And David is so concerned about this, like now I'm trapped between a rock and a hard place. I can't go back, but I can't stay here. What do I do? Well, genius. This is what he does, verse thirteen.

he changed his behaviour before them. He feigned himself mad in hit their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard, This is the Old Testament insanity, please. And he's not pleading it, he's Pretending it. He's acting it out. And they're looking at this guy as he drools down his beard. So yeah, he's grown up a bit. He's no longer just the ruddy face. He's got some beard there, some stubble at least.

And he's scratching at the door of the gate and people are like, Oh, there's no way this guy beat our champion. Maybe I'll look alike, uh an older brother maybe, but there's no way. Now you could end that story there and move on to Capture twenty two, but before we do, to me there is another lesson here. David pretended to be less than what he was.

Oh, Zion versus Babylon, for example. Uh Israel versus Philistia and which side of the mountain you're gonna climb, right? Which whose side are you on? And I worry, again, those that want to have kings like all the other nations, those that want to fit in in Philistine territory. who too often are forced to act like someone they're not. and compared to having the wisdom of God, they have to feign. Mere madness. They have to hold to mere humanity.

and separate themselves from the higher light and truth that comes in the gospel of Jesus Christ. I do worry about those who lower themselves to that level, just so they can fit in. Because chances are you've chosen a place that you were never meant to go to begin with. We can be better, we can be higher, we can be holier than that.

Well, David is rising in holiness. Saul is lowering in along those lines, and you see that clearly in chapter twenty two. After a time in Gath, Philistine territory, David then returns to Israel, and here he's hiding for his life in a cave.

Verse one, When his brethren and all his father's house heard it, they went down thither to him. And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him, and he became a captain over them. And there were with him about four hundred men. This actually sounds a lot like Robin Hood to me, to be honest. Uh his band of merry men and the but who's coming? Those in distress, in debt, and in discontent.

These are the marginalized and the vulnerable. These are the ones that have slipped through the social safety nets. These are the have not. that are looking to have something better. And they see in David someone like themselves, he's a man of the people, but someone that is higher and can lift them higher as well. It's actually forget Rabinhead, this sounds like Jesus.

who was constantly surrounded by those in distress and debt and discontented, looking for a better life. Many of those find their way into the church of Jesus Christ as well. Well, they they're coming. David's still on the move, though. Can't stay in one spa one spot for too long, and so he then goes to Moab. Philistines were one enemy, but I'm safer there. Moab, Moabites are another enemy, but safer there too. And when he gets there, he asks the king in verse three.

Let my father and my mother, I pray thee, come forth and be with you, till I know what God will do for me. And the king lets them. He brought them before the king of Moab, and they dwelt with him all the while that David was in the hold. There you see David caring for those that perhaps he feels unable to care for himself directly, because if they are with meat, then they're in danger with me.

So again he turns to an enemy, turns that enemy into a friend, and says, please can you take care of my family? And so it goes. I also love the way he said that. I d un at least until I know what God will do for me. I don't know all of God's plans. I know they're good. I trust Him. But until I see a little more clearly what that's going to look like, I just want to take care of those that matter most to me.

Saul, meanwhile, what's he up to? He's back home in Gibeah, and in verse six it says, having his spear in his hand, uh oh, and all his servants were standing about him. He ends up scolding those same servants. He says in verse seven, Hear now ye Benjamites, so now we're appealing to tribalism. You're one of my tribe. I'm one of yours. Come on, we gotta stick together in this.

Will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards and make you all captains of thousands and captains of hundreds? Sounds like he's bribing them to keep their allegiance. So then why this, that all of you have conspired against me? No, he's falsely accusing them of disloyalty.

And there is none that showeth me that my son hath made a league with a son of Jesse, now he's accusing his own son of treason, and there is none of you that is sorry for me. Now he's throwing himself at his own pity party. Or showeth unto me that my son hath stirred up my servant against me to lie in wait as at this day.

Talk about total self-deception. In every direction, Saul, you're paranoid. You're you're turning every friend into an enemy. You're seeing treason in every place you look. Among your son, among your servants? No, none of that has happened. Now one of Saul's servants, however, was Chime in. his javelin in his hand, right? And it's his spear and he's like, okay, I got a uh I'm looking out for number one. You know, Saul, um, now that you mention it, I did see I was in Knob a while back.

And I heard that David had come through, and that the priest, Ahimelech, had fed him and given him the sword of Goliath. This servant ends up saying verse ten, that he, Ahimelech, inquired of the Lord for him, and gave him vitals, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.

Sounds, if you have eyes to see, like he presided, provided, and protected. Hmm, he's living the proclamation to the world on a family. Preside, he inquired of the Lord. Provide, he gave him food. Protect? He g I gave him a sword. In some ways, he gave him the sword of the Spirit and the Word of God and the bread of life and the presence of God and just. Now it sounds like quite the gift from a Himalayas.

That's music to David's ears, but n that's a sour song for Saul. And so he ends up calling for Ahilima Ahimelech and all of his fellow priests, brings them, says, What have you done? He accuses them of treason. And verse fourteen, Ahimelech answered the king and said, Whoa, who is so faithful among all thy servants as David, which is the king's son in law, and goeth at thy bidding, and is honorable in thine house?

He's protesting and saying, wait, why would I ever assume that David is turning against? Nobody thinks that, except you, King. Uh no one's more faithful. He's your own son-in-law, for crying out loud. Most honorable guy I know, he'll do anything you ask. No one is more loyal. So by serving him, I thought I was serving you. Well, that's not how Saul takes it. In fact, Saul jumps to the opposite conclusion and says, No, you are in alliance with him.

And since I want to kill him and you're on his side, I am here to kill you. In fact, I'll kill all the priests of Nob, and he turns to his servants that were scared of his spear a moment ago. And they say, fall upon them, slaughter them all. And even that is too much for or that is too much for even his servants.

they refuse to do it, which again puts their own lives in jeopardy. He wants to kill anybody he sees, and it's anybody that's go against him, and now we're gonna go against him? But no, I I'm grateful for this this moment among the servants. We will not slaughter these priests. Unfortunately there is one servant, the same one that was there and knobbed overhear all this.

He was not an Israelite himself and so I don't care about Israel or the people of Israel or the God of Israel. I'm just working for the king of Israel,'cause I don't know, I have to h hope to get something for myself out of this. And this one Edomite turns and slays them all. Eighty-five of them. And then goes back to Nob and lights the town on fire and slays everyone and everything that is there men, women, children, babies, flocks, herds, complete annihilation.

Because they did a good deed. And had no idea that there would ever be negative consequences as a result. This is a horrifying story. One of Ahimelech's sons escaped. Only safe place for him, he knows, he runs to David. And he tells David everything that happened, and how does David respond? Verses twenty two and twenty three.

David says to Abiathar, that's that son, I knew it that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul, I have occasioned the death of all the persons of thy father's house. Abide thou with me, fear not, for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life. But with me thou shalt be in safeguard. I will protect you like I protect myself. You're mine now. I'll be yours. But the way he said it earlier It's my fault. I knew it. I knew it that day. Something was wrong.

Why didn't I s you sense David blaming himself? This is a Lord is at I moment for him yet again. And it's th it's the madness of Saul. But here David takes it upon himself, I can't believe I put them in harm's way. I did not mean to. And I will do everything I can to can make it up, at least to you, Beathar, come and be with us. Chapter twenty three, then you see David continuing to fight with his enemies, but also fleeing from his friends.

Such an irony. In verse one they told David, saying, Behold the Philistines fight against Kela, and they robbed the threshing floors. Therefore David inquired of the Lord, seeking divine direction, saying, Shall I go and smite these Philistines?

And the Lord said unto David, Go, smite the Philistines, save Keelah. Now that should have been Saul's responsibility. The Philistines are coming, that's Israel's enemy. They're attacking Israelites, and Saul's the king of Israel still, at least ostensibly. Why aren't you the one doing it? And here's David.

struggling with his own safety, but now trying to do what Saul refuses to do himself. Do you sense the shift of authority and sense of responsibility from one to the other? The spirit's already shifted, now everything else is too. David is proactive. He feels the weight of responsibility. He still is caring for the vulnerable.

In verse three, though, David's men say unto him, Behold, we be afraid here in Judah, how much more than if we come to Keelah against the armies of the Philistines? It's like we've got our own problems, David. We can't afford to take on somebody else's problems too. So, every man for himself, and I'm sorry, but let the people of Kila fight for themselves. We can't afford to do it. Now David, meanwhile, inquires of the Lord yet again.

Ah, maybe they're right. Maybe they got a point. I I'm gonna double check here. I maybe I understood incorrectly the first time. But again the Lord answered him and said, Arise, go down to Keelah, for I will deliver the Philistines into thine hand. And David had plenty of experience with that. So he goes and defeats the Philistines, saves the people of the city. But he's afraid that Saul may have heard about the battle.

And now I'm in this city that I'm trying to defend. Uh, will Saul come and try to attack me here? Instead of attacking the enemy and saving the city, he's gonna attack me and maybe destroy the city? Again, talk about role reversals. Everything's upside down. So again he turns to the Lord for direction. He asks if Saul is going to come and attack the city, and God says yes.

Then he asks an interesting follow-up question. And will the people of Keelah deliver me into his hands? Will they like hand me over so they stay safe? And the Lord says, yep. Which again says something about the people of Keilah. Talk about no gratitude to your deliverer. Of course, that might say more about their fear of Saul. We know what he did to the people of Nob. And he'll do that to us as well. And so I'm sorry, David, just

Run and he does. With the Lord's direction, he gathers his men and escapes before Saul can even come.

David and his men then hide in the woods. And Jonathan, here he pops in again. He hears about it, and he comes in search of them. Verse sixteen, Jonathan Saul's son, arose and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God's life. Talk about true celestial friendship. He said unto him, Fear not, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee, and thou shalt be king over Israel. I shall be next unto thee, and that also Saul my father knoweth.

And they too made a covenant before the Lord. There's friendship, offering encouragement. I'm not going to abandon you in your time of naive, even though that puts me in harm's way. If my dad ever found out about this, And again, no jealousy. Putting God between them at the center of their friendship, going to strengthen his friend in the Lord. I can only do so much, but I know all that God can do for you, and I know you're worthy of His companionship. He was always there between the two of us.

making this one. The inhabitants of the area where David is hiding, though, they're in the woods, they start to be concerned, just like the people of Keilah had been. And so they go to Saul and they rat out David. They say he's hiding in our neck of the woods. Again, they probably feared, like the people of Kilah had, what would the what had happened to the people of Nob. I mean, Saul's ready to just mow down anybody in his path.

And so in verse 21, Saul says, Blessed be ye of the Lord. Oh, so blasphemous coming out of his mouth, so hypocritical. But he says to them, ye have compassion on me, even though he never had compassion on anybody else. Go, I pray you, prepare yet, and know and see his place where his haunt is, and who hath seen him there? For it is told me that he dealeth very subtly. Oh, look who's talking.

But he says, See therefore, take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hideth himself, and come ye again to me with the certainty, and I will go with you. You see, Saul was tired of wild goose chases and wanted to make sure you make sure to know for sure that where he is, and then I'll come and attack. Well David catches wind of that and he keeps running through the rest of the chapter. Until he has another opportunity in chapter 24 to show what he's really made up.

You see, David again is hiding in a cave, and Saul, as always, is on the prowl, on the hunt for him, and lo and behold he happens to enter the same cave that David is hiding in to rest. I don't know who gets more tired, the prey or the predator, but here's the predator coming into the cave of the prey, and the predator falls asleep. And the prey does have some weapons in his hand by now. Verse four The men of David say to him,

Behold, the day of which the Lord said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand. This is exactly what the Lord's been preparing us for. That thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. This is our chance. Go, David, just like the Lord promised. And David arose. And pulled out his sword, but what's he do? He cut off the skirt of Saul's robe, pressing.

Now we learned in the story of Ruth and Boaz that skirt can also mean wing. It's the edge, the extreme, and what's David just done? He just clipped Saul's wing. He just cut off the hem of his garment. Well, no virtue flowing out of him to help anybody, so no loss there. Then again, since the hem is supposed to remind Israel of God, maybe that's a sign too of just how much Saul has forgotten God. Will that be a reminder of his own forgetfulness, perhaps?

But then verse five, it came to pass afterwards that David's heart smote him. He felt guilty here. He hadn't didn't even do anything. But his heart smote him because he had cut off Saul's skirt. And he said unto his men, The Lord forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the Lord's anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing his the anointed of the Lord. Talk about a sensitive contrast.

Like a picture's men going, what did you call him? Your master? Uh you deserve the mastery over him any day. And the Lord is anointed, are you kidding me? That ship sailed a long time ago. There's no oil on his head anymore, but there is on your head. You're the Lord's anointed, and he is trying to lay his hand upon the Lord's anointed. He should be punished as a result. But David wouldn't have anything to do with it. So no. Not until God has

has made it clear that I'm to take command. In the meantime, Saul is still in charge, and I will not I'll put it this way, I will honor the position even if the person in that position no longer deserves to be honored. David is so good to the core This is what happens next? Well, Saul eventually wakes up and leaves the cave. And once he's far enough off in the distance that David can feel safe about it, David pokes his head out of the cave too,

And then comes out into the light of day and calls across that distance to Saul. This would have been a shocking moment as Saul wheels around and recognizing the sound of his voice. In verse eight, David says, My Lord the King. And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed himself. How's that for humility before him? David says to Saul, Wherefore hearest thou men's words, saying, Behold, David seeketh thy hurt?

You see, there he's giving Saul the benefit of the doubt? Who has turned you against me? Who has told you false reports, saying that I am that I'm after the throne or I'm trying to usurp authority or that I'm trying I'm not your enemy.

And whoever told you that I am is lying, do not believe them. In verse ten, Behold this day thine eyes have seen how that the Lord hath delivered thee to day into mine hand in the cave. Some bade me kill thee, but mine eye spared thee, and I said, I will not put forth mine hand against my Lord, for he is the Lord's anointed. That was not just a good reminder to his men. This perhaps was a good reminder to Saul. Don't you remember who you are and whose you are? Can you live back into that?

Will you be the Lord's anointed and act like it? Please don't listen to those who have pit you against me. Because I wouldn't listen to those that wanted to pit me against you. My own servants wanted me to attack you. I don't know if that's what's happening on your end, but let's both ignore those things and come to know each other. Quit listening to other people. Plant doubt in your mind. Come to know things for yourself.

That's what David is encouraging. He then says in verse eleven, Moreover my father, I did marry your daughter after all. See, yea, see the skirt of thy robe in my hand? Here it is, exhibit A, of my ability to administer justice, but of my choice to administer mercy instead. I cut off the skirt of thy robe, and killed thee not. Know thou and see that there is neither evil nor transgression in mine hand. I have not sinned against thee, yet thou huntest my soul to take it.

Makes me wonder if we have evidence that we can provide to others that we hold no ill will to them. Do we have enough proof on our side to say I'm trying to be a good neighbor, I'm trying to be a good friend? If people attack you or say negative things about you, is the evidence on their side or on yours? Then verse thirteen, excuse me, twelve

The Lord judge between me and thee, and the Lord avenge me of thee, but mine hand shall not be upon thee. You see David leaving things completely in the Lord's hands? As saith the proverb of the ancients. So David knows the wisdom literature of his people. He's going to add some himself.

He's quoting the ancients. Wick wickedness proceedeth from the wicked, but mine hand shall not be upon thee. In other words, there may be problems out there. Wickedness is going to come, but I'm not going to be the source of it. Let that come from the wicked. He keeps going, After whom is the king of Israel come out? After whom dost thou pursue? And then talk about abject humility on his part. Who are you after? What are you hunting?

You're after a dead dog. After a flea. I'm nothing. I'm not worth your worry. The Lord therefore be judge, and judge between me and thee, and see and plead my cause and deliver me out of thine hand. David is seeking God's help, not Saul's mercy. He's not asking Saul to be merciful. He's wondering why he's being so unjust. but he's trusting God more than his enemy. May God deliver me. May God judge me. May God plead my cause. May God judge you and avenge me if that's what is needed.

I don't know if there's a better example in scripture of someone trying to live What Doctor and Covenant sixty four tells us we should all be living. This is verses ten and eleven. I the Lord will forgive whom I will forgive. But of you it is required to forgive all men, and ye ought to say in your hearts that's more than just lip service. Let God judge between thee and thee, and reward thee according to thy deeds.

That's exactly what David just said. The Lord judge between me and thee, the Lord avenge. To me, what's powerful about that is sometimes our failure to forgive is not because of our weakness, or that happens too, but sometimes it's out of our strength. Our strength in terms of knowing justice is demanded. And we don't want that person to get away with it. But the irony there is What you think you can give better justice than God can?

God isn't saying forgive and I will too. He's saying you've got to forgive because that gives me the opportunity to exercise the right judgment in terms of justice and mercy. And if they deserve justice, they'll get it. from me, and if you deserve mercy, you'll get it from me as well. David understands it perfectly and trusts in that. We should too. And then Saul's response to this incredibly humble plea

First sixteen through twenty one is the whole thing, but each verse has something interesting. In sixteen, is this thy voice, my son, David? And Saul lifted up his voice and wept. Was that enough to prick his conscience? When the other person gives you no way to justify your anger. It really is me. All this self deception just kind of fades away and I'm the guilty one, not you. You have evidence on your side. I've I know that now.

War in seventeen, thou art more righteous than I, for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil. Amazing acknowledgement there. Or nineteen. For if a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away? You didn't treat me like an enemy, even though I given you every reason to. In twenty, I know well that thou shalt surely be king. Huge admission there. And then twenty one.

Swear now therefore unto me by the Lord, that thou wilt not cut off my seed after me, and that thou wilt not destroy my name out of my father's house. Please don't take it out on my children. I'm deserving of God's punishment, I admit it. But please do not avenge all that I've done against you. Don't avenge that upon my posterity. Don't destroy my house. He's asking a lot of David. He's asking for forgiveness. David's already offered it.

But the next chapter, 1 Samuel 25, to me is one of the most profound chapters on forgiveness. And reconciliation that you could ask for. It's incredible. Uh again, one that I'm sad that is getting skipped this week in Come Follow Me. This is worth our time. 1 Samuel 25. By the time you get here, Samuel has passed away. Samuel has. David, feeling more alone than ever, is back on the move.

The story then shifts to a very wealthy man in Israel named Nabal. In verse three, the name of the man was Nabal and the name of his wife Abigail. And she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance, so good inside and out. But the man was chirlish and evil in his doings, and he was of the house of Caleb. Sad that last note. Talk about the fruit falling far from the tree.

Oh Caleb, give me this mountain. I'll keep the covenant, keep the faith. Nabal was more, give me this mountain because I want to get rich on it. Nabal, in fact, this is one of those examples that there's no way that was his real name. This must have been added later to assign him his character type. Because Nabal means fool. And I doubt any well-meaning mother would say, Oh, look at this cute little fool. Let's name him that.

Nabal unfortunately lived up to his name. Uh Abigail did too, but that's fortunate. Abigail means cause of joy, or father's joy, or my father rejoices. Either way, there's a lot of joy in Abigail, and we'll see why in a moment. Now, Nabal is rich, like I said. And David, uh, who had to beg for bread from the tabernacle, has all these men and he's trying to flee for their lives, and they come to this just incredible area of prosperity and

He sends messengers to Nabal asking for hospitality, which, if you remember the stories of Abraham and of Lot, is something that in the ancient Near East you never deny. I mean, this I'm just asking for common courtesy. Will you provide for some people passing through? But Nabal doesn't want to have anything to do with that. It says that he treated them roughly and sent them away with nothing. And this is what he asked: who's David? Who's the son of Jesse?

In other words, why should I help a no namer? Oh careful. If you only knew who it was that was asking you. I mean this is the poor wayfaring man of grief. This is inasmuch as you've done unto one of the least of these my brethren, right, uh you could have helped David, and David would have surely come back to help you. Instead You're treating him horribly, then eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, he gets to treat you horribly as well. And he is livid. David is, furious over this mistreatment.

So he gathers four hundred of his men to attack Nabal as retribution. Now, meanwhile, Nabal's servants who have heard about this and they know what Nabal has said and how he's mistreated the servants of David. By the way, these servants of Nabal also knew how kind David was all along the way. David has an army of four hundred. If I was a servant uh in the fields, I'd be like, oh, nervous.

But David and his men did nothing. They weren't didn't feel entitled, didn't attack to just provide for themselves. These were no spoils of war. They were seeking hospit hospitality and being hospitable themselves. Okay? Good neighbors. And so they rush back, these servants rush back, not to Nabal, who they know is a fool, maybe they named him that behind his back. Instead they rush back to Abigail because she is a woman of good understanding.

She's one of my favorite people to talk about in women in the scriptures classes. She is as good as gold. They explained to her what happened, and in verse eighteen, Abigail made haste. No hesitation. This is a proactive woman of action, decisive. She took two hundred loaves, two bottles of wine, five sheep ready dressed, five measures of parched corn, a hundred clusters of raisins, two hundred cakes of figs.

laid them on asses, and booked it as quickly as she could to David. Now that's a lot. You can see how extremely wealthy Nabal is, and how extremely generous Abigail is. That's the irony when one person has the purse strings and will never loosen them, and the other, can't we just give?

I've always been kind and generous and turning the other cheek and and giving people the benefit of the doubt. Uh, because here it seems like no good deed is going unpunished. I should have just taken it and given food to my people. This guy had plenty and to spare and he wouldn't spare it, so and I'm not gonna I'm gonna spare him.

So picture him in this moment where is vengeance the best way to go? Is just taking what you want? That's what Saul's been doing. It seems like everybody's been doing that but me. Am I am I an idiot here? Am I in the ball? Am I a fool? Because I'm not going the world's way and just looking out for number one. I do wonder, just in that brief statement, is he rethinking his philosophy on righteousness and altruism? Well, is his vengeance on the ball a way of

Taking out his frustration on Saul? I do wonder that one too. I've been so kind to Saul he keeps trying to kill me. Well I'm done with that. And this guy's been a jerk. I'm I'll I'll eye for eye him. I'll tooth for tooth him. So David gets his men and decides we are going to kill every male in Nabal's household. He's got some really strong language to describe that. But then in the midst of his anger, Abigail writes.

This beautiful woman this wise and understanding woman comes with donkeys heavy laden with all the gifts that she has to offer, and she gives them to him. Not only that, she bows down before David. She makes no excuses for her husband. In fact, she says, Yeah, his name's Nabal and he's he kn it he lives up to his name. It's like you ha think it's bad, you've only had to put up with them like one day. I gotta live with the guy. Okay. Uh it's kind of a nightmare.

Uh and so I'm not I'm not trying to make excuses for him. I know he's guilty, but I'm asking for your mercy. I know he deserves justice. And you're in you can feel completely justified in giving it to him, but I am begging you for mercy. Upon my husband. That doesn't deserve it. This actually reminds me of another great quote from G.K. Chesterton. I love him. And he said this in a book called Orthodoxy.

Some stupid people started the idea that because women obviously back up their own people through everything, namely their husbands, therefore women are blind and do not see anything. Well, they can hardly have known any women. The same women who are ready to defend their men through thick and thin, are, in their personal association with the man, almost morbidly lucid about the thinness of his excuses or the thickness of his head.

A man's friend likes him, but leaves him as he is. His wife loves him and is always trying to turn him into somebody else. Love is not blind. That's the last thing that it is. Love is bound, and the more it is bound, the less it is blind. You see, Abigail was bound to Nabal, not blind to his foolishness. But trying to plead his cause to me. Even though she could not make a case for it.

So, since she can't make a case, what's she going to do? What's she going to say? The next few verses, 24 to 31, are absolute golden. There is a book well worth reading. It's fairly old now. It's called The Peace Giver by James Farrell. In fact, Farrell is part of that Arbinger Institute that I mentioned earlier today that works in conflict resolution.

The the book, Bonds That Make Us Free, is more of the philosophy and intel intellect. It's the academics behind it all. But Peace Giver is Pharaoh's attempt to take all of that and bring it down to the level of real life. And so he writes a novel about a man and a wife that are having friction in their marriage and can't seem to get along or forgive one another and

He this man keeps having dreams of his grandpa leading him through scripture stories that teach incredible principles. And one of my favorite parts of the whole book is when grandpa shows his grandson the story of Abigail. If you want to read the whole uh part of it there in Peacegiver, it's totally worth your time. But notice this, verse twenty four. Abigail falls at David's feet and says, Upon me, my Lord, upon me, let this iniquity be. You see what's happening here?

The the when when I read The Peacegiver, it gave me insight into the atonement that had never crossed my mind. Thank you, Brother Pharaoh. And there he points out, here's Abigail as the Christ figure, trying to heal broken relationships between David and Nabal. And Nabal deserves punishment, but she intercedes and says, instead of guilty Nabal, she says, guilty me.

She says, Upon me let this iniquity be. And the irony there is but you're not guilty, Abigail. You're anything but you are innocence personified. Ah, there's the Christ figure. And the Christ figure is saying, Can would are you willing to let me take their sins upon myself? Because notice what happens next, verse twenty five.

Now therefore, my lord, as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing the Lord hath withholden thee from coming to shed blood, and from avenging thyself with thine own hand. Now what's she saying there? This is like how David had acted towards Saul. You wouldn't shed his blood, even though you knew he was guilty. You still saw him as the Lord's anointed.

And that put you in a place of total innocence, even though you would have been justified in what you did. You'd equally be justified in taking out your frustration on the ball. But if you don't. then you have not shed blood. Now, there the blood you would have shared shed was not innocent. But this gives you a chance to be even more innocent than ever because you're not.

Here's the irony. You're not sinning against the person who sinned. Well, would it even be sin on my part? Probably not. Again, you're justified. But to be so far away from guilt, I mean several steps removed. You can honestly say there is no blood on my hands because no blood has been shed. And therefore, I never have to second guess my my kindness, my compassion, my mercy. And again, that's part of what Christ does by taking someone else's sins upon us. It frees us from the burden of blame.

It frees us from the the hell of our own hatred and says you don't have to feel that way about the other person. Because the sins aren't theirs anymore, they're mine. So if you want to get angry, take it out on me. Wait, but I can't, you haven't done anything. And since I haven't done anything to you, my prayer is that you won't do anything to me or anything to them. And that frees you from the burden, from the pain.

By forgiving, my atonement isn't just to forgive the sinner, it's to forgive, it's to help, it's to heal the sinned again. And David you've been sinned against. But if I can intercede and I can draw the poison out of you, the poison of hatred, of vengeance, of anger, and and you can be free of it all.

So verse twenty eight, I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid. It's mine, I took it upon myself. For the Lord will certainly make my Lord a sure house, because my Lord fighteth the battles of the Lord, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days. And it doesn't have to be found in thee today either. Abigail is appealing to the better angels of David's nature. You've always been good. You can stay good today.

and have nothing to ever regret later in life. Like I said earlier, I wonder when I wondered w is David rethinking his philosophy? Abigail comes at just the right moment to say no. That goodness, even when you get burned sometimes, that kindness when you keep turning bruised cheeks. It's worth it. So be forgiving for your sake. Not just for the sake of the person who sinned against you. Then in verse twenty nine. Yet a man is risen to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul.

But the soul of my Lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the Lord thy God, and the souls of thine enemies them shall he sling out as out of the middle of a sling. I think David knows a thing or two about slings and how far they can send rocks flying away from them. That's how far God will send your enemies away from you. And God is the one who will do it. You don't have to do it yourself.

And I just don't want there to be any hatred towards others that would end up again struggling in the second great commandment might make you struggle in the first. weakening that bond and I don't want to weaken that. I want you to be bound in the bundle of life. I don't know if there's a more poetic phrase to describe the atonement, the at one-ment than that. Doesn't it make you just want to be bound up in the bundle of life with the way, the truth, and the life himself?

And that's what Abigail is offering. Let it go. And stay with Verse thirty. And it shall come to pass when the Lord shall have done to my lord according to all the good that he hath spoken concerning thee, and shall have appointed thee ruler over Israel, so she knew David's future as well. that this shall be no grief unto thee, nor offense of heart unto my Lord, either that thou hast shed blood causeless, or that my Lord hath avenged himself.

Doesn't matter if it's justified or not. If you're innocent or guilty, either way to stay that far away from any sense of regret, no grief, no offense. You offered no offense against the person that offended you. Again, I am trying to protect you from blood, even when you wouldn't have been shedding it unrighteously. Still, maybe someday that loss of of innocence would Would cause sorrow. And I want to save you from that.

David seems to understand it, because in verse thirty two he says to Abigail, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel. Which sent thee this day to meet me, and blessed be thy advice, and blessed be thou, which hast kept me this day from coming to shed blood and from avenging myself with mine own hand. You're right, I get what you've done. And I'm so grateful for what you did, not just for your husband, but what you did for me.

Thank you, said Bless you, bless your advice, bless God for putting you in my path and for being the what stood in my way. from becoming vengeful and angry and and losing my way. In verse thirty five, so David received of her hand that which she had brought him, and said unto her, Go up in peace to thine house. See I have hearkened to thy voice, I have accepted thy person. I've accepted you in place of your husband.

And as a result, I have accepted the grace that God is offering them, the grace I'm that He's offering me. I'm accepting the help he's providing for me to forgive.

I'm accepting his at one moment. Abigail then goes home. Relief. He f she finds her husband Nabal feasting, completely oblivious to her. to what just happened or what just might have happened. This guy is living up to his name as usual. He's feasting like a king. Uh there were obviously plenty he could have spared to feed the true king of Israel.

Uh, he's actually totally drunk. Uh f Mary uh all the that he's going through. It's like, Ha, I s just saved a fortune by not being hospitable to these guests, sent them away and th they went packing. Well, the she waits until she he's a little more sober. And the next day when he sobers up, she explains everything that happened and everything that might have happened if she had not interceded and he

Verse thirty seven, his heart died within him. He became as a stone, which is about how hard his heart had always been. It came to pass about ten days after still hasn't recovered. The Lord smote Nabal, that he died So justice was indeed administered, but guess what? David didn't have to do the administering. David was able to keep his hands clean. What had he said to Saul? I'm going to let God judge between us. I'm going to let God avenge me if that's what needs to happen. What was the return?

The phrase in section one uh section sixty-four, let God judge between me and thee and reward thee according to thy deeds. That is exactly what just happened. Naval deserved nurse deserved justice, and he got it from God. David deserved mercy, and he got it from God with the help of Abigail. And recognizing that help, and now recognizing that she was a widow, David turns and in verse thirty nine says, Blessed be the Lord that hath pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal.

and hath kept his servant from evil wasn't me that did any of it? For the Lord hath returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head, and then he sent for Abigail. No doubt thanked her again, And then proposed. And they were married. n' Abigail was provided for A true king instead of one who treated himself like one. a man of mercy rather than a man of selfishness, and a man of wisdom rather than a fool.

By the way, yes, this is plural marriage, and it was authorized at the time to But one other detail, Saul, just like he had switched things out on David and had not allowed him to marry his first daughter, by then he had given his daughter Michal to someone else as well. Sounds like he's trying to cut all ties with David.

Let me give you one last insight from chapter twenty five, again with the help of Brother Ferrell from Peacegiver. Hopefully again to put in perspective what we've learned from this chapter about Abigail. He writes When people think of the atonement, they most often think about how the Savior filled in the gaps for their own sins, which he surely did.

That is, we are all sinners. And some one had to bridge for each of us the otherwise impassable chasm between us and eternal life that we have created through sin, So normally we think of the atonement as something that Christ has done for us, for ourselves. But Abigail invites us to look at the atonement from a different angle, not from the perspective of how Christ has atoned for our own sins, but rather from the equally true perspective that He has atoned for the sins of others.

And part of that atonement, Abigail suggests. Is the idea that the Lord offers to those who have been harmed or potentially harmed by the sins of others the help and sustenance they need to be made whole? Those deprived of love can receive his love. The companionless can find a companion in him. Those with a cross to bear can find another who carries and makes it right.

With their burdens lifted in this way, the sinned against are saved from the provocation to sin, and are therefore redeemed from their own sins. Later, he adds, Abigail's message was that forgiveness was for the one who was forgiving, not the one who was being forgiven. David needed to forgive so that in the words of Abigail he would continue to be found without evil, so that the Lord could make him a sure house.

David might have felt justified in withholding this forgiveness from Nabal, however sinful such withholding might have been. But from Abigail? No, her offering on behalf of another obliterated every justification David might otherwise have had. She freed him from the blind comfort of his grudges. Through this merciful act, she created for David the most forgiveness friendly environment that could possibly be created.

David was never more able to do what he needed most to do, forgive, or more precisely, repent of his failing to forgive. Than when the request for forgiveness was made by one who had atoned in full for the sin David was raging against.

Ah, it's hard to imagine a more beautiful story of atonement in the Old Testament than here. Here at the feet of Abigail, the joy of her father. For Samuel twenty six, we're back to David. And another chance for him to spare Saul's life. In fact, the chapter on Abigail is bookended by stories of David sparing Saul. But if you compared the two, The second, there is a maturity, there is a depth, more than in the first. And I think we have, I think David has Abigail to thank for that.

Saul, as usual, is still seeking David's life. He's got his army with him. Now David and a servant sneak into Saul's camp. This is a commando raid if ever there was one, and he doesn't they do it quietly enough that it doesn't awaken a single soul, even those that are sleeping right next to Saul, mainly his main bodyguards and chief captains.

Once they're there, the servant whispers, again, very quietly to David, verse 8, God hath delivered thine enemy into thine hand this day. Now therefore let me smite him, I pray thee, with the spear. even to the earth at once, and I will not smite him the second time. I'll finish the job with one with one blow. It'll be Tiancam's first commando raid with the javelin that the king can't even wake up the troops to let them know what's happening.

And I'll be the one that does it. So if you're trying to keep your hands clean Even though I think you're totally justified. Well, I'd be totally justified and then you're even a step removed. But no, David responds in verse nine, destroy him not, for who can stretch forth his hand against the Lord's anointed and be guiltless? As the Lord liveth, the Lord shall smite him, or his day shall come to die, or he shall descend into battle and perish.

See what David's saying there at the end? What he's learned from his experience with Nabal and Abigail? No, I'm still not gonna do it, just like I wasn't gonna do it in the cave. But I trust God even more than ever. Nabal died and it I didn't do it. Sometime if Saul deserves capital punishment for his crimes, then I will leave that in the hands of the Almighty Judge himself.

And God will take care of it, because I know he's taking care of me. Once again, let God judge between me and thee and reward thee according to thy deeds.

So instead of slaying him, and not cutting off the row the skirt of his or the hem of his skirt. Instead they take Saul's ever present spear. and they remove it and they sneak back out of enemy territory to friendly lines, without waking a soul. And then again, from safe distance, David repeats what he did outside the cave. He yells across the the s the intervening space And tells Dave tells Saul what he's done.

In fact, this time he even kind of questions the loyalty of his servants, saying to Abner, the captain of the Saul's host uh some bodyguard you turned out to be. Uh we could have killed you. So in some ways, and we could definitely could have killed the king, in some ways we're more trustworthy servants than you are. This the king was safe in our hands. But if we had decided to attack, he was not safe in yours. Hm there's that's interesting. David then again asks, What have I done wrong?

Again he wonders, who is poisoning your mind, Saul? And again he says, I'm only a flea. Why would you hunt me? David then says of those that are against him, in verse nineteen, Cursed be they before the Lord. For they have driven me out this day from abiding in the inheritance of the Lord, saying, Go, serve other gods.

Now that's an interesting detail. I I think what David is saying, why are you driving me away from Saul? Because in doing so, again he's giving Saul the benefit of the doubt. Who's the one that's doing this? You've driven me out of Israel. The promised land. And I'm trying trying to keep God's promises. It's unfair that you're keeping me from the inheritance of the Lord. And then the other half. It's as if you're saying go serve other gods.

You forced me into Philistine territory, but I refused to worship Dagon. You forced me into Edomite territory, I will not worship the gods of the Edomites. Please let me stay, said And I think tragically sometimes the way we mistreat people Especially members of the church that we might have offended. Are we forcing them out in some way? from the inheritance of the Lord, are we in a in a weird way Suggesting they go serve other gods when that's not what they want?

We can be kinder, we can be better than that.

In verse twenty one, then said Saul, again, confession, back to his right mind, I have sinned, return, my son David, for I will no more do thee harm. Really? Because my soul was precious in thine eyes this day. And then notice what he says. Behold, I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly. Could we make it a little more obvious who the Nabal is in this story? And just as Abigail spared or helped David spare her Nabal, I think her influence is helping David spare this Nabal.

Well but again, continue with the foreshadowing. God took care of Nabal with justice. God will take care of Saul with justice as well. Hold on and we'll see. David then allows one of Saul's servants to come back and retrieve Saul's spear, which is again shocking. I'll even return the weapon that you keep throwing at me. I disarmed you and now I will rearm you because I'm showing you a certain level of respect, of trust. I'm trying to honor your intent.

Despite all the fact all the times that you've you've shown that you're not trustworthy. He then says in verse twenty four, Behold, as thy life was much set by this day in mine eyes. Please let my life be much set by in the eyes of the Lord, and let him deliver me out of all tribulation. Again he wasn't asking Saul for mercy. Otherwise he would have said, I

was merciful to you, will you be merciful to me? No. Will God may God be merciful to me. I trust him far more than I trust you. And then verse 25, Saul says to David, Blessed be thou, my son David thou shalt both do great things, and also shalt still prevail. Saul knew it. But could he fully accept it?

We'll see. They go their separate ways. Chapter twenty seven David finds himself once again among Philistines. In verse one he says in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul. So yes I gave him the benefit of the doubt, but I've got to protect myself.

Yes, we need to forgive, but we also need to honor personal boundaries. And that's the contrary that's really hard to prove as well. David's trying I'll I'll leave Saul to himself, but I'm going to take myself away from His potential anger. And he says, There is nothing better for me than I should speedily escape into that land of the Philistines. So just like before, safer with my enemies than with my former friends. And Saul shall despair of me. He'll just give up, I hope.

To seek me any more in any coast of Israel, so shall I escape out of his hand. I'll protect myself from Saul, and I'll protect Saul from himself. Just like Abigail protected me from myself, I'll remove the temptation from Saul. I'll get out of his way.

And so David goes back to Gath, same place he'd been back in chapter twenty one. This time he has six hundred men with him, so I don't know if it's gonna work to drool on your beard and pretend that you're insane. Then again, maybe I don't need to, since I have an army with me. Then again, maybe I don't need to because I can show the king of Gath I feel no ill will toward him.

Which is amazing. Verse five, David says to the king, If I have now found grace in thine eyes, let them give me a place in some town in the country that I may dwell there, for why should thy servant dwell in the royal city with thee? And the king agreed. Good idea.

Stay close but not too close, and I'll give you this country town to dwell in, and all your people can dwell there too. David ends up staying there for sixteen months, and the whole time great relationships with the king of Gath, the king of Goliath. Uh he trusted David even when an Israelite king would not.

Chapter twenty eight then, weird chapter, because we get to meet the witch of Endor. Why now the Philistines have gathered their armies, they want to go up against Israel, and the Philistine king asks David to accompany him. In fact he says, Will you be my bodyguard? Talk about trustworthy. Saul sees them coming off in the distance and is scared to death. There's all my enemies, Philistines and David, of all people.

Now let's set the stage for that to happen. Verse three, Samuel was dead, so now there's no true prophet for Saul to go to. And Saul had put away those that had familiar spirits and the wizards out of the land, and that's exactly as required by the law of Moses. No false gods, no false prophets, no false priests, These would have been soothsayers and oh the psychic hotline or the tarot card reader or the palm reader or whatever it might be, those kinds of people.

Uh and so maybe that happened in one of Saul's good moments. He wanted to live the law of Moses, and so he he cle cleansed the kingdom of that kind of false prophecy. But now he's left with no true prophets and no false prophets, and the Spirit of God left him a long time ago. So what am I going to do against the Philistines and against David and who do I even have to turn to? So verse six, he tries God first.

But when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets. He's just unworthy of the Lord's direction. And I think he knew it. Verse 7 Then said Saul unto his servants, Okay, different option. Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her and inquire of her.

And his servant said to him, Well Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor, and this is now affectionately known as the witch of Endor. Now, if they knew about her, makes me wonder, why hadn't they put an end to her false prophecy? Or was she kind of doing it on the sly? Or again, how how serious were they about rooting out evil from Israel?

Well, I guess in Saul's case, I'm glad we didn't clean up the whole house,'cause it's like avoiding sin but not sending it too far away. I want to be able to go back to it when I when I s want to succumb the next time.

Saul then dresses up, disguises himself, doesn't want to freak out the this woman as the I'm I'm s either that or I don't want to be outed. Uh that's probably more likely for him. I don't want her to think that I am lowering myself to her lowly level. I wouldn't fit with his pride. So she he goes to her and says, Will you conjure the spirit of the dead so I can have a conversation?

And specifically, I want to talk to Samuel. He's gone. We used to be friends. Can you bring him back? So it's some kind of seance that he's asking her to perform. He believes she can do it, uh, but here's the irony. I believe you can conjure the dead.

But I don't believe you can see through my disguise and know who I am. There's a lot of illogic here. Anyway, verse twelve, When the woman saw Samuel Now this is where the story gets weird, like wait a minute, did she pull it off? Did she r our science is real? Can she really draw back the spirit of Samuel? We would say no. Then that can't be the case. Then what is it then? Well, is it someone she pictures? Because here it says she saw Samuel, but when she talks about it, she doesn't name him.

Is this a figment of her own imagination? Is it something she's trying to conjure up in her mind and in the mind of Saul as well? Well, she says what she cries with a loud voice, first of all. The woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? Thou art Saul. Now this is a perceptive woman. Uh, evidently, at least to some degree. Is she seeing through to the skies? Is she putting two and two together? Again, is does this have to be miraculous?

Uh or is it simply she's figuring out something? Then again, even if it, I mean, God can if God can talk to Balaam's donkey, or talk through Balaam's donkey, then I have no problem with him speaking here. But again, she's not calling, conjuring up the spirit of Samuel. It's all reassures her. G you're not under arrest, okay? It it's fine.

Uh but he asked, What do you see? And this is what she says, verse 14. An old man cometh up and he is covered with a mantle. That's it. She didn't say Samuel. Saul does. Saul perceived that it was Samuel. And he stooped with his face to the ground and bowed himself. So again, Saul here is assuming it must be Samuel. The woman never directly said it was. Then verse fifteen, Samuel, or whoever it was, said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me to bring me up?

And Saul answered, I'm sore distressed. The Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me. Well, because you departed from him, duh. He answereth me no more Well, because you're not worthy of the answers, neither by prophets nor by dreams, therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do.

it's sad to realize that people who can't connect with God will often turn to other things to connect with, in hopes of finding direction or meaning, or purpose, or relief, or

But the real answer is not to turn to lesser things, but to turn back to God with full purpose of heart. That's repentance. So he can begin speaking to you again. and begin giving you the guidance that you needed. In verse 16, then said Samuel, quote unquote, whoever this is, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the Lord has departed from thee and has become thine enemy? You really think I can help you if God is unwilling to?

And the Lord hath done to him as he spake by me, for the Lord hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand and given it to thy neighbor, even to David. Again makes me wonder, is this Samuel really speaking to Saul? Or is this soul?

Again, thinking it's Samuel, because that's who I want to see. And I'm at the end of my rope and this woman supposedly has these gifts and she sees this old man and he's stooped down, he's got a mantle, and it's gotta be him. And so uh what's his message to me? What would s what would Samuel say to me? Oh, but he's already said to me.

And is Saul bringing back these memories and Oh, last time I was with him, Samuel told me that God has rent the kingdom away and is gonna go to someone else. I'm and is this David? Is this what's gonna happen? You better believe it. It's ironic that this deception On the part of the woman or this self deception on the part of Saul is actually breaking through his earlier self deception, and he's starting to see things lit more clearly. There's ironic. And verse nineteen.

I'm gonna lose. God's gonna deliver me into the hand of the Philistines. Keep going though. And tomorrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me. The Lord also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines. What has this dead figure just said? You're coming my way, Saul, and you're bringing your boys with you. Uh again, is he's just uh Saul haunted by his own inner demons and afraid of worst case scenario because he knows God is nowhere near to being on his side.

And we're gonna lose and I'm gonna die and or my son's gonna be lost and talk about paranoia eating him up.

Chapter 29, it starts to happen. Israel and the Philistines are at war, and the Philistines march into battle. David is accompanying them right alongside the king of Gath. They're in the back, in the rear. Now the other Philistines leaders they start to worry and they think, Wait, wait, wait, um Saul's ahead of us and David's behind us? This doesn't look good. Are we marching into harm's way? And has David just kind of embedded himself in the last sixteen months and kind of

Is this like spy and trying to ingratiate himself just so at this point he they can surround us and destroy our people? No. King of Gath, I don't care what you think about him, how you feel about him, he's gotta he's gotta go. And it's really interesting the conversation that then ensues. You see, the King of Gath is like no, he's been with me for sixteen months and he's awesome. I completely tr I trust him with my life. That's why why do you think he's my bodyguard?

And he was better he was kinder than the bodyguards of Saul, then I'm sure I can trust him to be my bodyguard. In verse three, he says to his fellow Philistine princes, I have found no fault in him since he fell unto me unto this day. Again, can we live in such a way that even our enemies have nothing negative to say about us? It's like Pilate saying, I I find no guilt in this man. Jesus is good. I don't know what you have against him.

Can we be that way? Still, the King of Gath relents, he understands where his fellow Philistines are coming from, and he says to David in verse six and seven, surely as the Lord liveth. Wow, he's invoking the God of Israel now, as he gained faith in him along the or in the meantime. As the Lord liveth, thou hast been upright. And thy going out and thy coming in with me in the host is good in my sight, for I have not found evil in thee since the day of thy coming unto me unto this day.

Nevertheless, the Lords favor thee not, wherefore now return and go in peace, that thou displease not the lords of the Philistines. It really pains me to send you away, but I see where they're coming from. And just please know that my heart isn't in this. I wish you could stay. My wife and I actually had this experience with our neighbors in Tennessee that were just solid gold, best people you could imagine, Lutherans, deep conviction, faith in the Lord, wonderful, wonderful people.

And when they gave birth to another child, we were so close to them, they said they asked, would would you be the godfather, the god parents of our of our child? Now that's not something we do as Latter-day Saints, but it was something the Lutherans did and we're like, oh we are so flattered and honored and anything we can do to to be a part of your family's life, we are honored to do to do it.

And they were thrilled with that. Then they went to their pastor and said, We have we've got it all s figured out and set up and it's like, Oh, who are the godparents gonna be? Oh, uh our neighbours and I Oh, wonderful. Are they Are they members of the of the parish? Uh and they're like, no. Oh, well, what Lutheran church do they go to? Well, actually they're Latter-day Saints. Uh wait, what?

W Mormons? Uh, but man, they're the most Christ-like people we know. They're so great, and we just love them and they love us. And and the pastor was like, Absolutely not. You cannot have LDS godparents for this child. And they very apologetically and kindly came back to us. And I think of them when I see the king of Gath, just I'm sorry, David. It's not it's not how I feel. It's about how my people. And they was okay with that, and we were okay with that, and all was well.

Now, David reaffirms his trustworthiness. The king says, I know, I get it. Verse 9, I know that thou art good in my sight. As an angel of God. Notwithstanding the princes of the Philistines have said, He shall not go up with us to the battle. So you may not convince everyone, especially those who don't know you personally.

But if you can convince those that truly know who you are, then they can work on other people. And I love that thought. That was my hope at Divinity School. I'm not gonna convert these pastors in training, but if I can convince them that as a Latter day Saint I really am a Christian. And that I love the Bible, then hopefully as time goes on, people that don't know Latter-day Saints, but know someone who does, just might change their perspective in a more positive way.

Chapter thirty, then David uh leaves that bow. Saul's on his own uh to take on the Philistines. David meanwhile takes on the Amalekites. which had been the enemy that Saul hadn't completely ended, and Samuel had to take care of Agag himself. Now that was just one f Amalekite city, and there were others to fight. So David is marching to war alongside the Philistines, and as a as this is part of it, so this is happening during chapter 29, the Amalekites take advantage of the chance.

And David has abandoned his little Philistine city where he's been living the last sixteen months. And the Amalekites these punk Amalekites, remember they were the ones that jumped out and attacked the Israelites right when they crossed the Red Sea. That's what ticked off Samuel. That's what ticked off God. Um, and so here if they're doing it again, they are attacking.

the vulnerable, the undefended. And they're looking kind of willing at lying in wait. And as soon as David and his men have left, they're like, now's our chance and they sneak out. And they burn their city down to the ground and take all the women and children captive.

David's men find out about it. We can't go fight Philistines. They come home and there's no home to come home to. And their women and children have been taken enslaved by the Amalekites and they are so angry. But unfortunately, they're not just angry at the Amalekites, they're angry at David.

They start turning on him, thinking, if you hadn't gone on this fool's errand with the Philistines, we would have stayed here. Why are you why can't you just make people your enemy? Why are you friends to everyone? Saul, the king of Gath, Everywhere you go, i Why can't you just take it out on people? Or just let other people take it out on each other? Why do you have to be such a peacemaker? They talk about stoning David to death, and in verse six, David was greatly distressed.

But also David encouraged himself in the Lord his God. It's the best thing to do when you're distressed, best thing to do when you're afraid. That's what s Jonathan had done for him when he came to visit him in the woods, encouraged him in the Lord. Now David's doing that for himself. David then asks a priest that's there to bring him the ephod, just a revelatory aid.

Uh your kind of Urim and Thummum, just anything to help me understand what God's will would be. Compare what David is doing here to what Saul did back in chapter twenty eight with the Witch of Endor. And he went to false. prophecy, and now David is seeking true prophecy, through the ephod. Verse eight, David inquired at the Lord, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? Shall I overtake them? And God answered him. So David is worthy of divine direction.

not pursue, for thou shalt surely overtake them and without fail recover all. Talk about a promise. And filled with faith in that promise, David gathers six hundred armed men and goes out in this raid to gather his people back.

Now, eventually, uh it's a I guess a long trip to get there, and by the time they get to this one river, this brook, two hundred of his six hundred men are absolutely exhausted and can't keep going. They are so faint that he leaves them there. Uh as pe they're kind trying to regroup and things, he finds a a slave that had escaped from the Amalekites. He was an Egyptian, and he asks them, Do you know where the Amalekites are camping?

And he promises, we will we will protect you from your former masters. You can be free with us. And so this former slave says, Oh, by all means, I'll show you exactly where the Amalekites are. And David is an ar and his army go, they fall upon the Amalekites, and they destroy them all. The Amalekites are all celebrating their great victory, rejoicing in the spoils of war, and David comes in and r reverses

uh the the the fortunes of this army. He slays everybody except for four hundred men that jumped on camels and and booked it out of town. We don't hear any more about it then. But then verse eighteen and nineteen, David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away, just like God had promised him.

David rescued his two wives, and there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil nor anything that they had taken to them. David recovered all. And the son of David, Jesus Christ, would do the same. He doesn't lose anything. He can recover anything that is lost. Including the people that matter most to us.

In verse twenty three he says, Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which the Lord hath given us. It wasn't us, it was God, who hath preserved us and delivered the company that came against us into our hand. For who will hearken unto you in this matter? But as his part is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff. They shall part alike.

I love what David does there. Every one of us is important. Some were able to complete the mission, others went as far as they possibly could. I'll accept both as full measure. Some were in the battle front and others were, oh, troop support back at home base. We're still all soldiers in the Lord's army. We're still all veterans.

To me there's something about treating everyone equally here. It reminds me of the parable of the laborers in the vineyard. That every single one gets their penny appointed, no matter how long or short they happen to serve.

Because their heart was there in the right place. And they would have served longer if they'd had the chance. They would have been hired earlier if they'd come if I'd come earlier to hire them. They would have take gone all the way through the battle if they had been able to do so. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland once said to missionaries. especially those that had come home early because of physical or mental health challenges.

He said, there's no asterisk next to the title RM after your name. You are a return missionary in every sense of the word. There's no second-class citizen here. There's no difference between a service mission and a proselyting mission. There and the apostles have made that clear as well, the prophets have. There's no difference between if if your mission was cut short. Because of circumstances outside your control, including a global pandemic, if we've had one of those lately.

You can be grateful for your service, and God will not treat you differently. They shall part.

And that is a beautiful principle. Then, verse 26, when David came to Ziklag, that's the city that had been destroyed. He sent of the spoil unto the elders of Judah, even to his friends, saying, Behold a present for you of the spoil of the enemies of the Lord. Now David was of the tribe of Judah. And he still has friends there and extended family. And again, can you sense the the the shift of authority and power from the house of Saul, the Benjamite, to the house of David of Judah?

Loyalty and leadership is passing from one to the other. And then we get our final chapter, where it all comes crashing down on Saul.

As he knew. Again, I'm not saying as Samuel prophecy. as whatever was going on in Saul's troubled mind, he saw it coming, and yet he marched headlong into his own destruction. The Philistines are still on their march, and David's not there. They come upon Saul and his armies, and in verse two, the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons. They know who they're really after. And the Philistines slew Jonathan.

This incredibly valiant soul had joined his father, a loyal son, just as he'd been a loyal friend. Also they slew Abinadab and Malkeshua, all of Saul's sons. And the battle went sore against Saul. Of course it did. He was on his own. No divine help, no Ebenezer, And the archers hit him, and he was sore wounded of the archers. Saul is losing everything that matters. After all, the first thing he'd lost long ago was the Spirit of the Lord, any assistance he could have gotten from God could be.

But now he's hit and he's mortally wounded, he knows it, but he can't handle again pride speaking. I can't allow. the Philistines to take credit for this. I can't allow the Philistines to come and desecrate my body or or come actually End my life. And so He commands his armor bearer to kill him, so the Philistines can't. And his armor bearer

is horrified by the thought. It says, I I can't do it, I won't. And so instead what does Saul do? He takes his sword and he falls upon it himself, thus ending his own life. And horrified by that, the his armor bearer then follows suit. and falls upon his own sword as well. The one that was supposed to protect him, I couldn't, and I will certainly won't kill him, and and he kills himself and he kills himself too. This is

Everything is falling apart. You sowed the wind, you reaped the whirlwind. The law of the harvest has come back to haunt you. So verse six, Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men that same day together. With no leader at the head, the Israelites then flee. They abandon their cities and the Philistines take over all kinds of territory, which next week we'll have to watch David try to regain.

The Philistines also find Saul's body, and sure enough, they desecrate it. They cut off his head, they strip him of his armor. Again, symbolically, Saul had long since lost his head to pride, to envy. He'd long since been stripped of the armor of God and left himself fully exposed to the arrows of the adversary. They then publicize their victory over Saul. They place his armor in one of their pagan temples. They put his head in the temple of Dagon, their god.

and they fasten his body to the wall of one of the cities.

Cautionary tale. And then verse eleven. When the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard of that which the Philistines had done to Saul, All the valiant men arose and More valiant than Saul had been, but still honoring the position, even if the person was not worthy of it. They arose, they went all night and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Bethshan. They put their own lives on the line to do this. And then they came to Jabish and burnt them there cremation.

They took their bones and buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days. a proper burial within the land of promise. One last chance to pay respects to the Lord's anointed I think David would be proud of them. In fact, next week we'll see that he was proud of them, and rewarded for them for that. You see, when DNC sixty four says you ought to say within your hearts, let God take care of things, David had done that in his heart. No hard feelings, no rejoicing over his fallen enemy.

Rather, sorrow over his fallen friends. Samuel would do the same, I'm sure. Samuel, if we rewind and end where we started, way back in chapter eight, the Samuel principle, I I protested solemnly as best as I could. You ignored that. I tried to show you the manner of the king that you would have. And I even underestimated that. It ended up far worse. I gave you the best we could find: a king that was head and shoulders above, but that head

It didn't bow in humility, it was lifted up in pride. Those shoulders they didn't bear the mantle of authority worthily. That mantle was ripped from off him and placed upon someone better. Next week we will see more of of what we've learned today as far as cautionary tales from kings of Israel. going from the high to the low and crashing down in self-destruction because they couldn't hold on to their new heart.

I am so grateful for God's patience with us and his mercy towards us, his forgiveness. He is the ultimate Abigail. but it's our own self destruction that we bring upon ourselves when we turn away from him. I pray as we look back through this long history in First Samuel, and as we look forward to what we'll see next week in Second Samuel and First Kings. That we will do our very best. To knit our heart to With righteous friends who Jonathan's, they're out there all around us.

And as we live into that second great commandment, that we will also live into the first and knit our hearts with God. I am grateful for the new hearts that He is giving us. It's now up to us to choose to retain them. Now, uh like I said, we've only got th three kings of united Israel. And next week we'll see the split and the chaos that ensues in the in its aftermath. But to me there's something powerful about that and and we'll see this unfold today.

And last week when we were with Saul. Saul, David, Solomon, uh all twelve tribes are behind them. Well, off and on, but for the most part, these are kings of United of United Israel. And what's interesting is you'll see these incredible servants of God with so much potential, head and shoulders above the rest, uh, literally, physically, if you're thinking of of Saul.

Spiritually, if you're thinking of David, uh intellectually, if you're thinking of Solomon, in terms of growing in in wisdom and stature and favor with God and man, these three are as good as they come. Sadly, in fact, that's not a strong enough adverb. Tragically, we also see in these stories their downfall.

And I remember it striking me once as I was very quickly reading through the entire Old Testament uh and having Saul, David, Solomon in close enough proximity to one another, it's it hit me that Saul's main downfall was pride. Remember last week, well Saul has killed his thousands, isn't that good enough? Well, not if David's killed his ten thousands. I can't handle that. And so the the pride when he was no longer little in his own sight.

That was Saul's challenge. David's challenge, as we'll see today with the story of Bathsheba, is succumbing to the lusts of the flesh, the physical appetite. And as we'll see by the end of today's lesson, Solomon's downfall was worldliness and materialism. He just got caught up in the the things of the world and it led him away from the things of God.

Now you could stop there and think, oh, okay, I better guard against those three, but add to that realization, this realization from Matthew chapter four. When Jesus is in the Mount of Temptations in the wilderness, and Satan comes to try to stop his ministry before it even begins. His first temptation was to change the stones to bread, so that you can satisfy your physical appetite.

Yes, well I wouldn't know if I'd call it lusts of the flesh, but the needs of the flesh, at least in that case. And Jesus said, No, I've got more important things on my mind. The second was throw yourself from the t the to the temple. Because you're so important that God of course wouldn't allow you to get hurt. He'll send your a his angels sweeping in to make sure you don't uh strike your foot against the stone.

Uh, if you're really that important, the world w should know and God will prove it. And Jesus said, No, I I already know who I am and don't need to announce it in that way. The third temptation then, as Satan said, Worship me and I'll give you all the kingdoms of the earth Oh, do you see what he's what he's offering there? Worldliness, materialism, prop prosperity, fame, fortune, you name it? And Jesus said, No, it'll all be mine eventually in the millennium, and I'm patient, I can wait.

What struck me as you put these two together is the three temptations of Christ are the three temptations of the three kings of Israel. It's powerful to realize that the king of kings did not succumb to what brought down the kings of Israel. But Lust of the flesh, stones to bread, that's David. Pride, throw yourself from the Temple Mount, that's Saul. And materialism and worldliness, take worship me and take all these kingdoms, that's Solomon.

And as we talked two years ago in the Old Test excuse me, in the Book of Mormon, uh, and not last year in the Doctrine and Covenants, almost always when you see temptation and sin described in the scriptures, they fall under those three headings. Uh th maybe that's why Satan unleashed them on the ev on on Christ,'cause that's kind of all he's got. Uh different manifestations of those three, little uh variations on a theme.

But those are the three themes. And we saw pride last week. We will see physical appetite today and we will see materialism or world and worldliness today as well. So keep an eye out for those things and may we all Individually and collectively, guard against them.

So let's dive in. In second Samuel chapter one, if you remember the end of last week, uh first Samuel ended with Saul and his sons dead on the battlefield against the Philistines. The Philistines have desecrated their bodies. uh nailed them up to the wall or hung them uh before their cities so that it becomes a cautionary tale to anyone that dare take on the Philistines.

uh some major issues here, but you also saw at the end of last week the men of Jabush Gilead, uh commando raid, so to speak, rushing in and recovering the the dead bodies of these fallen heroes. And then giving them a proper burial in the promised land. Meanwhile, uh David has just returned from defeating the Amalekites. Yeah, that's where we're now here in Second Samuel chapter one. And he's returned, he's brought every b everyone home. Remember that story from the end of last week also?

and they're all relieved and rejoicing, but a servant comes running in, he happens to be an Amalekite himself, and David doesn't have very s good feelings about Amalekites after what he's just been through. But this man comes in and he is uh has dirt on his head, his clothes are torn, which suggests you're either Oh just to r escape from a battlefield somewhere, or perhaps you are in mourning because of some news that you've received. Well or in his case, in some ways, perhaps both.

He bows before King David, David asks him to report on what he's seen, specifically Saul's battle, and the man tells him that Israel is defeated, and Saul and Jonathan are both dead. Tragic news. Now, on the one hand you could think, well, good news and bad news. Good news Saul, my enemy, who keeps chucking javelins in my way, now he's gone. But Jonathan, whose soul was knit to mine, he's gone.

Now, in David's case, he mourned over both. Because as you remember last week, he never came to see Saul as his enemy. still as the Lord's anointed, even as as misguided as Saul had become by then. Well, in 2 Samuel 1, verse 5, notice David's immediate response to this young messenger. He said unto the young man that told him, How knowest thou that Saul and Jonathan his son be dead?

Why is David here? I'm not going to just believe a rumor or jump to conclusions. I need some evidence because this is major news here. This is going to affect the kingdom. This young man ends up lying to David. And and this I wonder again about the fact he's an Amalekite, and as we saw with the battle last week, but also saw back in Exodus seventeen and the battle w with Joshua. Uh the Amalekites seem to be opportunists.

Uh, I don't want to generalize, and so if anyone here has Amalekite ancestry, I apologize. But uh they seem to be the type that just are looking for some easy victory. We'll take on Oh, the Israelites, when they're fresh out of Egypt and unprepared to defend themselves, will take down a city when its inhabitants are gone trying to help other people.

These these opportunists looking for easy victories, that seems to be the case for this Amalekite messenger as well. Because he says to David in verse 6. Well, here's the story. Here's how it happened. As I happened by chance I just happened to be there, strangest thing. As I happened by chance upon Mount Gilboa, behold Saul leaned upon his spear And lo the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him. In this version, Saul is uninjured, but he's being chased down by a superior force.

Now last week we learned that wasn't the case. He was hit by a Philistine arrow. And knowing that he was about to die anyway, and not wanting to give the enemy credit for it, he asked his servant to fall upon him, which he refused to do, and then Saul ended up falling upon his own sword and taking his own life.

So this story is not what happened. This Amalekite is making something up. In verse nine he goes on, He said unto me again, Stand, I pray thee, upon me and slay me, for anguish has come upon me, because my life is yet whole in me. Now, what's this lie trying to do? It's trying to pr portray Saul in a way that is negative, derogatory, uh critical. It's it's basically painting him as a coward.

Instead of rushing into battle and happening to be hit by a a a Philistine arrow, someone shot it from far away. Now it's Saul who is far away from the enemy, but they're closing ground. He's in perfect health. So yes he could turn around and fight the enemy, or he could continue to retreat and then regroup his men to go live and fight another day. But in this version, this Amalekite is saying, Oh no, no, he anguish came upon him.

How my but my life is whole and and I I'm scared of what might happen to me if I have to actually fight my enemy in close combat. So please will you just end it for me right now?

So he was gonna be a goner one way or another anyway, and since he wasn't man enough to fight, I I helped him out. And I took the crown that was upon his head and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them hither unto my lord. So this messenger seemed to have no more hope for Saul's survival than Saul himself supposedly had. So fine, I'll I'm happy to oblige you. Now I do wonder how did you get the crown and the bracelet?

And the only guess I have is is he some kind of battlefield scavenger? Maybe he was right about I happened upon the battlefield. Maybe it was fresh when it was done, Uh, maybe it was even before the Philistines got there to to collect these b the bodies of their uh of their fallen enemy.

Maybe he just did see it and there's Saul and he's gone and his bracelet and crown. This is my chance not only to get a bracelet and a crown, but maybe even beyond that, here's my quote unquote evidence that I was the one that did it. And if I can bring that to David as my proof Then surely the new rising king will reward me, since I was so instrumental in having this crown pass to David. I mean now he's literally bringing it from one king to the next.

Uh like I said, this seems to be Amalekite opportunism as at its finest. In verse eleven and twelve then, how's David going to react? Well, thank you so much for for finishing off my enemy and bringing me evidence of the fact. No. David took hold on his clothes and rent them. He tore them apart, like as his let me give you an outward uh example of what's happening on the inside. My heart is breaking here.

And not just for the news of the death of Jonathan, but even for the death, the news of the death of Saul. He rends his clothes. That's a sign of mourning. And likewise all the men that were with him, and they mourned and wept and fasted until even for Saul and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the Lord, and for the house of Israel, because they were fallen by the sword.

David sees all of this as loss, none of it as gain, and he's willing, more than willing, he can't help himself. He mourns over his enemies as much as over his friends. Because in his mind they weren't enemies, they were friends, and now they are fallen.

After he mourns for the dead. He then says to this Amalekite messenger verse thirteen, Whence art thou? And he answered, I'm the son of a stranger, not from these parts, I'm a foreigner. I'm an Amalekite. And again, that's gonna trigger uh David, like, mm, the people that just tried to take advantage of my absence. Huh.

So David asks him, How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the Lord's anointed? When I had the chance to do it twice, right? In the cave and in the battlefield, both times I refrained from it. I cared more about the position than the person, and you seemed to care little about either. David called one of the young men, and said, Go near and fall upon him, and he smote him that he died.

As far as David was concerned, this was a capital crime and that he had just confessed to out of his own mouth and therefore received or was deserving of capital punishment. David then says in verse sixteen unto this dead man, thy blood be upon thy head, it's not on mine, for thy mouth hath testified against thee, saying I have slain the Lord's anointing. You were your own chief witness, your own prosecuting attorney. I simply turned executioner to follow the demands of the law.

David then does two things as a result of what he's just heard. The first, verse 18, he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow. Now that seems pretty uh irrelevant. What's that all about? But think about it. He's just gotten news of Saul and Jonathan's death. Now, according to the story from the Amalekite, it was just a sword. He fell upon him and slew him, but I wonder if by the time this verse rolls around, he's gotten the real news.

If he hears this, it's like, I could that really be that doesn't sound like the soul that I know. And that doesn't explain Jonathan at all. So I need to hear the whole story. Uh, or is it when uh they bring the bodies back, uh, maybe before they are they are burned and buried, uh, does he see a an arrow wound and not just the sword uh wound from from Saul's own weapon? We however it happens, I sense in David, how did they die? And how can I help others guard themselves against it?

What is the enemy using to to defeat us? And is there any way I can become better prepared in in this brave new world of military tactics? Jonathan himself seemed to be ahead of his time. Remember he's the one that's like I'm going to shoot some arrows and then send my servant to go fetch them, and I'll send a little coded message to you, David on do you go further and leave us or do you come home because it's safe?

So again, I'd I love that about Jonathan. He was a master at hand to hand combat when he took on the Philistine garrison, but he's also learning the mastery of the bow.

And here David wants to make sure that everybody learns how to do it. We cannot afford to lose battles like that again. And to be honest, if anybody should have known the value of a projectile weapon, uh artillery instead of mere infantry, it would have been David, who defeated Goliath not hand to hand, but with a a flying stone, an artillery uh missile of his own.

So that's the first thing that David does. And again, e even in our own situation, I hope we realize what the adversary is using to to attack us. Think about technology, think about social media, think about uh worldly uh ideas and ideologies, philosophies, moral relativism, y un i even uh just you do you and and I'm not here to be judgmental at all and and we've completely Uh oh gone against the Samuel principle we talked about last week as well.

If it's if it's arrows that are being shot these days, as opposed to what attacked our ancestors, we better be better prepared for that. That was the first. The second thing David does is, oh, man of war and man of peace, he writes a song. uh lays aside his weapons and picks up his heart Uh perhaps if you remember last week, this is what he did to try to calm the troubled soul of Saul.

Let me play for you upon my harp, and let the spirit of music soothe you. I wonder if it's now it's my turn to need soothing after the bad news I just received. And so let me play upon my harp and put Oh, my feelings and my thoughts into words and into music. And you see a beautiful psalm of David through the rest of this chapter.

In some ways it's the opposite of the song of Hannah, or the song of Deborah, or the song of Miriam, or the song of Mary, because those were all rejoicing in a victorious uh outcome. This is s uh is David lamenting. We won't read it all, but here's a few amazing examples of of what he's feeling. Verse nineteen The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places. How are the mighty fallen? In David's eyes, Jonathan and even Saul were beautiful. They were mighty, and what a loss to Israel.

I wonder if you Oh, if only David had let these words echo in his mind later when he was the mightiest man of Israel, would it have kept him from falling if he was a little bit more careful? In verse twenty, tell it not in gathers. That's where Goliath was from. Publish it not in the streets of Ascalon. That's another Philistine city. Samson had some time there. Lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.

That verse is Philistine through and through, and David does not want to give his enemies anything to rejoice over. Do not spread our bad news to people who will take it as good news when it isn't. In verse twenty one, ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, and neither let there be rain upon you, nor fields of offerings. He's basically calling for a fast enforced by famine.

And here's why. For there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oil. To the very end David was honoring position, regardless of the person that occupied it, regardless of their behavior. Uh that he is still the Lord's anointed. The Philistines did not treat him as such. Sadly, Saul himself did not act as such. But may that this should be a cause for mourning, not rejoicing, and so seal the heavens, Father.

In verse twenty two, from the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan turned not back, the sword of Saul returned not empty. There again there's Jonathan ahead of his time with his bow. Similarly, we better be ahead of the curve. In verse 23, Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided. That says something since they had major disagreements near the end of of their lives.

Jonathan coming to David's r uh defense every chance that he could, pushing back against his father's misplaced anger, and yet he also realized this is still my father. And there is goodness in him, I know, I've seen, and I want him to snap out of this. I want him to be better. I want to reconcile my father and my friend, Saul and David. He tried every chance that he could. Then twenty five and twenty six. Again, he ends where he began. How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle?

O Jonathan, thou wast slain in thine high places. I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan. Very pleasant hast thou been unto me. Thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women. And as we talked about last week. No, this does not require an interpretation that suggests homosexual relationships between Jonathan and David. This is simply an elevation of brotherly love over romantic love. This is this is Philia over Eros.

Uh, if you go with the Greek words, he they they're so much better than we are in terms of defining love much more clearly into what kind are we talking about? And that's an important thing to do here. But that I think that's really where David's deepest emotion breaks through in this song, right here at the end. Uh more than Saul, uh, and the honor that he paid them the piz the man that happened to be in the position.

If we could just let these weapons perish, if we could pound our swords into ploughshares and our spears into pruning hooks, just looking this son of David David himself, excuse me, looking forward to the day when the son of David would establish his millennial rank. May these weapons perish.

Now this is a blessing that would come, but not in David's day. That will come in the day of Solomon, where we'll end this week's study. We have a long ways to go to get there, and so there is war ahead to get to that place of peace.

And we see uh this the story begin to unfold in chapter two, in which David is no longer the boy David or the fugitive David, it's now David the King. In verse one, it came to pass after this, that David inquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? Is it time to go home? In fact, where should I call home if I go?

I've been on the run for so long. The Lord says unto him, Go up so the answer to your question is yes. And David said, Whither shall I go up? And the Lord's response unto Hebron. Now if you recall from Genesis, Hebron is where the tomb of the patriarchs is found, the burial places of Abraham and Sarah, of Isaac and Rebecca, of Jacob and Leah. And to go there, it's almost as if the Lord is suggesting let

restart things. Let's begin again. And we'll go back to the the final resting place of the patriarchs and matriarchs. And me as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In a way, can we skip over some of that difficult intervening history? And have Abraham, Isaac, Jacob pass the baton to you, David, and you will start where they ended. Living into the Abrahamic covenant. Promised land. I want it all to be yours and your posterities forever.

The sands of the seashore, we'll see more of that in First Kings with Solomon's reign. And the blessings of priesthood and and gospel and exaltation, let's see how we do it living up to and into those things. In verse two, David went up thither, his two wives also, Ahinoam, the Jezreelitis, we don't know much about her, and Abigail, Nabal's wife, the Carmelite,

I hope we know a lot about her after last week's experience. We we wonder here, well what about Michal? The one that that uh the Saul's daughter that he had given to David. No, or at least tricked David into putting himself in harmless way in hopes of of marrying her. Well, D Saul, who had pulled a switcheroo on David earlier and given his older daughter to someone else,

had also given uh Michal to uh some other man as well. And so she's not with him. Keep going, uh verse three, and his men that were with him did David bring up. every man with his household, and they dwelt in the cities of Hebron. And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. Now this sounds like okay, we got a new king, and yes and no

Be more specific there, who came up? It was the men of Judah. They anointed him king. What over what? Over the house of Judah. David is from the tribe of Judah.

Yeah, I won't I won't get lost in those weeds. But in terms of twelve separate tribes largely doing their own thing and sometimes ganging up on one another, remember the Benjamites and and their problems with the Levite concubine? Yeah it's not Saul united them.

uh against their enemies. He was the one that chopped up the yoke of oxen into twelve parts and send them around and said, You better get come you better come to battle and join us. We better hang together or we'll all hang separately. And but it's then started to split. And we had some followers of David by the end of of first Samuel. And we still have people that are loyal to Saul. And here it's only the Judahites that are deciding to be loyal to David and to announce and anoint him king.

But anointing, we've seen it before, there's oil, there's Gethsemane, there's light and health and healing all rolled into one beautiful symbol. You you anoint kings and priests. Christ will be the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, the great high priest of things to come, good things. And so here you see this new Messiah. That's what anointed one is in Hebrew. You see this type and shadow of Christ.

That's what anointed one means in Greek. So yes, David is king, but he's the king of a tribe, not the king of a kingdom, a nation. His men then tell him that the men of Jabush Gilead were the ones who rescued the bodies of Saul and his sons, and David sends messengers there to say, this is now verse five. Blessed be ye of the Lord, that ye have showed this kindness unto your Lord, even unto Saul, and have buried him.

And now, as a result, the Lord show kindness and truth unto you and I also will requite you this kindness, because ye have done this thing. Therefore now let your hands be strengthened and be ye valiant, for your master Saul is dead, and also the house of Judah have anointed me king over them.

You did a good deed, and it deserves to be recognized and rewarded. May God bless you. I will bless you. And I'm actually in a position to be able to do so. I've been anointed king. So let me strengthen you.

Now there were others that didn't feel quite that way, in verse eight through ten, Abner, the son of Nur, captain of Saul's host. Took Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim.

and made him king over Gilead and over the Asherites, and over Jezreel, and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and over all Israel. Ish bosheth Saul's son was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David, There's the split I was talking about.

uh this is in some ways a foreshadowing of what we'll see next week with Jeroboam and Rhaboam. But here you have David ruling in the south, tribe of Judah, and you have Saul's old general, can't just let this war f die Uh we'll gotta gotta keep it going. He takes one of Saul's sons, Ishbusheth, and pronounces him king over all that's left. Fine. So we lost a tribe, big deal. Let David take Judah, but we'll have all the rest.

That explains verse eleven. The time that David was king in Hebron, over the house of Judah, so a much more narrowly confined kingdom, was seven years and six months. After that is when he moves the capital to Jerusalem, which we'll see in a moment. Now Abner, again, he's the captain of Ishbosheth's army, the son of Saul, and Joab, who's the captain of David's army. There's so many names here in the next couple of weeks, so we're gonna try to keep them straight.

Uh you have Abner versus Joab because you have Saul versus David, or in this case Ishboth Ishbosheth versus David. And what ends up happening, uh they bring some of their men and meet together. In verse 14, Abner says to Joab, Let the young men now arise and play before us. And Joab said, Well, fine, let them arise. Now play there would be better translated as compete.

Let's have some war games, shall we? Uh and we're gonna just show that we can get along, okay? And we're not gonna be at war. You can have the tribe of Judah, we'll have the rest of Israel. It's fine. But let's get together and have a little military exercise. Uh, and focus on the exercise rather than the military. Okay, this will not be a fight to the death. We'll just kind of have a wrestling match, so to speak, between uh some soldiers from Judah and some soldiers from Israel.

Unfortunately, that's not how it ended up. Twelve men from each side come forward, and in verse sixteen they caught every one his fellow by the head, and thrust his sword in his fellow's side. So they fell down together. Wherefore that place was called Helkath Hazrim, which is in Gibeon. That name means field of foes.

Now, in some ways this is going to foreshadow what we're gonna see in later wars where Northern versus Southern, their own civil war, uh rages between the people of Israel and the people of Judah. Yeah, tragically here, what was meant to just be this exercise, this wrestling match. Oh, be careful about putting people in c close quarters in a pretend fight when they really do want to have a real one. And that's what ends up happening. They end up killing each other simultaneously.

And I don't know of a better visual aid for what we call today mutually assured destruction. The acronym's even better than the the title. M A D. It is mad. It is complete madness to be in a time where We can t grab each other by the head and pull out our swords and kill the other in the process of them killing us. No wonder we need to be shifting from war to peace and lay down our our swords and our um and our bows and arrows and take up our heart.

and and proclaim peace. That what ends up happening here then it begins to exp to spread and expand from there. And now you do have a full-fledged war going on between North and South. At least a battle between Joab's armies and Abner's armies.

Now Joab has a brother named Azul, okay, Asael, if you want to pronounce it that way. He's famous as uh for his foot speed. Okay, this is this is the roadrunner. He starts chasing after Abner as Abner is taking uh his men and and trying to retreat to be able to live to fight another day. But Abner, it's interesting here because yes, he's the he was ki Saul's uh chief captain.

And Saul had issues, but that doesn't necessarily mean that Abner did. Uh perhaps Abner is just trying to continue the the dynasty and and um elevate this next son of his commander in chief. But Abner doesn't want to fight. Originally it was just meant to be a wrestling match, and here he doesn't want to fight, and so he says as he's running away from Azel, he shouts behind him Turn away.

or at least get some armor to defend yourself,'cause if you're going to actually catch up to me, which you probably will, you're f you're fa fast fleet of foot, I just don't want to kill you. And sadly doesn't heed that warning and does catch up to him and ends up dying in the in the battle, in the fight that ensues with Abner. And that to me begs the question. Why do we do like Azel and run headlong into our own destruction?

There are times when people say, I don't want to fight you. I really know the Lord says that to us. I my dukes are down. I want peace. I want mercy. I'm asking for obedience. Will you just c come unto me? And yet, whether it's kicking against the pricks, as Saul slash Paul was guilty of, whether it's trying to chase down the sins that will come back to bite us, To see what it we end up doing in something similar, running headlong toward our own destruction.

Or being our brothers destroyers when w we should have simply been our brothers' keepers. That's what Abner was trying to say as he sprinted away from a fight that he knew he would win. Not the fight he was afraid he would lose. Why be foes when we can be friends? Contention is of the devil. I'm trying to run away from it. Not out of fear for me. Out of fear for you. That's big of Abner. Well Joab finds out what just happened to Azel. So he and his other brother go after Abner.

Who's just jo been joined by an army of of Benjamites? That's Saul's main most loyal uh tribe. That was the tribe he was from. In verse twenty six, then Abner called to Joab and said, Shall the sword devour forever? Don't you realize was trying to end this thing? Knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end? How long shall it be then ere thou bid the people return from following their brethren?

So much in what Abner just said to Joab, their brethren? We're all members of the house of Israel, yes, different tribes, and now different leaders. But that doesn't have to make us enemies. Can we agree to get along there? Or will the sword just keep devouring? I love the way he warned it, it will be bitterness in the latter end.

And that is so true of animosity and anger and hatred towards other people. It will get worse before it will ever get better. So can we try to avoid the battle before it even begins? Can we stop things? And beautifully, verse twenty seven, Joab says in response. As God liveth, unless thou hadst spoken, surely then in the morning the people had gone up every one from following his brother. So Joab blew a trumpet, and all the people stood still.

And pursued after Israel no more, neither fought them any more.

bless Joab for that. But bless Abner even more, because he's the one that started the The call mean. He started the peace talk and He tried to do it with Azel as he's sprinting away. And now as Joab is ready to come down after him and avenge the death, instead Abner just says, This is gonna last forever, it's only gonna get worse. And Joab thankfully responds in kind.

I think that actually often happens. I think sometimes neither party wants to fight, but both parties think the other one does. And so their pride, their perceived pride from the other is is raising pride within myself. And I can't look like the weak one. When honestly, yes, both of you were strong to fight. But which one is strong enough to not to speak up that they don't want to?

And to be big enough to be small, as we've said before. Abner was big enough to be small. And Joab was grateful and reciprocated. And I think so often when feelings are hurt or when relationships are strained, we're gonna see more of this with David and Absalom. Sometimes Both parties do want to reconcile. They do want to lay down their weapons. But it takes a peacemaker to start that process.

And just let the other person know I've I'm past this. I want this to end. And pray that the other person does too. In this case that's exactly what happened. Now chapter three in verse one there is still war going on. That was a good symbol of the kind of peace that could come if you could just talk about what's going on, share where you're really coming from and be able to resolve things.

Verse one though, now there was long war between the house of Saul and the house of David. But David waxed stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul waxed weaker and weaker. You ever been in a situation where you watch two people or two families or even sometimes within a family, two siblings part ways? And start heading in different directions, on different trajectories and watching one stay close to God and wax stronger and stronger and to watch others.

Oh, leave him, and grow weaker and weaker as a result.

Hopefully that's helping us see which which kingdom do I want to be a part of? Now, speaking of David's kingdom, his sons are next listed. Each one seems to come from a different a different mother that David lived plural marriage. Uh but most of those women and most of those sons we know nothing about. In verse seven though, we switch to the Saul side of things and meet a concubine we didn't know about before either.

Saul had a concubine whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Ea, and Ishbosheth said to Abner, Wherefore hast thou gone in unto my father's concubine? Now we don't need to know about Rizpa or about Ea, we really don't need to know much of this story at all, except for the fact that Ishbosha, Saul's des son and apparent heir.

Uh has just falsely accused Abner of trying to go in unto his father's concubine. We'll see more examples of that today also. It seems to be a way of saying, I'm going to take over for my predecessor. I'm going to take his throne, I'm going to take his kingdom, and to prove that I'm going to take his own wives and concubines. And here you see Ishbosheth, new king of the north of Israel, worried about his own holding on to the kingdom.

He's paranoid, and so he's looking around even at people that are on his side. He wouldn't be king if it weren't for Abner backing him up. Uh and yet he's so concerned that this follower is trying to leapfrog him and become leader in his place. Does that sound like anybody else that happens to be related to Ishbosha? Sound like Saul? As he's Trumping up accusations, false charges, worried, paranoid about David? No, I'm your most trustworthy servant.

Why would you accuse me? Now Abner is in David's shoes in this case, doesn't react quite as well as David does. He's frustrated, he's angry. I'm I'm on your side And you come out of the blue and you accuse me of insurrection, of treason? No well, then fine, let's make this a a self fulfilling prophecy. I'm no longer on your side. And I'm not gonna take your throne. Because someone else already deserves it. David does.

And I'm going to go join him. And so that's what he does. Abner leaves the side of Saul, Ishbosheth, and goes and joins the side of David. And he says this in verse twelve. Make thy league with me, to David, and behold my hand shall be with thee, to bring about all Israel unto thee.

After all, I've got a pretty good dr track record of uniting tribes behind a king. If I can do it for Ishbosha, I'm sure I can do it for you. And I want to. I'm on your side now. David agrees and says, come aboard then. We need all the help that we can get. He says though, before you completely leave Saul's side, could you find my wife, Michal, Michael, and bring her? Uh I want to reunite with my with my spouse.

And and so he does. And then Abner begins his work. In verse 17, Abner had communication with the elders of Israel. saying, Ye sought for David in times past to be king over you. Now then do it, for the Lord hath spoken of David, saying, By the hand of my servant David I will save my people Israel, out of the hand of the Philistines, and out of the hand of all their enemies. When David was young, you sang his praises right alongside the praises of Saul, while Saul is gone.

But because of the trust you had in David then, why not put your trust in David now? He's even better now than he was then. And he's in a position to be able to lead in righteousness. So do it. I love the way he says it. At at some time in the past you wanted this. Now then do it. And for each of us, if we knew it was right at some point.

Then act on it now, even if you've been procrastinating, procrastinating your repentance, procrastinating your commitment, your conversion, your putting in your mission papers, your reconciliation with someone that you love and miss. Whatever it is, now then do it. And they do. They start to unite to David's side. Abner keeps working hard on this, especially on the tribe of Benjamin, since they're the the ones that are going to be hardest as the tribe of Saul himself.

But he starts to coax them into David's circle and says to David in verse twenty one, I will arise and go and will gather all Israel unto my Lord the king, that they may make a league with thee. I make a league with thee, we would call that a covenant, and that thou mayest reign over all that thine heart desireth. Now, yes, this is a a military general saying this to a political king, but imagine all of us, soldiers in the army of the Lord of hosts, saying this to our sovereign. I will arise.

lift myself up above my lower level of living. I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded. I will gather all Israel unto my Lord the King. I would take this verse a little bit out of context, put it into your own circumstance, and if this is one of the most beautiful Oh, acts of of righteous commitment, of covenant making. Father, King of kings, I will make a league with thee. I promise, I covenant, to do what? To gather all of Israel.

That's what we're saying to him when we decide to serve a mission, to gather those on this side of the valley. It's what we're saying to him when we go to the temple to gather Israel on the other side of the vale, and at the end there, that thou mayest reign over all that thine heart desireth. The heart of our Savior wants to rule over each of us, not for his sake, but for our sake.

He wants to bring every single lost sheep back into the fold. And so I don't know of a better way we can say to the Lord, Here am I send me, I want to do this, I just want to gather Israel home. Put me to work on the world.

Now he goes and is doing this. Joab meanwhile finds out that this is what's been happening. And Joab, uh, speaking of making false assumptions or faulty assumptions against Abner. Joab is guilty of that too. He starts worrying after all we've been through, oh, is that the only reason that he was saying let's let bygones be bygones and let's lay down our weapons of war? Just so you could try to ingratiate yourself with my king?

You've switched sides, what are you a double agent? That's his concern. He's only come over here to spy on David, uh and I it's my job to protect him, so I will. And unfortunately, based on that faulty assumption, Joab. finds out where Abner's going on the king's errand, but it without the king's wish, Joab goes and finds him and kills him. He does it without David knowing about it. It's not under c express wishes, or David would have reined him in and held him back. I trust Abner, it's fine.

Well, part of that was to protect David, I'm sure, but part of it too was probably just to get that vengeance out of him, since his brother Azel is the one who had rushed headlong into his own destruction at Abner's hand. Whatever the case, when the news comes back to King David that Abner has died, a former enemy that never felt like one, and instead was a friend, David's response in verse thirty one and thirty-two

rend your clothes and gird you with sackcloth. It's actually telling Joab to do this. You're the guilty one, but d so act repentant, broken heart, contrite spirit. Mourn before Abner, he says. 'Cause David was gonna do the same. King David himself followed the beer. In other words, the the funeral uh procession. And they buried Abner in Hebron, and the king lifted up his voice and wept at the grave of Abner, and all the people wept.

Sound a little like what the Lord said in the Sermon on the Mount? I know the law says to hate your enemies. I don't say that. I say to love them. I say to bless those that curse you, and pray for those who despitefully use you and persecute you. David here is an amazing example of exactly that. Now, what's happening on Saul's side of the line? Chapter 4 will let us know. This is the death of Ishbosha. Saul's side are they dropping like flies.

Saul was gone, Jonathan is gone, now their old general Abner is gone. What about the heir? What about Ishbosha? Now he has two captains, uh, and there's maybe w maybe Ishbo Sheth was was right to be worrying about somebody. It just wasn't Abner. He should have been worried about these two. These two captains turn on him and end up slaying him. They cut off his head and they bring it to David, thinking that, hey, I've done you a favor. Your chief rival is now out of the picture.

Well, these guys must not have been paying attention to Second Samuel yet, or very well. Because what have we seen so far in these three chapters we've studied? Chapter one, David gets the news of Saul's death. And how does he react? He mourns. And instead of congratulating the person who claimed to be the cause of Saul's death, he has him executed. Then chapter three, what we just saw, David gets the news of Abner's death, Saul's chief captain. And instead of rejoicing, what does he do?

He mourns and he curses the man who killed him. He had some strong words for Joab. You should not have done that. Then here in chapter four, David gets the news of another fallen enemy. That wasn't his enemy. And so any guess how he's going to react. Do we have enough enough precedent to let us know? In verses nine through eleven he says to the the man who came in with Ishbosheth's head. As the Lord liveth.

Who redeemed my soul out of all adversity, including the kind that Saul's family and side were trying to inflict upon me. When one told me, saying, Behold, Saul is dead, thinking to have brought good tidings, I took hold of him and slew him in Ziklag, who thought that I would have given him a reward for his tidings.

So there's my review of chapter one. You should have read that, my friend. How much more when wicked men have slain a righteous person in his own house upon his bed? Ishbosheth had done nothing wrong. Shall I not therefore now require his blood of your hand and take you away from the earth? And he has the two men executed. See, the death of an enemy should never be good news. This is not rejoicing over someone. This is not rubbing it in. Charity suffereth long.

David was we was willing to suffer. Charity rejoiceth not in iniquity. Not in anyone. Not in your enemies, not in those that supposedly are your friends and taking it out on your enemies? No, not rejoicing in any of that at all. He always seems to care more about the other person. And he cared about his own honor, his own reputation, his own safety, even. And that's a good thing, because now he can come to a much larger throne with a clear conscience.

If I I if we have anyone to thank for that, I I have a feeling it is Abigail.

Uh don't sin against others, even if they've sinned against you. And so you see this unfold in 2 Samuel chapter 5. David is now anointed king on a much larger stage. Verse one and two Then came all the tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron, and spake, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh, even though you're different tribes, we're all house of Israel.

Also in time past, when Saul was king over us, thou wast he that ledest out and broughtest in Israel. And the Lord said to thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be a captain over Israel. So here is where we see all of Israel uniting to to anoint David their king, their collective king. We should be okay with that. We should be prepared. In fact, we should be rejoicing over this. So let's go ahead and rejoice.

Uh you weren't against Saul. I'm sorry that we we assumed that was the case. You were all w always one of Saul's most trusted servants. And even when you we when it looked like that, when Saul was okay with you. You were the one that was always a man of the people, coming and going among us.

This is so much like Brigham Young and Joseph Smith, for example, as the mantle passes. It was so much easier for the Saints to follow Brigham Young as their prophet because they had been following him for a long time when he was president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Uh his work with Zion's camp, his work during the exodus from Missouri, since Joseph was in Liberty Jail and couldn't help with any of that. Finding refuge in Illinois, that thank you, Brigham.

Uh so much of what uh of what he would do as president of the church he was well prepared to do and they'd seen it because he'd already done it before. Now there's a similar sense when it comes to David here. You're the same kid who slew Goliath, and we love you then.

That seems fitting too. If you think about the wilderness wanderings, if you think about times of purification and preparation. These forty years, seven and a half of them were in Hebron over just the tribe of Judah, and then thirty-three years were leading in the all the house of Israel.

as their king. Verse six then, the king and his men went to Jerusalem. Now this seemed to be the one unconquerable city during the the conquest of Canaan. You conquered most of most of the promised land, but ah that lone holdout He went to Jerusalem unto the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, which spake unto David, saying, Say they know their history of success also, except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither.

thinking David cannot come in hither. Now that's a tricky translation. A better one is it says this, you'll never get in here. Even the blind and the lame can keep you out. That's kind of what that's what they're getting across with that. Like you Joshua couldn't do it. No judge of Israel could do it. Do I really okay, okay. Yeah, you're the giant slayer. Big deal. We're bigger than that.

Okay, there's going to be no way. There's something again, I I mentioned this earlier when we learned that they could no one could conquer Jerusalem. Jerusalem for the Israelites ever since and for Jews today. It's the eternal city. Christians can be added to that mix of of fans of of Jerusalem. This place of inherent holiness, it was felt, directly beneath the heavenly throne of God. Well, how are we ever going to be able to establish a an earthly throne that lines up with the heavenly one?

Well, you're gonna have to d do something you've never done before. You're going to have to conquer the unconquerable. You're going to have to become someone you've never been. David, this is your chance to live up. this. this purpose. And he does. Jerusalem, as we'll see today, is where the temple's going to be. It seems fitting that temple ground would be that final and greatest conquest.

But David conquers it. We don't see much of the explanation, but it says in verse seven, Nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion, the same as the city of David. He did it. He conquered the unconquerable. Well, he's used to it by now. He did it to Goliath. He did it to uh he escaped Saul for all those years when Saul had an army behind him. He he can do these things. And then verse ten, David went on, and grew great. And the Lord God of hosts was with him. No wonder he grew great.

the source of true greatness was on his side. Verse eleven Hiram, King of Tyre, sent messengers to David, and cedar trees and carpenters and masons, and they built David and house. We're actually seeing now the foreshadowing of building the Lord a house because Hiram is going to help with that as well. We'll learn more about him later on. And David perceived that the Lord had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for his people, Israel's sake.

I love the ending there. This isn't about me. It's about my subjects, customer is king, as they say in business. For a ruler to feel that honestly, this my my ruler my rulership, my authority is simply meant to be a blessing to all of you. And if leaders honestly feel that and act upon it, then it will prove true. It will be for the best, for the sake of those that they lead. But I also love the phrase earlier, David perceives.

That the Lord had established him king over Israel. You think? Uh you've got the anointing oil on your head, okay? You've got the twelve tribes all behind you now. You made it. It's so weird. I'm starting to hit me that like I'm king. I'm perceiving Now, don't think that too odd. Haven't you ever had similar experiences?

Where maybe s a place that you've been for a long time suddenly kind of clicks, or not suddenly, gradually, you get to a point where it's starting to make sense that, no, I really am in a position where I can lead and help and serve and bless. And maybe even better is the perception Of what the Lord's been doing for a long, long time to get you there.

That's the sense I get from David here at the end of chapter five. It's starting to click in his mind and he's does he go back and l and rethink the David and Goliath story, like, wow, I duh. I think the Lord was preparing me for this. Going out and coming in among the people, no wonder he was preparing me for this, having so much reverence and respect for the Lord's anointed. Of course the Lord was preparing me to take this responsibility so carefully, seriously, sacredly.

Because now it's the position that I happen to hold. I really do think in that moment, David is having a long flashback through his whole life. as he starts to see the hand of God throughout, molding him, shaping him, preparing and pointing him forward. Date with destiny. I actually remember after a day of seminary teaching, I don't know, twenty years ago, having just a great experience with these high school kids. Loved them, still do. And just it c there was a connection.

And I was driving home from seminary and and just praying out loud in my car, just thanking Heavenly Father for a glorious day. I got to teach the gospel. You let me do that. I got to connect with students. You let me do that. And all of a sudden it's like the Lord hijacked the prayer. It's the best hijacking ever, because he knows what we should be thanking him for better than we do. And I found myself saying to heaven, Heavenly Father

Thank you for my high school experience, Miss Here I am surrounded by high school kids and unlike so many people that but it's high school is a d I would never go back, I had a just an amazing high school experience, incredible friends, wonderful teachers, great experiences. And I remember as in that prayer just saying the Heavenly Father, Thank you for helping me do well in sports. Thanks for letting me be a jock in high school, because guess what? Now I can relate to the jocks in my class.

And we can talk football or or other sports and just I can relate to them and give analogies that fit and all of a sudden even these guys that like, I don't care, like I guess I do. And I maybe the gospel's cool after all. And then I found myself saying, and thank you for the thanks for making me a nerd. Because so I can relate to the nerds in my class.

Uh I don't I don't think I use these terms by the way. Uh neither we we shouldn't. But it was just weird to kind of go through all these cliques and realize that in high school I didn't feel like I was in a click because maybe I was in all of them.

As I was just gushing and gr in gratitude of the high school experiences that I had in the context of my seminary teaching world. It's as if the spirit whispered to me, Of course I blessed you in high school. I knew you were going to be in high school for a long, long time. I know I've been in college for a long, long time. And I'm grateful for the experiences God gave me there too, just for the chance to connect with God's children.

I wish I could do a better job of it. But I pray, my friends, that we come to have experiences where we look at our past. and perceive our present. And we realize that as we'll see in the story of Esther, maybe, just maybe, God did prepare me for such a time as this. In whatever sphere, whatever circle of influence we happen to be in, may we do a little more perceiving. That's my prayer.

The this beautiful chapter that ends with the Philistines coming back for some more battles. They just can't get enough of it. They attack. The Lord or David seeks the Lord's direction, wise thing to do. He knows exactly how to defend himself and he pushed back the Philistines and went. That happens twice by the end of that chapter. But now that things have settled down a bit, Uh nothing like attacking a king right like uh on the day of his coronation, but ah darn it he's

This really is still the same kid that defeated Goliath years ago. We we just should let th let sleeping dogs lie. But now that things are a little sleepier, a little more peaceful, the first thought that David has is The only reason I've been pursuing peace is I want there to be a place of peace. For the Prince of Peace himself. I want to build a temple.

I want to to make this city of David, this city of Zion, a place of real holiness. I want city of Enoch 2.0. I want it here on earth, but I want it to reach as close to heaven as we can make it. So can we do this?

He tries in chapter six. He's conquered Jerusalem, he's established Zion as the city of David, and he wants to bring the Ark of the Covenant there. I'm clearing out space so that God can have a home, so let's bring the Ark. In verse three, they set the Ark of God upon a new cart. and brought it out of the house of Abinadab that was in Gibeah. And Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the new cart.

Now we saw when uh weird story, remember uh w the Emorods and the golden mice and all these strange things, when the Philistines had conquered because Israel thought that the ark was God instead of pointing them to him. They cared about the ark and not about the covenant, so they only had the box and not the God that it was pointing them to. And so it's conquered by the Philistines and they keep it, but then they return it on a cart. It's time to bring it home.

Well, what happens? This is a very famous story. Let's try to make sense of it. Verse 7, the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah. What what for trying to help? And God smote him there for his error, and there he died by the ark of God. Yikes. Now what did he what had he done wrong? I I was just trying to help.

But what was happening, he was steadying the arc, and that has become a phrase, um a metaphor, uh that describes any time someone tries to Oh, put they stick their head into business that isn't theirs, some would say it that way, or to correct to those in positions of authority. To push back against prophets, for example, and say you're leading the kingdom incorrectly, you're doing this all wrong, and my way would be so much superior to yours.

It's interesting because I think when we're young we view the church as absolutely perfect. And the Ark of God would never wobble. It would never tip. uh it's absolutely perfect. Uh and then as we grow up and grapple with our own humanity and start to see other people's humanity, we realize that there's even humanity in people that are called by divinity. To be their very best self.

And so sometimes we think, come on, Bishop, there's a better way to run this. Or my stake president is this or that. I never feel that, by the way. Love you, love you, uh Bishop Williams, love you, President of Car. Uh what's interesting though is sometimes people will do it on a bigger scale of the the prophets are not prophetic and they're leading the church in the wrong direction. And so I'm going to put my hand in and try to correct things. And Uzza becomes your ultimate cautionary tale.

Now, what again is the challenge here? And the real, I think, concern I would raise also is so do I never speak up? It's like uh there's a contrary here, a Goldilocks zone we're gonna have to try to find, of being proactive and speaking up. I think actually the one of the best places to see it is last year in the Doctrine and Covenants when we have the revelations to the counselors in the first president. When it says things like, be faithful in counsel, so speak up, give your very best advice.

Well, but isn't that steady in the ark? Well no, not if you do the second part, which is stand in the office to which you've been appointed. It's like if you're a counselor, then counsel. Speak up, but also you're only, quote unquote, a counselor. You're not the one that's going to have to make the final decision and live with those consequences.

So to me there's something about that fine line of yes, being speaking the truth, but in kindness, uh being bold but not overbearing, uh opening your mouth but also opening your ears and your heart. I have found in my own experience because In fact, now that I mention it, I wonder if some of my colleagues uh or direct or ser supervisors might wonder is Jared uh an arc steadier? Because I do speak up uh and say, I wonder if we could do this or I wonder if this

Uh if we change this, this might be. I'm I'm pretty vocal in those kinds of things. I try to be a fixer, what can I say? Not always successfully. W I think what allows me to do that is my colleagues and supervisors know of my absolute loyalty. To the kingdom of God and my absolute love for the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints.

the earthly repository of that. That is it is the ark. It's not the covenant. The covenant is higher and holier than that. The covenant is Christ. The covenant is God. their promises, their relationship with us. But the church is an incredible box. to convey it, to deliver it to people. And if I can prove my love and loyalty. then I I'm I'm amazed at how open people are to I want to hear where you're coming from.

Now that's a lot to get out of just this weird story of Ouza. I want to get a little bit more close to the actual account. That discussion was more for how how do we navigate this ourselves when we see things we'd love to change.

Sometimes actually God calls you on it and puts you into the next position of leadership and it's like, okay, if you still think that's the best idea, go for it. But make sure you're counseling with your counselors and get the big picture, just like your predecessor was trying to do. Okay? Might be some poetic justice there. But here's something bigger to me as far as the immediate context is concerned.

It said there that they put the ark in a cart and Oza was driving it. I don't know if he and his buddy were taking turns and is like, Okay, I'm gonna walk alongside or this is a little tricky part and be careful with the oxen up there and like, ooh, care oh and then we Or I put my hand and steadied it. Well, the real problem to me is not steadying the ark. It was

putting the arc into a position where it would need to be steadied like that in the first place. And what I mean by that is What on earth is the Ark doing in a cart? That's what the Philistines did. It's not what the Israelites are supposed to do. Go back to Exodus. Go back to Joshua. What do you how do you move the Ark of the Covenant? You do not farm it out to farm animals. You do not delegate to beasts of burden, you carry it yourself, Levites.

And I don't know if Uzzah is a Levite, but even if he is, you're supposed to be bearing the burden on your own shoulder. You remember the high priest with those precious stones on the shoulder with the six names of on each twelve tribes of Israel? I'm here to bear your burdens, that they may be light. And I'm here to minister before the Lord and bear the burdens that God places upon me. He will strengthen the back. But it's not something we stick on a cart and let the oxen take care of.

To me, the biggest breakthrough as I've sp studied and pondered this is that idea of We end up trying to steady the art usually when we should have been burying it beforehand. We should I'll I'll give you another example. In the Book of Mormon, when Nephi's building a ship and Laman and Lemuel come and start complaining about it. You're the biggest idiot. I can't believe you think this is gonna work. This is no

And the irony there is they're complaining about a construction project that they're not participating in. You sense that irony? I think it was Elder Maxwell or perhaps someone else that was talking about people who complain about the youths of tithing when they're not contributing any tithing to the cause. uh or are frustrated with the way someone is serving in the ward or the stake when that per the person complaining isn't doing much serving in the ward or stake themselves.

And that's not always the case, but I have found that by and large we complain about ships we're not constructed. And one of the best ways to overcome that sense of complaint or criticism is to roll up your sleeves, to round up your backs and to begin bearing por a portion of the burden. You'll be amazed, number one, at how easier how how much easier it is to control the arc. Cause you're'cause you're carrying it.

Uh it doesn't slip and fall'cause you have all these people that are there and side by side. You're, you know, in single file, you're there holding the ark itself. I love that about war council. I love that about serving in a presidency or a bishop break. There's something about shouldering a burden together. Where you feel it, it's right there. You're a little more agile, you're a little less likely to slip.

I don't want to beat a dead horse, or in this case a fallen oxen or a fallen ox driver. But I do hope that we see in this. A call to to fully participate in building the kingdom of God. I have a feeling down deep that as we do so There won't be much arc steadying.

We'll be be we'll be close enough to the covenant. that will know exactly how to carry it, how to shoulder it, and how to move it to its eventual destination, which is exactly what happens in these subsequent uh in the subsequent verses. In verse nine, David is concerned about this.

He's afraid of the Lord that day, and said, How shall the ark of the Lord come to me? So David would not remove the ark of the Lord unto him into the city of David. But David carried it aside into the house of Obed Edom the Gittite. In other words, whoa, if I guess I did a bad thing. I w I wasn't supposed to bring the ark here because this guy's trying to help and look what happened to him. I really see David here wrestling with his story the same as you and I have.

Uh like what did he do wrong? He was only trying to help. And that's all I'm doing. I'm only trying to help. So God, what's up with this? What's up with you? I'm afraid of you right now. How on earth am I gonna bring this anything? And what I love here is You're you've misinter You were perceptive last chapter. You're a little less perceptive here, David. This wasn't about me.

This is about Uzzah. It was about doing things correctly and bearing the burden as you should. So don't let God's justice scare you away. I'm not being capricious. Like I thought it was good, but he was it was I guess God's in a bad mood today. No. I'm being just as always, and I'm merciful as always too. So it's not about me having a good or bad day. It's about you doing things righteously or not so righteously. You you can you can bank on my responses to those.

And in fact, he's gonna show it because how is Obed Edom treated? In some ways it's like, I got stuck with the hot potato? Yikes, right? I don't want Emirods, I don't want to be struck down by God. Uh w w what's gonna happen? Well, having the ark there in his household. ends up blessing them incredibly. It's like this is the best thing that ever happened to us. It's like God, the presence of God is here, or at least the box that reminds us of it. And for us to have God in constant remembrance.

How can you not help but be blessed when that's the case? David hears about this. They say to him in verse twelve, The Lord hath blessed the house of Obedam, and all that pertaineth unto it, because of the ark of God. So David went and brought up the Ark of God from the house of Obed Edom into the city of David with gladness. It's like okay, so it wasn't about God being harsh or kind, it was about us being obedient or disobedient. Let's do this in the obedient way.

And just as the Ark's presence allowed God to bless that small house, the Ark's presence in the capital of Israel can bless all of Israel as a.

So that's what they do. Verse thirteen. It was so that when they that bear the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, so they that bear the ark Ah, you're doing it right this time. You learn from your mistake, that's good. Six paces. So number one, they're not letting the oxcart carry it. But number two, we're barely even going to begin this journey again. before we turn it all over to God. That's what happens next. He sacrificed oxen and fatlings.

The oxen are meant to be our sacrifices, not our beasts of burden. And David danced before the Lord. With all his might, David was girded with a linen ephode. David is overcome by so much emotion that he just has to glory in his At times that will come forth in talking smack to a Philistine.

And defeating an enemy army. Other times it will come yeah through s the still small voice of spiritual music. Here it's the dance, and he is dancing with all his might. He just can't keep it in. But someone sees this. And misinterprets it. Sadly it's David's own wife, Michal, Michael, Saul's daughter, remember that Abner had brought back for him. She sees David dancing, and in verse 16, she despised him in her heart.

You ever seen someone else in the way they respond to the Holy Ghost and you think it's inappropriate? David doesn't feel it's inappropriate. She does though. And so when he gets home, she scolds him, and you can just sense the sarcasm dripping off her tongue. Verse twenty, how glorious was the king of Israel today, who uncovered himself today in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself.

You dancing around in your little linen ephod, this robe, dancing with all your might? What are you trying to expose yourself? I don't know, physically or just exposing yourself to their their scorn. That's what I felt. You were embarrassing today. You embarrassed me. Now the the tragedy here is that's that wasn't David's intent. It certainly wasn't his that's not what he was feeling at all. No, I was just Honey, I didn't care what people thought of me. I was moved by the Spirit to just

Rejoice in the God of my salvation. And and if you think that was over the top, just wait till you start reading the book of Psalms. No, I d if you thought my the psalm of mourning and lamentation for Saul and Jonathan was was intense. Just wait for my for my Psalms of Praise. And we'll we get to read a hundred and fifty. They weren't all by David, but the Psalms are amazing. Okay. I will sing, I will dance, I will weep. I am an emotional person and I I lean into those

That's what David's saying. In some ways it reminds me of Aaron chastening Ammon after their missions among the Lamanites, and say, Well, careful, careful, little brother, I think you are boasting And Ammon's like, you better believe I am, but I'm not boasting in me. I'm boasting in my God. Look at what he's done and what he's done through us. That's incredible. And here David feels all of that.

The w the way she says it, you were uncovered. Talk about irony. I picture David responding, No, no, my love. It I was so covered. Covered by the mercy seat, the lid on the Ark of the Covenant. covered by the tender mercies of the Lord, there's the the tent of covering, the tabernacle that's now going to become a temple in my own city, in God's own city.

Oh, we've I've never felt more covered in all my life. Covering was the word for atonement, recall. And we are going to be covered by by the atonement of Christ, of the God of Israel. And verse twenty one, David responds to her, It was before the Lord, so it wasn't before the people. I wasn't doing it to be seen of men. I don't care what they think. It was before the Lord which chose me before thy father

And before all his house to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel. So I'm not going to do it your your way, I'm going to do it mine. Therefore will I play, and the word there is better translated, celebrate before the Lord. And I will yet be more vile than thus. So honey, you ain't seen nothing yet. You think I was happy today. Just wait till the temple itself is finished. I will be base in mine own sight.

Sounds a little like when Saul was little in his own eyes. David's willing to be that. And of the maidservants which thou hast spoken of, he David keeps saying, of them shall I be had in honor. Oh lowering yourself in appropriate ways once you realize how exalted God happens to be. There's no comparison. There's true joy that bursts forth in dance. How can I keep from singing? Famous song. David might add a verse, How can I keep from dancing? I d I just I'm so grateful. In some ways

If you think about temple dedications, and again, they're bringing the ark in, we're moving in this direction, David won't be able to do it, but Solomon will. What do we do at temple dedications? We move our bodies. We lift our voice. We allow the the physical to rejoice alongside the spiritual, and we participate in what we call the Hosanna Shout. Now, sadly, in many of the temple dedications I've participated in.

I look around and see people looking around nervously. Like, are we really doing this?'Cause it seems so out of character. We're so Puritan at church. Okay. We're just th this is we're qu quiet and reverent and that's good. Those are good. But when it's a time to rejoice and Do we let ourselves? We'll sing and we'll shout with the armies of heaven. That's the song they sang before that original Hosenna shout in Kirtland.

But I sometimes look or see it or hear it or experience it as more of a Hosanna whisper. or a Hosanna awkward of participation. When when I'll I'll put it this way, Lorenzo Snow was tasked with the Hosanna Shout during the dedication of the the Salt Lake Temple. And in eighteen in eighteen ninety three when the Solid Temple was dedicated, that was after forty years of labor started in 1853. And a whole generation had grown up watching the the stones.

Stack, watching the temple rise, and you want to talk about pent up emotion forty years worth. When Lorenzo Snow explained how the Xana shout was supposed to proceed, he told them basically, give it all you got. And they did. According to some spectators or some participants, I should say, they said you could hear the the shouting echoing off the mountains. Can you imagine that?

That's real rejoicing. Uh so no more Hosanna mumble. It doesn't have to be a Hosanna scream or Hosanna shriek. No, there is a a strong reverence. That's an interesting paradox. But it's a beautiful thing to be a part of. When you know that it's We're inviting God to come in to his home.

That's what David's hoping for. You see that desire in chapter seven, I just want to build God a house to call his own. In verse one it came to pass when the king sat in his house, and the Lord had given him rest roundabout from all his enemies. That the king said unto Nathan the prophet, now we don't know much about Nathan, we don't have his backstory, but he is God's prophet at this time period, and what Samuel was to Saul here and what Samuel was to David, now Nathan is to David.

And David comes to him and says, See now I dwell in an house of cedar. Hiram of Tyre helped build this beautiful place for me, but the Ark of God dwelleth within curtains. It's in a in a tent in the tabernacle. And Nathan said to the king, Okay, I see where you're coming from, go, do all that is in thine heart, for the Lord is with thee.

David had a house of rest. What about God? He deserves a house of rest. And now that he's given rest to all of us, a time of peace, no better time to move forward and give the Prince of Peace a place to call his own. Nathan's response is an interesting one though, where he just says, Oh yeah, I I get it. I see where you're coming from. I I can already tell what you want to do.

Awesome desire, very righteous desire. And the Lord is with you, so go act on it. I trust the spirit that has been giving you these impressions all this time of I just want to build a temple to God.

But notice the Lord's response. This is real this is fascinating to me. Verse four and five. It came to pass that night that the word of the Lord came unto Nathan, saying, Go and tell my servant David, thus saith the Lord. And then it's this long message. It's everything from verse five through verse sixteen. It starts with this: Shalt thou build me an house for me to dwell in? And here's the Lord's response to David's.

hope, his intention. What we saw in the first few verses was Nathan's response. Now we're going to see the Lord's response, and ironically, it wasn't the one that Nathan assumed it to be. Which lets you know, wait a minute, wait, Nathan was wrong? And in a way, David was wrong to desire it? I wouldn't say that. But Nathan did jump to a conclusion prematurely.

And yes, he's a prophet, but yes, he's a human, and so let's cut him some slack. And what but what I love about it is this assumption on his part. David's a good guy. He's got the spirit of the Lord with him. The Lord is with thee, he says. And David's got a heart of gold. We saw that back in 1 Samuel 16, and young David, just as good as they come, a heart like his, like God's. And so giving God a house to call his own? Who would say no to that?

And you've got this king that's willing and able and wanting to do it, then move forward full speed ahead. But the but the Lord is going to reign in Nathan.

So Nathan can then go reign in David. Actually it reminds me of Moses at the banks of the Red Sea, when he says to the people, stand still and see the salvation of God. And God's like, uh nice try. Good intent. You got your wires crossed. Don't look at me, look at them. And don't tell them to stand still, tell them to march forward. There's a similar course correction here. And I think if we're open to the Spirit's guidance, then we should be open to the spirit spirit's continued guidance.

Uh if we're open to his course, then hopefully we're open to his course correction. Well Nathan, what? So he keeps going. Verse six. The Lord says to him, Whereas I have not dwelt in any house since the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle, so so far it's been portability over permanence.

Uh it's better for a people that are on the move. Uh I'm willing to oh adjust my circumstances to meet the needs and circumstances of my people. So if Israel is on the move, then God I'm I want to be on the move so I can be with them. We're headed towards our promised land, so a a portable tabernacle is is the best possible thing. So far so good. It's I haven't complained a bit about my living quarters, okay?

In verse seven he says, In all the places wherein I have walked with all the children of Israel, spake I a word with any of the tribes of Israel whom I commanded to feed my people Israel, saying, Why build ye not me an house of cedar? What the Lord's saying here. Uh have I did I ever ask for this? I mean, I know David really wants to give me the gift, the the uh the ultimate offering. I didn't ask for it. Okay. I've had prophets and and judges from Moses on down and

Not a single time did I tell any one of them, What do you do in building your own houses when I don't have one? No, I I did have one. And the tabernacle was sufficient for me. I think sometimes in our seeking to do God's will, we need to understand not just what He's told us to do, but sometimes what He hasn't told us.

Um and not that we have to be compelled in all things. That's not what I'm saying. The power is in us. We're agents unto ourselves. David was acting like an agent. Nathan was acting like an agent. But here God is reigning them in, saying, actually, no, that's not what I want you to do. Awesome goal. We'll get there.

Sorry, history, prophecy, I get him mixed up. He will write it down six hundred years from now. Uh, and that's the version that I want to help guide the people through the last days. Okay, it's gonna be richly symbolic. You're a little too straightforward. You glory in plainness. I don't want to be that plain about the last days'cause it might

Defeat some purposes I have in mind. Okay? As far as faith is concerned. So uh hold off and let somebody it's a good thing. What your goal was righteous. You had a good idea. It's just I'm not asking you to do it. I want someone else to do it. And sometimes honoring the Lord's will is honoring the Lord's timing. And sometimes it's honoring the Lord's choice as far as who is he delegating what portion of it to.

I've said this before that the the building up of the kingdom of God is such a long process that it outlives everyone except its original offer. Which means God, who is the author and finisher of our faith, is the only one there present long enough to deserve the credit. Okay? The rest of us only take the wheel for a turn or two. And I think we see that beautifully in in presidents of the church in our day.

And things that Joseph Smith did, uh, but other things that he didn't do and that waited for Wilfred Woodruff, for example, or Lorenzo Snow. or things that President Hinckley hoped for but weren't accomplished until President Nelson, for example, or just different approaches because of different circumstances on the ground and It's a beautiful thing to see that yes, on the one hand, prophets are men for all seasons. To borrow that beautiful phrase.

Uh they are each one is a man for all seasons, but they each man is also a man for his season, first and foremost. And this is the portion of the project I have assigned. Keep going now. Verse 8, the Lord continues to to Nathan. Now therefore so shalt thou say unto my servant David. So all these things I didn't tell you. Here's what I am telling you. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcoat.

From following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel. And I was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies out of thy sight, and have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great men that are. Notice the Lord's focus there is on David's humble beginnings. In fact, his shepherd beginnings.

We saw that in the battle of David and Goliath. So much was focused on David's role as a good shepherd. You were that when you were young. You're still that now that you're old. You have a much larger flock, and it's people rather than sheep. But I chose you before you had any of that. I chose you when you didn't care. You were out in the fields keeping watch over your flocks by night. Uh you didn't have a roof over your head for much of the time. And you were okay with it? I was okay with it.

I certainly hope that Israel has been okay with me just living in the tent of testimony. So don't don't worry. I d I'm okay with my humble beginnings. I was okay with yours as well. There's even a hint there of I was with you then, I'm still with you now. And that's important to realize when we sometimes get a course correction from God. Sometimes we second guess those beginnings.

We second guess the impressions like I guess I was totally wrong in all of that. I wasn't supposed to care about building God a house. No, no, no. I I planted those seeds too. I just want someone that they're gonna grow up on somebody else's watch. Just because you have a course correction doesn't mean you were wrong before. the the goal might have been inspired, the the direction came from God.

The implementation, though, is something he's waiting on. Does that make sense? Uh I I hope that we're okay for that uh past, present, and future as God leads us along every step of the way.

In verse 10, he goes on, moreover, I will appoint a place for my people Israel. There again, there's that confirmation. You were right about your goal, just you weren't clear on my timetable. So I will appoint a place for my people Israel. I will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more. Neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as before time.

You see, priorities will shift from the portable to the permanent. The day will come, in fact, we're right just about there, that peace will reign and the people can be planted right where they are. Thank you, David, in fact, for helping to establish that. That's actually your role. I needed to give you a goal as glorious as the temple, to get you moving in that direction.

It's like Moses, you're a you've been fixated on the promised land the whole time. That's good. You're just not the one that's going to get there. That one's for Joshua. David, you are establishing peace. Thank God. your son will actually build the place of peace. In fact his name's going to be Solomon, which comes from Shalom, Shalomo is how you say it. So Shalom, his name is Peace.

You've been a man of war and it a necessary evil, but to bring in the peace that Shlomo, Shalom, Solomon himself will be able to to enjoy? How you've done your part in beautiful ways. Now the day will come where they're planted, and then the temple will grow. I actually love the thought of

Portable times in our lives versus permanent times of our lives, or portable parts of the gospel, the kinds that can pick up and move, they're a little light on their feet. They might be here today and gone tomorrow. programs are often like that, versus the permanent things in the gospel of Jesus Christ, these eternal doctrines that will never change.

How's this for a chart for you visual learners? Put the portable on one side and the permanent on the other, and you have tabernacle versus temple. You have Liahona versus iron rod. Ironrod's the permanent one, right? Fixed in the ground somehow. Liahona, oh, it's changin' and Spindles are moving and words are are altering all along the way. On the portable side there's the programs of the church, but on the permanent side there's the principles of the gospel.

You could even differentiate it as policy on the one hand and doctrine on the other. Portable, there's a full-time mission. Permanent, there's a lifetime of dedicated discipleship. Portable callings that come and go, but permanent consecration. That's that's actually what keeps me fixed in the non-fixed side. I'm gonna stay here no matter how much it it changes because my commitment to Christ.

Change. That's what consecration is all about. Even with the ebbs and flows of responsibility and the comings and goings of of callings or of places or Whatever it might be. There it to me it's a beautiful contrary to try to balance the portable and the permanent. And the Lord knows just when you need to shift in either direction. Now keep going. Verse twelve the Lord's

Inspiration continues to Nathan. When thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seat after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. Some successes will be left to your successors. Your desires were righteous, David, and they will be fulfilled. They'll be fulfilled through your son.

That makes me actually wonder if David's even more excited about that. Like, whoa, that sounds awesome. Share the wealth, pass the baton, and let Oh my posterity perform what I'd always been preparing myself and them for. I thy ways are higher than my ways, God. That sounds well that sounds great. Now something else about Solomon here, verse fourteen. I will be his father, he shall be my son, if he commit iniquity. Oh Yikes, did you have to say that? There's some sad foreshadowing, and he will.

But the Lord says, If it happens, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men, but my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. Now that's interesting because in some ways you can picture David going, But Saul committed iniquity and you took the kingdom away from him and put gave it to me. What if my son commits iniquity? Well in his case I'll continue to show mercy. Now is God being fickle here? No.

He's a perfect prover of contraries, especially the justice and mercy one. His perfect judgment balances the two. The problem with Saul, evidently, was that the center of gravity shifted to the side of justice to the point that justice demanded that he lose the kingdom. Whereas in in Solomon's case, the center of gravity, for himself at least, will remain on the site of mercy,

And we'll see that by the end of this week's material. Okay. The kingdom's gonna split after his reign is already over. It'll stays it'll stay with him as long as he's there, okay? Keep going in verse sixteen, and thine house and thy kingdom shall be established forever before thee. Thy throne shall be established forever. And like I said, next week we'll see the aftermath of Solomon's reign. And it doesn't seem to happen that way, which actually means then that this prophecy

is not a literal fulfillment in terms of the Davidic dynasty being passed down and unbroken, but rather, let me show you the real son of David. Let me show you the true heir to the throne. And that is That is Jesus Christ. And his house will be established forever. His kingdom will be an eternal. The kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our God and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever. Handel's Messiah said it said it well.

Verse 18, then went King David in. So he's received this word. He's heard it from his priesthood leader. This gentle course correction, and notice how he responds to it. He sat before the Lord. It seems like he's trying to wrap his head around this new direction. Like, was I wrong? I didn't I guess, but not totally. What and I'm just gonna sit with this for a while,'cause this is coming like news. I always thought I'd be the one to build the temple.

So let me just sit with this for a while. And I and I'm grateful that God gives us the chance to do that, to recalibrate and get our bearings and like, was I wrong? Was I right? Well, I guess yes and no on both and And where do I go from here? As he's sitting there before the Lord, David says, Who am I, O Lord God? And what is thy house that thou hast brought me hitherto? Now I don't think this is the who am I of inadequacy. Instead, I think it's the who am I of humility and of gratitude.

Not like well of course, yeah, who am I to think that I could do such a thing? It's like, no, who am I to realize that God honored that righteous desire and planted it in me so deeply that I would do anything to get to that point? And then to know that he's going to fulfill it through my son, that this is a project that will outlive me and be bigger than me, and I can't believe you would you would use me. To put to push forward thy work.

This is a beautiful who am I? This is a beautiful what is thy house. He goes on, and this was yet a small thing in thy sight, O Lord God, small for you, huge for me. But thou hast spoken also of thy servant's house for a great while to come and Is this the manner of man, O Lord God? Now that last line is really hard to translate. So I looked up like every alternate that I could find and there's so many different possibilities and they don't all agree with each other.

But I think if you sense the spirit of what David is saying there, then some of these other translations will help make sense of that, that this is the manner of man, O Lord God. The New International Version says, And this decree, sovereign lord, is for a mere human like again, mind blowing that you'd give this word, this promise to little old me.

Or the New Living Translation, do you deal with everyone this way, O sovereign Lord? I love that one too. Like, you really work with our human desires and you sanctify them and extend them and make it work and bless us beyond what we could imagine? Is that really how you do things? In the English Standard Version, and this is instruction for mankind, O Lord God. Are we all learning something from this lesson? Or the New American Standard Bible, and this is the custom of mankind, Lord God.

I'm thinking that we all have to do it ourselves, but it's bigger than us, and later generations can continue the process. Or this one from the contemporary English version. Is this the way you usually treat people? I just love that. Again, this disbelief, like. You I'm blown away by the generosity.

It is so far beyond anything I expected. That's the sense I get from David here. So beautiful. In verse 20, he continues, And what can David say more unto thee? For thou, Lord God, knowest thy servant. I'm just going to close my mouth, because my jaw just keeps dropping in awe. He says in the next verse, For thy word's sake And according to thine own heart hast thou done all these great things to make thy servants know them. Seeing the greatness of God, of his word, of his heart.

It leaves David speechless, which is saying something considering all the psalms that he wrote. It's just Wow, all these great things. Verse twenty two he goes on in his praise Wherefore thou art great, O Lord God?

For there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears. And what one nation in the earth is like thy people, even like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself, And to make him a name, and to do for you great things and terror. There's nothing like thee, O God. There's nothing like thy people, Israel.

I hope people feel that when they come to know the God we worship, when they come to see the church that we belong to. I hope that we're not saying these kinds of things in pride, but rather in a way that we that we live up to this and that people will come and and realize You you're everything actually you're above and beyond anything I expected. Do investigators feel that when they after they've met the missionaries and actually start meeting us members, or is it kind of a letdown?

Uh, do they come back to the missionaries and say, False advertising? This isn't Zion. Or do they come in and think these people, yeah, they're not perfect, but they're as good as gold. They're trying. And they're gonna help me try as well. I I hope that they feel this way. If not, then what m misperceptions do we need to clear up? What can we do to change about our s to change ourselves?

So the people actually feel this way. Then in verse twenty five, David adds, And now, O Lord God, the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant, and concerning his house. establish it for ever, and do as thou hast said, What I love about the end of this prayer is a a complete, absolute

Oh, unconditional acceptance of God's will, but more than just acceptance. It's he's applauding, he's grateful, he's in awe of it. And I think honestly, once we understand God's will, it's so much easier to accept it. Once we know that God's ways are not just different than our ways, but higher than our ways, better than our ways. Then boy is it easy to submit and go wow you had a way better plan.

I've said this before that often it's a prayer I've offered of Heavenly Father, thank you for not listening to me. Thank you for not convincing my wife to marry me as early as I wanted it to happen. It was better to have to wait. Thank you for not giving us children as soon as we wanted to have them. We learned incredible things through that period of infert infertility.

Thanks for sending me to Nashville instead of the places I had dreamed of going,'cause it was better than the places I intended for myself. I love what David is was doing here. I appreciate that your plan was different than mine. In fact, I'm so excited for it. I felt that when I was called to Nashville. Uh I told the secretary I uh secretary I was working with, if the church called me back and said, actually your first choice just opened up. You can have it if you want it.

I would call him, I'd say, I'd say, no. I know I'm supposed to be in Nashville. It's better than the plans I made for myself. And that's that's the realization that David has.

So how where do we go? Where do we go from this point of just rejoicing? Chapter eight, David is okay, so I'm not gonna build the temple. What I all of my eggs were in that basket and I was preparing and ready to go and Okay, I've still got energy and desire and consecration. What what do you want? And again, it's this sense of, well, then set up my son for success, set up my successor to be able to do the things that God

wants done, but doesn't want me to do. So let's try this. And in chapter eight, David continues to extend his kingdom. I want to establish peace in the land, so my son, peace personified, that can build the place of peace. CHAPTER eight verse one. After this it came to pass that David smote the Philistines, and subdued them. So cross them off the enemy list. Verse two He smote Moab and measured them with a lion.

Basically executing those on one side of the line and sparing those on the other. Verse five, he defeats the Syrians and takes their gold as spoils of war. It's just he's marching around taking out enemy after enemy through this chapter. Verse ten, there's other nations that instead of Uh please don't destroy us, can we offer you tribute instead? Oh, sure. This sounds a lot like plundering the riches of Egypt, which was meant to make tabernacle furnishings

this might come in handy. And so sure enough, uh they are offering silver and and bronze and gold and and all of the things that they're going to need. Again, what the decision to make, do I make a tabernacle or a bolt a golden calf? Do I build God a house or build myself one? Here's some foreshadowing for Solomon later on. But notice this in verse eleven. Which also King David did dedicate unto the Lord.

with the silver and gold that he had dedicated of all nations which he subdued, of Syria, of Moab, of the children of Ammon and the Philistines, and of Amalek, and of the spoil of Hadadezer, son of Rehob, King of Zoba, which is an Aramaean kingdom, northeast of Israel. Notice that he is conquering kingdoms, he's subduing kingdoms, and the wealth of those kingdoms is pouring into Israel's coffers.

not to enrich Israel alone, but to build God a house through which his blessings could flow to all nations. Yes, we gather Israel, but Israel is supposed to gather everyone else, right? The chosen are meant to go choose everyone else to be chosen alongside them. That's our purpose. And that's all happening. This I see as Well I see this echoed in S Doctrine and Covenants one twenty four.

When Joseph Smith is trying to establish a Zion, well, not where originally intended in Missouri, but they're on the banks of the Mississippi, and at least we're gonna build a temple here, and the Nauvoo temple is going to be glorious. He says in ver in section 124, verse 11, Awake, O kings of the earth, come ye, O come ye with your gold and your silver to the help of my people, to the house of the daughters of Zion.

It's essentially what David was saying to all of these kingdoms he was subduing. Come help. Section one hundred twenty four goes on, says in twenty six and twenty seven, Come ye, with all your gold and your silver and your precious stones, and with all your antiquities, with all who have knowledge of antiquities that will come, may come.

And bring the box tree, the fir tree, the pine tree, together with all the precious trees of the earth, with iron, with copper, with brass, with zinc, with all your precious things of the earth. Why? To build a house to my name, for the most high to dwell therein.

That's what we're trying to do. That's what we're inviting the world to help us with. That's actually what I love about what David is doing. I'm dedicating these things. To build the kingdom of God, that's gonna end up blessing the entire world. So n of course I want to invite the world to participate, to make a contribution. It's gonna come back to bless you, believe me.

Can we do that as members of the church? Do we see the surrounding kingdoms, whether those are nations other than our own, whether those are better yet, religions? That we aren't a part of, other denominations within Christianity, non-Christian religions, just good people of faith of whatever flavor that faith might be. Do we see that they have things to offer us? Not us. They have things to offer God and God's kingdom, which is bigger than solely the Church of Jesus Christ at least.

I think there's something powerful. In fact, this has become one of my favorite verses lately. Ephesians chapter 1, verse 10, where it says that in the dispensation of the fullness of time, that he might gather together in one all things in Christ. In David's case, Israel doesn't have enough gold and silver and bronze and all the good trees and everything else that we're gonna need to build God a house. But surrounding nations do, and they can contribute.

Orson F. Whitney said, there's too much work to do on the world for just the Latter-day Saints to do it. So of course God's going to use all kinds of churches and faiths and and peoples. And he does. He always has. And for us to have the openness of to invite their participation. That's why I love Ephesians 1. The dispensation of the fullness of times. That's ours. And if we are the custodians of this final dispensation, then what's our job?

It's this dispensation's job, which is what? To gather in one all things in Christ. So to gather the the gold and the silver of the Aramaeans and the and the Moabites and the and everyone else. Or in our case, to gather together the truths that God has revealed throughout time and throughout the earth. that other churches live so beautifully. I think we have a lot of gathering to do. And I see David doing just that, with the temple as its ultimate goal.

I hope that I I hope that is you sense a desire to be more inviting uh and more grateful for the goodness. To smell the flowers in other people's gardens. That's amazing. Leave you some room for holy envy. We'll see that again in today in this week's material. Well the borders of Israel are expanding, and in verse fourteen of chapter eight, the Lord preserved David whithersoever he went.

I guess Goliath had a physical shield bearer. That's all right. David has a spiritual bodyguard. He's been with him everywhere he's he's gone. And David reigned over all Israel. And David executed judgment and justice unto all his people. Not he's not just a Judahite anymore. He's the king of Israel. And every tribe sees in him someone that he can someone that they connect to, someone that has their best interests at heart.

In a recent talk L President Nelson gave a list of his identities as he was talking to the growing the rising generation about identities that they sometimes struggle with or argue over. And he said the big one is I'm a child of God. The big one is I'm a child of the covenant. The big one is I'm a disciple of Jesus Christ. All those other ones, surgeon or doctor or

I mean there's some really important ones, husband-father, for example, but the professional ones, uh and in his long list, the last one he mentioned was American, which is interesting. And I thought, ah yes, he's the prophet of God to the world. And trying to bless all of God's children everywhere. And that's what David is doing here for the entire house of Israel, reigning over all. And then the rest of the chapter, he describes some other authorities to whom he delegates responsibility.

Soldiers, scribes, Uh priests and so on. Now chapter nine then David he's established his own house Ah, but what about the house of Saul? I'm not trying to eclipse him, I'm not trying to step on toes, even though he tried to crush mine. This is a good shepherd. Worried even about lost sheep.

And so David wants to honor the house of Saul. Still loves his enemy, still doesn't see them as enemies at all. And in chapter 9, verse 1, David says, Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake? Especially for dear Jonathan. I I just want a way to honor others, even those that have been that are lost or have been left behind. Can I bless their posterity in some way? Oh more than flowers at the funeral.

How can I love those that they love and are no longer here to to help show that love to quite so directly? Well, David finds out from one of Saul's former servants that one of Jonathan's sons is still alive. Now there's some strange names here. Remember Saul had a son named Ish Bosheth? Well Jonathan had a son named Mephi Bosheth. Uh, the name means from the mouth of shame, which seems strange. It can also mean a destroyer of shame or some kind of

shame idol breaker. So that that's a a better kind of name, an image breaker, an idol breaker. We don't know really anything about him, other than the fact he's Jonathan's son, and that he is lame, In both of his feet. He just can't walk. In an earlier chapter, it gave just a quick verse about him that said when he was five years old and his father and grandfather were off in battle and being killed and his nurse grabs this five year old child and starts running away in all of the confusion.

But they end up falling and he uh and he becomes lame in both of his feet. I don't know if he broke his feet or his legs and they never healed correctly, but he he can't walk. Uh but un that that's that's great. That's exactly the kind of person that could use a little extra help in in David's mind. And so he sends for Mephibosheth and has him brought to the palace.

David says to him in verse seven, Fear not. When Mephibosheth first comes, he bows before David, like oh great, he's going to take out his frustration upon me'cause I'm one of the the few remaining descendants of Saul. But no, fear not, for I will surely show thee kindness for Jonathan thy father's sake. I don't know if you knew our relationship. He was the closest friend I've ever had. I will restore thee all the land of Saul, thy father, and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually.

So I want to honor the inheritance of Saul and restore it to his actual family. Oh that tribal inheritance within the tribe of Benjamin that belongs to your father, it now belongs to you. It's all yours. But also, I want you to be able to eat here in my own palace. eat at my table. In verse eight he, Mephiboshef, bows himself. And he says to David, What is thy servant that thou shouldst look upon such a dead dog as I am?

It's a beautifully fitting phrase, by the way, since that's basically what David had said to Saul earlier. I'm a dead dog, I'm a flea, why would you come after me? So here his son, I'm the dead dog now. Uh it suggests a humility from below on his part, which was probably easy to come by because there was a humility from above on David's part.

You see, so often we respond to what's been given and if we if someone gives us humility, we respond with humility. If somebody leads o out with pride, we usually snap back with pride of our own. Uh but not not David and Mephibosheth here. There's just understanding and humility on both parts. David, uh so what Matthew Bush accepts the offer, the gift?

And David brings him into the palace. He assigns some of his own servants to go back out and actually till and care for the land that Mephibosheth is going to have. Uh which is important because he's as a lame man isn't going to be able to do that work himself. In verse eleven, as for Mephibosheth, said the king, he shall eat at my table as one of the king's sons. You see, he's basically adopting him here.

The son of Jonathan is now essentially the son of David, and I can't imagine a more fitting relationship. From these two soulmates, these two this band of brothers, as close as they could be. And I want to care for your son, since you're not here to care for him yourself. I do also, again, like I said, I love the fact he sent servants. I want to give you something, something that's right rightfully yours.

But I also want to make sure that it it's a gift that you can that's actually usable. I think sometimes we're guilty of giving gifts because that's what I would like or what I would want to give or ch as opposed to can they even use it? And for him to combine the gift that really does belong in your family with let me help make it possible for you to gain some benefit from it. I'll even send some servants out. And I g to me there's something above and beyond in that as far as David is concerned.

One more chapter before tragedy strikes, okay? Bear with me. Uh chapter ten of second Samuel, Israel is now going out against the Ammonites. One more enemy that still needs to be conquered. The king of the Ammonites has died, okay? And David decides to honor the deceased king's son. You see, remember when David was on uh just

trying to escape from Saul every chance that he could. And sometimes he'd hang out with the Philistines and sometimes he'd hang out in other areas. Just I'm trying to a avoid a king that's trying to kill me. And he had no problem with the Ammonites and actually had a good had had a good relationship with this Ammonite king. When he hears the news that he dies, he he sends servants to honor that pardon.

Uh in verse two he says I will show kindness unto Hanun, the son of Nahash, as his father showed kindness unto me, and David sent to comfort him by the hand of his servants for his father. The uh this is the the flip side of an eye for an eye. He was actually kind to my eye, so I'll be kind to his. Okay. He was helpful on this tooth. I'll be helpful on that. And so he he does it that way. I want to remember the kindness shown me. I will reciprocate in kind.

Unfortunately, the other Ammonite princes think there's gotta be a catch. There's gotta be. Uh he's expanding his kingdom and conquering all these other places. He's probably trying to send some people over to spy out the land and see what our weaknesses are so he can come and exploit them. And so what they end up doing is is horrible because they totally misjudge. Uh misinterpreted.

uh mistook somebody else's motives. Th um we gotta be more careful than that. Okay, don't jump to those kinds of conclusions. What they do though, the king, the new king, is convinced about this, and so, oh, come to comfort me, whatever. I'm gonna go shame you And he ends up taking these messengers, cutting off half of their beard. Uh imagine how foolish you would look with half a beard uh there and half and the rest of your half the ha the rest of your face sh shaven.

But as he does that, then he takes their robes, which are typically down to the ankle, and he cuts them just south of of of the waist. Which means that some of their backsides are exposed. is as humiliating as you can imagine. And then he kind of just sends them packing.

And they come back, David catches wind of it and is so horrified for them. He said, Why don't you stay in this other city before coming back into kind of public view? And that way your t beards have time to grow, and I'll send some more some more garments to it for you. Uh he's shocked by the way they that the Ammonite king has I sent goodness and I come back with with evil thrown in my face.

Well, he's frustrated uh understandably. The Ammonites probably know what's coming, so they freak out and they hire some Syrian mercenaries to help them fight against the Israelites, and so they assume they're coming, and they were right about it. David sends his armies against them. Joab and a brother a brother of his, Abishai, they divide their troops in two, and Joab says to his brother, I love this verse, it's number eleven.

If the Syrians be too strong for me, then thou shalt help me. But if the children of Ammon be too strong for thee, then I will come and help thee. I love that. We're in this thing together, brother. Uh and we got two enemies and now we got two d s uh groups on our side and we're both gonna fight to kinda divide and conquer, or at least hopefully conquer. But if they start conquering us, then quit dividing. Come to my rescue. I'll come to yours.

And I hope we have that kind of attitude when we see someone, a brother or sister in arms that is struggling. Are we willing to to take on their enemy as if it were our own? Because it is. Are we willing to come to their aid? And that's exactly what they do. In verse twelve, he says to them, Be of good courage.

Sounds like what Joshua was told over and over and over again. Be of good chur courage, and let us play the men for our people, for the cities of our God, and the Lord do that which seemeth him good. What a great combination of courage and zeal on his part, but also submission to God on the other part. that we're gonna do everything we can. We're gonna be courageous. We're gonna fight. We're gonna play the men.

I hope that doesn't come across as sexist. Uh at for for a while I would tell my kid, my my sons especially, like, go be a man, take it like a man. And yet, as I've seen my wife through childbirth, I will often say to my children, male or female, take it like a mom. Instead of take it like a man, because moms take it incredibly well. It's amazing what you mothers have done.

Uh so whether it's play the men or play the mom, whatever it might be, just go take the bull by the horns and be strong and of a good courage and go do it. That's our part. There's the proactive, the agency. But then the other, the submission, I love the way he ends it. Well, then let's we'll just let it God do it, seemeth him good. Do your best and then let chip the chips fall where they may. Let God's will be done,'cause you've done the very best you could, and be okay with the result.

Well, the Israelites fight the Ammonites and the Syrians together and defeat them, as you might expect. In verse nineteen, and when all the kings that were servants to Hadarezer saw that they were smitten before Israel, they made peace with Israel and served them. Yeah, good idea. You see, yes, David is going to war, but what's he been after all along? Just peace. Trying to seek that, establish it, so that a temple can finally be built.

I guess we're ready. Let's turn the page and see the temple built. Well, tragically we turn the page and see something else.