Podcasts about Joab

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 28, 2026

Group Guide Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week. 2 Samuel 19:40-20 Spencer Cary Download TranscriptGood morning. My name is Spencer. I am one of the pastors here. We are continuing to walk through the book of 2 Samuel. We'll get towards the end, you guys. We're going to be in chapter 19, verse 40.We're going to go all the way through chapter 20 today. It's on page 310 in those black Bibles. And to 311, I encourage you to follow along with us as we walk through 2 Samuel. We are kind of having a moment in our country right now because the World Cup is here. And it's not just, which if you didn't know, that's soccer, you guys. It's not just that we're actually winning and it seems like we're pretty good.It's that people from all around the world have come to America. And they love it here. I've watched so many of these videos, it's ridiculous. There's so many videos of people from Europe, from Africa, from Japan, that are just so excited about Buc-ee's, about free refills, about Costco, and ranch. Ranch dressing is having a moment. But it's wonderful because there's all these things that they love.It's like, you know what? We've got some good things going on. We're just kind of celebrating a moment as a country. We're all united joyously for the first time in a long time. And the reason that it feels like it's the first time in a long time is because I don't know if you've been paying attention. The last decade plus has been a lot.It's been a lot of hostility. It's been a lot of disunity. I mean, it's been a lot of just tribalism and hate. And man. And I just want to capture that. I want to read some quotes.And these are from public figures, political leaders. But this kind of captures the last 10 years of kind of what we've been in. It's been just at each other's throats. There's a few different quotes from a few different people. We will root out the communist, Marxist, fascist, and the radical left thugs that live like vermin. That's talking about fellow citizens.Live like vermin. There's another one. If you see anybody from that cabinet, that political cabinet, in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gas station, you get out and create a crowd. You push back on them. You tell them why they're not welcome anymore anywhere. That's another one.The third one. We need a national divorce. We are two completely different countries living under one flag. And one side is trying to destroy the other. Straight up calling for it. A national divorce.Last one. You could put half of his supporters into what I call a basket of deplorables. So half of someone's supporters deplorable. Now, you can say, well, that's politicians. And many of them are like the worst of us. And I'm not going to fight you super hard on that because there might be some merit to some of that argument.But it's not just leaders like that. That's trickled down and been reposted and been recirculated on social media and break rooms and shop floors at family get-togethers. We've seen this over and over again. So much to the point where the word Nazi and commie has almost lost its meaning entirely. We've heard destroying America, threat to democracy, enemy from within, fascists, on and on and on and on and on. If you've been insulated from this, brother or sister, blessed are you.It's kind of hard to miss it. But if you've had any touch points with people, the Internet, there's a lot of angry people right now with a lot of alarmist, heightened, extremist rhetoric that is symptomatic of a deeper problem of deep disunity that many of us have observed and felt for a long time at this point. And we're getting ready to celebrate our 250th birthday. And I think the story we have in 2 Samuel is timely because it's going to highlight what happens when you have unresolved conflict that weaves its way through a nation. And that, paired with heated, intensified rhetoric and words, brings about consequences that we should be careful to take notice of.And as Christians, we should consider on a national level, on a local level, and within our own church, that we are called to live differently than many who are trying to tear each other apart today. And as we take a big step back from this, as we walk through this story, my hope is that we see Christ as our ultimate hope in the widening rift that we are currently living in. So let's pray, and then we'll walk this together. Heavenly Father, I thank you that our hope is in Christ alone. And that message resounds in beautiful, wonderful, unifying ways against the backdrop of history that is filled with broken people fighting for their own interest.God, I pray that you'd help us see the truth of the Scriptures, the hope of the Gospel, and that we leave here in faith and obedience and repentance. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Okay, so last week when Chet ended, where he ended, it was a moment after the civil war between Absalom and David where there was a lot of good happening. There was the pardoning of enemies. There was the rewarding of individuals.And this is exactly where Chet ended last week in verse 40. It says, The king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham went on with him. All the people of Judah and also half the people of Israel brought the king on his way. Okay. So that last sentence is really important context here.And it's a problem. Because after the civil war, they should be coming together, unified, and taking David back. But what's happened is, is it says, All of Judah and half of Israel. And what that is, is political positioning. All of Judah to put influence, to gain influence with David as he's being reestablished in Jerusalem. And half of Israel.That's a problem, y'all. If the American civil war ended, and afterwards the north said, You know what? We're going to give the south, I don't know, five to ten senators. And we're going to have forty to fifty. It would have restarted. Because that's not unifying.That's how you have unequal representation. That's not how it's supposed to go. And the people of Israel see this, And they are upset. Verse 41. Then all the men of Israel came to the king, And said to the king, Why have our brothers, the men of Judah, stolen you away?All right, pause there. Israel sees this, And they go to David, And they're like, Why have the people of Judah, our brothers, stolen you away? Now that kind of gets lost on us in the English. But in their language, in their context, With this being used throughout the scriptures, That's fighting words right there. That is a massive accusation. You are stealing our king.Why are they stealing you away? And it says, And brought the king and his household over the Jordan, And all of David's men with him. So, They level this accusation. Verse 42. All the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, Because the king is our close relative, Why then are you angry over this matter? They say, Because we're related to him.Like more than you. Like you're a distant cousin. We're close cousins. This is David we're talking about. Of the tribe of Judah. So, Why are you angry about this?They continue. Have we eaten at the king's expense? Or has he given us any gift? Have we taken advantage of the situation in a way that promotes us? Have we taken bribes? Have we taken favors?Why are you angry? Verse 43. And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, We have ten shares in the king. And in David also, We have more than you. Why then do you despise us? Were we not the first to speak of bringing back our king?All right. Pause there. They're saying, We have ten shares. We have ten tribes. What are you doing? How do you as one tribe get all this influence with David?Why do you hate us? Why do you despise us? And they just keep going. It says, But the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel. And you can see them devolving into a shouting match. And the words of the men of Judah were fiercer.Fiercer. Harsher. Louder. Intensified. Talking. Yelling.Over. One another. And what's happening here is the widening of an ongoing rift that is never going to heal in this nation. Wounds are not going to be healed that come out of this. And it shows that words matter. They matter.Israel comes in hot. They say, Why are you stealing our king? And Judah doesn't slow down. They answer back. Israel answers back. The words get more fierce.More intensified. And now they're at it again. In conflict. Raging. Now. Pick up in chapter 20 verse 1.There's somebody present. Who is going to take advantage of the anger in this moment? Verse 1. Now there happened to be there a worthless man whose name was Sheba. The son of Bichri. A Benjaminite.Okay. So. While they're all shouting at each other. There's a man named Sheba from the tribe of Benjamin. Son of Bichri. Okay.And he is an opportunist. Now he's described as a worthless man. We're going to see why in a moment. He's an opportunist. Who is going to seize on all the anger that is happening right here. It says, And he blew the trumpet and said, We have no portion in David.And we have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. Every man to his tents. Oh, Israel. So as they're shouting and yelling and the words are fiercer and fiercer and fiercer. He blows the trumpet. Gets everyone's attention.And declares independence. He says, We have no share in this mess. No share in Judah. Done with this. We're going to our own tents. Who's with me?Verse 2. So all the men of Israel withdrew from David and followed Sheba the son of Bichri. But the men of Judah followed their king steadfastly from the Jordan to Jerusalem. So in the heat of this argument, an opportunist steps in, declares independence. And because they're so angry, they're like, Yeah! And we're going home free!And that signals to the people of Judah, Oh no, we might be back in a civil war again. And they get around David, escort him all the way back to Jerusalem, keeping him safe. And when David gets back to Jerusalem, he has to both put together his household again, that's been broken, and also put down another rebellion. Verse 3. And David came to his house at Jerusalem, and the king took the ten concubines, whom he had left to care for the house, and put them in order, put them in a house under guard, and provided for them, but did not go into them. So they were shut up until the day of their death, living as in widowhood.So you want to get this little explanation that kind of finishes up this part of the story. It goes back to when Absalom was starting his rebellion, and it's very sad. Remember the events of Absalom, and what he did with David's concubines with his wives? After all of this, when David gets back, because of some prohibitions in the law, what he does is he cannot maintain this relationship with these wives in the way that he had before, so he puts them in houses, makes sure they're provided for, but they live in practical widowhood the rest of their lives, which is just sad. Women that were abused, women that now have to live in that shame and widowhood for the rest of their days.That is what happens in war, and it is awful. And that once he does this, he has to begin to put down this rebellion, starting in verse 4. Then the king said to Amasa, Call the men of Judah together to me within three days, and be here yourself. So Amasa went to summon Judah, but he delayed beyond the set time that had been appointed him. Okay. So Amasa, if you remember from last week, is now the commander of David's army, right, of the military.He replaced Joab. David is still upset with Joab because Joab killed his son Absalom in battle. Okay. So Amasa is now in charge. And y'all, Amasa doesn't seem to be a very competent general, doesn't seem to be very competent at all. Amasa, if I'm honest, kind of just fails up.It's like a lot of U.S. politicians that, I mean, you see sometimes they lose an election, and then they get elevated to a position of power in their political party. Or they commit an offense, and they rise in the polls. They just, this happens. It's not unique to American history. It's all over history. People just fail up all the time.But what's happened is, is Amasa led the rebellion with Absalom against David. That should be a strike against him. Another strike should be a failed rebellion. He didn't even win. He lost. So he fails at that, and now he's elevated to be the commander.And it's like, then he's given this job where it says, you need to go. You have three days time. Go. Let's gather the men of Judah together. We have to go and fight. And it says, but he delayed beyond the set time that had been appointed to him, which means he didn't get it done in time.You might think, well, that's a lot to ask to gather troops in three days. You know what? It's not. Because Judah is about the size of Lexington and Richland County. Okay? Not a very massive area.So you've got a bunch of men under you. You've got a thousand soldiers that are right near you. Just get them. Go. Go to every town, every neighborhood. Bring them back.He doesn't. And now David can't wait any longer. So it says in verse 6, and David said to Abishai, now Sheba the son of Bichri will do more harm than Absalom. Take your Lord's servants and pursue him lest he get himself to fortified cities and escape from us. All right.It's a lot of names in 1 and 2 Samuel. So Abishai, if we remember, is Joab's brother. So he looks at Abishai and says, all right, I don't know what Amasa is doing, but we don't have time for this. You need to go. Take some men. We need to put down this rebellion before it gets any worse.And Abishai isn't going out alone. Verse 7, And there went out after him Joab's men and the Cherethites and the Pelethites and the mighty men. They went out from Jerusalem to pursue Sheba, the son of Bichri. So Abishai is loyal to his brother and says, Hey, come on. Let's go.So he takes them, the mighty men, the mercenaries and said, We're going. We're going out together. And that isn't good because if you've been around with us for a bit, you know that Joab is an unsavory person to say the least. Pretty violent, gruesome person. Verse 8, When they were at the great stone that is in Gibeon, Amasa came to meet them. Now Joab was wearing the soldier's garment and over it was a belt with a sword and its sheath fastened on its thigh.And as it went forward, it fell out. And Joab said to Amasa, Is it well with you, my brother? And Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him. But Amasa did not observe the sword that was in Joab's hand. So Joab struck him with it in the stomach and spilled his entrails to the ground without striking a second blow.And he died. So Joab, being a very violent man who holds grudges, has a plan of revenge and he assassinates and murders another threat. He keeps doing this. And this is not like, Oh, the sword spilled out. Oh, a moment. This was planned.He goes up to do a traditional greeting, which is like kiss on both cheeks. That's their equivalent of dapping him up. And the sword spills out on purpose. He picks up the sword and he violently thrusts it into him. One shot kill. And this is, listen, Amasa, I'll be honest, should have seen this coming.The moment he sees Joab, he should have said, Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. He should have had men surrounding him. But he isn't very competent. He's very unsuspecting. He's very naive. And he goes up to a man with a history of violence, with a history of wanting to be in control and just unsuspectingly is murdered.It says, Then Joab and Abishai, his brother, pursued Sheba, the son of Bichri. Verse 11. And one of Joab's young men took his stand by Amasa and said, Whoever favors Joab and whoever is for David, let him follow Joab. That's a key part for me that just lets you know, Oh, this was planned. So he murders him and then he has one of his men come by and say, If you're with David, you're with Joab.If you're with Joab, you're with David. Joab's in charge now. Let's go. You're following. And they all, the men who just were following Amasa are kind of stunned at what's happening. Verse 12.And Amasa lay wallowing in his blood in the highway and anyone who came by seeing him stopped. So you got to think this is happening very quickly. All of a sudden, there the general of the army is lying. It was a one-shot kill, but he's not dying immediately. He's wallowing in his blood in the ground and they're all seeing this. A man that just, who was just their leader, they're looking at this and they're hearing the call.They're following Joab and that's a lot to absorb. And the people who are with Joab realize this. The man who just yelled that says, And when the man saw that all the people stopped, he carried Amasa out of the highway into the field and threw a garment over him. And it's like, all right, don't be confused. He's gone. Whoop.All right, we're going. Follow us, Joab. Here we go. And those men are going to fall in line or you'll die. And they do. Verse 13, When he was taken out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab to pursue Sheba, the son of Bichri.Verse 14, And Sheba passed through all the tribes of Israel to Abel of Beth-Maacah and all the Bichrites assembled and followed him in. Okay. We've got to read that very carefully because it's very good context for what's happening here. Remember, Sheba was an opportunist and he yelled, Everyone to his own tent! Declaring independence! But then, as we can see, he goes through all the tribes of Israel and Abel of Beth-Maacah is up in the north.It's about as far north in the promised land before you leave the promised land. So it looks like he's gone through all the different tribes trying to say, All right, you coming with? And what does it say? And all the Bichrites assembled and followed him. Y'all, that's his cousins. That's his clan.He's gone through all the promised land all the way of Israel trying to gather steam and everyone's like, Ah! I don't know about that. Which, listen, if you're a man, this makes a lot of sense. You really, I understand this. There are times where you get very angry and testosterone's flowing and all of a sudden someone says something that you think seems reasonable in the moment. It's like, Oh yeah, they did disrespect us.You know what? This can't stand. Oh, we gotta take care of this. Yeah, we should. Let's go.We're gonna go take them out. We're gonna go show them they don't do that again. And then you hop in the truck and you're going and you're like, once it starts to settle down and you're like, Ah! I don't know about this. I'm an adult now. This is assault.I now have a job. I don't, you know, honestly, I think I'm just gonna get off to the next stop. I don't really wanna, I don't wanna do this. And it just, it's what happens. Everyone at first is like, Yeah! We're going to our tents.And then they have some time to think about it. It's like, Well, I'm kind of tired of Civil War. I'm tired of death and dying. And, you know, honestly, I don't even know this guy, Sheba. So, it's got a weird name anyways. You know what?I'm out. And it doesn't work. And listen, that's just some free advice for the men in this room. Sometimes you just need a few minutes to calm down. You know, go on a walk, pray, breathe, let oxygen flood the brain again, and then come to reason. Also, for the women in this room.Wives, friends, just let them have some space for a minute. It's on us to calm down. But that's what happens. They calm down. They don't join them. And now, it's just Sheba and his cousins.Verse 15, And all the men who were with Joab came and besieged him in Abel of Beth-Maacah. So, they catch up. They're ready to fight. And it says, They cast up a mound against the city and stood against the rampart. And they were battering the wall down, wall to throw it down. So, they engage in some ancient tactics of war.They show up to the city, which they are in. They start building a mound against the rampart. They start getting a battering ram, ready to take this out. They're ready to tear this city apart. when a wise woman realizes what's happening and steps up to the plate. Verse 16, Then, a wise woman called from the city, Listen, listen! Tell Joab, come here that I may speak to you.And he came near her. And the woman said, Are you Joab? He answered, I am. Then she said to him, Listen to the words of your servant. And he answered, I am listening. Then she said, They used to say in former times, Let them but ask counsel of Abel.And so they settled a matter. I am one of those who are peaceable and faithful in Israel. You see, to destroy a city that is a mother in Israel, why will you swallow up the heritage of the Lord? She says, Joab, you know the reputation of our city. We are a peaceable city. We settle disputes.We don't fight. Why are you trying to kill us? Can we have a conversation about this? Why would you destroy the heritage of the Lord? Don't destroy us. What's going on?Joab answers. Verse 20, Joab answered, Far be it from me, far be it, that I should swallow up or destroy. That is not true. But a man of the hill country of Ephraim called Sheba, the son of Bichri, has lifted up his hand against King David. Give up this man alone. I withdraw from the city.So Joab says, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. We don't have a problem with you. There's somebody in your city that we have a problem with. He's a problem. We're here for him. Now you might think, well, why did they let him in the city in the first place?And this is a Middle Eastern cultural thing that we don't understand here. In the Middle East, even into today, when you have someone who comes to you, you're hospitable, you take them in. And then they become your responsibility. So when they come to the city, it's just immediately, hold on, you're not, this is our responsibility. So it's a lot in the Iraq and Afghanistan war that some of those families would take in U.S. soldiers and protect them and care for them.That's what's happening here. It's, oh, oh, oh. But then she's like, wait a second. This is the most violent leader and all the mighty men. Can we have a conversation? Then she hears, oh, oh, he's a terrorist.Oh, he's a traitor. Okay. Now I understand why you're so upset. And the woman said to Joab, behold, his head shall be thrown to you over the wall. She doesn't hesitate. She's like, oh, okay.We're going to toss the head over. It'll be good, right? And Joab's like, ha ha. And then she goes to her people. Verse 22. And the woman went to all the people in her wisdom and they cut off the head of Sheba, the son of Bichri, and threw it out to Joab.So he blew the trumpet and they dispersed in the city every man to his home. And Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king. So she successfully persuades the people. Sheba gets his head cut off and the fighting is over. Everyone goes home. And the chapter ends with really a summary of the leadership that's really going to stay in place that we're getting towards the end of David's reign.This is the leadership list that's in place throughout the rest of David's reign. Verse 23. Now Joab was in command of all the army of Israel, which that just tells us, y'all, Joab, David's not fighting Joab anymore. He's done with this. He is going to keep him in power.Joab is going to get what's coming to him, but it ain't right now. And Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, was in command of the Cherethites and the Pelethites. And Adoram was in charge of the forced labor. And Jehoshaphat, the son of Ahilud, was the recorder. And Sheba was secretary. And Zadok and Abiathar were priests.And Ira the Jairite was also David's priest. And that's how chapter 20 concludes. Now, at the beginning, I said that this would be, what we would see is the widening of a rift between Judah and Israel. But the fault lines were there. Influence in the nation was being fought over. And this widening is continuing.Now, as this split is coming many decades later, one of the people we just read about, Adoram, is going to be the first casualty in that civil war. So I want to skip to 1 Kings chapter 12 because this helps us see where this is going. So let me give some context before we read this together. This will be on the screen, but stay with me for a moment. This is David's grandson, Rehoboam. So David has Solomon, who's the king next, and Solomon's son, Rehoboam, takes over.Rehoboam immediately doesn't recognize the situation because Israel and Judah, this widening has continued and continued. Even through Solomon's reign, it's continuing. And Rehoboam listens to some foolish younger man's advice on, you know what? You need to be strong and you need to enforce more harshness on the Israelites. He doesn't read the room at all. And this division is widening and not coming back.So that's where we pick up in 1 Kings. When it is widened so far, verse 16, And when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, hear this, What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel, look now to your own house, David. Now, what does that sound like? That's what Sheba said.That's almost a verbatim quote. They remember what he said and his rebellion didn't work, but they bring it back and they quote him. That's intentional. And they say, No, we are done with this. What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance of this.To our own tents, Israel. They're declaring independence. So Israel went to their tents, verse 17, But Rehoboam reigned over the people of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah. Then King Rehoboam sent Adoram, that's who David put in place, who was taskmaster over the forced labor, and all Israel stoned him to death with stones. And King Rehoboam hurried to mount his chariot to flee Jerusalem. So Adoram later receives the first violence in a civil war that never heals.This nation is never the same again. From this point forward, it is not the 12 tribes of Israel. It is the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. It never heals. And you can trace it throughout history and you can see it in the story we saw today, just this widening that happens. And from this point forward, there's only violence, there's only hatred, there's only disunity.And this is the result of it that goes forward. They could have at any point slowed down, could have at any point hurt each other, could have at any point reconciled, but they choose harsh words, fierce words, which we read. They speak fiercely, they choose their sides, they dig in their heels, and all the people that were once unified as children of the covenant of Abraham. They're now enemies for centuries to come. Now, what I want to do is I want to help picture what's happening in this division over time and ultimately the only hope that shows up in fixing this. So, as I said, around 930 B.C. is when Israel and Judah permanently divide.That's the situation with Rehoboam. So, they divide at this point and you have the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom. And they're never the same, never with each other again. Now, Israel quickly devolves into a lot of pagan practices. They mix their faith with some idolatry and they quickly over the next two centuries start to really fall apart to the point where God brings judgment on the northern kingdom of Israel and sends in the Assyrians over a period of time to completely destroy their kingdom. And, next slide, 720 B.C. that's what happens.Israel is completely destroyed. The northern kingdom is done. So, they destroy them. It's never a national kingdom again. And then, they send, they bring people out, they bring some foreigners in and they leave some of the Israelites behind and those Israelites end up marrying with those people and many of them settle down into a region called Samaria. And, in Samaria they have some of the old faith mixed in with these idolatrous practices and they stay there for centuries to come.So, the descendants of Israel, the northern tribes, are there while Judah keeps going. And, over time, Judah has its own judgment that comes upon them but the people of Judah stay together and they later are called the Jews. So, the people, the descendants of Judah is where we get Judaism from, the Jews. So, the descendants of mostly Judah and Benjamin but the kingdom of Judah. So, the people of Judah continue but then they're still living side by side with Samaritans and they hate them. They hate them.They hate Samaritans. They hate that they share some bit of faith. They hate them for their old differences, this widening rift that continued for so long. They hate them. They're racist towards them. I mean, you have to, if you live both in northern Galilee to get through Samaria or to get to Jerusalem, the straight line is to go through Samaria but they wouldn't do that.They go all the way around Samaria because they don't want the dust of that people on them. They don't want to see them. They don't want to deal with them and that continues with that kind of hatred and that kind of division for centuries. So, you can trace what happened in our story and it continues and it continues and it continues over time where these people are just hating each other. And then, centuries later, Jesus comes and Jesus begins to speak of a kingdom that's not of this world. He begins to speak of a kingdom that is going to last for eternity.He begins to describe and picture what this kingdom is going to be like and one of the things that Jesus does in His ministry is instead of going all the way around Samaria, He goes straight into it. And when Jesus begins to minister around 27 AD, He goes into Samaria and He meets a Samaritan woman in John chapter 4 and He has this wonderful conversation. If you've never read it, you should sit in it today. It's beautiful as He articulates the gospel to a lost woman and He declares to her that He is the Messiah and He hints at that this old division is going away. And then Jesus takes that ministry to the cross where He dies for hostile, angry, disunified people and He resurrects creating a new people that are no longer to reflect the divisions of this present world.And then He commissions His church. He ascends at the right hand of God the Father. And then when you get to the book of Acts, which, by the way, that's our next book. We get done with this book at the end of this month. We're going to be in the book of Acts for the next season. So, spoiler alert.When you get to the book of Acts, one of the things that we're going to see is that as the church begins to spread, they go into Samaria just like Jesus did. And then when they minister in 33 to 35 AD, when they start ministering to Samaritans and they start bringing the gospel to them, the people that had been disunified for almost a thousand years are now finally unified again. And it doesn't stop there. The gospel continues to spread and it starts reaching other Gentiles, Romans, Greeks, Ethiopians, Ephesians. And then you see that this household of faith is going to have a whole bunch of different people.But what unifies this people is Christ primarily. And when you hear the book of Ephesians as they're addressing some of these differences between Gentiles and Jews, God through His servant Paul says in Ephesians chapter 2, for He Himself, this is Jesus, is our peace who has made us both one and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances that He might create in Himself one new man and the place of two, so making peace that Jesus Christ through His redemptive work breaks down walls of hostility, breaks down differences that we cling to in this present world because it's in Him that we are unified. The most important thing about Christians is Christ Jesus and it says and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross thereby killing hostility that through the cross of Jesus Christ every petty difference, every temporary difference, everything that we make primary in this present life that separates us goes to die because the primary expression of unity is found in Christ in His people. And that gospel continues to spread.It spread and spread and spread. And then, as God's people unified in Him, caring most about what we have in Him, not caring about the racial differences, ethnic differences, political differences, philosophical differences because the most important thing about us is Christ. We have a different way of speaking. And in James chapter 3, ministering to a church, teaching them how they might speak, verse 5 and following, it says, so also, the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire.And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. But that is a reminder that your tongue, that our speech, is powerful in a way that when it is used for ungodly purposes, can set communities on fire, can destroy unity amongst peoples. And then when you skip to verse 10, it says, from the same mouth flow blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not be so. Now, that leads us back to where we started.We live in a culture that only blesses their friends and curses their enemies. That's the way we do this today in our culture. You bless your friends, you curse your enemies. Enemies now are defined by us and them. And them is defined by not from our tribe, not from our political party, not from our region of the country, not from our race, not from our sex, not from our people. It's them.They're the problem. And that's how our culture rages right now. And that leads to violence, to dehumanization, to evil prevailing. And the more the culture rages, the more angry it gets. We of all people who belong to Christ, a God who reconciles us who was once enemies of him to make us friends in him, to see Jesus as most primary about us, descendants of Israel, Judah, Rome, Ephesus, Ethiopia, and beyond. All of us should be the people who understand what it means to be on the same page.The most important person is Christ in us. And therefore, everything that this world is clinging to, all the power plays, all the frantic energy, it's like, we don't, it's not us. We're not doing that. We're going to choose love. We're going to choose peace. We're going to choose to bridle our tongues and to restrain our speech.We're not going to engage in other-side-is-evil business. We're not going to do that. We're not going to dehumanize people. We're not going to be people of tribes of this world because we belong to the most beautiful, wonderful tribe that is Christ Jesus. And that means we change the way we operate in this culture. Listen, I love America.I love America. This Saturday, I'm going to go so hard. I'm going to America 250 so hard. I'm serious. I do love, I love this country. As Jeremiah prophesied to the people he was prophesying to, he said, seek the good of the land that you are in.I want to seek the good of the land that I'm in and I'm thankful for all of our bright spots and I'll seek to evangelize through everyday mission and all the parts that are broken. But not for a moment should we forget where our main citizenship is. It is not here. It is in heaven. And from it, we wait a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who would transform these broken bodies to be with him in glory for eternity. That's where our hope is.So, that means that the present divisions that we see everywhere around us, if you have gotten wrapped up in them in any way, shape, or form, you need to repent. I have had to do the work of repentance. I'm having to repent. If you have gotten caught up in the frantic nature of everything's falling apart, no, no, no. We need to be grounded in what is eternal and what is true. That the vile language that is unbecoming of Christian living has to go.It cannot be reposted. It cannot be said in jokes. It cannot be said in conversations and shops, rooms, and break rooms, and community groups. And it's got to go. It has to go. So, may we be a people that are salt and light and a culture filled with darkness that if this continues in a direction that it is going, will breed more violence and more violence and more violence and more hate.May we be a people that stands in the middle of it and says, no, there is a better way and that better way is Jesus. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I pray that you might help us compel us to gospel hope that doesn't put hope in all the present divisions that are at play right now that we would as Christians repent where we've spoken harshly and fiercely about other people. As that's trickled down into how we think about each other in our own church, may we repent that we speak kindly, speaking the truth in love, that we embody wise speech that flows out of a primary allegiance to you. And Lord Jesus, if there's anyone here that's put their hope in this present world and all of its political forces and all of its temporary hope, may you compel them to primary faith and allegiance to you.In Jesus' name. Amen.

From Ruin to Repair

Seaside Church

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 28, 2026 29:39

The Lord Sees King David's Sin (11:27)...What will the Lord do about David's sin & how will David respond? -12:1-14 The Lord sends David a messenger-12:15-23 The Lord strikes David's son -12:24-25 David goes to Bathsheba & Solomon is born -12:26-31 Joab sends for David to defeat Rabbah

lord sin ruin repair joab rabbah

1 Kings 2:28-4:34, 2 Chronicles 1

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 26, 2026 21:04

In our last episode, Solomon's brother Adonijah tried to take the throne while David was on his death bed. His plan failed, and Solomon successfully ascended to the throne. During the attempted coup, Adonijah recruited Abiathar the priest and Joab, David's former commander. Since then, Adonijah has been executed, Abiathar has been banished, and today. Joab will be executed. Later, the Lord appears to King Solomon in a dream, and instead of asking for wealth or long life, he asks the Lord for wisdom to lead God's people. This pleases the Lord, who promises blessing upon Solomon's reign, including both wisdom and wealth. 1 Kings 2:28 - 1:08 . 1 Kings 3 - 5:16 . 1 Kings 4 - 11:37 . 2 Chronicles 1 - 16:55 . :::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible.facebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org

god lord kings chronicles king solomon 1 kings 2 chronicles joab adonijah abiathar christian standard bible john burgess ross

1 Chronicles 29:10-30, 1 Kings 1:1-2:27

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 25, 2026 24:37

Today we'll be reading about the death of King David from two sources. The first will be from 1 Chronicles as we conclude that book. In this reading, we'll hear a prayer that David gives in the assembly of the leaders of Israel, followed by a brief account of Solomon coming to power as king. Our second reading will be from 1 Kings, which gives a much more dramatic perspective on what took place during that transition of power. David's oldest son, Adonijah, gains support for himself from well-known leaders like Joab and Abiathar, calling Judah together for a feast to celebrate his bid for kingship. Nathan the prophet catches word, and teams up with Bathsheba to alert the king that Solomon's title of king is being contested in an underhanded scheme to usurp David's decree. 1 Chronicles 29:10 - 1:08 . 1 Kings 1 - 6:33 . 1 Kings 2 - 18:01 . :::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible.facebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org

israel kings chronicles king david 1 kings joab adonijah abiathar christian standard bible john burgess ross

Warrior Poet Society Week 3 - Father's Day

Motion Church

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 21, 2026 31:47

Motion Church | Warrior Poet Society, Week 3: "The Downstream Effect of Sin" Happy Father's Day from Motion Church — "I think strong men are the backbone of any good society" — and then right into a tough but important topic in the David series: what happens after forgiveness. This week picks back up exactly where Nathan left off with David after the Bathsheba confrontation. Nathan didn't just say "you are that man" — he also told David what would follow. "The sword shall never depart from your house... I will raise up adversity against you from your own house." Translated: "Because you chose sin... because you despised me, there will be downstream consequences for those actions." Here's the tension the message sits in: God's forgiveness is instant and complete. "First John 1:9 says, if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us of those sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. It is that good. It is that true." But forgiveness doesn't erase consequences. "We can be forgiven immediately and instantaneously, but that doesn't mean that there won't be a wake." Like a muddy dog getting a bath — clean, but the tub still needs cleaning up. "Spiritually, we can be forgiven, but relationally, there may be much work to do." And David's family lived that out in devastating ways. His son Amnon assaults his half-sister Tamar. His son Absalom, consumed by two years of quiet rage, orchestrates Amnon's murder in revenge. Eventually Absalom turns against his own father, manipulating the people of Israel — "Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel" — and seizing part of the kingdom. "All of this is in David's house, and all of this is because of sin." It's Galatians 6:7 playing out in real time: "whatever a man sows, that he will also reap." Sow violence, reap violence. Sow scheming, reap scheming. There's a striking detail in Absalom's story too — he was famous for his flawless looks and his luscious hair, which he cut once a year, "200 shekels" worth. That same hair is what gets him caught in a tree branch while fleeing on his mule, leaving him dangling and vulnerable — and it's there that Joab kills him. "Absalom was hanging by the hair that was a key feature in his rise to power." The lesson: "What got him to a certain point was also what got him caught up in that point... what took you there is not enough to keep you there." Talent, charm, looks — gifts from God, genuinely — "will get you to certain places in life, but it will not sustain you in those places. Character is the only thing that will sustain you." A sobering reminder follows: none of us are exempt. "The cross is level. The ground at the foot of the cross is level." No one gets special privileges, and no one is above the standard just because of unique gifts or success. As one young man once put it in a moment of real wisdom: "but for the grace of God, that could have been any one of us." So what do you do with all this? Two things, plus one final word of hope. First, avoid sin and even its appearance wherever possible — "if it looks like sin, at all costs, if at all possible, just avoid it." Second, if you're already dealing with consequences of past sin, lean into mercy. "His mercy triumphs over judgment." Your future is greater than your past, and God doesn't waste even the hardest seasons — "he's going to use those things that you've gone through to help you and to help others."

god father israel talent character galatians spiritually absalom sow joab amnon first john warrior poet society

2 Samuel 19:8b-40

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 21, 2026

Group Guide Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week. 2 Samuel 19:8b-40 Chet Phillips Download TranscriptGood morning. My name is Chet. I'm one of the pastors here. If you will grab a Bible and go to 2 Samuel chapter 19. We're working our way through the book of 2 Samuel. We have made a shift recently.We would always have the passages that we were on on the screen and we have stopped doing that. Our hope is that as people of the Bible, as people of a book, we would grow in our ability to hold and read a book in a culture that has increasingly lost the ability to hold and read a book. And so we want to be people who we practice that together on Sunday mornings. And our hope is that it'll be helpful. We think it may be a kind of an annoying shift, but we hope that it'll bear fruit and we'll see. So we're not promising we'll never go back to putting it on the screen.We are promising we won't quickly. We're going to try to see if we can learn how to hold and read a book. Bring your Bibles with you. If you don't have a Bible, grab one of the black ones that should be in the seat row and one of those little cages in front of you. If you can't reach one easily, smack someone and do like this till they hand you a Bible. We're going to be on page 309.One of the joys of pastoring is getting to perform weddings. You get to celebrate with people. It's a lot of fun to perform a wedding, to get to be there with people during that time. It can be anxiety ridden because people do remember the things you say at their weddings. And if you mess it up, they're upset by that. But it is fun.And one of the blessings that we have as a church is that we have five pastors. So different ones of our pastors get to participate in performing weddings. There was a time there where I went a long time without getting to perform a wedding. Matt Freeman performed some weddings. Raz Bradley performed some weddings. Isaac Hill performed some weddings.Spencer Cary performed some weddings and I didn't perform any weddings. And that's fine. But my wife and I were discussing this at one point. And she said, yeah, I don't know why people don't ask you to perform their weddings. And I was like, yeah, I don't know either. And then we sat there quietly for a little while.And then she said, I do think people want their pictures to look nice. So I said, hold on a second. So it turns out my beloved wife of many years doesn't think that I always have the most pleasant look on my face. That could tip the balance away from me. But one of the things that's happened is I've sat in other weddings performed by our other pastors.I've heard Spencer say several times in weddings as he goes to have the couple give their vows, declare their vows to one another. He'll say, if you are a married person in the room, I would encourage you at this time to consider your vows. As they take their vows for the first times, I would encourage you to consider your vows that you have made and the promises that you have made and what that looks like in your life right now and have the opportunity to reinvest in your vows. And the reason I bring that up is because that's in some ways how we're going to approach this passage this morning.We are in the middle of David who has had to flee from his son who has rebelled against him. And then they had a battle and Absalom died and everyone ran away and it kind of broke up. And now we're going to see today as David returns back from across the Jordan, back over to Jerusalem. And as we read these individual interactions, we're going to see three individual interactions between David and individuals as he comes back and they have to reckon with the return of their king. We're going to take a moment to consider as a gathered people of God, as Christians who've gathered this morning, that we are in a rebellious kingdom waiting for a returning king.We're in a similar situation. Now, this situation plays out differently than ours is going to play out because David is imperfect and this kingdom that he's coming back to is imperfect, as we'll see in the coming weeks. But we're going to just pause. We're going to read one of these stories, try to understand it, and then we're going to pause and consider for a moment our situation with our better king. And then we're going to kind of work our way through in that manner. So that's what we're going to do today.I'm going to pray for us and then we'll hop in to the story. Lord, we ask that you would help us to consider well the position that we're in, to consider well our hearts, to see our lives well in light of your imminent return. That as people who await the return of a good king to set up a righteous kingdom, that we would wait properly and be ready for that day. Help us to study your word well. In Jesus' name, amen. All right, we're going to pick up in 2 Samuel chapter 19 verse 8b.And the reason b just means the back half of verse 8b. The verses were added later, so sometimes you end up needing to pick up in a different place. So it's just, it says, now Israel had fled every man to his own home. So that's after Absalom's rebellion. Absalom dies. Everybody who was helping him flees.And all the people were arguing throughout all the tribes of Israel saying, the king delivered us from the hand of our enemies and saved us from the hand of the Philistines. And now he has fled out of the land from Absalom. But Absalom, who we anointed over us, is dead in battle. Now, therefore, why do you say nothing about bringing the king back? So Israel begins to argue amongst themselves as they've traveled back home as, hey, we, King David was pretty good.He saved us from the Philistines. We held a very unsuccessful rebellion. Why don't we bring the king back? Why aren't we trying to fix this? That's what they start to say. And apparently this word of this makes it to David.David is in Mahanaim. He fled from Jerusalem. So he's crossed over. That's why they're talking about bringing him back because he left. Once he crossed over the Jordan, he's kind of away from the people, even though there are some tribes that would be up here by the Sea of Galilee. And there are some tribes that are over here at Mahanaim.He's kind of out of the main part of the people, the main part of the promised land. They actually had a whole big discussion of whether or not they could settle tribes on that side of the Jordan because the promised land was on the other side of the Jordan. They decided they could, but then they had all this, you know, relational drama over time to try to settle that they're allowed to be over there, but they are still part of Israel. But the main bulk of the land that belongs to them is on the other side of the Jordan. And David is not there. And they're saying, let's bring him back.And most of what we're going to see today is going to happen at the Jordan River. It's going to happen while David is coming back and people are coming up from Jerusalem in that area to meet him at the Jordan. So that's what they're talking about. It says, and King David, this is verse 11. And King David sent this message to Zadok and Abiathar, the priests who were their pro David. They were willing to come with him.He says, say to the elders of Judah, why should you be the last to bring the king back to his house when the word of all Israel has come to the king? So the tribe of Judah is around Jerusalem and that's the tribe that David is from, but they're not murmuring about bringing them back. Everybody else is. And so he sends message to him and says, Hey, say, what are y'all doing? What's the holdup? Why are you taking forever?Verse 12? You are my brothers. We're the same tribe. You are my bone and my flesh. Why then should you be last to bring back the king and say to Amasa? Okay.Amasa is David's nephew and Amasa joined Absalom and was Absalom's general in the battle they just had. Joab is David's nephew who's over his army. Amasa was the over Absalom's army. He says, say to Amasa, are you not my bone and my flesh? God do so to me and more also if you are not commander of my army from now on in place of Joab. So I think David's doing two things there.One, Joab just killed Absalom after David specifically asked him not to. So there seems to be some frustration potentially between David and Joab because Joab is dangerous and willing to not do what David asked. And so there's some hurt there, even though the most recent thing we read was David following Joab's call on how he ought to treat his troops. Amasa would have been in David's army for a long time and only once tried to kill him in a rebellion. But Amasa is probably the strongest figure left in and around Judah.He is over the army. If power is going to shift after Absalom dies, it would most likely shift to Amasa. And so he's saying, hey, you come here, you'll replace Joab, you'll be over my army, and we'll go from there. And so he's in some ways removing Joab, but also removing Amasa as a threat and bringing him back over to his side. That's the game plan here. That's why he says that.Verse 14, and he swayed the heart of all the men of Judah as one man. So they sent word to the king, return both you and all your servants. So the king came back to the Jordan and Judah and came to Gilgal and Judah came to Gilgal to meet the king and to bring the king over the Jordan. And Shimei, the son of Gerah, the Benjaminite from Bahurim, hurried to come down with the men of Judah to meet King David. For the record, when you're reading the Bible, a lot of times people come down from Jerusalem because it is uphill. So they can come down and head north, just so you know, because they are heading down a hill.Down does not mean all south when you're reading your scriptures. So he comes down to meet David, but he's heading northeast. And with him were a thousand men from Benjamin and Ziba, the servant of the house of Saul with his 15 sons and his 20 servants rushed down to the Jordan before the king. And they crossed the ford to bring over the king's household and to do his pleasure. Which got introduced to two people, Shimei and Ziba. Ziba we'll deal with in a second when we talk about Mephibosheth, but he's the one who's related to the situation with Mephibosheth.But let's talk about Shimei for a second. Do y'all remember Shimei, the son of Gerah, the Benjaminite from Bahurim? If you don't remember Shimei, the son of Gerah, the Benjaminite from Bahurim, when David was fleeing in chapter 16, Shimei, the son of Gerah, the Benjaminite from Bahurim, came out while David was in Bahurim and cursed David. So he's a Benjaminite, meaning he was from the people of Saul. He's not of the tribe of Judah. So when David's fleeing Shimei, the son of Gerah, the Benjaminite from Bahurim comes out and basically says, Oh, in your face, David, you deserve this.Oh, God got you. Now all the things that you've done, you man of blood, you wicked, worthless, sorry son. He says all kinds of things to him and throws rocks at him and says everything that you did to the house of Saul is coming back on you, which is really unfair because David didn't do much of anything to the house of Saul. He actually went out of his way to find people in the house of Saul to be nice to. He just was anointed King. And then he ran from Saul for a really long time.But this guy who had more position and more power of being a Benjaminite in the house of Saul comes out and curses him. And while he's doing this, one of David's soldiers basically says, can we kill him? And David says, no, because maybe God told him to curse me. And then we don't want to oppose God. Or maybe God didn't. And God will hear him cursing me.And God will feel sorry for me and be nice to me because this guy's being mean to me. Either way, don't kill him. Let's go. Well, Shimei hears that David is coming back and seems to think something along the lines of, uh-oh. And he heads to go meet him. It says, this is the back half of verse 18.And Shimei, the son of Gerah, fell down before the king as he was about to cross the Jordan and said to the king, let not my Lord hold me guilty. Or remember how your servant did wrong on the day my Lord, the king left Jerusalem. Do not let the king take it to heart for your servant knows that I have sinned. Therefore, behold, I have come this day, the first of all the house of Joseph to come down to meet my Lord, the king. Abishai, the son of Zeruiah answered. This is Joab's brother, one of David's military leaders.Shall not Shimei be put to death for this because he cursed the Lord's anointed? Which cursing the king isn't something to to take lightly. Cursing the Lord's anointed is not something to take lightly. Open rebellion against the king that God placed in the position that he's in is not something to take lightly. And Abishai says, shouldn't he be put to death? But David said, what do I have to do with you?You sons of Zeruiah, that you should this day be as an adversary to me. Shall anyone be put to death in Israel this day? For do I not know that I am this day king over Israel? And the king said to Shimei, you shall not die. And the king gave him his oath. So Shimei comes and lays down before him and says, don't take it to heart.Don't remember it. Please forgive me. I know I was wrong. I shouldn't have said the things I said. I shouldn't have done what I should have done. And Abishai standing there with the king says, let's put him to death.And David says, what do I have to do with you? Why are you an adversary to me? This is a day of rejoicing. This is a day of joy. I'm king in Israel. Nobody's being put to death today.And so he spares him. And there's part of me that goes, yeah, but he just said he was sorry because it didn't work out. Get him. There's part of me that doesn't want this to play out the way it does. But when we consider the position that we're in as we await the return of our king, that it plays out like this is wonderful news.And that we have the same hope is wonderful news. Because we're supposed to approach our king in repentance as well. And we also have an adversary that stands there and accuses us before him. And we are also thankful that God in his grace sent someone to pay for our sin, that Jesus Christ died for our sin, that we might have forgiveness, that we might be able to repent. That's the way we're supposed to approach the return of Jesus. And so I think when we read this story about Shimei, we should ask the question, do you see your sin?Do you know that you need forgiveness? Can you see that you're wrong? I don't think Shimei saw it until he reckoned with the return of David. And I think some of you need to reckon with the return of Jesus that one day he will set up his kingdom. I had a guy who used to work for me when I ran a firework store. He was a young guy and we were talking about he had grown up in the church.We were talking about Jesus and he was in college and he just said, yeah, I like I know the stuff I'm doing is wrong. And I'll need to like repent and, you know, ask Jesus to forgive me. He said, I just, I just don't want to. And I've got plenty of time. I'm young. I've got plenty of time.Now, he doesn't know that we don't know that we don't know that he has plenty of time. Personally, we don't know if we have plenty of time before the Lord returns. He says he's going to return at any time when he wants to. And so the idea that we don't consider the return of the Lord and we continue in our sin, I think it's helpful for us to see, you know, we actually are supposed to approach the Lord in repentance. That's what Jesus says. That's his first message.When he comes to earth, he says, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. That's the proclamation. The kingdom calls us to repentance or an Acts five. When they're preaching the gospel, they say God exalted him. That's Jesus at his right hand as leader and savior to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. That's our hope is that there's repentance and forgiveness.Second Peter three, when he's talking about the return of the Lord, he says, the Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise. That's the promise of him coming back as some count slowness, but it's patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. Do you see your sin? We have care nights and community groups. Do you take the time to consider your sin? Do you take the time to understand your need for forgiveness?You show up and go, I'm doing good about the same. I'm fine. One of the signs of faithfully following Jesus is there should be times when you or someone in your group says, Hey, actually I need to talk to you. I need to come. I know it's not a care night, but I don't sin on a schedule. And so I need to repent now.I don't just wait for like the week leading up to care night to get all my sins out so that I can talk about them on that, you know, that nice scheduled Tuesday. We do that on purpose to build the rhythm of repentance, but it's something that we should do something that we should see our need for a savior and the hope that we have that there is forgiveness because we don't save ourselves, but we do get to have repentance and forgiveness. That's our hope. So I think that's what we should consider as we consider, as we see Shimei on his face before the King, we should consider, do we see our sin?Do we know what happens when he returns? The second interaction and Mephibosheth, the son of Saul came down to meet the King. Now he's in the line of Saul. That's what that means. He's Saul's grandson. Mephibosheth, if you remember, is Jonathan's son.He is crippled in his feet is the way the text describes him. And he is the one who David went and searched out and brought specifically to his table. And David found Ziba and said, is there anybody left that we can be, that I can be nice to in the house of Saul? And Ziba said, yes, there's Mephibosheth. He goes and gets Mephibosheth. And then he places Mephibosheth with Ziba under him as Ziba is his servant.When David flees, Ziba shows up with no Mephibosheth. And David says, where's Mephibosheth? And Ziba says, oh, he was so excited that you're fleeing. He actually said, this is great because today I'll become King. So I just left because I'm on your team.And David says, okay, well, everything that belongs to Mephibosheth is yours. And that's how they leave. When David's returning, Mephibosheth shows up. Verse 24, he had neither taken care of his feet nor trimmed his beard nor washed his clothes from the day the king departed until the day he came back in safety. Mephibosheth looks rough. David's been gone for a while.He's been gone long enough to make it all the way to Mahanaim, to set up himself there, to fight a battle, to have everyone flee back to their homes, to then have arguments, to hear the whispers, to then send a message to Judah, to then have Judah talk it out, send back and him to make it here. It's been a while. Mephibosheth hasn't taken care of his feet, hadn't shaved his beard, hadn't washed his clothes. I don't know if you've ever bumped into someone at CVS who looks like they died that morning, microwaved themselves and then headed into CVS. And you're just like, oh, hey, and you take a step back because you don't want what they have.That's what Mephibosheth looks like. He's not looking good right now, obviously in a state of distress. It says, So Mephibosheth says, yeah, he tricked me. He saddled up and left. But I'm at your mercy.He slandered me to you, but I'm at your mercy. I was a part of a rebellious enemy house of yours until you brought me in and cared for me. I don't have anything else, any other claims to make. I don't have anything. Just you decide. That's Mephibosheth's approach.And the king said to him, why speak any more of your affairs? I have decided you and Ziba shall divide the land. And Mephibosheth said to the king, oh, let him take it all since my Lord, the king has come home safely. And that's most likely just a nice way of saying thank you. He's going to take half of it. He'll accept the gift.The king wants the king says that, but he just says, that's not what I'm most worried about. I'm thankful you're back. Now, I don't know if David's right in his ruling here. I think David was quick in his original ruling with Ziba. I think he's quick in his ruling here. I don't think that Ziba and Mephibosheth could go back to the same situation they were in.That makes some sense. And Ziba did help David as he fled. So I think he just kind of honors Mephibosheth, honors Ziba, cuts it in half and just moves on. But as we consider our position awaiting our king, and I consider Mephibosheth who went into mourning because of the situation that he was in, who had great upheaval in his life. I just started considering how comfortable are we with the situation that we're in? Do we see the need we have for a good king who brings justice?Do we see the need we have for a king to set things right? Do we see that we're not at home here? Because I think it's so easy if we're well fed, if we're well provided for, if we're prosperous enough, if we're comfortable enough to not really long for the king to return. I think there's a lot of things we might be looking more forward to. We're not in a state of mourning and waiting for him to come and set things right. Sometimes we are.Sometimes there's seasons of life where you feel that acutely. But I think it's very easy for us to be comforted to the ability to be dull. Entertained to where our senses are no longer aware of injustice and need and brokenness and the hope of a returning king who sets things right. So I think we need to ask, do I see my need? Do I long for the return of the king? Do I want Jesus to come fix what's broken here?Or am I just fine? And the things I'm most concerned about are simpler and shorter and closer. Because Mephibosheth needed David to come back to fix things for him. Verse 31, the third interaction. Now Barzillai, the Gileadite, had come down from Rogelim and he went on with the king to the Jordan to escort him over the Jordan.So he actually lived on the other side and met David when he fled and helped feed him and helped care for him. And he's coming towards the Jordan with him, not meeting him. He's not coming to the Jordan. He's coming with David and he's kind of at the Jordan. He's basically escorting him on his way out. That's the way he's coming.Verse 32, Barzillai was a very aged man, 80 years old. I don't know how that hits some of y'all, but I'm just reading what it said. He had provided the king with food while he stayed at Mahanaim, for he was a very wealthy man. And the king said to Barzillai, come over with me and I will provide for you with me in Jerusalem. But Barzillai said to the king, how many years have I still to live that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem?I am this day 80 years old. Can I discern what is pleasant and what is not? Can your servant taste what he eats or what he drinks? Can I still listen to the voice of singing men and singing women? Why then should your servant be an added burden to my Lord, the king? Your servant will go a little way over the Jordan with the king.Why should the king repay me with such a reward? Please let your servant return that I may die in my own city near the grave of my father and my mother. But here's your servant, Chimham. Let him go over with my Lord, the king, and you do whatever seems good to you. So David says, you care for us, come with me back to Jerusalem and I'll care for you.You get to eat at the king's table. You get the best of everything. And Barzillai says, no thank you. Mostly what I want is to live where I live, to die among my people, to be buried with my household, and everything good you have to offer is kind of wasted on me. He said, I don't really taste the food I eat anymore. So it doesn't matter who the chef is.I can't hear people sing and dance and enjoy that sort of thing anymore. So it just kind of gets on my nerves. He didn't say that. That's me reading into it. That's the way my grandparents were on some things where they like movies were annoying because of the, you know, you go in and it's like high quality sound and they're like, I can't hear anything. This is obnoxious.I don't want to be there. It'd be like if you were like, hey, we're going to a rave. You want to come? No, I don't. I do not want to participate in anything that is loud and populated. So he says, come to Jerusalem.And he says, no, thank you. But Chimham would probably love that sort of thing. Take him. Chimham. You can taste food. Yeah, cool.You're going to love Jerusalem. That's what he does. And he sends Chimham. Verse 38. Verse 38. And the king answered, Chimham shall go over with me and I will do for him whatever seems good to you.And all that you desire for me, I will do for you. Also, I know our church family usually has quite a few pregnant ladies in it. Chimham, baby name. Boy or girl. Kim or Ham for short. There you go.All right. That's not helpful. Verse 39. Then all the people went over the Jordan and the king went over and the king kissed Barzillai and blessed him. And he returned to his own home. The king went on to Gilgal and Chimham went on with him.And all the people of Judah and also the half the people of Israel brought the king on his way. That's where we're going to stop in our text this morning. And I think in considering Barzillai and his relationship to David, I think one of the things that we need to realize is that when a king comes into his kingdom, he blesses and grants rewards. It's a thing that a king does. And we're told that Jesus does the same thing. Now, it's interesting here because Chimham receives the blessing that he didn't earn.And there's a part of that that's us. That we get the blessing of Christ. We get the righteousness of Christ. We get what Christ has accomplished for us. That that is what actually saves us is the work of Jesus. But also that a king would see those who had served him and bless them and reward them is a thing that the Bible also tells us happens.Jesus tells a parable, the same kind of parable framework over and over where he says there's a master who leaves. And he places people in charge. And when he returns and then he always has this master returning. And sometimes when he returns, they're doing what they're supposed to. And he says, it's great. The master says, well done, good and faithful servant.He says, it's good that the master finds them awake when he returns. No matter when he returns, that they're ready. Sometimes the master returns and they're not ready. They haven't been doing what they're supposed to be doing. And it goes very poorly for them. They're cast out.They're destroyed. Some stories they're torn to pieces. And there's this promise of reward. There's a promise of a returning king who we're supposed to be faithful and at work when he comes back. And it's interesting. If you consider what Barzillai did.Barzillai was wealthy. And he provided for David in the wilderness. He provided for David while he was at Mahanaim. He provided for him while he was in the wilderness. And if you consider your life as a Christian. We've been given gifts.And we're in the wilderness. We're surrounded by people who are in need. Some of that's monetary. Some of that's physical. That we're supposed to be people who care for other people. That all the things that you have aren't meant to terminate on you.But you're supposed to give of your wealth. Of your resources to care and provide for other people. But some of it is like spiritual gifts. Joy. Do you know that you have a wealth of joy that's accessible by you? Because of Christ.That you should share with other people. In a culture where people go yeah they're too hard to deal with. Being around them makes me sad. Well we have a hope that's in Christ. That's not circumstantial. Christians should go into those situations.You should go share some of your joy with somebody. Because you can have yours replenished by Christ. You should go share some of your love with somebody. There are lonely people around you. My family was recently on vacation. And there's other people that came with their child.And were like hey we're going to hang out with y'all. And I had to pray. Because I don't want to hang out with them. I did not come to the beach to make friends with new people and their children. And I had to be like Lord help me. Because maybe I came to the beach to make new friends with people and their children.I need to care for people. And I don't know if I navigated that well. I did have to ask for help. I had to tell my sons hey I know that this isn't what. My son stared at him like. What on earth is happening?I had to be like say hello. That's a human. But they got it from me. Because they just aren't good at acting. I was like hey. And I wanted to just be doing the same thing.Like you've misread the situation. You picked the wrong people. We are not friendly. But I had to ask for help. Because the reality is we can welcome and care and love and give. We should.And we have Barzillai who's faithful. And the king sees it and says I want to reward that. And we have a king who's going to return. And we should be at work when he does. We should be loving and caring and praying and laboring when he does. We should be putting effort towards things that matter when he does.So I think. As we consider. Different individuals who knew that David was coming. And responded in different ways. I think we should ask. Do I see my sin?Do I know I need forgiveness? I think we should ask. Do I see brokenness in the world? Do I know that I'm not at home here? Do I feel too comfortable here? Or do I know I'm a citizen of a future kingdom?And I think we should ask. Am I faithful? Am I doing what I'm supposed to be doing? I want to finish by considering. Second Peter chapter three. It'll be on the screen.We read a bit of this earlier. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise. As some count slowness. That's his promise to return. But it's patient toward you.Not wishing that any should perish. But that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. Meaning we won't be ready for it. Jesus says. If the master of the house had known.When the thief was coming. He'd have been ready. But you don't know when the thief is coming. Then he says. So be ready.Be awake. Be alert. Meaning he could come at any point. He told them that in the first century. He's going to return. At a time they don't expect.And I know. If you get on the internet. There's a whole lot of people telling you. The signs have gotten more signy lately. Okay. But he can come whenever he wants to.And if they're telling you. It's more likely now. It is. Because he didn't come yesterday. So it's more likely today.Every day we move forward. It's more likely. He can return whenever he wants. And we're not waiting for some specific thing. That's got to happen. We're waiting for him.And he returns when he wants. But he's going to come like a thief. It says there'll be people still being. There's still going to be things on the calendar. There's still going to be good plans. That people have to do good things.People are going to be engaged. And waiting to get married. That's going to happen. And he's going to return. There's also going to be evil people. Plotting evil things.And they're not going to get to fulfill it. Because he's going to return. There's going to be all these plans at work. All these negotiations. All these things that are happening. These businesses that are going to merge.And these people who are going to do this. And a trip you're going to take. And then he's going to return. Like a thief. And then the heavens will pass away with a roar. And the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved.And the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Everything will be laid bare. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved. What sort of people ought you to be. In lives of holiness and godliness. He says none of this other stuff is going to make it.But we are. And faithfulness is. Holiness is. Godliness is. What sort of people should we be? Waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God.God. When was the last time you sat and thought, I hope he hurries? When was the last time you sat and waited for it. Longed for it. Hastened it.Prayed, Lord, come on. When was the last time you said. Lord be patient. I want to see them. Repent.Oh Lord. If you could wait a little while. I'm trying. I'm praying. Lord. Can you save them?Can you rescue them? Are we living our life. Knowing that the master can return whenever he wants. But according to his promise. We are waiting for new heavens. And a new earth.In which righteousness dwells. Our good things are not here. But they are to come. If you belong to Jesus. And if you don't belong to Jesus. The offer of repentance.Is for you. That you might come to know him. But may God grant us to be people. Who wait for. And hasten the day of his return. And are ready.When he gets here. Let's pray. Lord we're thankful. That we have a better king. Than David. Who's going to return.And set everything right. We're thankful. We're thankful. That we have a better judge. We're thankful. That we have a hope.In you. And may we look forward. To our reward. May we see. What is to come. And to treasure it.And to value it. Above what we have. In front of us. Lord may your spirit. Help us. And may we daily.Wait. For you.In Jesus name. Amen.

JOAB

Bennett Creek Church

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 21, 2026 810562:03

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The GAP Episode 807 - Cosmo's World

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 19, 2026 131:34

On this episode of The GAP Joab Gilroy is joined by Nathan "NachosJustice" Lawrence and his cat Cosmo! Together they tackle the Steam Next Fest Demos they've been playing, some 007 First Light, Gothic Remake, Cursemark and whatever else comes to mind! Over in the news, Xbox is forcing studios to fight for their lives, Joab sloppily included a bad rumour in the news section, and EA is revolutionising advertising. This episode goes for 2 hour and 11 minutes, it also contains coarse language. Timestamps – 00:00:00 – Start 00:12:41 – Cursemark 00:17:59 – Steam Next Fest Demos 01:19:03 – God of War Sons of Sparta 01:26:45 – 007 First Light 01:39:43 – Gothic Remake 01:56:50 – News 02:07:35 – Weekly Plugs 02:11:34 – End of Show Subscribe in a reader iTunes / Spotify

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Ep 377 | 2 Samuel 8-24; 1 Kings 1-11, Come Follow Me 2026 (June 22-28)

Talking Scripture

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 18, 2026 54:45

→ Watch on YouTube → Detailed Show Notes(00:00) An overview of these chapters.(04:11) David stays in Jerusalem instead of going to war with his troops. He lies with Bathsheba and then tries to cover his sin by arranging for the death of her husband, Uriah. Reading this story through the lens of the honor culture in the ancient Near East.(08:13) David's fall helps us see the lines of defense we can put in place to prevent us from breaking the law of chastity.(19:10) Chaos ensues in David’s family because of his example. Nathan pitches a legal case to David where a wealthy man steals a poor man's little lamb. Nathan says, “Thou art the man!” He prophesies chaos in the House of David as a consequence of his choices.(20:05) David's son Amnon takes his sister Tamar by force. Tamar's other brother Absalom kills Amnon in revenge. Absalom rebels against his father David and declares himself the king. David's general Joab slays Absalom.(28:24) In the Book of Mormon, Jacob rebukes those who excuse themselves in committing sins like David and Solomon. Their immoral transgressions broke the hearts of their wives. Their children lost confidence because of their bad examples.(31:30) The last four chapters of 2 Samuel are an appendix containing diverse materials arranged in a chiastic order.(35:47) Solomon becomes the king. He asks the Lord for a wise and understanding heart.(38:42) Two mothers contend over a baby and Solomon determines who the true mother is. His wisdom and understanding exceed that of all men, but then Solomon begins to worships false gods. Our strengths can also be our downfall.(44:24) The First Israelite Temple is built by Solomon. We can find increased divine assistance when we attend the temple and partner with the Lord. → For more of Bryce Dunford’s podcast classes, click here. → Enroll in Institute → YouTube → Apple Podcasts → Spotify → Amazon Music → Facebook The post Ep 377 | 2 Samuel 8-24; 1 Kings 1-11, Come Follow Me 2026 (June 22-28) appeared first on LDS Scripture Teachings.

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2 Samuel 20-22, Psalm 102

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 17, 2026 23:39

In a foreshadow of coming division, a man named Sheba divides the rest of Israel from Judah, and David sends Amasa to gather troops. Remember, David has just been reinstated as king after his son Absalom turned against him to take the throne for himself. During that period, Absalom appointed Amasa as the new leader of his army, a position once held by Joab. Joab is the man who killed David's son Absalom, and David surely knew this. When reinstated as king, David appointed Amasa, not Joab, as the leader of the army. When Joab and Amasa meet on the road, Joab drops his sword to the ground, and picks it up non-chalantly, asking Amasa if he is well, all of which is a very clever way to deceive the new leader and take over. 2 Samuel 20 – 1:01 . 2 Samuel 21 – 6:26 . 2 Samuel 22 – 12:31 . Psalm 102 – 19:36 . :::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible.facebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org

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2 Samuel 18-19

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 16, 2026 20:08

David's son Absalom is a handsome young man who has won the hearts of Israel by deception, telling them that King David had no time for them but he would grant justice if only he were in charge. Absalom devises a coup to overthrow David, but his father catches wind of his plot and flees before he arrives. Today, David's men prepare for battle and meet the forces of Absalom's Israelite troops. He “goes out on a limb” as it were and fights against his father but ends up “hanging out with the wrong crowd.” That's two dad jokes for the price of one; if you don't get it, you will soon. Anyways, the forest itself claims more lives than the sword, and Absalom meets his end at the hands of Joab. 2 Samuel 18 – 1:02 . 2 Samuel 19 – 9:36 . :::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible.facebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org

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2 Samuel 15-17

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 15, 2026 21:43

After killing his brother at a family dinner, Absalom fled to another country, and was only brought back after Joab convinced David to do so by way of a theatric analogy. Today, Absalom begins a plan to win the hearts of the people and turn Israel against his father, the king. Learning of this impending insurrection, David flees Jerusalem with all of his people, save a handle of men who serve as spies. Nathan prophesied that the Lord would bring disaster on David from his own family, and that another man would sleep with his wives before Israel in broad daylight. David's own son, Absalom, is that man. 2 Samuel 15 - 1:02 . 2 Samuel 16 - 9:41 . 2 Samuel 17 - 14:47 . :::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible.facebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org

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2 Samuel 2:18-19:8a

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Play Episode Listen Later Jun 14, 2026

Group Guide Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week. 2 Samuel 18-19a Chet Phillips Download TranscriptMy name is Chet. I'm one of the pastors here. We'll be in second Samuel starting in chapter 18 I'm gonna take a moment to remind us how we got where we are this morning in this text and then we're gonna read the beginning of the text because It's gonna set us up well for understanding kind of the tension of what's happening here So we have David the Anointed blessed king over Israel That God went and found someone after his own heart to become king and that even has made a covenant with him That he's going to bless him that he's gonna give him sons to sit on the throne forever He's gonna work this blessing out in David's line David sins grievously against Bathsheba and Uriah and when the prophet Nathan speaks to him.He tells him that there's gonna be trouble that's going to arise out of this and we're in chapter 18 We're in the middle of some of that trouble David's oldest son Amnon had sexually assaulted his half sister who was Absalom's David's other sons whole sister and Absalom, because David does nothing, plots and murders his brother Amnon These are the two oldest sons of David. There was a third one, but he doesn't seem to be mentioned and it's likely he died Young so we've got the two oldest sons of David. Absalom then runs. He flees he's in exile for a while.Joab sees that this is distressing David. After a time, he helps bring back Absalom. Joab, that leader of David's army, Absalom comes back and eventually over time works up a rebellion Marches with the people of Israel claiming to be king on Jerusalem David flees, goes to Mahanaim. That's where we find him Now which is interesting That's where Ish-bosheth had set up his kingdom last time David was in the middle of a civil war and so David is in Mahanaim Absalom gathers the forces of Israel crosses over the Jordan towards David and that's where we pick up today Absalom is following Hushai's plan which was the one Hushai secretly on David's team which was don't go killing quickly; gather everybody and you lead the forces yourself.So we've got Absalom with a very large kind of conscripted army. All the people in Israel were prepared to fight but these guys would come fight when they need to and then go back David is with a smaller but more regular military and We pick up in verse one chapter 18 Then David mustered the men who were with him and Set over them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. It doesn't tell us how many that he has.But it does tell us that he has commanders of thousands and hundreds and that he splits them into thirds We're gonna see that in just a second so it seems like he does have several thousand men That's the standing army that left with him and David sent out the army one third under the command of Joab One third under the command of Abishai the son of Zeruiah Joab's brother Which we've seen them lead his military before and one third under the command of Ittai the Gittite Which we saw him join David with 600 of his own men as they were fleeing.And the king said to the men I myself will go out with you But the men said you will not go out for if we flee they will not care about us If half of us die they will not care about us But you are worth 10,000 of us therefore it's better that you send us help from the city So David says I'm going to and they say no, you're not because you're gonna make it more complicated They're only gonna care about you it matters a whole lot if they kill you it doesn't matter if they kill us if we flee They're just gonna be trying to find you like if We've got the whole point of us going out is to keep you alive for the sake of reestablishing control here.So stay and send help from the city organized from the city King said to them whatever seems best to you. I will do So the king stood the side of the gate while all the army marched out by hundreds and by thousands and the king ordered Joab and Abishai and Ittai, deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom and All the people heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders about Absalom.So it becomes very clear to the entire army that David has instructed deal gently With Absalom for my sake now This is the tension in this story Because we have David referred to as the king the king the king the king and as king David Organizes his military and as king he sends them out to defend the kingdom and as king He is working to stop a rebellion As king he's bringing justice and righteousness and.Then at the end He doesn't sound like a king He sounds like a father So as he's sending out the military he says Deal gently with the young man Absalom because in his eyes that's still who he is He's a lad, that young man that's leading a rebellion against this Who's got a bigger army than y'all Who wishes to kill us. When y'all catch him but you'd be nice to him Be tender.Joab that's actually why I made you leader of the military because you're one of the most tender fellows. I know From what we know of Joab he is anything but gentle This is probably the only time David has ever given this instruction to his military leaders I don't think he was ever attacking the Amalekites and was like hey if you catch the king Because y'all it should be nice to him when you catch him. He just does this isn't normal.But it gets word through the whole because there's this tension with David where he's got to work justice He's got to be a king. He is the king and then but he loves his son Can you imagine trying to navigate this? How how do you How do you do that? How do you handle this when we see David trying to do both? He wants Absalom to lose But he doesn't want to lose Absalom.And he's trying to thread that needle So the army has verse six Went out into the field against Israel and the battle was fought in the forest of Ephraim And the men of Israel were defeated there by the servants of David and the loss there was great on that day 20,000 men The battle spread over the face of all the country and the forest devoured more people that day than the sword.So they spread out they're in three different groups they fight They meet them on the field of battle, but it says specifically they're fighting in the forest of Ephraim And the forest kills more people than the sword does which is a very interesting verse I think all that's trying to communicate to you was not David if you talk to the to the to the David's army and you said how do they go how did it go.And they were basically saying the forest was more help to us than our sword was Like the forest won the battle for us more than the sword did meaning that the terrain benefited us greatly David has a more well trained military that has done more things and they're in a smaller group They don't want to meet on a field in the open Because sheer numbers will out Man them they'll just they'll lose just over time so what they do is they spread out and they fight in the woods and it works out Very well for them They do some of what a famous South Carolinians did during the Revolutionary War They were like yeah, we're not lining up and just shooting it y'all but every time you ride through the woods.Good luck and we're like we like y'all and we're gonna name colleges after you so that's That's what David that's what they do they they go hide in the woods and they fight in the woods And they say the woods the forest helped us more than the sword did today in 20,000 men die, but the The brunt of that is on the people of Israel not the David side And we're gonna see in just a second the the forest playing a very active role versus nine.And Absalom happened to meet the servants of David Okay, so David's not there, but Absalom is because Absalom's doing Hushai's plan which is you go yourself and Take everybody with you so Absalom's there and he comes across some of David's servants Absalom was riding on his mule and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak and his head Caught fast in the oak and he was suspended between heaven and earth while the mule that was under him went on Absalom sees some of David's men in the forest Most likely at this point Absalom's trying to get away so he spurs his mule. He's heading off I don't know if he was looking back It doesn't tell us it may be the mule just picked a spot that the mules head fit fine.So he just shoot under there Absalom gets his head caught in an oak tree now The word head here can mean it's actual head so it's possible that he got stuck in between some branches and it actually got around his neck His head is actually stuck wedged in somewhere It can also mean his hair and one of the things we know about Absalom other than he's the most handsome man You'd ever like to meet is it he has beautiful hair To the point that he cuts it once a year and weighs it and then Tells people about it.And it's written down forever and scripture for us how much was hair weight So it's possible that it says hair that got tangled up and then he's having to hold himself up And I don't know if you've ever been snagged on something, but it's not easy to get yourself out of it And he's now dangling from a tree and his mule's like well sorry You should have cut your hair before battle and heads up.So he's dangling from a tree and the forest is helping more than the sword at this moment Verse 10 and a certain man saw it and told Joab behold I saw Absalom hanging in an oak And Joab says what we would say Joab said to the man who told him what you saw him so he comes to report hey Hey, you remember the guy we're looking for? Absalom dangling from a tree over here It'd be like you know you're just one of the random guys you're walking along and then there's someone just dangling from a tree? It's like the guy we came for you guys. He's here That's what he does he's I see him and Joab says what you saw him? Why then did you not strike him there to the ground? Why are you telling me's in a tree? Why are you telling me he's dead?I would have been glad to give you 10 pieces of silver and a belt Yeah, 10 pieces of silver and a belt you guys But the man said to Joab even if I felt in my hand the weight of a thousand pieces of silver I would not reach out my hand against the king's son for in our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai for my sake protect the young man Absalom on the other hand if I had dealt Treacherously against his life and there's nothing hidden from the king then you yourself would have stood aloof.Joab said I will not not waste time with you waste time like this with you So Joab he says I saw Absalom hanging in a tree Joab says why didn't you kill him and then I would have given you 10 pieces of silver and a belt and the man says You could have given me a bag of a thousand pieces of silver I'm not killing the king's son after he told us not to and then he just keeps going He goes he told you and his brother and he had time and if I had killed him and the king found out later You're not gonna bow walking up in the middle of that and being like look at whose belt he's wearing You're gonna stand back and let me get killed. I know exactly and just like you just I don't know who this certain man was but I like him.Joab's like why didn't you just obey the king and this guy's like have you lost your mind and Just goes toe to toe with Joab and you haven't gotten anything to say except for I don't have time for this I'm not getting too big discussion with you about what I would have done later had I like what whatever So he just you know I believe I'm not waste time like this with you and he took three javelins in his hand.And he thrust them into the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the oak so when Joab gets there Absalom Absalom still there they take three Throwing spears and thrust them into him and ten young men, Joab's armor-bearers Surrounded Absalom and struck him and killed him Then Joab blew the trumpet and the troops came back from pursuing Israel for Joab restrained them So Joab does not follow the king's order He goes and brutally kills Absalom Throws three spears into him while he's dangling there cuts him down and then ten men who were with him Striking and killing.And then he blows the trumpet because that's all Joab wanted to do we got the guy that was causing problems The battle's over like y'all come back and without Absalom there's no rebellion It stopped And the throwing of the three spears makes it seem to me first of all Joab has no intention whatsoever of following David's command And it also feels Personal vindictive maybe and it doesn't tell us I think he probably had some enjoyment of finding him like that and then some anger towards Absalom he's Joab's the one who helped to bring Absalom back From exile Absalom when he was trying to get Joab's attention Joab wouldn't come so Absalom burned down Joab's field.Joab's on the run from Absalom has been expelled from his home and had to take his own family and his household with him and Seems to be he has no mercy in his heart for him and Absalom finds a gruesome end Now we know what David asked But there's part of me who can appreciate Feeling like yeah Absalom Caught what he deserved He's risen up in rebellion against his own back When when the original the when it was Ahithophel and Hushai were both giving him plans Ahithophel said we'll go tonight Just kill David and Absalom and thinks that's a good idea and then Hushai says no, we'll kill them all and Absalom thinks that's a better idea and When he dies like this there's part of me that just goes yeah.Feels like justice was served There's actually a passage in Deuteronomy that seems like he kind of lives out I want to show you what happens here next in verse 17 it says they took Absalom and threw him into a great pit in the forest and raised over him a very great heap of stones And all Israel fled everyone to his own home Now Absalom and his lifetime had taken and set up for himself the pillar that is in the King's Valley for he said I have no son to keep my name and Remembrance he called the pillar after his own name and it is called Absalom's monument to this day We'll get to that in just a second.And Deuteronomy chapter 21 it says that if anyone is deserving of death and is hanged on a tree He's cursed by God and that you should remove him from the tree before nightfall And Absalom hanging on the tree now it just happens to him but it seems as if it's in God's Providence that this would happen and it's the same phrase that he's hanged on a tree That's what he says I found he's hanging on a tree cursed by God. He's killed and.Then the very next passage in Deuteronomy 21 says if you have a rebellious son He should be taken outside of the gates and stoned and they throw him in a pit and they throw a great heap of stones on him So that he somehow lives out Deuteronomy 21 both of the punishments and there's this He's very unceremoniously cared for he's dumped dumped in a pit stones are thrown on him and then it says hey While he was alive he made himself his own monument and what the the text is doing is going so Absalom has two stone monuments the one he made for himself and the one we made for him in the forest The one where he tried to honor himself and the one where he died in utter contempt and dishonor.We are told in the text previously that Absalom had three sons so we've seen at this point that they have all died in infancy You're at a young age so that they aren't able to carry his name on So his desire in pride to elevate himself has come to utter ruin But now we have to see what happens with David Verse 19 then Ahimaaz the son of a Zadok said let me run and carry news to the king that the Lord has delivered him from the hand of his enemies.So Ahimaaz we met him earlier. He's one of the guys that hid in the well To bring news to David. He's been helping spy. He wants he says let me run and give him the news And Joab said to him you are not to carry news today You may carry news another day, but today you shall not you shall carry no news because the king's son is dead So Ahimaaz is excited he in his mind. He just says hey let's go tell him we won let's tell him that this is today is a great day.Then Joab said today's not gonna be a great day the king's son is dead. You don't need to carry news today And he says you can carry news another day. He's even like seems like he's trying to tell him as if it's like it's not you it just is the news. You don't need to carry it Verse 21 then Joab said to the Cushite go tell the king what you have seen The Cushite bowed before Joab and ran. I find this interaction interesting as well.So Joab looks at Ahimaaz and goes don't go deliver this news. It's not gonna go well. This is bad news and then he goes you there foreigner I got news for you to take to the king and It feels like At best what Joab is doing is you don't belong to the nation of Israel so you don't need to mourn with us But it worse he's just like if David decides to kill someone Non-covenant person I got a message for you which I wonder how the Cushite felt about that but he just says hey run this message.So the Cushite who's from the Egypt area He's gonna go so he says the Cushite bow before Joab and ran Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said again to Joab come what may let me also run after the Cushite And Joab said why will you run my son seeing that you have no reward for the news Come what may he said I will run so he said to him run Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the plain and out ran the Cushite to Ahimaaz really wants to go Please please please He says whatever happens. I don't care what happens. Just let me go. Let me run after him. I'll just go behind him. Let me go.And then he doesn't go behind him he runs a different way and outruns him And I think maybe Ahimaaz just like running He also might just like to be in the middle of things. I don't know we don't we don't know But we know that he out runs the Cushite so he's gonna get there first But he said I don't care I don't care how he takes the news. I just want to go.Verse 24 now David was sitting between the two gates and the watchman went up to the roof of the gate by the wall When he lifted up his eyes and looked he saw a man running alone so there's outer gate outer wall Then a House something above the gate where you can sit and watch and there's an inter gate inter wall and David's in between pacing praying I don't know But he's just kind of this is where he is and he's waiting for news waiting they're keeping an eye out on what's going on watchman sees a runner.The watchman is verse 25 called out and told the king and the king said if he is alone There is news in his mouth and he drew near and near so they can see for quite a ways We don't know how far but he could be a mile away between like we he's you know You see someone running he says someone's running he's by himself He says well he's alone he's bringing news The whole army marching back would mean one thing people coming back in a little bunches would probably mean defeat you know.But just the guy running he's bringing us some information The watchman saw another man running and the watchman called to the gate and said see another man running alone The king said he also brings news Which he split his army into Thirds so to get news from different places. It's not odd to get news from the same place with the exact same time as odd but David doesn't know that's what's about to happen.The watchman said I think the running of the first is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of a Zadok I think he's seen Ahimaaz run before this what part of what makes me think Ahimaaz likes to run or you know Ahimaaz does his hands weird when he runs or something. I don't know but he sees him and he's like that looks like Ahimaaz running And the king said he is a good man and comes with good news not maybe wishful thinking on David's part.But it also may be that he understands how Joab usually sends news and we just saw Joab say you're not allowed to bring news because this news is bad And maybe Joab has usually picks people to honor who get to go deliver good news So when he says oh, it's Ahimaaz this is gonna be good news That's the way David takes it Then Ahimaaz cried out to the king all is well and he's just run several miles and he's run fast because he outran the Cushite All is well as one word in in Hebrew says Shalom, but he says all is well and he bowed before the king with his face to the earth and he said Blessed be the Lord your God who has delivered up the men who raised their hand against my Lord the king.And the king said is it well with the young man? Absalom So he says we won The news he gives is the news to the king justice was served But the king doesn't respond. I mean he is the King David, but he responds as the father. He got the king news and now he asks Is it well With Absalom Ahimaaz answered When Joab sent the king's servant, your servant, I saw a great commotion, but I do not know what it was.And the king said turn aside and stand here so he turned aside and stood still now Ahimaaz said twice come what may And as soon as he gets to come what may he does not tell him what happened to his son I Don't know if he changed his mind in the moment I don't know if he just wanted to be here and see it We don't know if he thought about it as he was out running the Cushite and he thought I don't know if it was when he gave the news the King David and King David doesn't respond with any sort of joy at hearing that he won but only asked about Absalom, but at this moment he just goes ah when I when I was there was the stuff going on, but I don't know.Hmm Then David says okay, we'll stand over here And then he sees a Cushite running Which I don't know if he knows him. I don't know how how that worked in their their army But he's coming up so he just has stand here and he's waiting for this piece of news And behold the Cushite came and the Cushite said good news from my Lord the king For the Lord has delivered you this day from the hand of all who rose up against you I don't know if the Cushite did a double take when he saw him as.But he was the last time he had a conversation with a person he was talking to Joab who was talking to Ahimaaz and then he took off running and then when he shows up He sees David who's talking to Ahimaaz who's obviously been running I don't know if we play the game where it was like which one of us has just run six miles but she'd probably be able to figure it out Do the other ones hadn't and so I just want to hear if he was like, huh, and then just but he did his job.The king said to the Cushite Is it well with the young man? Absalom, I asked the exact same question and the Cushite answered may the enemies of my Lord the king and all who rise up against you for evil be like that young man And the king was deeply moved Went up to the chamber over the gate and wept And as he went and he said oh my son, Absalom my son my son, Absalom Would that I had died instead of you? Oh, Absalom my son my son.So he gets the news we won Rebellion over God's given you victory God's with you and he gets the news your son is dead David's heart is broken And he just goes off It was told Joab the king is weeping and mourning for Absalom So the victory that day was turned into mourning for all the people For they heard, for the people heard that day the king is grieving his son and the people stole into the city that day as people who steal in who are Shamed when they flee in battle and the king covered his face and the king cried with a loud voice Oh my son, Absalom my son David's gone up over the gatehouse and he's just weeping and he's covered his face and he's just he's broke.People hear it And they don't they don't just walk back into the city like anything good has happened They don't celebrate that they won they don't celebrate their deliverance It says they sneak in like people who lost people who don't want to make eye contact with you because they fled because they're ashamed of themselves So this this is how it comes back to the city Then Joab came into the house for the king and said you have today covered with shame The faces of all your servants who have this day saved your life and the lives of your sons and your daughters and the lives of your wives.And your concubines because you love those who hate you and hate those who love you You have made it clear today that the commanders and servants are nothing to you for today I know that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead today Then you would have been pleased So Joab shows up walks right up and it says just Let's him have it and you can you can feel Joab's hurt a little bit. Joab is is David's nephew and he's been with him and everything.And Joab says I can tell now they don't matter like we don't matter if Absalom were alive and we were all dead this you wouldn't be acting like this Verse seven now therefore a rise Go out and speak kindly to your servants for I swear by the Lord if you do not go Not a man will stay with you this night and this will be worse for you than all the evil that has come upon you from your youth until now.Then the king arose and took his seat in the gate and the people were all told behold the king is sitting in the gate and All the people came before the king David hears Joab and he realizes he's right He goes out to the gate and he starts smoothing things back over No, Joab goes up to him and says you need to act like a king and David had just been acting like a father and There's this pull in the text Because how does David handle this well? If he only responded like a king If he looked at them as they were on their way out and said make sure Absalom doesn't last the day He'd be gone. Oh, I mean that's your son David Response in both ways he responds as a king at the end we see him sitting as a king.We see him weeping as a father if he only acts like a father then then it falls apart He doesn't handle his kingly duties. There's this tension here between the justice that needs to be carried out And the love that David has for his son and he's not able to to navigate it But how would you Your king your sons in rebellion against you. How do you navigate that? And I think as we're evaluating it we're trying to think through that I think different ones of us want to move the slider in different directions Some of us feel like yes, I don't know Can you march against your own son even though he's wrong? Maybe you don't Maybe David should just say Somebody else has got to lead this. I'm gonna step down from being king.And some of you are like that's crazy talk Get in He's causing more problems He's willing to kill you. He's wrong. I don't care that he's your son. He's chosen so many things that are wrong And we want to pull this back and forth and we have this tension between justice and love and mercy And it's not just in this story. I think this is the tension that runs throughout the Old Testament This story gives us a feel for it.But we're told that God has a glorious king who is perfect in justice and perfect in holiness created a world out of love, that he loves the world that he loves His creation that he loves Humans and we're told that we rebel We don't want his kingship. We don't want his love. We don't want him What does he do And you'll talk to people and then move that slider around Some people say why don't see why he can't just forget why can't he just love us if he loves us then he would just forgive us If there really is a God, then he's a loving God and he's a forgiving God and we're fine. It's fine He knows we're all human. He just is gonna. He's fine.And if you have a God of judgment or wrath or whatever you're confused because that's not what God's like And they just move the slider all the way over to loving father which we're told God is a loving father There's a problem with that Joab sees the problem. He says that son was gonna kill all your other sons That son was gonna kill all your children. So you're gonna kill your whole household.And it's easy if your life's been kind of calm and kind of nice and everything's been kind of and you just deal with Base level disagreements to go yeah, we're all the same and God loves us But if people have marched into your village and burned it down and raped all your family members If you've dealt with heinous wicked evil and then your answer is that God just kind of sleepily goes. It's okay That doesn't feel very loving How can he love us and not care.There's a scene in the movie Princess Bride where Princess Buttercup is being walked down the aisle, being forced to marry someone she doesn't want to marry she's walking this really old Nice king she gives him a kiss on the cheek and he says what was that for she says you've always been so nice to me And I'm not gonna see you again because after the wedding when I get to the honeymoon suite I'm gonna kill myself He pats her arm and says that's nice.And he looks at someone she kissed me and Some of us seem to be that's the God you're promoting No matter what happens you just kind of go that's nice. It's okay It's just vaguely kind And you've filed that under love, but he has no response to sin whatsoever There are others who are gonna slide it over and say no, he needs to bring justice He needs to destroy Wickedness and you'll hear people say why don't you just get rid of the bad people like why don't you just get rid of sin why doesn't he just get rid of it Because he'd have to get rid of people.And most of us want a God who judges we just want him to judge wherever the line is past us Do you know what I'm saying? I Like if I'm driving down the interstate and I'll come up behind you and you're not going as fast as me you are slow And if I'm driving up down the interstate and you come whipping up behind me you are fast Because I'm the pace car I'm driving appropriately that's the way we feel about justice That's the way we feel about mercy that's what I want the line to go right here past me Those people are the bad ones, but I'm not.And so we actually don't want a holy God we want him to be as holy as I am We don't want a just God we we want him just as holy and just as just as Get rid of the people I don't like and keeps me that's not how it works if you're going to stop the rebellion you stop the rebels And that's us you've actively made things worse. I've actively made things worse. I've been part of the problem I've been selfish I've lied I've harmed people I'm part of the problem I haven't just been an addition to the world I've taken away from it and if you think he's righteous If you think he's just and you go well, yeah, but like more good than bad that's not how justice works.That's not how judgment works If if there was a trial for a doctor who had been killing people that were his patients And his whole defense was yeah, I killed four people last year But I saved 22 So I'm a net 18 And I only killed the ones that annoying me Nobody the judges aren't gonna go well somebody that math is net 18 right okay Let him go That's not how it works That's not how justice works You don't want someone it character witness after someone has has assaulted your family and someone goes yeah, but he's like always paid his taxes Irrelevant. I don't care That's not how justice works and so when you say well I'm good over here and I'm good over here and I did this thing.But these other ones shouldn't count that's just because you want to draw the line in a place that's actually wicked Because we fail on holiness So to just forgive everybody is wrong And to just destroy everybody is right but it breaks the father's heart In this story The rebellion is over When we see the Son hanging on a tree and dying for his sin And in our story the rebellion gets to end when we see the Son hanging on a tree and dying not for his sin, but for ours.That's what God does God works out a way for his perfect love and his perfect justice to meet in a way that we could have never navigated For his perfect justice for wrath to be poured out for sin to be dealt with and his absolute love So that there might be hope rather than just getting rid of everybody And he does that in the cross that's where those two things meet in a way that is mind blowing and beautiful.So that in the cross God is more holy than you could have ever imagined to the point that his Son has to pay for the wrath But he's more loving than you could have ever understood because he's willing to pay for it so that we might be forgiven That's the hope of the cross and there is no other way There is no other way that it would have to deny the love of God or would have to deny the righteousness of God.But in the cross we have perfect love and perfect justice meeting in a way that is beyond our comprehension and when the soldiers have the right of it when they look at David and they say you're worth 10,000 of us Jesus Christ is worth 14 trillion of us so that he's capable of paying the debt So that he can save all those who come to him with his perfect Priceless blood he can pay the debt that we all deserve to pay and He can be the way that God pours out his justice and his wrath and his righteousness and his love.So that he can welcome sinners and have their debt covered So God for us is able to do what David couldn't figure out how to navigate and we see that he is perfectly just and Perfectly loving and therefore we have a hope but only only in Christ Let's pray Lord, we ask That you would set our hearts on fire with the beauty of the gospel that we at no point Would underestimate your holiness that we would not somehow tone you down or make you sleepier That we would not impose upon you some sort of wickedness that can turn a blind eye to sin.But that Lord we would also not in seeing your absolute justice Fail to see your wonderful love that reaches to the highest heavens that covers sin So Lord may we see both may we trust Jesus and may we glorify your name In Jesus' name The band's gonna come back up and we're gonna sing If you've never placed your faith in Jesus If you're counting on God being not that holy If you have a God who's only vaguely loving but doesn't deal with sin I will let you know that that is not the God of the Scriptures.But that you can have hope in Christ and if you've placed your faith in Christ Then rejoice That your hope is not found in you. It's not found in your work It's not found in your worth but it is found in the precious blood of Jesus that forgives sinners And may we sing like we're redeemed.

god jesus christ lord israel man house personal young fail blessed humans valley scriptures base caught deuteronomy rebellions hebrew providence verse remembrance throwing king david shalom striking anointed princess bride 2 samuel in jesus priceless hope in christ irrelevant absalom wickedness marches ish shamed amalekites joab amnon zadok thirds ahithophel south carolinians abishai hushai ittai cushite mahanaim princess buttercup christ let ahimaaz so joab absalom absalom david organizes christ then then ahimaaz with absalom

Nehemiah 7

Believe His Prophets

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 10, 2026

Now it came to pass, when the wall was built, and I had set up the doors, and the porters and the singers and the Levites were appointed,2 That I gave my brother Hanani, and Hananiah the ruler of the palace, charge over Jerusalem: for he was a faithful man, and feared God above many.3 And I said unto them, Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun be hot; and while they stand by, let them shut the doors, and bar them: and appoint watches of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, every one in his watch, and every one to be over against his house.4 Now the city was large and great: but the people were few therein, and the houses were not builded.5 And my God put into mine heart to gather together the nobles, and the rulers, and the people, that they might be reckoned by genealogy. And I found a register of the genealogy of them which came up at the first, and found written therein,6 These are the children of the province, that went up out of the captivity, of those that had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away, and came again to Jerusalem and to Judah, every one unto his city;7 Who came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, Baanah. The number, I say, of the men of the people of Israel was this;8 The children of Parosh, two thousand an hundred seventy and two.9 The children of Shephatiah, three hundred seventy and two.10 The children of Arah, six hundred fifty and two.11 The children of Pahathmoab, of the children of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand and eight hundred and eighteen.12 The children of Elam, a thousand two hundred fifty and four.13 The children of Zattu, eight hundred forty and five.14 The children of Zaccai, seven hundred and threescore.15 The children of Binnui, six hundred forty and eight.16 The children of Bebai, six hundred twenty and eight.17 The children of Azgad, two thousand three hundred twenty and two.18 The children of Adonikam, six hundred threescore and seven.19 The children of Bigvai, two thousand threescore and seven.20 The children of Adin, six hundred fifty and five.21 The children of Ater of Hezekiah, ninety and eight.22 The children of Hashum, three hundred twenty and eight.23 The children of Bezai, three hundred twenty and four.24 The children of Hariph, an hundred and twelve.25 The children of Gibeon, ninety and five.26 The men of Bethlehem and Netophah, an hundred fourscore and eight.27 The men of Anathoth, an hundred twenty and eight.28 The men of Bethazmaveth, forty and two.29 The men of Kirjathjearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred forty and three.30 The men of Ramah and Gaba, six hundred twenty and one.31 The men of Michmas, an hundred and twenty and two.32 The men of Bethel and Ai, an hundred twenty and three.33 The men of the other Nebo, fifty and two.34 The children of the other Elam, a thousand two hundred fifty and four.35 The children of Harim, three hundred and twenty.36 The children of Jericho, three hundred forty and five.37 The children of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred twenty and one.38 The children of Senaah, three thousand nine hundred and thirty.39 The priests: the children of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred seventy and three.40 The children of Immer, a thousand fifty and two.41 The children of Pashur, a thousand two hundred forty and seven.42 The children of Harim, a thousand and seventeen.43 The Levites: the children of Jeshua, of Kadmiel, and of the children of Hodevah, seventy and four.44 The singers: the children of Asaph, an hundred forty and eight.45 The porters: the children of Shallum, the children of Ater, the children of Talmon, the children of Akkub, the children of Hatita, the children of Shobai, an hundred thirty and eight.46 The Nethinims: the children of Ziha, the children of Hashupha, the children of Tabbaoth,47 The children of Keros, the children of Sia, the children of Padon,48 The children of Lebana, the children of Hagaba, the children of Shalmai,49 The children of Hanan, the children of Giddel, the children of Gahar,50 The children of Reaiah, the children of Rezin, the children of Nekoda,51 The children of Gazzam, the children of Uzza, the children of Phaseah,52 The children of Besai, the children of Meunim, the children of Nephishesim,53 The children of Bakbuk, the children of Hakupha, the children of Harhur,54 The children of Bazlith, the children of Mehida, the children of Harsha,55 The children of Barkos, the children of Sisera, the children of Tamah,56 The children of Neziah, the children of Hatipha.57 The children of Solomon's servants: the children of Sotai, the children of Sophereth, the children of Perida,58 The children of Jaala, the children of Darkon, the children of Giddel,59 The children of Shephatiah, the children of Hattil, the children of Pochereth of Zebaim, the children of Amon.60 All the Nethinims, and the children of Solomon's servants, were three hundred ninety and two.61 And these were they which went up also from Telmelah, Telharesha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer: but they could not shew their father's house, nor their seed, whether they were of Israel.62 The children of Delaiah, the children of Tobiah, the children of Nekoda, six hundred forty and two.63 And of the priests: the children of Habaiah, the children of Koz, the children of Barzillai, which took one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite to wife, and was called after their name.64 These sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy, but it was not found: therefore were they, as polluted, put from the priesthood.65 And the Tirshatha said unto them, that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there stood up a priest with Urim and Thummim.66 The whole congregation together was forty and two thousand three hundred and threescore,67 Beside their manservants and their maidservants, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred thirty and seven: and they had two hundred forty and five singing men and singing women.68 Their horses, seven hundred thirty and six: their mules, two hundred forty and five:69 Their camels, four hundred thirty and five: six thousand seven hundred and twenty asses.70 And some of the chief of the fathers gave unto the work. The Tirshatha gave to the treasure a thousand drams of gold, fifty basons, five hundred and thirty priests' garments.71 And some of the chief of the fathers gave to the treasure of the work twenty thousand drams of gold, and two thousand and two hundred pound of silver.72 And that which the rest of the people gave was twenty thousand drams of gold, and two thousand pound of silver, and threescore and seven priests' garments.73 So the priests, and the Levites, and the porters, and the singers, and some of the people, and the Nethinims, and all Israel, dwelt in their cities; and when the seventh month came, the children of Israel were in their cities.

god ai israel jerusalem babylon immer bethlehem bethel sia nebuchadnezzar mordecai levites gaba nebo asaph amon zerubbabel elam joab ono ramah hanan hadid lod hananiah gibeon sisera koz adin urim tobiah arah jeshua cherub harsha addon thummim ater barzillai anathoth uzza gileadite jaala talmon darkon jedaiah keros pashur zaccai nekoda nehum bilshan

Hidden Figures 5

The Table Dallas

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 8, 2026 56:49

Israel's royal family is broken by unaddressed trauma. King David's oldest son, Amnon, assaulted his half sister, Tamar. When David found out, he was furious but chose passive silence over justice, issuing no consequences. After two years of watching his father do nothing, Tamar's brother Absalom took matters into his own hands. He orchestrated Amnon's assassination and fled into exile. While David grieved his estranged son, his general, Joab, realized the king was paralyzed between his duty as a judge and his heart as a father. To break this deadlock, Joab hired a woman from Tekoa to trick the king into making a decision. Let's see what happens as we dive into 2 Samuel 14.

Solomon Avenging the Righteous

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 7, 2026 21:32

In this Bible Story, the great reign of David came to a close. Now Solomon rules over Israel with wisdom, mercy, and justice. As his first act as king, Solomon takes care of those who were loyal to his father, and deals justly with those who betrayed him. This story is inspired by 1 Kings 2. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.Today's Bible verse is 1 Kings 2:45 from the King James Version.Episode 113: As David is dying, he calls in his son Solomon to bless him and speak God's promises over him. David instructs him on what he should do with Joab and Shimei and requests that he show kindness to Barzillai of Gilead. But Adonijah was not done trying for the throne. He made a request of Bathsheba that Solomon rightly discerned as a claim to the throne. And so as per their agreement, he was executed. Solomon sought to rule his kingdom in fairness and enacted punishments that showed mercy to those who deserved death.Hear the Bible come to life as Pastor Jack Graham leads you through the official BibleinaYear.com podcast. This Biblical Audio Experience will help you master wisdom from the world's greatest book. In each episode, you will learn to apply Biblical principles to everyday life. Now understanding the Bible is easier than ever before; enjoy a cinematic audio experience full of inspirational storytelling, orchestral music, and profound commentary from world-renowned Pastor Jack Graham.Also, you can download the Pray.com app for more Christian content, including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.Visit JackGraham.org for more resources on how to tap into God's power for successful Christian living.Pray.com is the digital destination of faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store.Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max BardProducer: Ben GammonHosted by: Pastor Jack GrahamMusic by: Andrew Morgan SmithBible Story narration by: Todd Haberkorn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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2 Samuel 16:15-17:29

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 7, 2026

Group Guide Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week. 2 Samuel 16:15-17:29 Spencer Cary Download TranscriptMy name is Spencer and I am one of the pastors here. We are going to be in 2 Samuel chapter 16. We're going to go all the way through chapter 17 today. So, if you have a Bible around you, those black Bibles, you can grab one of those. We're going on page 306. and most of the text or all of this text will be on in those Bibles. We'll have some text on the screen as well. I'll try to cue when that comes up, but you can go ahead and follow along there. I've been following Jesus for 20 years at this point.And there are times when you follow Jesus long enough that just feel really dark. whether that's for suffering, whether that's affliction, sadness, all types of things that come upon us. But there are times where it just feels very very dark. But like the words we just sang, when darkness seems to hide his face, as the original hymn said, when darkness veils his lovely face. It's just this idea that if you follow God long enough, you're going to have times where you just don't feel the presence of God. you don't feel his goodness. And then when that happens, there are questions that begin to linger.Does God love me? Is he for me? Does he care about me? And those questions can linger in a way and surface and sometimes resurface when we are going through times that are difficult, when we're traveling through times that are very dark. Man, if you follow Christ long enough, that's that's going to happen. the reality of following Jesus this side of the fall. But then there are moments there are moments where God in the middle of darkness and his kindness breaks through. And it doesn't always mean that your circumstances get better. But in the middle of suffering, in the middle of what feels like hopelessness, God meets us in some wonderful and powerful ways.And that is the experience that all of God's people feel in the lifetime, the marathon of following Jesus. And maybe that's you right now. Maybe that maybe that's where you're at. That you just feel darkness and all the things that come with that we just talked about. And if that is you, and certainly for all of us, it will be us at some point. If that is you, then this part of the story of David is actually going to be, I think, wildly encouraging because David's been in it. We have I mean it's like week after week as we're following his story right now. He's living in the aftermath of his sin against Bathsheba and Uriah and he's dealing with the discipline of the Lord and it just feels unrelenting.But today, we're going to see that in the middle of all of this darkness that he's walking through, we're going to see God shine through like like a like like in a really difficult storm, like a light that just pierces through. We're going to see some hope that's found in that. And then as we look at this as Christians, we'll be able to take a step back and see that this is the hope that he has for us as well. So, I'm going to pray for us and then we're going to work through the story together. Heavenly Father, I thank you for the good news of the gospel that we just got to read, sing, and pray.I pray that you would help us as we seek to understand who you are even as we encounter the sufferings of this present life. So may you give us ears to hear in Jesus' name. Amen. All right. All right. So, before we jump into verse 15, let's recap a little bit where Mike took us last week. Absalom, the son of David, has been leading to this point a very successful rebellion, a civil war against his father, King David. And David has fled Jerusalem. Absalom has entered Jerusalem, is set up on the throne. And now Absalom is seeking to establish his reign. Picking up in verse 15. Now Absalom and all the people, the men of Israel came to Jerusalem and Ahithophel with him. Okay? So Absalom has a party of men of followers of leaders and it's going to be referred to as the men of Israel. And the most prominentfigure in that party is a man named Ahithophel. Ahithophel is a counselor to the king. He was a counselor to David. He was someone that David brought in to give wise counsel and advice. But now he's betrayed David and he's joined his son in this rebellion. And we don't really know why. Some have theorized that Ahithophel that when you follow his line, he has a son named Iliam. And that that might be the same Iliam that is the father of Bathsheba. That this might be the grandfather of Bathsheba and that he's exacting some type of revenge against David here. We don't know that to be true, but he has betrayed David and now he's joined in with Absalom and he's giving counsel to him. But he's not the only one seeking to give counsel to this new king. Verse 16.And when Hushai the Archite, David's friend, came to Absalom, Hushai said to Absalom, "Long live the king." Long live the king. Okay, we'll pause there. There are a lot of names as we're going to see in the story today. There's a lot of names last week, so some of this stuff is hard to track. But if you remember back from last week, Hushai is a spy that David has sent to disrupt Ahithophel. So in 2 Samuel 15, what we read last week in verse 34, this will be on the screen. It says, "But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, I will be your servant, O king, as I've been your father's servant in time past, so now I will be your servant. Then you will defeat for me the counsel of Ahithophel." This is David sending in Hushai to defeat the counsel of Ahithophel, which he knows is going to be veryhelpful to Absalom. And then in verse 37 it says, "So Hushai, David's friend, came into the city just as Absalom was entering Jerusalem." So that's what's happened here. He has sent he sent Hushai in to be rival counsel to Ahithophel to disrupt all of this. And Hushai, who's playing the part of double agent quite well, comes in immediately and says, "Long live the king."Now Absalom may be pretty but he's not that stupid because he knows that Hushai is a friend to David. So he responds verse 17. And Absalom said to Hushai, "Is this your loyalty to your friend? Why did you not go with your friend?" And Hushai said to Absalom, "No, for whom the Lord and this people and all that the men of Israel have chosen, his I will be, and with him I will remain. And again, whom should I serve? Should it not be his son? As I have served your father, so I will serve you." So Absalom says, " don't you like play golf with my dad?Like, aren't y'all boys? What's happening here? Why are you where why are you here?" And he's like, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I play golf with whoever sits on the throne. I'm for the position, not the man. And the Lord is with you and the people are with you. So I am with you. So I'm here to help you. And it's great. You're David's son. You're the next. So he plays the part of double agent quite well. He doesn't get immediately thrown out. The question is, is he going to be able to keep his cover as he's trying to infiltrate his way into Absalom's influence? Verse 20, then Absalom said to Ahithophel, "Give your counsel. What shall we do?" So he's looking to what's my next move is now that I've established my place in Jerusalem. And Ahithophel in verse 21 said to Absalom, "Go into your father's concubines whom he has left to keep thehouse and all Israel will hear that you've made yourself a stench to your father and the hands of all who are with you will be strengthened." Okay, that is a diabolical plan. All right, for a variety of reasons. First, this is a egregious sin. This is an egregious violation of the law. Leviticus 20:11 prohibits this. It gives the death penalty for anyone who will lay with his father's wife. And though concubines were seen as lesser status wives in the reign of the kings, they still are wives of the king. So what Ahithophel has recommended is a wicked and gross violation of the law. But as far as evil plans go in and its most brilliant base form, it's smart. From a worldly perspective, from a godless perspective, this is a massive power play. This is his way to show all the rebels that are fighting for him that I mean business.So it's wicked and it's evil and it's vile and it's obscene, but also it's very cunning. So Ahithophel gives him this counsel and Absalom listens. Verse 22. So they pitch a tent for Absalom on the roof. And Absalom went into his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel.Now in those days the counsel that Ahithophel gave was as if one consulted the word of God. So was all the counsel of Ahithophel esteemed both by David and by Absalom. And that's a way of saying that Ahithophel's counsel was so valued. It was like hearing the word of God. Meaning that the word of God says this, you do it. Ahithophel says this, you do it. And he recommends this rebellious, cunning, and wicked act. And Absalom does it. And they pitch a tent. And they work out this plan in front of all of Israel. But this is also fulfilling the prophecy of Nathan after David sinned with Bathsheba and murdering Uriah. For Nathan the prophet in 2 Samuel 12 will be on the screen. It says, "Thus says the Lord, behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house, and I will take your wives before your eyes and givethem to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of the sun. for you did it secretly, but I will do this before this thing before all Israel and before the sun. So God gives up Absalom to his own sinful desires. And this brings judgment upon David and his house. And Ahithophel's counsel is followed. And he makes himself a stench to David and his followers. Now he's got more counsel to give becausenow they've got to reckon with David himself. And this is where we're going to see rival counselors Ahithophel and then Hushai is going to come into the scene and both of them function like the cabinet of the king. Right? So if you follow US history every US president has a cabinet and if you follow some of the biggest battles that have happened between these cabinet members. These are counselors to the king. The biggest one is is the original cabinet. So in Washington's presidency, he had Jefferson and then he had Hamilton. And both of them represented two very different political philosophies. That's why he put them in the counsel in the first place in the cabinet because he wanted to see two rival philosophies go at it, which didn't work out very well. They actually ended up forming two different political parties that came out of that. But if you follow theythey've written all this down. If you follow some of the history of how they fought, there were times where Hamilton would go on these 45minute monologues. He just go on and on and on and on and on and on and on and it's and this recorded that Jefferson would just be like head back just like just so annoying. And then there are times where Jefferson would win the day and he would get the influence of Washington and it's recorded that he would like sneer and like make faces at Hamilton, which is just funny because these are our founding fathers. of the people that helped found this nation and we can all act like children in our own sinful state at times. But that's not abnormal.That's not just US history. That's ancient history. That's happened for thousands of years that kings and presidents and prime ministers and sovereign leaders, they have counsel that they bring in often to oppose one another to find what is the best way forward. So what we're going to see is that type of cabinet battle here starting in verse one of chapter 17. Moreover, Ahithophel said to Absalom, "Let me choose 12,000 men, and I will arise and pursue David tonight. I will come upon him while he is weary and discouraged and throw him into a panic, and all the people who are with him will flee. I will strike down only the king, and I will bring all the people back to you as a bride comes home to her husband. You seek the life of only one man and all the people will be at peace and the advice seemed right in the eyes ofAbsalom and all the elders of Israel. Okay. So Ahithophel's plan I'll be honest is very very good. This is a good plan. He says listen we have a standing army of 12,000 men tonight that we can ride out of here. In fact, I will lead this. I will lead. You can stay put. I'll lead these 12,000 men. And we're going to catch David because David's not just traveling with his warriors. He's also traveling with his wives and probably some of his children, but with some grandchildren. He's got and they're tired and they're discouraged and they're weary. And he says, "You know what's going to happen?We're going to come upon them. It's going to be like lightning warfare. Boom. We're going to come in quick. And then all we have to do is cut off the head of the snake. All we have to do is take out David. There won't be lots of bloodshed. Only one man has to die. And then guess what? You're good. There's no more threat. Everyone gets behind you and you're the king. Now, that's an objectively good plan. All the commentators, everyone's looked at this and said, "That's a smart way to do this." And they hear it and they say, "Absalom likes this. The elders who are sitting in counsel like this." Now seems to be happening here is you got Absalom with a counsel of elders. Ahithophel comes in he makes his pitch and they like it and then he exits. Then verse 5, then Absalom said call Hushai the Architealso and let us hear what he has to say. So Ahithophel leaves Hushai comes in and now Hushai has to follow up a very very good plan. And that's difficult because if you have to outdo a very very good plan, you it's hard. If someone said, you know what, you're going to have to out-pitch ice cream as the staple dessert. That's a hard thing to do. You know why? Because ice cream is amazing. The fact that you can take the best part of milk, which is cream, and slowly turn it to where it's not so hard where it's just like ice, and it's not too soft that it's just this perfectly formed. and you could throw chocolate in it and all types of things. The person who pitches that idea originally, that's a good pitch. It's for you to come in and try to pitch something else. Unless milkhates you, it's a pretty good dessert. So that's what's that's happening here. Hushai is has to come in. He's going to outdo a very very good plan. Verse six. When Hushai came to Absalom, Absalom said to him, "Thus has Ahithophel spoken. Shall we do what shall we do as he says? If not, you speak." So they tell him, "This is Ahithophel's plan. Should we do what he says?" Verse 7. Then Hushai said to Absalom, This time the counsel that Ahithophel has given is not good, which I so appreciate as the opener to what we're about to read as a monologue because it's like Ahithophel has chosen poorly. Like, this is just no. It's the equivalent of Trump just saying wrong when someone says something it's just no immediately we're diverging this is not a good plan so then he starts to pitch his plan first by poisoning thewell of Ahithophel's plan verse eight said you know that your father and his men are mighty men and that they are enraged like a bear robbed of her cubs in the field. Besides, your father is an expert in war. He will not spend the night with the people. Behold, even now he has hidden himself in one of the pits or in some other place. And as soon as some of the people fall at the first attack, whoever hears this, hears it will say, "There has been a slaughter among the people who follow Absalom." Then even the valiant men whose heart is like the heart of a lion will utterly melt with fear. For all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man and those who are with him are valiant men. All right, pause.Hushai basically chooses fear. He chooses fear, which I don't know if you've been bombarded with the most obnoxious political ads that have been ra running right now, but all of them, 95% of them are fear-based because fear is effective. So, he chooses fear. He says, "You ever seen a bear robbed of her cubs? It's not good. You don't want to get in the middle of that." And he's enraged. They're furious. They're very upset with you, Absalom. So, I know you're thinking, "We've got the numbers. We've got 12,000 men. We can catch them off guard. First off, no you won't. You think David is stupid? He's hiding. He's off. You remember how you used to be hiding in the caves all the time? You think you're going to find him easily cut off the head of the snake? No. No.No. You He's not with his people. You're about to enter a hornets's nest. And let me tell you something. This is what he does. He says he says, "Your men, they've got strong hearts. Some of them courageous like lions. But the moment they start taking L's on the battlefield, the moment they start getting slaughtered, it's going to spread like wildfire. And everyone knows that David and his mighty men are bad. And that is 100% true. I mean, you look at some of their resumes, they are bad to the bone. And he says the moment that they start hearing that people are getting slaughtered, your men'll run.Seeing them not super courageous once they start getting defeated, that's a bad plan. So that's how Hushai begins. He poisons the well with fear. Okay. Now that he's poisoned it, he's going to shift to his plan. Verse 11. But my counsel is that all Israel be gathered to you from Dan to Beersheba as the sand by the sea for multitude, and that you go to battle in person. So we shall come upon him in some place where he is to be found and we shall light upon him as dew falls on the ground and of him and all the men who are with him not one will be left. If he withdraws into a city then all Israel will bring ropes to that city. We shall drag it into the valley until not even a pebble is to be found there.Okay. So what Hushai just did is he is wisely buying time. That's what he's doing. Ahithophel's plan is quick. That night he says, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no. You don't want that. Already talked about this. This is this this is going to go wrong for you. Also, Ahithophel's super old. You want him leading you to battle?" No. Here's what's going to happen. We're going to slow it down. We're going to go from Dan to Beersheba, which is basically from north to south. Think Maine to Florida. Okay? We're going to gather all the people of Israel, not 12,000 men, hundreds of thousands of men. We're going to get all of them in our side. that we're going to find David and we're going to surround him. He doesn't matter how mighty his men are, we will have numbers upon numbers upon numbers. And then once we surround him, we're going to win. And ifsomehow he escapes and he makes it to a city where there's where there's walls, guess what? We'll have so many people we'll take ropes, throw it over the wall, rip the walls down, bring all the pebbles into the valley, and guess what? We'll kill every single one of them. That's the option. That's the one you should choose. It's guaranteed. It's going to take some time. But let me tell you something. You don't want to go out without the numbers. That is Hushai's plan. And you've got these two different plans. One, which still, I'll be honest, is way better. Very quick. 12,000 men coming upon them as they've been running. They've got women and children with them. Boom. Kill David. Done. or Hushai's plan which is long drawn out buying time.What are you going to choose? Both are given. Verse 14. And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, "The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel. For the Lord had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel so that the Lord might bring harm upon Absalom. So they choose Hushai's plan. And what we see in this is this is what David prayed for. If you remember back in 2 Samuel 15:31, it says, "And David said this on the screen." Oh Lord, please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness. He prays this and God answers this prayer. For it says, "The Lord had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel so the Lord might bring harm upon Absalom." David's prayer is answered because ultimately God is going to bring judgment upon Absalom for his wickedness and his rebellion against David, the Lord's anointed king.So while that's happening, Hushai seemingly he's out of the room. So he's left the room. They're in here discussing this and they are making the decision that Hushai's plan is very very good. Hushai outside the room is now not going to wait to see what happens next because he heard Ahithophel's plan and that's a good plan. So he has got to get a word to David because David is exactly where Ahithophel said he would be. He's out in the open. He's not hiding. So that was all smoke and mirrors and he's got to get word to David in case Ahithophel's plan is taken. And that's what we pick up in verse 15. Then Hushai said to Zadok and Abiathar the priest. Okay, we got a lot of names here. Stay with me. Zadok and Abiathar are priests, Levitical priests that were loyal to David. So Hushai said to Zadok and Abiathar, the priest,thus and so did Ahithophel's counsel, Ahithophel counsel, Absalom and the elders of Israel. And thus and so have I counseled. Now therefore send quickly and tell David do not stay tonight at the fords of the wilderness but by all means pass over lest the king and all the people who are with him be swallowed up. So he says you've got to leave now. If they follow Ahithophel's plan they're going to catch you. You've got to get out of town. You got to get out of the wilderness. You got to get away as far as you can. So that's the word they give to Zadok and Abiathar. Verse 17. Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz were waiting at En-rogel. Okay. Jonathan and Ahimaaz are sons of Zadok and Abiathar. They are Levitical priests as well. And they're waiting at En-rogel which is just outside of Jerusalem. And it says a femaleservant was to go and tell them. And they were to go and tell King David for they were not to be seen entering the city. So what we have here is a chain of spies. One to the next to the next to the next to get to David. so that David and his crew can leave and flee danger. But verse 18, the young man saw them and told Absalom. So both of them went away quickly and came to the house at a man at Bahurim who had who had a well in his courtyard. And they went down into it. And the woman took and spread a covering over the well's mouth and scattered grain on it, and nothing was known of it. So while they're trying to get the message out, one of Absalom's men sees what happens. So they go, they hide in a well and then the woman very smartly spreadscovering over the well, puts grain on top of it, very much like Rahab and the spies in Jericho and hides them so that they can evade capture. Verse 20. When Absalom's servants came to the woman of the house, they said, "Where is Ahimaaz and Jonathan?" And the woman said to them, "They have gone over the brook of water." And when they had sought and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem. So they successfully evade capture. Verse 21. After they had gone, the men came up out of the well and went and told King David. They said to David, "Arise and go quickly over the water, for thus and so has Ahithophel counseled against you."Then David arose and all the people who were with them, and they crossed the Jordan. By daybreak, not one was left who had not crossed the Jordan. So chain of spies works. They cross and guess what? They didn't even need to because Hushai's plan won. And Ahithophel's plan was defeated because God has determined to bring his judgment upon Absalom. And that plan is now in full effect. And Ahithophel cannot handle the defeat of this rival counselor. Verse 23. When Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his donkey and went off home to his own city. He set his house in order and hanged himself and he died and was buried in the tomb of his father. Now, it's possible that Ahithophel was so poisoned by his own pride and self-worth and his own great advice, his own great counsel that the moment that he's defeated, he can't handle it and hecommits suicide. It is also possible that at this point he may see the writing on the wall and that David is actually going to win this war and he'd rather take care of it himself as opposed to falling to David's sword. We don't know for sure. I lean towards the former. I think the text more I think pushes in that direction that when he says his counsel was not followed I think what's bound up in here is pride which just for the moment is a very good case study and a warning sign to anyone who puts their worth and their value and their work and their abilities and their talents and what they do. Because if you put so much value into those things and those things are taken from you, what you've done is you've set up an idol to worship. And when that idol is taken, it can lead you to some very dark places.And what this serves as is a cautionary tale to be mindful of not putting so much of your value and your worship and the things that you do because that's what I think Ahithophel does. And when his counsel is not followed because of his shame, he goes and takes his life.So let's finish out the chapter verse 24. Then David came to Mahanaim and Absalom crossed the Jordan with all the men of Israel. Now Absalom had set Amasa over the army instead of Joab. Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra the Ishmaelite who had married Abigail, the daughter of Nahash, the sister of Zeruiah, Joab's mother. and Israel and Absalom encamped in the land of Gilead. Verse 27. When David came to Mahanaim, Shobi the son of Nahash from Rabbah of the Ammonites and Machir the son of Ammiel from Lo-debar and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim brought beds, basins and earthen vessels, wheat, barley, flour, parched, beans and lentils, honey and curds and sheep, and cheese from the herd. for David and the people with him to eat. For they said the people are hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness.The chapter ends with even though they're in the wilderness and even though they're on the run for their lives and even though it seems like things are going against them, God still cares and raises a people to provide provisions for them in the wilderness. And that closes chapter 17 to set up next week which we will see is the great battle between Absalom's men and David's men.Okay. So, if you've been with us the last few weeks, if you study this just in its immediate context, it's very hard to see the light in all of this darkness because we've seen so much of it. At this point, David has suffered for years under the discipline of God. He's watched his family be torn apart. He's watched his nation be torn apart. He's had to deal with the emotional agony of his own son leading a rebellion against him to murder him. I mean, he it's all these chapters, it's dark. And in the middle of all this darkness, in the middle of all this brokenness, in the middle of all of this pain and suffering, is a reminder that God is still for David.Because what commentators will say is that in all these chapters of suffering, right in the middle in verse 14 of chapter 17 is this shining light that breaks through the storm. So it says, "For the Lord had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that the Lord might bring harm upon Absalom." And that right there is the glimmer of hope that the wickedness and the evil, the dishonor of his father, the dishonor of his nation, the dishonor of his God, Absalom will be judged. and that the covenant that God made with David is remembered. Does David deserve to have favor? Absolutely not. Does God remember his covenant of favor towards David?Absolutely. That no matter how dark it has gotten, no matter how bad has gotten for David, God remembers his covenant to him. God remembers his covenant to his people. That is the glimpse of light that breaks through the storm of all of this darkness that we're reading. And as you take a step back as a Christian, it is a helpful reminder for us because we I think also we forget this because we will go through seasons of intense present darkness, of suffering, of affliction. And in the middle of all of the suffering, in the middle of the affliction, in the middle of all of it, those questions can linger. Is God for me?Does he care about me? Does he love me? Because it doesn't feel like it right now. If you follow Jesus long enough, you will have been there. And the good news is we don't just have the scriptures that testify to how God meets his people in the middle of darkness. We also have wonderful stories from church history. In the modern missions movement in the 19th century, there's a lot of missionaries that went out to parts of the world that were very difficult to reach and very difficult to reach with the gospel. One of them was named John Paton. John Paton was a missionary.Him and his wife, they went to the island of the New Hebrides Islands in the 19th century. It's an island that had zero Christians, had tribes that were cannibals. And he arrived on the island then not long after arriving there, his wife died. And then their infant son also died. And in his autobiography he says, "Then in a moment altogether unexpectedly, she died on March 3rd to crown my sorrows and complete my loneliness, the dear baby boy whom we had named after her father, Peter Robert Robson, was taken from me after one week's sickness on the 20th of March.Let those who have ever passed through any similar darkness as a midnight field for me, as for all others, it would be more than vain to try to paint my sorrows. And he just says that after losing his wife, after losing his son, after being obedient to the Great Commission to go and make disciples of nations that did not know him, that he felt such an intense loneliness it would be vain to try to paint and describe his sorrows. So he dug two graves with his hands and buried his wife and buried his son. and he's alone on an island with people who are trying to kill him.And this is what he writes. I'll put this on the screen. Stunned by that dreadful loss and entering upon this field of labor to which the Lord had himself so evidently led me, my reason seemed for a time almost to give way. The ever merciful Lord sustained me. But for Jesus and the fellowship he vouchsafed to me there, I must have gone mad and died beside that lonely grave. And it's such a wonderful reminder that even in the darkest of moments, even when all hope seems lost, even as he's buried his wife and his son and he's alone on an island under the threat of death, that in the intense darkness that he faced, Jesus Christ came. He says, "The ever merciful Lord sustained me. but for Jesus and the fellowship vouchsafed to me there, he says without it I would have gone mad beside that lonely grave and that story in some versions happenedover and over and over again and he continued and now that island for centuries at this point was converted to Jesus and has a legacy of Christ but God's people sometimes go through intense bouts of suffering I don't think any of us have ever faced anything like that. But in the middle of darkness, in the middle of complete what seems like hopelessness, God shines through to his people. And the reason he does this is because when he saves you and redeems you and seals you with the Holy Spirit, he never leaves or forsakes us. He is for us. And even though darkness may seem like it's prevailing, even though hope may seem like it is lost, even though it feels so sad and lonely, God is for you if you belong to him. He is for your good. It may not seem like it and he may not answer you with the circumstantialchange that you want, but God breaks through to his people. I don't know why some of you have suffered in the way that you have. I don't know why you feel the way that you do, but I do know that if you belong to Jesus Christ, he is with you. And my hope and my prayer is that you would sense it just like Paton did. That he would break through. That you would sense it just like David did and be reminded that just as David had a covenant that was made with him, we because we belong to Jesus Christ have a covenant that was made with us by his blood. that when Jesus Christ goes to the cross and sheds blood for our sin and then captures us and brings us into the family of God, that covenant is remembered and it is never forgotten that our God is for you. And wecelebrate that regularly and remember that as we come to the table. George is going to come up and we're going to prepare to take the Lord's Supper, which is a meal of remembrance that Jesus instituted and gave to the church. On the night that he was betrayed, he took bread and he broke it. He said, "This is my body that was broken for you." And then he took the cup of the new covenant. He said, "This is my blood that was shed for you that as often as you eat and drink this, you proclaim my death until I return." And Jesus gives us that meal to remember the covenant that was made with his blood.That God loves you so much that he gave up his one and only son. that you even in this life that is filled sometimes with suffering and darkness would persevere by faith trusting in the finished work of Christ and finding those moments where God encounters us with his presence and breaks through the dark questions that linger in our soul looking forward to a day when there will be no more questions like that because there will be no more suffering or sin or brokenness. There will only be him in eternity. So as a Christian you get to come to the table remembering the work of Jesus Christ as a reminder as a memorial as remembrance that he is for you. Even if it doesn't feel like it right now he is.So may you prepare your hearts and then in a moment you can come to the table. There's gluten-free at that table back there. If you do not belong to Jesus Christ, we don't want you to come to the table. We want you to come to Jesus. We want you to place your faith in him. We want you to see what it is like to walk with a God who loves you so deeply that he gave himself for you.And the invitation is for you to follow Christ. And if you want to know more about that, find me, find another pastor, find a Christian who brought you here today, and we can show you what it means to follow Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I pray that you might prepare our hearts to receive this meal of remembrance. God, I pray that you might help us, especially those of us that belong to you that are right now feeling so hopeless, feeling such darkness as so many of your people have done and felt. God, I pray that you would as they take this meal, would you break through the darkness, would you help them see that you love them, that you're for them, that they belong to you, that they're treasured by you.May they remember who you are. And for those who do not belong to you, I pray, God that you would compel them to faith in you this morning. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Come when you are ready.

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1 Kings 1-3, Psalm 87

Commuter Bible

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 5, 2026 30:41

With King David on his death bed, the royal family knows that the time to transfer power is drawing near. David's oldest son, Adonijah, gains support for himself from well-known leaders like Joab and Abiathar, calling Judah together for a feast to celebrate his bid for kingship. Nathan the prophet catches word, and teams up with Bathsheba to alert the king. Later, the Lord appears to King Solomon in a dream, and instead of asking for wealth or long life, he asks the Lord for wisdom to lead God's people. This pleases the Lord, who promises blessing upon Solomon's reign. 1 Kings 1 - 1:15 . 1 Kings 2 - 12:49 . 1 Kings 3 - 23:28 . Psalm 87 - 29:00 . :::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by Bobby Brown, Katelyn Pridgen, Eric Williamson & the Christian Standard Biblefacebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org

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The GAP Episode 805 - Mister Speaker

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Play Episode Listen Later Jun 5, 2026 117:53

On this episode of The GAP Joab Gilroy is joined by Stephen Farrelly from 3rd Phase Boss! And Stephen, who has been on podcasts before (including this one) decided to record his mic while having Joab transmit via SPEAKERS. IF YOU CAN BELIEVE SUCH A THING. So uh, there's a bit of an echo. Luke would have been able to fix such a thing, but Joab cannot. Come back Luke. Not just because of that, we miss you in general. The Games they've been playing this week are Lego Batman, Forza Horizon 6, Hell Let Loose Vietnam, Crimson Desert and Mina the Hollower! Over in the news Valve raised the price of the Steam Deck, turning Joab's incredible portfolio of consoles into the safest investment around! The PlayStation was actually pretty good, muchu to Joab's surprise. And Fable has been delayed to 2027 so it can dodge Grand Theft Auto 6. This episode goes for 1 hour and 57 minutes, it also contains coarse language. Timestamps – 00:00:00 – Start 00:08:46 – Lego Batman 00:22:09 – Forza Horizon 6 00:41:03 – Hell Let Loose Vietnam 00:59:08 – Crimson Desert 01:14:30 – Mina the Hollower 01:23:51 – News 01:50:15 – Weekly Plugs 01:57:53 – End of Show Subscribe in a reader iTunes / Spotify

Taking A Count of the People

New Hope Daily SOAP - Daily Devotional Bible Reading

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 3, 2026 21:02

In this Bible Story, we witness David's poor decisions in light of his pride. However David's heart is always quick to conviction, and he repents before God and the people. This story is inspired by 2 Samuel 24 & 1 Chronicles 21. Go to https://www.BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.Today's Bible verse is 2 Samuel 24:24 from the King James Version.Episode 111: In a moment of insecurity, David called in Joab, commander of his army, to go throughout the nation of Israel and take a census of the people. Joab saw the evil this would cause and protested, but the will of the king prevailed. It wasn't until after the census was complete that David realized his guilt. The Prophet Gad confronted him and while he chose his punishment, he also realized that he was to blame, not the people.Hear the Bible come to life as Pastor Jack Graham leads you through the official BibleinaYear.com podcast. This Biblical Audio Experience will help you master wisdom from the world's greatest book. In each episode, you will learn to apply Biblical principles to everyday life. Now understanding the Bible is easier than ever before; enjoy a cinematic audio experience full of inspirational storytelling, orchestral music, and profound commentary from world-renowned Pastor Jack Graham.Also, you can download the Pray.com app for more Christian content, including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.Visit JackGraham.org for more resources on how to tap into God's power for successful Christian living.This episode is sponsored by Medi-Share, an innovative health care solution for Christians to save money without sacrificing quality.Pray.com is the digital destination of faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store.Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max BardProducer: Ben GammonHosted by: Pastor Jack GrahamMusic by: Andrew Morgan SmithBible Story narration by: Todd Haberkorn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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2 Samuel 18-20, Psalm 83

Commuter Bible

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 2, 2026 28:30

On our last episode we followed the trajectory of David's son Absalom, a handsome young man who had won the hearts of Israel by deception, telling those who came to King David that the king had no time for them. Absalom devises a coup to overthrow David, but his father catches wind of his plot and flees before he arrives. Today, David's men prepare for battle and meet the forces of Absalom's Israelite troops. The forest itself claims more lives than the sword, and Absalom meets his end at the hands of Joab. Later, David is restored as king, but not without personal turmoil. 2 Samuel 18 - 1:16 . 2 Samuel 19 - 9:41 . 2 Samuel 20 - 19:59 . Psalm 83 - 25:38 . :::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by Bobby Brown, Katelyn Pridgen, Eric Williamson & the Christian Standard Biblefacebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org

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June 2, 2026; 1 Kings 2

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 2, 2026 5:14

Daily Dose of Hope June 2, 2026 Scripture: 1 Kings 2 Prayer: Holy God, Thank you for this day and thank you for the ways you provide and care for us. We rejoice in your powerful and mighty name. As we read through the Scripture today and reflect on what it means for us, help us hear a new word from you. Help us set aside the distractions of the day and really listen for your voice. In Your Name, Amen. Welcome to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope Daily Bible reading plan. For the summer, we are digging into 1 and 2 Kings. These Old Testament texts offer us so much of God's truth and I look forward to what we will learn. Today, we read 1 Kings 2. This chapter begins with David about to die. He wants to provide some advice to his son, Solomon, the new king of Israel. It's troubling advice, as he provides spiritual wisdom quickly followed by political strategizing that will lead to bloodshed. The first part of his advice is Godly and sounds like the wisdom of a man after God's own heart: Follow God's laws and walk in obedience to him and then you will prosper. But the second half of David's advice is about securing the kingdom. All sense of faithfulness is now gone out the window: Avenge your father, kill those people who have done us wrong, and ensure your place on the throne. Hmmm...On the one hand, David tells Solomon to follow God and keep Torah. On the other, he tells Solomon to avenge, kill, and break Torah. I we were to read 1 & 2 Samuel, we could do a pretty good assessment of David's life. Overall, he was a faithful man who rarely wavered from following the Lord. He definitely had some rough patches though, in which he fell away and sinned horrifically against God and other people. And those times definitely mar how we view him. At the same time, he was always repentant and turned back toward God. Over this last little portion of his life, however, it seems that David consulted God less and in many ways grew angry and bitter. He had made a mess of his family life, allowed horrible things to happen in his household, and generally tried to dismiss it. I'm wondering about his regrets. What can we learn from King David's life? He is referred to as a man after God's own heart. He wrote many of the Psalms which we read over and over again and use in worship and song. He loved God and his allegiance was undeniable. On the other hand, he was a human king and there were many times in which lust, fear, and arrogance ruled the day. After David dies, Samuel doesn't waste a lot of time. He takes his father's advice and runs with it. This means eliminating political rivals, including his half-brother Adonijah. You might have noticed that Adonijah asked to marry his father's former attendant, the virgin Abishag. Solomon sees this request as a covert political ploy to take the throne, as marrying a former king's attendant was seen as a claim to the royal lineage. He also kills Joab (the general) and Shimei (who was a long-time problem for King David). There is absolutely no grace. I can't help but wonder what this means for Soloman's reign as king. Is this a sign of what's to come? Blessings, Pastor Vicki

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The Death of Sheba

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 1, 2026 18:02

In this Bible Story, we see the end of Sheba's rebellion. Sheba spread lies all throughout Israel about David's character. Eventually, the people begin to see his evil for what it is. This story is inspired by 2 Samuel 19:13, 20 & 1 Chronicles 2:16-17. Go to https://www.BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.Today's Bible verse is 2 Samuel 20:21 from the King James Version.Episode 109: Sheba, causing chaos throughout the country, made his way to Abel and began to fortify the city. Joab and Abishai sat outside the city thinking of how they could take Sheba without harming any of the people of the city. While their army was bettering the gate of the city, a woman came out looking for Joab. The woman wanted peace for her city, and Joab, wanting the same said he would happily leave if they give him the rebel Sheba. So the woman returned to the city, threw the head of Sheba out of a window, and Joab, Abishai, and their men left.Hear the Bible come to life as Pastor Jack Graham leads you through the official BibleinaYear.com podcast. This Biblical Audio Experience will help you master wisdom from the world's greatest book. In each episode, you will learn to apply Biblical principles to everyday life. Now understanding the Bible is easier than ever before; enjoy a cinematic audio experience full of inspirational storytelling, orchestral music, and profound commentary from world-renowned Pastor Jack Graham.Also, you can download the Pray.com app for more Christian content, including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.Visit JackGraham.org for more resources on how to tap into God's power for successful Christian living.This episode is sponsored by Medi-Share, an innovative health care solution for Christians to save money without sacrificing quality.Pray.com is the digital destination of faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store.Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max BardProducer: Ben GammonHosted by: Pastor Jack GrahamMusic by: Andrew Morgan SmithBible Story narration by: Todd Haberkorn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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2 Samuel 15-17, Psalms 81-82

Commuter Bible

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 1, 2026 25:26

After killing his brother at a family dinner, Absalom fled to another country, and was only brought back after Joab convinced David to do so by way of a theatric analogy. Today, Absalom begins a plan to win the hearts of the people and turn Israel against his father, the king. Learning of this impending insurrection, David flees Jerusalem with all of his people, save a handle of men who serve as spies. Nathan prophesied that the Lord would bring disaster on David from his own family, and that another man would sleep with his wives before Israel in broad daylight. David's own son, Absalom, is that man. 2 Samuel 15 - 1:12 . 2 Samuel 16 - 9:44 . 2 Samuel 17 - 15:01 . Psalm 81 - 21:26 . Psalm 82 - 23:30 . :::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by Bobby Brown, Katelyn Pridgen, Eric Williamson & the Christian Standard Biblefacebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org

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2 Samuel 3-4, Psalms 95-96

The Vine Community Church Sermon Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 1, 2026 17:47

In our last episode, we covered the aftermath of King Saul's death, including a scramble for power and position by Abner, the commander of Israel's army. After losing a battle against David's men, Abner fled on foot and was chased down by Asahel. Abner killed Asahel, but escaped to live another day. Today, Asahel's brother Joab seeks revenge against Abner, but he does so without David's approval. Later, two assassins cut off Ish-bosheth's head and bring it to David. David is grieved by both incidents and he makes his grief and mourning public. 2 Samuel 3 - 1:03 . 2 Samuel 4 - 10:34 . Psalm 95 - 13:44 . Psalm 96 - 15:11 . :::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible.facebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org

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Ezra 8

Believe His Prophets

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 1, 2026

These are now the chief of their fathers, and this is the genealogy of them that went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king.2 Of the sons of Phinehas; Gershom: of the sons of Ithamar; Daniel: of the sons of David; Hattush.3 Of the sons of Shechaniah, of the sons of Pharosh; Zechariah: and with him were reckoned by genealogy of the males an hundred and fifty.4 Of the sons of Pahathmoab; Elihoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred males.5 Of the sons of Shechaniah; the son of Jahaziel, and with him three hundred males.6 Of the sons also of Adin; Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him fifty males.7 And of the sons of Elam; Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him seventy males.8 And of the sons of Shephatiah; Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him fourscore males.9 Of the sons of Joab; Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen males.10 And of the sons of Shelomith; the son of Josiphiah, and with him an hundred and threescore males.11 And of the sons of Bebai; Zechariah the son of Bebai, and with him twenty and eight males.12 And of the sons of Azgad; Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and with him an hundred and ten males.13 And of the last sons of Adonikam, whose names are these, Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah, and with them threescore males.14 Of the sons also of Bigvai; Uthai, and Zabbud, and with them seventy males.15 And I gathered them together to the river that runneth to Ahava; and there abode we in tents three days: and I viewed the people, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi.16 Then sent I for Eliezer, for Ariel, for Shemaiah, and for Elnathan, and for Jarib, and for Elnathan, and for Nathan, and for Zechariah, and for Meshullam, chief men; also for Joiarib, and for Elnathan, men of understanding.17 And I sent them with commandment unto Iddo the chief at the place Casiphia, and I told them what they should say unto Iddo, and to his brethren the Nethinims, at the place Casiphia, that they should bring unto us ministers for the house of our God.18 And by the good hand of our God upon us they brought us a man of understanding, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel; and Sherebiah, with his sons and his brethren, eighteen;19 And Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brethren and their sons, twenty;20 Also of the Nethinims, whom David and the princes had appointed for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinims: all of them were expressed by name.21 Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.22 For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him.23 So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was intreated of us.24 Then I separated twelve of the chief of the priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them,25 And weighed unto them the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, even the offering of the house of our God, which the king, and his counsellors, and his lords, and all Israel there present, had offered:26 I even weighed unto their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver, and silver vessels an hundred talents, and of gold an hundred talents;27 Also twenty basons of gold, of a thousand drams; and two vessels of fine copper, precious as gold.28 And I said unto them, Ye are holy unto the Lord; the vessels are holy also; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering unto the Lord God of your fathers.29 Watch ye, and keep them, until ye weigh them before the chief of the priests and the Levites, and chief of the fathers of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the Lord.30 So took the priests and the Levites the weight of the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem unto the house of our God.31 Then we departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go unto Jerusalem: and the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way.32 And we came to Jerusalem, and abode there three days.33 Now on the fourth day was the silver and the gold and the vessels weighed in the house of our God by the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest; and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; and with them was Jozabad the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah the son of Binnui, Levites;34 By number and by weight of every one: and all the weight was written at that time.35 Also the children of those that had been carried away, which were come out of the captivity, offered burnt offerings unto the God of Israel, twelve bullocks for all Israel, ninety and six rams, seventy and seven lambs, twelve he goats for a sin offering: all this was a burnt offering unto the Lord.36 And they delivered the king's commissions unto the king's lieutenants, and to the governors on this side the river: and they furthered the people, and the house of God.

god lord israel jerusalem babylon ye lord god obadiah levites eliezer elam joab eleazar phinehas adin jeshua ahava artaxerxes athaliah gershom shemaiah merari iddo ithamar johanan meshullam sherebiah noadiah mahli zebadiah uthai josiphiah

Jesus - The True Righteous King

Play Episode Listen Later May 31, 2026

The Battle of Gibeon 12Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.13And Joab the son of Zeruiah and the servants of David went out and met them at the pool of Gibeon. And they sat down, the one on the one side of the pool, and the other on the other side of the pool. 14And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men arise and compete before us. And Joab said, Let them arise. 15Then they arose and passed over by number, twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David. 16And each caught his opponent by the head and thrust his sword in his opponent's side, so they fell down together. Therefore that place was called Helkath-hazzurim, which is at Gibeon. 17And the battle was very fierce that day. And Abner and the men of Israel were beaten before the servants of David. 18And the three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Now Asahel was as swift of foot as a wild gazelle. 19And Asahel pursued Abner, and as he went, he turned neither to the right hand nor to the left from following Abner. 20Then Abner looked behind him and said, Is it you, Asahel? And he answered, It is I.21Abner said to him, Turn aside to your right hand or to your left, and seize one of the young men and take his spoil. But Asahel would not turn aside from following him. 22And Abner said again to Asahel, Turn aside from following me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How then could I lift up my face to your brother Joab?23But he refused to turn aside. Therefore Abner struck him in the stomach with the butt of his spear, so that the spear came out at his back. And he fell there and died where he was. And all who came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died, stood still. 24But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner. And as the sun was going down they came to the hill of Ammah, which lies before Giah on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon.25And the people of Benjamin gathered themselves together behind Abner and became one group and took their stand on the top of a hill. 26Then Abner called to Joab, Shall the sword devour forever? Do you not know that the end will be bitter? How long will it be before you tell your people to turn from the pursuit of their brothers? 27And Joab said, As God lives, if you had not spoken, surely the men would not have given up the pursuit of their brothers until the morning. 28So Joab blew the trumpet, and all the men stopped and pursued Israel no more, nor did they fight anymore. 29And Abner and his men went all that night through the Arabah. They crossed the Jordan, and marching the whole morning, they came to Mahanaim. 30Joab returned from the pursuit of Abner. And when he had gathered all the people together, there were missing from David's servants nineteen men besides Asahel.31But the servants of David had struck down of Benjamin 360 of Abner's men. 32And they took up Asahel and buried him in the tomb of his father, which was at Bethlehem. And Joab and his men marched all night, and the day broke upon them at Hebron. Abner Joins David 3There was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David. And David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul became weaker and weaker. 2And sons were born to David at Hebron: his firstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam of Jezreel; 3and his second, Chileab, of Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel; and the third, Absalom the son of Maacah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; 4and the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; and the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital;5and the sixth, Ithream, of Eglah, David's wife. These were born to David in Hebron. 6While there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner was making himself strong in the house of Saul. 7Now Saul had a concubine whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. And Ish-bosheth said to Abner, Why have you gone in to my father's concubine? 8Then Abner was very angry over the words of Ish-bosheth and said, Am I a dog's head of Judah? To this day I keep showing steadfast love to the house of Saul your father, to his brothers, and to his friends, and have not given you into the hand of David. And yet you charge me today with a fault concerning a woman. 9God do so to Abner and more also, if I do not accomplish for David what the Lord has sworn to him,10to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan to Beersheba. 11And Ish-bosheth could not answer Abner another word, because he feared him. 12And Abner sent messengers to David on his behalf,saying, To whom does the land belong? Make your covenant with me, and behold, my hand shall be with you to bring over all Israel to you. 13And he said, Good; I will make a covenant with you. But one thing I require of you; that is, you shall not see my face unless you first bring Michal, Saul's daughter, when you come to see my face. 14Then David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth, Saul's son, saying, Give me my wife Michal, for whom I paid the bridal price of a hundred foreskins of the Philistines. 15And Ish-bosheth sent and took her from her husband Paltiel the son of Laish. 16But her husband went with her, weeping after her all the way to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, Go, return. And he returned. 17And Abner conferred with the elders of Israel, saying, For some time past you have been seeking David as king over you. 18Now then bring it about, for the Lordhas promised David, saying, By the hand of my servant David I will save my people Israel from the hand of the Philistines, and from the hand of all their enemies.19Abner also spoke to Benjamin. And then Abner went to tell David at Hebron all that Israel and the whole house of Benjamin thought good to do. 20When Abner came with twenty men to David at Hebron, David made a feast for Abner and the men who were with him. 21And Abner said to David, I will arise and go and will gather all Israel to my lord the king, that they may make a covenant with you, and that you may reign over all that your heart desires. So David sent Abner away, and he went in peace. 22Just then the servants of David arrived with Joab from a raid, bringing much spoil with them. But Abner was not with David at Hebron, for he had sent him away, and he had gone in peace. 23When Joab and all the army that was with him came, it was told Joab, Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he has let him go, and he has gone in peace. 24Then Joab went to the king and said, What have you done? Behold, Abner came to you. Why is it that you have sent him away, so that he is gone?25You know that Abner the son of Ner came to deceive you and to know your going out and your coming in, and to know all that you are doing. Joab Murders Abner 26When Joab came out from David's presence, he sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the cistern of Sirah. But David did not know about it. 27And when Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into the midst of the gate to speak with him privately, and there he struck him in the stomach, so that he died, for the blood of Asahel his brother.28Afterward, when David heard of it, he said, I and my kingdom are forever guiltless before the Lord for the blood of Abner the son of Ner. 29May it fall upon the head of Joab and upon all his father's house, and may the house of Joab never be without one who has a discharge or who is leprous or who holds a spindle or who falls by the sword or who lacks bread! 30So Joab and Abishai his brother killed Abner, because he had put their brother Asahel to death in the battle at Gibeon. David Mourns Abner 31Then David said to Joab and to all the people who were with him, Tear your clothes and put on sackcloth and mourn before Abner. And King David followed the bier. 32They buried Abner at Hebron. And the king lifted up his voice and wept at the grave of Abner, and all the people wept. 33And the king lamented for Abner, saying, Should Abner die as a fool dies?34Your hands were not bound;your feet were not fettered;as one falls before the wickedyou have fallen. And all the people wept again over him. 35Then all the people came to persuade David to eat bread while it was yet day. But David swore, saying, God do so to me and more also, if I taste bread or anything else till the sun goes down! 36And all the people took notice of it, and it pleased them, as everything that the king did pleased all the people. 37So all the people and all Israel understood that day that it had not been the king's will to put to death Abner the son of Ner. 38And the king said to his servants, Do you not know that a prince and a great man has fallen this day in Israel? 39And I was gentle today, though anointed king. These men, the sons of Zeruiah, are more severe than I. The Lord repay the evildoer according to his wickedness!

god jesus christ lord israel battle behold righteous bethlehem tear philistines absalom ish hebron abner nabal joab beersheba amnon ner gibeon jezreel adonijah sirah rizpah abishai mahanaim asahel ahinoam zeruiah laish haggith geshur 23but bahurim aiah eglah should abner helkath and ish

2 Samuel 15

Play Episode Listen Later May 31, 2026

Group Guide Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.Additional context: Watch the theology teaching video, What is the Bible? 2 Samuel 15 Mike Goble Download TranscriptAll right, so Chet and Spencer are away. Let's get down to business. No, no, no, no, no. My name is Mike. I'm an elder in training here. Last week at the end of the sermon, I had three people come up to me and say that I reminded them of Absalom.I had one person come up and tell me I reminded them of Abimelech and I reminded them that that's not what the story was about and that was Raz. So when they told me that I reminded them of Absalom, I said, "Oh, of course, the striking good looks." And they all pretty intentionally clarified, "No, that is not why. it is because you have long hair and you are trying to convince people to leave this church and go out with you to plant another church. And so that brings me to my first point today. Oak Ridge Church in Lexington will be meeting sometime in January of 2027. Now this is not an infomercial for our church plant, even though we are very excited about that.We're going to be today in 2 Samuel. We're going to be in chapter 15. This is going to be on page 304 of the Bibles that are at your seats. We would ask if you'd consider not using an electronic Bible if you're willing and instead maybe pick one of those Bibles up and we're going to read the Bible together. And we think that's a helpful thing. Before we get started in our text, I'm going to pray for us. Father, we thank you for being our God, for being our salvation.We thank you for your good scripture that teaches us about you. Please Lord, may the Spirit work in our hearts through the foolishness of preaching that we would be changed to be more like your Son in Jesus' name. Amen. All right. Last week we saw that David permitted Absalom to return back to Jerusalem after he initially spent three years in exile after murdering his brother Amnon after Amnon's sin with Tamar. But even though Absalom was back in Jerusalem, he was not allowed to be in the king's presence.And after about two years, he kind of forces himself back into the king's presence by burning down Joab's field. Now, Joab is one of David's nephews. He is the son of David's sister. And he's one of the commanders of David's army. So, Absalom burns down the field, gets his attention, and Joab tells David, and David lets Absalom back into his presence. And then Absalom goes and spends the next four years positioning himself daily at the city gate, rendering judgments and manipulating the people, stealing their hearts is what it says. He is taking them away from their loyalty and their allegiance to King David.He then travels down to Hebron, which is about 18 miles or so south of Jerusalem. And he's got a large group of followers with him. And guys, remember Hebron is actually a pretty significant place. It's significant that he goes down there. So Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the patriarchs, the men from which all of Israel descended, are buried.They're all buried in Hebron. And David himself was was anointed king down in Hebron. So this is a pretty significant place. And now we see Absalom is down there and he's proclaimed as king, but he's not anointed. He's taking it by manipulation. And we're going to see taking it by force.This is the beginning of a full-scale rebellion. And today we're actually gonna look at how David responds and how the people around David respond to what's going on here in Israel. We pick up in verse 13 of chapter 15. And a messenger came to David saying, "The hearts of the men of Israel have gone after Absalom." Then David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, "Arise and let us flee, or else there will be no escape for us from Absalom," "Go quickly, lest he overtake us quickly and bring down ruin on us and strike the city with the edge of the sword."And the king's servant said to the king, "Behold, your servants are ready to do whatever my Lord, the king, decides." So the king went out and all his household after him. And the king left 10 concubines to keep the house. And the king went out and all the people after him and they halted at the last house. All right.So a messenger comes in and tells David, hey, Israel is going to follow Absalom. So through his manipulation over the last four years, he has won over a significant portion of people that this messenger comes right in and says, "Hey, is the hearts of the men of Israel, they're gone. And they're not just gone from you. They've gone to your son Absalom." Meaning Absalom has the loyalty of these people. So David responds by saying to all his servants that are still in Jerusalem that they need to flee because if they stay, they will not escape from Absalom and he will come quickly and violently and he will ruin them.And so his servants get up with him and they get ready to flee and they leave behind the 10 concubines to maintain the house. And now they're going. And this is a pretty high pressure moment in this story. And we've we've kind of seen stuff like this play out in stories before, right? You know, you know the story the the tale of the prince who his uncle wanted to become king. And so he convinces the prince that the prince killed his dad.And the prince gets so overwhelmed and so scared that he flees. And he leaves Pride Rock. And Zazu and Rafiki have no idea what they're going to do. And we see stories like this in our entertainment. But guys, this happens a lot and it has happened a lot in history.There are so many coups in history from the murder of Julius Caesar to Napoleon taking over France to Castro and the Cuban Revolution. Did you know that in 2024 there was a coup in South Korea where the president of South Korea decided he was going to declare martial law so the legislature you know they couldn't meet or do anything and then well the legislature met anyway and 11 days later he was impeached and then put on trial. That was two years ago. This kind of stuff has been happening forever throughout history. And honestly, when I think about that, I can't help but think back to 1 Samuel chapter 8, where Israel is demanding that they have a king so they can be like all the other nations.And David, their king, is now here fleeing Jerusalem because his son is coming to overthrow him just like so many other nations before them and so many other nations that will come after them. What do you think was on David's mind? What do you think he was thinking about here? You know, the text doesn't directly say, but do you remember what the Lord said through the prophet Nathan in chapter 12? In chapter 12, when Nathan is pronouncing his judgment from God on David for his sin, the Lord says to David that the sword will not depart from your house. And then right after in chapter 13, we find out Absalom kills his brother Amnon.So, one of David's sons kills the other. And now David suspects Absalom is coming for him. So his plan is to flee. And it might be because he's afraid of Absalom. It might be because he wants to avoid conflict with his own son. It might also be acceptance of the judgment of God.And I actually think that the rest of what we're going to look at today supports that idea. Supports that David has accepted what God has planned for him no matter what. All right. So, David's servants are ready to go and they begin leaving Jerusalem together. And let's pick up verse 18. And all his servants pass by him.And all the Cherethites and all the Pelethites and all the 600 Gittites who had followed him from Gath passed on before the king. Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, "Why do you also go with us? Go back and stay with the king, for you are a foreigner, and also in exile from your home. You came only yesterday. And shall I today make you wander about with us, since I go, I know not where? Go back, take your brothers with you.And may the Lord show steadfast love and faithfulness to you." But Ittai answered the king, "As the Lord lives and as my Lord the king lives, wherever my Lord the king shall be, whether for death or for life, there also will be your servant." And David said to Ittai, "Go then, pass on." So Ittai the Gittite passed on with all his men and all the little ones who were with him. And all the land wept aloud as all the people passed by and the king crossed the brook Kedron and all the people passed on toward the wilderness. Okay, so David's leaving and as he's leaving he passes by different people that are highlighted for us here in the text.First there's the Cherethites, the Pelethites and the Gittites. So the Cherethites and the Pelethites are part of the royal bodyguard. So these are warriors who protect David and they go with him. And the Gittites and their leader Ittai are originally from Gath, we're told. And that's a a Philistine city. And the reason that we're told that is because back in 1 Samuel, David when he was originally fleeing Israel, fleeing from Saul when Saul wanted him dead, lived in Gath.And these men followed him when he returned back to Israel. And so he gives Ittai the option. He says, "Go back. You can just go back and align yourself with Absalom. You do not have to come with me." He says, "There's not really a reason for you, Ittai, to go ahead and get caught up in this problem.I'm releasing you from that." And Ittai refuses and he says, "He's going to stay with David even to death." And that is pretty awesome. There's something in us that just kind of loves a display of loyalty and a display of friendship like that. If you remember the famous book series that was adapted into the blockbuster movies, The Lord of the Rings, the whole series, the whole journey, the main character is trying to destroy this ring that he has to carry. And right when he's at the end, right when he's just feet almost steps from being able to do so, he runs out of strength and and by his side with him the whole time is his friend, his best friend that he's known his whole life.And his friend looks at him and says, "I can't carry it for you." And that's the ring, "But I can carry you." And when you watch that in the theater or maybe at your house, you're like, "Yeah, and I can carry it for you, too." You just like get so swept up in it, it's really cool. And your wife says pipe down, but you're like, "No, this is this is awesome." And so we see that and that strikes a chord within our hearts because we love that display of loyalty and friendship.We want to be a part of that display of loyalty and friendship. And so I think that's a really noteworthy thing and I think it's included in that in who he passes by on his way out of town because we get to see that exceptional display of friendship and loyalty to David. So, he's got this large group of faithful friends who in his darkest hour are leaving Jerusalem with him and they're all together and it says that they're weeping and that they're headed into the wilderness. Verse 24, and Abiathar came up, and behold, Zadok came also with all the Levites bearing the ark of the covenant of God.And they set down the ark of God until the people had all passed out of the city. Then the king said to Zadok, "carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me back and let me see both it and his dwelling place. But if he says, I have no pleasure in you, behold, here I am, let him do to me what seems good to him." The king also said to Zadok the priest, "Are you not a seer? Go back to the city in peace with your two sons, Ahimeaz, your son, and Jonathan, the son of Abiathar.See, I will wait at the fords of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me." So Zadok and Abiathar carried the ark of God back to Jerusalem, and they remain there. But David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, barefoot and with his head covered. And all the people who were with him covered their heads and they went up weeping as they went. And it was told David, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, "O Lord, please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness."All right. Now we are going to get into David's response to the situation that he's in. So Abiathar and Zadok, who are they? They are the chief priests. They are part of the Levites and they carry the ark of the covenant. And the ark of the covenant represents God's presence with his people.What does David say? He tells them, "Take it back to Jerusalem." Why? Why would David say that? Part of the answer to that question is because he says, "Zadok, aren't you a Aren't you a seer? Aren't you a prophet?" maybe David thinks, well, if he's back there, he can he can get some information out to me while I'm out here in the wilderness.It might be good to have him back there. And that is part of it. However, I think the main answer, the main reason that David tells him to take the ark, tells them to take the ark of the covenant back, is because he is accepting of the sovereign will of God. And he's doing it with humility. David's response is to essentially resign himself to the will of God. And if he sees the ark again, he knows God has looked favorably on him.And if not, then may God do what seems good to him. In the 1600s, German theology professor Samuel Rodegast wrote a song for his friend who was dying. And the song is called Was Gott tut das ist wohlgetan. Do you got I'll translate that for you for those of you who don't speak German. Whatever my God ordains is right. And one of the verses in this song goes, "Whatever my God ordains is right, he never will deceive me.He leads me by the proper path, I know he will not leave me. I take content what he has sent. His hand can turn my griefs away, and patiently I wait his day." So David resolutely accepts the will of God and he ascends the Mount of Olives weeping and here we see the second aspect of his response. We first see the humble acceptance of the divine will and after that we see him pray. What does he pray?He asks God to make the counsel of Ahithophel foolish. Now, Ahithophel was once David's advisor, but he turned his allegiance toward Absalom. And David here, powerless from a position of humility, asks the Lord to make whatever Ahithophel advises Absalom to be foolish. And we're actually going to see later on that God is going to answer this prayer. But something I want to see is that the two aspects of the response are actually linked together, require each other.Because intrinsic to prayer is humility. It's recognizing that the greatest thing you can possibly do is acknowledge the will of God and the fact that he is ordaining all things. And when you do that, you are going to pray. No, you are. You pray. When you have a heart posture like that, what comes out of it from within you is prayer.Because you finally understand how insignificant you are in affecting outcomes on this earth and you realize that God is sovereign and that God is ordaining all things and you are not God. What happened in Israel when they decided to accomplish their own will? Sexual sin, murder, treachery, it doesn't really go well. And the world around us doesn't really understand this, right? Because what happens when we see tragedies and things like that and people say, "Well, you know, our thoughts and prayers are are with the victims and and the things that have happened, right?" And people just don't like that.They sort of respond back with, "Well, we don't want that. We would rather you do something. We would rather see action. But if you know God and you know your relationship to him and you understand in your heart that what he ordains is right, that what he is doing has a purpose, then you know that the greatest thing you possibly could do would be to pray and to ask him, hey, if it could work out this way, would you change the counsel of Ahithophel to be foolishness? Right? And to commune with God from a position of humility is a really powerful thing.Let's pick back up in verse 32. While David was coming to the summit where God was worshiped, behold, Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coat torn and dirt on his head. David said to him, "If you go on with me, you will be a burden to me. But if you return to the city and say to Absalom,"I will be your servant, O king, as I have been your father's servant in time past, so now I will be your servant. Then you will defeat for me the counsel of Ahithophel."Are not Zadok and Abiathar the priests with you there? So whatever you hear from the king's house, tell it to Zadok and Abiathar, the priests. Behold, their two sons are with them. Ahimeaz Zadok's son and Jonathan Abiathar's son. And by them you shall send to me everything you hear. So Hushai, David's friend, came into the city just as Absalom was entering Jerusalem.Okay. Here, David tells Hushai, another one of his close friends and counselors, to go back to Jerusalem and act as a spy, essentially to feed information to Zadok and Abiathar, who will through their sons get that information out into the wilderness to David. And so now we finish chapter 15 with David on his way out of Jerusalem. And we begin chapter 16. And as David is out of Jerusalem, Absalom has now entered Jerusalem. Chapter 16 starts, "When David had passed a little beyond the summit, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him with a couple of donkeys saddled bearing 200 loaves of bread, a hundred bunches of raisins, a hundred of summer fruits, and a skin of wine."And the king said to Ziba, "Why have you brought these?" Ziba answered, "The donkeys are for the king's household to ride on, the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat, and the wine for those who faint in the wilderness to drink." And the king said, "And where is your master's son?" That's Mephibosheth. "Where is your master's son?" Ziba said to the king, "Behold, he remains in Jerusalem, for he said, Today the house of Israel will give me back the kingdom of my father." Then the king said to Ziba, "Behold, all that belonged to Mephibosheth is now yours."And Ziba said, "I pay homage. Let me ever find favor in your sight, my Lord the king." Okay, so back in 2 Samuel 9, we see the first interaction of David with Ziba. And what's happening there is remember David wanted to honor someone of the lineage of his friend Jonathan. And so he wants to find someone of the lineage of Saul. Jonathan was Saul's son.And he wants to honor him. And Ziba says, "Well, actually, Jonathan's son, Mephibosheth, is here." And David says, "Okay, bring him to me." And he brings him and he honors him. And he says, "You're going to always eat at the king's table." And Ziba then after that is made the servant of Mephibosheth.And now where we are, we've got Ziba coming to tell David, "Hey, just so you know, as you were leaving back in Jerusalem, Mephibosheth went ahead and said, "Awesome. Now I'm going to get the kingdom back because David's gone." Like as if the house of Saul is going to now take back the kingdom. And David kind of takes this just at face value. And I don't know if it's because maybe things have not been working out super well for David. So, you know, when you're not having the greatest of time and you hear a piece of information that's not that great, you're like, "Of course, yeah, that's going wrong, too.The car is broken as well." You know, it's that kind of thing where, yeah, Mephibosheth thinks he's going to be king. I guess that's what he wanted all along. I don't know if that's exactly what David's thinking, but he responds by giving what he had originally given to Mephibosheth over to Ziba. But later on, and we're not going to unpack this as much today, in chapter 19, Mephibosheth is going to dispute this.And we're not actually sure if this is what happened. But from David's perspective, he thinks Mephibosheth has also sort of abandoned him and is looking to gain his own kingdom. And he thinks that's another person who probably is not on his side anymore. Verse 5. When King David came to Bahurim, there came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera. And as he came, he cursed continually. And he threw stones at David and at all the servants of King David.And all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left. And Shimei said as he cursed, "Get out. Get out. You man of blood, you worthless man. The Lord has avenged on you all the blood of the house of Saul in whose place you have reigned. And the Lord has given the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom.See, your evil is on you, for you are a man of blood. So Shimei, who is one of Saul's relatives, sees things aren't going very well for David. And as David and his guard and all his people with him are are passing by, he starts flinging stones at him and saying a curse at him. And the text sort of reads this as one man just out there flinging rocks into a crowd of hundreds, thousands at David and cursing at him. And we're told he does this because he resents David for what happened to Saul. In verse 9, you see, then Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, said to the king, "Why should this dead dog curse my Lord the king?Let me go over and take off his head." But the king said, "What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the Lord has said to him, "Curse David, who then shall say, why have you done so?" And David said to Abishai and to all his servants, "Behold, my own son seeks my life. How much more now may this Benjaminite? Leave him alone and let him curse, for the Lord has told him to. It may be that the Lord will look on the wrong done to me, and that the Lord will repay me with good for his cursing today."So David and his men went on the road while Shimei went along on the hillside opposite him and cursed as he went and threw stones at him and flung dust. And the king and all his people who were with him arrived weary at the Jordan and there he refreshed himself. Okay. So Abishai is Joab, the guy who we talked about from last time whose field was burned. He's his brother. So this is another one of David's nephews, one of the children of David's sister.And Abishai, he is not liking this. He does not like what he sees here. This is like, you know, if you're like in high school and maybe you're like having a feud with another person and so like all your friends, they're like shooting that other person dirty looks. Maybe that person's having a party and they're like, "Well, we're not going to go because, you know, our friends are feuding with each other. we're not going to go support that. And then your friend kind of comes up to you and he says, "Look over there at that dead dog. How about I just go bring his head to you?"And you're like, "Whoa." Love the zeal, but no. And so David here tells Abishai, "No." But this isn't the first time that's had to happen because actually back in 1 Samuel, Abishai is with David when David is in the camp of Saul when Saul wants to kill him and Saul is sleeping and David and Abishai are there and see him and Abishai goes let me pin him to the ground with one thrust of the spear and David tells him no and he tells him here no again. So he's being cursed and mocked by Shimei and Abishai will not stand for that.And in his zeal he wants to go kill him. And you know David could have just been like yeah I am so tired of this. I am so sick of this. Go over there and bring me his head. But he does not.Instead, he says, "Let him curse because if God told him to curse, then who are we to question that? And perhaps one day God will look favorably upon it for me." This is David again accepting God's will humbly. He rejects the opportunity to control the outcome by manipulating the circumstances and instead he resigns himself to the will of God. I think that's really hard. And I know some of you feel like you're in the same boat, right?Maybe your mind is three steps ahead of everyone else and you're always trying to engineer the best outcome for yourself, especially if things haven't been going well lately. And so seeing David do this this act of humility is impressive and it's really challenging. We're going to bring our time together with this story to a close today. I want us to look back through some of those themes that we stopped to talk about. You know, we're not kings and queens. We probably will never flee our own homes on foot because of a coup.But a lot of these are reflections of what goes on in people's hearts. And I think some of these things go on in our hearts. First, I want us to reflect on Israel's desire for the king. Their desire to be just like everyone else around them. You know, this was a rejection of God as their king. And we talked about this in 1 Samuel, but now here they are just like everyone else.Because murder and sexual sin and treachery are all just glimpses of what life choosing your own sin and choosing your own will can lead to. And it doesn't ever seem like that. Nobody ever says we want a king and is thinking about a military coup. But yes, sin can take us to the place that we never think we'll go. So where are you tempted to believe these things?Where are you tempted to say that you know better that you desire a king even though that's not what God wants? I mean, I know I'm not supposed to sleep with my boyfriend or girlfriend before we're married, but what's the big deal? I mean, it's just so impractical in this economy anyway to not live together. I mean, I understand that God says I shouldn't lie, but really, honestly, taxes are crazy high, and I don't really believe in them anyway. So, what's a big deal if I count that as a deduction? Where do you think you know better than God?And where will it take you today? Reflect on that and turn from it. You can do it. You can turn from it. You can reject it and obey God, but not in your own willpower. But Romans tells us that we were once slaves to sin, but from a changed heart, we can now obey.You can obey if you have repented of sin and put faith in the gospel because your heart is changed. And only from a changed heart can we obey God. Second, I want us to see the beauty of friendship and the beauty of loyalty. David in one of his darkest hours is surrounded by men who refuse to leave him. So where do we need to be a friend like Ittai the Gittite?Where do we need to say that wherever you will be, I will be, good or bad? Are you sticking it out with your friends? Are you showing it up? Are you showing up when they need you or are you just busy? What do you need to remove from your life so that you can have the space to be there for other people? Some of you have been in rough situations in your life.Some of you are in rough situations and some of you can think of people who have showed up. Some of those people are sitting nearby you in this room. Rejoice in that because guys, you know that's a reflection of God. You know in the book of Hebrews it says that God will never leave us or forsake us. Why? Because he forsook Jesus.And so we are welcomed in a relationship with God that even death cannot sever. And we should reflect that to the friends around us that God has brought in our path. Thirdly, I want us to see David's humble contentment with God's will. We see it in his posture toward the ark of the covenant and in the cursing from Shimei. David accepts whatever God has ordained. And the temptation in times when you're walking a dark road can be to look up at God and say, "No, I am the master of my fate.I am the captain of my soul." And so I ask you today, where are you discontent with what God has sent? work, family, dating, children, health. Remind yourself of his goodness and entrust yourself to him. David ascends the Mount of Olives, weeping, resolved to God's will. And about a thousand years later, a descendant of David will sit at the base of the Mount of Olives in the Garden of Gethsemane. And in grief, he is going to call out to God and say, "Let this cup pass from me."Yet, not as I will, but as you will. And that's Jesus. And that's David's descendant who humbly accepts the will of God and goes to the cross and is punished for sin and he dies and he's buried and he rises again. And because of that, because Jesus has humbly accepted the will of the Father and was crushed, you can humbly accept the will of the Father and live. And the band is going to come back up and we are going to close this morning reflecting on Jesus, on the freedom he brings from our own sinful will and desire, on the relationships that he makes possible for us to have with God and on the example of humble acceptance of the will of God that he showed us on the cross that allows us to accept whatever comes our way.

god love jesus christ father lord israel spirit bible france german gardens jerusalem hebrews sexual reflect south korea lord of the rings rejoice behold amen castro mount verse king david arise napoleon remind o lord gethsemane lexington bibles gera 2 samuel philistines olives julius caesar absalom mephibosheth raz levites hebron abimelech joab gath amnon zadok rafiki cuban revolution ziba shimei ahithophel abiathar abishai hushai ittai pride rock zeruiah gittite please lord was gott bahurim cherethites pelethites so zadok so ittai so hushai so shimei

The GAP Episode 804 - Winner Winner

Play Episode Listen Later May 29, 2026 70:58

On this episode of The GAP Joab Gilroy is the last man standing! Count this as yet another Battle Royale Joab has won! The podcast started with 5 members, and now it's just Joab. For those who like the sound of Joab's voice (Joab) this is a dream come true! For everyone else, a nightmare given form. The Games he's been playing this week includes Rocket League, Dota Underlords and Forza Horizon 6. Over in the news Destiny 2 announces its end of updates, Warhorse announces (and then I didn't write anything else fmd), and Rocket League is heading to Unreal Engine 6 because Joaby started playing the game again, and Microsoft pays $250 million to Acti Blizz shareholders. This episode goes for 1 hour and 31 minutes, it also contains coarse language. Timestamps – 00:00:00 – Start 00:09:16 – Rocket League 00:20:19 – Dota Underlords 00:33:03 – Forza Horizon 6 00:57:31 – News 01:08:15 – Weekly Plugs 01:10:59 – End of Show

games microsoft unreal engine rocket league forza horizon war horse joab winner winner dota underlords

The Death of Absalom

Play Episode Listen Later May 28, 2026 18:35

In this Bible Story, we witness the short-lived coupe of Absalom. Having just taken over the throne of David, Absalom's army is defeated in battle by David's mighty men and Absalom is killed. This story is inspired by 2 Samuel 17:24-19:8. Go to https://www.BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.Today's Bible verse is 2 Samuel 18:9 from the King James Version.Episode 107: David and his commanders went to gather the army, but Abishai told David that it would be better for the army if he stayed behind and recruited more soldiers. David sent the army off and asked them to deal gently with Absalom for His sake. But during the battle, Absalom got caught in some branches and was killed by David's men. When David heard about his death, he mourned for his son. But his mourning would lead to shame for the entire army and a confrontation from Joab.Hear the Bible come to life as Pastor Jack Graham leads you through the official BibleinaYear.com podcast. This Biblical Audio Experience will help you master wisdom from the world's greatest book. In each episode, you will learn to apply Biblical principles to everyday life. Now understanding the Bible is easier than ever before; enjoy a cinematic audio experience full of inspirational storytelling, orchestral music, and profound commentary from world-renowned Pastor Jack Graham.Also, you can download the Pray.com app for more Christian content, including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.Visit JackGraham.org for more resources on how to tap into God's power for successful Christian living.This episode is sponsored by Medi-Share, an innovative health care solution for Christians to save money without sacrificing quality.Pray.com is the digital destination of faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store.Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max BardProducer: Ben GammonHosted by: Pastor Jack GrahamMusic by: Andrew Morgan SmithBible Story narration by: Todd Haberkorn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

god death lord apple bible prayer christians sleep pray biblical app google play absalom bible stories king james version joab bible in a year abishai

Absalom Returns

Play Episode Listen Later May 26, 2026 20:07

In this Bible Story, Joab convinces David to allow his son Absalom to return from exile. Absalom returns, not as a reformed or changed man, but more bitter than ever. This story is inspired by 2 Samuel 14. Go to https://www.BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.Today's Bible verse is 2 Samuel 14:24 from the King James Version.Episode 105: Joab, seeing David wishing for Absalom's return but unwilling to get him himself, devised a scheme with a woman from Tekoa. The woman came to David as her king and told a sad tale of her two sons. David, realizing Joab's hand in this, called him in and ordered him to bring back Absalom. But because of his ban from seeing his father David, he too began to nurse a hatred for him. Beginning to devising how he would take the throne from himself.Hear the Bible come to life as Pastor Jack Graham leads you through the official BibleinaYear.com podcast. This Biblical Audio Experience will help you master wisdom from the world's greatest book. In each episode, you will learn to apply Biblical principles to everyday life. Now understanding the Bible is easier than ever before; enjoy a cinematic audio experience full of inspirational storytelling, orchestral music, and profound commentary from world-renowned Pastor Jack Graham.Also, you can download the Pray.com app for more Christian content, including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.Visit JackGraham.org for more resources on how to tap into God's power for successful Christian living.This episode is sponsored by Medi-Share, an innovative health care solution for Christians to save money without sacrificing quality.Pray.com is the digital destination of faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store.Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max BardProducer: Ben GammonHosted by: Pastor Jack GrahamMusic by: Andrew Morgan SmithBible Story narration by: Todd Haberkorn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

god lord apple bible prayer christians sleep pray biblical app google play absalom bible stories king james version joab bible in a year tekoa

Ezra 2

Believe His Prophets

Play Episode Listen Later May 26, 2026

Now these are the children of the province that went up out of the captivity, of those which had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away unto Babylon, and came again unto Jerusalem and Judah, every one unto his city;2 Which came with Zerubbabel: Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mizpar, Bigvai, Rehum, Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel:3 The children of Parosh, two thousand an hundred seventy and two.4 The children of Shephatiah, three hundred seventy and two.5 The children of Arah, seven hundred seventy and five.6 The children of Pahathmoab, of the children of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand eight hundred and twelve.7 The children of Elam, a thousand two hundred fifty and four.8 The children of Zattu, nine hundred forty and five.9 The children of Zaccai, seven hundred and threescore.10 The children of Bani, six hundred forty and two.11 The children of Bebai, six hundred twenty and three.12 The children of Azgad, a thousand two hundred twenty and two.13 The children of Adonikam, six hundred sixty and six.14 The children of Bigvai, two thousand fifty and six.15 The children of Adin, four hundred fifty and four.16 The children of Ater of Hezekiah, ninety and eight.17 The children of Bezai, three hundred twenty and three.18 The children of Jorah, an hundred and twelve.19 The children of Hashum, two hundred twenty and three.20 The children of Gibbar, ninety and five.21 The children of Bethlehem, an hundred twenty and three.22 The men of Netophah, fifty and six.23 The men of Anathoth, an hundred twenty and eight.24 The children of Azmaveth, forty and two.25 The children of Kirjatharim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred and forty and three.26 The children of Ramah and Gaba, six hundred twenty and one.27 The men of Michmas, an hundred twenty and two.28 The men of Bethel and Ai, two hundred twenty and three.29 The children of Nebo, fifty and two.30 The children of Magbish, an hundred fifty and six.31 The children of the other Elam, a thousand two hundred fifty and four.32 The children of Harim, three hundred and twenty.33 The children of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred twenty and five.34 The children of Jericho, three hundred forty and five.35 The children of Senaah, three thousand and six hundred and thirty.36 The priests: the children of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred seventy and three.37 The children of Immer, a thousand fifty and two.38 The children of Pashur, a thousand two hundred forty and seven.39 The children of Harim, a thousand and seventeen.40 The Levites: the children of Jeshua and Kadmiel, of the children of Hodaviah, seventy and four.41 The singers: the children of Asaph, an hundred twenty and eight.42 The children of the porters: the children of Shallum, the children of Ater, the children of Talmon, the children of Akkub, the children of Hatita, the children of Shobai, in all an hundred thirty and nine.43 The Nethinims: the children of Ziha, the children of Hasupha, the children of Tabbaoth,44 The children of Keros, the children of Siaha, the children of Padon,45 The children of Lebanah, the children of Hagabah, the children of Akkub,46 The children of Hagab, the children of Shalmai, the children of Hanan,47 The children of Giddel, the children of Gahar, the children of Reaiah,48 The children of Rezin, the children of Nekoda, the children of Gazzam,49 The children of Uzza, the children of Paseah, the children of Besai,50 The children of Asnah, the children of Mehunim, the children of Nephusim,51 The children of Bakbuk, the children of Hakupha, the children of Harhur,52 The children of Bazluth, the children of Mehida, the children of Harsha,53 The children of Barkos, the children of Sisera, the children of Thamah,54 The children of Neziah, the children of Hatipha.55 The children of Solomon's servants: the children of Sotai, the children of Sophereth, the children of Peruda,56 The children of Jaalah, the children of Darkon, the children of Giddel,57 The children of Shephatiah, the children of Hattil, the children of Pochereth of Zebaim, the children of Ami.58 All the Nethinims, and the children of Solomon's servants, were three hundred ninety and two.59 And these were they which went up from Telmelah, Telharsa, Cherub, Addan, and Immer: but they could not shew their father's house, and their seed, whether they were of Israel:60 The children of Delaiah, the children of Tobiah, the children of Nekoda, six hundred fifty and two.61 And of the children of the priests: the children of Habaiah, the children of Koz, the children of Barzillai; which took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called after their name:62 These sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy, but they were not found: therefore were they, as polluted, put from the priesthood.63 And the Tirshatha said unto them, that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there stood up a priest with Urim and with Thummim.64 The whole congregation together was forty and two thousand three hundred and threescore,65 Beside their servants and their maids, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred thirty and seven: and there were among them two hundred singing men and singing women.66 Their horses were seven hundred thirty and six; their mules, two hundred forty and five;67 Their camels, four hundred thirty and five; their asses, six thousand seven hundred and twenty.68 And some of the chief of the fathers, when they came to the house of the Lord which is at Jerusalem, offered freely for the house of God to set it up in his place:69 They gave after their ability unto the treasure of the work threescore and one thousand drams of gold, and five thousand pound of silver, and one hundred priests' garments.70 So the priests, and the Levites, and some of the people, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinims, dwelt in their cities, and all Israel in their cities.

god ai lord israel jerusalem babylon immer bethlehem bethel nebuchadnezzar mordecai levites gaba nebo asaph elam joab bani ono ramah hanan hadid lod sisera koz adin urim tobiah arah jeshua cherub harsha thummim ater jorah barzillai anathoth uzza gileadite rehum talmon darkon jedaiah keros pashur zaccai nekoda hodaviah bilshan gibbar reelaiah jaalah

2 Samuel 14

Play Episode Listen Later May 24, 2026

Group Guide Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week. 2 Samuel 14 Spencer Cary Download TranscriptGood morning. What a wonderful morning. Baptisms are a time to truly be thankful that God redeems any of us and that we get to enjoy the benefits of what it means to follow him, belong to him in the context of the church community. What a blessing. We're continuing to walk through 1 and 2 Samuel. We're in 2 Samuel chapter 14 today.We'll spill into chapter 15 as well. We've got quite a bit of story to get through. Let me give us a little bit of a recap from last week. It'll be on page 303 in the Black Bible. So if you're going to grab a Bible nearby, you can follow along with us.Last week, really last week in the next few chapters, we're kind of living in the aftermath of David's sin. What we saw last week is that his son Anon desired his half-sister Tamar, and then he assaulted her. And we saw the devastation of that spill into two years of Tamar's brother waiting for his opportunity to exact revenge, and then we saw Absalom kill Amnon. And we are in the aftermath of that tragic story, and we're going to see more of this continue into a story today that has also elements that are laden with sin. And my hope as we walk through this story today that in the darkness of this really section of 2 Samuel, we would actually discover some really wonderful hope.Some really, really wonderful hope. So let me pray for us, and then we're just going to jump straight into the story. Heavenly Father, we thank you that you, in the middle of sin and brokenness, in the middle of darkness, in the middle of all sorts of suffering, because of the effects of sin, you bring wonderful hope. God, I pray that we would be reminded of that today as we walk through a story that continues in this section that is difficult. And we ask that you would open our eyes to what is true, and that we might leave here as not just hearers of the word, but we would also be doers of the word.We ask this in faith, in Jesus' name. Amen. All right, so pick up in verse 1. Now Joab, the son of Zeruiah, knew that the king's heart went out to Absalom. And Joab sent to Tekoa, and brought from there a wise woman, and said to her, Pretend to be a mourner, and put on mourning garments. Do not anoint yourself with oil, but behave like a woman who has been mourning many days for the dead.Go to the king, and speak thus to him. So Joab put words in her mouth. So Joab sees how much this situation with Absalom has affected David, and he wants to do something about it. Joab is the commander of his army. It's David's nephew. He loves David.And he wants to ease his pain, and he figures out a way to do this, that he's going to do pretty much what Nathan the prophet did, which is to come and act out a story. I don't know why David keeps falling for these, but he does. Like he apparently appreciates theatrics, but he just... Joab sees what happened with Nathan the prophet, and says, I'm going to do the same thing. I'm going to find this wise woman. He goes and sends for a woman from Tekoa, which is not far away from Jerusalem.And then basically says, you're going to be someone who's mourning, who is sad. And then he gives her a script that she's going to go act out before the king to illustrate a point. So this is the script. Verse 4. When the woman of Tekoa came to the king, she fell on her face to the ground and paid homage and said, Save me, O king. Which is a dramatic entry into something that actually would have been very normal for their time.The Israelite kings were meant to be Judges for the people. That you could come and bring your dispute to the king, that he would hear it and give a ruling on it. This is a normal practice. And she says, Save me, O king. Verse 5. And the king said to her, What is your trouble?She answered, Alas, I'm a widow. My husband is dead. And your servant had two sons. And they quarreled with one another in the field. There was no one to separate them. And one struck the other and killed him.And now the whole clan has risen against your servant. And they say, Give up the man who struck his brother that we may put him to death for the life of his brother whom he killed. And so they would destroy the air also. Thus they would quench my coal that is left and leave my husband, neither name nor remnant, on the face of the earth. So, that's the script that Joab writes for her. And it is indeed sad.It is a woman who has been widowed. She has two sons. Her sons are in the field. They're fighting, and the other one, one of them kills the other. So it's devastating to lose a son.Now, the remaining son, her clan, is wanting capital punishment. They want him to be put to death. And she's hiding him. And they're demanding this. And she's coming to the king. So that she could be spared more of this grief so that her husband would have a name, have a remnant that's left behind.That's the situation. Then the king said to the woman, Go to your house, and I will give orders concerning you. And the woman of Tekoa said to the king, On me be the guilt, my Lord the king, and on my father's house let the king and his throne be guiltless. The king said, If anyone says anything to you, bring him to me, and he shall never touch you again. Then she said, Please let the king invoke the Lord your God, that the avenger of blood kill no more, and my son be not destroyed.He said, As the Lord lives, not one hair on your son shall fall to the ground. So she gets David. She reels him in. And she gets him to agree to, invoking the name of the Lord, a protection upon this fake son. So he's going to, no one's going to lay a hand on him.So this is David, y'all. David just so clearly can assess the situation that's outside of himself. He just so clearly sees it. He's like, I'm going to intervene. And she's got him. Verse 12.Then the woman said, Please let your servant speak a word to my Lord the king. He said, Speak. And the woman said, Why then have you planned such a thing against the people of God? For in giving this decision, the king convicts himself inasmuch as the king does not bring his banished one home again. And that's the point of Joab's script. To get David to reckon with the fact that Absalom cannot come back to Jerusalem.She got him. Joab wrote this well. She says, You've convicted yourself. It is you who have made sure that Absalom cannot come home. And then she continues. Verse 14.We must all die. We are like water spilled on the ground which cannot be gathered up again. But God will not take away life and he divides his means so that the banished one will not remain an outcast. Now I've come to say this to my Lord the king because the people have made me afraid and your servant thought, I will speak to the king. It may be that the king will perform this, the request of his servant. For the king will hear and deliver his servant from the hand of the man who would destroy me and my son together from the heritage of God.And your servant thought, The word of my Lord the king will set me at rest for my Lord the king is like the angel of God to discern good and evil. The Lord your God be with you. So she basically says, Listen, we're all like water spilled to the ground. We're all going to die one day. And as for this banished one, Absalom, why punish him any longer? But she ties it back to her story, this script, and says, See, you should bring him home.You have the power, David. You can make this right. Bring him home. And after boldly correcting their king, she very wisely begins with some flattery. She says, The king is like the angel of God that has discerned good and evil, which is very wise at this point because you've just put the king on blast. Maybe you should say some kind words about who he is.Verse 18, And the king answered the woman, Do not hide from me anything I ask you. And the woman said, Let my Lord the king speak. The king said, Is the hand of Joab with you in all this? The woman answered and said, As surely as you live, my Lord the king, one cannot turn to the right hand or to the left from anything that my Lord the king has said. It was your servant Joab commanded me. It was he who put all these words in the mouth of your servant.In order to change the course of things, your servant Joab did this. But my Lord has wisdom like the wisdom of the angel of God to know all things that are on the earth. Which is just really laying on thick at the end. Which, again, is very smart at this point. Her fate is in his hands. She says, Yes, you figured it out.Joab is the one who gave me this script. He's the one that put the words in my mouth. In order that you might reckon with the situation with Absalom. So at this point, I just, as I'm reading this, I feel like David going forward should probably ask a few more questions before he just jumps into giving judgments. This is the second time this happened. We don't know if this happens over and over again.But David keeps falling into this. And people keep using these type of situations to illustrate points so that David's eyes can be open to his situation. Now Joab seems to be here, present for all of this. And he turns to him in verse 21. Then the king said to Joab, Behold now I grant this.Go, bring back the young man Absalom. And Joab fell on his face to the ground and paid homage and blessed the king. And Joab said, Today your servant knows that I found favor in your sight, my Lord the king, and that the king has granted the request of his servant. So Joab arose and went to Geshur and brought Absalom to Jerusalem. And the king said, Let him dwell apart in his own house. He is not to come into my presence.So Absalom lived apart in his own house and did not come into the king's presence. So this ruse, it works. Joab sees how much David has been in distress. He illustrates this whole living parable before him. It makes the point. And David says, Okay, bring him home.He can go back to Jerusalem. He can go back to his home. He's not going to come back to my presence. So he goes. He gets him. He brings him back.And what we're going to see is that bringing Absalom back is going to create some real problems for David in this kingdom. So verse 25. Now in all Israel, there was no one such to be praised for his handsome appearance as Absalom. From the sole of his foot to the crown of his head, there was no blemish in him. And when he cut the hair of his head, for at the end of every year, he used to cut it. When it was heavy on him, he cut it.He weighed the hair of his head 200 shekels by the king's weight. They were born to Absalom three sons and one daughter whose name was Tamar. She was a beautiful woman. Which that last part, it's just a beautiful nod to his sister, Tamar, who would not have children after everything that happened to her. And he named a daughter after him. But we get a description of Absalom.Absalom was praised by the nation for being a handsome man with beautiful hair. He is good looking. I mean, he is basically Fabio. Or if that reference is lost on you because it's too old, Gaston. Whatever, whatever you can try to picture, it says there's no, there's no blemish on him. He's beautiful.Beautiful. And his hair is beautiful. His hair is so thick, it's so luscious, that every year when he cuts it, he weighs it, which is weird, but he does. He weighs it and it's 200 shekels by the king's weight. Five pounds is about what that is. So he's a beautiful person, beautiful man.He's handsome. It's not just handsome, he's overwhelmingly handsome. He's the kind of handsome that when you show up in Hollywood with no discernible talent to act, they just hand you a role. And you know it when you see it. He's very handsome, which means, if you understand, take a step back and understand the context of Absalom. This man was born on third base, y'all.He's a prince, which means he has status and he has money and he's famously handsome. So, he's extremely blessed. And the question is, okay, with all of this blessing, what is he going to do with it? And what you see is he chooses evil. And that is where all this story is going. Verse 28.So Absalom lived two full years in Jerusalem without coming into the king's presence. Then Absalom sent for Joab to send him to the king, but Joab would not come to him. And he sent a second time, but Joab would not come. Okay. So Joab, one would think, you know what?You got away with murder. Maybe just live in luxury in your home in Jerusalem. Is that enough? No. He goes to Joab, he sends for Joab and says, I want, I want a present, I want a moment with the king. And Joab ignores him.And then he sends a second time. And he says, I want to be in the king's presence. And Joab ignores all of this. Now, it does not appear from the context here that what Absalom wants is reconciliation with dear old dad. What we're going to see is that all of this is politically motivated. So he sends for Joab, he gets rejected, he gets ignored.And then we're going to see what kind of character is bound up in Absalom. Verse 30, then he said to his servants, see, Joab's field is next to mine and he has barley there. Go and set it on fire. So Absalom's servants set the field on fire. Have you ever been in a situation where like you've you've reached out to your boss and you've asked for a raise but they just put. The meeting off and then you reach out again to ask for a raise and then he just put the meeting off and then you set his desk on fire.That's Absalom. He's the crazy ex who keys the car. I'm going to I'm going to get your attention somehow. Burn his field down. So he does.He has a tantrum. He burns the field. And guess what? When you use emotional sabotage, it sometimes works. And he comes. Verse 31, then Joab arose and went to Absalom at his at his house and said to him, Why have your servants set my field on fire?Absalom answered Joab, Behold, I sent word to you. Come here that I may send you to the king to ask why have I come from Gesher. It would be better for me to still be for it would be better for me to still be to be there still. Now, therefore, let me go into the presence of the king and if there is guilt in me, let him put me to death. So it works.And Joab shows up and he's like, Crazy, what are you doing? What is the point of all of this? And he says, You didn't come. I have a message for the king. It would be better for me not to be in this house. I might as well be in exile in Gesher.But no, I want to be in his presence. And you know what? Send for him. Let me go. Because if he wants to kill me, he can kill me. But I'm getting my audience with the king.So his temper tantrum works. Absalom goes. Verse 33. And Joab went to the king and told him and he summoned Absalom. So he came to the king and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king and the king.Kissed Absalom. In the end of 14, before you get into 15, kind of feels like the eye of the hurricane. Because there's a moment where the sun is shining and things are, okay,. They've reconciled. He kisses them. He embraces them.That maybe this is the moment where things just get good again. That maybe, like, it's just, they're going to have, you know, moments together out in the field. Hunting and it's going to be wonderful. Maybe, just maybe, things are good but it's, it's the eye of the hurricane. And as the sun passes, the storm quickly approaches. And in verse 1 of chapter 15, we're going to see that what he is shooting for is a play for power.After this, Absalom got himself a chariot and horses and 50 men to run before him. So, pause there. The more you read the Old Testament, the more you'll pick up on some themes. One of those themes is that trusting in chariots and horses is bad. That using chariots and horses to flex your might, your power, and your greatness is a bad idea. This is what Egypt did.This is what the surrounding nations did. It doesn't mean they couldn't ever have chariots. It doesn't mean they couldn't ever have horses. It doesn't mean that those are in and of themselves bad but those are military weapons that the people of God are not meant to trust in because they are meant. To trust in the power of God but you positioning yourself on a chariot for all to see as we're going to see this is all a play. For power and majesty for himself.So, as soon as we read that there's some context there I think the eye has passed and there's trouble abroon. So, he basically outfits himself with a tank, a rocket launcher and a crew of 50 men and then we're going to see. How he positions himself amongst the people. Verse 2 Absalom used to rise early and stand beside the way of the gate and when any man had a dispute to come before the king. For judgment Absalom would call to him and say from what city are you? And when he said your servant is of such and such tribe in Israel Absalom would say to him see.Your claims are good and right but there is no man designated by the king to hear you then Absalom. Would say oh that I were judge in the land that every man with a dispute or cause might come to me. And I would give him justice and whenever a man came near to pay homage to him he would put out. His hand and take hold of him and kiss him thus Absalom did to all Israel who came to the king. For judgment so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel and it's clear at this point that what Absalom. Is doing is he's positioning himself for a place on the throne because the king is the one who makes judgments.Like this this is the king's responsibility and Absalom seems to be getting in the middle of that and he seems to be. Taking what the king does and he says oh where are you from what's your problem oh oh no oh I'll give you justice. Oh I just wouldn't it be great if you had a king that listened to you wouldn't it be great if you had someone who could make. Good judgments for you and you could all receive judgments oh if there was just someone I guess I'll be the one. That does this and you can almost see him in his chariot in his stupid chariot with his wind blowing through his hair. Riding up to the gate posting up the people swarming him and he's just like oh I can help you and the people begin they.Listen this is what the people do they fall for cheap tricks every nation doesn't matter what nation what era what time. People fall for cheap tricks they just do and this is something that is working with every judgment with every hair toss. With every swooning kiss that he gives to the people he starts to capture their hearts and y'all he's lying. I mean you think about this he's lying this is we we just saw that David does give judgments. He met with a woman from Tekoa but Absalom's in the shadows he's he's politically maneuvering. He's out now in front of the people he's doing things that are shady they're falling for fool's gold they're falling.For a man who murdered his brother without one ounce of regret one ounce of repentance. One ounce of sorrow we see none of it they're falling for a man who burns down fields. To get people's attention they're falling for a guy who positions himself on chariots. To show his power they're falling for a guy who this is the really evil part of this. That's lost on us culturally he's dishonoring his father y'all which is a massive sin in the bible. He's dishonoring him not just his father but the anointed king of Israel and if you can remember how in first Samuel.How David the future king of Israel went about treating Saul the present anointed king. Of Israel and all the deference that he gave towards him you can see the difference. That approaches this is wickedness this is evil and he's positioning himself for a shot at the throne with every million. Dollar style with every wink with every nod with every judgment and now the storm is raging and a civil war. Is brewing verse 7 and at the end of four years Absalom said to the king please let me go. And pay my vow which I have vowed to the Lord in Hebron for your servant vowed a vow while I lived.At Geshur in Aram saying if the Lord will indeed bring me back to Jerusalem. Then I will offer worship to the Lord the king said to him go in peace so he arose and went to Hebron. So David led him out of his sight which is not really the main point of the story I get so annoyed. With David sometimes when I'm reading this because I'm just like what are you doing how are you not. Seeing what's happening here how are you not in attention to your kingdom and not seeing what he's doing. But he does that's him out of his sight verse 10 but Absalom sent secret messengers throughout all the tribes of Israel.Saying as soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet then say Absalom is king at Hebron with Absalom went 200 men. From Jerusalem who were invited guests and they went and their innocence and knew nothing and while Absalom was offering. The sacrifices he sent for Ahithophel the Gilanite David's counselor from his city Gilom. And the conspiracy grew strong and the people with Absalom kept increasing so that's where we pause today. Is that what he has done is he's taken he's enacted a plot to take the throne by force from his father and God's anointed king. And he's going to Hebron with some supporters with some bystanders who don't know what's going on and with a plan.And a conspiracy that we're going to see play out so to recap let's think about this story in context. Absalom is born with everything he's born on third base he has good looks he is a prince. He literally gets away with murder he gets away with it and then is restored he's allowed. To be back in Jerusalem where he gets to continue to live in royalty he should just. Be content he should just be satisfied and what does he do with all this blessing it's not enough it's not enough. For him he wants more he wants a throne that is not his to take he starts to dishonor.His father he lies he plots he schemes and he plans to take his throne which by the way. The only way you take the throne from a sitting king is by killing the king so this plan is moving towards. He wants to kill his father and that means what we're seeing is a story that plays out like a tragedy. And built into this tragic story is a self-centered prince who wants to be his own king and we're going to witness. Absalom do some truly evil stuff he has all the blessings and in the end he chooses himself. He chooses self-interest even if it tears the nation apart which it is.And the reality is if we can have enough foresight to take a step back from all of this we are just like Absalom. We are just like Absalom we in this room are born on third base just like Absalom. And you might say oh you don't know I'm ugly and it's like maybe that's subjective. It's not the point not the point of the comparison I'm trying to make we're just like Absalom. And that we have so many blessings that we've been given so many luxuries y'all. We live better than the kings of old the people of royalty from ages.Past we live better than them we have food that we can. Summon we have an abundance of food we have food that goes. Bad we don't know what a famine is like here in our. Nation that even if you're struggling there are places you can go. To get it we have food we have running water. That is clean we have our own chariots that never grow tired.You can get in a car and you can drive people used to have to. Walk for miles and miles and miles or ride a horse for miles. And miles and miles and it would take days and days and you. Could do it in a matter of hours if you go through the list of all the. Things that we have in fact that you have a machine in your. Pocket that is one of the most powerful machines that's ever been made.With that machine you can summon food to be delivered. Groceries to be delivered a car we have blessing upon blessing. Upon blessing the things that we think are just common needs. It's like no it's comparatively we are blessed. In more ways than we could possibly and on top of. The material blessings of this present world in this place.In this area the Columbia area we have access to spiritual. Blessings that are wonderful y'all I can take a rock. And throw it and get close I can throw it a couple. Times and get close to a church down the street where they're. Preaching the gospel right now where Chet Andrews at State Street is preaching. And that's keep driving and you're going to see on a hall.Avenue where Dow is preaching it's like. We have people that are preaching the gospel in this city you have. Access to Christian community in this city you have community. Groups and small groups and maybe we are blessed beyond. We have access to the word of God that you can read it in front. Of you right now you can pull it up on your phone you probably.Have maybe some of you have it in your car you have. It at your house we have every spiritual blessing some of. Us who belong to Jesus Christ who are Christians we have. Access to our creator y'all that he has we can. Pray to him and he listens that we have no middle. Man other than Jesus Christ it's wonderful access.To our triune God we're not born on third base. We're born rounding third base on our way. To home we are so wonderfully blessed and like Absalom. It's not enough we want more money we want more power we want. More success we want more praise we want more and better friends. We want better looks we want a better life it's never.Enough it's never enough we want more and then we'll do. Actions that are similar to Absalom many of us know how to politically. Maneuver you know how to at the workplace position yourself to compete for a job. Like it's a throne that you're fighting for your life for you know how. To position yourself ahead of another co-worker you know how to make. Business deals work the way that you come out on top we know how to.Play the game at the workplace we know how to play the. Game in our social spheres some of us know how to maneuver. And put ourselves and say I really want to be closer with this person. But I need to get in between this person and this person I need. To make this friendship work better and it's like all. That political maneuvering reveals the same heart it's not enough it's never.Enough and we'll do some of the same things behind the scenes. To get what we want for our own good we'll. Act just like Absalom we can be erratic we can throw temper. Tantrums we can act like petulant children we know how to. Yell in an argument to get what we want some of. Us know how to break things to get what we want.And you might say I would never I am cool calm. And collected I would never yell to get what I want. But you might know how to give a cold shoulder you might. Know how to be passive aggressive we know how to. Do this we know how to act in order to get what we. Want for our own interest we do things just like.Absalom we fortify our lives just like he did with he did. It with a horse and a chariot and a squad of 50 people because he. Wanted to trust in his own strength as opposed to in all. Of this trusting and the strength of God as opposed to trusting. That what God wants and what God desires for this kingdom is what. Is good he doesn't it's not enough but he trusts in his own self.And we do the same thing we'll find ways to trust in our own. Selves we'll do it through a savings account we'll do it through. Work ethic and working endless hours one of the ways that shows. Up in my life is just prayerlessness this idea that I can work. And work and strive and do and do and do and do and do. And not run to the Lord and I've just seen over and over again.That the prayerlessness in my own life is symptomatic of a greater problem. That I trust in my own strength and not the Lord but we. Have the same streak that runs through Absalom that's in us this self. Centeredness and wanting more and not being content content we're just. Like Absalom and yet in so many ways we're blind to it we can't. See it so if that is reality and I'd argue that for the majority of us if not all of us.In some form or fashion it is then where's the hope if that's the problem then what's the. Remedy like what what do we actually how do we not live. Like this Absalom type lives I want us to go to Philippians chapter. 2 It's on page 1135 1135 in the black bibles because. Bound up in this wicked story that we've read that we're going to. Continue to see play out and that's the backdrop of the darkness of our own lives.And the ways that it aligns with this story is some incredible hope. This is Paul writing to the church to Philippi addressing this directly. He says in verse 3 chapter 2 do nothing from selfish. Ambition or conceit but in humility count others more significant than. Yourselves which I read that and the times where I have the clarity. To see that Absalom prideful self-interested streak in me.I'm like okay I'm in you've got me do nothing. From selfish ambition or conceit but in humility count others more significant. Than yourselves I'm in how I want that then verse 4. Let each of you look not only to his own interests but also. To the interest of others that's like okay again you've. Got me I'm in I don't want to look to my own interest.Only I want to be a man that lives for the interest. Of others I'm in but how do I get there verse 5 have this. Mind among yourselves which is yours in Christ Jesus who though. He was in the form of God did not count equality. With God a thing to be grasped but emptied himself by taking. The form of a servant being born in the likeness of men and being found.In human form he humbled himself by being obedient to the. Point of death even death on a cross and the. Remedy for self centered souls and the way to fix. Our prideful beset sin in our lives is through. Jesus Christ it is by trusting and a God who left. The glory of heaven to take on human flesh and dwell among us.Who subjected himself to be murdered by his own creation for our own interest. That we might not be sprinting into an eternity of destruction. Under the wrath of God forever but he might bring us from. Darkness into a kingdom of light by choosing to surrender in the same. Way that Stephen declared in the baptism waters today. That the only hope we have for the self centered and self.Interested soul is through the work of Jesus Christ entrusting. In him and not ourselves and then every day in following Christ. Day by day we continue to come back to the hope of the. Gospel of a God who loved us so much that he. Gave himself for us that he might mold us. And conform us into his image into being people that are.Not so interested in our own lives but live for the. Sake of others hope is Jesus Christ that's the only. Means that we get there it is through faith and daily. Repentance of dying to our own selves and doing it every. Single day as we grow to be more like Christ. So when we read stories like this it's a warning and what.We're going to see is absolutely just absolutely wrecked his own. Life and so many people the pain and the. Fallout of his sin is massive and it's a warning. Of what it means when we trust in ourselves and we care about. Our own lives and thank you God that he's given us stories like. This to remind us not only the seriousness of sin but the wonderful.Gift of a savior and as we get ready to sing one final song in worship. My hope is that we would begin to reckon with our own sin and then. Run to Jesus Christ asking him to both reveal our self-interest to feel our. Pride reveal all the self-centeredness within us but also celebrate that he. Came and that he died and that he gave his life so that I. Wouldn't be a slave to myself and worshiping my own self but I might live.To worship in Christ and the fruit of that would show up in so many other. Ways so we'll get the opportunity to do that in worship here in a moment. We'll have the opportunity in groups to do that this week as we get to live. This out and this is a care week where we get to maybe confess. Our own sin and our own self-interest and we pray that. God would stir that work in us and then we'll worship and sing heavenly father I pray.That you might open our eyes to the reality of our own. Absalom like sin within God I just I so. Need you I so feel it myself this concern for self. This lack of contentment that it's never enough and I think there's others like. Me here that need you that desperately need you to go to. Work and may we trust in you and you alone and not.Ourselves and may you regularly graciously confront our sin and remind. Us beautifully of our savior you and may that change. The way we live our lives in Jesus name amen the band's. Going to come up we're going to sing this final song together and as we. Sing and celebrate and make much of Jesus Christ for what he has done for us. My hope is that this wouldn't just be things that we hear but we.Would actually begin to put into practice in our lives and as we leave here. Begin to take practical steps in running towards Jesus and watching him change. Us to be a people that live not to ourselves but for the sake of others.

David and Bathsheba

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Play Episode Listen Later May 21, 2026 21:05

In this Bible Story, David remains home from battle to rest. While his men fight on the front lines of the Ammonites, he eventually grows complacent, and sleeps with the wife of one of his mighty men, Uriah. She becomes pregnant, and David sends Uriah to the front lines to be killed to cover up his sins. This story is inspired by 2 Samuel 11. Go to https://www.BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.Today's Bible verse is 2 Samuel 11:2 from the King James Version.Episode 102: It was spring, the time when most kings go to war, but David feeling content and desiring some rest sent Joab in his stead. However, this choice would prove fatal. In his ease, David looked out and saw something he should not have, and gave into desire for another man's wife. This sin would not only taint his kingdom, it would also lead to the death of one of his closest friends as well as their child as a result.Hear the Bible come to life as Pastor Jack Graham leads you through the official BibleinaYear.com podcast. This Biblical Audio Experience will help you master wisdom from the world's greatest book. In each episode, you will learn to apply Biblical principles to everyday life. Now understanding the Bible is easier than ever before; enjoy a cinematic audio experience full of inspirational storytelling, orchestral music, and profound commentary from world-renowned Pastor Jack Graham.Also, you can download the Pray.com app for more Christian content, including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.Visit JackGraham.org for more resources on how to tap into God's power for successful Christian living.This episode is sponsored by Medi-Share, an innovative health care solution for Christians to save money without sacrificing quality.Pray.com is the digital destination of faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store.Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max BardProducer: Ben GammonHosted by: Pastor Jack GrahamMusic by: Andrew Morgan SmithBible Story narration by: Todd Haberkorn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

King of Israel

Play Episode Listen Later May 14, 2026 23:46

In this Bible Story, we learn about David's alliance with Abner that is quickly thwarted by his general Joab. Meanwhile, three men murder King Ish-bosheth in order to please David. David was not pleased, so he executed the men where they stand. This story is inspired by 2 Samuel 3-5:4 & 1 Chronicles 11:1-3. Go to https://www.BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.Today's Bible verse is 2 Samuel 3:22 from the King James Version.Episode 97: Ish-Bosheth remained in conflict over Judah for two years, and though David was patient and tactful, he was ruthless on the battlefield. Abner and Ish-Bosheth became friends, but so did he and Rizpah, one of Saul's concubines. When Ish-Bosheth heard of this he berated Abner and Abner in wrath swore that he would give the kingdom of Israel to David for this. However, as Abner was leaving, Joab whose brother he had killed, murdered him in secret. Thus setting up the chaotic opening of the united Israel.Hear the Bible come to life as Pastor Jack Graham leads you through the official BibleinaYear.com podcast. This Biblical Audio Experience will help you master wisdom from the world's greatest book. In each episode, you will learn to apply Biblical principles to everyday life. Now understanding the Bible is easier than ever before; enjoy a cinematic audio experience full of inspirational storytelling, orchestral music, and profound commentary from world-renowned Pastor Jack Graham.Also, you can download the Pray.com app for more Christian content, including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.Visit JackGraham.org for more resources on how to tap into God's power for successful Christian living.This episode is sponsored by Medi-Share, an innovative health care solution for Christians to save money without sacrificing quality.Pray.com is the digital destination of faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store.Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max BardProducer: Ben GammonHosted by: Pastor Jack GrahamMusic by: Andrew Morgan SmithBible Story narration by: Todd Haberkorn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Best of Friends Fight

god jesus christ bible christians christianity radio revelation apologetics everyman absalom joab csn phillippians

Play Episode Listen Later May 13, 2026 20:57

In this Bible Story, we witness the divided kingdom of Israel. Israel names Ish-bosheth king, while Judah crowns David. Abner, general of Israel's army, killed Joab's brother. Joab spares Israel's army, however it is not the end of the conflict. This story is inspired by 2 Samuel 2 & 1 Chronicles 2:16, 12:22. Go to https://www.BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.Today's Bible verse is 2 Samuel 2:17 from the King James Version.Episode 96: Israel, now in a state of chaos, needed a new king. But a civil split was between them and as Judah welcomed David's return and made him king in Hebron, Abner made Saul's son Ish-Bosheth king over the remaining tribes of Israel. In an attempt to take Judah, he also made war against Joab, the nephew of David and commander of his army. But he was outmatched. And though he killed one of Joab's brothers, Joab still gave his army mercy when he called off the battle.Hear the Bible come to life as Pastor Jack Graham leads you through the official BibleinaYear.com podcast. This Biblical Audio Experience will help you master wisdom from the world's greatest book. In each episode, you will learn to apply Biblical principles to everyday life. Now understanding the Bible is easier than ever before; enjoy a cinematic audio experience full of inspirational storytelling, orchestral music, and profound commentary from world-renowned Pastor Jack Graham.Also, you can download the Pray.com app for more Christian content, including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.Visit JackGraham.org for more resources on how to tap into God's power for successful Christian living.This episode is sponsored by Medi-Share, an innovative health care solution for Christians to save money without sacrificing quality.Pray.com is the digital destination of faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store.Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max BardProducer: Ben GammonHosted by: Pastor Jack GrahamMusic by: Andrew Morgan SmithBible Story narration by: Todd Haberkorn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

To Every Man an Answer 5/13/2026

To Every Man An Answer

Play Episode Listen Later May 13, 2026 56:19

6:18 - Why did Joab kill Absalom? / 14:37 - Phillippians 4:13, what can we do with God? / 22:50 - Revelation 16:15, Is this passage taking place before the tribulation? / 33:41 - Is the rapture related to aliens? / 43:42 - I see things, how can I know if it's spiritual warfare? / 50:40 - How should Christians work through child custody matters?

The GAP Episode 801 - The Car

Sermons – Hope Orthodox Presbyterian Church

Play Episode Listen Later May 10, 2026 90:43

On this episode of The GAP Luke Lawrie and Joab Gilroy talk about Joab's new collection of side mirrors. The Games they've been playing this week include Saros, Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred, Blindfire, Vampire Crawlers, TerraTech Legion, Shapez 2, and Slay the Spire 2. Over in the news the Steam Controller briefly returns before selling out immediately, GreedFall developer Spiders enters liquidation, and Star Fox 64 returns again for Switch 2. This episode goes for 1 hour and 30 minutes, it also contains coarse language. Timestamps – 00:00:00 – Start 00:13:56 – Slay the Spire 2 00:16:54 – Shapez 2 00:24:28 – TerraTech Legion 00:34:22 – Vampire Crawlers 00:40:40 – Blindfire 00:44:56 – Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred 00:53:54 – Saros 01:18:20 – News 01:25:02 – Weekly Plugs 01:26:34 – End of Show Subscribe in a reader iTunes / Spotify

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2 Samuel 11:1-27 – The Fall of the King

Play Episode Listen Later May 10, 2026

David and Bathsheba 11 In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. 2 It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the […]

israel jerusalem 2 samuel ammonites joab rabbah

Day 122: Abner Is Killed (2026)

The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)

Play Episode Listen Later May 2, 2026 24:38

In today's readings, we hear about the death of Abner, and Fr. Mike points out how David publicly mourns Abner, and instructs his people to do the same. The readings are 2 Samuel 3, 1 Chronicles 3-4, and Psalm 25. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/bibleinayear. Please note: The Bible contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

god jesus christ bible religion christianity psalm scripture chronicles catholic psalms killed ascension word of god catholic church bible study king david catholics catholicism genealogy 2 samuel god's grace roman catholic read the bible abner joab catholic priests catholic faith bible in a year bible podcast salvation history catholic bible father mike ascension press fr mike schmitz totus tuus father mike schmitz fr mike great adventure bible ascension presents bible in a year podcast ascension catholic

Day 121: Cycle of Violence (2026)

The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)

Play Episode Listen Later May 1, 2026 19:20

Fr. Mike talks about how revenge and violence can become a cycle that doesn't end until someone chooses to end it. He also points out how the genealogy in 1 Chronicles reflects the genealogy of Christ.The reading for today are 2 Samuel 2, 1 Chronicles 2, and Psalm 24. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/bibleinayear. Please note: The Bible contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

god jesus christ bible religion christianity psalm scripture violence chronicles catholic psalms cycle ascension word of god catholic church bible study catholics catholicism genealogy 2 samuel god's grace roman catholic read the bible abner joab catholic priests catholic faith bible in a year bible podcast salvation history catholic bible father mike ascension press fr mike schmitz totus tuus father mike schmitz fr mike great adventure bible ascension presents bible in a year podcast ascension catholic

#687: When "Perhaps the Lord" is Enough: Leading with Faith in Uncertain Outcomes

Inspired Leadership Podcast with Ron R. Kelleher

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 20, 2026 9:36

What do you do when you know the right leadership decision—but you have no idea how it will turn out? In Episode #687, When "Perhaps the Lord" Is Enough: Leading with Faith in Uncertain Outcomes, we explore one of the most defining tensions in Christian leadership: acting without certainty. This episode centers on a powerful moment from 1 Samuel 14, where Jonathan steps forward against overwhelming odds with a simple but profound statement: "Perhaps the Lord will act on our behalf." It wasn't a guarantee. It wasn't certainty. It was faith rooted in who God is. And that is often how God leads. As leaders, we naturally want clarity before action. We prefer assurance before risk. But Scripture consistently shows that faith operates differently—it calls us to move forward based on God's character, not predictable outcomes. Alongside Jonathan's example, we look at other biblical leaders who embraced this tension: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego trusted God—even without a promised rescue. Esther acted courageously, accepting the cost of obedience. Joab led with strength while surrendering the outcome to God. David stepped forward based on God's past faithfulness, not guaranteed results. Each of these leaders demonstrates a critical truth: faith is not about controlling outcomes—it is about trusting God enough to act. This episode also addresses a common leadership danger—waiting for certainty that never comes. Many leaders delay decisions, avoid difficult conversations, or hesitate at critical moments because they want clearer outcomes. But hesitation often costs more than risk. You'll gain practical guidance for navigating these moments, including how to anchor yourself in God's character, clarify the next right step, act even when the path is incomplete, and release the outcome to Him. If you're facing a decision that feels uncertain, costly, or risky, this episode will encourage you to move forward—not because you know what will happen, but because you trust the One who does. Because sometimes, "perhaps the Lord" is not a lack of faith—it's the clearest expression of it.

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AI, and (Biblical) Knowledge vs Wisdom

Christian Natural Health

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 10, 2026 23:34 Transcription Available

This was the first podcast I did on AI in 2024: https://drlaurendeville.com/podcasts/what-the-bible-says-about-artificial-intelligence And these are the rest of my notes, if you want to visit some of the verses I didn't read... שָׁמַע šāmaʿ: - to hear, listen to, obey, discern, perceive, understand- Listening to God specifically, and obeying: - Solomon's request (1 Kings 3:9): what he asks for is a heart that שָׁמַע šāmaʿ - to hear, listen to, obey, discern, perceive, that he might שָׁפַט šāp̄aṭ - judge, govern, vindicate, punish, and בִּין bîn - discern, understand, consider between good and evil. God gives him a heart that is חָכָם - ḥāḵām - wise, skilful, shrewd, learned, prudent, as well as בִּין bîn - discern, understand, consider between good and evil. - Gen 22:18: Abraham obeys God and was willing to offer Isaac (and now all the nations of the earth will be blessed), and then God reiterates this promise to Isaac (Gen 26:5) - Ex 15:26: If the people will listen and do God's commandments, they will be healed - Ex 23:22: if the people will listen, God will fight against their enemies - Ex 24:27: The people promise they will do what God said - (and many more examples of listening to God and obeying, esp in Psalms)- God's šāmaʿ to our prayers--if He hears, He responds (1 John 5:14-15) - Gen 16:11: He heard Hagar's distress and told her she'd have Ishmael - Gen 17:20: Abraham asks God to bless Ishmael and God agrees - Gen 29:33: Leah's prayers to God for children because she is hated - Ex 2:24: God heard the groanings of the Israelites - (and many, many more)- Listening and taking action (whether the action is good or bad, doing what the other person wanted or not--what is heard just prompts a response): - Gen 3:8: Adam and Eve šāmaʿ God after they ate the fruit, and hid themselves. - Gen 3:17 Adam šāmaʿ Eve (hearkened to): he ate the fruit when she asked him to. - Gen 11:7: God confused speech at the Tower of Babel so that they would not šāmaʿ each other - Gen 14:14: Abram heard (šāmaʿ) Lot was taken captive, and it caused him to gather an army - Gen 16:2: Sarai told Abram to sleep with Hagar, and he listened (šāmaʿ) to her - Gen 18:10: Sarai overhears (šāmaʿ) God's promise of a child... but her response is to laugh - Gen 27:5: Rebekah overhears (šāmaʿ) Isaac's word to Esau and takes matters into her own hands. - (and many, many more) שָׂכַל śāḵal: to be prudent, be circumspect, wisely understand, prosper, skill. Interesting that the same word means the knowledge of how to act, and also to prosper and gain favor - cause and effect are wrapped up in the same word. - Incidentally, the same word (sāḵāl), but spelled with a samekh (סָכָל) instead of a shin (שָׂכַל), means fool (Ecclesiastes 2:19, 7:17, 10:3, 10:14, Jeremiah 4:22, 5:21) - samekh סָ root meaning: a shield, leaning on, "supporting" or, in a negative sense, "blocking" (blocking one from God's wisdom) - vs shin שָׂ: A letter of fire, illumination, light - This is the word used in Gen 3:6, describing the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. It apparently thus also means the ability to choose your allegiance. It is spelled there with a shin... - To understand the bigger picture and act accordingly: - Deut 32:29: "O that they were wise, that they understood (śāḵal) this, that they would consider their latter end!" - 1 Sam 18:5: "And David went out whithersoever Saul sent him, and behaved himself wisely (śāḵal): and Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul's servants." - Same word twice - for emphasis? 1 Sam 18:15: "Wherefore when Saul saw that he behaved himself (śāḵal) very wisely (śāḵal), he was afraid of him." - Ps 32: 8: "I will instruct thee (śāḵal) and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye." - Prov 1:2-3: This is the purpose of Proverbs: - "To know wisdom (hok-maw) and instruction; to perceive (bîn) the words of understanding (bînâ), To receive the instruction of wisdom (śāḵal), justice, and judgment (mišpāṭ), and equity." - This is the action as well as the adjective in most Proverbs translated "wise": 10:5, 10:19, 14:35, 15:24, 16:20, 16:23 (here it was the verb, to teach), 17:2, 19:14 (translated prudent here), 21:11 (here it's the passive verb, is instructed), 21:2 (here it's to consider), 21:16 (understanding here), - Isa 44:18: Jesus quoted this about people not understanding his parables " They have not known nor understood: for he hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand (śāḵal)" - To prosper or to have favor: - Deut 29:9: "Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper (śāḵal) in all that ye do." - Joshua 1:7-8: "Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper (śāḵal) whithersoever thou goest. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success (śāḵal)." - Also used for this meaning in Proverbs: 17:8- To be skillful: Dan 1:4, 1:17 (describing the Hebrew children) - In Job 34:35, Elihu speaking: "Job hath spoken without knowledge, and his words were without wisdom (śāḵal)."- Prophecies of Jesus having śāḵal: Isaiah 52:13 Wisdom: חָכְמָה: (hok-maw):—skilful, wisdom, wisely, wit. - "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom," Ps 111:10, and "For the LORD giveth wisdom" (Prov 2:6). You can't have wisdom apart from His counsel (Prov 21:30).- God made the earth with wisdom (Jer 10:12, 51:15, Ps 104:24)- Humility precedes wisdom (Prov 11:2)--because fear of the Lord is a posture of humility (Prov 15:33, 1 Pet 5:6-7, Matt 5:3, 5). - If instead you trust in your own heart (reasoning), you are a fool - but wisdom will deliver you from trouble (Prov 28:26). - But too much wisdom can also somehow lead to pride, and pervert: Isaiah 47:10, Eze 48:4-17 (allegory of Satan) - and "knowledge puffs up" (1 Cor 8:1)- It's "the principal thing" (Prov 4:7), better than anything else we can desire (Prov 8:11, 16:16).- It described the Israelites if they followed God's laws (Deut 4:6), leaders anointed by God with the wisdom to lead (Deut 34:9) - For children, physical discipline eventually teaches wisdom (Prov 29:15).- An example: 2 Sam 20:22: the Israelite woman whose city is besieged because Sheba son of Bichri, a rebel against King David, was within. She speaks to Joab, finds out they want Sheba and if they give him up, Joab will spare the city. So "in her wisdom" (hok-maw) she promises they will throw his head to them over the wall. They do so, and Joab and his army departs. This is wisdom: not simply reacting with the typical emotions of anger, fear, etc from being besieged, but instead identifying and articulating both problem and solution. - Elihu says that he will teach Job and his three friends, who accuse God, wisdom (Job 33:33). - He later says that it is God who puts wisdom and understanding in our hearts (Job 38:36), and that he deprived animals of the same ability. A person who lacks understanding can only be controlled with physical consequences, by contrast (Prov 10:13) - and kids have to start out learning by physical discipline (Prov 29:15) as they are inherently foolish. - Numbering our days leads to wisdom (Ps 90:12) - bc we're "redeeming the time bc the days are evil?" (Eph 5:16) This sounds like wisdom is also discerning what truly matters vs what is passing away. - 2 Chron 1:10: in this version Solomon does ask for חָכְמָה: (khok-maw), and knowledge מַדָּע madāʿ- Then 1 Kings 3:28: after Solomon's judgment between the two would-be mothers (where he infers from the story that the real mother will love the child more than herself, and uses that to reveal hearts), the people conclude that he has חָכְמָה: (khok-maw). The Queen of Sheba came and asked him hard questions and there was nothing he couldn't answer (1 Kings 10:1-9).- Jesus displayed this kind of wisdom: - Prophesied: Isaiah 11:2 "And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD" In the NT: akouō (to hear, hearken, give audience): carries a similar "and to understand and obey/respond" implication as does šāmaʿ: Matt 15:10, 17:5, 18:15, Mark 7:14, Mark 12:29, Luke 8:21, 9:35, 10:16, 11:28, John 6:60, 8:23, 8:47, John 10:20, John 11:41-42- Matt 7:24, Luke 9:47-48: the man who hears and does what Jesus says is like the house built on the rock- John 5:25: those who hear Jesus (and respond) will have life--spiritually and literally (v 28)- If the people in the cities don't hear your words, shake the dust off your feet: Matt 10:14, Mark 6:11 - Matt 10:27: preach whatever you akouō from Me- Matt 12:42, Luke 11:31: The Queen of Sheba went to akouō Solomon's wisdom- Luke 10:39: Mary prioritized hearing Jesus- John 10:3, 16, 27: the sheep hear His voice- John 16:13 The Holy Spirit tells us what He hears from the Father- "He who has ears to hear, let him hear": Matt 11:15, 13:9, 13:43, Mark 4:9, 4:33, 7:16, 8:18, Luke 8:8, 14:35- Those who heard and understood were astonished: Mark 6:2- Luke 16:29-31: Those who hear Moses and the prophets and understand what they hear will also hear about Jesus (because they pointed to Him)- Matt 11:4-5, Luke 7:22: John's disciples were to go back and tell him what they had seen and heard- Luke 10:24: Wise men of old desired to hear what the disciples heard - He speaks in parables bc the people don't have ears to hear: Matt 13:13-18, Mark 4:12, 4:23, Luke 8:10 - The parable of the sower: those who hear but don't understand have nothing to take root. This is the precondition for wisdom. Matt 13:19, Mark 4:15, Luke 8:12 - But if you do understand, you still have to maintain single focus so it's not choked out: Matt 13:20-23, Mark 4:16-20, Luke 8:13-15- "Take heed what/how you hear" precedes "with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you" (Mark 4:24, Luke 8:18: what you listen to (and respond to) determines the direction of your life. - Also often used to just mean to hear with your ears (many places) phronimos (intelligent, wise, prudent, i.e. mindful of one's interests)- Matt 7:24: the man who builds his house upon a rock by doing what Jesus says rather than just hearing it is phronimos - Matt 24:45, Luke 12:42: the wise servant is the one whom the Master will find doing what he was told, when the Master returns. - Matt 25: the parable of the wise virgins (also prepared with oil); the parable of the talents right after this seems to imply the same (looking ahead and making the most of what we've been given) though the word 'wise' doesn't appear there. - Luke 12:42-48: describes the foolish servants who know the will of their master but when he returns, he finds them disobeying. - Matt 10:16: wise as serpents, harmless as doves: - AW: This means we aren’t totally defenseless. Wisdom is a powerful force that gives us an advantage. - Luke 16:8: the parable of the unjust steward - he's called wise (shrewd) for looking out for his own interests. (Still not sure what the point of this parable was) Sophia: wisdom, broad and full of intelligence; used of the knowledge of very diverse matters. The varied knowledge of things human and divine, acquired by acuteness and experience, and summed up in maxims and proverbs, the science and learning, the act of interpreting dreams and always giving the sagest advice, the intelligence evinced in discovering the meaning of some mysterious number or vision, devout and proper prudence in intercourse with men not disciples of Christ, skill and discretion in imparting Christian truth, the knowledge and practice of the requisites for godly and upright living; supreme intelligence, such as belongs to God.- Matt 12:42, Luke 11:31: Jesus used this word to describe Solomon's wisdom - Acts 7:10 same word describes Joseph, and 7:22: Moses - Matt 13:54, Mark 6:2: the people said Jesus had this after listening to his teachings and were astonished- Luke 12:11-12, 21:15: God promises to give His followers such godly wisdom that none of our adversaries would be able to resist it - Acts 6:10: example of this - 1 Cor 1:17, 2:5: and yet Paul says the wisdom of words is insufficient; the gospel needs power to back it. That's because (worldly) wisdom wouldn't receive it--the world considers godly wisdom foolishness (1 Cor 1:19). The wisdom of the world and the wisdom of God are diametrically opposed! (1 Cor 1:20-25) - 1 Cor 2:6-8: Paul again contrasts the wisdom "of this age" with the wisdom of God. (Makes me think of sāḵāl - same word, two spellings, one meaning foolish, depicting that the person is blocked off from God's wisdom, and one meaning wise, and the letter means that he is guided by the light of God's wisdom). Even so, the natural man considers the things of God foolish (1 Cor 2:14), and God likewise considers the wisdom of this world foolish (1 Cor 3:19-20). - Jesus also said God hid Him from the "wise and prudent" (of that age) and revealed them to babes (Matt 11:25).- James 1:5: we can ask God for sophia- Matt 5: The Beatitudes teach an inversion of the world's wisdom: how the world actually works. - It's summed up with Matt 6:33 (and Luke 12:22-34): "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." - Matt 10:27-31 says similar: don't fear men; fear God (trusting that He loves you). Live in single-minded allegiance to Him. And 11:39: "He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it." If you "find your life" apart from Him, you've lost everything: the ultimate foolishness. He repeats this: Matt 16:25-26 - and Deny yourself, take up your cross - if you desire to save your life you'll lose it, and if you lose your life for Him you'll find it (Luke 9:23-27, John 12:25). - As you do this, by abiding in Him, You get whatever you desire (John 15:7-8, 16) - Mary and Martha: another lesson about singleness of focus on Him being the most important thing (Luke 10:38-42). - Luke 11:33-36: it takes light and a receptive eye to see. Jesus is always shining - It’s our eyes that don’t see. Jesus was telling us how to get our eyes opened to His light: we have to be single in our focus on Him. The Greek word that was translated “eye” in this verse is “OPHTHALMOS.” Vine’s Expository Dictionary defines this Greek word as “singleness of motive.” If our attention is divided, however, we will have the darkness of this world in us instead of God’s light. - So it isn't that we have to have "VIEW" rather than a POINT of view in order to see the bigger picture. Rather, our point of view needs to be fixed on Him, and then everything else will find its proper alignment. - True leaders must serve all (Mark 9:35, 10:43-45, Luke 22:26). Last will be first, and first will be last (Mark 10:31, Luke 13:30). If you humble yourself you will be exalted, and if you exalt yourself you will be humbled (Luke 14:11, 18:14). - What you give, you get back and then some (Luke 6:38, 14:14, 18:29-30) - Luke 12:16-21: Conversely, a fool is one who lays up treasure for himself in this life. - Luke 19:12-27: the parable of the minas: The wicked servant was motivated by fear; he didn't trust the master's heart, and didn't use what he had. So he lost even that. - He draws a hard line: all in or all out (Luke 11:22)-- because this is a war (Luke 9:58-62). You must comparatively hate everyone, even your own life, in comparison to Him (Luke 14:26). No one is neutral. He describes opponents in adversarial language ("lambs among wolves", Luke 10:3), and everything hinges on what people do with the message of the Kingdom (10:11-16). You either love the light or love the darkness (John 3:19-21). - So many parables Matt 24:45, Matt 25, Luke 12:42-48, Luke 13:24-30) are about servants doing what their master wants while he is away so that he will find them so doing when he returns... probably bc the point is "redeem the time bc the days are evil" (Eph 5:16) and numbering our days gives wisdom (Ps 90). It seems the point is, time is short, and the stakes are very high, so be single-minded in your focus on Jesus and the Kingdom. - Luke 14:25-33: Just as a king wouldn’t engage in war without thoroughly considering all the possible outcomes, so no one should attempt to become a disciple of Jesus without counting the cost. It would be better never to start following Jesus than to start and then turn back (Luke 9:62 and 2 Peter 2:20-22). - The rest of the Sermon on the Mount: teaches that what matters isn't actions (as all their teachers had told them), but motive--and ultimately this goes back to allegiance. - Matt 11:28: "Come to Me, all you who are weary and heavy laden" - with trying to follow the law. So stop both trying to be good enough, and also trying to follow your own wisdom. - Spirit vs flesh: allegiance determines this too. We have to come to Him, and He will give us the Spirit, without which we cannot successfully worship Him (John 4:24). Outwardly keeping the OT was all in the flesh, and it would never work. It was never meant to. Only the Spirit gives life; the flesh profits nothing (John 6:63).- He repeatedly says, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" (Matt 11:15, 13:9), and explains that those who have [wisdom] will get more, and those who have chosen not to hear and see will lose even what they have (Matt 13:10-17) - The parable of the sower: God's word brings wisdom (Prov 21:30), but the people have to hear and understand (šāmaʿ). If they don't, the enemy will steal it right away (13:19). The one who hears, understands, and receives with joy, but has no root--he might šāmaʿ, but if he doesn't śāḵal (act accordingly), he won't bear fruit either. Same with the one who is choked with the cares of the world. But the one who both šāmaʿ (hears and understands) and śāḵal (acts accordingly, is a doer of the word) is the one who will bear a harvest--seeking the Kingdom and letting God bring the supply for their needs and increase. - The parable of the two sons: the one who says he won't do the will of the father but does has truly śāḵal, while the one who says ok and doesn't is just a hypocrite: Matt 21:28-32 - In dealing with the Pharisees: their "wisdom" said good was following the law, and anyone who didn't do so according to their own teachings must be evil. The people surely could have been confused by what is good and what is evil. So Jesus clarifies: - makes the distinction of the spirit vs the letter of the law (Matt 9:11-13, 12:3-8, 12:11-12, 15:17-20, John 7:22-24) -- and also illustrates how they've added their own "letters of the law" and elevated those above what God actually said (Matt 15:3-9) - Uses the logic of motive (a house divided cannot stand): Matt 12:24-30, Luke 11:16-22). - tells the people to judge good and evil by the fruit it produces: Matt 12:33-35 - When they're trying to trap them, He: - turns the tables and asks them a question He knows they won't answer for political reasons: Matt 21:23-27 (John's baptism: from heaven or men), Matt 22:41-45 (how David can call his son 'Lord' - bc He's also God, which they didn't want to admit) - gives them an accurate non-answer: Matt 22:15-22 (the image of Caesar on the denarius) - answers the real question, rather than the one they were asking: Matt 22:23-33 (is there a resurrection of the dead?)- Enigmatic, dark sayings: Matt 8:20-22, 9:16-17, 12:31-32, Matt 13:35 (prophesied that this would be the case, in Ps 78:2) - He seems to jump topics without bothering to explain the connection (Matt 12:38-42: the pharisees ask for a sign. He says they'll get the sign of the prophet Jonah - in retrospect we know this was his death and resurrection. Then because they still won't believe, they will be condemned... and says "this wicked generation" will be like a wicked spirit cast out that then returns and brings more evil spirits, 12:43-45) - He jumps from one metaphor to another without explaining the connection (from the parable of the sower - God's word - to a lamp - God's word too) and then just says "if anyone has ears to hear, let him hear" (Mark 4:21-22). Then "take heed what you hear" - if you steward and obey the word you have been given, you'll get more. But he never says that this refers to the word explicitly either (Mark 4:24-25) - Luke 12: all over the place: the "do not worry" passage, followed by servants being faithful while their master is away, followed by Christ bringing division on the earth within families, and then "discern the time," and then "make peace with your adversary" -- are these related? - He speaks to John's disciples in a riddle only John will likely understand (Matt 11:2-6) - In what way is the kingdom of God "tiny" only to later grow and become large? (Luke 13:18-21) and what is the point of saying so? - He just changes the subject to what He wants to talk about (Matt 12:48-50): "your mother and brothers are here," and he says, "those who are my mother and brothers are those who do the will of My Father." - Another example: Luke 12:14-15: someone comes to him and asks him to arbitrate inheritance between brothers. He says that's not his job, and then warns the crowd against covetousness. - He clearly understood the foundations of how the world worked--why things were the way they were. Everyone around him saw only the carnal, visible, literal reality, and lived and reacted on that level. He was frustrated by this, and tried to teach: - What matters is not external actions, but the motive of the heart, which eventually comes out in words (Matt 15:16-20) - Reality bows the knee to faith: Matt 16:8-11, 17:20-21, 18:18-20, 21:21-22, Mark 11:22-24 - This is why He was so impressed with the Centurion: he understood that Jesus' authority transcended the physical world (Luke 7:9). Everyone else was so focused on the practical reality that this never even occurred to them. - Jesus met people on this physical level and gave them evidence (Luke 24:38-43) but said that wasn't the highest form of faith (John 20:29) - He understood the big picture: not just what was, but why things were the way they were, God's original purpose, and how He fit in (Luke 4:18-21, 24:25-27) - Because He knew context, rather than just the words and commands of scripture, Satan couldn't twist it to trap Him either (Luke 4:2-12.) - All the prophets that the Pharisees spent their life studying pointed to Jesus, and they missed it (Matt 16:2-4, John 5:38-40, 46-47)... because they were focusing on keeping the literal letter of the law (to the point of physical phylacteries, from Deut 6:8). It seems to never have occurred to them why things were the way they were. - I suspect their focus on minutiae and not on the underlying realities was also what allowed them to stop looking at the Lord as their source, which led to misplaced priorities, and greed (John 2:16 - buying and selling at the temple). I can see how they might have justified this, that it didn't *preclude* prayer and sacrifice to have a little side business going there too. But it revealed the focus of their hearts, and where their trust was, and effectively made God's real purpose for the Temple into a footnote. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

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