2 Samuel 19 (Part 1) Bible Study (David Grieves / Joab Rebukes David) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Second Samuel chapter 19 is where we are meeting tonight. You might be wondering if you've been with us, especially if you were here last week, why are we going to chapter 19? We still have half of 18 to complete. And the main reason why is because when you look at the first few verses of chapter 19, you get the sense that it belongs with the end of chapter 18. What I mean by that is that there is an awkward chapter break here.

And I'm allowed to say that because the references in our Bible are not inspired by the Holy Spirit. Those numbers were added much, much, much, much later after the scriptures were recorded. And so you kind of feel like there's this break that should have happened maybe after the first nine verses or so. But instead instead of just stopping, and starting with a new thought, we're going to honor the context, honor the way it was originally written, zoom out, and look at the complete picture that is before us. Because what happened last?

Where did we stop? Well, where we stop with with the end of Absalom's life. Absalom was tragically killed and was buried in a dishonored way because of his disgraceful life. And we know that, David's wishes here was that Absalom would be spared in battle. And those wishes were disregarded specifically by Joab.

And what we're going to witness from chapter 19 onward are the ramification of war or the aftermath of this battle between father and son. And before we look at the national consequences, we're going to actually take our time because the Holy Spirit invites us to look at the personal effects that this dark moment had on David. And the way you and I are going to study this is by separating our thoughts in three main categories. The first thing that you and I are going to look into is the report of the news of Absalom's death, the report. Following the report, we're going to look at the remorse, the remorse that David had over the news.

And finally and lastly, we're going to look at the rebuke. The rebuke concerning the reaction that David had about the death of his son. Our brother prayed, but let's pray again. Lord, we thank you that you've gathered like minded Christians in this place. And, Lord, we pray that you would protect this service from becoming a powerless lecture of moral ideas.

Let us feel the weight of the authority of the word of God, and let us, by your grace, sense the stirring of the heart, our affections being revived again for the person of Jesus Christ. May we believe that as we look at these verses, it is your very voice speaking. And so we pray that nothing would be added that you did not intend to add. Nothing would be subtracted that you intended to keep. We pray that there would be no man made interpretation or application.

May everything be delivered the way you intended it to be delivered. We wanna honor you primarily, and, lord, we trust that as we honor your word the way it was designed to be honored, that we will benefit much. And we trust that this will happen tonight in this place. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

We're not starting in chapter 19. I just told you to go there because we wanna begin in verse 19 of chapter 18 and connect it to chapter 19. So scroll back a few verses. Go to chapter 18 verse 19. We're looking at the report of the news of Absalom's death.

And what you're going to realize as I'm reading this is how it is intriguing to me at least of the great detail that is given with the background of how this message of Absalom's death is going to arrive to King David. David could have received this news, and the Holy Spirit could have summarized it in a verse or two. Right? But instead, it's drawn out to about a dozen verses. Clearly, there is something that the Holy Spirit wants to convey to us concerning how it is, who it is, that brought about the delivery of this news to the king.

There's instruction here, there's application here. Again it could have been just, and David received the news of Absalom's death and he grieved. It could have been just that. But instead we get a we get a really rich look into how this came about, and I want you to see it with me, to see God's mind for us in it. Then Ahimaaz the son of Zerach said, let me run and carry news to the king that the Lord has delivered him from the hand of his enemies.

And Joab said to him, you are not to carry news today. You may carry news another day, but today you shall carry no news, because the king's son is dead. Then Joab said to the Cushite, go, tell the king what you have seen. The Cushite bowed before Joab and ran. Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok again said to Joab, Come what may, let me run also after the Cushite.

And Joab said, why will you run my son, seeing that you will have no reward for the news? Verse 23, come what may, he said, I will run. So he said to him, run. Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the plain and outran the Cushite. This is the tale of two messengers, of two faithful communicators of truth.

The first being a man named Ahimaaz, the second a nameless fellow who was a Cushite. He was not an Israelite. He was a foreigner that apparently served the king. And the King James would say cushy, but it's believed by many translators that this was more of a reference to his actual ethnicity more than a name. And that's why we have the Cushite here before us.

Now there are many things to learn from these verses. The first is that Ahimaaz the son of Zadok was a messenger in this context. Back in chapter 15, we're told that King David instructed the son of Zadok, Ahimaaz, with another to be informants about what Absalom was up to and to keep David and his men updated with what was to come to pass. And so this man was called to be a messenger. And at this point, he is very excited and even presumptuous to deliver a new message to the king.

And so he comes to Joab, though he was not called by Joab, and volunteers himself to bring this news to his beloved master. And when we look at this, we read and see that there is a man who is very excited, but Joab does not seem to be sharing that sentiment. In fact Joab is very hesitant, extremely hesitant. Ahimaaz, I don't think you want to deliver this news to the king. Now why do you think that is?

Why do you think Joab is very reluctant for Ahimaaz to participate in this endeavor? Any idea? All you have to do is think back to David and how he treated messengers in the past. Right? And what did he do with past messengers who brought him news that he did not like?

He killed them. Maybe Joab really likes Ahimaaz, and he doesn't want Ahimaaz to be the object of David's frustration in a moment of great pain. And so he seeks to spare him. And so he he looks at a Cushite and he says, well why don't you go instead? But what we see here is that more than Job's concern is the silence of Ahimaaz's motive.

Why is he so determined to do this? We are not explicitly told. Makes you wonder if he was a friend of David who loved David and desired David to be prepared for the bad news. Right? He knew what Absalom meant to David, and so he wanted to, in essence, skillfully tell him how this would happen, lest somebody just come in guns a blazing, and David is just in a state of shock.

So maybe he just wants to prepare his friend, his Lord. But I don't believe that's the case. You know why? Because once you see Ahimaaz encounter David and David asks about what happened to Absalom, what does Ahimaaz do? He appeals to ignorance.

I don't know what happened. I just saw some kind of commotion going on there. So it's obvious that he's not willing to come to his aid necessarily. Maybe Joab has an insight that we don't have. Look here at verse 17, excuse me, verse 22.

Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said again to Joab, Come what may, let me also run after the Cushad. And Joab said, Why will you run, my son, seeing that you will have no reward for the news? Could it be that Job had an idea that maybe Ahimaaz wants to do this so that he could be compensated or rewarded for being the person that brought about this victory, this triumph, this news of success? And he wants to just give him sobering reality. Listen, you're not gonna get anything out of this, so just stay out of this.

Again, it's not really clear. It's not definitive. It's not something that we can say dogmatically. What if it's just because Ahimaaz has a pure love for David and he wants to speedily, let him know that he can be alleviated of any angst and concern because this dark cloud has now passed. His greatest threat is eliminated and his reign will continue.

Maybe he's just like what any good friend would want for another friend, to just let him know with excitement of the good news concerning his life, his future, the hope, the faithfulness of God. Okay. We can debate what his motive is, but one thing is for certain. Ahimaaz is very excited for something that he is not prepared for. And we're gonna see that near the end of this chapter, but we can learn something from that point here and now.

Because Imaz is a picture of many people who really want to serve God, but don't understand what it really entails. Now I'm fully aware that I think Christendom's main problem is to get people to be like Ahimaaz and get excited to serve God. Right? I think that's more of a challenge than anything else, but that's not the only challenge. You have some people who are very eager, who are very much invested emotionally into the idea of serving God at a certain capacity and they are not yet informed nor are they yet equipped to do that which they desire to do.

They want to run. They want to run and they don't care about the consequences. They don't care about what it might demand of them. They just want to run. It seems admirable, but it's actually dangerous.

It's dangerous for many reasons. And Naima has proved that. He's going to show that in a moment. And the reasons in in which why, God would not allow us to move forward in a certain directions vary. And some of those reasons include character deficiency, that the Lord wants to develop you and your personality and your attitude and your convictions before he places you on any platform.

It could be many reasons, and one of those reasons can be this simple mysterious timing of the Lord where he knows what opportunity is fitting for you, and he knows what's appropriate, and what should be either delayed or postponed for your good and for his glory. And in the case of this man, he did not really care. But look at the words of Joab again in verse 20. And Joab said to him, you are not to carry news today. You may carry news another day, but today you shall not carry no news because this king's son is dead.

See Joab wasn't discouraging Ahimaaz from being a messenger. He was just encouraging him to not take this particular opportunity because he had insight that Ahimaaz did not have. Joab had an understanding of this situation, the potential outcome of the situation that Ahimaaz did not have and unfortunately evidently could not care about because he was willing to run for it anyway. And it's really again a strong picture of how many people relate to the Lord. The Lord knows our future.

He knows our tomorrows. He knows what decisions you make will bring about certain outcomes, even if they're dangerous outcomes. And so he, in his love, in his providence, in his power, puts obstacles, closes doors, does not allow things to go the way you desire for them to go, because He knows something you and I don't. And you and I have to learn how to trust in God's leading, eager believer, eager servant of God. Learn to trust God's nose and his delays.

If not, you might be running into trouble even though what you think you're running into is the call of God. If God's gonna call you, he's gonna call you. Don't self appoint yourself, and don't force yourself, and don't push doors kicking and screaming and manipulating. It's not gonna help you, and it's not gonna help the cause of Christ. Learn to wait because as we will see shortly, Ahimaaz will prove to be lacking in a very important area as a messenger.

But for now, let's compare him to the Cushite, shall we? Joab looks to the Cushite, and he says, you go and tell the king everything that you have seen. And what I love about this nameless servant is his immediate response. He bows and he runs. He doesn't challenge Joab.

He doesn't negotiate with Joab. He simply receives what has been given to him, and he makes an attempt to do so as faithfully as possible. Not like Ahimaaz. Ahimaaz was going back and forth, debating, convincing. He could not take no for an answer from the authority that has been placed over his life.

But I also see something else in the Kushite's attitude. Joab called the Kushite. The Kushite didn't call for Joab to call him. It came to him. And all the Cushite did is what you're called to do in this whole equation of being used by the Lord.

What is that? To be ready and willing. That's it. That's the core of this whole thing. If you want to be used by the Lord but you don't know the next step, all you have to do at this moment is to be ready and to be willing.

He was a servant. In whatever capacity he was a servant, and whenever there was a promotion given he was ready to do it. Whenever there was an open door that was tailor made for him, he was ready to do it. And so wait on the Lord in that way. Be ready.

Be willing. Be prayerful. Express your desires to be used by God in a certain way. There's nothing wrong with that. What's dangerous is when, like, Ahimaaz, you start to twist things and push things.

And so this Cushite here was a man that's worthy of example. Now here's what's interesting. It only continues. It says here in verse 23, look at it with me in your bibles. Come what may, he said, I will run.

So he said to him, run. Job's just like, alright. You're obviously you're you're very determined, so just get out of here. Go ahead. So he runs, and then look at this insight at the end of verse 23.

Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the plain and outran the Cushite. Why is that in the bible? Why is that important for me to know that Ahimaaz ran and outran the Cushite? What's significant is the Cushite had a head start. Clearly, he had heavy feet or something.

Right? Because he gets a head start, Ahimaaz runs and outruns him. And I think the reason in this in this teaching, in this context, it's meant to show us that Ahimaaz was clearly gifted. He was talented. He was a good runner, a better runner than the Cushite.

But where the Cushite outshined Ahimaaz was in the realm of character. Giftedness was there. Character was lacking. You're saying, Where are you seeing that? Just hold on tight.

You'll see it in a moment. You know leaders, if you want an insight about how leaders face certain temptations, leaders often feel the temptation in the context of ministry to recruit people or to appoint people based out of, one, a need, like a desperate need, and we just need to fill this void. Or, two, because somebody excels with a certain ability that leaders can foresee might enrich their ministry, and so they're willing to overlook weaknesses in order to benefit from a person's god given strength, and it is god given. And the point that we see here is this, that you are better off with a slower but more faithful Cushite than a talented but inadequate Ahimaaz. Gifting will always be subordinate to character and to God fearing attitude.

Character and a striving for holiness and obedience and faithfulness to the clear will of God outweighs gifting all the time. All the time. And sometimes you don't see that immediately, you only see it later on. And that's what we see here. As predicted, Ahimaaz gets to the king first.

And scroll down with me to verse 29. Actually, let's read verse 28. Then Ahimaaz cried out to the king, all is well. He's he's very excited. And he bowed before the king with his face to the earth and said, blessed be the lord your God who has delivered up the men who raised their hand against my lord the king.

That is what he intended to tell the king. Good news. You have victory. The conquest is yours. It's set.

It's determined. And right away, David shows what's in the forefront of his mind. And what is it? Verse 29. The king said, is it well with the young man Absalom?

Like, the victory didn't even matter. What happens to Israel? What happens to the king then? It's not even a thought. It's not a primary thought at least.

What he's concerned about is the the state of his son. And I get the hunch that Ahimaaz was not prepared for that question. Or maybe he was and he gave this answer, but look at this. Ahimaaz answered, when Joab sent the king's servant, your servant, I saw a great commotion, but I do not know what it was. Who here thinks that Ahimaaz is being honest?

Who here is he was just like, look. I don't know what happened. I saw something, and I I don't I can't give you a clear report. All I know is that there was something, but, hey. Good news.

You know, you're winning. You won. Is he being honest? Because some people believe that. He's just utilizing the information that he has.

How do we know that's not the case? Thank you. What did Joab tell him? The king's son is dead. So he knows that Absalom was dead.

So what explanation are you and I left with with Ahimaaz's generalization of what took place? He's unwilling to tell him the hard truth. He's unwilling to deliver the full truth. And this is where Ahimaaz fell short as a messenger. And we think about even today how many reflect the very same weakness, reluctancy when they are asked about different things.

I'm talking to you believers, me as a believer, culturally sensitive issues. Right? Clear doctrines, there's no confusion about it, though it may be difficult to apply and exhort, is undeniably obvious. Like Ahimaaz, many people in their explanation of these things are thinking they're saying something when in reality they're not really saying anything. You've heard it, right?

I've heard it over the years. Famous Christian musicians on radio stations being interviewed. Theology professors, preachers, evangelists, people who pack out stadiums, and they're interviewed by secularists. And when they're asked about certain things, they dance around the answer. They they remain as ambiguous and as central as possible.

And what they're doing is exactly what the Holy Spirit is indicating here. They are proving to be unfaithful messengers. They might be gifted. They might have a platform. Ahimaaz, as you read earlier, was actually known for his running.

When the watchmen saw him running he goes, His running is like the running of Ahimaaz. Like imagine being known for your running. So he was not just a son of a priest, he was athletic. He was he was good at what he did, but he was unfaithful. There are many people like that today, and they disqualify themselves, right?

And what's interesting here is that it's a lesson about, again, giftedness not being enough, position or platform not being enough, being promoted by the people not being enough. God has given those who are called to serve Him and to honor Him with rules. There are rules in the realm of serving the Lord, and your main ambition in serving the Lord is knowing those rules and honoring those rules no matter what. It reminds me of a verse, and here's the verse in the New Testament. It's in second Timothy two five.

And in second Timothy two five, Paul is speaking about Christian service. You know what he says in that verse? He says this, an athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. What is he talking about? Is he talking about the Olympics of his day?

No, he's talking about Christian duty. There are many people who are running, but at the end they're going to be encountering a very shocking report and evaluation. They will not be rewarded. You know, you look at some people and you wonder, and you've even figured some scandal out or you you realize that there's some inconsistency in their behavior. They're one thing up on there on the platform.

They're another thing on their social media. They're another thing thing out there in the world. And you think like, why doesn't God just strike them down? Why doesn't God just remove them immediately? Sometimes He does.

But here's the reality for those who remain that look like they're still running, at the end they will not be crowned. They will not be rewarded. This verse brought so much relief to me when I saw that in the realm of ministry. You look around and you meet people and you hear things and you even see things for yourself and it seems to be no intervention from heaven. They seem like they just go on with their ministry and and and they're so big nobody can touch them almost.

And oh people are afraid to correct them. And you think, how how is God gonna do this? And then you wonder, are they legitimately saved and some are not? Or maybe they are saved, but they could be saved, but they're not running according to the rules. So just because you're running doesn't mean you're running well.

Just because you're serving doesn't mean you're serving well. What all matters to God is if the rules are being honored, and that is what we see with the Cushite. What a contrast. Right? Come here to the Cushite.

He arrives and he comes with that news in verse 31, and behold the Cushite came, and the Cushite said, 'Good news for my lord the king, for the Lord has delivered you this day from the hand of all who rose up against you.' The king said to the Cushite, 'Is it well with the young man Absalom?' It's like, wow. 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. That's not an easy pill to swallow, but that's what messengers do. They honor the message. No matter who their audience is, the message is the message.

Right? And this man fearlessly, courageously, but also wisely knows how to deliver hard truth. Notice what he didn't say. He didn't say, yeah. Your son Absalom was hanging by his neck between an oak tree, and there's three javelins that Joab threw into his heart, and there was all his armor bearers that finished him off.

Like unnecessary delivery. Right? So he's aware of his audience still. This is, yes, this is the king, but this is the father of the son who died. And so I'm going to tell him the truth, but I'm going to say it in a way that I make it the least offensive as possible while also honoring my duty as a messenger.

It makes you wonder why the Holy Spirit put this. I think those are the reasons why, at least some of the reasons. And so you see here in the first part the report of the news. But now we come to the remorse over the news. We read here in verse 33, And the king was deeply moved and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept.

And as he went, he said, oh, my son, Absalom, my son, my son, Absalom, would I have died instead of you, oh, Absalom, my son, my son. Your heart goes out to him in some way. Right? David's sorrow, you can sympathize with it, but we have to say right from the beginning that it is unwarranted. It's unwarranted, and it's excessive.

Because when you bleed over into chapter 19, look what we see. It was told Joab, behold, the king is weeping and mourning for Absalom. So the victory that day was turned into mourning for all the people. For the people heard that day. The king is grieving for his son, and the people stole into the city.

Like, they were embarrassed of what they had done. They stole into the city that day as people steal and who are ashamed when they flee in battle. The king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, oh, my son, Absalom. Oh, Absalom. My son.

My son. This is, this is a little awkward, at least for the people. They risked their lives for the king. They were willing to die for the king. They opposed the popular vote for the king.

And when they fought for the king and came back with a victory for the king, the king tucks his face away, hides up in the chamber, and just weeps. And the news in the city is, the king is is is actually very upset. And what the people should have expected is the king waiting at the gate and giving them his praise and his commendation, but instead they are met with grief and a broken heart. There are some good hearted believers, some solid followers of Jesus Christ that are vulnerable and susceptible to excessive sadness. They are given over to prolonged misery.

This is not a temptation for everybody, but it is a temptation for some. And there are some who would say that the cause of David's pain here is the death of his son. Yes. In part. But the longevity of it, the reason why it went so far is not because of the death of his son.

There's a deeper issue here that we have to address. Think back to the two initial responses that David had when those two messengers came with the news for his kingdom and his position as a king? What was, what was on his mind? Was it the kingdom? Was it Israel?

Was it the future? Was it the covenant that God had made with him that being preserved by his faithfulness? No. It was his son. His son.

His son. His son. His son. And it's clear here that David has come to the point that his personal feelings and relationships and his own world eclipsed his duty as a king. And he lost sight.

This is so crucial. He lost sight of God's agenda, his responsibility, and his partnership with God's agenda to be a leader over God's people. Do you want to know why there's more dejection among the people of god than is necessary? I'll give you one reason. Because they have lost sight of the kingdom of god.

What do I mean by that? Well, they got so distracted or they've prioritized things that they should not have prioritized, and they lost sight, lost grip on eternity, on their blood bought gifts that God has deposited in them, of their unique role that they play in the greatest institution that this world will ever know, and that's the church. And they've put their identity, they've put their priority in that which is under the most important thing. And if it's not God's kingdom, if it's not God's purposes, then it's something temporal. And if it's temporal, then it's subject to loss.

And because you put all of yourself into those temporal things, when you lose it you are in danger of losing yourself. This grief in great part is caused because David was consumed by his fatherliness, and he totally missed his identity as a king called by the Lord. Is being a father important? Yes. Is the loss of a child painful?

I can't even imagine. That's why I wanna be very careful with my tone in criticizing this man. It is. But we can save ourselves from much undoing if we know how to put things in its proper perspective. A lot of believers don't know how to deal with persecution, with pain, whether it's self inflicted or caused by others because they have not kept the bigger picture in front of them.

And it reminds me of another story of a man who also was a man of God, one of my favorite men of God in all of the Bible, one of my favorite prophets actually, who also got caught up in grief. And it came to the point where he himself was rebuked by the Lord. Who is that man that I'm referring to? I heard four different guys. Well a lot of those sounded right, but I have one in in in particular, and he's a neighbor to the book of second Samuel.

Okay. He's in first Samuel. What's his name? Somebody whispered it. Samuel.

Do you remember when Samuel was caught up in grief? Maybe you don't. Go to first Samuel 16 with me. I want you to see this. First Samuel 16, this is why review is necessary.

I'm gonna bring something to you that I've taught before, but we are we are creatures who need repetition to learn. First Samuel sixteen one. This is after Saul was rejected as king, and I want you to see how this chapter opens up. And it's gonna teach you something very important about grief. First Samuel 61 reads, the Lord said to Samuel, how long will you grieve over Saul?

Since I have rejected him from being king over Israel, fill your horn with oil and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons. God is not against grief. God is not against your tears. God does not think your pain or your sorrow is a sign of unbelief.

It can be, but it's not necessarily always the case. What God is opposed to is exactly what we read here, the duration of our lament. How long will you grieve over Saul? That's the problem. How long.

Not the grieving, the how long you're grieving for. But here's the thing. I want to know when I've crossed the line. I want to know when my sorrow becomes sinful. How can I be able to identify when I have exceeded the righteous boundaries of those feelings that eat me up inside?

And I believe there are two. I believe there are two strong marks of knowing when my pain, my sorrow, my misery is becoming an offense. The first one is this. This is important. When we begin to accuse the character of God.

When we begin to accuse the character of God. Samuel here had reason to grieve over Saul's sin, but as Paul told the Thessalonians, you know this, that we as Christians grieve differently. We don't grieve as the world grieves. Your inheritance in Christ Jesus is a hopeful grievance. Right?

The faith that you and I have is so profound and so powerful that it is able to carry you through that storm where you are able to honor God, obey God, and worship God in the midst of it. That is what we have because of the Holy Spirit, because of the Word of God. And it makes me wonder if Samuel here is wallowing at this point because he has lost and forgotten what God has done in the past, which is common with most of us. How was Samuel even called to begin with? He was called as a boy and in first Samuel chapter three there's this interesting detail given before Samuel was called.

We were told that he was sleeping there in the tabernacle and that the lamp of the Lord still had a little light though it was not completely snuffed out. Now we know that that that lamp that was ordained to be designed by God in Exodus was designed to give illumination to the entire house of worship. If you didn't have the lamp, you didn't have light. There is no windows. There is no ceiling light.

It was just that lamp. And you're thinking, well, why does the Lord want to let us know that the light was barely there? And the point is this, it was a reflection on the leadership of Israel's day at that time. Earlier, we're told that Eli's vision was almost gone, and then we're told about the lamp in verse three of first Samuel chapter three. And so there's a correlation there that the dimming light spoke of the the dimming of the discernment and the holiness and the God honoring leaders of that time.

It was almost gone but wasn't completely gone. And it was setting the stage for us to realize that Samuel was going to be promoted at the right time. That when it seemed absolutely hopeless, God would raise up another man and it would be actually a young boy who would be a prophet. Did Samuel forget that? Did Samuel forget that even though Eli, who was the leader, the picture of God's leadership before a king came onto the scene, that when he was condemned by God, he raised up another?

Would it be any different for Saul? Okay. This man is going to be removed from the throne. Okay, he's the first king. Okay, he dishonored God.

Yes, that's hurtful, that's painful, but God's agenda has not been thwarted. But he didn't know that. He should have known that, but he didn't. He lost grip with what God has done before and that caused him not to believe God for the future. And so in some sense here Samuel should have known better, and his grievance here is a sign of unbelief.

Because of his history with God, because of what God has done in his life, through his life, he should have known better. But he didn't. And that's where we have to be careful, because we can look to God and we can be broken before God, but if our tears blind us from His sovereignty and His providential ways, then we have to understand that we are now in worldly grief. We're not in the grief that Jesus allows us to grieve with. How does David do that here?

How does David show that his grief was actually a worldly grief? Not just a worldly grief, but a grief that accuses the character of God. Here's where I believe it is. Go back to chapter 18 verse 33. Look what he says here.

And the king was deeply moved and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept. And as he went, he said, oh, my son Absalom, my son Absalom, my son Absalom. Right? Would I had died instead of you? Oh, Absalom, my son, my son, would I have died in again, you want to feel the pain with him.

You wanna be sympathetic here, but that's a terrible wish. What would have happened if you died instead of Absalom? What would have become of the kingdom? What would have become of the nation's future? What would have become of God's program?

No. In fact, you and I learned in chapter 17 that God intended and designed to bring harm upon Absalom by defeating the council of Ahitophel. And so the death of Absalom was perfectly designated by a perfect God, and what you have here is a man who didn't believe so. I wish I had died instead. Are you kidding me?

What are you saying about God's sovereign will? What are you saying about God's perfect dealings with affairs in life? And so when your heart begins to accuse God's faithfulness, God's wisdom, God's power, then you know that your grief is illegal and it's crossed the boundary that it shouldn't have crossed. But there's a second mark. It's not when you begin to accuse God in your grief, but it's when begin you begin to lose the grip of your service to God.

When you begin to lose your grip on your service to God, that's another flag that indicates our mourning crossed the boundaries that God has designed. And not, not physically, of course, not being able to move forward. I'm speaking about mentally. Not being able to say, I can move on from this. God is still worthy of my service.

You know, he failed as a king. Saul did. Right? But we see here that Samuel was still a prophet. Saul is no longer king, but Samuel, you're still a man of God.

And what you need to understand here is that you cannot afford to be so overwhelmed that you are paralyzed in your position. And that's what grief can do. It can paralyze you. It can keep you in place. It can keep you in place until your dying day.

There are mothers who are like that. There are sons who are like that. There are pastors who are like that, that they never seem to recover after a severe blow, whether it was from their own failure or failure of another or something that is unexplainable. And what we see here is that David was mourning as a father, but just like Samuel, he had a position. He had a calling.

He was a king, and as a king he needed to still serve God's people. And he's allowing his personal grievances to interfere with that calling. And here's the thing, maybe none of this is relatable to you because you're not in a leadership position, but let me tell you how grief is has a wide spectrum. There are people today who not because of a loss of a loved one or because of, a tragic incident, but because more like Saul and Samuel, you've been failed by someone. Someone has disappointed you.

That could be a pastor or a leader from a former church. That can be because of spiritual abuse, and you can never read your Bible the same way again. Right? You come here and you worship, but as you worship, you're thinking maybe all those people on the worship team are absolute hypocrites just like the last church I was a part of. Maybe that pastor is not really a true man of God just like the last pastor that destroyed me and my family or my friends.

So you look at hypocrisy, you look at others, you look at inconsistencies, and you allow it to affect you as a man of God, as a woman of God. You have some people who just don't wanna deal with ministry because there are people who make more mess than blessing in ministry, so you don't wanna be disappointed again. So you're very distant. Your body is here, but you left your heart at home. You have some people who just are skeptical, and they live in that skepticism.

And that skepticism has so affected them because of serious things, and maybe not so serious things. So they don't even come to church anymore. They do. There's no intensity. There's no participation.

That zeal died. That zeal died with your disappointment. And now you're just a hollow shell that wants to try to live your Christian life without disappointment from others. Right? You're wrong.

Your grief has led you to grieving the heart of God. And what's amazing here is what God says to Samuel. He says, how long? How long will you grieve over Saul? And then he moves forward by saying, fill your horn with oil and go.

I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. What is he trying to say there? Hey, Samuel. You still have a purpose to fulfill. I still have a call for you.

You're still my man, and I need you to understand that, and I need you to walk in that. And here's what I think is so insightful. I think, and I believe, that God giving this instruction to Samuel was not just because it was his responsibility, but because in that was a remedy. One of the greatest remedies to seeing healing is serving God. What do I mean by that?

Here's the thing. When you because what ministry really is is coming to the aid of people's needs. When you surround yourself and put yourself before people who have needs, it takes your eyes off of you. And so you're not wallowing as much because you're distracted in a way, in a holy way, in a good way. Service is a sanctifying shield, and that shield can protect you from being swallowed up by your your sadness or even protecting you from sexual temptation.

Listen, Samuel was not gonna do any good for himself by staying in his room and crying day after day after day, and that's proven even in David's life when he chose to stay home with his thoughts instead of being out on the battlefield like God called him to be. And so the Lord tells Samuel, get up, fill your horn with oil, and go and anoint the man that I have prepared to take Saul's place. In other words, get busy. Get busy serving the Lord. You're not gonna heal by laying there and just letting time wash over you without you walking in the purpose that God has for you.

And that happens actually with David. It doesn't just happen with Saul. See, I'm trying to prove this that this is not just an isolated incident. This is something that we see as a principle throughout the word of God. You haven't read it, so I'm not going to ask you the question, but here's where we see that same idea being articulated.

Go to chapter 19 again and look at verse seven. This is Joab. Joab is the the agent of correction, not the lord himself, but Joab is. And he says to David, now therefore arise, 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. Right? You know what Joab is saying? Get up. Stop sitting here in your room pounding your fist and go do what you're supposed to do as a king.

I get very nervous when sad Christians don't show up anymore. I get very nervous. You should get nervous too. The lord's words to Samuel, you can safely translate them in the following way. Why are you still acting like this?

Saul's failures have not affected my plans for the nation, and you still have a calling that I gave you, so get going. David gives the same advice. The remorse over the death. Now we come to the rebuke the rebuke. We come to chapter 19.

Right? Joab was told, behold, the king is weeping. He's he's devastated, and Joab would not tolerate this for one moment further. He's gonna confront David. And so he comes to David, and Joab has messed up a lot, and he's actually gonna mess up even more after this chapter.

But what Joab does here is is instructive. He comes to the king, and he rebukes him. He rebukes this man, and it might seem a little intense. But here's what I wanna tell you. Rebuke is very necessary at times, and sometimes intensity in that rebuke is just as necessary.

What woke up Samuel? Rebuke. What woke up David? Rebuke. I'm going to get to a little teaching on rebuke because we're intimidated by that word, and we kind of put that Christian instruction in a vault, and we try not to touch it ever in our lives.

And so we like exhortation, we like instruction, we like encouragement, but oh rebuke. No, we can't be doing rebuke stuff. That's ungodly. It can be, but it's absolutely necessary. I want you to see something here, a few insights with what Joab does with his friend.

Verse five. We're told that he receives the news about Absalom or his father's grief over Absalom. Verse five, Then Joab came into the house to the king and said I like that. Joab came to his house. You know what that tells me?

David went to his house and David stayed in his house when David was supposed to be around other people. He was supposed to be before the people celebrating, rejoicing, giving thanks to God. And instead, he goes up to his chamber, sticks his hand in his face, and drenches his fingers with his tears. Isolation is so common for those who are sorrowful. Can I tell you something?

It's very unwise to do that for too long. You might need some time alone to process your grievances, but to stay there is suicide for the soul. And Joab comes here with intervention. He comes here. He comes to this man in his very home.

And what do you find David doing from what he learned in chapter 18 verse 33 to chapter 19? He's still singing the same song. My son, my son, oh, the same tune, the same song, the same problem. Nothing's changed even though he became isolated. Isolation can be deceptive.

And again, being surrounded by people, even people who have needs, can bring your healing faster. This is God's wisdom. And additionally, for those who lean towards isolation, may I add something? Okay? Because some of us are more introverted.

Like, being around like, being here right now is, like, it's difficult for you, and it's only going to get more difficult once people stand up and they might shake your hand. You just want to zoom out of here as soon as possible. I get it. I know people like that and it doesn't mean you're any less godly than a person who's an extrovert. But for those who tend to have leniencies towards pulling away from others, especially when your heart is heavy, you have to understand that though you think you are healing from hurt, the very act and the very cessation of your presence is actually most likely hurting others.

Look at the words here of Joab in verse six. Because you love those who hate you and hate those who love you, for you have made it clear today that 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 be pleased. That seems a little intense. Right?

Again, sometimes rebuke is necessary, and sometimes a little dose of intensity is needed in that rebuke. What's he trying to say here is, like, look. The fact that you're pulling away from everybody with with your tears and your brokenness, you're actually communicating something. They're not valuable to you. They have nothing to offer you.

They're not important to you, especially when these people have given so much of themselves to you. So it can be a very selfish thing, and it can actually cause others to hurt. See the body of Christ listen, you're a member of the body. And when the body is hurting, scripture tells us we all hurt, meaning that we hurt together. And so if you're if you're hurting and your temptation is to pull away, you're like a finger that wants to disconnect from the hand.

Yeah. You think that being isolated will help you. Right? But in fact, you've severed something and you're causing others to bleed at the same time. This is a place where you receive your healing.

The people of God, if this is truly a godly place with people who love the Lord and love His word, this is where you receive your wholeness again. God designed it that way, and Satan would love for you even not just in your sin. People people always think somebody's isolating themselves because of their sin. No, it can be because of their sadness, and that sadness will lead to sin. That's the whole idea.

And so learn, discipline yourself to throw yourself at the feet of the hands and feet of Jesus, the people of God. Pour out your heart. I'm not saying that you can't be alone. I'm just saying don't be alone too long. And so we see here that Job comes to this man's rescue by appearing and showing up and dealing with him.

And what does he do? You've heard me say he rebukes. And I wanted to take advantage of talking about rebuke just a little bit. What does it mean to rebuke? Does anybody have an idea?

Like it's a Christian word right? So in a Christian vocabulary, I don't know if we know what it means. What does rebuke mean? To correct. I would say it's even more than that.

It's that's the essence of it, but what does it mean to rebuke? Because I can be teaching and it's correcting. Better. A firm correction. I would even go more than that.

It's a confrontation that seeks to criticize a wrong for the sake of restoring someone from sinful behavior. That's what it means to rebuke. And the scripture in the New Testament encourages us to rebuke, especially for those who are in leadership positions. They are commanded to rebuke, right. But as believers in Luke 17 it says, when a brother has sinned against you, rebuke him.

So even as believers you might not have a position of teaching or preaching, but you're called to in day to day life at times to rebuke. Now I am fully aware that there are some who have a strange satisfaction and gratification of confronting people. There's some relief there for them, they just vent, and they just they they sense superiority by reprimand. I don't know how they do that. I think rebuking is one of the most uncomfortable experiences for the Christian.

For anybody who has a delight in it, there needs to be some counseling there. K? It's difficult to do. It's difficult to do. That's why I think it's commanded because it's not something that naturally we want to do, at least for some.

But nonetheless, it is a command. You see that in second Timothy four two. You see that in Titus two fifteen where these pastors are commanded by God to know how to confront people in their sin. Now with that being said, I mentioned how we kind of put that in a vault, and we put a very, very strict code on it so we never open that vault ever again Because who wants to rebuke, right? No, you're supposed to rebuke, but cautiously, very cautiously.

Because that kind of confrontation can do very much more damage than it can good. And I think the the best way to know how to be like Christ in your rebuking is to ask a series of questions, to self reflect, to pause, and to be more confident in your motive and in your reason before you make that move. Some people are trigger happy with their rebuke. Right? And I think in some cases, rebuke is necessary immediately and even publicly.

When Paul rebuked Peter, he didn't send him an email after the whole thing in Galatia. Right? He rebuked him publicly in front of everybody, and I think the rule for that is if the sin is public, it deserves public correction. If the sin is private, then it warrants private confrontation. Right?

Just like your confession of sin, by the way. Let me just give a word of counsel. If your sin is private and it deals with very intimate details, it's not necessary for your testimony to share and to spill all the guts. K? There's wisdom in even how you share your testimony.

Coming back to this. So he I'm just I'm curious because we wanna be equipped. What questions do you think are necessary to ask yourself before you come to a point where you deal with a person and criticize them for their sin, not them as a person, but criticize their sin and the way they're living for the sake of restoring them unto holiness? Any ideas? What questions?

Very good. What is my intention in this? Am I just angry at them? Do I just want to spill over my emotions on them because they they did something that I didn't like? Or do I want to see them restored?

Do I really want to see them rescued? And the means by which I will see that at least closer into reality is through this rebuke. Yeah. Do I love them? And I think that correlates with that.

Do I love them in doing this? And in loving them you want to see them restored, and so you're willing to rebuke them as uncomfortable as that may be for you. Any other idea? Is it biblical? I love that point.

Am I confronting someone because of a personal preference? Am I confronting someone because of something that might be right for their conscience but not is right for my conscience? Or is this black and white in the Bible? Very important. A lot of confrontation is done because you're doing something that I don't like.

Well where's the verse in chapter? Well it's because I don't like it. It's like that doesn't work. You're gonna cause more civil war than anything with that kind of attitude. Yes.

Is it the right time? That's very important too. Right? We need to know that timing is important. Context is important.

Place is important. Peter sinned publicly. It deserved public correction. If you saw a brother sitting somewhere and you're in charge of worship and you get on before we sing this song, brother and so and so I saw at the mall. And, brother, I gotta tell you something.

You're wrong for what you did to that clerk and your attitude. That wasn't Christ like. No. No. No.

No. No. Extreme example, but you'd be surprised. Yes. Am I rebuking this person?

Oh, you guys are doing so good. Am I rebuking somebody for a sin that I'm entertaining myself? Oh, there's the speck, but here's the log. And what we do is when we confront people with that log, we tend to whack them over the head. Right?

So pull the log out, do some self surgery first, and then you'll see clearly to know how to deal with somebody else. When you have a log in your eye, you don't tend you don't tend to see clearly, not from experience, I just assume. Log in your eye doesn't help. Very good, very good. Anything else?

How do I know if my rebuke is legitimate? Okay. Good. So when it comes to confronting, especially with sensitive matters or when the accusation is severe, it helps to have witnesses. Now I'm not that's not always the case because scripture tells us in Matthew 18 that if a brother has sinned that you approach him privately.

Right? You bring in two or three other witnesses when he doesn't repent. But when it comes to certain situations, and you're right, brother, when you see somebody, especially in a leadership position, we're told you gotta have more than one witness here. It can't just be something that comes from your perspective or your ideas. It's good to have more than one individual who can validate what your concerns are.

Yes. And I think that comes back to the timing thing. Right? Am I ready? Is my heart in the right place for me to approach this brother or this sister with my concerns?

Yes. Yeah. So am I judging them with the right calculation? Again, by scripture. So we're we're kind of revisiting some of the points that we already made.

Somebody hasn't made one point that I think is crucial. I'm gonna give it a couple of more tries before I make it. Okay. So restoration. Right?

So it's interesting. Right? We rebuke, but Timothy was told by Paul, you rebuke and you exhort. Reprove, rebuke, exhort. So our intention there isn't to blow things up and leave things in pieces.

We come, we deal with that thing, but we also come with a solution. And I think part of that solution too, and if you're if you if you're a person that wants to know if you're ready for that solution, I think one thing that can help is if you're praying for that person. Not just willing to confront them, but if you're praying for them and prepare to pray for them after the matter. Right? But more than that, brother, look.

You're in the wrong. And I I've seen this as a pattern. It's not right. It's breaking my heart. It's breaking other's people's heart.

But here's the thing. How can I help you? What can I do? What what can I offer you to to see you overcome this? That's something that will win a person's heart.

At least it should. Yes. You have your hand up? How to bring up the matter of rebuke? Yeah.

So how are you gonna what's your tone? What's your voice? If you're gonna premeditate it, make sure that you have it planned out, at least the best that you can. I'll give you what I think. Everything you said, I agree with 100%.

Here's one that we also have to consider. Am I willing to receive the rebuke that I'm about to give? That's huge. Right? How would I feel if I was sitting at the other end of that coffee table hearing what I'm planning to say to that brother or sister?

Most of the time, if you're ready to rebuke somebody, you're gonna revisit your script when you ask that question. You will. Probably 99.99% of the time. You at least revisit it and maybe counsel somebody else to help you put it together in a certain way, to make it airtight from any any carnality or unnecessary offense. Am I will how would I would I be convinced that this person really loves me and wants to see Christ formed in me the way I am prepared to say what I'm about to say?

And if you can say yes, then you're ready for that rebuke. And the Lord needs to give us wisdom. Right? The Lord does need to give us wisdom because sometimes that rebuke will be something we have to be ready to do at that very moment. And the way that we are ready is when we remain prayerful, we remain watchful, when we remain continually in a place of self examination, so that we're continually clean vessels so that when we are taken by surprise, we'll be more Christ like than ever.

There's so much more to say. I'm not gonna continue to say anything, but here's what I want to say in in closing. If you're a person who is sorrowful today, you did the right thing in coming to this place. But I wanna let you know that the Lord has mercy toward you even in your grief. And sometimes his mercy comes in the form of a rebuke.

And so maybe today, you are, you have been enduring pain, and it's been paralyzing. Hear God's voice in this study today, and realize that if you have been accusing God even slightly or your walk with the Lord has been altered in any shape or form because of that grief, Realize that the Lord wants to heal you today. Realize that He has a purpose for you. Realize that His program is bigger than your personal life, and you're part of that program. Your life is beyond your son, your daughter.

Your life is beyond your job. Your life is beyond what others have done. It's bigger than that, and you're part of that bigger picture. You know what's so sad is how David's grief here caused other people to be sad, and to really even cause themselves to reflect on their own ways and their own decisions? You know you have parents who when they go through grieving things, specifically with one specific child, They isolate themselves from their other children.

They don't give any love, any attention to their children. They just keep remembering what about that one son, whether they're wayward or even altogether lost from this life. And what happens to those kids? They get bitter. They get broken.

They pull away. They rebel. And so we need God's wisdom even in our pain. We need the Lord's help. We can do a whole series on that.

Can we not? But it's 09:35, so you're not getting a series tonight at least. Let's pray. Lord, words can't express how how full my heart feels to see a room filled with people who are eager to hear from your word. Thank you for this bible study.

Thank you that on a Friday night, people want to be under the word of God. Lord, we ask conveyed today would have been beneficial to our walk with you. We pray, Lord, that you would help us be believers who know how to grieve with hope. We pray that you would help us to be faithful messengers, not like Ahimaaz who get excited but don't understand the responsibility of running this race. Help us be like Cushite.

Help us be like that man who may not have had the fastest feet, but was obedient and faithful to what you asked of him. Lord, we pray that in those uncomfortable moments where we might have to correct a brother, where we might have to criticize even for the sake of seeing them restored, where we might have to call them out, Lord, may we be will we not be unwilling to wield that, but will we also be cautious to do so in the most Christlike manner as possible? Help us believe that like with Samuel and David, rebuke was the means by which you revived their concern for you and your purpose for them. And, lord, for those who are tempted to isolate, for those who might be in isolation this very moment, maybe they're not here because they are isolating. Go where we can't go.

Help us know what to do, but also, Lord, if we've done all that we can do, would you be merciful and speak to them as you spoke to Samuel? Open their eyes. Let your voice be loud and clear. Rescue them from their despair. Pull them out of that pit so that they can operate the way you've called them to be with their gifting and their presence and their involvement in the advancement of your purpose.

Lord, we look to you, and we trust you, and we sink to you with gladness of heart. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Let's stand and worship the lord.