0:00 If you have your Bibles, go to second Samuel chapter 20 with me. Second Samuel chapter 20. I'm gonna read a few of these verses with you, and then we will do what we always do, and that's learn what these verses were intended to say to us as Christians. The New Testament tells you and I that the Old Testament has been given to us more than just to prove that Jesus Christ of Nazareth is the Messiah that's been foretold hundreds of years ago. The Old Testament has also been given to you and I for our instruction, for our guidance to provide the best illustrations in knowing how to apply New Testament, new covenant principles.
0:45 And that's why we come here because we wanna be further furnished to know exactly what it is that God requires of us and what it is that we can do to honor and glorify and honor him. And so when we come to this chapter, believe that God has something to say. That's what we believe every single week. Let's read in beginning in verse one. Now there happened to be there a worthless man whose name was Sheba, the son of Behar, a Benjaminite.
1:14 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 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. Let's pray. Lord, this is your word. We are your people.
1:43 We believe by faith that you have something to say to us, not just as a mere study, but that you would speak directly into our lives, into the details of our existence, and that we would conform ourselves to the wisdom and the truth that has been presented and preserved in these very verses. And for this, we give you glory and honor. Let there be a special grace from the Spirit of God in teaching this, in hearing this, and more importantly, in applying it. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.
2:14 Does it surprise you that after dealing with a man who caused an uprising and attempted to divide the nation of Israel, after Absalom was done away with, that there would be so soon another attempt by another man to try to bring about severance and disunity among the people of God. It shouldn't surprise you. And the reason why it shouldn't surprise you is because division among the people of God is one of Satan's most favorite and repeated schemes against the saints. He is the one who sows discord among the brethren. He's the one who inspires men who give a foothold to him to do just that among those that are called to not just a unity, but a supernatural unity.
3:10 Now I know we just started here in second Samuel 20, but I want us to go quickly to Ephesians four. I want you to see something so important in the New Testament in light of this. In Ephesians chapter four and verse 30, If you wanna know how Paul wrote his epistles, he had a common format. He would be very theological upfront. He would teach and he would go deep concerning matters of the gospel of the cross of the person of Jesus Christ.
3:36 And then the second half of his letters he would get intensely practical. And so he would say, okay. Here's all these wonderful truths, these gems about who God is. And then he would hinge that with therefore, now this is what it means for your life. And that's what he does exactly here in Ephesians chapter four.
3:53 Verse chapter one, two, and three is is dense with rich truth. And in chapter four is very heavy on practical application. Look what he says in verse one. I, therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling of which you have been called. Because chapter one is about you being called, you being called, you being called.
4:17 Right? And he he builds upon that leading up to chapter four, and he says, okay. You're called. Right? That's a theological truth.
4:23 That's a position that you enjoy because of Jesus Christ. Now that you're called, you should walk in a certain manner. That position is just something that it's not just something you tuck away in your brain, you tuck away in your statement of faith, and then just live the way you want. No. Because of these things, now you should walk in a certain way.
4:40 How should I walk, apostle Paul? Well, verse two. With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love. Yes. You gotta do that with your if you're gonna live with other Christians, bear with one another.
4:55 But look at verse three. Eager to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. Eager to maintain. Now what's fascinating here is that we have a truth here about the experience of unity. Unity, when there is harmony, when there is mutual love, when there is unselfish service given to one another in a group of people like this, that is a work of the Spirit of God.
5:25 It is the Holy Spirit who connects you, who providentially leads you to be in a group of people though they represent various backgrounds but who have the same Lord and to enjoy that perpetually. That's a Holy Spirit work. That's a miracle. It's nothing short of a miracle. I mean I look at this place week after week, more than once a week and I see different shades of skin, different backgrounds, different ages, different generations, different testimonies, and yet when service is over or right before the service even starts, I love when this place is filled with the sound of laughter and the sight of hugs and people laying hands on each other's shoulders and praying for them.
6:08 Young and old, old giving advice, young energizing the old. What is that? That's a work of the spirit of God. And it's a work of the spirit of God more now than ever in in a culture that is so fragmented and divided. We can peek in here week after week, and not just in this place, but across the globe, and witness a work of heaven each time.
6:33 Don't take it for granted. We're told here that the unity of the spirit, the author of unity in the church is the Holy Spirit. And yet, you have a responsibility nurturing that, and so do I. Because Paul tells us by the spirit, you must be eager to maintain that. So the Holy Spirit ignites it.
6:54 The Holy Spirit can help us walk in it and continue in it, but there must be a diligence, and there must be a reverence, and there must be an awareness on our part to protect what the Spirit of God has started, and what the Holy Spirit wants us to continue in. What does that require? Well, usually where our minds go to is forgiveness. Right? And that's right.
7:16 We should we should be quick to forgive whatever faults because you need to bear with one another in love. We're gonna step on each other's toes. It's gonna happen eventually. It's gonna happen at some point. It's gonna happen as more people come in, but it's more than just forgiving.
7:30 It also includes, hear me carefully, overlooking. What do I mean by that? Because of our non essential preferences, non essential convictions, if we want to promote a Holy Spirit led unity, then it's gonna require us to not give into our selfish ambition or desires or ideas, but to be willing to discern what it is that is important, what it is that is not important, and then to walk with people hand in hand for a greater cause. And some people are not willing to do that because unfortunately, what you have even among the church and the local church setting, is no shortage of individuals who are easily given into the campaign of disunity for justifiable reasons in their own eyes. And that's exactly what you and I just read in this chapter.
8:21 We read of a man among the camp of Israel named Sheba, and this man Sheba took advantage of a situation. He trumpeted his voice and decided to try to separate the tribes of Israel yet again. And you're thinking to yourself, why is this man doing this? And it's because people take advantage of vulnerable situations, especially among the people of God, and that is exactly what's happening here. Notice the timing when Sheba, this worthless man.
8:52 That's what the Bible describes him. I mean, sometimes people people think what we preach here is bold and straightforward. Not as much as the Bible. Worthless. Worthless.
9:03 The Bible is not saying that he has no value as a person created in the image of God. The Bible saying using that word that he has no conviction or character, and that is the kind of person that Satan uses to breed discord. You heard about Absalom. When we learned that in second Samuel chapter 15 that division is bread in the hearts of unholy men, and it's no difference there were no different with Sheba. But when does he do it?
9:28 We didn't cover this last week, so this is gonna be very insightful. Look at the last verses of chapter 19. Look at verse 41 down, and you get the context of when Sheba decides to open his mouth and lead astray a group. Verse 41. Then all the men of Israel came to the king and said to the king, why have our brothers and men of Judah stolen you away and brought the king and his household over the Jordan and all David's men with him.
9:53 Pause. What's happening here? Judah initiates the project of bringing David back from the Jordan into Jerusalem. David is waiting there at the border. Judah and the elders agree with him, The elders of Judah to come and to bring him back.
10:09 And who trails along? The northern tribes of Israel. How many tribes in the northern part represented Israel? The Northern part of Israel? How many tribes too.
10:23 Right. So the northern tribe of Israel always represents 10 of the tribes. This or the tribe of Judah rather instead of the Southern Kingdom. You can use that from time to time. But the the tribe of Judah, rather the Kingdom Of Judah is represented by two tribes.
10:38 And so we see here that Judah represents that kingdom, and the men of Judah stolen you away and brought the king and his household over the Jordan, all the men's with him. This is their problem. Why did you do this without us? And verse 42, and 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?
11:01 Have we eaten at all the king expense? Or has he given us any gift? And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, we have 10 shares in the king, and in David also we have more than you. Why then did you despise us? Were we not the first to speak of bringing back our king?
11:21 But the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men is of Israel. It's like the author there by the spirit just after that kind of initial conversation just censors what else was said. Clearly, it was very fierce, fierce enough for us to know the details of what was communicated. K. That was a mouthful.
11:38 So let me explain what's happening. Again, Judah and the elders of that tribe come and bring David back. The 10 other tribes learn of this, they trail behind, and they're upset. Here's what they're upset about. You didn't include us in this process.
11:51 We wanna be in this parade. We wanna lead this parade. And so they begin to criticize the tribe of Judah. Why didn't you call us? Why didn't you invite us?
12:01 Why didn't you include us? And you would think that the immaturity of the northern tribes would have been met with wisdom. Remember when Gideon went to war, and Ephraim comes and they say, why didn't you include us in this battle? And and Gideon answers with such wisdom that he he squashes any beef. Right?
12:24 He he quiets their selfish ideas and their aroused flesh because he was he was very gentle in his answer. We would hope that Judah would do the same, but unfortunately, they match the immaturity of the northern tribes with their own immaturity. So look back at what what the the line of argumentation is here. Look at the debate. The men of Judah in verse 42 say, he's our close relative, like he's part of our tribe.
12:52 And so we have claim on him, and this is expectant of us. And how does Israel answer? Verse 43, we have 10 shares. We have more numbers. There are more of us that represent Israel.
13:06 So naturally because there are more of us then then we should have the privilege of bringing him back. Because this is what it's all about. Who is the one leading him back? Who's the one that's responsible for ushering the king back to his throne? This is silly.
13:24 This is extremely silly. Now how do you equate this with a church context? I thought about it. Well, there are many ways. Our our our family gives more to this ministry, and we because because we give more to this ministry, we should have more say in what happens here.
13:45 Well, we've been here longer than everybody else. We have more history here. We're we're one of the founders, actually. We were there from from day one, and so it's actually. We were there from from day one, and so it's obvious that we would have access to more of what happens in the background and the operations here.
13:59 And so what you have here is fleshly strife. And so what you have here is fleshly strife. This is not essential. This is petty. This is insignificant.
14:13 This is not this is not important. This is about who's first, who's there, and you would think, like, well, no. I mean, it is kind of rude for them to not consider the 10 tribes of Israel. Okay. But are these tribes really concerned about honoring David?
14:28 Answer, no. One, because in just a moment here they're gonna divide from David in a split second. What they are concerned about here is that they were not honored in their pursuit of honoring David. It's amazing what we try to defend concerning our pride. We want to be a part of this.
14:50 Not so that David can be exalted, but that we can be associated with his exaltation and so we can share somewhat in that exaltation. It's about me. It's about me. It's about what I desire and what I want. And that's the start of much trouble.
15:04 Is it not? Whenever you have even one person in a group that thinks that way, some kind of turbulence is on its way. And in the same way that Sheba appears on the scene when he calculates and sees this very weak moment in the nation, it's no different with Satan. When Satan smells and senses in a group of people who are called to a higher standard, giving over themselves and to the things of the flesh, the thing that the world gets concerned about, position and prominence and me and and us, he comes. And when he comes, he stirs, and when he stirs, he usually finds a person who is worthless to take the torch and to manifest what he has been doing for thousands and thousands of years.
16:00 Do you know how we can eliminate that potential threat? Do the opposite of these men. I thought to myself, if you were really about the honor of David, you tribes of Israel, would it concern you? Why does it concern you? Who's in front of the parade and who's not?
16:18 Because David is being honored. David is being exalted. Remember Mephibosheth, he's like, Ziba can take my land. You're back and your kingdom is back. That's all that matters to me.
16:28 This is the opposite of that spirit. And if you just keep your eyes on Christ, you won't get caught up with who gets promoted in the church, who is recognized and who is not, whether you're acknowledged, you're loved, you're praised or not. Because if Christ is being blessed anyway, then what's it to you? You should be filled with joy. In fact, you'll go beyond that.
16:53 You would be able to rejoice in the gifts of others, rejoice in the opportunities of others because your object is him being glorified whether you're the immediate instrument or not. But when that's lost, so is the the unity among the people of God. Shiva rears his ugly head, and he tries to promote division, and he does with his words. We have no portion in David, and we have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. That's disrespect.
17:20 He's the king. No mention of the king, an appeal back to his humble beginnings. This is the son of Jesse. This is the farmer's boy. Let's get out of here.
17:29 And notice verse two. So all the men of Israel withdrew from David and followed Sheba the son of Bichdi. Just like that. Just like few verses ago, you were furious that you were not included in the reinstatement, reinstallment of King David. And all it took was the persuasion of one man to have your opinion altered concerning that same man that you claim to love and adore.
17:52 What do we learn from this? Yet again, another biblical example laid out for us for you to realize the fickleness of man's praise and support. It is weak. It is unpredictable. It is always vacillating.
18:13 That's true in the Old Testament. Let me prove it to you in the New. Go to Acts chapter 14 quickly. Acts chapter 14. Paul and Barnabas are preaching together as a ministry team.
18:35 A miracle takes place. A man is able to walk. He sprang up, and the crowd saw this. And in verse 11, we read in acts 14, and when the crowd saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices saying, in Lycaonian, the gods have come down to us in the likeness of men. Barnabas, they called Zeus and Paul Hermes because he was the chief speaker.
19:03 So notice what happened. A miracle takes place at the hand of Paul and the people see this and they declare them to be divine. These guys are gods. They've come to visit us. And so they ascribe Paul to be Zeus incarnate and they ascribe Barnabas here.
19:20 Excuse me. Barnabas to be Zeus and Paul to be Hermes. And so now they exalt them to Godhood. They're literally ready to worship them and they attempt to, and the men render garments and they begged them not to. But I want you to see this for a moment.
19:34 How much higher can you esteem a man than this? You're from heaven. You're a God. There's no one like you. Unparalleled.
19:48 And then you scroll down, an almost seamless transition verse 19 occurs, and it's just stunning. But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium. And having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city. Well, it didn't last very long, did it? One moment you're a god, the next thing is you're stoned and you're thrown out of this city like trash.
20:12 So why do you get all hot and bothered when somebody says they don't like you for no justifiable cause? Why are you so concerned when that person unfollowed you on Instagram? Why are you so moved even when adoration is showered upon you? Who cares? Those opinions are just as valuable as what we see here with David and with Paul.
20:37 Aim for the honor and the commendation that comes from God. Not only will you know maximum security, you will know maximum delight. You will know an just an immovable sense of peace and joy and strength when your object is him and him alone. You look to men, even men from your own, from your own tribe, tribe of faith, and you try to pull out of them and fish for compliments to try to make you feel more valuable and were and worthy. You're in trouble.
21:14 Keep your eyes on him, and you'll be safe. So these men, one day, they praise, and the next day, they part ways. And look at verse three. And David came to his house at Jerusalem, and the king took 10 concubines, the 10 concubines whom he left to care for the house, and put them in a house under guard and provided for them, but did not go into them. That's it.
21:35 That's a biblical way of veiling sexual relations. So they were shut up until the day of their death, living as if in widowhood. This seems like a very strange placement for this scene. You have a man who creates division. You have a man who's trying to cause an uprising, and you would think now we're gonna continue in that theme, and all all of a sudden now we're transferred over to David going into his house and dealing with matters of his own home.
22:01 And this is not random. This is not poor authorship. There's a design behind this. There is something for us to consider before we move on. Up to this point, we have seen David weather and endure severe chastisement from God.
22:16 The Lord has been disciplining David, and that discipline is still continuing actually. It will until the day he dies. And what you see here is that when David returns home, he had his many wives and concubines, right, in that home. They were defiled by Absalom, and David respectfully and tenderly puts him aside, puts him in place, provides for them, and he tries to do what he can to extend love and compassion. Absalom's sin ruined not just his own life, but the lives of others.
22:50 That's what sin tends to do. And these women are permanently altered for the rest of their lives. David chooses to refrain from engaging with them, and I think that's the main point. The Holy Spirit highlights he did not go into them. He did not know them in that way.
23:08 You know what's amazing? Unless I missed it, there is not one mention after this chapter of David adding to his wives or acquiring more concubines. You will not see it. And I think the reason why we're seeing this here is to show the fruit of the chastisement that David was undergoing. He's becoming a new person.
23:34 In the very same house where David's unbridled lust was acted upon, do we see David returning to, but as a new man? He returns to his home, and he has a different conviction. He has a different frame of mind. And if there is any indication that he has close relations with a woman, We see that even the Holy Spirit tells us then, like we see in first Kings chapter one with Abishak. Right?
24:01 The Shunammite, who's assigned to David to keep him warm in bed in his old age. We're told even there, but David did not know her. To reinforce, David really did change. He did become a new person. One of the reasons the Lord chastises his children, and it is this, for our good and that we might share in his holiness.
24:24 That's the ultimate goal. That when the Lord chisels you as painful as it may be, when he afflicts your body, when he causes disruption to bring you to your knees, to get your attention, it's because he wants you to become like him. And David is doing that. David is submitting and yielding to the discipline of God, and it's actually working. Here's the thing, God doesn't just want you to acknowledge sin.
24:53 He wants you to abandon it. Early in my Christian walk, I've met some people who do not believe in the doctrine of repentance, Because they believe that to repent means to work. And so if you repent of your sin and believe on Jesus Christ, that is a work based gospel. There's a whole camp that believes that. So if you ask these people, what do you believe about repentance?
25:16 Well, they'll go to the Greek and say it's the word metanoia, and the word metanoia simply means change of mind. So when the Bible says repent, it's really synonymous with believe. Change your mind about Christ, and believe that you can't work for your salvation, that he did it for you. And that's it. But you can't change your mind about Christ unless you're willing to also change your mind about sin.
25:39 And you can't change your mind about sin and not affect the way you deal with sin. I don't understand where they're coming from. So you're expecting me to change my mind about who God is and who I am, and that not affect the way I live? It's absurd. It's contrary to the will of God.
25:59 David acknowledged before the prophet, I have sinned. But God doesn't just want you to be able to label what is sin or confess your sin. He wants you to walk away from it. He wants you to change your attitude toward it. And that's what we see here.
26:14 This man recognized his sin. He recognized what his loose standards concerning woman and marriage brought him to. And so now after a season of being under the heavy hand of the Lord, he comes back and he sets his affairs in order. Not for the sake of these women, but to show I'm a different man. So we get that insight.
26:33 Wow. What's happening with David? At least we should. And now we continue back to the main theme and the main story, verse four. And the king said to Amasa, call the men of Judah together to me within three days, and be here yourself.
26:48 So Amasa went to summon Judah, but he delayed beyond the set time that had been appointed to him. Who was the original commander of David's army? Joab. But Joab was replaced by his cousin, Amasa. And so David now summons Amasa, says, listen.
27:10 If we don't get to this quick, we're in trouble. We gotta quench this fire that Sheba sparked. Let's deal with this. Time is of the essence. Here's what I'm asking you to do.
27:18 Go and recruit the men. You have three days. I need you to be here with all of them. You got it? Yes, sir.
27:25 And he makes his way out. You and I have already established concerning Sheba or excuse me, concerning Amasa that David made a choice to electing him and promoting him to the general of his army for two reasons. One was what? Politics. Politics.
27:43 And the other one also starts with a p? Personal. Good. Set aside the personal for a moment, because the personal reason is because he want to get back at Joab. You killed my son.
27:54 You're no long because I know how much you love your position, Joab. So I'm replacing you with somebody else, and he does. But that's a secondary reason. The primary reason is because in order to reconcile with this nation of rebels that sided with Absalom, David wanted to prove his willingness to forgive, and he does so by using Amasa as an example. Look, I'm willing to take the guy that worked with Absalom as his general and make him my own.
28:20 Really? Hey, look, if he's willing to do that then surely he's willing to reconcile with us. And that was a that was a major motivation for Amasa to be where he's at. Was it a mistake? Yes.
28:31 We already have determined that. Because David was willing to dismiss the lack of qualifications in Amasa for a political gain. No matter how good that political game might have been, it ended up coming back to bite him. And so Amasa here was not set up to be a leader of an army. How do we know that?
28:56 Exactly. When he worked for Absalom with a much larger army with many more resources, he still couldn't defeat David and his forces. And David was willing to overlook that, and David was willing to say, come on my team. And when he does, it hurts him. Is there a lesson here for us?
29:23 Absolutely. Especially for leaders. And here's the lesson. Leaders have to be careful of ignoring God's blueprints and his standards for how his church should operate pertaining to positions and pertaining to practices in the name of helping the people of God. Because like Amasa, whenever we compromise, no matter how good our intentions are, it will end up hurting the people of God more than anything else.
29:52 Is that understood? David I believe David's reasonings were very good. He wanted to manifest kindness, and he did so by doing something he shouldn't have done only to satisfy some immediate goal. And in time, the very same people that he tried to appease were the very same people who are now put in danger. It ain't different in the church, my friend.
30:18 It's not. But we want to bring in more people. We wanna we wanna let their guard down. We want them to see that we are just like them. We want them to understand that we're human.
30:29 We're not holier than thou and so we make all these decisions. We apply all these strategies thinking that they will come, thinking that they will absorb, thinking that they will end up believing when in reality you've created a greater mess than what you started with. Because if you bring in people for carnal reasons, then you must keep people with carnal methods. And I've seen this. I've not just seen this from beyond.
30:53 I've seen this firsthand with people, and I've heard the woes of some elders realizing the trouble that they've gotten themselves into. Because now they have to make one of two choices. One, to either, again, to keep the people, to maintain that tone of compromise, to maintain that tone of something beyond what the scripture demands, or to make the decision at this point, we have to say something true. And the temptation is not to because they know they're gonna lose two thirds of their people. So David's relations with Amasa here is a wonderful illustration of ensuring listen to this.
31:30 Even in your own life, you might not be a pastor, but you're a person who makes decisions about people. To make a decision, hear me, hear me, hear me. Trust the truth all the time. Trust the truth all the time. What does that mean?
31:48 Disassociate your feelings and disassociate your human wisdom when it comes to what God has clearly said about a particular situation or person. Abandon self and cling to God's mind and heart, and you will know success. You will know success. Just trust his blueprint no matter how difficult, no matter how every fiber of your being says, it could be better if we go this way. Don't.
32:16 Don't. Because God's word is true, and let every man be a liar, including you and me. Notice no amens, but it's true anyhow. Amasa delayed. Amasa delayed.
32:32 He proved his incompetency. He didn't show up. Now there's debate about why he delayed, but it left enough time for people to speculate. And notice what David says, exactly the point that I was making. Verse six, and David said to Abishai, now Sheba the son of Bihri will do us more harm than Absalom.
32:54 Take your lord's servants and pursue him, lest he get himself to fortified cities and escape from us. Think about that. Sheba, the son of Bifri, will do us more harm than Absalom. More harm than Absalom? David is aware of the capability of Sheba, and he was aware that Amasa's weakness and inability to be who he was called to be contributed to a potential catastrophe.
33:18 That could have been avoided if David just bit his tongue. If David put aside his political motivations and put aside his personal ambition and just trusted simple wisdom. So what happens? He has to replace Amasa. Ain't no way that he's gonna choose Joab, so he goes with Abishai.
33:38 Abishai has given David enough headaches. Right? But he's better than Joab. Abishai, come here. Listen.
33:44 I need you to deal with Sheba. Alright? Fetch for him, and you know what to do. If we don't, it's gonna get ugly. Time is of the essence.
33:52 Every minute matters. Go. Abishai goes. And there, verse seven, went out after him Joab's men and the Kherethites and the Pelethites and all the mighty men. Why doesn't anybody make a movie out of David's life?
34:06 Like a long extended or a series, please. If you're gonna put your money on that thing, if you're gonna put your money in any kind of entertainment, let it be God's most amazing insight about a man's life in the Old Testament. That's debatable, I guess. They went out from Jerusalem and pursued Sheba, the son of Bechai. Now something interesting happens because Joab here sees an opportunity himself.
34:33 Amasa messed up. This is my chance to reclaim my position. And so you're gonna see a shift of the balances of power here. Abishai replaces Amasa. Remember those names.
34:48 Right? Joab realizes, this is my chance. And so you're gonna see now just in a very subtle way, Joab is going to take the prominent place, although Abishai was put in charge. And it's all going to take place with an encounter with Amasa. Verse eight.
35:08 When they were at the great stone that is in Gibeon, Amasa came to meet them. This guy just shows up out of nowhere. Like, where have you been? He just appears out of the forest. I don't know how it happened.
35:19 He just shows up, like, I think we're called to come here. Right? He hears the news maybe of what's happening of the new mission. This is interesting. Now Joab was wearing a soldier's garment.
35:32 Look how descriptive the Bible is here. And over it was a belt with a sword in its sheath fastened on his thigh. And as he went forward, it fell out. Wonder if it looked accidental. I wonder if he made it look accidental.
35:48 The sword kinda falls out. Obviously, he has to grab it. So it doesn't look that suspicious, like you're just picking up your tool. Picks up the sword with his left hand. And Joab said to Amasa, is it well with you, my brother?
36:07 And Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand and 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. I have a feeling this is not a Sunday school story. It's detailed, but it's not just for the sake of being detailed.
36:37 It's instructive. Joab already has a reputation of being a man who resolves to murder when it comes to his conflicts in life. He hasn't just proven it here. We've seen him deal with another general early on in the reign of David. What's his name?
36:53 Starts with the letter a as well. Who remembers? Abner. Abner. Right?
36:58 Abner. And what makes this man, Joab, even more ruthless, not not only his willingness to kill someone on sight, but his implementation of deception in order to accomplish it. What did Joab do in order to cause Abner to let his guard down? How did he kill him? More specifically, where did he kill him?
37:19 Who remembers that bible study? Oh, very good, David. I would expect that from David in our study of David. He brings him to the gate of the city of refuge in Hebron, and he kills him there. How grotesque, how evil, how wicked, that in a proximity where you're supposed to be safe for the very same crime you committed, you kill a man.
37:46 And we see this man committing a very similar crime though with a different shade of deception. He approaches Amasa and notice his language, notice his actions. First thing he does is he greets him with a sense of love and tenderness and affection. He asked about his well-being. Is it well with you, my brother?
38:09 And then he leans in. Remember, you can just imagine the sight. Perhaps the weapon just stumbled out. He picks it up. He approaches him.
38:17 Is it well with you, my brother? He takes his right hand, grabs him by the beard, and kisses him. Now that might be strange to you, but it ain't for us, Middle Easterners. Right? Men greet men that way.
38:30 Women greet women that way. Your culture might do it too. You've probably seen and wonder what's happening here. Right? And so he leans in, and he kisses him as a form of salutation.
38:44 But in doing that, with his left hand, he thrust into the very core of being. This man must have been very strong because he didn't need a second strike and kills him with that one blow. The deceptiveness of Joab here speaks of the trickery of sin. Temptation greets you with a kiss, but in its heart, in its desire, in its mind is to put you to an end. And like Amasa's inattentiveness, if we are not walking in the spirit, if we are not filled with the word of God, if we are not displaying ourselves to fellowship with the Lord and know the Lord, then we too can fail to see the deception of sin in our lives.
39:32 How it approaches, how it creeps in, how it is packaged, and it looks like a warm embrace when in reality it has a knife in its hand. And I don't I don't just say that about obvious sin. I think this is true for Antichrist ideologies and philosophies and mantras and agendas and narratives. If you are not sharp with your your discernment that comes through it, a regular exercising of the Word of God, a life of prayer, you'll look at the lips, but you won't see the hands. And you'll let your guard down.
40:08 And when you let your guard down, how do you let your guard down in a new covenant sense? Jesus said watch and pray. Watch and pray. Be aware. Be aware.
40:17 How many of us and this is just this is just a test. And don't answer it, but how many of us are daily aware, not the moment you step out of your front door, but the moment you open your eyelids on your bed, warfare is ready. How many of us really think like that? How many of us are fully convinced and aware that every single waking moment, Satan and his minions, especially if you're walking in active obedience to the will of God, wants to find a way to hinder you and to taint your testimony. I don't know.
40:52 But here we see Amasa was not where he was supposed to be in terms of his understanding of his surroundings, of the people, of the threats around him, and it cost him his life. It cost him his life. But I learned something else here about Joab's packaged friendship. Go to Romans chapter 16 quickly. Since we're talking about kissing, Let's go to Romans chapter 16 and verse 16.
41:32 And what does Paul tell this church to do? Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you. This is not the only place where we're told in the New Testament to greet one another with a holy kiss. There is actually a total of how many times do you think?
41:51 Who says twice? Who says thrice? Who says four? Nobody's gonna participate. There is a total of five times that the New Testament encourages the saints of God to greet one another with either kiss, a holy kiss, or a kiss of love.
42:16 Right? Now here's the thing. I already mentioned that in David's time, it was a cultural norm for men and men, woman, woman to greet one another in this way, to express love and affection in a very pure manner. Right? We see it even cultures today, and it was true of Paul's day.
42:35 It was true for them. It was true for the surrounding Gentiles that he dealt with. So it seems strange that how many people interpret this verse as, make sure that you greet one another in a very pure and unromantic and very, honorable fashion, when it was something that they just did. Surely, Paul, though that could be part of what he's saying, there is something that he has in mind that's deeper than, hey, don't be inappropriate with people in church. Could it be that when Paul says greet one another with a holy kiss, that he is instructing the people of God who interact with one another on a regular basis to be free from deception and hypocrisy in how you deal with one another?
43:27 In other words, when you hug that brother who walks through those doors, when the time the pastor says, well, why don't you just greet one another before we sit down, and you turn around, and you give a hug to that lady, and you ask her how she's doing, and you ask her about her children, and you ask about what's been going on in their lives and their walk with the Lord, that at the same time, your heart doesn't have envy toward them. Jealousy, hatred, criticism. That while you smile at them on Sunday morning, Tuesday night with the gals, you're murdering their reputation. You're slandering their name and dragging it in the dirt. You kiss them on the cheek, but you have a sword in your left hand.
44:19 Could it be that what Paul is saying is, don't be like Joab. Don't be a Judas who hailed King Jesus, but wanted to arrest him the very same tonight. Greet one another with a holy kiss. Let your greeting be genuine. And that's why Paul, though he says holy kiss over and over, Peter says in first Peter five fourteen, to give a kiss of love.
44:45 It's synonymous. Love. Let there be sincere love among the brethren. Let there be a transparency. Don't be one thing outwardly and something else inwardly.
44:58 Don't be like Joab who can say, how are you brother? But you really wanna kill them. That's what I think giving a holy kiss means. It's not about figuring out whether or not we should kiss each other in the twenty first century. K?
45:13 Something much deeper than that. And I think we have biblical examples of what an unholy kiss is. One of the main ones is Joab here. And so we come to second Samuel 20 again. And see here in verse 10, but Amasa did not observe the sword.
45:35 Right? And we continue in verse eleven, and one of Joab's young men took a stand by Amasa and said, whoever favors Joab and whoever is for David, let him follow Joab. And Amasa lay wallowing in his blood in the highway, and anyone who came by seeing him stopped. 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. When he was taken out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab to pursue Sheba, the son of Bithi.
46:14 And so the sight of this man's murder was just horrific. There he is wallowing in his blood, and these men who are called to pursue Sheba couldn't move forward because they were absolutely stunned by what just happened. Like, we just killed our commander. Specifically, Joab just killed our commander, and they were they were paralyzed, perhaps by the the the sheer evil of what just took place. And the man realized it.
46:42 He's like, okay, this is obviously hindering us. So he wraps his body and he throws him out to a field, out of sight, out of mind. Right? And that's what they try to do in Canada. I don't know what happens here.
46:54 I don't go to gas stations too, too often, I guess. But when you cigarettes behind these drawers. And they think they thought psychologically, if you don't see the cigarettes, then you're not going to want to ask for cigarettes. You're not going to be as tempted to want to smoke. And so they try all these ways of of keeping these things out of your vision so that you would not entertain it further.
47:20 And so we see here that there is an obvious obstacle here with this evil. And so let's just try to bury the evil. And, we don't want Joab to be reconsidered as our new leader. And so, let's just hide away the evidence and let's just move forward. And people today are willing to ignore the evil that others commit because they promise so much.
47:40 That's why people are willing to follow so many politicians in certain directions and are willing to follow so many celebrities in their way of thinking, and they're willing to look over all these other evil things because they want something else, and that person has something to offer. And that's exactly what happens. Right? They follow Joab, verse 14, and Sheba passed through all the tribes of Israel to Abel or Abel of Beth Mahakah, and all the Bichrites assembled and followed him in. How many tribes joined Sheba when he first said, we have no portion in David, and we have no inheritance in the son of Jesse?
48:22 10. 10. And no more than three days and a little bit, when we are reintroduced to Sheba, what did the support dwindle down to? Look at this. And Sheba passed through all the tribes of Israel.
48:39 And look, and all the Bichrites assembled and followed him in. The only people that followed him were the people of his own clan. You went from 10 tribes down to people from your own family. Not very impressive. Maybe he wasn't as persuasive Absalom was.
49:00 We don't know. I'd like to believe that in great part, David's swiftness in dealing with Sheba hindered him from becoming more effective and organized and tried to convince and persuade others to join him. The willingness of David not to delay any longer, but to deal with this leaven right away, perhaps contributed to his early success. And you and I should have the very same attitude when it comes to all the other obstacles in our Christian life. When sin sin is in seed form, when it's just a thought that keeps reoccurring and visiting you, when it keeps you up at night, when it has you browsing on the Internet, when it has you looking on things where you know where this can lead to, but you just want to, out of curiosity, know something.
49:55 When you see an issue at hand relationally and you can sense the tension. When somebody comes in and I have doctrinal level or or leaven or moral leaven and it doesn't seem to be a problem at first, but you can you can sense it. Have the attitude of David. We must deal with it immediately. I must conquer this now.
50:17 I must see the threat for what it is. Sheba was not that big of a threat at this point, but David had enough insight to realize that if we don't get a hold of him, it will be worse than what Absalom did. And we need the wisdom of God's word to be able to filter all that we see, all that we experience, all that visits us, all the problems around us, and to know when to execute, when to refrain, and when to jump on the opportunity. And again, you're not listen. Hey, this is not gonna apply to you unless you have a revelation of the warfare that you're in.
50:51 It's not. If you just think individually and you don't think beyond your own life, if you think that being a Christian simply means to have an easier life than those wicked people there that are banging their heads against the wall and can't figure out what a woman is, your Christian life is gonna be extremely hindered. You got to look beyond that and see how God frames your life, and then you'll be able to understand and evaluate the things in your life. So this man wasn't very successful. And I think in great part, he realized that Joab was on his tail.
51:22 David did not hesitate to jump and to reach him, and so he he fled. He flees rather and he goes into this one city called Abel and he tries to hide there. Now look what happens. And all the men who were with Joab came and besieged them in Abel of Beth Maca. They cast up a mount against the city and it stood against the rampart, and they were battering the wall to throw it down.
51:48 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.
52:05 And he answered, I'm listening. And she said, they used to say in former times, let them but ask counsel at Abel, and so they settle the matter. I am one of those who are peaceable and faithful in Israel. You seek to destroy a city that is mother a mother in Israel. Why will you swallow up the heritage of the Lord?
52:25 I just love this interaction. You have this woman with no name, and she appears on the scene, and she deals with this bloodthirsty man who probably had the blood of amethyst still staining his hands. And she goes, Where's Joette? Joette, come here. And Joette comes, and she goes, you're willing to listen to yourself.
52:45 Yeah. Yeah. I'm willing to listen. It's just like this strange shift of authority. Right?
52:50 And so she's like confronting, but we're told she's a wise woman. And there there are there are elements of wisdom here that we can we can apply to our own lives. Notice the humility of this woman. She didn't yell at Joab. She didn't curse Joab.
53:05 She didn't insult Joab. She said, are you willing to listen to me? Are you willing to listen to your servant? And so she submits herself and with a specific tone is able to win his attention. I know.
53:20 You're hot blooded, and you think the louder you are and the more force you use and the more intimidation you have, the more persuasive you'll be. That's not wisdom. This woman is wise. And so she gets this man's attention, and he has she has his ear. And he says in verse 20, Joab answered, far be it from me.
53:39 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 him alone, and I will withdraw from the city. And the woman said to Joab, behold, his head shall be thrown to you over the wall. Who is this lady?
54:02 Then the woman went to all the people in her wisdom, and they cut off the head of Sheba, the son of Bithi, and threw it out to Joab. So he blew the trumpet, and they dispersed from the city every man to his home, and Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king. So much to unpack here, which I won't for the sake of time. But there's one point that I want to drive. Here you have Sheba run into this fortified city with his little clan.
54:28 Obviously, they convinced the city to hide there and to bar out anybody, namely Joab and David's men to enter in. Joab sees this and he says, you know what? Let's let's create a siege. And what a siege was, an army surrounding a city and you were essentially try to starve them out. You wouldn't let anybody go in.
54:46 You wouldn't let anybody go out. Let them run out of food. Let them run out of water and then eventually they'll surrender. That's what a siege is. But he doesn't even wait for that.
54:54 He creates a siege, and he's like, let's just tear the wall down. And so they begin to ram against the wall. This woman's walls are probably shaking. Who knows? She She obviously hears about it, comes and confronts David or confronts Joab.
55:09 Why are you gonna destroy this whole city? What's the issue? Well, you have a guy in there that needs to be given up, and so we're we're willing to cease from this. Destruction doesn't have to come to this city if you're just willing to give up Sheba, that worthless man, and we will move on. Done.
55:28 She doesn't wait another day. She doesn't wait another moment. She goes to the other people of that city and she says, let's just give up his head. If we don't give up Sheba, we're all dead. We're all finished.
55:38 And this beautiful home of ours, this beautiful city with a glorious reputation will be brought to rubble. There is no hesitation. They gave up Sheba. And the lesson is this, that when sin enters into our lives as represented by Sheba, it wants to make a home with us. And you and I have to make a decision to harbor that sin or to give up that sin.
56:04 And if we choose to justify our sin, just like they could have justified Sheba, then you and I too will know further destruction that could have been avoided if we had just made a decision to give it up. And when you choose to give up sin, make sure that you do so with the decisiveness and the promptness that this woman displays. How do you deal with sin? You don't negotiate with it. You don't try to come up with a deal with it.
56:36 You cut off its head. You're not living anymore. You're not supposed to be here. The longer you stay here, the more destructive it will be for us. You're out of here.
56:48 And with a collective effort, they put Sheba to death, and they resumed in their peace and joy undisturbed from the anointed one's discipline expressed through Joab. Be that aggressive. Don't tolerate it. Don't let it live another day. Go for the jugular, and you will know blessing.
57:12 Now what an interesting story. A guy wallowing in his blood on the side of the street, another man losing his head, a wise woman engaging in a conversation with another murder. Isn't the Bible exciting? Who says the Bible is boring? Verse 23.
57:31 And, again, it seems like a very strange way to end this chapter, but it's not. It's strategic. Now Joab was in command of all the army of Israel. And Benaiah, the son of Jehodiah or Jehoiada, was in command of the Kerethites and the Pelethites. And Adaram was in charge of the forced labor.
57:48 And Jehoshaphat, the son of Ahilad, was the recorder. And Sheba was secretary. And Zarak and Abiathar were priests. And Ira the j Jairite was also David's priest. That's an interesting last verse, isn't it?
58:02 And Ira the Jairite was also David's priest. The NASB would say a priest to David. There isn't much commentary on that. You know what some would say? That there is something here about Ira playing a role in David's life as a spiritual mentor.
58:22 He was a priest to David or David's priest. Now if that's true, I think that's quite fascinating that even a man like David who had such a connection with God still had somebody in his life speaking into his life, perhaps providing instruction and counsel. Now if that's true for David, you spiritual person. Right? How much more you and I do we need overseers in our lives?
58:47 Do we need mature believers who can speak into us and to guide us and correct us and watch over us? You will never graduate in your spirituality. You will never graduate from accountability. And your greatest accountability, yes, is the fear of God because your accountability partner can't go with you in certain places. But still, God has instituted that you and I would have people to encourage us and warn us and love us and speak into our lives.
59:14 You can never outgrow that. And the moment you actually think you can is where you're in spiritual danger. But there's more here. And these are the kind of verses that were just like you know, everything was so exciting and we're winding down so you doze off and you don't really consider the details. But listen to the application here.
59:36 Look at verse 23. Now Joab was in command of all the army of Israel. What? I thought it was Amasa. Well, Amasa is no longer there.
59:45 Well, what about Abishai? Well, it doesn't matter because Joab took over. Joab forcefully took back his position. What he always defended, what he always longed for, he now has again. Was it through just means?
1:00:00 Was it through a fair election? Was it through reconciliation with David? No. It was through bloodshed. This man was promoted to the very existence of his life.
1:00:14 The very reason why he lived. What he prized more than anything else. By killing somebody. Is that fair? No.
1:00:22 And we live in a very sinful world. Whereas you peek through this window and you look out and you see how evil and perverse men with great power or great ability don't get punished for this and they get promoted, are not shunned for their iniquity, they're celebrated, are not hindered in their financial gain, they expand and they blossom. And it doesn't seem right. Well, would you expect anything less in a very sinful broken world? But what we see with Joab here in his self promotion, unbothered, unchallenged by anybody, What we see with Joab here is what we will see with all men who choose to live in sin.
1:01:08 Joab has a day of reckoning. There is a precise appointment with justice for Joab, and there will be for every single person who is outside of Christ. No matter how well they seem to be doing, no matter how unbothered and unchallenged they are in this life, it's only in this life. There is a time coming where the king will have the final say. Not king David, king Jesus.
1:01:38 And Ecclesiastes tells us, though the consequences of sin are not executed speedily, men continue in their iniquity. And Joab here seems to only be winning even though he's sinning, but that winning will come to an end. And the best place to be in this life is not the position that you desire. It's not the riches that you long for. It's not the praise that you get from men.
1:02:06 It's to be in the will of God. And that's what I see also with these final verses. We have a commentary of the restoration of the kingdom of David. Right? With all the turbulences with Absalom and then with Sheba, that brief flare, the author brings us to an acknowledgment that David's government still stands.
1:02:31 And that's the joy of those final verses. That the turbulences and the trials and the tests are many. If you are in the will of God like David was at this point in his life, nothing can overthrow, and nothing can take you away from God's purposes. Stay there. Stay there.
1:02:52 No matter how difficult it is, no matter the prices you pay, because God will hold you. He will keep you. You will be firm, and he will hold you till the end. Let's pray. Father, it is our great joy to explore the word of God.
1:03:15 And thank you again for illustrating to us that there is not one part of this Bible, your word, that is void of instruction. Some things, Lord, perhaps were repeated. Some things might have been new. Regardless, help us apply it. Help us revisit it.
1:03:42 Help us to examine ourselves. We wanna be in your will, and we pray that if this Bible study did anything, may it only inspire us again to love you and to give you our devotion afresh. Lord, if our hearts are cold tonight, if we've been lukewarm these past few days or weeks or months, or we're just caught up in the busyness or the silliness of this world, please, Lord, rescue us. Please, Lord, rescue us. Make us white hot to be a worshiper, to be active in obeying you, to know you were, to study it, to eat it.
1:04:29 And Lord, for things that we are entertaining, help us today with a new motivation to put it to death, to cut off its head, to not delay any further. That might be a relationship with somebody that we shouldn't be in a relationship with. That might be a habit that we have justified and our conscience has become numb towards it. That might be our delay in giving you our whole complete heart. That might be something that we know we ought to do, but we are not willing to do it because like David, we trust in our own wisdom than the wisdom that has been laid out for us.
1:05:05 But whatever the case may be, we we ask that this this Bible study would not just have been an entertaining and informative time, but that, Lord, it would have pressed on our hearts and that we would have sensed your voice because, oh, God, we need your voice. Oh, Lord, I don't wanna live without the Holy Spirit's influence. I pray that that would be the desire of every person that you would be real to us, that you would be close to us, that we would walk with you, Lord. Oh, rescue us if we are dry. Fill our cups and let us overflow with love again.
1:05:40 We look to you now as we close, as we sing together the conclusion of this evening. Oh, God, may it only enrapture our hearts to be madly in love with Christ. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. You know, there's a little verse.
1:06:03 Ready for Bible study part two? There's a little verse in that chapter that I love. You know, the thing with Bible study and you can stand if you want. Because we're gonna sing in a moment. But it says here, In verse two of that same chapter, so all the men of Israel withdrew from David and followed Sheba the son of Bihri.
1:06:37 But the men of Judah followed their king steadfastly from the Jordan to Jerusalem. I love that verse. The majority of the tribes walked away, but Judah, it says here, they steadfastly followed their king. Steadfastly, uninterrupted, unchanging, unwavering devotion to the king despite the divisions, despite the let downs, despite people's issues. You know how many people become unsteadfast when people from their own group cause problems or create division?
1:07:13 You know, trials do a lot of things. They expose people's wickedness, and they expose people's faith. I've seen that in my own life. I've seen people's true colors surface when there are real problems among the people of God. And I've seen people shine bright for the glory of Christ in the darkest moments of their faith.
1:07:37 And as you sing tonight, if you're a serious follower of Christ, I want you to ask the Lord, no matter who walks away, I want to be steadfast to my king. You gotta determine that. That is the level of discipleship that Jesus requires just as the ABCs of discipleship. If anyone would be my disciple, you gotta say, love you, mom. Love you, dad.
1:08:03 Brother, sister, friends that I grew up with. If you're not coming with me, I'm going alone. That is the quality of discipleship that Christ requires on a basic level, And I pray that that would be the caliber of Christians in this place. Let's sing to the Lord together.
