Would you turn to 2 Samuel chapter
12? Verse 26 through verse 31, 2
Samuel chapter 12. And Joab fought against Rabah
of the children of Amnon and took the royal city. And Joab
sent messengers to David and said, I fought against Rabah
and have taken the city of waters. He'd cut off their water supply.
Now therefore gather the rest of the people together and encamp
against the city and take it lest I take the city and it be
called after my name. I don't want the glory. I want
you to have the glory. And David gathered all the people
together and went to Rabah and fought against it and took it.
And he took their king's crown from off his head. The weight
whereof was a talent of gold with the precious stones. And
it was set on David's head. And he brought forth the spoil
of the city in great abundance. And in this next verse, we have
the only time that we ever read of the Israelites torturing people. And he indeed tortured people
at this time. Let's read verse 31. And he brought forth the people
that were therein, the Ammonites, and put them under saws, and
under harrows of iron, and under axes of iron, and made them pass
through the brick kiln, the oven where bricks were made. And thus
did he unto all the cities of the children of Ammon. So David
and all the people returned unto Jerusalem." Let's pray together. Lord, we come into your presence
in Christ's blessed name and we ask in his name that you would
be pleased to give us hearing ears, cause your gospel to be
preached. Lord, we ask that you would have mercy on us and
have favor toward us and forgive us of our sins for Christ's sake.
and give us the grace to honor you for Christ's sake. May his name be exalted. Will
you be with all your people wherever they meet together for your gospel
to be preached. We ask that you would be with
our friends that are away, that you keep them by your grace.
Lord, enable us to walk in lowliness and humility, trusting thy son. In his name we pray, amen. I've got to say that I, to some
extent, struggled with this passage of scripture because this is
the only place in all the Bible where the children of Israel
tortured their enemies. I mean, they tortured them. Look
at verse 31 again. And he brought forth the people
that were therein and put them under saws. He started cutting
them with saws and under harrows of iron. hoes, and under axes
of iron, and made them pass through the brick kiln. And thus did
he unto all the cities of the children of Ammon. So David and
all the people returned unto Jerusalem." Now, what is my response
to that? Well, the first thing is this,
the world we're living in is a dark place. It's a dark place. I don't know what else to say
about it. And a believer can act very cruelly. This was cruelty on David's part.
The way you look at it, to put people through this, this was
barbaric, and this was cruelty. But this was also, under the
hand of God, a punishment of the Ammonites, a very cruel people. And the Lord was using this to
punish them. Look in 1 Samuel 11. Then Nahash, the Ammonite, this is
what the children of Ammon were guilty of. 1 Samuel 11 verse
one. Then Nahash the Ammonite came
up and encamped against Jabesh Gilead. And all the men of Jabesh
said unto Nahash, now these were Israelites, make a covenant with
us and we'll serve thee, we'll surrender to you, and we'll be
your servants. They didn't want to go into battle
with these men. Verse 2, And Nahash the Ammonite answered
them, On this condition will I make a covenant with you. that
I may thrust out all your right eyes and lay it for reproach
on all of Israel." Now, this is the way you can be my servant
if you let me put out all your right eyes. Now, how cruel is
that? How heartless is that? How evil is that? This man said,
yeah, I'll accept your conditions of surrender on the, if you let
me put out your right eye. Now, I can't, how cruel? And
Saul delivered him. This was the best thing Saul
ever did. Now turn to 2 Samuel 10. We looked at this a few weeks
ago. 2 Samuel 10, beginning in verse 1. And it came to pass
after this that the king of the children of Ammon died. And Hanuah,
his son, reigned in his stead. Then said David, I will show
kindness unto Hanun, the son of Nashash, as his father showed
kindness unto me. And David sent to comfort him
by the hand of his servants for his father. And David's servants
came into the land of the children of Ammon. And the princes of
the children of Ammon said unto Hanun their lord, Thinkest thou
that David doth honor thy father that he hath sent comforters
unto thee? Hath not David rather sent his servants unto thee to
search the city and to spy it out and to overthrow it? Wherefore
Hanun took David's servants and he tried to completely humiliate
them. He shaved off half of their beards
and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks,
and sent them away." Now this was an act of cruelty. So the
point is, God was using David to punish these men for their
cruelty. And whatever God does is just
and right. And I find such comfort in this
Whatever God does is just and right. And He doesn't have some
kind of standard He's trying to live up to. It's just and
right because He does it. If He does it, it's right. And by God's grace, we bow to
that. Whatsoever the Lord does is right. And when He allowed this to happen
to the children of Ammonites, it's a part of His justice. God
is justice. I love this scripture. in Exodus
34 where he said, I will by no means clear the guilty. Doesn't that make you admire
the Lord? Under no circumstances whatsoever will I clear the guilty. God is just in how we admire,
how he has made a way to be just I love that scripture, justice
and judgment are the habitation of thy throne. That's who God
is. He's absolutely just, He's absolutely
righteous, and how we admire the way He's made a way to be
absolutely just and not to clear the guilty and yet justify guilty
sinners in a way that honors His justice, honors His holy
law, and makes salvation sure and complete for every believer.
I never get over I'm still thrilled with how God can be just and
justify the ungodly. To him that worketh not, but
believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted
for righteousness. Now verse, back to our text in
2 Samuel chapter 12, verse 26. And Joab fought against Rabah
of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city. Now this
is what David should have been doing. You look back in chapter
11, verse 1. And it came to pass, after the
year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle,
that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel.
And they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabah.
But David tarried still at Jerusalem." Now, Joab was doing what David
should have been doing all along. And we see what happened as a
result of him not doing what he was supposed to be doing.
That's where the issue with where Uriah and Bathsheba and implicating
Joab and sin and the royal mess he made of everything, and the
sorrow he experienced for really the rest of his life. As a matter
of fact, all the way up to chapter 20 in 2 Samuel chapter 2, you
read of the trials David brought on himself, the horrible things
that took place in his family because of what he did with Bathsheba
and Uriah and Joab. Now, this is a reminder to us
while I'm so thankful that my sin is blotted out and when I'm
brought into glory, I'm justified and there's no guilt to remember.
There's nothing there. It's also true that our sin brings
consequences in this life, doesn't it? And we see that so clearly
with David. Now, Joab was doing what he should
have been doing, verse 28. Joab says, now therefore gather
the rest of the people together, and encamp against the city,
and take it, lest I take the city, and it be called after
my name. Now, he won the victory, Joab
did, but he wanted to make sure David got the credit and the
glory, because he knew only David should have the glory. And this
picture's the gospel. You know that. He wanted David
to have all the glory. Now, some think that this had
taken place from before the confrontation of Nathan. And this is not given
in the chronological events of chapter 12. I think this happened
before Nathan. And the reason they think this
is because David, they say, was in such a backslidden condition
that he could be so torturous to these people. And that the
way he had the crown put on his head, I mean, there's some pride
in just the way he took the king's crown and put it on his own head
and so on. I don't know. I don't know. I
don't know if that's the truth about the chronological events
of the way things happen, but I know that the Lord's in control
of all this. And I can rest in that. Whatever
David was going through at this time, the Lord was in control
of all this. And Joab knew this. David was the one who ought to
get the glory. And he said, you come and destroy
these people. You take credit for this victory
because I want you to get the glory. Verse 28, now therefore
gather the rest of the people together and encamp against the
city, lest it be called after my name. I don't want to take
any glory in this. And David gathered all the people
together and went to Rabah and fought against it and took it.
And he won. And he took their king's crown
from off his head. The weight whereof was a talent of gold
with the precious stones. And it was set on David's head.
And he brought forth the spoil of the city in great abundance.
He enriched Israel because of the spoil of the city. And he
brought forth the people that were therein, and put them under
saws, and under harrows of iron, and under axes of iron, and made
them pass through the brick kiln. And thus he did unto all the
cities of the children of Ammon. So David and all the people returned
unto Jerusalem." And after this, we're going to have such a series
of trials that he went through. I mean, in the very next chapter,
one of his sons rapes one of his daughters. And one of his
other sons murders the son who raped the daughter. Now that's
the kind of stuff that he had going on in his house after this. It's really a lot of us depressing
when you look at this, but may the Lord enable us to see the
Lord in control of every one of these events and working out
His purposes for His glory and for our good. But the point I
want us to dwell on is there's only one name to be honored. And they make an issue of this.
There is only one name to be honored. Not Joab's, Not anybody
else's, but David's. And this pictures the son of
David, his name. Now, I want us to talk about
him. I want us to think about his name, the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ. I love that scripture in Philippians
chapter two, beginning in verse nine, where it says, wherefore
thou has given him a name above every name. Now, why is that
wherefore? What's that about? Because he humbled himself. Humility is so beautiful in anybody,
isn't it? But the Lord humbled himself
and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Wherefore, because of the achievements he accomplished in humbling himself
and becoming obedient to death, even the death of the cross,
wherefore God hath given him A name that's above every name.
God has highly exalted him and given him a name which is above
every name that is the name of Jesus. I love his name, Jesus. You know, I always want to use
that name with reverence. I hate it when people talk about
Jesus this, Jesus that. They use his name as if it's
somebody, you know, any human being. No, he's the Lord Jesus
Christ. But his name Jesus, this is a
very special name. Thou shalt call his name Jesus,
for he shall save his people from their sins. Doesn't that
make his name precious to you? That's what I need. I need to
be saved from my sins. Lord, save me. Save me from my
sins. In that same passage of scripture,
he's called Immanuel, which being interpreted is God with us. Not God against us, not even
God above us, but God with us. What a name. Surely his name only is to be
exalted and we're to be like Joab, very careful to give his
name all the glory. Let me show you a passage of
scripture in Psalm 106. This is one of my personal favorite
passages of scripture. I love this passage of scripture. Verse six, this confession of
sin. We have sinned. with our fathers,
we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly. Now there's no justification
for their sin, no reason for it, just a flat confession. We've committed, we've done wickedly,
there's no excuse for any of this. Our fathers understood
not thy wonders in Egypt, they were stupid and so are we. They
remembered not the multitude of thy mercies, they were ungrateful,
and so are we. But they provoked him at the
sea, even at the Red Sea. They were provoking people. You
know what it is for someone, their sinfulness and their hypocrisy
provokes you? You think, how can they be that
way? Well, that's because that's the way me and you are. Verse
eight, nevertheless, he saved them, why? for His name's sake. That name that's above every
name. You know that's the only reason?
When I confess my sin and ask the Lord to forgive me and save
me, I say, do this for His name's sake. I don't have any reason
in me. Do this for his name's sake. Now that's the preciousness
of the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And Joab was so careful
to make sure he got all the praise because salvation came for his
name's sake. Now, I wanna talk about some of the names of the
Lord. He's got a lot of them in the scripture that he calls
himself. Elohim. Elohim. You know what that means? That means God is the only object
of worship. Elohim. He is to be worshiped
and he's to be worshiped for who he is without respect to
what he does for me or you. He's worthy of worship. If he
sends me to hell, you know what? He's still worthy of worship. He's Elohim. the only object
of worship. Amen? Amen. We really believe
that. And then he's named El, and that
speaks of his power. He's omnipotent. El, the omnipotent
one. The Lord God omnipotent reigneth. El, the all-powerful one. And I love to think about his
power. I think of his power in creation. how He spaked the world
into existence. I think of His power in the incarnation
when God became flesh. What power there is in that!
Think of the power of His holiness when He never sinned and kept
the law perfectly. Think of the power of His death
where He actually put away sin. Think of the power of His resurrection
when He raised Himself from the dead. Think of the power of His
providence, how He controls everything. Think of the power of His Spirit
when He gives me a dead sinner life and actually makes me to
be perfectly conformed to the image of Christ. What power?
El, the all-powerful one. And then there's El Shaddai,
God all-sufficient. You know what that means? That means He has no needs. That
means he's sufficient in himself. He doesn't need you. He doesn't
need me. He has no needs. He's God all-sufficient. But I tell you this, he's all
you need. He's all I need. Jesus Christ is made to me all
I need. All I need. He alone is all my
plea. He is all I need. Wisdom, righteousness,
and power. Holiness forevermore. My redemption
full and sure. He is all I need. El Shaddai. And then his name
found in Exodus chapter 3. I am that I am. I don't know how to pronounce
it. Hey-ya, hey-ya, I am that I am, self-existent, I save in
the manner which I save. Now who God is, is seen in how
He saves. If you want to know who God is,
find out how He saves. You find out how He saves and
you'll find out who He is. I am that I am, the immutable
one. I love the way He Not I was,
or I could be, or should be, or want to be, or will be, but
I am that I am. Always the same. I am that I
am. And it seems in the scriptures
that his favorite name is Jehovah. You know what Jehovah means? God is my Savior. God is my Savior, Jehovah. And there are eight different
ways that Jehovah is used as God is my Savior. You've heard
these, but let me give them again. Number one, Jehovah Rapha. I am the Lord that healeth thee. The whole need not a physician.
But they that are sick, Lord, I'm sick. I'm sick. I'm sick. I need a great physician. I tell you what, if you're ever
really sick, you're interested in a doctor, aren't you? If you're
really sick. Now, they're fine if you ever need them when you're
not sick. But man, when you're sick, it takes a different look.
He healed them that had need of healing. I'm sick, Lord. Heal
me of my disease of sin. I am the Lord that healeth thee. And the next, there's Jehovah
Nisi, the Lord, our banner. He is our message, the Lord,
our banner. And then thirdly, Jehovah Shammah. Jehovah Shammah, the Lord is
present. Now this isn't really speaking
of His omnipresence because He's always present in the sense of
His omnipresence. I mean, the universe is contained
in Him. He's everywhere, no doubt about
that, but this is talking about His gracious presence. If we
have the presence of the Lord here this morning, His gracious
presence where He is pleased to speak through His word, does
it matter who's here and who's not here as long as He's here?
Oh, we rejoice in His presence. And I want to know that He says
to me, by His grace, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. Oh, to have His presence. Isn't
it wonderful when you feel His presence? But you know what?
When you don't feel His presence, His presence is still there with
all His people. Because He's promised, I will
never leave thee, nor forsake thee, so that we may boldly say,
the Lord is my helper. I'll not fear what man shall
do unto me. And then Jehovah Shalom, the
Lord our peace. The only peace that I feel, and
I do feel peace from this, is that he is my peace. That he
made my peace with God. Now, you know what that gives
me? Peace. If you put any part of salvation,
any part dependent upon me, I have no peace. I mean, I wig out. I think, oh, what if I, maybe
I'm not saved, maybe I'll end up going to hell. But if I hear
that everything that God requires of me is in Christ, oh, what
peace we have. The Lord, our peace. And then there's Jehovah-Raha,
the Lord is my shepherd. Don't you love the 23rd Psalm?
The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He maketh me
to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still
waters. He restores my soul. He leads
me in paths of righteousness for His namesake. Yea, though
I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no
evil, for Thou art with me. Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort
me. Thou preparest a table before
me in the presence of my enemies. My cup runneth over. Surely,
goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. and
I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever because the
Lord is my shepherd. Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord will
provide. Father, here's the fire, here's
the wood, where's the lamb for burnt sacrifice? Son, my son,
the Lord will provide himself a sacrifice. You can't provide
anything You believe that? You can't provide anything that
he would accept, but he's the one who does the providing. He
provides the sacrifice. He provided himself as the sacrifice,
and he provided this sacrifice for himself that you might be
complete in him. All God requires of you right
now, he looks to his son for. He does the providing. Jehovah said, Genu, the Lord,
our righteousness. I love them all, but I don't
love any of them any more than this. This is the name wherewith he
shall be called, the Lord our righteousness. This is the name
wherewith she shall be called. That's talking about us, every
believer. This is our name, the Lord our righteousness. And that gives me such confidence
because the Lord's my righteousness. Oh my. And the last is Jehovah
Kadesh. It's found in Ezekiel 2012, and
I don't know why this one has always been left out. People
always talk about these seven, but this is, in some respects,
the most complete definition of salvation. I am the Lord that
sanctifies thee. A sanctification is salvation. People talk about sanctification.
They say, well, you're justified, then you're sanctified. Sanctified
represents all of salvation. God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Holy Spirit. God the Father sanctifies us
in election. God the Son sanctifies us in redemption. They're holy. God the Spirit sanctifies us
in regeneration. This is God the Father, God the
Son, and God the Holy Spirit. I love the way Elohim, that first
name of God I gave, is given in the plural. He's God the Father. He's God
the Son. He's God the Holy Spirit. He's
Elohim. We'd never know that unless God revealed it to us.
And all His salvation has seen His sanctification when the Father
elected us, the Son redeemed us, the Holy Spirit regenerates
us. Now, Joab was careful that only
David's name would be exalted. May we be even more careful that
only the Lord's name is exalted. David put it this way in Psalm
115 verse one, not unto us, not unto us, O Lord, but unto thy
name, give glory for thy mercy and for thy truth's sake. Amen.