And David comforted Bathsheba,
his wife, and went unto her, and lay with her, and she had,
and she bare a son. And he called his name Solomon,
and the Lord loved him. And he sent by the hand of Nathan
the prophet, and he called his name Jedidiah, because of the
Lord. And Joab fought against Rabbah
of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city and Joab
sent messengers to David and said I have fought against Rabbah
and have taken the city of waters 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 and David
gathered all the people together and went to Rabbah 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 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 did he unto all the cities of the children
of Ammon. So David and all the people returned
unto Jerusalem. Now if you're thinking, what in the world is Chris going
to say about that? Then you're thinking like I was
thinking when I first looked at this. But let's take it a
step at a time and see if the Lord will teach us of his son. Verse 24, David comforted Bathsheba,
his wife. I want you to think about this
verse now. David comforted Bathsheba, his
wife, and went into her and lay with her. And I couldn't get away from
something as I read that. I wanted to see that as a beautiful
thing. And that's what a husband should
do. He comforted his wife. She had just lost her baby. And
David himself was very Very sad over that and very affected
by that baby dying. But Bathsheba had born that child
and David went and comforted her. And I couldn't get away from
this thought. We ruin everything. Even the most beautiful things
in this world, we ruin them. Even that which is beautiful
and wholesome and precious things are defiled because of our sinfulness. You would think that this is
a wonderful scene if we didn't know what we know. It would be under other circumstances,
a beautiful and precious thing. And in a sense it still was. What happened in this part of
verse 24 is in itself, now in this part of the text, if as
I said we didn't know what we know, it's a tender and beautiful,
it might make you thank God that he has ordained marriage and
that he's arranged so that a man and a woman are a comfort to
one another in a unique way. They are to one another what
no one else can be to either one of them. God saw that it
was not good for man to be alone. So he made her and helped me.
We see the beauty in that. But we do know what we know.
And it makes us a little bit sick at the same time, doesn't
it? You can't help but wonder what
Bathsheba is thinking and feeling. in all of this. She didn't enter
into this relationship willingly. I don't want to read anything
into this but you certainly couldn't blame Bathsheba if she didn't
look at David as her Prince Charming. You reckon? Is David still forcing
himself on her? Is that what this is? I don't
know for sure. Can she love the man who murdered
her husband? And the situation that she needs
to be comforted with regard to is a direct result of David's
sin. We don't often know that and we shouldn't speculate about
things like that. When the disciples asked about
that blind man in John chapter 9, they said, you know, somebody
sinned, this man was born blind. The Lord said, he was born blind
so that my glory could be shown in him. We're not to speculate,
but when God tells you, Because you've given great occasion to
the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme this baby is going to die then
it's not speculation anymore is it? And Bathsheba knew that. So we ruin everything don't we? Even the most beautiful and precious
and wonderful thing. Now that sounds very negative
and you know Chris doesn't enjoy anything it's all ruined. No
I do. I thank God. things are still precious and
wonderful to the extent that the Lord will
keep our flesh out of it. Can David really be a comfort
when he's the cause of it? Probably to some extent, but
you see why I ask that question. And the next phrase, and she
bare a son and he called his name Solomon. You know what I thought about
when I read that part? She bare a son and he called
his name Solomon. In Ecclesiastes 3.11 the baby
that was born called Solomon here When he became a man, he
wrote in Ecclesiastes 3.11, he, God, hath made everything beautiful. We mess everything up, but he
makes it beautiful in his time, everything. He hath made everything
beautiful in his time. And we see the birth of Solomon
come out of all of this, and we have to praise God. And this is written, he hath
made everything beautiful in his time, is written in the context
of Ecclesiastes 3.1. Listen, to everything there's
a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven. A time
to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to
pluck up that which is planted. A time to kill and a time to
heal. A time to break down. and a time to build up. This
is true of God. There's a time for God to heal
and there's a time for him to break. There's a time for him
to kill. He said this baby is going to
die. Who do you think killed that baby? Oh, God wouldn't kill
a baby. Maybe not your God, but mine
will. And you're not going to worship
a God that won't kill a baby. Can't be done. Who in the world do you think
did it then or gave him life to begin with? A time to kill. There was a time
to kill. But a time to heal. Solomon's
born. And God sends a messenger. A time to weep. David wept for
a long time, didn't he? He would lay on the ground all
night weeping before the Lord and wouldn't even talk to anybody
or eat anything or be consoled. But there's also a time to laugh, a time to mourn, and a time to
dance. And then in that context, he
says, he has made everything beautiful in his time. If God does it, you mark this
down. If God does it, and if he didn't
do it, then who did? If God does it, it's beautiful. It's beautiful. Even in weeping there's beauty.
Because God has made it so for his purpose now. David did what
he did because he was an animal. A filthy animal, like we all
are by nature. But God meant it for good. And I use that language deliberately.
You recognize that language from Genesis. Because in Genesis chapter
50, this reminds us of that. What Joseph's brothers did to
him was cruel and evil. But Joseph understood. He said
in 5020 of Genesis, but as for you, talking to his brother,
you thought evil against me. But God meant it under good to
bring to pass as it is this day to save much people alive. God made it beautiful in his
time. Now if you had gone to Joseph
while he was in prison, falsely accused, and said, Joseph, this
is beautiful. He'd have said, get out of my
sight, you're crazy. But in his time, God made it
beautiful, even to Joseph. The cross is the ultimate example
of this. How dark, there's no greater
example. It's the ultimate display of
man's evil and the ultimate display of God's goodness and love at
the same time. the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. And then look at the last part
of the verse. And the Lord loved him. It's time to laugh now. It's time to dance now. They
have another child and the Lord loved him. Can you think of anything
more wonderful than that? If the Lord told you tonight
concerning one of your children I love him. I love him. Can you think of anything better
than that? You want to talk that tonight? Yeah, me neither. And God made sure David knew
about it. You talk about healing. There's
a time to break. There's a time to heal. Did David love Bathsheba? I don't
know. I can't answer that. I don't think it was love that
initiated all this. Did Bathsheba love David? I don't know. It's complicated,
isn't it? What passes for love with us
is complicated. But this is simple. God loved
Solomon. That's simple, isn't it? Pure.
And remember this, now every blessing is traced back to this.
Every, remember how we always ask, you know. How you doing? You know, how
you doing? Well, I'm doing good. The Lord saved me. Why? Well,
the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross for me. Why? You keep
asking why, you know where you're going to end up. Because God
purposed it. Why? You end up right here. God loved
me. Now could God have arranged in
his divine providence for Solomon to be brought into this world
under other circumstances, different circumstances? I reckon so, don't
you? But he didn't. Solomon is the product of evil
lust, pride, because as king David just felt like he could
do what he wanted and he exercised what he thought was his right.
Betrayal, cold-blooded murder, If there hadn't been all of that,
there wouldn't have been a Solomon. And the Lord loved Solomon. In verse 25 it says, He sent
by the hand of Nathan the prophet. Now that's God sending word to
David. No other way that can be understood.
God sent his prophet Nathan to David and said, I love this boy. You know how I know that? Because
of the next phrase. And David called his name Jedidiah. You know what that means? Beloved
of the Lord. Why did he call him that? Because
of the Lord, that's why. He wouldn't have called him that
otherwise. Now you think about, boy, you talk about Some teaching
in this now. God sent a message to David by
the hand of Nathan the prophet. I love this child. I love him. No other way. David can't name
him what he did unless he tells him that. And he called him Jedidiah, beloved
of the Lord. And first of all, what grace
after what had just happened. With the first baby born to David
in Bathsheba. God not only gave them a child
that his eternal love is upon, but he told them about it. God
hadn't told me that. I know that now in some cases.
I know that about some of my loved ones, but not all. And this is rare
now. And we see in this that even
though the Lord imposed what he did, the death of that first
baby and the horror that David went through over it and Bathsheba
too. He did that because of David's
sin. God still loves David too. It's
clear that he does. He sent a special message to
him to comfort him regarding this
child. And boy, That'd be easy just to pass over, wouldn't it?
But what a wonderful, what a wonderful grace. I would love to know that
about all of those that I love, wouldn't you? Well, I want to
know, Lord. I've inquired, haven't you? I'm
looking into that. And what else is important? That
would make everything okay. You think about that. What else
is important about your children? Solomon's whole life, if that
was my boy, you know what I'd be thinking? I'd be thinking
all the things that I thought about my children, worried about
them and fretted and hurt for them and with them. But whenever
something happened that wasn't particularly good, and life is
full of that, but it would be different, wouldn't it? It would
be, oh, Solomon is very sick. I remember when Lauren got the
croup the first time. We didn't know croup from from
anything. Y'all should have warned, y'all
that already had kids should have warned us about that. We
thought she was dying. She's gasping for breath. And
I thought, boy, but you know what I'd have been thinking? In this case, boy, she's so sick,
but the Lord loves her. How could you not think that?
Every time you worried about something or something happened,
She's real sick, but the Lord loves her. And so it's going
to be fine. Oh, Solomon is willful and rebellious,
but the Lord loves him. The Lord loves him. Solomon is going to go out into
this terrible, evil world. I thought about my children,
boy, when they grow up and they go out into this world. But the
Lord loves them. Nothing would be the same And notice the last four words
of this verse here Verse 25 I guess it is. Yeah
because of the Lord Now many a child since this has been named
Jedidiah. I don't know any right now, but
I know That name has been used a lot since then and I'm sure
maybe You know, I suspect it's because they wanted the Lord
to love them. Don't you reckon? I mean, it's a Bible name. They
didn't just come up with it out of thin air. And finding out
what it meant, you know, oh, wow, that's beautiful. I'm going
to name him Jedediah. It's an old-fashioned name now.
But I suspect that's why somebody would name. But it only means
something if God names him that. You know? It's gotta be because
of the Lord. Or don't bother. Name him Steve. Right? I wouldn't recommend naming
a baby that. Necessarily. I think I'd wait
on the Lord in that. I sure do. David called him Jedediah
because of the Lord. Now that's a good reason to do
it. I think that's a good name in
this case, don't you? Religion loves to say, you know, the Lord
loves you. The Lord loves you just indiscriminately. Just throw
that out there to everybody. But they're overstepping their
bounds. And that's an understatement. That's putting it mildly. The
only way you can say that someone is loved by God is because of
the Lord. Because of Him. He's the cause
of that. He's the source of that. That
doesn't just happen. You can't just say that. If God
saves somebody, then you can say He loves them. And salvation
is by grace through faith. There are evidences of His love.
Faith in Christ. If you believe on Christ, truly
believe on the Son of God, then you're an object of the divine
love of God. There's no question about that.
But to say indiscriminately to all sinners, God loves you, is
not our prerogative. If it's because of the Lord,
then we will say it. Now David said of Solomon, you
are loved by God because God told him that. And God's love
we know is in Christ. God's love, if God's love is
in a sinner, that sinner will love God's son. Now there's an
evidence for you. Listen to what the Lord said
to the religious Jews in John 8 42. Jesus said unto them, if
God were your father, you would love me. For I proceeded forth
and came from God. Neither came I of myself, but
he sent me. Now, if God were your father,
what does it mean for God to be your father? Now they claimed
it. They said, you know, God is our
father. But he said, you're of your father, the devil. Now,
if you were going to define what it means to be someone's father,
what would be the first thing you'd say? It's not so much about
the biological, that's, you know, common to say. But more important than that,
I believe, is love. Love. certainly love listen to this
first john 3 1 behold what manner of love the father hath bestowed
upon us that we should be called the sons of god the reason we
can call ourselves his sons is because of his love you see that
that's what it means to be for him to be our father he loves
us and so what was the lord saying to those religious jews there
If we're called the sons of God as a direct result of the manner
of love He has for us, then what He's saying to those religious
Jews there in John 8 is this, if God loved you, you would love
Me. That's just plain, isn't it? If God loved you, you would love
Me. And He said to them in John 5,
you will not come to Me because I know you, he said, and you
have not the love of God in you. If God's love is in you and upon
you, you will love his son. Now, so that's the question.
Do you? Do you love his son? Then he
loves you. Because that's the only way that
happens. That's the only way that happens. Do you believe on him? Well, I want to know that. I
want to know that about me and I want to know that about those
that I love. But look at verse 26 and we'll...
This is where it gets a little, the narrative changes a little
bit. 26, Joab fought against Rabbah
of the children of Ammon and took the royal city. And Joab
sent messengers to David and said, I fought against Rabbah
and have taken the city of waters. 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. So you
can see what's going on here. Joab said, we've already taken
it. We defeated them. And that's what he said, right?
We've taken the city. But you show up now with everybody
else and go in there like you're taking it so that you'll get
the glory for it. So this is a long way from Saul
has slain his thousands and David his ten thousands. It's a long
way from that. And instead of the great warrior
king that David was, he's having Joab do all the work for him,
and David is staying home. We saw this in the first part
of 2 Samuel 11, verse 1. 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 Rebba. But
David tarried still at Jerusalem. And of course we know what happened
while David was lounging at home while these wars were being fought.
When kings were going out to battle, David was at home. And
here is the account of Joab doing that, which has led many to believe
that this happened before God confronted David with his sin
with Bathsheba. And it's a little bit confusing,
but, well, it is to me, it was to me, but probably not to you. But you see why it makes reference
to what we just read in chapter 11 verse 1 of Joab going out
and defeating the Ammonites. And that's what we're reading
about here. So many think that this took place, although it's
in the record after what happened with Bathsheba, many think chronologically
it happened before. And it explains why David is
still, doesn't seem to have just been woken up by the Lord in
these verses. And I don't know if that's true
or not. The thing about it is there's
just no way to know that and here's the thing about it. We're
idiots before God wakes us up and we're idiots after God wakes
us up. So it could have happened after just as easily. I don't
know. This may have been a process. Obviously they didn't destroy
all the Ammonites overnight. So all of this is kind of happening
in the same time frame and we're not sure completely about the
chronology of it. But David is not in a good place,
whenever it was. But David is a type of Christ
in that passage that we just read anyway. And it's a very
clear picture. There's not much honor in David
the man showing up after the battle is really already over
and taking the glory for it. Not much honor in that. But in
this, we see this, that whenever we do anything, we're represented
by Joab here, and the king is going to get the glory. And whenever
we do something, it doesn't matter what it is. If we accomplish
anything in this life, if we take the glory for it, Joab knew
that wouldn't be good. If Joab takes this city and calls
it Joabville or something, then it's going to cause confusion
and chaos and division in the kingdom. People are going to
be like, wait a minute, who is king? Who's in authority? Who
do we report to here? Even though David here is in
a position of weakness himself as a man, it would not be a good
idea for Joab to take any glory for triumphs won under the authority
of David, and he knew that. All is done in the name of the
king, and rightly so. There's our picture. Now for a whole nother reason,
It's never a good idea for you and I to take any glory at all
for anything. I don't care how hard you fought.
You don't get any glory for it and you don't deserve any. It's the same reason in reverse.
David didn't deserve really, in a sense, any of the glory
because he didn't do any of the fighting really. But for the
same reason in reverse, Christ does all the work. He does everything. He works in us to do what we
do. Gives us the will to do it and gives us the strength to
do it. He said, without me, you can do nothing. And that's just
the truth. We know that's right. We just
get it. We just show up. So you see, David kind of pictures
us here in a way. And Joab pictures Christ in that
he won the battle, he won the victory. But in another sense,
David pictures Christ in that the king's going to get the glory,
whether we like it or not. And in spiritual terms, he deserves
it. We're the ones that just showed
up. Right? So we can see that. The bottom
line is the King gets all the glory. Read Psalm 2 again. I
won't turn there. I have certain passages I turn
to so much. I know y'all can probably quote
them by heart now. Maybe I'll just have y'all do
that. Psalm 2. But God has set His King on His
holy hill of Zion. And His advice to sinners is
you better kiss Him. You better bow to Him. And acknowledge
his authority. Don't say we're going to cast
his cords from us. And we'll do as we please. As
the heathen rages against him. Kiss the son. He is exalted for
a reason. God said to Christ in verse 7
of that. Thou art my son. And then in
verse 12 he says kiss the son. Why? Because he's God's son. That's why. Because he's on the
throne. That's why David's going to get
the glory here. Just because of who he is. He's
the king. Joab went out of his way and
he went to great trouble to make sure David got all the glory.
It would have been easier just to go ahead and finish it. But
he pulls back and he arranges all this. And we've got to go out of our
way now and make sure and go to great trouble and suffer if
necessary to be sure that Christ gets the glory because he deserves
it. He's exalted for a reason. David
was given the glory simply because of who he was. He's King David. But also Christ is exalted because
of what he did Philippians 2, 8, and being found in fashion
as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross, wherefore God hath also highly
exalted him. Because everything he did was
perfect and holy and righteous in thought, word, and deed, up
to and including giving himself, making his very soul a sacrifice
for our sin, O Calvary, And wherefore he is exalted, because of who
he is. He's got son. That's why I kiss
my son, because he's the son. But also, because of what he
did. And we're going to praise him
forever. Remember Revelation 5 and 9, they sung a new song
saying, you're worthy. Thou art worthy. That's the song
of eternity. Why? Because you were slain. And it don't stop there. It don't
stop there. and has redeemed us. That's the
gospel. I remember when I was in religion
the pat answer for what's the definition of the gospel. The
gospel is the death, burial, resurrection of Jesus Christ. No that ain't it. That ain't
it. The gospel is not events. It's
a person. And what's left out of that most
important about Him is that He did what He came to do. The death,
burial, resurrection. Well, He died, was buried in
a rose, but did He save anybody? We're going to say worthy is
the Lamb forever because you died and redeemed us when you
did. It's the effectual. Why do we
preach effectual atonement, limited atonement? Because that's who
Christ is. That's why. Not because we just
differ with people or argue about doctrine. It's who he is. He
is God's lamb that takes away sin. That's who he is. He's not a martyr that tried
or did his best and left things up to anybody. You were slain
and redeemed us to God. We're going to be singing that
for a long time. There's your gospel right there.
Christ crucified. In the last few verses of this
chapter now, we see David again and not so good a light. Now, you remember they put them
under the saw and under the iron and made them walk through the
brick kiln, the oven that they used for firing brick so that
it would be strong. They tortured them in horrible
ways. There's just no way around it. We don't read of that concerning
Israel or one of the kings of Israel in any other place in
the scripture. Often David would conquer a people and they would
end up serving him. They would end up being servants
and many times they weren't spared
their lives but never tortured like that. That's brutal and
ugly. And I will say this, the Ammonites
richly deserved it. You remember the Ammonites now?
They're the ones that said, oh yeah, you could be, we'll make
a truce with you as long as we could put out all your right
eyes. And that, even worthless Saul
wouldn't stand for that. That even made him mad enough
to do something about it. And then of course David, the
king of Ammon had been kind to David when he was running from Saul. But then he died and his son
took the throne. David sent gifts to the son of
the king of Ammon because the king of Ammon had been kind to
David and so he sent a nice gift to his son who is now the king.
Of course his advisor said yeah he's sending these people with
these gifts because he's trying to spy on our land and he's going
to come attack us. So the Ammonite and you remember
they shaved off their beards and cut off their garments and
sent them away in shame and ridicule. So they richly deserved it. And
I know that has something to do with why David dealt with
them differently than he did other people. But it's hard to It's hard to read in any way. So though God is bringing this
upon the Ammonites, no question about that, David is still not seen in a good light here.
And we'll see in the next chapter and in other future chapters
how that David is going to suffer greatly in this life. because
of his sin. You remember that God told David
in verses 10 and 11 of this chapter how that his family would be
affected. It's not just that that baby is going to die, but
your family is going to be affected in unthinkable ways. And that's what we see play out
in this next chapter. And think about what a way to
suffer. And God is driving home to David
what he did here. David, what he did had to do
with family. And what he suffers is going
to have to do. And what more terrible way to suffer than for
your family to suffer? But even in all of this, we're
reminded, it's hard to think of all of that. And we'll see
David experience these things. But remember what David said
in 2 Samuel 23 5, listen to this carefully. Although my house, although my family be not so
with God. Yet he hath made with me an everlasting
covenant. And I know it hurt David to say
that. There's no doubt in my mind. What a horrible thing to
have to say. Although my house be not so with God. Yet he hath made with me an everlasting
covenant ordered in all things and sure. And I believe he said
that And what blesses me to be able to say that is this. When
you think about David and his life, I think he said it for
the same reason I would. Thank God I can't mess this up. David messed up a lot of things,
didn't he? But he can't mess that up. It's
ordered in all things and sure. And this is all my salvation
and all my desire, although he make it not to grow. And I'll tell you this, this
is not just David we're talking about tonight. Listen to this
carefully. I'm through. Isaiah 55, 1. Turn over there with me. I'll
close with just reading this. This is God's promise to all
who will hear him. You're hearing His gospel tonight.
Christ is all. He's going to get all the glory.
And His love is salvation. His covenant love is salvation.
It is. But listen to Isaiah 55-1. Oh, every one that thirsteth,
come ye to the waters. And he that hath no money, come
ye, buy and eat. Yea, come. Buy wine and milk
without money. and without price. Wherefore
do you spend money for that which is not bread, and your labor
for that which satisfyeth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and
eat that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness."
Now there's only one bread that's worth eating in a spiritual sense. The Lord said to that woman at
the well, What you need is the water that only I can give you.
And if I give it to you, you will never be thirsty. You will
never go thirsty. You'll be thirsty, but what he's saying, you won't
go thirsty. We thirst after him, but we're always satisfied with
him. And that bread, he said, labor
not for that bread which perisheth. Labor for that bread that I can
give you. And you'll never hunger again.
And here's how that happens. Incline your ear. He's already said that now here.
Listen to me. Hearken diligently unto me. And eat. Listen to the gospel
of Christ crucified. And don't just agree with it.
Partake of it. Partake of Him. Receive Him by
God's grace and power. That's how God saves people now.
And listen, incline your ear. You're not going to save you
now. Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Incline your ear. And what are we hearing? What
is he saying to us? Well, we see that in the next
phrase, don't we? If you listen to him, you're
going to do what he says. And what's he saying? Come unto
me. Come unto me. Come unto me, all you that labor
and are heavy laden, I'll give you rest. He that believeth on
me shall not perish, but have everlasting life. Come unto me. Whosoever is athirst, come and
drink of the water of life freely. Come unto me here and your soul
shall live. And I'll make an everlasting
covenant with you. It's not new, it's everlasting. That word means no beginning
and no end. But I'll make it with you. Even the sure mercies of David. That covenant that David talked
about that's ordered in all things and sure the covenant of grace
wherein God Almighty chose a people from the foundation of the world,
loved them and chose them. He didn't just choose them arbitrarily.
He said I love this one and I hate that one. He loved Solomon. He loved Lazarus. I know that because he said so. He loved David and he chose everybody that he
loved and the Son agreed to be their surety to come into this
world and live for them as their righteousness and to die as their
substitute, as their sin offering, as the propitiation for their
sin. That's the covenant. It's between the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Spirit who those for whom Christ died, those
whom the Father loved and for whom Christ died, the Holy Spirit
comes where they are in time and gives them life. Here in
your soul shall live. You must be born again in order
to live. How does that happen? The Spirit
goes wherever He wants to and makes it happen. Nicodemus, John
chapter 3. And he said, I'll make that covenant
with you. It's ordered in all things ensured. There's nothing
for you to do. You can't add from it. And thank God we can't
mess it up. Here, here in your soul shall
live. May God give us all life in Christ
through the hearing of his precious gospel. Let's pray together.