Let's be turning to 2 Samuel
chapter 3. We're going to see the rest of
this chapter in three parts, and it'll be a nice outline for
us here. The first part looks at the recent
development of David and Abner, specifically of Abner being removed
from Saul's house, a weakening of Saul's house and a strengthening
of David's house. And there's a fellowship there. There's a reconciliation there
between David and Abner, which is seen in David providing a
feast for Abner and the 20 men that come with him, and then
David sends Abner away in peace. The second part is that immediately
following that, as Abner goes out and he's on his way, Joab
comes in, and he hears of what has happened, how that Abner
was sent away in peace, and he immediately goes in to start
accusing David of Abner having deceit in his heart. He just
turns to fleshly arguments to accuse Abner of being deceitful,
and so he leaves David and, unknowing, to David, he calls Abner back,
cunningly brings him back, takes him aside, and murders him. He
murdered him. And then, the third part is this
results in David mourning the death of Abner, and David's mourning,
it shows Israel that David had no part in this. This was not
of David's will or mind for this to be done to Abner. And so David
is righteous in this matter, and Joab is not of the same mind
as David was. He's got a totally different
mind on what needed to be done. However, they remain as one.
They are one house, one house, one kingdom, one house. And he'll remain one with David
until David dies. And then shortly after David's
death, we see Joab being put to death by Solomon. Solomon
wisely puts him to death because he was part of the coup being
orchestrated against Solomon on the throne, and so then Joab
dies as well. Now, as I was thinking about
this dynamic here of David and Joab, it felt very familiar to
me. And it felt that way because
it's something that every believer in Christ is well aware of, after
that we've come to a knowledge of the grace of God. And that
is what Paul wrote in Romans 7.23, the law of sin which is
in my members. This speaks to the law of sin,
which is in my members. And so we're going to use the
remaining verses of this chapter as our outline to first see,
spiritually, we're going to see the gospel here. We're going
to see the works of our God here and what he does in saving his
people. And so first we see a picture of redeeming grace in that first
few verses. And then in the middle here,
we see the wicked works of the flesh that are not in agreement
with that work which the Lord has wrought in us. And then we
learn from this that struggle, that warfare that is in the believer
between the spirit and the flesh. So, let's begin here. We'll first read what Abner did
in keeping with his word to David. And we pick up now in verse 17. Verse 17. And Abner had communication
with the elders of Israel, saying, Ye sought for David in times
past to be king over you. Now then, do it. for the Lord
hath spoken of David, saying, By the hand of my servant David
I will save my people Israel out of the hand of the Philistines,
and out of the hand of all their enemies." What we're seeing here is Abner
is now reconciled to the will of God. He's been reconciled
to agreement with the will of God and having chosen David as
king of Israel. And so now Abner, who was opposed
to David, is now evangelizing this to Israel now. with the
influence he has, and he was in a prominent role there among
Israel, the house of Benjamin and Saul there and Israel, and
he's now using his influence to turn the hearts of the people
to conform, to be aligned with God's will in making David king. Now, since we're using this passage
as our outline here to look at spiritual truths, taught to us,
revealed to us, manifested to us through the gospel word. That's
what we're just going to use these words here as an outline
for us. And seeing the gospel truths
being set forth in the Old Testament here, the first truth that we
draw from this is that we, brethren, all were reconciled to God's
will. we were reconciled to God's will.
At first, we didn't have the mind of God, we didn't have the
wisdom of God, we didn't have the spirit of God. We were dead
spiritually, and yet the Lord in grace reconciled us to his
will. by giving us faith, the gift
of faith, whereby we heard the Word and believed the Word of
God concerning our salvation, concerning His Son, the Lord
Jesus Christ, who saves us to the uttermost. And He, in reconciling
us to His will, He brings forth the confession of our mouth and
the faith of our heart. to confess the Lord Jesus Christ. And so when God does a saving
work in a sinner, he makes known his will to you, and he brings
forth life. He brings forth the confession
of life, the proof of life, that you live, that you're his child,
that you're redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ. He brings forth
that proof, that saving work in you. He does that. God makes
known his will to his people. We see this through the preaching
of the word. He teaches us, for one thing,
that we have been chosen of God in Christ Jesus before the world
began. He makes us to know that, that
it was his will to save a people that he gave to his son for his
bride. God makes his people righteous
through faith, and to know that righteousness, to obtain that
righteousness, to hunger and thirst for that righteousness
and be satisfied with the righteousness of Christ, even the righteousness
of God, which is by faith, that is, by the faith of Jesus Christ. His faithfulness unto all and
upon all them that believe." Our faith looks to the faithful
work of the Lord Jesus Christ and believes, yeah, He's my Savior.
He saved me. He redeemed me. Our faith is laying hold, believing,
trusting His faith, what He did in faith to the Father. God chose
them in Christ. We see how God chose His people
in Christ to ensure that we would not come short. of his glory,
that we would not come short of the inheritance given to us
before the foundation of the world. This is the Father's will
which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should
lose nothing." And so God makes us to know his will, he reconciles
us to his will, and then we confess Christ Jesus. We confess him
as Abner said, by the hand of my servant David, this is God
saying this, and he's declaring, God's will, I will save my people
Israel out of the hand of the Philistines and out of the hand
of all their enemies. And here David is a picture of
Christ in that, in that salvation. David pictures the Lord Jesus
Christ who saved that chosen people by his substitutionary
death for them on the cross, bearing their sins and expiating
them, putting them away, paying for them with the shedding of
his own blood, to wash away our sins, to atone for our sins. And in doing that, what did he
do? He delivered us from the dominion
of sin. Just as David here is said to
deliver the people of Israel from the dominion, the ruling
reign and power of the Philistines, which are a picture of sin, our
sin, brethren. And so, and he conquered all
our enemies, all our enemies. The devil, our adversary, who
accuses the brethren, who shames and guilts the brethren with
what they've done, he delivers us from him. He delivers us from
sin. He delivers us from death, which has entered the world with
sin. He delivers us from the grave, because he's overcome
all our enemies. And so in him, we overcome all
our enemies. So that if thou shalt confess
with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart
that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."
He brings forth that. He reconciles us to the will
of God. He gives that hope. That's not
your flesh. That is the Spirit of God giving you that hope,
trusting Him. So these truths are pictured
in the reconciliation of Abner to God's will, and his confession
of God's will to be accomplished by David as king. And moreover,
verse 19 now in our text, 19 and 20, and Abner also spake
in the ears of Benjamin, and Abner went also to speak in the
ears of David in Hebron, all that seemed good to Israel, and
that seemed good to the whole house of Benjamin. And so by
the wisdom that understands that David is the rightful king, Abner
here is serving as an ambassador. And he's going between the men
of the house of Israel and Benjamin, and he's going to David, and
he's reconciling them. He's bringing peace there in
believing, in knowing, in coming over. and being reconciled to
God's will concerning David. So Abner came to David the Hebron
and 20 men with him, and David made Abner and the men that were
with him a feast. And so there's a relationship
here. There's a fellowship forming. And it's seen here in David preparing
this feast for Abner. They're going to sit down and
they're going to break bread together, and they're going to speak, and
they're going to talk about the glories of what the Lord's doing
here with Israel. And you can imagine, there's
a sweet fellowship there. And in this, we see a picture
of what our Lord does for us. Doesn't he say to, I don't remember
which church, but in Revelation 3.20, he said, behold, I stand
at the door and knock. And if any man open unto me,
I will come in to him and sup with him, and he with me. And
if you open that door, what did he say? He said, that the porter
openeth the door to the good shepherd. That's the spirit.
If you open the door to Christ, if you hear his voice and open
the door to Christ, that's the Holy Spirit's work. He's the
porter that opens the door to the good shepherd and makes you
to hear Christ's voice. My sheep hear my voice, and they
follow me. I save them. I redeem them. And
we see this spiritual union here being described throughout the
scriptures, even in Isaiah 25. It says in Isaiah 25, verse 6
and 7, And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all
people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees,
of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. and he will destroy in this mountain
the face of the covering cast over all people and the veil
that is spread over all nations." And so it's a beautiful picture
of the grace of God to remove that veil of flesh that is on
the heart. That's what a circumcision is.
It's a removal of that which is not necessary. It's just extra
flesh. And so he removes that off the
heart. And the heart sees that spiritual blindness, which is
a picture of being raised from the death, is removed. And your
eyes see. And behold, the salvation of
God. And that's what we see pictured
here worked in Abner. And that's what has been worked
in you, brethren, who believe Christ. That is the work of God
for you, the work of God in you. Additionally, verse 21, And Abner
said unto David, I will arise and go, and will gather all Israel
unto my lord the king, that they may make a league with thee,
and that thou mayest reign over all that thine heart desireth. And David sent Abner away, and
he went in peace. And so, here they are. David
and Abner speaking as friends in the same way that you who
live, you who believe Christ, go to the Father and speak with
Him as friend speaks to friend in the name of the Son. casting
all your care upon him, for he careth for you." There's that
fellowship there. And there's a desire formed in
us that wants to tell others of our Lord, that wants to tell
others of what Christ has done for me, Christ who loved me and
gave himself for me, and we want to bring others to him. to also
see what a merciful savior he is for sinners who cannot work
a righteousness for their own, but desire him. He's a merciful
and gracious savior. So blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called the children of God. Now, as David
sent Abner away in peace, so Christ has made peace for you
with God. you that believe he's made peace
for you having made peace through the blood of his cross." And
so here these are the blessed gospel truths that we find illustrated
for us in this this peace made between David and Abner. All
right, now we move to the second point, the middle section here
of these verses. And what comes into view here
is something very different from those sweet, rapturous views
of that friendship and that bond between David and Abner, which
is now formed. All right? And now move from
seeing David as a picture of Christ, but you as one in whom
Christ has been formed, that new man in you, the giving of
the spirit, the giving of his grace and blessings for you in
the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That new man in
you is the work of Christ. It's the birth of the seed of
Christ in you, that inner man, born of the spirit now. In the
believer, here we see something of our old nature. The old man
of flesh. That which was with us since
we were born of Adam's seed. Adam's corrupt, spiritually dead,
sinful seed that is ignorant of the truth and resists the
truth, doesn't cooperate with the truth, doesn't believe the
truth, doesn't want any part to do with the truth. That's
the old man of flesh. That's that rebellious nature
in us. It's not the new man. That is
of the seed of Christ, and he cannot sin. He cannot not believe. All he can do is trust Christ. There's no sin in the new man,
but there's sin in the old man, in these members, the members
of this flesh. So let's pick up here in verse
22. And behold, the servants of David
and Joab came from pursuing a troop. and brought in a great spoil
with them. But Abner was not with David
in Hebron, for he had sent him away, and he was gone in peace."
Now you can imagine the great confidence that Joab rides in
with. By his skill, by his warfare,
by his cunning, he has gained a great spoil. So he's riding
high with pride. And he's riding high with pride
here. And Joab wasn't there, meaning
he's had zero, nothing to do with this union that is now formed
between David and Abner. He's had no part. I don't know
how long the guy's been out raiding the countryside, but he's been
out, and he had no part in this. He wasn't there at the feast.
He maybe doesn't even know what's been going on between David and
Abner. All right, so this gives us a
view here of our old nature in Adam. We're familiar with our
pride. We're familiar with how we think.
We're familiar with our responses when certain situations arise. And we begin to think, uh-uh,
no, that ain't what's going on here. I've got another take on
it, and it's very different from what you're saying. And it's
very much opposed to when God works peace in the heart, when
God speaks peaceably to you, and you will be merciful and
gracious to someone who's sinned against you. How long before
that old man of flesh rises up and says, I don't know, maybe
I'm being played here. Maybe I shouldn't do this. Maybe
they're not going to learn anything if I'm nice and I forgive them.
Maybe I should teach them a lesson, right? And flesh starts getting
involved and rising up. And that's really what we're
seeing here with Joab, who's in the house of David. He's one
with David. He's the warring general of David
here, this old man of flesh. And he can and will lay no claim
to the reconciliation work of Christ with his people. to that
new birth. The flesh has no part in it.
And I know what the world says about a free will and about you've
got to believe or else you can't be saved, and with no thought
or mind that that is the work of God in his child. Faith is
not the work of the flesh. It's the fruit of the spirit.
That's what it's called, and that's what it is. This is of
God. You believe not because your
flesh has gotten better, or you got smart, or you figured it
out, or you were wooed in the flesh. No, your flesh isn't wooed
at all. Your flesh is dead, and it's
full of sin. This is of the Spirit. Faith
is of the Spirit, and so Joab here, a picture of the old man
of flesh, has no part in what's been going on between David and
Abner. And so verse 23, when Joab and
all the host that was with him were come, they told Joab, saying,
Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and David hath sent
him away, and he is gone in peace. All right, now notice how all
that Joab can do is rely on the works of the flesh. All right,
he goes in now, and he's gonna be raising objections to what's
going on, with no thought or mind of God strengthening David's
house. His thoughts aren't on what God
is doing. He's not recognizing, wait a minute, maybe the Lord
is bringing this together. Maybe the Lord has done this
work, and he's strengthening David's hand, just as he's promised. He's not seeing that at all.
He's not recognizing, huh, the main pillar in Saul's house,
Abner, is removed. That house is gonna fall, and
he's coming over to David here. He's not looking at that. So
look now at verse 24 and 25. Then Joab came to the king and
said, What hast thou done? Behold, Abner came unto thee.
Why is it that thou hast sent him away, and he is quite gone? Thou knowest Abner, and the son
of Ner, that Abner, the son of Ner, that he came to deceive
thee, and to know thy going out, and thy coming in, and to know
all that thou doest. And so here's Joab, and all he
can see, all he has in his heart on the matter is there's evil
intent here. This is wickedness brewing here.
This is gonna be bad. Don't you see this, David? You're
really gonna go along with this? And all it is is a projection
of what's in Joab's heart. This is a projection of what
Joab is and what he thinks. And it reminds me of what I've
experienced at times when I've been at peace with certain things.
And then you get to thinking of them later, maybe a year later,
maybe two years later. And the mind starts going. And
you start filling in blanks of things that you've forgotten.
And you start adding to it and telling yourselves a story. And
you start making it bad. And you start thinking evil about
it. And you start getting upset about it. And it burns you up.
And you thought, I've reconciled this already. What is this coming
up for? But it's that nature that comes up in us that rethinks
things and just sees evil in it and doesn't want no part in
peace or reconciliation or anything like that. And so I've seen it. I've seen it in my own heart,
how the old man of flesh can rise up and just ruin a thing,
and just bring darkness on the whole situation. And so when
that starts happening, I just cry out to the Lord and ask him,
A, to forgive me. And then if I'm thinking of someone,
I pray, Lord, bless them. Here I am thinking evil about
them. Lord, bless them. Because if the Lord blesses them,
what do I have to worry about? It's good. It's good. I'd rather
the Lord forgive my enemies and bless my enemies and reconcile
my heart to them that I'd not have enemies. I'd rather be at
peace with them. And that's what the Lord works
in us, because we're told, among many other things, Paul wrote
in Galatians 5, he spoke of the works of the flesh. And he named
variance and emulations, which is jealousies of wrath. And strife causes factions among
people. And what do factions do? They
start laboring and arguing for what's good for them with no
regard to what's good for anybody else. They don't think. They're
in a faction. They're only thinking of themselves.
Seditions, which is divisions, and heresies, and envyings. Those are all works of the flesh.
And that's what we see in Joab there, the works of the flesh.
And it's just strange here how Abner was given a change of heart
to recognize the will of God and conform to that will of God
in strengthening David's hand. And you would think that Joab,
who knows the promises of God, that David was anointed king,
that David's going to be made king. And all Joab can see is
the only way this is going to be done is by warfare and conquering. That's how Dave is going to be
king. He can't imagine how the Lord can bring together the kingdom
peaceably. Peaceably. Without warfare. Without
war. Where there's kindness and gentleness
and love and forgiveness and peace and mercy and grace being
shown. So Joab now opposes the will
of his king. Now he's in opposition. to it, which is to trust God
concerning David, and he should show mercy to Abner as David
has shown mercy to Abner, desiring to see the kingdom united under
David's hand. Let's read verse 26. And when
Joab was come out from David, he sent messengers after Abner.
Whatever David said, it didn't matter, because Joab's of his
own mind. Which brought Abner back again
from the well of Syrah, but David knew it not. And David didn't
know it, because David wouldn't have consented to it. Joab didn't
say it. Joab wasn't bringing this up. Joab had his own mind in this
matter. And here's where we see a picture
of the war between the spirit and the flesh, where the house
of David, for all appearances, is one. It's the house of David,
and Joab is in it, and David is in it, and they're in that
house together there, but Joab is not of the same mind as David. Joab has his own thing he wants
to do. He wants to take vengeance. He
wants revenge on Abner. And so, rather than submit to
David's will, and see how this thing plays out by the will of
God, he wants to take matters into his own hands and and take
it out on Abner. Now hold your place here, and
let's go over to Romans chapter seven. Romans chapter seven,
and then when you get to Romans seven, make sure you leave a
marker there as well, because we'll come back a couple more
times. So Romans seven, and we're gonna
pick up in verse 14, where Paul in this passage shows
how the new man, born of grace in him, which in this picture
is represented by David here, and we see a picture of the old
man of flesh, born of Adam's corrupt seed, which is pictured
of Joab in our text here. And they're not in agreement.
Verse 14, for we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal,
sold under sin. David wants peace with Abner.
Joab doesn't. For that which I do, I allow
not. For what I would, that do I not. But what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would
not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Joab didn't say anything
to David because he's being sneaky. He's being cunning. He wants
to just do what he wants to do, and he doesn't want to be talked
out of it. Now then, it is no more I that
do it. It's not David, but sin, or as
Joab, that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me, that is
in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing. For the will is present
with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not." You
can imagine David, after this, was thinking back on that conversation,
listening to Joe. I've been thinking, I should
have known he was going to do this. I should have known that
he was up to something. I should have been more careful
about this. So hold your place there. In
Romans 7, and let's go back now to 2 Samuel 3. And we're gonna
pick up in verse 27. And when Abner was returned to
Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gate to speak with him quietly
and smote him there under the fifth rib. Right, exactly where
Abner stuck Azahel, his brother, under the fifth rib there, that
he died for the blood of Azahel, his brother. And afterward, when
David heard it, he said, I and my kingdom are guiltless before
the Lord forever from the blood of Abner, the son of Ner. Let
it rest on the head of Joab and on all his father's house." A
picture of the inheritance of those in Adam's house, who have
no part in Christ, who are only of Adam's seed and are not born
again of Christ's seed. And let there not fail from the
house of Joab one that hath an issue, or that is a leper, or
that leaneth on a staff, or that falleth on the sword, or that
lacketh bread. So Joab and Abishai his brothers
slew Abner, because he had slain their brother Azahel at Gibeon
in the battle. And so Joab, according to the
law, he's guilty, and he's under the curse, because he's not kept
the law. He's under a curse and all he
can do is sin and suffer and be miserable. That's the old
man of flesh. It pictures, it tells us, it
informs us of what we are by nature, this old nature. That
this flesh doesn't improve. You can discipline the flesh,
and you can beat it, and you can try your best to put it in
a box, but it is cunning, it is wily, and it breaks out and
does its own things at times to our mourning and our regret. and our sorrow when we see it
here. And so it doesn't improve. And
by experience, you can start to see its workings and its machinations,
and you can try and counter it. And you can cry out to the Lord,
Abba, Father, save me from my flesh. Lord, turn me, turn my
heart from thinking wicked thoughts, from doing evil things. Lord,
save me from these things. By all means, cry out to the
Lord. You're not under its dominion to where you have to do what
the flesh demands you do. You have the Spirit of God, and
you cry out to him. Beg him for mercy. Beg him for
strength. Beg him to save you. And he answers that cry of his
people. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 10.5,
that we cast down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth
itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity
every thought to the obedience of Christ. Because it's a constant,
the flesh is constantly at odds with the Spirit of God. And that's
why the apostles, I say this one example, but I think it's
so true, There's only one reason why Peter and the other apostles
were saying things like, dearly beloved, I beseech you, I beg
you, as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which
war against the soul. The reason why he said that is
because the flesh is full of lusts. It is. And so he's saying,
abstain from those things. Turn from those things. How do
we turn from those things? Crying out to the Lord. Abba,
Father, save me. It's the spirit of adoption which
he's given us that cries out to him for grace. And he helps. He helps his child. So David
wants nothing to do with Joab's wicked works. And yet we can
see how this will be seen as an act of the state, as though
David wanted it done. They're looking at the house
of David now. All Israel is saying, ho, ho, what is going on here? And they're looking at the whole
house, even though it was Joab that did it. And it serves as
a picture of the wickedness of sin in our members, in our flesh. So what Joab did is wicked, it's
filthy, it's dirty, it's sinful, it's horrible. And David hates
it, and David mourns it. He mourns this evil work of Joab. And you can imagine, to those
who were hearing from Abner, those of the household of Israel,
those of the house of Benjamin, are wondering what is going on
over there. Now, look back in Romans 7. Don't
lose your place in 2 Samuel 3, but look back at Romans 7 again,
and again, keep your marker there. Verse 19 and 20, for the good
that I would do I do not, but the evil which I would not, that
I do. Now, if I do that I would not,
it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. That's pictured in Joab doing
something entirely contrary to what David would do, to what
David wanted. I find then a law that when I
would do good, evil is present with me. And that's a picture
there. David wanted the good, the reconciliation,
wanted Abner to be with them in the kingdom united. But evil
was present with him. All right, now, let's go back
to three. Don't lose your place in Romans
7. Back to 2 Samuel 3, verse 31. Here we see David mourning
for Abner because of the evil done to him by Joab. And David
said to Joab and to all the people that were with him, rend your
clothes, and gird you with sackcloth, and mourn before Abner. And King
David himself followed the byre, or the bed that Abner's body
was laid upon. Drop down to verse 35. And when
all the people came to cause David to eat meat while it was
yet day, David sware, saying, So do God to me, and more also,
if I taste bread, or aught else till the sun be down. And all
the people took notice of it, and it pleased them, as whatsoever
the king did pleased all the people. For all the people and
all Israel understood that day, that it was not of the king to
slay Abner, the son of Ner. And there's a picture of the
repentance that our Lord works in his child of God, who has
sinned against him. He works repentance in us. He
gives us a mourning for our sin. We hate our sin. We don't want
to do wicked things, and yet we see how things just rise up
in us at times. And even if we don't commit it,
or execute upon it, it still troubles us and bothers us that
we would even think such thoughts, or say such things, or do such
things. Whatever it is, the Lord works repentance and mourning
in his people here. And so this is the third and
final thing here, David mourns Abner. And David says in verse
39 then, And I am this day weak, though anointed king, and these
men, the sons of Zeruiah, be too hard for me. The Lord shall
reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness. And so a believer
is chastised for their sin by the Lord, not in punishment,
but in mercy, to teach us, to turn us, to strengthen us, to
to correct us in our wicked ways, and he works a mourning in us
for our sin, and though we be promised eternal life in the
Lord Jesus Christ, we don't want to sin with impunity or carelessness. It bothers us, it troubles us,
our sin. And when we stumble in sin and
we just get a taste of it, we're reminded of just how awful this
sin is, how awful this flesh is, and how there is yet sin
present in my members. All right, now back to Romans
7. Romans 7 here. David says in
verse 22, For I delight in the law of God
after the inward man. But I see in other law my members
warring against the law of my mind. And Joab, a general, a
warrior, a good warrior, makes for a good picture of this old
man of flesh, warring against the truth, and bringing me into
captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. There's going
to be a warfare in every believer. And everyone's going to feel
and know that warfare which rages from their members and that old
man against the truth of God revealed in the face of Jesus
Christ. And so there's that warfare here. And here's where the Lord
brings us to. O wretched man that I am, who
shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through
Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind, I myself
serve the law of God, but with the flesh, the law of sin. And so we're going to find out
that salvation is only of the Lord Jesus Christ. This flesh
is not a cooperating, having a hand in it. Just like Joab
had no hand in that reconciliation between David and Abner. He had
no part in it. No part. And so it begins in
grace, like we see with Abner. There's sweet tokens of love
and grace wrought in Abner, reconciling him to the will of God, confessing
David as the king, doing all he can do to evangelize and bring
the other houses to David, that all might be unified and reconciled
together and that there be peace there. And just as when everything
seems to be going well, And David's thinking, wow, this is wonderful.
The Lord is blessing us, pouring out his spirit of grace and supplication
upon us. And then, bam, there's the sin. Joab goes out and does this awful,
awful thing. And it's cruel. And you're speechless. You're thinking, what? How could
that happen? How could that happen there?
And it's public, like it was there. If it's public, like the
murder of Abner there, then everyone else is looking and saying, I
knew he wasn't a Christian. No Christian would ever do that.
They'd never do that. So they're not a Christian. I
knew that they were fake and phony and a hypocrite. Yeah,
well, we see in the scriptures that the scriptures have concluded
all under sin, all under sin. And if you're honest and you're
looking in the word, and you're seeing a reflection of yourself,
and you're seeing, yeah, that's me too. I need the grace of God
to save me and be merciful to me. Just look at what David did
to Uriah and Bathsheba, right? And murdering an innocent man
and sleeping with his wife. And after God gave repentance
to David, a year later, And you can imagine, David was working
and thinking he had cleared his conscience of the whole thing,
and he did good things, and everything was good, and he was in the clear.
And then Nathan the prophet came, and David wrote in Psalm 51,
verse 5 and 6, behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin
did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth in
the inward parts, and in the hidden part thou shalt make me
to know wisdom. How does God make you to know
these things? He brings us low in ourselves.
His grace is sufficient to show us, to give us a taste of what
we are in this flesh, by nature, that we would not trust in ourselves,
but in God who calls us, in God whose grace we see and find out
that we need, that we cannot save ourselves, and that, apart
from Christ, I'm nothing. We learn this through the Lord
making us to know our weaknesses and teaching us. There's some
things that, I don't know, it doesn't seem like we can learn
them except that we fall on our faces and see what fools we are. And but the Lord in his wisdom
and his grace and power is able to raise us up and stand us in
Christ who we see weakness in ourselves, but all our strength,
all our wisdom, all our righteousness, all our sanctification, all our
redemption in the Lord Jesus Christ. And so I thank the Lord
for his wisdom. I thank the Lord for Christ and
I thank the Lord for his patience in teaching us and his mercy
and forgiveness and pray he continue to keep us in Christ. Amen.