Now the message for us in 2 Samuel
chapter 10 comes from the contrast between chapter 9 and chapter
10. In chapter 9, we looked at that last week, we saw a picture
of covenant grace, and the result of that covenant was life and
peace. In chapter 10, we see a picture
of the covenant of works, and the result of that will be warfare
and death. And every human being who has
ever lived is in one of these two covenants. They're either
in the covenant of law and under the covenant of the law, which
brings forth death, or they're under the covenant of grace,
which brings forth life. One or the other. So chapter
10, verse 1, And it came to pass after this, that the king of
the children of Ammon died, and Hanan his son reigned in his
stead. Then said David, I will show
kindness unto Hanun, the son of Nahash, 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. Now, we don't know
what kindness it was that this king Nahash showed David. It was probably some way he helped
him when David was on the run from Saul, and he helped David,
and now David wants to repay that kindness. In verse 3, the
princes of the children of Ammon said unto Hanun their lord, Thinkest
thou that David doth honour 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? Therefore Hanun took David's
servants, and shaved off the one half of their beards, cut
off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent
them away. When they told it unto David,
he sent to meet them, because the men were greatly ashamed.
And the king said, tear at Jericho until your beards be grown, and
then return. Now the children of Ammon rejected
David's kindness. They thought he was trying to
destroy them instead of sending his servants to comfort them.
And they greatly shamed these comforters that David sent. You
know, they cut off half of their beard, and to the people who
lived in this area of the world, their beard, a long beard especially,
is a sign of maturity. It shows that they're old enough
to have some respect. They're qualified. They ought
to know something. They've been around a while. Well, they shaved
off half that beard to shame them. And they cut off their
robes just above their buttocks to make them walk in shame and
reproach. And they did this because David
sent them to comfort their king and the loss of his father. They
were sent to comfort them, but instead the people shamed them.
Well, afterward, Quickly, they realized they've done it now.
They've really stepped in it. But rather than beg for mercy,
rather than send an emissary to David begging for mercy, they
try to find security in numbers. Wayne sometimes felt like the
security and strength in numbers, doesn't he? But it's not going
to help them out. Sometimes that might work out
for us, but it's not going to save them from David's wrath.
Look at verse six. And when the children of Ammon
saw that they stank before David, The children of Ammon sent and
hired the Syrians of Bethreob and the Syrians of Zobah, 20,000
footmen, and of King Maaca, 1,000 men, and of Ishtab, 12,000 men.
And when David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the host of
the mighty men. And the children of Ammon came
out and put the battle in array at the entering end of the gate.
And the Syrians of Zobah and of Reob and Ishtab and Maaca
were by themselves in the field. When Joab saw that the front
of the battle was against him, before and behind, he chose of
all the choice men of Israel, and put them in array against
the Syrians. And the rest of the people he delivered into
the hand of Abishai his brother, that he might put them in array
against the children of Ammon. And he said, If the Syrians be
too strong for me, then thou shalt help me. But if the children
of Ammon be too strong for thee, then I will come and help thee.
Be of good courage, and let us play the men for our people,
for the cities of our God, And the Lord do that which seemeth
him good. Now, there's a couple of good lessons for us here.
I like what Joab tells his brother, if the battle is too strong for
me, you come help me. And if the battle is too strong
for you, I'll come help you. Isn't that the way the body of
Christ works? If the problem is too great for
me, you come help me. And if the problem is too great
for you, I'll come help you. That's the way the body of Christ
works. And Joab goes on, he tells his brothers, let's play the
men. And what he means by that is, let's be valiant as men for
our people, for the cities and the people that we're defending.
Let's be valiant. It looks like the numbers against us, you know,
we're fighting a two front battle here, but let's be valiant as
men. And let the Lord do what seemeth
Him good. And there's good instruction
for all of God's people here. Let's be valiant. and play the
part of men. Let's be men and be valiant.
Do the best that we can do with what God's put before us. And
then let the Lord do what seemeth Him good. Don't ever take a fatalistic
attitude about life. About spiritual life or physical
life. Don't take a fatalistic attitude
about this. Now we know all of God's elect
are going to be saved. I know that as much as I know
anything. Yet we pray for him. Wayne prayed
for the lost. We pray for them. We preach to
them. We tell them about the Savior. They're not going to hear unless
God gives them ears to hear. But let's not take, we don't
just take a fatalistic attitude about it and just go home and
say, well, whoever's going to be saved, be saved. No, faith
comes by hearing. So we preach to them. Don't take
a fatalistic attitude about your physical life. We know the Lord
will provide. The Lord will provide. But get
up and go to work in the morning, unless you're retired, Dale.
Get up and go to work in the morning. And when you get there,
earn a paycheck. Earn your paycheck. The Lord
will provide, without a doubt. But Scripture also says, if a
man won't work, don't lay meat. Both are true. Don't take a fatalistic
attitude. John covered this a few weeks
ago. The Lord will give His angels a charge over thee to keep thee
in all thy ways, without question. You are immortal till God calls
you home. But look both ways. When you
cross the street, when you pull out of the parking lot this morning,
look both ways. Just use the common sense God gave you. Don't
take a fatalistic approach about things. And then let the Lord
do what seemeth Him good. And pray for the attitude to
be joyful in it. And that's what happened here.
And the Lord gave David and Joab the victory. Look at verse 13.
And when Joab drew nigh, and the people that were with him
under the battle against the Syrians, they fled before him.
And when the children of Ammon saw the Syrians were fled, they
fled also before Abishai and entered into the city. So Joab
returned from the children of Ammon and came to Jerusalem.
Now when the Syrians saw they were smitten before Israel, they
gathered themselves together and had to raise their sin and
brought out the Syrians that were beyond the river, and they
came to heal And Shobak, the captain of the host of Hatarezer,
went before them. And when it was told David, he
gathered all Israel together, and passed over Jordan, and came
to Helam. And the Syrians set themselves
in array against David, and fought with him. And the Syrians fled
before Israel. And David slew the men of seven
hundred chariots of the Syrians, and forty thousand horsemen,
and smote Shobak, the captain of their host, who died there.
And when all the kings that were servants of Hatarezer saw that
they were smitten before Israel, they made peace with Israel and
served them. So the Syrians feared to help
the children of Ammon anymore." Now there that battle brought
forth war and death, and the Lord gave Israel the victory.
But do you see a contrast between chapter 9 and chapter 10? Now
they start fairly similar. There's death. In both chapters
there's death. Provides a need for comfort and
there's a desire on David's part to show kindness because of death
in both chapters. But that's where the similarities
end. There's a great contrast in chapter 9 and chapter 10.
In chapter 9, David shows covenant mercies. He shows mercies for
Jonathan's sake. In chapter 10, David shows mercy,
shows kindness because Nahash did something nice for him. In
chapter 10, David's repaying kindness. It's like he's paying
back a debt. In chapter 9, David shows covenant
mercy to an enemy. In chapter 10, he's repaying
this kindness to someone who had acted like a friend to him,
but it's a repayment. And in that, those two chapters
are two covenants, the only two covenants that exist. The covenant
of grace, the covenant of mercies for Christ's sake, and the covenant
of works, paying back what someone's earned. That covenant says do
and live, disobey and die. Those two covenants. Now last
week we saw the covenant of grace pictured in Mephibosheth. He
received mercy. He received life. He received
kindness, sonship for Jonathan's sake. In chapter 10, David's
kindness is rejected and that's the covenant of works. In the
covenant of works, there is no mercy. In the covenant of works,
there is no kindness. It's just receiving your just
desserts. You get exactly what you earn. Nobody's giving you anything.
It's what you've earned. And the unregenerate man would
rather attempt to work out his own righteousness than submit
himself to the righteousness of Christ. And he will die trying. Rather than admit he's a sinner,
and beg God for mercy, he'll die trying to do it himself. So, the unregenerate man always
rejects the gospel of God's free and sovereign grace. Always.
And when I say the unregenerate man, I mean a man who's just
in the flesh. A man or a woman who's not been
born again. Spiritually, they're just in
the flesh. That unregenerate person thinks that the gospel
is me. They think that God's trying
to destroy them and tell them that they can't be saved instead
of comforting them by telling them about salvation that's full
and free in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what happened in our text.
David sent these men to comfort the king, and they said, you're
trying to be mean to us. You're trying to destroy the
city. And they rejected their kindness. And rather than beg
for mercy, Men will run to the covenant of works to establish
their own righteousness. And they gather big numbers together,
thanking their strength in numbers. Yesterday, we were in Lexington,
moving the girls to a new apartment. We passed this, I mean, it's
a building that's as big as our YMCA here in town. And behind
it, there's a fitness center. And I was asking Savannah if
that was the fitness center that Holly's a member of. And she
thought, talking about this great big building, she said, no, that's
a church. She said that a thousand people go there every Sunday,
thinking that there's strength in numbers and they've made this
covenant with themselves. Not with God, with themselves.
Look over in Isaiah 28. That covenant will be disannulled. That covenant's not going to
stand. Isaiah 28, verse 14. Wherefore, hear the word of the
Lord, ye scornful men. That's these men who are scornful
at the gospel. They say, oh, that's mean. That's
not a message of peace. That's not a message of comfort.
They're scornful about the gospel. You scornful men that rule this
people, which is in Jerusalem, because you have said we have
made a covenant with death and with hell we are at agreement.
When the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall
not come unto us, for we have got a refuge. We have made lies
our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves. Therefore
thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation
a stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. He that believeth shall not make
haste. Judgment also will I lay to the
line. God sent the foundation, he sent this precious cornerstone,
and he's also going to send judgment. Judgment also will I lay to the
line, and righteousness to the plummet. And the hell shall sweep
away the refuge of lies, and the water shall overflow the
hiding place, and your covenant with death shall be disannulled.
Now God's covenant of grace won't be, but he calls your covenant,
this covenant of death, this covenant with works, it's your
covenant. And that covenant of death shall
be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand. When
the overflowing scourge will pass through, then you should
be trodden down by it. You'll find out that there is
no strength in numbers. And that's exactly what happened
in our text. They made this covenant with
each other and they gathered this huge army and David's army
came in and wiped them out. Just wiped them out. 40,000 footmen
David killed in one day. 40,000. Just total annihilation. Now, if you want to turn over
to Matthew 21, there are two New Testament scriptures that
I thought of that give us good commentary on this Old Testament
picture. And the first one is Matthew
21, beginning in verse 33. Our Lord says, hear another parable. There was a certain householder
which planted a vineyard and hedged it round about and digged
a winepress in it. built a tower, and he let it
out to husbandmen, and went into a far country. And when the time
of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen,
that they might receive the fruits of it. And the husbandmen took
his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another.
Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they
did unto them likewise. But last of all he sent unto
them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. But when the
husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is
the heir. Come, let us kill him, and let
us seize upon his inheritance. And when they caught him, they
cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. When the Lord thereof
of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen?
They say unto them, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and
let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render
him the fruits of their seasons. Jesus saith unto them, Did you
never read in the scriptures the stone which the builders
rejected? The same has become the head of the corner. This
is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes." The same
stone we read about over there in Isaiah 28. Therefore say I
unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and
given to a nation, bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever
shall fall on this stone shall be broken, but on whosoever it
shall fall, it will grind him to powder. When the chief priests
and the Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived he spoke
of them. They understood what he was saying.
Understanding what he was saying was not the problem. They didn't
believe it. They wouldn't submit to it. Because
look at verse 46. They understood he spoke of them,
but rather than beg for mercy, they sought to lay hands on him.
But they feared the multitude, because they took him for a prophet. Now this is the general kindness
of the Lord to every creature. He created a world, put men in
it. Men rebelled against him, but
the sun still shines every day. Rain still falls. The seasons
come, the seasons go. The earth is full of air and
oxygen, you know, to breathe it. That's the Lord's general
kindness to this creation. And there is a general call of
the gospel to all men. It's a general call and God's
kindness is revealed in that gospel. Look over in Titus chapter
3. The kindness of God is revealed
in the gospel. And it's found in his son. Look
at what Paul says in Titus 3 verse 4. But after that the kindness and
love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of
righteousness which we've done, but according to his mercy he
saved us. by the washing of regeneration
and the renewing of the Holy Ghost, which He shed on us abundantly
through Jesus Christ our Savior." Now you'd think that people would
be thankful for that, wouldn't you? But they're not. When God
sends His servants preaching the gospel of salvation in the
Lord Jesus Christ, people hate Him. They hate His servants.
Long time ago, and they would still today if they thought they
could get away with it, they take them and they beat them
and they kill them because they hate their message. That's what
the Jews did to most of the prophets. None of the prophets were loved
in their lifetime. They were all hated. Only after they were
dead did people act like they loved them. The unregenerate
man hears the gospel and they hate it. And they'll lie on the
preacher, they'll twist his message, they'll slander him, all because
they hate God. When these servants of David
came to the children of Ammon, they didn't know them, but they
knew David and they hated David. And that's why they mistreated
those servants, because they hated David. And that's the same
thing that men do to God's servants today. And someone will say,
well, now I don't hate God. Really? You really think that
the natural man does not hate God? When Adam fell, all mankind
died in Adam. Just like in our text, there's
death and there's a need for a comforter. God sent one. He sent his son to be the redeemer
of sinful men. God sent his son in this world
doing good, doing nothing but good. He helped people. He healed
people. He worked miracles to help people.
He brought peace on earth, goodwill toward men. And what did men
do with him? First time they could get their hands on him.
They hated him. They hated his message of grace.
And they took him and beat him and killed him. That's exactly
what they did because men by nature hate God. And you and
I are just like them. We're cut from the same cloth.
That's what the covenant of works always produces. The covenant
of works never produces faith. It never produces love. It's
give me what I earned. I know I wasn't perfect now,
but I was a good boy. I was a good girl. I wasn't perfect,
but I did more good than bad. Just give me what I earned. Well,
what you've earned through your works is eternal death. And that's
exactly what God will give people in this covenant of works. That's
exactly. Look over in Galatians chapter 3. God will give them exactly what
they've earned. Galatians 3 verse 10, For as many as of the works of
the law are under the curse, for it is written, Cursed is
everyone that continueth not in all things which are written
in the book of the law to do them. You can't do most of them,
you've got to do all of them. But that no man is justified,
it's impossible for a man to be justified by the law in the
sight of God. It's evident. For the just shall
live by faith. But the law is not a faith, but
the man that doeth them shall live in them. That's what the
law says. The man that doeth them doeth
all of the law, all of it. And if you don't do all of it,
you're guilty of all. I mean, you just break the law
at one point, you're guilty of breaking the entire law. And
the covenant of works can be very, very subtle. It's tricky. You know, I like the fact that
Chick-fil-A is closed on Sunday. I like it. I think it's best
if people have a day off and they can go worship and go home
and not have to go to work and they can rest and think on the
things that they've heard. I think that's best. No doubt
about it. But don't use it as a way to
earn righteousness. Don't think that makes you better
that somebody leaves his business open on Sunday now. Don't use
it as a way to earn righteousness because if you've done that,
you should have been closed yesterday. Because the Sabbath is on Saturday.
Not Sunday. It's on Saturday. Uh-oh. I've
already messed up. I worked Saturday and was going
to take a Sunday off. I've already messed up. And you're
guilty of the whole law. Look over a page at Galatians
chapter 5. And you're guilty of the whole law. Stand fast,
therefore, in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free. And
be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Behold, I, Paul,
say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.
For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, if your
circumcised is a way to have a better righteousness than what
you would have in Christ, then you are a debtor to do the whole
law, and Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever
of you are justified by the law. If you think you make your justification,
your holiness, better by just keeping one point of the law,
then you're falling from grace and there's no hope. If Christ
has become of no effect to you and you're falling from grace,
there's no hope, no hope of eternal life. And you know, in this parable,
the Lord kept his promise, didn't he? God took his presence and
his blessing away from those Jews and gave it to the Gentiles. Now hold your place here in Galatians
5, but turn over to Romans chapter 9. I'll show you why the Lord
did that. As if the Lord's parable didn't
give us a good enough explanation. In Romans 9, verse 30. And what should we say then?
That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, they
were heathen. They were out there eating their children. They're
heathen. They followed not after righteousness, and they've attained
to righteousness. Even the righteousness which
is of faith. But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness,
have not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore,
why? Because they sought it not by
faith, but as it were by the works of the law, for they stumbled
at that stumbling stone. As it is written, Behold, I lay
in Zion a stumbling stone, and a rock of offense, and whosoever
believeth on him shall not be ashamed, shall not be confounded.
God took it away from them because they sought it by works. They
sought it by the covenant of works, and the covenant of works
will never produce life." Now the second New Testament scripture
that gives us commentary on this Old Testament type is Galatians
4. Beginning in verse 21. Tell me you that desire to be
under the law. Do you not hear the law? Do you
not hear what the law says? The law says do and live. Disobey
and die. All of the law. Disobey at even
one point and you're guilty of the whole law and under God's
condemnation. Do you hear what the law says?
Is that the law you want to be under? Is that the covenant you
want to be under? The law never speaks of forgiveness of sins.
The law never speaks of mercy. The law just declares men and
women, boys and girls, to be guilty before God. The law only speaks of condemnation. The law never speaks of justification
or salvation. It always speaks of condemnation. Now, do you really want to be
under that law? Do you hear what that law says? Do you really
want to be under that covenant? Look at verse 22. It goes on
before it's written, that Abraham had two sons, one by a bondmaid,
the other by a free woman. But he who was of the bondwoman
was born after the flesh, but he of the free woman by promise. Now, Abraham had two sons. He
had more than two sons. These two sons, these are the
two sons that he's talking about here. Ishmael and Isaac. Ishmael
and Isaac were both equally the sons of Abraham. Different mothers,
but they are both equally the sons of Abraham. Now, you remember
God promised Abraham a son. Years passed. He had no son.
Well, Abraham and Sarah figured they better help God out. Instead
of waiting on God to give them a son, they're going to give
God a son. So Sarah gave her handmaid Hagar to Abraham, and
they produced a son, Ishmael. And Ishmael was the son that
was produced by the way of the flesh and of the will of the
flesh. And he's been a disaster to the
entire world ever since. He's the son of the flesh. But
the second son, Isaac. Isaac is the son of promise.
He is the son that God promised to Abraham. And Isaac was born
when it was physically impossible for Sarah to bear a son. She
was 91 years old. It's impossible for her to have
a son. But here he is, because he's the son of promise. Isaac
was a miracle child. Only God could give life from
that dead womb, and he did. He's the miracle son, born of
the power of God and of the will of God. And I'm telling you,
anyone to whom God gives spiritual life, is a greater miracle than
Isaac being born from 91-year-old Sarah. Greater miracle. And these
two sons picture the two covenants. The covenant of works and the
covenant of grace. These two sons picture every
human being who's ever lived and say, well now, Frank, you're
taking that too far. Well, look at verse 24. Am I? Which things are an allegory?
For these two, for these are the two covenants. The one from
Mount Sinai which gendereth to bondage, which is Hagar. For
this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem,
which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem,
which is above, is free, which is the mother of us all." Now
an allegory, what's an allegory? Well an allegory uses people
or events or stories to represent a greater truth. And these two
sons are an allegory. They represent these two covenants.
Hagar and Ishmael represent the covenant of works. And that's
all the flesh can produce. All the covenant of works can
ever produce is bondage and death. And that's the very bondage that
the Jews in Jerusalem are in right now. The same bondage that
religious people, man-made religion, that's the same bondage they're
in. They're under that, the curse. But Isaac represents spiritual
Jerusalem, the spiritual children of promise. And Isaac shall thy
seed be called. And these two covenants, these
two types of people will never be at peace. They will never
coexist. You see that bumper sticker,
coexist with all those symbols. These two covenants will never
coexist. It's impossible. Look at verse
27. For it's written, Rejoice thou
barren that bearest not. and break forth and cry thou
that travailest not, for the desolate hath more children than
she which hath a husband. Now we, brethren, as Isaac was,
are the children of promise. But as then he that was born
after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the spirit,
even so it is now. Nevertheless, what saith the
scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the
bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the free woman." So
then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the
free. We are not sons by works or sons by promise. The son of
the covenant of works cannot inherit eternal life. It's an
impossibility, because salvation is by grace through faith, and
there's no grace and there's no faith in works in the covenant
of the law. But believers, children of God,
are children by promise of God and by the power of God, and
they'll inherit eternal life. No one is a son or daughter of
God by works. It's always by grace, by God's
power. Now, what does this mean to us
today in 2012? Well, Adam's sin brought forth
death. It brought forth a need for a
comfort. It brought forth a need for the
Savior, the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Adam's death brought
forth the need of salvation and eternal life to be found in Christ.
We found death in Adam. What we need is to find life
in Christ. And then the regenerate man will say, well, I'm not dead.
I'm not dead. I can do whatever I want. What
you're saying is I can't be saved even if I do make a choice for
Jesus. You're telling me I'm blocked out, even though I wanted
to accept Jesus as my personal savior. Your message is not a
message of comfort. You're just a message of message
of torment. Tell me to stay out so I can't come in. And to you, I say weeping, weeping. Then the gospel is not for you.
To you, I say weeping. It breaks my heart to say the
whole need not a physician. It's heartbreaking. It's heart
wrenching. The gospel declares salvation that's already accomplished
in our Lord Jesus Christ, and you don't have to do a blessed
thing to ratify it. It's finished. And God Almighty,
now you listen to me, God Almighty never begs a sinner to do anything. How foolish is it to ask a dead
man to make a decision for Jesus? He's dead. He can't do anything. And if you do, suppose you talk
that spiritually dead man down the aisle to shake the preacher's
hand. You know what you've done? You've made an ishmael. Instead
of waiting for God to make his sons, you gave God's sons. And
you made him an Ishmael. You're that man's enemy. If you
make an Ishmael, you are that man's enemy. You're not his friend.
But to help the sinners with joy, I tell you, come to Christ. Come to Him. Come begging Him
for mercy for your sin sick soul. Salvation is found in Him. Then
why don't you go to Him? And begging for mercy. He's the
only one able. to save your sinful soul, then
come to Him. He delights to show mercy to
sinners. God provided salvation in His
Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. That's the message. Then come
to Him. All right. Well, I hope the Lord
bless that to you.