Good morning everybody. Would you turn with me to 2 Samuel. 2 Samuel chapter 19 beginning in
verse 41. And behold, all the men of Israel
came to the king and said unto the king, why have our brethren,
the men of Judah, stolen thee away and have brought the king
and his household and all David's men with him over Jordan? Now,
obviously there was some jealousy going on. They were upset that
the men of Judah did this and they were left out. Now I think
it's interesting, they're the ones who rejected David in the
first place, but now they're upset. Verse 42, and all the
men of Judah answered the men of Israel, because the king is
near of kin to us, remember he came out of the tribe of Judah,
wherefore then be ye angry for this matter? Have we eaten at
all of the king's cost, or has he given us any gift? Did we
get any remuneration for this? And the men of Israel answered
the men of Judah and said, we have 10 parts in the king and
we have also more right in David than you. We were the majority. Why then do you despise us that
our advice should not be first in bringing back our king? And
the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of
the men of Israel. They got into a barking match
and Judah's words were louder. Let's pray. Lord, we come into your presence
in Christ's name, that name that's above every name, and we ask
that we might be enabled by your grace to worship you in spirit
and in truth. We pray that your gospel might
be preached, that you'd give us hearing ears. We pray that
you'd grant us true repentance, and true faith, and a true broken
heart over sin. We ask that you would grant us
greater love to thee, greater love to one another. Lord, these
things are above the strength and energy of the flesh, and
we pray that you would be pleased to do this for us and in us.
Lord, how thankful we are for thy blessed son. How thankful
we are for you giving him as a sacrifice for sinners. How thankful we are for the cross
and the glories of the cross. How thankful we are for the freeness
of your grace. Now, Lord, bless us for the Lord's
sake. Be with all your people wherever
they meet together. And Lord, we once again pray for our nation
that you would give our leaders wisdom. Lord, we know that the
King's heart is in the hand of the Lord as the rivers of water,
you turn it with or so ever you will. Bless us for Christ's sake,
in his name we pray, amen. Now, when we go on into chapter
20, we see another rebellion taking place with Sheba. You
can read about that. As a matter of fact, we're going
to look at it this morning in chapter 20. But as soon as the trial
with Absalom is over, The trial with Sheba begins. There's going
to be another revolt just as bad. And what that reminds me
of is as soon as one trial's over, another one's going to
begin. You can just write that down.
It's always that way. Man that's born of woman is born
to trouble as the sparks fly upward. I'm glad I don't know what's
going to happen next. I don't want to know. But at any rate,
look back at the passage I just read. And behold, all the men
of Israel came to the king. This is after Absalom is destroyed
and he's brought back as a king, and he's now recognized once
again as a king. These same men who had followed
Absalom and revolted against David, they came to the king
and said unto the king, why have our brethren, the men of Judas,
stolen thee away and have brought the king and his household and
all David's men with him over Jordan? Now they were jealous. They were jealous. This is not
right. They were jealous. We should be bringing you over
instead of them. They were jealous. Now, what
is behind jealousy? Behind jealousy is a sense of
entitlement. I'm not being treated fairly. I should be treated in a different
manner. I'm not being given my rights. I have a right to this. I have a right to be bringing
the king back over. I am not being treated fairly. Verse 42, and all the men of
Judah answered the men of Israel, because the king is near of kin
to us. We're relatives. I mean, he's
out of Judah. No wonder we're the ones that
did it. Wherefore then be ye angry for this matter? Have we
eaten at all at the king's cost or has he given us any gift? We're not trying to get political
advantage through this. We love him. We love him. Verse 43, and the men of Israel
answered the men of Judah and said, we have 10 parts in the
king. We're the majority, and we have also more right in David
than you do. You see, they're showing their
sense of entitlement. This is not right that we're
being treated this way. Why then do you despise us that
our advice should not be first had in bringing back the king?
And the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of
the men of Israel. The majority is always right,
isn't it? The majority's never right. The majority's never right. And they had this sense of entitlement. And what I was thinking about
in this whole thing of this jealousy, born of a sense of entitlement,
we're not being treated right. Any objection any man has to
the gospel of God's grace, to election, or effectual atonement,
or God's grace being irresistible, invincible, the grace of the
Holy Spirit, any objection any man has to That comes from a
sense of entitlement. I'm not being treated fairly. I should be rewarded with his
grace. It's not fair. It's not right. That's what's behind all this
jealousy. Now, what took place? Chapter
20. And there happened to be there
a man of Belial, a son of the devil, a worthless man. whose
name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite. And he blew a trumpet
and said, we have no part in David, neither have we inheritance
of the son of Jesse. Every man to his tents, O Israel. We don't want to have anything
to do with him. If he's not going to come back
with us, another revolt takes place. Sheba. So every man of
Israel went up from after David and followed Sheba the son of
Bichri. But the men of Judah claimed unto their king for Jordan
even unto Israel. Now, rebellion against authority
happens because people think their rights have been violated.
And so, how much did they really love David? As soon as someone
says, ever mend your own tents, they forsake David. And a rebellion
takes place, and they leave David. All this talk about, we have
a right into the king, it shows what's beneath all that. They
left David. Now, the men of Judah, his true
brethren, the scripture says, claimed to him. They claimed
to him. The men of Israel left him, and
they followed Sheba. The men who were his blood brothers
stayed with him. and clave to Him and wouldn't
follow. Now what that lets me know is
the only people who truly persevere in the faith are those who share
by the grace of God in the nature of Christ. They're blood brethren. God's done something for them.
They have a new heart that cannot leave Christ. They clave to Him. While all the men of Israel forsook
Him, Who is it that's going to persevere
in the faith? Someone that God has given a
new heart to, a new nature to, and they're going to continue
in the faith. Verse three, and David came to
his house at Jerusalem, and the king took the 10 women, his concubines,
whom he had left to keep the house. You remember, they're
the ones that Absalom had raped publicly before all of the Israel. And he put them in a ward and
fed them, but went not unto them. So they were shut up unto the
day of their death, living in widowhood. Then said the king
to Amasa." Now do you remember who Amasa was? Amasa was the
general of Absalom's army. And because Joab killed Absalom,
David was upset with him. So he made Amasa, this was a
very gracious act on his part. He made Amasa the general of
his army and he displaced Joab. Then said the king to Amasa,
assemble me the men of Judah within three days and be thou
here present. We need to get us an army. So
Amasa went to assemble the men of Judah, but he tarried longer
than the set time, which had been appointed him. And he paid
for that act, as we're going to see. Verse six, and David
said to Abishai, this is because Amasa had not yet returned with
the armies. And David said to Abishai, and
you remember who Abishai was, he was Joab's brother. And he's
the one who wanted to kill Shemai, when David wanted to have mercy
on him, you remember that. And David said to Abishai, now
shall Sheba, the son of Bichrod, do to us more harm than did Absalom.
Take thou thy Lord's servants and pursue after him, lest he
get him fenced cities and escape us. And they went out after him,
Joab's men. Now, Joab had been displaced,
but Joab's a ruthless man, as we're gonna see, and he wants
to get his position back. And he goes after, with Abshi,
his brother, and the Cherithites and the Perithites and all the
mighty men, and they went out of Jerusalem to pursue after
Sheba, the son of Bichri. When they were at the great stone,
which is in Gibeon, Amasa went before them, he came back. And
Joab's garment that he had put on was girded unto him, and under
it a girdle with a sword fastened upon his loins, and the sheath
thereof. As he went forth, it fell out."
And I think that he caused it to fall out because he wanted
to have it in his hand for what he was getting ready to do. But
while he was walking towards the Mesa, Joab, his sword fell
out, But Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab's
hand. So he smote him therewith in the fifth rib, and shed out
his bowels to the ground, and struck him not again, and he
died. So Joab and Abshi, his brother,
pursued after Sheba the son of Bichrod." Now here's this brutal
act. Joab, he's such a ruthless man.
If it's going to help him, he's going to do right. If it's not
going to help him, he's going to do wrong. He's always seeking
his own self-interest. And here he kills Emesa because
he wants to be the head, and Emesa's now the head, so he murders
him. You know, I couldn't help but
thinking about Joab. And this is a very solemn thing to think
about. But Joab witnessed David's sinful behavior. Do you remember
how David sent a letter by Uriah? Kill Uriah? And Joab did it. And Joab witnessed the sinful,
wicked behavior of David. And I think it encouraged him
in his own wicked behavior. He thought, well, if David can
get by with it, I can get by with it. So remember, my conduct
and my example has a great effect on others. I think it did on
him. I think when he saw the way David was, he thought, hey,
I can do it too. But let's go on reading. Verse
11. And one of Joab's men stood by
him and said, he that favoreth Joab, and he that is for David,
let him go after Joab, let him follow him. Now Joab's the leader
again. And a mass of wallowed in blood
in the midst of the highway, And when the men saw that, all
the people stood still. You see, when they would go by,
they would look at him laying there in the highway dead, and
they all knew it was wrong. And I guess it's also kind of
like, you know, a car wreck, when everybody stops and looks.
That's what everybody was doing with him. They saw him laying
there dead and murdered, and they all knew it was wrong. So
he, so he, Joab removed Mesa out of the highway into the field
and cast a cloth upon him when he saw that every man that came
by him stood still. And when he was removed out of
the highway, all the people went after Joab to pursue after Sheba,
the son of Bichrite. Now, here we have Joab getting
his position back as the head general. And he went through
all the tribes of Israel unto Abel, unto Beth-malachah, and
all the Berites, and they were gathered together and went also
after him. And they came. and besieged him in Abel of Bethmica. And they cast up a bank against
the city and it stood in the trench and all the people that
were with Joab battered the wall to throw it down. Now they know
Sheba was there and they were going to destroy the city. They
were going to do everything they could to destroy this rebel who
had started this uprising against David. Then cried a wise woman
out of the city, here, here. Say, I pray you unto Joab, come
near hither that I may speak with thee. And when he was come
near unto her, this wise woman, the woman said, art thou Joab?
And he answered, I'm he. Then she said unto him, hear
the words of thine handmaid. And he answered, I do hear. Then
she spake, saying, they were wont to speak in old times, saying
that they should surely ask counsel of Abel. So they ended the matter. If there was going to be wisdom,
it was going to be found here at Abel, this city. And she says,
I am one of them that are peaceable and faithful in Israel. Now, I love that. I love that
description. This is what a believer is. Peaceable. peaceable. Now, where's that
come from? Having been justified, having
been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ. Now, if I'm justified, I don't
have anything to be a turmoil about. I have peace. I have peace. I stand perfect before God, perfectly
righteous and faithful, peaceful. And you know, if you're at peace
with God, you're not going to be trying to start fights with
men. And you're going to be faithful to the gospel, you're going to
preach the gospel, but you're not going to be looking for arguments
and contention. Peaceable. God's on the throne.
Feeling peace, knowing that God's in control of everybody and everything. Every thought going through your
mind right now, He's in absolute control of. He's in control of
everybody. Peace and faithful. I'm one that's faithful. Now,
what is faithful? You believe and you can be believed. You trust and you could be trusted. I love that scripture in Revelation
17, 14. He's King of kings and Lord of lords, and they that
were with him are called, chosen, and faithful. Let's go on reading.
Verse 19. I'm one of them that are peaceable
and faithful in Israel. Thou seekest to destroy a city
and a mother in Israel. What a title. A mother in Israel. Why wilt thou swallow up the
inheritance of the Lord? And Joab answered and said, far
be it, far be it for me that I'd swallow up or destroy. Joab,
really? You hypocrite. That's all you
do. Far be it for me. Far be it for
me. Joab, you're a phony. And I just,
you know, anytime somebody makes this guarantee, far be it for
me to do, do you have any idea who you are? Far be it from me
that I should swallow up or destroy. The matter is not so, but a man
of Mount Ephraim, Sheba, the son of Bichrite, by name, hath
lifted up his hand against the king, even against David, deliver
him only, and I'll depart from the city. And the woman said
unto Joab, behold, his head shall be thrown to thee over the wall. Then the woman went unto all
the people in her wisdom, And they cut off the head of Sheba,
the son of Bikrash, and cast it out to Joab. And he blew a
trumpet, and they retired from the city, every man to his tent.
And Joab returned to Jerusalem and to the king, no doubt with
Sheba's head, saying, look what I've done to help you get back
in power. Now, what I wanna leave you with
in this story, and remember, everything in the Bible is given
to teach us of the gospel. You believe that? Everything. Now, first, we have already considered
the jealousy that brought all of this on. It was jealousy,
it was a sense of entitlement, and it wasn't done out of true
love for David. And that's what brought on all
this revolt. But in this passage of scripture,
we have two deaths. One, a very unjust death. And number two, a very just death. And we have a whole city being
delivered because of that death. Now you see where I'm going with
this. The death of Christ. The death of Christ. First of
all, it was a very unjust death, wasn't it? He's the Son of God. He never sinned. He kept God's
law perfectly. He went about doing good. That's the only way you could
describe Him. He went about doing good. The perfect Son of God. Sinless. And yet, he died a death that there's no way anybody can
describe it. You know, we're coming up in
the next week or two to Gethsemane while we're preaching through
Luke, and I got to thinking about that, the Son of God being so amazed and being very
heavy and saying, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto
death, knowing what he was going to experience as the sin-bearing
substitute, drinking the cup of God's wrath. What an, he never
sinned. What an unjust death. A mesa,
the way he was killed. Joab coming up and saying, how's
your health, my brother? And grabbing him by the beard
and ramming a sword under his fifth rib and killing him. Oh,
what a brutal, wicked conduct. And then we have Sheba, a death
that was completely deserved. Sheba deserved to have his head
cut off, didn't he? A rebel against the king. Every
man that I tend to Israel, a rebel against the king. He deserved
to die. Now when Christ died, he deserved
to die. the innocent being punished.
That's the way many people present the death of Christ. It was the
innocent being punished. He didn't do anything, but he
was punished anyway. No, it wasn't the innocent being punished.
The sins of God's elect became so truly his that he was actually
guilty of them. And when God punished him, he
was getting exactly what he deserved. And that's the justice of the
gospel. And you know what? A whole city was delivered because
of this death, wasn't it? A whole city was delivered. All
of God's people, all of the elect, all who believe, they're all
delivered because of this death, the death of Christ. And it's
the most wondrous thing we can ever think of. It was totally
unjust. He's holy, harmless, undefiled,
separate from sinners. What perfection in His person. And for Him to die? Yet His death
was completely just. When my sin became His sin, it
became His sin. When His righteousness became
my righteousness, it's my righteousness. And I stand before God without
guilt, actually deserving to be in heaven. Because I am the
very righteousness of God in Him. I hope that we never look at
the death of Christ is, well, I understand that. I've got that
down. I've got the doctrine of it down
pat. No, it's, there's such glory in his death that we will spend
eternity praising him for the glories
of his death.