Would you turn with me to 2 Samuel
chapter 14? 2 Samuel 14. I'd like to read verses Well, just first 14 for right
now. Second Samuel chapter 14. Verse 14. For we must needs. Die. That's a must. We must needs. Die. That's waiting on every one of
us. and are as water spilt on the
ground. There's no way that we can avoid
this, which cannot be gathered up again. Neither does God respect
any person, yet does he devise means that his banished be not
expelled from him. Let's pray together. Lord, how thankful we are that
you in your mercy and in your amazing grace have devised means
that your banished might not be expelled from you. Lord, we
ask in Christ's name that your gospel would be preached in the
power of your spirit. Lord, we ask that you would give
us grace. Have mercy on us. Forgive us
of our sins. May we be found in Christ. And
Lord, will you give us grace to honor you in all things? Be with all your people wherever
they meet together. Lord, that your banished might not be expelled
even this day. In Christ's name we pray. You will remember from last week
that Absalom murdered Amnon. He waited two years after Amnon
had raped his sister Tamar and he wanted vengeance and he waited
two years and he committed this cold-blooded premeditated murder
and then he ran away and he was gone for three years. But he was still David's son
And David still loved him and desired a relationship with him. Look in verses 38 and verse 39
of the 13th chapter. So Absalom fled and went to Geshur
and was there three years. And the soul of King David longed
to go forth unto Absalom for he was comforted concerning Abnon,
seeing he was dead. Now Joab, the son of Zeruiah,
perceived that the king's heart was toward Absalom. He could
see that David was yearning for Absalom. And Joab sent to Tekoa,
and fetched thence a wise woman, and said unto her, I pray thee,
feign thyself to be a mourner, and put on Now, mourning apparel,
and anoint not thyself with oil, but as a woman that hath been
a long time mourned for the dead. And come to the king, and speak
on this manner unto him, so Joab put the words in her mouth."
Now that's what the preaching of the gospel is. I pray that's
what happens this morning, that the Lord would put words in my
mouth, and that his gospel would be preached. But he tells this
woman to come to David with this story. Verse four, and when the
woman of Tekoa spake to the king, she fell on her face to the ground
and did obeisance and said, help, O king. And the king said unto
her, what aileth thee? And she answered, I am indeed
a widow woman, and my husband is dead. And thy handmaid had
two sons, and they two strove together in the field, and there
was none to part them but the one smote the other and slew
him. Now remember, she's making this
story up. This is what Joab said, you say this to David. And she's giving this story of
what took place with her two sons, one killed another. And remember, that's what happened
with David's sons, Absalom and Amnon. Thy handmaid had two sons
and they two strove together in the field and there was none
to part them, but the one smote the other and slew him. And behold,
the whole family is risen against thine handmaid. And they said,
deliver him that smote his brother, that we may kill him. For the
life of his brother, whom he slew, and we will destroy the
heir also. And so they shall quench my coal,
which is left, and shall not leave me to my husband neither
name nor reminder upon the earth." Now, look at her position. She
was a widow. She had two sons. One killed
the other son. He's murdered. He's dead. People
cry for justice to be done. Deliver us this other man that
we may kill him. And that's what justice would
have to be done. Put him to death. But she said,
he's all I got. He's all I have. If you kill
him, what's gonna become of me? He's the only one who can support
me. If you kill him, my husband's name will be blotted out. Now
that's her fear. Verse eight, and the king said
unto the woman, this is David, go to thy house and I will give
charge concerning thee. I'll protect you. And the woman
of Tekoa said unto the king, my Lord, O king, the iniquity
be upon me and upon my father's house and the king and his throne
be guiltless. You'll, you'll be guiltless in doing this. And
the king said, whosoever sayeth ought unto thee, bringing to
me and he shall not touch thee anymore. I'm going to take care
of you. And I'm going to take care of this situation. This
is not going to take place. Verse 11. Then she said, I pray thee, let
the king remember the Lord thy God, that thou would not suffer
the revengers of blood to destroy any more, lest they destroy my
son. And he said, as the Lord liveth,
there shall not one hair of thy son fall to the earth. I'm going
to take care of this. You don't need to worry. I'm
going to protect you. Verse 12, then the woman said, let thy
hand mate, I pray thee, speak one word unto my Lord, the king.
And he said, say on. And the woman said, wherefore? Then hast thou thought such a
thing against the people of God. For the king doth speak this
thing as one which is faulty, and that the king doth not fetch
home again is banished. Now, you'll protect my son. What
about your son? What about Absalom that's banished? What are you going to do about
him? For we must needs die as water spilt on the ground. We're
all going to die, which can't be gathered up. Neither does
God respect any person. God is absolutely just. He's
not a respecter of persons. Yet, yet does he devise means
that his banished be not expelled from him. Now therefore, that
I am come to speak of this thing unto my lord the king, it's because
the people have made me afraid. Now a handmaid said, I'll now
speak unto the king. It may be that the king will
perform the request of his handmaid, for the king will hear to deliver
his handmaid out of the hand of the man that would destroy
me and my son together out of the inheritance of God. Then
thine handmaid said, The word of my lord the king shall now
be comfortable, for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king
to discern good and bad, and therefore the lord thy God will
be with thee. Then the king answered and said unto the woman, Hide
not from me, I pray thee the thing that I shall ask thee.
And the woman said, Let my lord the king now speak. And the king
said, Is not the hand of Joab with thee in this? Joab put you
up to this, didn't he? The woman answered and said,
As thy soul liveth, my lord the king, none can turn the right
hand or to the left from aught that my lord the king hath spoken.
For thy servant Joab bade me, and he put all these words in
the mouth of thy handmaid, to fetch about the form of speech
hath thy servant Joab done. And my lord is wise, according
to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all things that
are in the earth. And the king said unto Joab,
Behold, I've done this thing. Go therefore, bring the young
man Absalom again. And Joab fell to the ground on
his face and bowed himself and thanked the king. And Joab said,
Today thy servant knoweth that I found grace in thy sight, my
lord, O king, in that the king has fulfilled the request of
a servant. So Joab arose and went to Geshur and brought Absalom
to Jerusalem. And the king said, let him turn
to his own house and let him not see my face. So Absalom returned
to his own house and saw not the king's face." Now that read
the story. God, who is no respecter of persons,
who is absolutely just, devises means to bring his banished back
so that they be not expelled. Now the whole gospel is found
in that one statement. God does devise means to bring
his banished back that they be not expelled. Now Absalom had
a pre-existing relationship with David before this sin. He was
his son. He was a child. You know, a son
of God has never been a son of the devil. You know, the Lord
said to that one group, you are your father, the devil, and the
lusts of your father you'll do. Now, if you're a child of God,
if you're a son of God, that's because of a pre-existing relationship. You have always been a son in
the Lord Jesus Christ. Before time began, you were a
son, loved, accepted in the beloved, accepted because of the lamb
slain before the foundation of the world. Now, when you were
born into this world, you didn't know that. You had no idea of
it. But if you're a child of God,
you have always been united to Christ. You've always had that
relationship. I got to go again to what I heard
Greg Elmquist make this statement and I loved it. When we get to
heaven, we'll find out we've always been there in Christ. What a blessed place to be. Now,
Absalom sinned. Premeditated murder. Now you
realize where he wanted to take up for his sister, but still
he didn't have any right to be a vigilante. He sinned greatly
in what he did and here he has to be banished. God is just. God cannot let sin go unpunished. God cannot let sin alone like
that. He can't do it. He's God. He'd cease to be God
if he could let sin go unpunished and if he could let Absalom just
go free. Absalom is banished. And well,
he should be. I think of our first parents
in the Garden of Eden. After they sinned, they were
driven out, weren't they? They were driven out. There was
an angel that had a sword going every way to keep them out of
the garden. They were driven out. They were
banished. But I love how David at this
time, and this is precious, David's heart yearned over Absalom. He yearned over him. He loved
him. he yearned over him. I have such
a hard time understanding this. How that the God of glory could
yearn and long over me. But that's the picture. God yearns
and longs over his banished ones. Remember, notice that his banished.
His banished. That's talking about the elect.
That's talking about every child of God. His banished. The scripture
says God yearns. David yearned and longed for
Absalom. Now this woman says to David,
she says, God devised means, and he's actually, she's actually
referring to the cities of refuge when she says God devised means
to bring his banished home. That person who, who, was guilty
of murder, was given this city of refuge where they could stay.
God devised means where this person could be saved. They could be brought back in.
And she's saying to David, if God can devise means to bring
his banished in, and you remember the cities of refuge, if you
killed somebody accidentally, and the revenger blood came after
you. He had the right to kill you in those times, but if you
got into a city of refuge that God had provided, you were safe. You were completely safe. Well,
that's just another beautiful picture of the gospel. Now, she
says to David, if God will devise means to bring his banished back
so they won't be expelled, you ought to do the same thing. That was her argument, and I
won't complain with it. I won't deny it. I'll believe
that altogether. God devises means. Now, God has devised means to bring
his banished back. Now, I can understand why I've
been banished, can't you? I can understand why I've been
kicked out of the house. Just like Absalom was kicked
out of the house. Absalom was bad. I mean, you go into chapter
15, look at him. He starts a coup and starts to
try to take over the throne. He was going to kill his daddy.
I mean, Absalom was no good. But David loved him. What a picture of God's love
to his children. David loved him. And David's
going to let him come back. And it ends up being, humanly
speaking, it ends up being a mistake because when he led him back,
he tried to destroy the kingdom and murder David and take over.
I mean, this guy, he was bad news. But what a glorious picture
of the gospel. God has devised means to make
it to where his banished are not expelled. You know, the first
means is election. This is the work of the father. He chose to bring his banished
back. And that's where salvation begins.
Now, remember this, election is the sinner's friend. This
is where salvation begins. You can't preach the gospel,
not preach election at all. It's impossible. This is where
salvation begins. God bringing his banished back,
choosing to do it. I love election. I hope nobody
ever gets tired of election. That's the work of the father
in salvation. Him choosing. This is his mercy. This is his
grace. He chooses to bring his banished
back. Thank God for election. And then He chose to redeem us. This is the work of the Son.
Now this is all of God's God devising means to bring His banished
back to Him. All these banished are united
to Christ. He loves them. He chose to save
them. And if God chose to save you,
saved you must be. And he provided his son, this
is the work of the son in redemption. He chose to come here. First,
he became my surety. He agreed to save me. This is
the means God has devised, the means of the gospel. Christ chose
to be my surety, to bear all the responsibility of my salvation.
He said, everything you require of Todd Nybert, you look to me
for. He devised means, the Son did. And He came to this earth
and He kept God's law perfectly. For me. For all of His banished
ones. He devised means of a way that
He could be just and justify the ungodly. And He kept the
law perfectly on the behalf of all of His banished ones. And
then He took their sins upon Himself, willingly. willingly. And this is so amazing to me
that he would willingly do this for me. I think of him willingly
saying, I'll take his sins. He took my sins and my sorrows.
He made them his very own. He bore the burden to Calvary
and suffered and died alone. Oh, he made the means of my salvation. He He kept the law for me. He paid for my sins. He made
a way for God to be just, for my sins to be punished, and yet
bring me back in. But we don't stop there. I think
of the work of God the Holy Spirit in salvation. You know, I wouldn't,
even if He's made these means, I wouldn't come to Him. I wouldn't
come to him dead in sins, I'd stay off, I'd be happy in my
banished state. If he didn't give me a new heart,
if he didn't regenerate me, if he didn't make me willing, I
wouldn't be willing if he didn't make me willing. He's made us
willing in the day of his power. He has made means, he has devised
means where he can bring his banished back in. And now because
of that, I'm happy to be saved by grace. I'm happy to be saved
by Christ. Thank God he's devised these
means. And let's go on. He's the means
of what we're doing right now, the preaching of the gospel.
That's a means that he's devised. Faith cometh by hearing, hearing
by the word of God. You hear the gospel. That's what
a glorious means of grace. That's something that gives Christ
all the honor. I love the way it says God, it
please God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that
believe. You mean, this is what God uses
a fool like you to preach the gospel to a bunch of fools like
us? And God actually, that's the way God works, yeah? Because
he gets all the glory that way. Sure there's no glory going to
the preacher. The preacher's a banished fool himself. There's no glory
going to him. No glory going to the hearers. It all goes to
him. The means of, what about the
means of prayer? The means of prayer. I shall
yet for this be inquired of, of the house of Israel to do
it for him. We ask the Lord, this is God's means, we ask the
Lord to give us faith. We ask the Lord to give us repentance.
We ask the Lord to give us a new heart. Everything that we have,
we ask the Lord for. And don't ever forget the importance
of prayer. If you're gonna have something,
you're gonna ask for it. That's the means God has devised. You
have not because you ask not. Ask and you shall receive. Seek
and you shall find. Knock and it shall be opened
to you. God devises means. The reading
of the word. The reading of the word. What
a privilege that God has given us a book that he has written
that reveals the gospel. So when you're hearing a fool
like me preach, you can open up the scriptures and see if
what I'm saying is so. You better be doing that. Search the scriptures
whether this is so. He's given us the means of reading
the word. I'm so thankful for the means
and the means of grace, hearing, praying, reading, calling upon
his name. And I think of this, everything
in providence, God uses to bring us to himself. Everything. You know, regarding the past,
all your past, it's all good. Because it's what God has used
to bring you to himself. He's in control of everything. Even if he has to burn your barley
fields. Look in verse 20, 30 of verse
25. of this 14th chapter, but in
all Israel there was none to be so much praise as Absalom
for his beauty. From the sole of his foot, even
to the crown of his head, there was no blemish in him. He was
the best looking guy in all Israel, and so he was so admired by the
people. And when he pulled his head, for it was every year's
end that he pulled it, or he got a haircut because the hair
was heavy on him, therefore he pulled it. He weighed the hair
of his head at 200 shekels after the king's weight. And unto Absalom
there was born three sons, one daughter whose name was Tamar,
and she was a woman of fair countenance. Now remember, Absalom has been
banished. He got to come back to Israel,
but David said, he's not going to see my face. So Absalom dwelt
two full years in Jerusalem, and saw not the king's face.
Therefore Absalom sent for Joab to have sent him to the king,
but he would not come to him. And when he sent him again the
second time, he wouldn't come. Therefore he said to his servants,
see Joab's field is near mine, and he hath barley there, go
and set it on fire. And Absalom's servants set the
field on fire. Then Joab arose and came to Absalom
and his house and said unto him, wherefore hath thy servants set
my field on fire? And Absalom answered Joab, Behold,
I sent unto thee, saying, Come hither, that I may send thee
to the king, to say, Wherefore am I come from, Geshur? It be
good for me to have been there still. Now therefore let me see
the king's face, and if there be any iniquity in me, let him
kill me. So Joab came to the king and told him, and when he
had called for Absalom, he came to the king and bowed himself
on his face to the ground before the king, and the king kissed
Absalom. Now, Joab wouldn't come when
Absalom called him. Absalom set his field on fire.
Joab came, and if God sets my field on fire to get me to Christ,
wonderful. Wonderful. The point is, everything
in the Lord's providence, he's in control of everything. So
we will take, he's devised means, and he uses everything in providence
to bring his banished back to himself. What a glorious God
he is. What a glorious God he is. He has devised means to bring
his banished back to himself. Thank God for the gospel. What a glorious God that he would
actually yearn and long over his people so much that he would
devise means to bring us back. And thank God he does it, and
at what cost to himself? Boy, the gospel gives all the
glory to Christ, doesn't it? Thank God for the gospel.