You know, this phrase is somewhat
unique to the scriptures, and it came to pass. I love that
phrase. It's found in the Bible hundreds
of times. It came to pass. God purposed
it, God willed it, and it came to pass. This is throughout the
Old Testament and the New Testament. God has a purpose in everything
and everything comes to pass just as He's purposed it. Aren't
you glad it's that way? That gives me such joy. Romans 8, 28 says, and we know
that all things work together for good to them that love God,
to them who are the called according to His purpose. It came to pass. I love that scripture in Proverbs
16. The lot is cast into the lap. Now, when we think of the
casting of lots, we think of random, chance, luck. But the
wise man tells us the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. You're up to your neck in the
will of God. Isn't that great? It came to pass. Yeah, over,
you're right, over, over. Now, and it came to pass after
this that David inquired of the Lord, saying, shall I go up into
the cities of Judah? And the Lord said unto him, go
up. And David said, whether shall I go up? And he said unto Hebron. Now, David had failed to do this. Would you turn with me to chapter
27 of 1 Samuel. And David said in his heart,
I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul. There's nothing
better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land
of the Philistines. And Saul shall despair of me
to seek me anymore in any coast of Israel. So shall I escape
out of his hand. Now, one thing that's very clear
here, David did not inquire of the Lord. David said, this is
the only thing for me to do. I need to get out of here. He
didn't ask the Lord for any direction or wisdom or guidance. He just
said, obviously I'm gonna get killed if I don't get out of
here. So he escaped into the land of the Philistines thinking
that he would be safe there. And this began a very dark place
in David's life when he became a servant of the king of the
Philistines, Gath. And he was in a position of compromise
and deception for 16 months. Now this is David. the man after
God's own heart. He was in a very dark place.
Now, somebody says, how could a believer, how could a man after
God's own heart be in a very dark place? Well, I don't have
any problem answering that question. If you know anything about your
own heart, you know that that, apart from God's grace, could
easily be you, don't you? Now, David went into a very dark
place, but God, in his mercy, delivered David from this, He,
if you remember in chapter 30 of 1 Samuel, he destroyed the
Amalekites and had a great spoil and started sending gifts to
Israel, kind of getting back in their good graces because
the scripture says he stunk in the eyes of the Israelites for
a long time. They knew he was over there with the Philistines
and they were disgusted by him and you understand them feeling
that way. But now he's seeking to get back in good graces with
them and so He asks the Lord, shall I go back up? He'd been
gone for 16 months. He said, shall I go back up?
And the Lord tells him exactly where to go, verse two. So David
went up thither, and his two wives also, Ahinomite, the Jezreelites,
and Abigail, Nabal's wife, the Carmelite. Now, somebody's thinking,
was it OK to have two wives? No. No. Somebody evidently disagreed
with me. But no, that's all. No, we'll leave
it at that. No, but he did anyway. Verse, and his men that were
with him did David bring up, every man with his household,
and they dwelt in the cities of Hebron. Now these men that
hung out with David, we read about them first in chapter 22
of 1 Samuel, where it says, everyone that was distressed, and everyone
that was in debt, and everyone that was discontent joined themselves
to David and he became captain over them. And isn't that who
comes to the greater David? Everyone who's distressed, everyone
who's in debt and they can't pay and oh, they're discontent
with themselves, with religion. They gather themselves to the
greater David. and join themselves to him. As
a matter of fact, if you read chapter 23 of 2 Samuel, we read
of all the exploits of these men who were loyal to David throughout. Now, verse 4, And the men of
Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of
Judah. just like God said would take place years before in 1
Samuel 16. Now they're doing what God had
purposed to be done, and God's purpose is coming to pass. You
know, David wasn't campaigning to be king, was he? You know,
we're in the time of campaigns and elections and all that kind
of stuff, and I can't tell you how, you know, preachers never
make political comments, or they shouldn't, they shouldn't. But
don't you, aren't you tired of all this mudslinging and smearing
and it's just, it almost sounds like they think the people of
Kentucky are the dumbest people in the world. Maybe they are,
you know, but if they put these, you know, these silly mudslinging,
so much for my political commentary. I'm not going to say anything
else. Now the first thing they did
was tell David about the men of Jabesh Gilead what they had
done. Verse 4, And they told David,
saying that the men of Jabesh Gilead were they that buried
Saul. Now, turn back to 1 Samuel 31
and let's read about that. Verse 8. Now remember, this had
happened just a few days before. There's really no break between
1 Samuel and 2 Samuel. We made that break, but everything
is just Real close. Verse 8, And it came to pass
on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that
they found Saul and his three sons fallen in Mount Gilboa.
And they cut off his head, and stripped off his armor, and sent
into the land of the Philistines round about to publish it in
the house of their idols among the people. And they put his
armor in the house of Ashtaroth, and they fastened his body to
the wall of Bethshem. And when the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead,
now who are these inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead? If you go back
into 1 Samuel 11, this is about the only thing good that Saul
ever did. You remember when the king of the Ammonites, the men
of Jabesh-Gilead tried to make a league with him and to be in,
so they wouldn't fight. And he said, well, I'll do it
on this condition. I'm gonna put out the right eye of every one
of you. My, can you imagine how horrible that would be? But Saul
got all of Israel together and destroyed them. And as far as
I can tell, this is really about the only good thing Saul ever
did. And the men of Jabesh Gilead remember that. And when they
hear of what has happened to their master Saul, look what
takes place. Verse 11, And when the inhabitants of Jabash-Gilead
heard of that which the Philistines had done to Saul, all the valiant
men arose, and went all night, and took the body of Saul and
the bodies of his sons from the wall of Bethshem, and came to
Jabash, and burnt them there. And they took their bones, and
buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days." Now,
David's first act is to commend these men for what they had done.
They were faithful to Saul. And one thing David always was,
David was always faithful to Saul, wasn't he? He looked at
Saul as God's anointed. And though Saul wasn't faithful
to him, he was always trying to kill him. David remained faithful
to Saul all the way unto the end. Look in verse five, and
David sent messengers unto the men of Jabesh-Gilead, and said
unto them, be ye of the Lord, that you have
showed this kindness unto your Lord, even unto Saul, and have
buried him." David commends them for what they'd done. Now, I've
already said what Saul did for them. He really did help them,
but they didn't forget that. And they risked their lives.
And that's what was going on. They were risking their lives.
Saul was already dead. Yet they were risking their lives
to remove his body from that wall and being exposed to much
shame and brought him back into Gilead, a part of Israel, to
have him buried there. And David is commending them
for their loyalty. They express such loyalty to
Saul for what he had done for them. And you know, loyalty is
a beautiful thing, isn't it? Loyalty to Christ. May the Lord
make me and you loyal people. Loyal to Christ, loyal to his
people. Loyal to His cause. Loyal to
His gospel. It's loyalty to Christ that causes
a man to speak against that which is against Christ. It's loyalty
to Him. It's love to His person. Wherever
you have loyalty, you have love. And what a beautiful thing loyalty
is. And He is commending them for
their loyalty. Disloyalty demonstrates a very
selfish, narcissistic character, but these men put their life
on the line just to give Saul an honorable burial. And David,
in his first act as king, as anointed king, as recognized
king, he commends them for this act of loyalty. And I love what
he said to him, and this is very important. I think this is the
most glorious part of this passage of Scripture. Notice what he
says to him. He says in verse 5, blessed be ye of the Lord,
that you have showed this kindness unto your Lord, even to Saul,
and you have bared him. Now the reason you've done this
is because you're blessed of the Lord. He didn't say you're
blessed of the Lord because you've done this. Oh, I've done this
good thing, therefore the Lord has blessed me. He doesn't say
that at all. He says the reason you've done this is because you
are blessed of the Lord. A few questions. Right now, are
you poor in spirit? You really don't believe you
have anything that can recommend you to God. You know what that
means? You're blessed of God. God has
blessed you. Do you mourn over your sin? If you do, you're blessed of
God. Blessed are they that mourn,
for they shall be comforted. Are you meek before God? Do you
believe that He's the first cause behind everything and that He's
in control of everything and whatever He does with you is
right? You might not understand it, but you know because He does
it, it's right. You're blessed of God. Do you hunger and thirst
after righteousness? Now, if you hunger and thirst
after righteousness, it's because as far as the way you feel, you
feel like you don't have any. But oh, you hunger and thirst
for righteousness before God. You're blessed of God. Now, anything
that the Lord enables me to do by grace, if I ever do anything
by the grace of God, it's because he has blessed me to do it. That's
the only reason. He says to these fellas, he said,
you're blessed of God that you did the right thing. And don't
you know that if you ever, by the grace of God, do the right
thing, it's only because he blessed you and called you to do it,
and you wouldn't have done it unless he blessed you. You know
that, don't you? You know that. Salvation is of
the Lord. Every aspect of salvation is
of the Lord. If you love Christ, you've been
blessed by God. If you see yourself as a sinner,
you've been blessed by God. If you believe the gospel, you've
been blessed by God. Blessed be ye of the Lord in
that you've shown your master this kindness. Look in verse
six. Verse six, and now the Lord show
kindness and truth unto you. And I also will requite you this
kindness because you've done this thing. Now, what does he
ask for these people? Kindness and truth. This is what
I'm asking the Lord to give you, kindness and truth. Now this
word kindness is the word that's generally translated mercy. You know what I need more than
anything else right now? I need the mercy of God. I'm a sinner and I need His mercy. I'm not talking about the way
I was yesterday. I'm talking about the way I am right now. I need
more than anything else. I need His mercy. And the greatest
thing I can ask for you and the greatest thing you can ask for
me is mercy. The example that came to my mind
was Onesiphorus, there in the latter part of 2nd Timothy chapter
1, where Paul talked about everybody forsaking him, but he said, the
Lord grant mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus, because he off
refreshed me. He was not ashamed of my chain.
And when he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently and found
me. This was before Google, or not Google, global positioning.
I mean, can you imagine all the stuff he had to do in order to
find him? in Rome. And do you know what he prayed?
He said, the Lord pay him back. No, he didn't say that, did he?
He said, the Lord grant mercy to him at that great day. Now, that's what I need. That's
what you need. This is what I pray for you.
This is what I hope you pray for me. The mercy of God. Sovereign, saving mercy. You see, God's mercy, it's not
an offer. He doesn't offer you mercy. He
has mercy on you. Don't you know that's the way
God saved you? He had mercy on you. Now the Lord grant you mercy. That's what I want and that's
what I want for you. I don't want God to give me what my sins say I deserve. He hath
not dealt with us after our sins, nor rewarded us according to
our iniquities. That's what David said. And that's
what I want, mercy, don't you? Mercy. He said, the Lord grant
you mercy. And then he said, the Lord grant
you truth. Truth. Now here's something that's indispensable. It's the truth. There's no worship
apart from the truth. They that worship Him must worship
Him in spirit and in truth. And the Lord said in John chapter
18, He said, I came to bear witness unto the truth. And when He was nailed to that cross,
what a witness He bore of the truth. The only way you're going to
know, and I'm going to know, the truth about myself is not
by examining my life and seeing either how holy I am or how sinful
I am or what I do or what I don't do. I can't really get a real
view of what I really am by looking within, looking at myself. There's
only one way that I can find the truth about myself. Look
at the cross. If God left me or you to ourselves,
here's where we'll go. The cross. You and I would put
Jesus Christ to death if it were in our power by nature. And that's
the closest me and you are ever going to come to the truth about
ourself. It's not about looking within. No, it's looking to the cross.
But not only do I see the truth about myself in the cross, I
see the truth of all of God's character. The cross is the manifestation
of the character of God. All of His attributes, His holiness,
His justice, His mercy, His grace, His forgiveness, His love, His
power, everything God is pleased to make known is manifest, is
revealed in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. I need the
truth of how God can have something to do with somebody like me.
I have some knowledge of myself and I have some knowledge of
His character. How can God love and accept and save me? The only answer to that is found
in the cross. You see, that's the truth, isn't
it? And that is what every, that's what He wishes for all these
people. He says, may God grant you kindness or mercy or truth. Verse six, and now the Lord show
you kindness and truth unto you. And I also will requite you this
kindness because you have done this thing. David's first recorded
act of king was an act of kindness. Isn't that beautiful? Not self
kindness. Kindness, may the Lord make me
and you kind people, kind. Verse seven, therefore now let your hands
be strengthened. And be ye valiant, valiant, courageous,
for your master Saul is dead, and also the house of Judah hath
anointed me king over them. Now, I love the way he does this.
For one thing, he wasn't running for office. God made him king,
and then Judah made him king. And he doesn't tell these people,
you need to come under my rule now, because I'm king of Judah,
and you all need to subject yourself. No, he just tells them, Lord,
make me king over Judah. He's so unassuming here. This
is David. The man with the scripture later
on says, God put the fear of David in every nation. He became
the most powerful man in the world. And yet he's so unassuming
and humble. And he says, he's made me king
of Judah. And he doesn't tell them what
they need to do. There's a lot of wisdom there, isn't there?
He doesn't tell them what they need to do. He just left it alone,
knowing that the Lord's will would be done. But he said, therefore,
now let your hands be strengthened, and be ye valiant, be ye courageous.
And here's how come. For your master Saul is dead.
And also the house of Judah hath anointed me king over them. Now, let's look at this in light of
the way we ought to look at every scripture. The Lord said regarding
every scripture, they are they which testify of me. And this
verse of scripture I just read, like every other verse of scripture,
testifies of the Lord Jesus Christ. Somebody says, I don't see Christ
in it. Well, maybe not, but he's still there. Whether I see him
or not, he is there. The gospel's always there. Now,
your master, sin, has been put to death. I want you to think about the
magnitude of that statement. He said, your master Saul is
dead. Well, I can say to everybody here that's a believer, your
master, sin, has already been put to death. Reckon yourselves
to be dead indeed to sin. But alive unto God through our
Lord Jesus Christ. Now, your master, sin, has been
put to death. It's taken care of. Christ paid
for it. When Christ died, all sin was
put away. Your master's sin is dead. And your Savior is the King. He's the King. He's King of kings. He's Lord of lords. He's the
King. Now, let your hands be strengthened
and be ye valiant. He's on the throne. Now, isn't
this a reason for my hands to be strengthened? My master, sin,
is dead. It has nothing to say to me.
It's been put away. It's been blotted out. It's gone. That's what the Lord meant when
He said it is finished. I heard someone say, well, that
meant his work's done, but your work's not done yet. No, no,
that means all the work is done. When he said it is finished,
salvation was accomplished for everybody he died for. Now, the
sin dead, the sin itself, it's put away, it's dead. And Christ
is on the throne, he's king. The son of David is the true
king. He pictures no one but the greater David, the Lord Jesus
Christ. Now let your hands be strengthened and be ye valiant
of good courage. Now, I'm going to give one hint
as to what's going to take place. Now, verse 8. But when Christ
is King, when Christ is King, when David is anointed King,
this is when trouble begins. But Abner, the son of Ner, Captain
of Saul's hosts took Ish-bosheth. That name means man of shame. Man of shame. As a matter of
fact, if you look in the account in Chronicles, he's called the
son of Baal. The son of false worship. The son of false religion. Now, when David is anointed king,
look what happens. all the sudden Abner anoints
this other fellow king, because natural men have no love for
David being king. They want the king of their making. And this Ish-bosheth, he's a
very weak man. Abner could make him king. And
he's a very weak man throughout. You could see that. And his house
ends up getting weaker, and David gets stronger. But this speaks
of the natural man's objection to Christ being king. But it
also means this. This is when the two kingdoms
began, the divided kingdom. You had Judah and you had Israel. Now these were both supposedly
God's people, but you had two separate people. You had Judah
and you had Israel. Judah always had David as their
king. Israel always had somebody else
as their king, and here's where the conflict began. And I think
the divided kingdoms speak of the two natures within a believer.
I never really thought of it like that until the last couple
of weeks thinking about it. But you know, you don't know
anything about two natures until Christ is your king. and you're
given a new nature, a holy nature, and it's only a holy nature that
recognizes what the sinful nature is. And so we're going to see
this throughout where the two divided kingdoms, and it's such
a sad thing to think of the civil war going on between Israel and
Judah, the fight within and how many, they kill each other and
all the things that happen. We're going to look at that next
time. But this speaks of the fight It goes on within the believer's
heart because he has a new nature, a holy nature. And I don't have
to convince any believer of that. They know it's so because that's
their experience. Not only does the scripture teaches
it, but it lines up with my experience. And Ishaboth comes after David
is anointed king. And that's what we'll consider
next week. So, okay.