WEBVTT 00:00:00.239 --> 00:00:03.359 As we study through books of the Bible here at the village chapel. 00:00:03.520 --> 00:00:09.279 If you'd like a paper copy, just lift up your hand and someone will bring one around to you. 00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:11.359 Love singing those old songs. 00:00:11.519 --> 00:00:16.160 My grandpa was a steel guitar player, so I think he'd really appreciate that. 00:00:16.559 --> 00:00:18.719 A particular way they did it this morning. 00:00:19.359 --> 00:00:24.640 When I was 16 years old, I'd had my driver's license for two weeks. 00:00:25.120 --> 00:00:26.079 Just two weeks. 00:00:26.320 --> 00:00:27.920 It was the dead of winter. 00:00:28.079 --> 00:00:34.719 And I had this little mini pickup truck that my dad had bought me, and I was rushing out the door getting ready to go to school. 00:00:35.039 --> 00:00:37.039 I had my license for two weeks, remember? 00:00:37.200 --> 00:00:38.159 Just two weeks. 00:00:38.560 --> 00:00:40.079 I was rushing, rushing, rushing. 00:00:40.159 --> 00:00:45.280 I get out and I see the windshield and the driver and passenger side windows are all caked in ice. 00:00:45.359 --> 00:00:46.799 The snow had turned to ice. 00:00:47.039 --> 00:00:51.039 And so I opened up the door and I look around and I didn't know what to do. 00:00:51.119 --> 00:00:55.759 I'd I've only been out this for a little bit, and I saw this little cassette tape, little tiny cassette tape. 00:00:55.920 --> 00:00:57.679 Anybody remember what those look like? 00:00:58.560 --> 00:00:59.759 That was my ice scraper. 00:00:59.920 --> 00:01:07.680 So I went out to the windshield and I scratched a little hole about this big so I could see out the windshield. 00:01:08.079 --> 00:01:18.239 And I pulled out the driveway and uh got into the road, and it was we were pretty close to the school, and we get to this uh intersection, stop sign intersection, where we my family always turn to get to the school. 00:01:18.400 --> 00:01:25.680 And then I realized I didn't scratch out a hole on the driver's side window or the passenger side window, just a little hole in the windshield. 00:01:25.920 --> 00:01:31.040 And so I go ahead and turn, and bam, a car hits me uh as we're going, and nobody was hurt. 00:01:31.120 --> 00:01:32.480 It was all pretty slow. 00:01:32.640 --> 00:01:37.439 Um it was actually my school counselor who hit me, that's uh made it really worse. 00:01:38.400 --> 00:01:39.920 But I'd only had it for two weeks. 00:01:40.079 --> 00:01:47.599 My parents obviously were not thrilled uh with my foolish choice of a cassette tape ice scraper, and I'll never do that again. 00:01:47.840 --> 00:01:51.760 I don't remember the exact consequence, but I can feel it in my gut to this day. 00:01:51.920 --> 00:01:53.280 And I I think it was two weeks. 00:01:53.359 --> 00:01:56.319 I'm not sure, it might have been a little bit longer, but it's two weeks with no driving. 00:01:56.480 --> 00:01:59.040 When you're 16 years old, that's a pretty big deal. 00:01:59.280 --> 00:02:07.680 This is obviously a silly account of a foolish high school boy myself making a foolish choice and having these consequences. 00:02:07.840 --> 00:02:13.599 And many of us here obviously can relate to uh making dumb choices like that and seeing those consequences bear out. 00:02:13.680 --> 00:02:19.120 And some consequences obviously are much more severe than two weeks with no driving. 00:02:19.439 --> 00:02:23.360 This morning, though, we are continuing our study of 2 Samuel. 00:02:23.599 --> 00:02:30.560 And if you'll remember, for the past several weeks we've seen the declension of King David and his kingdom, his rule. 00:02:30.719 --> 00:02:36.240 We've been witness through the pages of Scripture to some of the lowest points in his life. 00:02:37.039 --> 00:02:48.240 Sins of lust, of adultery, of murder have cut against the grain and left a mark on him, left a mark on his family, and a mark on his kingdom. 00:02:49.520 --> 00:03:01.360 The Bible is honest and it's forthright about the wickedness and foolishness that hides in the human heart, and it can manifest itself in these terrible choices, evil behavior, and ruptured relationships. 00:03:01.680 --> 00:03:03.599 It's part of how we can trust it. 00:03:03.680 --> 00:03:04.960 It's part of how I trust it. 00:03:05.120 --> 00:03:09.840 The Bible's not intent on whitewashing the principal characters of the story, making them out to be perfect. 00:03:09.919 --> 00:03:14.240 The blemishes are there for all of us to see, as we've seen, for the last several weeks, especially. 00:03:14.560 --> 00:03:18.879 Sometimes the pages of Scripture, the accounts that we read, are a mirror. 00:03:20.080 --> 00:03:23.680 They show us our own need for redemption. 00:03:24.479 --> 00:03:28.319 They show us, we sang it earlier, that we're prone to wander. 00:03:29.199 --> 00:03:30.240 And that's true. 00:03:30.400 --> 00:03:49.439 But it's important also to remember as we read stories like this that the story of the Bible, the grand narrative, is not primarily a story of sinful people of broken shalom, it's the story of God and his initiative and his grace and work in history to restore and redeem that broken shalom, that sin inside of us. 00:03:49.520 --> 00:04:03.520 And it's a wonder and it's a mystery, and this morning we give thanks, we've already sung it, that he chooses to do this redemptive work in and through rebels like David and his son Absalom, which we're gonna read today, and in and through us, me and you. 00:04:03.759 --> 00:04:10.240 So I invite you to turn to 2 Samuel chapter 15 in your Bible if you have one. 00:04:10.719 --> 00:04:13.199 And uh before we move on, I'm gonna pray for us. 00:04:13.439 --> 00:04:21.199 Let's pray, living God, help us to so hear your holy word that we may truly understand. 00:04:22.240 --> 00:04:31.680 And that understanding we may believe and believing, we may follow in all faithfulness and obedience, seeking your honor and glory in all that we do. 00:04:32.560 --> 00:04:34.800 Through Christ our Lord, we all said. 00:04:35.600 --> 00:04:36.240 Amen. 00:04:37.279 --> 00:04:41.360 Alright, so I'm gonna read verse one and then I'm gonna stop for a second, and then we'll continue on. 00:04:41.439 --> 00:04:43.600 So, verse one of chapter 15. 00:04:44.560 --> 00:04:53.199 After this, Absalom got himself a chariot and horses, and fifty men to run before him. 00:04:53.519 --> 00:04:57.439 Absalom got himself a chariot and horses. 00:04:57.680 --> 00:05:00.639 Now, the author here, because it says after this, what are we talking about? 00:05:00.720 --> 00:05:03.199 The author here is giving us a hinge point in the story. 00:05:03.360 --> 00:05:10.800 If you remember last week, Absalom was invited back to Jerusalem by his father David after being in exile, after murdering his brother. 00:05:10.959 --> 00:05:16.160 Absalom murdered his brother, he was in exile in Gesher, and David has now brought him back. 00:05:16.800 --> 00:05:22.000 But after returning to Jerusalem, David did not speak to him, if you remember last week, for two years. 00:05:23.120 --> 00:05:30.160 And in a petty way, but effective, kind of like a toddler, Absalom gets David's attention by lighting a field on fire. 00:05:30.319 --> 00:05:33.040 Joab, his mighty military commander. 00:05:33.120 --> 00:05:39.839 He lights that field on fire, and David finally invites Absalom into his throne room and he welcomes him back. 00:05:40.079 --> 00:05:45.040 And so now Absalom senses that he is once again a part of the royal family. 00:05:45.680 --> 00:05:50.560 He begins to create an image for himself of I'm a great prince, I'm a great leader. 00:05:50.639 --> 00:05:56.480 And remember, last week we read that he was the most handsome man from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet. 00:05:56.560 --> 00:06:04.000 And he's building on that notoriety, and he's showing his skills as a politician and as a clever manipulator of the people. 00:06:04.560 --> 00:06:06.560 So that's where we are in the story, in this hinge. 00:06:06.639 --> 00:06:08.720 So let's go to verse 2. 00:06:09.600 --> 00:06:14.560 And Absalom used to rise early and stand beside the way of the gate. 00:06:14.959 --> 00:06:21.920 And when any man had a dispute to come before the king for judgment, Absalom would call to him and say, From what city are you? 00:06:22.560 --> 00:06:34.399 And when he said, Your servant is of such and such a tribe in Israel, Absalom would say to him, See, your claims are good and right, but there is no man designated by the king to hear you. 00:06:34.800 --> 00:06:39.920 Then Absalom would say, Oh, that I were judge in the land. 00:06:40.000 --> 00:06:46.079 Then every man with a dispute or cause might come to me, and I would give him justice. 00:06:47.120 --> 00:06:52.959 And whenever a man came near to pay homage to him, he would put out his hand and take hold of him and kiss him. 00:06:53.360 --> 00:06:57.839 Thus Absalom did to all of Israel who came to the king for judgment. 00:06:58.079 --> 00:07:03.279 So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel. 00:07:04.879 --> 00:07:08.160 Absalom is a clever and devious prince. 00:07:08.399 --> 00:07:22.000 He starts out his marketing plan, his celebrity image makeover, if you will, by riding around in a fancy chariot with horses, and he employed fifty men to run before him, and he made himself an entourage, a posse. 00:07:22.639 --> 00:07:25.759 Now there's a richness to what's likely being implied here. 00:07:25.920 --> 00:07:30.319 The kingdom of Israel, if you remember, was to be set apart, different from other nations. 00:07:30.639 --> 00:07:34.879 Some may trust in horses, some in chariots, but we will trust in the name of our God. 00:07:35.040 --> 00:07:37.680 That's the psalmist King David who wrote those words. 00:07:37.920 --> 00:07:45.439 But this ambitious, enterprising, yet foolish Absalom seems to want for Israel something other than dependence on God. 00:07:46.319 --> 00:07:51.920 Really, what he wants, Absalom is trying to woo Israel into a dependence on Absalom. 00:07:52.240 --> 00:07:54.560 Absalom's interested in Absalom. 00:07:55.759 --> 00:08:00.160 This also could be viewed as an innocuous and naive way for a prince to establish himself. 00:08:00.240 --> 00:08:09.040 Remember, he's been gone, to establish himself as a true royal, to garner trust with the people, but there's obviously much more going on here in this story. 00:08:09.279 --> 00:08:17.439 The last sentence we read in that text, so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel. 00:08:17.600 --> 00:08:19.040 It tells us something important. 00:08:20.160 --> 00:08:22.160 Absalom is a thief. 00:08:23.120 --> 00:08:25.920 And there's no other word that really gets at it than that. 00:08:26.000 --> 00:08:28.480 He's a loyalty thief, as Paul Tripp would say. 00:08:28.720 --> 00:08:34.000 The Hebrew word that we translate as stole, ganav, is bundled with meaning. 00:08:34.080 --> 00:08:38.559 It indicates deception, it indicates stealth and a secret of theft. 00:08:38.639 --> 00:08:41.919 He's stealing the hearts of the men of Israel. 00:08:42.879 --> 00:08:50.240 This betrayal, if you remember, was prophesied by Nathan, David's friend, the prophet, as one of the consequences of David's own sin. 00:08:50.480 --> 00:08:59.279 In 1211, in 2 Samuel 12.11, Nathan said this to David Thus says the Lord, behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. 00:08:59.519 --> 00:09:02.879 And here we're seeing that fruit bear in this text. 00:09:03.039 --> 00:09:06.159 Absalom is laying the groundwork for a coup. 00:09:06.799 --> 00:09:08.960 He's aiming for the throne. 00:09:09.200 --> 00:09:16.480 And what at the same time he's putting on the drama of prestige and grandeur, but the text also says he wanted to be seen as a man of the people. 00:09:16.720 --> 00:09:19.679 Politicians shaking hands and kissing babies is nothing new. 00:09:19.759 --> 00:09:21.600 It's actually right here in the text. 00:09:22.480 --> 00:09:27.120 The writer is showing us a glimpse of his subtle subversion. 00:09:28.639 --> 00:09:37.120 He throws shade at his father's administration, undermining confidence in King David, God's anointed one. 00:09:38.240 --> 00:09:43.279 Absalom stands at the gate in the early morning, it says, which is where a king or a judge would stand. 00:09:43.360 --> 00:09:46.879 And so Absalom is already thinking of himself as a king. 00:09:47.600 --> 00:09:49.679 Why is there no one to give you justice? 00:09:49.840 --> 00:09:51.360 Oh, I have an idea. 00:09:51.600 --> 00:09:53.519 I will give you justice. 00:09:54.639 --> 00:10:00.320 And we know the kind of justice that Absalom is capable of in the murder of his own brother. 00:10:00.639 --> 00:10:06.399 So here is a man who has a lot of skill in identifying vulnerabilities to exploit. 00:10:06.879 --> 00:10:08.399 He has charisma. 00:10:08.639 --> 00:10:10.960 He likely has diligent work ethic. 00:10:11.039 --> 00:10:16.000 He has good looks and charm in all the makings of a potential leader, perhaps even a king. 00:10:16.799 --> 00:10:21.759 But we see the wealth of potential here, but a poverty of character. 00:10:22.879 --> 00:10:26.720 We see a heart turned in on itself, as we often say around here. 00:10:26.879 --> 00:10:34.320 It's at this point, though, when I read this text, when we read it together, that we be careful not to look down our noses at this man. 00:10:34.399 --> 00:10:50.639 If we're honest, if I'm honest, but for the grace of God alone, my own heart, given similar circumstances, similar privileges, could lead me to the same lust for power, same deception and manipulation, same thirst for more. 00:10:51.919 --> 00:10:57.039 Deception, manipulation, lust for power, it disintegrates integrity. 00:10:58.399 --> 00:11:09.360 Remember, the scriptures are often a mirror, reminding us all that we have fallen short of the glory of God, and it's only by grace and the work of the Spirit that a heart can be ignited. 00:11:10.000 --> 00:11:15.039 And that He can shape and form us, what Paul would say, conforming us to the image of Christ. 00:11:15.919 --> 00:11:19.039 John Piper says this about stories like this. 00:11:19.279 --> 00:11:23.440 So God gives us pictures of ourselves in stories like this. 00:11:23.759 --> 00:11:33.840 He allows his people to drift into these kinds of ungrateful and idolatrous seasons so that every mouth may be stopped and the whole world held accountable before God. 00:11:35.360 --> 00:11:41.679 These kinds of stories should drive us to our knees in gratitude for his grace in our own lives and humility. 00:11:41.759 --> 00:11:46.399 And we can pray like David did in Psalm 51 create in me a clean heart. 00:11:47.279 --> 00:11:53.120 Renew a right spirit in me, restore unto me the joy of your salvation. 00:11:54.159 --> 00:11:57.600 These kinds of stories should drive us to our knees and to those kinds of prayers. 00:11:57.679 --> 00:12:00.879 Let's continue reading it, verse 7, if you will. 00:12:02.559 --> 00:12:11.200 And at the end of four years, Absalom said to the king, Please let me go and pay my vow, which I have vowed to the Lord in Hebron. 00:12:11.919 --> 00:12:14.879 For your servant vowed a vow while I lived in Gesher and Aram. 00:12:15.120 --> 00:12:24.480 Gesher is where he was in exile after he murdered his brother, saying, If the Lord will indeed bring me back to Jerusalem, then I will offer worship to the Lord. 00:12:24.960 --> 00:12:27.919 The king said to him, Go in peace. 00:12:28.399 --> 00:12:30.960 So he arose and went to Hebron. 00:12:31.679 --> 00:12:44.559 But Absalom sent secret messengers throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then say, Absalom is king at Hebron. 00:12:46.080 --> 00:12:47.840 Hebron here is mentioned several times. 00:12:47.919 --> 00:12:48.720 It's an important city. 00:12:48.799 --> 00:12:51.759 This is, if you remember, the city where David was anointed king. 00:12:51.919 --> 00:12:55.840 This is the city where Absalom himself was born, likely where he grew up. 00:12:57.360 --> 00:13:06.399 In doing this treacherous thing, Absalom is striking at the heart of David, both as a son, but also as king. 00:13:06.879 --> 00:13:15.679 Verse 11 with Absalom went two hundred men from Jerusalem, who were invited guests, and they went in their innocence and knew nothing. 00:13:16.720 --> 00:13:25.039 And while Absalom was offering the sacrifices, he sent for Ahithophel the Gilanite, David's counselor, from his city Gilo. 00:13:25.600 --> 00:13:31.840 And the conspiracy grew strong, and the people with Absalom kept increasing. 00:13:32.320 --> 00:13:34.960 Now Ahithophel here is a really important character. 00:13:35.039 --> 00:13:36.879 This is one of David's closest advisors. 00:13:36.960 --> 00:13:38.799 We'll learn a little bit more about him later. 00:13:38.960 --> 00:13:44.159 He's likely the grandfather of Bathsheba, so we can even see a family dynamic at play. 00:13:44.480 --> 00:13:45.679 There's so much going on here. 00:13:45.840 --> 00:13:49.759 Absalom is striking at the heart of David and his kingdom. 00:13:50.559 --> 00:13:54.559 And we shouldn't lose the weight, the gravity of what's going on here. 00:13:54.720 --> 00:14:00.240 The rise of a new king would require the death of the current king. 00:14:01.120 --> 00:14:09.279 So in doing all this, Absalom has such arrogant pride, such a lust for power, he's willing to see his own father put to death. 00:14:10.639 --> 00:14:11.840 That's what's going on here. 00:14:11.919 --> 00:14:13.200 That's the weight of this. 00:14:13.600 --> 00:14:15.200 I love what Russell Moore says here. 00:14:15.279 --> 00:14:16.399 He gets at it so well. 00:14:16.720 --> 00:14:24.240 Pride is, by definition, idolatrous and insurrectionist because it is rooted in ingratitude. 00:14:24.639 --> 00:14:36.080 It glorifies the creature over against the creator and claims the inheritance rights of image-bearers without acknowledging that we have these things because we reflect an image, not because we are ultimate. 00:14:36.399 --> 00:14:50.000 It is the primal sin because no other sin is possible without believing that some good gift of God is mine and mine alone to use for my purposes, for my own kingdom and glory. 00:14:52.399 --> 00:14:55.200 Absalom here is also using religion. 00:14:55.360 --> 00:14:57.919 He even uses the personal name of God Yahweh. 00:14:58.080 --> 00:15:03.600 When he comes to David and he says, You know, I just remembered four years ago I made this vow. 00:15:04.159 --> 00:15:05.759 He just remembered. 00:15:08.639 --> 00:15:09.759 He's using religion. 00:15:09.840 --> 00:15:13.120 He's attempting to use God, Yahweh, as a means to get what he wants. 00:15:13.200 --> 00:15:17.919 And caught in the middle are these 200 men who were invited guests. 00:15:18.080 --> 00:15:24.240 They were invited to go up and worship while Absalom was secretly mocking God. 00:15:26.960 --> 00:15:47.120 There are likely in some in this room who have had the experience of following a leader who seemed to have a wealth of skill and talent, worship the Lord, perhaps even sincere motives, but it was later revealed to be impoverished in some part of his or her character. 00:15:47.519 --> 00:15:50.159 I know there's some in the room that have been there. 00:15:50.799 --> 00:15:52.879 We can name that for what it is, and we should. 00:15:52.960 --> 00:15:55.039 It's a betrayal of trust, it's sin. 00:15:55.279 --> 00:15:57.519 It's not the way that it's supposed to be. 00:15:58.799 --> 00:16:01.440 But we should also, all of us, work towards this. 00:16:01.600 --> 00:16:04.879 Don't allow the root of bitterness to callous your heart. 00:16:05.440 --> 00:16:15.279 If there's one thing that this text should do, it should soften all of our hearts and remind us to pray for one another and to pray for our leaders. 00:16:15.840 --> 00:16:23.679 Pray for us who serve on staff at your church, the leadership here, and pray for all those that the Lord has placed in leadership in your life. 00:16:24.480 --> 00:16:30.480 Each of us in this room, leaders included, require the work of the Spirit. 00:16:31.360 --> 00:16:34.639 In our own hearts and minds, Jesus said, Abide in me and I in you. 00:16:34.799 --> 00:16:37.840 The branch cannot bear fruit unless it abides in the vine. 00:16:38.559 --> 00:16:40.559 So we should pray towards that end. 00:16:41.120 --> 00:16:46.799 For your church leaders, that we'd always stay close to the vine, close to the word, near the cross as we sing. 00:16:47.279 --> 00:16:54.000 That we would have godly and wise counsel and systems and processes in place that promote wisdom and faithfulness. 00:16:56.240 --> 00:16:58.960 Let's continue at verse 13. 00:17:00.080 --> 00:17:07.119 So now the focus here is going to shift from Absalom to David and his response to Absalom's treachery. 00:17:08.079 --> 00:17:08.640 13. 00:17:08.799 --> 00:17:15.759 And a messenger came to David, saying, The hearts of the men of Israel have gone after Absalom. 00:17:16.559 --> 00:17:26.240 Then David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, Arise and let us flee, or else there will be no escape for us from Absalom. 00:17:26.640 --> 00:17:33.680 Go quickly, lest he overtake us quickly and bring down ruin on us and strike the city with the edge of the sword. 00:17:33.920 --> 00:17:41.359 Here we're starting to see David, who has seemed for the last several chapters at least to be somewhat asleep at the wheel. 00:17:41.440 --> 00:17:43.920 We're starting to see his heart awakened. 00:17:44.160 --> 00:17:47.759 Certainly awakened to the fact that his city is about to be under siege. 00:17:48.000 --> 00:17:56.720 And this heart of a leader here, a servant leader, realizes that if he doesn't get his people out of the city, there's going to be innocent people who die. 00:17:57.599 --> 00:18:00.559 And so he shrewdly says, Okay, we're going to go. 00:18:00.799 --> 00:18:01.440 We'll continue. 00:18:01.599 --> 00:18:08.319 And the king's servants said to the king, Behold, your servants are ready to do whatever the Lord the King decides. 00:18:08.960 --> 00:18:14.640 So the king went out, and all his household after him, and the king left ten concubines to keep the house. 00:18:15.119 --> 00:18:19.599 And the king went out and all the people after him, and they halted at the last house. 00:18:19.839 --> 00:18:26.880 And so you can see this picture of David standing at the last house, watching his servants, watching the folks who were faithful to him pass by. 00:18:27.920 --> 00:18:35.759 Verse 18, and all his servants passed by him, and all the Cherithites, and all the Pelothites, and all the six hundred Gittites who had followed him from Gath. 00:18:36.240 --> 00:18:39.279 Gath is where Goliath was from, the Philistines. 00:18:40.079 --> 00:18:42.160 They passed before the king. 00:18:42.640 --> 00:18:46.079 Then the king said to Itai the Gittite. 00:18:46.480 --> 00:18:48.319 So this is a name we should all remember. 00:18:48.480 --> 00:18:49.920 I don't think we will. 00:18:50.160 --> 00:18:51.759 Ittai the Gittite. 00:18:52.000 --> 00:18:55.519 He's the commander, he's the leader of these 600 Philistines. 00:18:55.680 --> 00:18:58.160 Philistines who were now loyal to David. 00:18:58.319 --> 00:19:02.400 Now, when I read the story of Ittai, it's really, this is the only time he's mentioned in Scripture. 00:19:02.480 --> 00:19:07.680 And we're going to see here what one pastor said, an island of faithfulness. 00:19:11.680 --> 00:19:17.200 See, faithfulness here, what's really interesting, it's faithfulness coming from a Philistine, from a foreigner. 00:19:18.880 --> 00:19:22.480 The king said to Ittai the Gittite, Why do you also go with us? 00:19:22.640 --> 00:19:25.039 Go back and stay with the king. 00:19:26.079 --> 00:19:29.519 For you are a foreigner and also an exile from your home. 00:19:29.759 --> 00:19:35.119 You came only yesterday, and shall I today make you wander about with us, since I go, I know not where? 00:19:35.839 --> 00:19:42.000 Go back and take your brothers with you, and may the Lord show steadfast love and faithfulness to you. 00:19:42.400 --> 00:19:45.039 Again, we're starting to see the heart of David renewed. 00:19:45.200 --> 00:19:46.480 There's a renewal going on here. 00:19:46.720 --> 00:19:50.720 Ittai the Gittite obviously sees something of the Lord in David. 00:19:50.799 --> 00:19:52.400 He sees his hand on him. 00:19:53.200 --> 00:19:56.480 There's this faithfulness here that is just so beautiful. 00:19:56.880 --> 00:20:09.039 But Itai answered the king, As the Lord lives, and as my Lord the King lives, wherever my Lord the King shall be, whether for death or for life, there also will your servant be. 00:20:10.799 --> 00:20:17.440 This is the kind of response that is required of all of us when we come and encounter the Lord's anointed one. 00:20:18.880 --> 00:20:21.359 This side of the cross, we know that's Jesus. 00:20:22.160 --> 00:20:30.160 There's a similar story in the Gospel of John, where many of the disciples of Jesus are fleeing from him. 00:20:30.480 --> 00:20:32.720 And Jesus turns to Peter. 00:20:33.519 --> 00:20:35.759 And he says, Peter, are you going to go with them as well? 00:20:35.920 --> 00:20:39.359 And Peter says, To who else would we go? 00:20:40.960 --> 00:20:43.119 Only your words have eternal life. 00:20:43.440 --> 00:20:46.000 That's the kind of response here that is required of us. 00:20:46.079 --> 00:20:53.839 That's the kind of response here that we're seeing from Ittai, this foreigner, this Philistine, contrasted with the treachery of Absalom. 00:20:55.599 --> 00:21:00.160 Verse 22, and David said to Ittai, Go then, pass on. 00:21:00.640 --> 00:21:06.880 So Itai the Gittite passed on with all his men and all the little ones, so there's families here, who were with him. 00:21:07.519 --> 00:21:11.759 And all the land wept aloud as all the people passed by. 00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:17.759 And the king crossed the brook Kidron, and all the people passed on towards the wilderness. 00:21:18.000 --> 00:21:22.880 Also in the Gospel of John, the Gospel writer certainly had this particular story in mind. 00:21:23.119 --> 00:21:29.920 When Jesus and his disciples met in the upper room after that, they walked, and the scripture says, John says, they passed the Brook Kidron. 00:21:30.640 --> 00:21:39.839 In the same kind of context of betrayal with Judas in Jesus' case and betrayal of Ahithophel and Absalom and David's case, they crossed the Brook Kidron and walked up the Mount of Olives. 00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:47.519 The Gospel writer certainly had this in mind as he's thinking about these two stories in the parallel of these two kings. 00:21:48.960 --> 00:21:50.000 Verse 24. 00:21:50.480 --> 00:21:58.240 And Abiathar came up, and behold, Zadok came also with all the Levites, these are the priests, bearing the ark of the covenant of God. 00:21:58.400 --> 00:21:59.759 And they set down the ark of God. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:02.960 Until the people had all passed out of the city. 00:22:03.200 --> 00:22:08.000 Then the king said to Zadok, Carry the ark of God back into the city. 00:22:08.240 --> 00:22:15.359 If I find favor in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me back, and let me see both it and its dwelling place. 00:22:16.640 --> 00:22:20.240 But if he says, I have no pleasure in you, behold, here I am. 00:22:20.559 --> 00:22:23.920 Let him do to me what seems good to him. 00:22:25.200 --> 00:22:29.359 Again, we're seeing the heart of David renovated, heart awakened. 00:22:29.519 --> 00:22:30.799 There's a deep trust here. 00:22:30.960 --> 00:22:32.240 His life is threatened. 00:22:32.319 --> 00:22:33.440 He's in exile. 00:22:33.759 --> 00:22:36.319 Yet he says, Take the ark back. 00:22:37.680 --> 00:22:38.960 My times are in his hands. 00:22:39.039 --> 00:22:43.599 That's actually from Psalm 31, something King David himself wrote. 00:22:43.920 --> 00:22:48.480 We're starting to see that play out here, this heart of a king who's turning. 00:22:48.960 --> 00:22:49.680 27. 00:22:49.839 --> 00:22:53.839 The king also said to Zadok the priest, Are you not also a seer? 00:22:54.000 --> 00:22:59.599 Go back to the city in peace with your two sons, Ahamaz, your son, and Jonathan, the son of Abiathar. 00:22:59.920 --> 00:23:04.799 See, I will wait at the fords of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me. 00:23:05.039 --> 00:23:11.039 So Zadok and Abiathar carried the Ark of God back to Jerusalem, and they remained there. 00:23:11.200 --> 00:23:16.720 So part of the reason David is having them go back is he's quite literally creating an intelligence network. 00:23:16.960 --> 00:23:21.119 He's sending spies so that when he so that he can retake the city later on. 00:23:21.359 --> 00:23:25.200 He's created the DIA, the Davidic Intelligence Agency. 00:23:27.279 --> 00:23:29.599 That was the only joke I could come up with. 00:23:32.319 --> 00:23:33.279 Thanks, Jim. 00:23:34.319 --> 00:23:38.400 I'm not finished with seminary yet, so I haven't gotten little jokes. 00:23:39.279 --> 00:23:43.039 But seriously, he he is quite literally, and he's gonna do a little bit more of this later. 00:23:43.119 --> 00:23:52.240 He's uh shrewdly, he's being he's a strong leader, he's a wise leader, and he's sending these folks to understand what's going on in the city so that he can retake it later. 00:23:52.640 --> 00:24:03.440 Verse 30 But David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, barefoot and with his head covered. 00:24:04.160 --> 00:24:10.000 And all the people who were with him covered their heads, and they went up, weeping as they went. 00:24:11.279 --> 00:24:17.119 So in that weeping, we can certainly, we know that he's certainly weeping because his son is betraying him. 00:24:18.079 --> 00:24:21.119 But again, remember his friend Nathan had prophesied. 00:24:21.359 --> 00:24:24.880 The sword will never leave your leave your house because of your own sin. 00:24:25.119 --> 00:24:28.559 And at the top of the Mount of Olives, to this day, you can see this beautiful view of the city. 00:24:28.640 --> 00:24:35.200 And I have to imagine, speculating here, but I have to imagine he's going up here, he's looking out across the city, and he's remembering that. 00:24:37.039 --> 00:24:40.319 He's seeing the consequences of sin, he's seeing betrayal. 00:24:40.640 --> 00:24:44.079 There's a mourning going on here with him and with the people. 00:24:46.319 --> 00:24:52.880 31, and it was told to David, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom. 00:24:53.680 --> 00:24:59.839 And David said, O Lord, please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness. 00:25:00.640 --> 00:25:04.319 And he'll answer that prayer later on in the story. 00:25:04.559 --> 00:25:05.680 Verse 32. 00:25:05.920 --> 00:25:15.839 While David was coming up or coming to the summit where God was worshipped, behold, Hushai the Architect came to meet him, with his coat torn and dirt on his head. 00:25:16.079 --> 00:25:19.680 David said to him, If you go on with me, you'll be a burden to me. 00:25:19.759 --> 00:25:31.519 But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, I will be your servant, O king, as I have been your father's servant in times past, so now I will be your servant, then you will defeat for me the council of Ahithophel. 00:25:31.759 --> 00:25:33.279 That's what he prayed for. 00:25:34.160 --> 00:25:34.640 35. 00:25:34.960 --> 00:25:37.519 Are not Zadok and Abiathar the priests with you there? 00:25:37.599 --> 00:25:43.519 So whatever your heart, or whatever you hear from the king's house, tell it to Zadok and Abiathar the priests. 00:25:43.680 --> 00:25:52.400 Behold, their two sons are with them there, Ahamas and Zadok's son Jonathan, Abiathar's son, and by them you shall send to me everything you hear. 00:25:52.640 --> 00:26:00.319 So Hushai, David's friend, came into the city just as Absalom was entering Jerusalem. 00:26:00.880 --> 00:26:11.039 So here in the story we have Hushai, David's friend and confidant, also being employed into this intelligence agency, this spy network, to understand what's going on in the city. 00:26:11.359 --> 00:26:26.000 This account shows us the tragic fruit of sin, but it also reveals to us the mysterious, marvelous grace of God and the Spirit's work of renewal in David's heart. 00:26:27.599 --> 00:26:43.440 Rebecca Konandike DeYoung says it this way it's a sad and dark truth about us that the tree of vices, rooted in pride, continues to live and grow and thrive in human nature in all of its malignant forms, and we can see that on display here in this text. 00:26:43.680 --> 00:26:56.079 The more we understand the dynamics of sin and the deep network of its combined forces in us, however, the more amazing we will find the grace and power promised to us to help us change. 00:26:56.319 --> 00:27:03.839 I would amend that slightly more than to help us change, to actually accomplish that work, the promise of conforming us to his image. 00:27:12.079 --> 00:27:13.839 And this is only by grace. 00:27:14.079 --> 00:27:25.920 And although the fruit of his sin is revealing itself in the disarray all around him, betrayal, the root of his trust in Yahweh is growing deeper and deeper and deeper still. 00:27:28.160 --> 00:27:31.759 Here are a few things I think we can learn from the text this morning. 00:27:32.000 --> 00:27:38.079 Number one, the consequences of sin often reach farther than we can imagine. 00:27:38.720 --> 00:27:43.359 The justice, grace, and mercy of God reaches farther still. 00:27:45.680 --> 00:28:04.319 David's sin led to adultery, which led to murder, which led to heinous dysfunction with rape in his family, which led to a son who murdered another son, which led to that same son conspiring against David, intent on killing him, on taking his throne, which would have touched every single person in the kingdom of Israel. 00:28:05.920 --> 00:28:14.880 There's an old quote, many of you will know sin will take you farther than you want to go, sin will keep you longer than you want to stay, and it'll cost you more than you want to pay. 00:28:16.720 --> 00:28:22.400 We may taste the earthly consequences of our sin, but this is the good news this morning. 00:28:22.480 --> 00:28:29.839 There should be no doubt that God is eager to forgive and to restore our relationship to Him. 00:28:30.480 --> 00:28:35.119 The call of the gospel is to repent and follow Jesus, the true King, to turn. 00:28:35.279 --> 00:28:44.559 Repentance means to turn from where we are going and to go towards the King, towards the cross of Jesus, where justice and mercy both meet. 00:28:45.359 --> 00:28:58.640 The good news we proclaim this morning is a person, Jesus Christ, who satisfied the justice of God by dying in my place for my own treachery and yours as well. 00:28:58.960 --> 00:29:06.720 And now he freely offers us the grace to follow him, this resurrected king, united with him, walking in newness of life. 00:29:08.079 --> 00:29:25.920 And, and this is important to hear for some of us, I think, we we do have hope and assurance from a text like this that he can take those earthly consequences and bend them to his own purposes, to mold and shape us the Spirit's work of holiness, what we call sanctification. 00:29:26.079 --> 00:29:27.200 He can do that. 00:29:28.000 --> 00:29:31.440 And that's where life is, that's where true joy resides. 00:29:32.880 --> 00:29:43.440 We're called to stay close to the vine, close to the word, close to God in prayer, close to other brothers and sisters who are also on the pilgrim journey, who can see our blind spots and our weaknesses. 00:29:44.000 --> 00:29:51.359 And we follow him like Ittai in this story and like Peter in the Gospel of John, and we say, Lord, to who else could we go? 00:29:51.759 --> 00:29:54.240 Only your words have eternal life. 00:29:56.000 --> 00:29:59.599 This is all for his glory and for our good. 00:30:00.319 --> 00:30:04.720 A heart turned from stone to flesh is a work of the Spirit. 00:30:04.799 --> 00:30:06.079 It's his initiative. 00:30:06.559 --> 00:30:17.519 Yes, the consequences of foolishness, of rebellion, of sin can reach much farther than we can imagine, but the grace of God can and does reach much further still. 00:30:18.480 --> 00:30:19.200 I love what R. 00:30:19.359 --> 00:30:19.440 C. 00:30:19.519 --> 00:30:20.240 Sproul says. 00:30:20.400 --> 00:30:25.279 The gospel takes guilt seriously because it takes man seriously. 00:30:25.599 --> 00:30:37.920 And it provides a Savior who gives us a new humanity and begins to clear away the fog on the image that we bear, cleaning it up, erasing the defects, reshaping it to bring us into conformity to Christ. 00:30:38.319 --> 00:30:42.640 So that in looking at us, people can begin to see a likeness of the character of God. 00:30:42.799 --> 00:30:59.839 In his mercy, God has made a way to be reconciled to him and to have the obscured image of God restored in those who trust Christ alone for his salvation, so that we may bring him glory and show forth his holiness to creation once more. 00:31:02.559 --> 00:31:12.000 Second thing we can learn this morning the presence of God is promised to us, even in a valley of our own construction. 00:31:14.240 --> 00:31:18.960 Turn with me, if you would, in your Bibles to Psalm chapter 3. 00:31:20.240 --> 00:31:32.480 And the superscription on this Psalm tells us this is written by David in the middle of this particular trial, and like my wife told me this morning, this is like reading somebody's journal in the middle of whatever they're going through. 00:31:33.440 --> 00:31:36.559 I'm just going to read a few verses of this. 00:31:38.720 --> 00:31:41.279 O Lord, how many are my foes? 00:31:42.400 --> 00:31:48.400 Many are rising against me, many are saying of my soul, There is no salvation for him and God. 00:31:49.599 --> 00:31:54.000 But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. 00:31:54.240 --> 00:31:58.000 I cried aloud to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy hill. 00:31:59.039 --> 00:32:01.519 I lay down and slept. 00:32:02.720 --> 00:32:05.200 I woke again, for the Lord sustained me. 00:32:05.279 --> 00:32:11.599 I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around. 00:32:13.440 --> 00:32:15.920 What a gift it is to have this psalm preserved for us. 00:32:16.079 --> 00:32:16.720 Amen. 00:32:17.200 --> 00:32:20.480 Treachery is surrounding David, surrounding his city. 00:32:20.640 --> 00:32:22.880 His very life is being threatened. 00:32:23.599 --> 00:32:27.519 Much of this disarray a consequence of his own failing. 00:32:28.559 --> 00:32:31.119 Yet David can sleep. 00:32:46.799 --> 00:32:57.119 And another song David wrote, Psalm 23, that many of us know, and we don't know exactly when it was written, but he says, Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. 00:32:57.359 --> 00:32:59.359 And oftentimes we stop right there. 00:32:59.519 --> 00:33:01.920 But it's the last bit that makes the whole thing make sense. 00:33:02.079 --> 00:33:05.519 I will fear no evil because you are with me. 00:33:07.200 --> 00:33:11.279 His promise is presence is promised to us. 00:33:12.160 --> 00:33:18.000 I imagine there's some in this room today who are, some who are walking in a valley season. 00:33:18.960 --> 00:33:27.599 Some because of our own foolish choices, some because of the foolish choices of others, some we can't explain. 00:33:29.519 --> 00:33:31.839 The Lord does not abandon his people. 00:33:32.400 --> 00:33:34.400 That's a promise we can hold on to. 00:33:34.640 --> 00:33:42.480 It's a promise that we've seen proven in God's work of redemption from the garden to David in this story, to Jesus, to when he comes to set things right. 00:33:42.799 --> 00:33:44.319 We'll be in his presence forever. 00:33:44.559 --> 00:33:48.319 Jesus' name, Emmanuel, means God with us. 00:33:49.759 --> 00:33:55.039 The grace of his presence is a promise we can hold to wherever we find ourselves today. 00:33:56.079 --> 00:34:00.160 We often sing here at TVC this great hymn, How Firm a Foundation. 00:34:00.400 --> 00:34:02.640 The hymn writer John Ripon pinned these words. 00:34:02.720 --> 00:34:07.519 It's the last stanza of the hymn that beautifully get at this surety of God's promised presence. 00:34:07.599 --> 00:34:09.599 I love the repetitive nature of it. 00:34:10.000 --> 00:34:17.920 The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose, I will not, I will not desert to its foes. 00:34:18.480 --> 00:34:27.119 The soul that all hell should endeavor to shake, I'll never, no never, no never forsake. 00:34:29.199 --> 00:34:30.880 I don't know where you are today. 00:34:31.119 --> 00:34:33.519 I hope there's a promise there you can cling to. 00:34:34.159 --> 00:34:35.840 Let's pray together. 00:34:38.719 --> 00:34:42.239 Lord, we come to you this morning grateful that you are King. 00:34:43.199 --> 00:34:45.199 Presently reigning right now. 00:34:46.079 --> 00:34:52.880 Holy Spirit, do a work in our hearts, draw us to you, restore us the joy of your salvation. 00:34:53.599 --> 00:34:59.199 Keep us from foolishness and work into our hearts a sustained trust in your promise. 00:35:02.880 --> 00:35:06.960 We thank you, Lord, for your sovereignty, your sustaining hand. 00:35:08.079 --> 00:35:10.800 We pray for that kind of sleep that David had. 00:35:11.760 --> 00:35:13.599 In Jesus' name we all said. 00:35:14.320 --> 00:35:14.880 Amen.