Is David the King God Wanted? | Episode 22

We discussed what 2 Samuel says about David's kingship in this week's YTTB podcast.

Transcript

0:00

What do you do when you're God and you make an ironclad promise to a faithless and rebellious human mind? And that's what the Old Testament's kind of about. God's faithfulness to people and their faithlessness. It's actually really a complicated issue if you think about it. All right. Welcome everybody back to the Year Through the Bible podcast. My name is Rodney Adams. I'm the executive pastor at Asbury Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. And as usual, I'm with Andrew Forrest here. I'm the senior pastor at Asbury. All right. Welcome back to uh the table here. Uh we missed you last week. So, as we've been saying all year, for like I say, I have to say it every time, we're reading through the entire Bible this year as a congregation. So if you're new with us, um, we are in the Samuels, 2nd Samuel mainly. In the Old Testament. In the Old Testament. There's an Old Testament reading, a New Testament reading, a psalm and a proverb every day. And for this podcast, we spent a lot of our time in the Old Testament. Just because it's foreign to us, it's a little strange. Um, a lot of us have more experience reading through the New Testament. Um, there's also you were talking about just before we started recording, how in the New Testament, a lot of times you can you can literally understand what is going on, but there may be some like theological underpinnings or underwriting that takes a lot longer to unpack than kind of what we're doing on this show. So it's kind of weird. Whereas in the Old Testament, sometimes you literally cannot understand what they're even doing. Like, what are they talking about? Who's this guy? Why is he going over there? So, anyway, we're in the Old Testament. We're gonna we're gonna stay in the Old Testament today, and we're kind of talking about David. Really, we're start we're gonna start toward the beginning of 2 Samuel. Yeah, and I guess the question that I'm interested in is how is it that David is a man after God's own heart? That's a phrase that God himself uses, which is really important. So God says that to Saul. This is in uh 1 Samuel 15, where uh the Lord regts Saul from being the king, and Samuel says God has chosen a man after his own heart. And then you have David. So at the end of 1 Samuel, Saul and David are at odds with each other, or really more Saul is at odds with David. So there are There's something about David that really sends Saul into a bad place. So is it two or three times David has Saul in his hands to kill him, and David doesn't do it. And Saul goes, Oh my gosh, you're amazing, and then he next day wants to kill him again. Yeah. So it's so David does I think we could say in 1 Samuel, the idea that David is a man after God's own heart is easy to see. He basically does it all right. He waits on the Lord, he's faithful. There's some questionable moral decisions with regard to women and stuff that David does, but in general, he's he's sort of doing it the right way. Yeah. Second Samuel is where that becomes much more problematic, which we're gonna see today. Yeah. Which just to me, it's a really actually fascinating question. What does it mean that David's a man after God's own heart? And by the way, I wanna I wanna provoke all our Bible, our listeners. Everybody loves to talk about, and I don't mean to be facetious when I say this, the grace of God, God forgives all your sins, nothing you can do, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Okay. So then that's all nice, that's a nice theological concept, but when it actually works in a real person's life, it ends up looking kind of the way it works with David, which makes everybody uncomfortable. This is why grace, this is why Paul would say grace is a scandal, because it's actually kind of weird that God is actually yes, offensive. God is so forbearing. Okay, here we go. 2 Samuel chapter 1, they hear that Saul and his sons have been slaughtered by the Philistines. So we begin 2 Samuel. So 1 Samuel is basically ends with the death of Saul, and 2 Samuel is about how David becomes the king. It's about David. Okay. By the way, I think I've said it on this podcast, but we'll say it again. Long after God anoints David as king. Right? So so the anointing has been pulled from Saul due to his disobedience. Samuel goes and finds David. Um God says, you know, fill your horn with oil and go anoint David. So David so the Lord sort of moves, pours out his spirit of anointing onto David, but Saul retains his kingship for a pretty long time. Long time. Yeah. So but now David is become king. David doesn't force it. I think that's a big part of what it means to be after God's own heart. David doesn't force it. It's really, it's really remarkable. His trust's gonna happen. And then 2 Samuel chapter 1 begins with David hearing of Saul's death, and David laments. He's really upset about it in this beautiful kind of theological way. He sings that great song, How the Mighty Have Fallen. This is 1 Samuel, um 2 Samuel 2, verse 19 about it. And then David is anointed king, and David is really gracious, kind of a Lincoln quality. He wants to forgive his enemies. By the way, a a really, really fascinating uh extra-biblical novel, miniseries, graphic comic book, whatever, would be about Joab. Joab is one heck of a guy, he is a piece of work. And so Abner is Saul's army's commander, and David wants to allow Abner to come back into the fold. But Abner has killed one of Joab's brothers. So there's that chase scene, and he kills him by he likes stops short, shoves his spear up, and the guy runs on his spear, goes all the way through him. It's like a movie, like something you'd see in some kind of foul movie. It's an amazing scene. Now, to be fair, Abner was not trying to kill Joab's brother. Joab's brother was trying to kill Abner. They're chasing after him. Uh I love this. This is uh chapter 2 Samuel chapter 2, verses 18 and following. And the three sons of Zoroiah were there Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Now Asahel was as swift a foot as a wild gazelle. He's an awesome runner, pursued Abner, and he went and they didn't turn. And Abner looks behind him and says, Is that you, Asahel? And he said, It's me. And Abner said, Hey, stop running after me. Why don't you get some stuff here? But Asael would not turn aside. Abner said, Turn aside, I don't want to have to kill you. How can I look at Joab? But he refused. Therefore, Abner struck him in the stomach with the butt of the spear so that the spear came out of his back and he felt of the spear. Yeah. It's disgusting. Yeah. The only thing I can figure is that somehow Joab had quickly stopped and had Asahel's full weight run onto the spear. Yeah. Okay. Strange. So Joe so just those three sons of Zor Zoiahai, by the way, Joab is a key secondary, shadowy figure all through the rest of 2 Samuel. He's always there when something kind of is happening. And he's kind of of a he's of a mixed character, I think. Okay. We'll see this later when we come to Absalom. Yep. So but then in chapter three, David says to Abner, Man, no hard feelings. You are working for Saul, I want you to work for me. And Abner's like, okay. Now Joab is ticked about it. So look at this. Verse 26, chapter 3. When Joab came out from David's presence, he sent messengers after Abner and they brought him back. David didn't know about it. So Abner comes back to Hebron, and Joab says, Hey man, I like to talk to you. It's very godfather-esque. And there he struck him in the stomach so that he died for the blood of Asahel's brother. Now look what David does. When David heard about it, he said, I am not guilty of this, and it's going to be on Joab that he did this. And so Abner really mourns, uh David really mourns Abner to let everybody know I didn't want to kill him. David is again the point is he's so magnanimous in victory, which is beautiful, I think. Uh Joab, though, that scene, oh, this is for my brother, and he gets him. Okay. And then it just keeps happening that David keeps being very magnanimous, and then people kind of kind of undermine it a little bit. And and they kill one of Jonathan's remaining sons, which David didn't want to have happen. But ultimately, David chapter five is anointed king. The Ark comes to Jerusalem, and you and he David has to attack Jerusalem. You you wanted to mention that. Whoa. When when I was reading through it this time, you know, in my normal Bible, my ESV, just regular Bible, there's this little this little subheading or this sub, you know, whatever, above chapter six that says the ark brought to Jerusalem. And it's like it it's like a bright light went off like Jerusalem. I've not heard that before. Well, in chapter five, so David is from Bethlehem, and geographically today we know that Bethlehem is a few miles, you know, south of Jerusalem. Well, chapter five, Jerusalem is, you know, some um enemy town or village or whatever, um, they had to capture it. So David led led the the the battle or whatever that in the battle that they capture Zion, then it becomes it it becomes called the city of David. Right. And it's so Jerusalem is established as what we know of as Jerusalem day one in 2 Samuel chapter 5. Right, when he becomes king. Yeah. Which is kind of cool. It's awesome. But look at this. Um verse uh verse six, chapter 5, 2 Samuel. The king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, and they said, You're not going to come in here. In fact, it's so easy for us to defend our they have a stronghold there. They have a citadel at the top of Mount Zion. The blind and the lame can fight you off. In other words, we could do this with one hand behind our back. It's easy. Nevertheless, David took it, which is the city of David. And here's how David took it. Look at this. Whoever would strike the Jebusites, let him get up the watershaft to attack the lame and the blind who are hated by David's soul. I think the implication is he comes up the water. He he he they're they're they're he comes up the the the watershaft they kind of strike from the inside. Yeah, some sneaky kind of kind of way. Pretty cool. So then David is in Jerusalem, and the ark comes into Jerusalem, and then you have one of the most important passages in the entire Bible, 2 Samuel 7. Which, by the way, this is really interesting. This is worth a larger longer discussion at another time. Look at this. Chapter 7, 2 Samuel. Now, when the king lived in his own house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his surrounding enemies, the king said to Nathan, I live in a house of cedar, but God dwells in a tent. And Nathan said, Do whatever you want. The Lord's with you. So David says, I'm basically implication is I want to build a permanent temple for the Ark of the Covenant. And Nathan says, That's a great idea. Do it. And that night, verse 4, the word of the Lord comes to Nathan. Go and tell David, I don't want you to build me this thing. So let me just pause here. Notice how the Holy Spirit is working here. David has an idea. Nathan says, That idea makes sense, and they they're gonna put the plans into motion, and then God says, Actually, I don't want you to do that. What I like about that is that it shows them taking agency and moving. There's nothing wrong with David's plan. His motives are good. It's just it's not the way God wants it to happen. I think it's good for people to remember it's good to take action. We don't sit around waiting for the Holy Spirit to tell us what to do. We act in accordance with what seems right to us, trusting that God will redirect our steps if we're in the wrong way. Right? I think it's just a really cool little there's no implication that David is doing anything wrong when the Lord says, I don't want you to do it. It's just not the way God wants it to happen. Yeah. Yeah. And there's something about God telling him why he doesn't want it to happen. It's like my my nature or the way that I've the way that I dwell with my people has just not been this way from the beginning. Right. I've been in I've been intense this whole time. And you and you guys are not really getting exactly who I am if you think I need that. Yeah. Okay, but here's the key point. Uh the Lord says, Don't don't build it for me. The guy after you is gonna build it. But here, here, here. This is what it is. This is one of the best, best verses of the Bible. Chapter 12. I mean, chapter seven, verse twelve. When you when your days are fulfilled and you lie down, I'm gonna raise up a a descendant from you, from your own body, an actual biological descendant, and I'm gonna establish his kingdom. He's gonna build the temple, I will establish his house forever. I will be to him a father, he'll be to me a son, I'm gonna discipline him. Verse 15, but my steadfast love will not depart from him. Verse 16, and your house and your kingdom shall be made sure before me forever. Your throne shall be established forever. David is just overwhelmed by this. But the point is, in 2 Samuel 7, God makes this ironclad promise like he would have made to Abraham, I am committed to the house of David forever. I mean, it is remarkable, right? This is ultimately why Jesus comes from the line of David. But here's my point. What do you do when you're God and you make an ironclad promise to a faithless and rebellious human human line? And that's what the Old Testament's kind of about God's faithfulness to people and their faithlessness. It's actually really a complicated issue if you think about it. Well, what should God do? Exactly. And this goes back to the question that you started this episode with, um, which is what does it mean to be a man after God's own heart? Why David and not Saul? Because we'll see later that David is disobedient. So so so the Lord's anointing was pulled from Saul because of his disobedience, and there was something about his heart, I think. Um yet later we'll see that there's some pretty major disobedience with David. Um, and there's definitely a heart issue. We'll see, you know, I don't know if we're gonna talk about Bathsheba and Uriah and all that on this episode, but um so we'll get to that in a little bit, but there's it doesn't seem fair. Right. Or at least it doesn't seem congruent. We'll just say that. And and the thing about the fair issue is that we're right, it doesn't seem fair, but it's always not fair in our benefit, basically. So God has this amazing promise. Okay, established red letter, big deal, get the promise to David's line, forever. Period. Now almost immediately things began to go badly for David. So he's he's kind to one of s uh Jonathan, his buddy's descendants, which is good. But in chapter 11, that's when the Bathsheba thing starts. And so here's what I think. I think David was at his best when he had to depend on the Lord totally. And as soon as he's established in Jerusalem, it's like he loses that edge. He loses his fighting spirit, he loses his kind of aggressiveness or assertiveness, maybe it's a better word. Yeah. And it's just interesting to me that we don't like having challenges. But the challenges are good for us. They if if they push us toward God. Well, and maybe to bring that maybe to bring that into a more modern context. If you're paying attention, you can see when let's say like startup founders lead a certain way, they're scrappier, they're a little hungrier, like they're what kind of makes them who they are is and who they are in our eyes often changes when the company is established, they have a headquarters in Silicon Valley or New York in a in a big high-rise, they've got the corner office, we've got a lot of people that work for them, they do start to change. Maybe, maybe you could even say this about, you know, everybody wants to pick on megachurch pastors and rightfully so in a lot of cases, because there's often a failing that happens, you know, pretty deep into their ministry. It's not usually at the beginning, it's usually after things are established, right? Um and I just wonder if there's something to this because once once once David establishes Jerusalem and then begins to build a permanent house for himself, um, and maybe a palace for himself, and maybe there's something there too, with with God saying, like, I don't, I don't want a palace right now. Yeah, and it's to me the bitter irony is that it happens right after he gets this amazing word from God, like I'm committed to your to you and your and your descendants. So 2 Samuel chapter 11, that beautiful understated biblical narrative style. Yeah. Which by the way, let me just say this if we stopped right now and didn't go any farther, it wouldn't be that hard to see why God said he's a man after his own heart. Yeah. In fact, it makes complete sense. Yeah. Particularly, we're not gonna look at it now, but in chapter nine, Jonathan had a little boy, and when they had to flee, Jonathan is David's buddy, Saul's son. When they had to flee, the maid dropped the little boy and it permanently injured his feet, so he's lame the rest of his life. He's this poor little crippled boy who becomes a man. And David says, You're gonna be at my table the rest of my life. I'm gonna take care of you. It's beautiful. Yeah. It's magnet magnim magnanimity. He even gives him authority. Yeah. He has he has like servants and this this boy who can't earn status, just as given status. It's really cool. Out of David's generosity. Yeah. And then you're right. You stop there, it's great. However, but the Bible doesn't conform to what we think. It's so weird. So here we go. Chapter 11, verse 1. In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah, but David remained at Jerusalem. I just love it. I love it. They tell they what is what's the idea of the artist's show they don't tell? They don't tell you David should have gone out. He's failing his duty somehow. But that's this first failure. Before the Bathsheba thing happens, he doesn't, he's not, he's not leading the army. There's already something there. Yeah, he's not leading the army. Well, I th I think maybe you could argue that one of the reasons why God is giving David all these blessings because he expects so much from him, too. He's got to be at the front. He's got to lead the army, and he doesn't do it. And and then as a child, I knew the Bathsheba story. But it's only as an adult when you read all that happens after Bathsheba, David has a lot of failures after that, like major, major, major failures. Uh and it all it's like he just lacks the will anymore. He lacks that. It's really sad. So he sleeps this one with a woman in Bathsheba. And here's another thing that I only kind of got this year, actually, as we were reading through it. Uh so she gets pregnant, and David says, Give me, give me the give me your bring the husband back home. And he says, I want you to go home and sleep with your wife. Verse 9, chapter 11. Uriah slept at the door of the king's house. Please sleep out uh uh you know outside with all the servants of the Lord. And they didn't go down. And David said, Why didn't you go, why didn't you do that? Verse 11. And Uriah goes, Listen, the Ark and Israel and Judas dwell in booths, and and the king, I mean the general Joab and the servants, they're camping out. Am I gonna go home and like t live on Easy Street? Yeah. What I never picked up on until now is I wonder also, is you know, there's those Old Testament words about when men are on this holy battle, they shouldn't be involved with women. I wonder if Uriah is even that. He's like not not trying to be involved with women kind of like for like a ritual purity thing. Yeah. He's such a good guy. Yeah. Where else would that pop up for us? Did we see that earlier in the Old Testament? Well, David says it when they're trying to get the food in the temple. Yeah, and then it's it's back in somewhere. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Leviticus. Yeah, and maybe there's a ritual purity there if they think that they're kind of um essentially working for the Lord, like they're doing the Lord's work. And maybe, and also just having been a military guy myself, like um you're you're uh, pardon the pun, intimately familiar with lapses of discipline and basically getting soft and losing your edge when you're when you're in go mode and you start to enjoy some creature comforts while while you're in go mode, you just stay away from that stuff. Like you don't you don't want anything to do with it. And this is his own wife. He's this isn't about you know cavorting around or whatever. This is just he's like, nope, like I'm not gonna do it. I have a sense of obligation toward my comrades. And maybe there's a holy up whatever he doesn't do. He's just he's awesome. Yeah, Uriah's a good guy. And then David sets it up that he is murdered, he's killed. He tries to get him drunk. Yeah. He tries to to lower his inhibitions. Like he tries to, he tries one more time to basically take the edge off of his discipline to see if he'll to see if he'll do it. And he just doesn't do it. He's a rock. And then that's curtains for Uriah. Yep. Then you have that amazing story where Nathan rebukes David, and David Okay, so our question is how well how is David a man after God's own heart? He's doing bad stuff, he's fooling around. Here's one of the examples. I think this is David. This is God's own heart. When David is rebuked by Nathan, David immediately admits it. He's a yeah, you're totally right. And I and and you just there's this beautiful this is this is my theory. There's this beautiful childlike simplicity and love of God that David has. I think that's it. He just loves he just loves God and he's and he does have this kind of malleable heart. He's super wayward, but he has a malleable heart. I mean, it actually is a picture of what grace looks like. God is faithful to him, even though David does bad things. So it it does come back to all what saves you is faith in Jesus. What saves the Old Testament saints is faith in Jesus, whether they knew it or not. I think David has faith ultimately. Well, and if you're new, if you're new to the Bible, or maybe just hadn't put this together, um Psalm 51 is traditionally thought of as David's this is this is a psalm of David um repenting after this episode. So after Nathan after Nathan um rebukes him, we sort of get Psalm 51 out of this. Yeah, let's let's talk about that actually real quick, Rodney, because we haven't talked about the Psalms a single time. Now, in the Bible, the headings, the chapter marks, the little things, those are all added by editors. So for example, we're reading in the ESV, 2 Samuel 12, I have the heading in the ESV, Nathan Rebukes David. That's added by editors. Okay. But in the Psalms, these little headings uh like Psalm 51 to the choir master, that's in the text. So the Psalms already had those. Somebody at some point added these in in the formation of the Bible. So the reason we know what you just said is because it says a psalm of David. When Nathan the prophet went to him after he had gone into Bathsheba. Yeah. So I was thinking about this. This is this is unrelated to this specific psalm. We actually get some liturgical Psalm 51, verse 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and uphold me with a willing spirit. I grew up in the Lutheran church sort of singing that as part of the liturgical almost like maybe, you know, in our communion liturgy, we we begin with confession. Um this might have even been in there. There was a there was a part of the liturgy that we sung every Sunday. I still have it in my head. Anyway, this is a very pure psalm um from David about this episode. But I was just thinking, as you were talking earlier, as David's character begins to unravel a little bit and his, or he seems to lose nerve when it comes to leading his household and other things. It also makes me wonder about some of the psalms that where he he he seemingly writes, like, Lord, they're all trying to get me, they're all out to get me, they're, you know, whatever. I wonder how much of that is literally they're out to get him, and I wonder how much of it is just him kind of panicking a little bit because he's kind of losing his nerve and and or if it's both, right? Like is he is he losing his nerve because things the pressure of of his kingship is just kind of bearing down on him? Yeah, probably both. I mean, yeah, what's the old joke? You're not paranoid when they really are all to get you. I mean, people are out to get David. For sure. You know, so anyway, so yeah, he praised that psalm, uh, and then the child dies, it raises a lot of questions. How is it fair that the child dies? And it's and that's one of those many questions in life we don't know. But there is a consequence for human sin. Yeah. That's all we can say. Well, let me read this real quick, too, because this is gonna kind of set up the rest of David's experience in his household. So in chapter twelve, um, verse eleven. Well, let's let's uh start with verse nine. Why have you despised the word of the Lord to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Verse 10. Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. Thus says the Lord, behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house, and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of the sun. For you did it in secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun. And then David repents. But but that's a ominous that's gonna set up that's if you're if you're reading this, you need to like pin that and flag it, because as you start to read the rest of 2 Samuel, particularly the Absalom stuff, um, it that's where it starts, is right there. Yep. And then you have this strange note after the the fur after the baby dies, verse 24. David comforted his wife Bathsheba and went into her and lay with her, and she bore a son, and she called his name Solomon. The Lord loved him and sent a message by Nathan the prophet, so he called his name Jedediah because of the Lord. And Jedediah means beloved of the Lord. So there is a child born. And the Lord loved him. Yep. Which is what we just read a few chapters ago. The promise. He's going to David has a ton of wives at this point, but he is going to be the one, spoiler, who follows his father. Okay. Let's do this. Let's let's draw this week to a close and next week, let's talk about the transition from David, the whole Absalom conspiracy, into Solomon. I just want to point out one more time that David is a man after God's own heart, which is not to say that David is sinless or pure or behaves correctly. So when you read a thing and you go, how is that correct? You're right, David is not behaving correctly, and it's only going to get worse as the rest of his life goes on. Which is why, by the way, I think about this a lot. I'm in middle age now. I think a lot about what does it look like to end well? I'd rather almost end well than anything. And by the way, how things end is what you remember about them. Right? How do you end well in life, in a job? Uh I think about that all the time. Because I don't want to end badly. I don't want to end poorly. You know, I want to end better. That was you mentioned before about uh uh we talked about how David seems to kind of unravel when things start going well when when he's firmly established. They'll say that, you know, Nick Saban was harder on the players after they won than when they lost, because after they won, he thought they would start getting soft and thought they were they were big stuff. Yeah. And he was just constantly pushing, pushing, pushing, pushing. Yeah. There's got to be this internal sense where you just don't kind of take it easy, I guess. I don't know. And your disciplines need to maybe ratchet up or increase because the pressures are gonna increase. Like there's the all the more vigilant you have to stay because the pressures of the burdens of leadership and and also just the compounding effects of living a lot of life. Like just things that you've things that you've reaped for for 15 years, it's time to sow. Yep. And and um I don't mean that even in an ominous way. It's just you just you just have a lot of tending of things as you get older, I think. And and um, and I think I don't think there's anything better than a sanctified old person. Yeah, truly. Like when you're around an old person who has seen um a lot of life, a lot of difficulty, and just a lot of stuff, who also is filled with joy and self-control and um wisdom and peace, man, there's nothing like it. That that's attractive, and not in the obviously the the beauty sense, but the the magnetic sense. Like you want to be around to coin or to use a phrase that you've coined, these spiritual sequoias um who um and so ending you can't really you can't really be that person without being committed to ending well. No, you can't, and uh it's a and that there's a lot of biblical warning examples not to follow to end well. That was cool. I used uh an example recently in a sermon about E. Stanley Jones, the great uh missionary in the 20th century, and I mean he basically was a great guy to the end. He died in India as an old man and he ended well, and we don't probably celebrate that enough. It's cool. All right. Um we did have a question float in that came out of uh the book of John. Do you want to do that this week or next week? Let's do it this week. All right. So I'm gonna pull it up here. This is from Sherry from John chapter 10, verse 8, where um Jesus is talking about being the good shepherd stuff. We all remember that. But then he kind of sneaks this little passage in all who came before me were thieves and robbers. Sherry wants to know who's he talking about? Is he talking about the prophets or the patriarchs, or are there other like other figures that he's talking about? Yeah, so later on in the Bible in uh Acts chapter five, one of the Pharisees, there's a big debate. And the Pharisees and a guy named Gamaliel talks about two different well, in fact, let's turn there actually. Let's turn there. Acts chapter five. Acts chapter five. This is on uh Acts five thirty-three and following. This is about the early church, but it's relevant. A Pharisee named Gamaliel stands up, verse 34. Acts 5, 35. He said, Hey, be careful what you're gonna do to these guys. Because there was a guy named Tudas, he rose up, he claimed to be somebody, people joined him, but he was killed. Then there's a guy named Judas the Galilean, he rose up in the days of the census, but then he he was killed. So Gameliel says, If these guys are not from God, don't worry about it. If they are from God, you're not gonna be able to defeat it anyway. It's kind of a fun little note. The reason I'm raising it is look at there are two people specifically named in history that were messianic claimants. And Josephus, the great Jewish historian, references a couple others. So there seem to be a lot of people at this time who claim to be messianic figures, and I think Jesus is saying, don't listen to the wrong ones. Yeah. Yep. So no, it is not referencing um the prophets and the patriarchs that that were sort of precursors or messianic figures. He's not talking about Elijah, he's not talking about David or anything like that. It's talking about these other sort of um more recent maybe movements of these messianic movements or something. Yeah, I think so. And then he and his point is attempted messianic movements. Yeah. His point is I the people can tell by the way I speak and who I am that I'm legit and I'm caring for the sheep. So uh okay, so one thing is we just had our big Pentecost service uh and uh an important event took place in your life there. So I thought we could end on a personal note. So you introduced yourself uh on our podcast today as our executive pastor. That's a new role for you. Yeah uh talk about the ordination service from your point of view. I'd love to hear about it. Well, the service itself um was really beautiful and special. Um you've known me for a while now, and you know that I I care about um being seated in the traditions of of the church. When I say tradition, I don't mean we traditionally have Fourth of July parades going back to 1955. I mean the tradition of the apostles and the martyrs, and and so in this particular service we had robes on and and stoles and read from kind of old liturgies and things like that. We sang hymns that have been around a while, and it was just it was just really special for us to feel like, for me to feel like we were kind of recovering some of these um traditions, these ancient practices. For one, because I was ordained as an elder. Um I'm I've been ordained into the pastoral ministry as an elder, and and the the vows that I made before God seat me in the tradition of the apostles, and there's a weightiness to that. And so for us to express that in worship, I thought was good. Um I've talked to a lot of people who who felt like the Holy Spirit was thick, like in the room, like there was a sense that the Lord was in the room, and it was a long service, but people didn't want to leave, and so that's you know, that's a good sign. Um I was thinking, this is gonna sound morbid, but I was thinking it's I don't it doesn't feel morbid to me, but I was thinking this as people were asking me afterwards, like kind of what does it feel like or something. If you read the vows that we took and the charge that you and Kevin gave um to the elders, there's a there's such a weightiness to it, it's a heavy joy, but it in some ways it feels like you're being led to your death. I mean, not in like the literal death row sense, and I'm certainly not trying to play fast and loose with with those who have who have actually given their lives for Christ. That's not what I mean at all. But um there's a renewed sense of dying to yourself, and then there's a renewed commitment to to whatever it takes to teach in the ministry of the apostles. And so I just felt that a lot during the service that that this does feel like a like a renewed commitment and almost like being led to to your death is very strange. A couple of the uh the vows for the elders, they talk about uh, okay, this is a grievous responsibility, and those who fail at it are gonna be held to account. I mean, it's like really serious. It's a big deal. Yeah, yeah. Well, and and again, you've known me for a while. Like you know that I don't I don't try to like um just pat people on the head and tell them everything's gonna be fine. Like I like to give them challenging, you know, words that I think the Lord would want me to give them. And um, but there is a renew uh a new sense of of of weight to that because um I could I could shrink back from giving someone an unpopular word or something that may be difficult for them to hear. But I stood before our entire congregation and the Lord and said that that I'm willing to be judged harshly um if I lead them astray. And so um it almost like it does bolster your spirit a little bit. Um so it's a huge honor for me. It is very strange for people to congratulate you um because it doesn't feel like an achievement. Like it's not, it's not we we use that language for basically everything that's important in people's lives, congratulations or something like that. It doesn't feel like an achievement. Like I pursued something like a master's degree or a or a PhD or a marathon and I accomplished it, and now people are patting me on the back. That's that's how I've been receiving people reaching out to care for me, but it's it does not feel like I achieved anything. Like it's a there's there's a different element to it. It's there's a weighty element to it that makes it almost takes your breath away if you think about it. We don't really have the right English phrase. I mean, in a way, you'd want to people you'd want to say wow or something, but that'd be it isn't that's not how we interface with each other. That's strange, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, that's good. Uh huh. Yeah, it's um because it's not I mean, nothing is really a finish line in life, not even a degree or not even the literal finish line of a marathon, I guess. Because life goes on. Yeah, but this is definitely not like oh now you have arrived. It's sort of the opposite. Yeah, okay, okay, now you gotta do this. Yeah. Uh yeah. And I think it's good the congregation, we have thousands of people here, heard the vows and saw it happen too, involves them in a different way. You know, they're like, oh my gosh. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Whoa. This is different. It's not like, well, I chose to work at a bank and this guy chose to do that, and both things are they're equally good or equally whatever. That doesn't make the pastoral office better than anybody else, but it, but it is different. There's a there's just a weightiness to it um that that I'm excited about because it's how I've lived my life anyway, in terms of accepting sort of um weighty responsibilities. But and my wife Emily and I are um eagerly anticipating a fresh sort of movement of the spirit in our own lives. Just we feel like this is gonna open spiritual doors, not just in our own discipleship, but in just um avenues that would not have been opened otherwise because we weren't under the yoke of the pastoral ministry. I like that part. We gave you guys these stoles. That's this thing that goes around your neck. And I like the the phrase about um take the yoke of Christ, his yoke is easy and his burden is lighter, whatever. I like both of that. Like there, you're you're being given a thing, a burden, but it should be a light burden if done in the power of the Holy Spirit, but you are yoked to him. I like the whole thing was cool. Yeah. I like that. Yeah. Uh well, that's big. So I wasn't I missed unfortunately an earlier podcast. Uh lost my voice, I'm still not totally there. So I'm I this is the first time I heard you introduce yourself as our executive pastor. So I wanted to make sure the week didn't go by without remarking that. Yeah. Uh Gabby, put that in red when he uh says it. Put a little uh emoji on it or something in the post-production. Yeah. Well, congratulations. Yeah. Uh because I don't have a better word for you. Welcome to the club or let's go. Wow. Or uh maybe we'll have to work on a new word for that. Yeah. It's awesome. It is awesome. Like in the like in the literal sense. Yeah, yeah. Cool. Like the Grand Canyon is awesome. And I'm and and again, not to sound um whatever, but I'm I'm grateful to God for inviting me into it. Yeah. Right. I mean, that's he didn't have to do that, and and not everybody not everybody answers this kind of call, but not everybody is even asked. Right. And so um again, we don't think this makes us better than anybody, but it just it is different, and we're thankful to the Lord for even inviting us into it, and thankful for you. I mean, you invited me into ministry at a Chipotle in in um Dallas ten years ago or something like that, and and um we said yes, and we've been saying yes ever since. And and it's like this it's the true sense of further up and further in. It's like every time the Lord says, How about this? We say yes, and he just opens up this new section of Eden almost that we didn't even know was there. And so now we're excited for the new the new section. Amen. All right, well, let's go. All right, yep, thank you. Well, that's it for today. Um, we'll see you next time. We covered a lot of David. We're gonna keep going with a little bit of David, probably get into um a big I believe in our reading plans we end up in first Kings at some point coming up. So we'll probably talk about that. So uh keep emailing us here through the Bible.com. You can check on uh you can check that site out, ask your questions. We'd love to hear what's on your mind. Until then, we'll see you next time.