1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:01,280 Do you have your Bibles with you? 2 00:00:02,640 --> 00:00:05,920 I hope you have the word of God with you, and if you do, please 3 00:00:05,920 --> 00:00:08,160 meet me in Second Samuel chapter 21. 4 00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:12,520 I'm not sure if you realize, but there are three chapters left to 5 00:00:12,520 --> 00:00:18,800 the study, 3 chapters. Left until we pause and pray and 6 00:00:18,800 --> 00:00:21,040 consider where the Lord will take us next. 7 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:24,240 But when you come to chapter 21, we're not going to read right 8 00:00:24,240 --> 00:00:28,000 away, because I want you to see something quite interesting. 9 00:00:28,770 --> 00:00:34,570 Within these three chapters, you actually have three sets of 10 00:00:34,570 --> 00:00:38,370 three different themes. And so the best way to really 11 00:00:38,370 --> 00:00:40,970 show it to you is to have you follow along with me. 12 00:00:41,410 --> 00:00:45,810 Look at chapter 21 very briefly. What you'll notice in the 1st 14 13 00:00:45,810 --> 00:00:49,130 verses is the theme of divine discipline. 14 00:00:50,610 --> 00:00:53,370 And then you go to chapter 24 and what will you see? 15 00:00:54,730 --> 00:00:58,530 David census his error in doing so. 16 00:00:58,900 --> 00:01:00,620 And we're going to explore that in great detail. 17 00:01:00,620 --> 00:01:02,700 Why was that? God brought about judgment for 18 00:01:02,700 --> 00:01:04,540 his senses. But again, we have the theme of 19 00:01:04,540 --> 00:01:08,500 divine discipline on the outskirts of these three 20 00:01:08,500 --> 00:01:11,820 chapters. And then you come to the second 21 00:01:11,860 --> 00:01:14,340 part of chapter 21, and what will you notice here in verse 22 00:01:14,340 --> 00:01:16,700 15, down to the completion of this chapter? 23 00:01:16,940 --> 00:01:21,020 You will have a brief tribute of some of the soldiers in David's 24 00:01:21,020 --> 00:01:23,940 army. What will you notice in chapter 25 00:01:23,940 --> 00:01:27,140 23? You'll notice there in the 26 00:01:27,140 --> 00:01:31,580 second part. A tribute to some of David's 27 00:01:31,660 --> 00:01:34,620 mighty men. So on the outskirts you have the 28 00:01:34,620 --> 00:01:37,540 theme of divine discipline. You come closer, you have the 29 00:01:37,540 --> 00:01:39,420 theme of tribute to David soldiers. 30 00:01:39,660 --> 00:01:42,060 And then you come to the you come to the source there in the 31 00:01:42,060 --> 00:01:43,500 core. And what do you have? 32 00:01:43,500 --> 00:01:47,420 Well, look here at Chapter 22 in the first part, and you have 33 00:01:47,420 --> 00:01:51,020 David's song of deliverance. And what do you see there in the 34 00:01:51,020 --> 00:01:54,140 first part of chapter 23? Yet another song. 35 00:01:54,900 --> 00:01:58,260 Yet another song. Again, the outskirts, divine 36 00:01:58,260 --> 00:02:00,500 discipline. Following that, you have a 37 00:02:00,500 --> 00:02:04,460 tribute to some of David's men. And then at the core you have 38 00:02:04,460 --> 00:02:08,460 two of David's psalms living side by side. 39 00:02:09,100 --> 00:02:11,220 What are we to make of this? A simple observation of the 40 00:02:11,220 --> 00:02:14,940 beauty of God's word. This is just symmetrical art. 41 00:02:15,860 --> 00:02:18,940 The Bible is not just random information being stuffed 42 00:02:18,940 --> 00:02:20,500 together. There was thought behind this, 43 00:02:20,500 --> 00:02:22,700 and more importantly, it's divine authorship. 44 00:02:23,330 --> 00:02:26,090 And so we even see a beauty in this final collection of 45 00:02:26,090 --> 00:02:29,210 chapters in our study. But what's more beautiful is the 46 00:02:29,210 --> 00:02:32,530 substance, what it is that we are going to read today as we 47 00:02:32,530 --> 00:02:35,730 deal with the first part at the end of this book. 48 00:02:36,130 --> 00:02:39,330 And what we will face. Today's is a heavy text, but 49 00:02:39,330 --> 00:02:41,490 nonetheless a very crucial and important text. 50 00:02:41,490 --> 00:02:45,810 Many lessons to learn in this example of divine discipline. 51 00:02:46,250 --> 00:02:48,650 And so let's read together in the first few verses of chapter 52 00:02:48,650 --> 00:02:54,270 21. Now there was a famine in the 53 00:02:54,270 --> 00:02:58,870 days of David for three years, year after year. 54 00:02:59,390 --> 00:03:01,950 And David sought the face of the Lord. 55 00:03:02,590 --> 00:03:07,510 And the Lord said there is blood guilt on Saul and on his house, 56 00:03:07,910 --> 00:03:10,670 because he put the Gibianites to death. 57 00:03:11,390 --> 00:03:14,510 So the king called the Gibianites and spoke to them. 58 00:03:15,150 --> 00:03:17,990 Now the Gibianites were not of the people of Israel, but of 59 00:03:17,990 --> 00:03:19,670 the. Remnant of the Emirates. 60 00:03:19,980 --> 00:03:24,340 Although the people of Israel had sworn to spare them, Saul 61 00:03:24,460 --> 00:03:29,180 had sought to strike them down in his zeal for the people of 62 00:03:29,180 --> 00:03:32,140 Israel. And Judah and David said to the 63 00:03:32,140 --> 00:03:37,020 Gibianites, What shall I do for you, and how shall I make 64 00:03:37,020 --> 00:03:40,220 atonement, that you may bless the heritage of the Lord? 65 00:03:41,180 --> 00:03:43,780 The Gibianites said to him, It is not a matter of silver or 66 00:03:43,780 --> 00:03:47,740 gold between us and Saul or his house, neither is it for us to 67 00:03:47,740 --> 00:03:51,390 put any man to death in Israel. And he said, What do you say 68 00:03:51,390 --> 00:03:55,230 that I shall do for you? They said to the king, the man 69 00:03:55,310 --> 00:03:59,150 who consumed us and planned to destroy us, so that we should 70 00:03:59,150 --> 00:04:01,310 have no place in all the territory of Israel. 71 00:04:01,510 --> 00:04:05,910 Let seven of his sons be given to us, so that we may hang them 72 00:04:06,110 --> 00:04:10,550 before the Lord at Gibia of Saul, the chosen of the Lord. 73 00:04:10,950 --> 00:04:16,950 And the king said, I will give. Them Lord, we ask that you would 74 00:04:16,950 --> 00:04:19,190 give us the Spirit of wisdom and revelation. 75 00:04:20,019 --> 00:04:24,220 In light of this specific text, may there be no confusion. 76 00:04:24,300 --> 00:04:27,460 May there be no intrusive thoughts that would rob us of 77 00:04:27,460 --> 00:04:31,900 the treasures that you have for us in every line of this 78 00:04:31,900 --> 00:04:34,740 chapter. May we become more acquainted 79 00:04:34,740 --> 00:04:37,700 with your ways. May this chapter pull us closer 80 00:04:37,700 --> 00:04:40,860 into intimacy with your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. 81 00:04:41,220 --> 00:04:43,740 And as our sister prayed, may there be a special grace and 82 00:04:43,740 --> 00:04:45,790 empowerment. In the delivery and the 83 00:04:45,790 --> 00:04:48,990 reception of this word, your word says that the anointing 84 00:04:48,990 --> 00:04:52,670 that abides in us teaches us, and we want to know what that 85 00:04:52,670 --> 00:04:55,390 anointing can offer us, that anointing that has been 86 00:04:55,390 --> 00:04:58,030 purchased by Christ and made available to all of his 87 00:04:58,030 --> 00:05:00,270 children. We give you glory and honor and 88 00:05:00,270 --> 00:05:03,830 thanks for the study in advance. And the precious name of Christ 89 00:05:03,830 --> 00:05:05,390 we pray. Amen. 90 00:05:05,710 --> 00:05:09,350 Amen. Now there was a famine in the 91 00:05:09,350 --> 00:05:13,230 days of David for three years. A famine. 92 00:05:13,990 --> 00:05:17,590 That we are not sure when exactly took place, but it was a 93 00:05:17,590 --> 00:05:20,910 famine that for three consecutive years happened. 94 00:05:21,910 --> 00:05:24,910 And what we see here right from the beginning is that David 95 00:05:25,270 --> 00:05:30,150 seeks God in prayer. He realizes what's happening in 96 00:05:30,150 --> 00:05:33,270 the nation and his response seems noble. 97 00:05:33,470 --> 00:05:38,110 He pauses, he pulls away, he comes to meet before God and he 98 00:05:38,110 --> 00:05:43,670 says, what is this all about? Is this something to praise in 99 00:05:43,670 --> 00:05:48,830 David? You can say yes, but I would say 100 00:05:48,830 --> 00:05:52,630 yes and no. David does the right thing in 101 00:05:52,630 --> 00:05:55,510 praying. But consider and read carefully 102 00:05:55,510 --> 00:05:59,750 of when he chooses to pray. When does he choose to pray? 103 00:06:00,750 --> 00:06:03,710 After how long? Three years? 104 00:06:04,710 --> 00:06:09,910 After three years of famine? He then chooses. 105 00:06:10,300 --> 00:06:14,260 To seek the face of God. Now, some attempt to justify 106 00:06:14,260 --> 00:06:18,580 David's lack of praying here or delay and praying by saying that 107 00:06:18,580 --> 00:06:22,460 he was simply waiting and and trying to discern whether this 108 00:06:22,460 --> 00:06:26,140 is a natural cause or there's a spiritual implication behind it. 109 00:06:27,340 --> 00:06:30,140 But when you when you take David's behavior here and you 110 00:06:30,140 --> 00:06:34,220 put it on the backdrop of of Scripture, namely the Law. 111 00:06:34,650 --> 00:06:37,930 You would realize that there is no weight in justification for 112 00:06:37,930 --> 00:06:40,450 David's lack of praying or delay in praying. 113 00:06:40,450 --> 00:06:42,730 Let me prove that to you very quickly. 114 00:06:42,730 --> 00:06:45,810 Go to Deuteronomy 11 and I want you to see a couple of verses in 115 00:06:45,810 --> 00:06:48,290 verse 13. This is one of God's promises, 116 00:06:48,570 --> 00:06:52,610 his conditional promises to the people before they entered into 117 00:06:52,610 --> 00:06:56,010 the very land that experienced this famine centuries later. 118 00:06:56,850 --> 00:07:00,050 The Lord is speaking here in Deuteronomy 11 and notice what 119 00:07:00,050 --> 00:07:05,810 he says in verse 13. And if you will indeed obey my 120 00:07:05,810 --> 00:07:09,810 commandments, that I command you today to love the Lord your God, 121 00:07:09,930 --> 00:07:13,810 and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, He 122 00:07:13,810 --> 00:07:19,010 will give rain for your land in its season, the early rain, and 123 00:07:19,010 --> 00:07:22,650 the later rain that you may gather in your grain, and your 124 00:07:22,650 --> 00:07:27,050 wine and your oil. There is a connection here 125 00:07:27,050 --> 00:07:31,970 between God's pleasure over His people and their experience of. 126 00:07:32,450 --> 00:07:35,330 Economic prosperity. That was the unique relationship 127 00:07:35,330 --> 00:07:38,130 that Israel had with God at this time. 128 00:07:39,090 --> 00:07:42,250 And so there is no question that there's a spiritual implication 129 00:07:42,250 --> 00:07:45,610 behind this famine. This famine is indicative of 130 00:07:45,610 --> 00:07:48,810 some kind of violation that took place between the covenant that 131 00:07:48,810 --> 00:07:53,570 God had made with this people and David, who was a king, not 132 00:07:53,570 --> 00:07:56,290 just the king of king, instructed in the same book, 133 00:07:56,290 --> 00:08:00,370 Deuteronomy 17 to know the law to have a copy of in his own 134 00:08:00,370 --> 00:08:02,580 hands. And to read it day and night, he 135 00:08:02,580 --> 00:08:07,140 should have known that the fact that we have not seen rain means 136 00:08:07,140 --> 00:08:09,580 that something has gone wrong on our part. 137 00:08:10,500 --> 00:08:15,460 God is obviously trying to get our attention, and we failed to 138 00:08:15,740 --> 00:08:19,140 take heed. David, as a leader, failed to do 139 00:08:19,140 --> 00:08:20,700 so. And and this teaching goes 140 00:08:20,700 --> 00:08:23,300 beyond being acquainted with the word of God, right? 141 00:08:23,900 --> 00:08:26,260 You have the full copy of God's revelation. 142 00:08:26,260 --> 00:08:30,420 You must seek to master His Word from cover to cover. 143 00:08:30,820 --> 00:08:33,140 But there's another lesson here, and it's a reflection of our 144 00:08:33,140 --> 00:08:37,179 human nature. There are some people who, by 145 00:08:37,179 --> 00:08:39,140 the grace of God, know how to abide in the place of prayer 146 00:08:39,140 --> 00:08:43,419 when all things go well, right? There are others who only visit 147 00:08:43,419 --> 00:08:46,140 the closet when things don't go their way. 148 00:08:46,460 --> 00:08:50,620 And then there are others who only pray when things go very 149 00:08:50,620 --> 00:08:53,900 bad. Very bad, because some people 150 00:08:53,900 --> 00:08:56,020 think they're smart. Some people think they're clever 151 00:08:56,140 --> 00:08:58,660 when things kind of take a different turn or turbulence 152 00:08:58,660 --> 00:09:00,210 comes. They think they're in their own 153 00:09:00,210 --> 00:09:01,970 wisdom and strength, that they can deal with it. 154 00:09:02,890 --> 00:09:07,250 But when things increasingly become worse and all your ideas 155 00:09:07,250 --> 00:09:11,570 and plans don't seem to go forward, then you hit the ground 156 00:09:11,570 --> 00:09:12,930 praying. And that's what David is 157 00:09:12,930 --> 00:09:15,810 demonstrating here. It's not until three years past 158 00:09:15,810 --> 00:09:17,450 where he begins to seek the Lord. 159 00:09:18,050 --> 00:09:21,170 And that's unfortunate because that is not the way to utilize 160 00:09:21,170 --> 00:09:24,530 the gift of prayer. You see here, by the grace of 161 00:09:24,530 --> 00:09:27,930 God, that even after three years the Lord answers. 162 00:09:28,490 --> 00:09:31,630 Think about that. You allowed an interval of three 163 00:09:31,630 --> 00:09:35,670 years, and the moment you choose to humble yourself and to see 164 00:09:35,670 --> 00:09:38,950 God, he still is willing to hear you and answer you. 165 00:09:39,230 --> 00:09:43,430 That's the grace of God. It's never too late to restart. 166 00:09:43,830 --> 00:09:47,910 It's never too late to take your spiritual disciplines seriously. 167 00:09:47,910 --> 00:09:50,990 It's never too late. It's been three years, 10 years, 168 00:09:51,150 --> 00:09:55,990 6 conferences, 11,000 Sunday services, 10,000 Bible studies, 169 00:09:56,110 --> 00:09:59,650 and you still haven't changed. When you change, God is ready to 170 00:09:59,650 --> 00:10:02,570 receive you. Three years go by and this man 171 00:10:02,570 --> 00:10:05,370 prays and God will say where you been for the past three years? 172 00:10:05,490 --> 00:10:06,850 You know what? Why don't I wait three weeks and 173 00:10:06,850 --> 00:10:08,690 then I'll get back to you. Let's Let's be fair here. 174 00:10:08,690 --> 00:10:12,810 No, He answers him right away. And yet it makes you wonder, if 175 00:10:12,810 --> 00:10:15,650 God was willing to answer him after three years, wouldn't he 176 00:10:15,650 --> 00:10:17,370 have answered him if he prayed in year one? 177 00:10:18,970 --> 00:10:23,410 And if that is true, then how much trauma, loss, pain, 178 00:10:23,570 --> 00:10:27,460 suffering, affliction? David could have been preserved 179 00:10:27,460 --> 00:10:32,660 from if he had chosen to simply pray, to seek God. 180 00:10:34,020 --> 00:10:38,940 Remaining in prayer assures us safety from unnecessary trials 181 00:10:39,340 --> 00:10:44,180 and self-inflicted pain that famous him right. 182 00:10:45,780 --> 00:10:49,380 And so we see here that David unfortunately prays. 183 00:10:49,380 --> 00:10:51,300 Too late. But the fortunate thing is that 184 00:10:51,300 --> 00:10:54,870 he prays nonetheless. And I can't help but think of 1 185 00:10:54,870 --> 00:10:58,430 specific exhortation in a New Testament where we are. 186 00:10:58,430 --> 00:11:01,590 Promised that if you are enduring something and you pray, 187 00:11:01,590 --> 00:11:05,070 God will give you the wisdom you need to know how to navigate 188 00:11:05,070 --> 00:11:06,350 through it. Do you know which reference? 189 00:11:06,350 --> 00:11:11,830 I'm Speaking of James 1/5. What is the command and the 190 00:11:11,830 --> 00:11:16,870 promise in James 15, if any right, if any of you lacks 191 00:11:16,870 --> 00:11:20,690 wisdom? Let him ask God, who gives 192 00:11:20,690 --> 00:11:25,010 generously to all without reproach. 193 00:11:25,850 --> 00:11:27,530 That's wonderful, because there are some people don't feel 194 00:11:27,530 --> 00:11:30,130 worthy to come to God and to ask him to receive something. 195 00:11:30,130 --> 00:11:35,730 And James assures you, he gives to all without reproach, without 196 00:11:35,730 --> 00:11:38,130 reproach, and it will be given him. 197 00:11:38,530 --> 00:11:41,330 Now we take that verse out of its context, and we just 198 00:11:41,730 --> 00:11:44,050 rehearse it and quote it and preach it, and it's a wonderful 199 00:11:44,050 --> 00:11:46,570 principle. But it's a principle tied to a 200 00:11:46,570 --> 00:11:51,170 specific context. In what context is James saying, 201 00:11:51,330 --> 00:11:52,730 if you ask God for wisdom, he'll. 202 00:11:52,730 --> 00:11:55,530 Give it to you. Good, you said it. 203 00:11:55,530 --> 00:11:59,370 And you're right. When you meet trials of various 204 00:11:59,370 --> 00:12:05,210 kinds, so the understanding there is when you meet trials, 205 00:12:05,290 --> 00:12:08,650 your reflex must be I must meet with God. 206 00:12:09,490 --> 00:12:13,970 I must meet with God, because one of the pains of trials. 207 00:12:14,370 --> 00:12:18,650 Is that it comes with difficulty and cause us to wonder, how do I 208 00:12:18,650 --> 00:12:21,890 handle this? And James by the Spirit assures 209 00:12:21,890 --> 00:12:25,770 you, if you do know how to pray in those moments, God will give 210 00:12:25,770 --> 00:12:28,330 you His mind and how to understand the nature of this 211 00:12:28,330 --> 00:12:32,410 trial and how to most redemptively make the best of 212 00:12:32,410 --> 00:12:36,050 this trial. And I've seen that in so many 213 00:12:36,050 --> 00:12:38,450 scenarios. I've talked to mothers who have 214 00:12:38,450 --> 00:12:41,330 children who go in and out of jail, who want to come back home 215 00:12:41,530 --> 00:12:43,130 and they say, brother, what do I do? 216 00:12:43,130 --> 00:12:45,770 And James would say seek God for wisdom. 217 00:12:45,970 --> 00:12:50,850 Every case is different and there are people in ministries, 218 00:12:50,850 --> 00:12:53,530 and I can attest to this, that deal with issues that I'm 219 00:12:53,530 --> 00:12:56,970 telling you seminary and no theological book can prepare you 220 00:12:56,970 --> 00:12:59,930 for. Our sinful nature is very 221 00:12:59,930 --> 00:13:01,610 creative and coming up with issues. 222 00:13:03,130 --> 00:13:06,610 Where do I go? James says seek God for wisdom, 223 00:13:06,610 --> 00:13:10,050 and he will give it to you. He'll deposit it in your mind. 224 00:13:10,570 --> 00:13:14,090 He'll put something in you that you can't find on your bookshelf 225 00:13:14,090 --> 00:13:17,130 that you can't get from your professor, that even perhaps 226 00:13:17,130 --> 00:13:20,610 your pastor might not be able to guide you in, but God will. 227 00:13:21,530 --> 00:13:23,170 Don't doubt it. Come to him. 228 00:13:23,250 --> 00:13:26,410 That's exactly what David does. He doesn't understand what's 229 00:13:26,410 --> 00:13:28,970 going on here. Is this a test? 230 00:13:29,610 --> 00:13:32,090 That God wants me to endure? Or is this something that I must 231 00:13:32,090 --> 00:13:35,570 combat with my faith and overcome it with my trust in the 232 00:13:35,570 --> 00:13:37,730 Lord? He seeks the Lord he should have 233 00:13:37,730 --> 00:13:38,770 known better, but he seeks the Lord. 234 00:13:38,770 --> 00:13:42,130 He at least does that, and God answers him and God tells him 235 00:13:42,170 --> 00:13:47,770 What is the reason for this famine says that here there's 236 00:13:47,770 --> 00:13:49,010 blood. Guilt on that. 237 00:13:49,530 --> 00:13:53,090 On Saul and on his house. We haven't heard from Saul for a 238 00:13:53,090 --> 00:13:53,850 while. Right? 239 00:13:54,850 --> 00:13:58,850 Here he is again. What's happening here is because 240 00:13:58,850 --> 00:14:02,530 of what Saul has done at some point in his life, and what Saul 241 00:14:02,530 --> 00:14:05,210 has done is that he put to death some of the Gibianites. 242 00:14:05,210 --> 00:14:07,930 Now, if you're a student of the Old Testament, you should be. 243 00:14:07,930 --> 00:14:10,170 Concerned. In fact, you should be shocked. 244 00:14:10,890 --> 00:14:13,050 When were the Gibianites introduced to us in the Old 245 00:14:13,050 --> 00:14:14,170 Testament? Who remembers? 246 00:14:15,330 --> 00:14:18,530 Very good Joshua. Now let me take it to the next 247 00:14:18,530 --> 00:14:19,970 step. What chapter in Joshua? 248 00:14:20,570 --> 00:14:23,050 Oh, very good. Somebody prepared for this Bible 249 00:14:23,050 --> 00:14:25,010 study? Yes. 250 00:14:26,770 --> 00:14:30,170 Any teacher will be thrilled to know that the people that he's 251 00:14:30,170 --> 00:14:35,450 teaching no Joshua Chapter 9 and the story is very familiar to 252 00:14:35,450 --> 00:14:36,490 us. I hope, Josh, when the 253 00:14:36,490 --> 00:14:39,330 Israelites come in their campaign to take over the land 254 00:14:39,330 --> 00:14:41,130 of Canaan because it was a promised land and these 255 00:14:41,130 --> 00:14:44,330 Gibianites have studied what's happening here. 256 00:14:44,570 --> 00:14:46,610 These are people of a connection to the true. 257 00:14:46,610 --> 00:14:48,770 Living God and wherever they go they succeed. 258 00:14:48,770 --> 00:14:52,050 We have no chance. And these Gibianites were 259 00:14:52,050 --> 00:14:55,650 numbered among the Canaanites, and so they were also. 260 00:14:56,180 --> 00:14:59,500 Call to face the same faith of absolute eradication. 261 00:14:59,500 --> 00:15:01,860 And they did not want that. And So what do they do? 262 00:15:02,060 --> 00:15:04,540 They come to Joshua and the leaders, and they tricked them. 263 00:15:05,020 --> 00:15:06,940 They tricked them and make them believe that they were from a 264 00:15:06,940 --> 00:15:09,940 distant country, distant land, and they want to come into 265 00:15:09,940 --> 00:15:13,060 covenant with them. And after some clever 266 00:15:13,060 --> 00:15:17,260 presentation, Joshua and the leaders were told, did not seek 267 00:15:17,260 --> 00:15:19,780 the Lord. And so they were deceived and 268 00:15:20,060 --> 00:15:22,100 that they didn't make a covenant with these people and that 269 00:15:22,100 --> 00:15:25,530 covenant entailed. That these Gibbonites would live 270 00:15:25,530 --> 00:15:29,210 among them and would be untouched for the rest of their 271 00:15:29,210 --> 00:15:32,770 days. And that obviously went against 272 00:15:32,770 --> 00:15:37,370 what God intended for the Canaanites, but the covenant was 273 00:15:37,370 --> 00:15:42,450 so binding that it was to remain forever. 274 00:15:44,010 --> 00:15:48,210 Even in the days of David. And what you have with Saul 275 00:15:48,210 --> 00:15:52,130 instead is that for centuries this was honored, The Gibbonites 276 00:15:52,130 --> 00:15:54,690 were at peace. And live peaceably among the 277 00:15:54,690 --> 00:15:57,290 Israelites. And then Saul became king. 278 00:15:58,330 --> 00:16:01,610 Saul becomes king, and he attempts to. 279 00:16:03,370 --> 00:16:06,410 Absolutely rid these people from the land. 280 00:16:08,090 --> 00:16:10,810 This guy bugs me for different reasons. 281 00:16:12,370 --> 00:16:16,210 It really just shows how twisted and gross his disobedience was. 282 00:16:16,210 --> 00:16:18,370 I mean, it was bad enough from what we saw in First Samuel. 283 00:16:18,370 --> 00:16:21,390 Then you come to Second Samuel. And you get just another insight 284 00:16:21,390 --> 00:16:24,710 of just how rebellious he really was. 285 00:16:25,390 --> 00:16:30,950 When God told Saul kill all the Amalekites, did he obey? 286 00:16:31,950 --> 00:16:33,190 No, he didn't. He kept some. 287 00:16:34,230 --> 00:16:37,630 And when it came to the people that through covenant were 288 00:16:37,630 --> 00:16:41,030 protected, Saul tries to kill them all. 289 00:16:41,630 --> 00:16:46,950 What's wrong with you? And we look at this and we think 290 00:16:46,950 --> 00:16:49,550 to ourselves, there's obviously something twisted about this 291 00:16:49,550 --> 00:16:53,550 man, and that is true. But this says also something 292 00:16:53,550 --> 00:16:58,150 about the Lord, because the Lord here shows just how much he 293 00:16:58,150 --> 00:17:00,430 takes seriously the principle of covenant. 294 00:17:01,910 --> 00:17:06,190 This promise was made hundreds of years before Saul's day, and 295 00:17:06,190 --> 00:17:10,829 any oath, any agreement, any promise that was made, matters 296 00:17:10,829 --> 00:17:13,680 to the Lord. So what do we learn from this 297 00:17:13,680 --> 00:17:17,200 concerning God? He takes our words seriously. 298 00:17:17,640 --> 00:17:21,040 He does any commitment. Anything that you sign on a 299 00:17:21,040 --> 00:17:23,640 dotted line, anything that you. Confess with your mouth anything 300 00:17:23,640 --> 00:17:27,440 that you say, do perform. That comes with your word, your 301 00:17:27,440 --> 00:17:30,000 yes or your no. It really matters to God. 302 00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:31,800 And so this is really a warning to us. 303 00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:35,840 We may forget, we may ignore, we may neglect, we may dishonor. 304 00:17:35,840 --> 00:17:38,580 God doesn't. But with this warning, you have 305 00:17:38,580 --> 00:17:41,260 a word of comfort, deep comfort. Think about it. 306 00:17:41,260 --> 00:17:45,020 If this is how God upholds covenant, then you have no 307 00:17:45,020 --> 00:17:47,980 reason to fear concerning your assurance in Christ Jesus. 308 00:17:49,180 --> 00:17:53,660 Absolutely no reason to doubt that if Christ comes tomorrow or 309 00:17:53,660 --> 00:17:56,740 500 years from now, he will not forget. 310 00:17:56,860 --> 00:18:01,100 Nor will he dishonor his promise concerning you because of his 311 00:18:01,100 --> 00:18:03,180 faithfulness. Yes, Hallelujah. 312 00:18:03,180 --> 00:18:06,420 Indeed, I don't have to lose one wink of sleep. 313 00:18:07,470 --> 00:18:09,350 Wondering if God is going to change His mind. 314 00:18:10,830 --> 00:18:13,790 I can be sound in my sleep. I can be sound in my mind. 315 00:18:13,790 --> 00:18:17,070 I can be filled with worship and praise every second of my 316 00:18:17,070 --> 00:18:19,830 existence for one sole reason God keeps. 317 00:18:19,830 --> 00:18:22,670 His word, when he says it, he means it. 318 00:18:23,830 --> 00:18:27,350 But man is so different. And though we don't understand 319 00:18:28,110 --> 00:18:31,790 the clear motives of Saul and going after the Gibianites, we 320 00:18:31,790 --> 00:18:34,510 get a little hint. I don't know if you caught it, 321 00:18:34,950 --> 00:18:39,940 but come here quickly with me. At the end of verse two says 322 00:18:39,940 --> 00:18:42,660 although the people of Israel had sworn to spare them, Saul 323 00:18:42,780 --> 00:18:47,860 sought to strike them down in his zeal for the people of 324 00:18:47,860 --> 00:18:53,860 Israel and Judah in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah. 325 00:18:54,300 --> 00:18:58,660 Now remember what was Saul's excuse and First Samuel 15 when 326 00:18:58,780 --> 00:19:03,660 the prophet confronted him about his disobedience concerning the 327 00:19:03,660 --> 00:19:05,960 Amalekites. Here's one of his. 328 00:19:05,960 --> 00:19:08,160 Excuses. I listened to the people. 329 00:19:09,240 --> 00:19:12,760 I listened to the people. The people convinced me. 330 00:19:13,040 --> 00:19:19,160 Keep the sheep, keep a gag as a trophy and all will be well. 331 00:19:19,160 --> 00:19:20,920 And he did. And he paid for it. 332 00:19:21,920 --> 00:19:25,200 And what was his reason? And coming after the Gibianites? 333 00:19:25,800 --> 00:19:27,520 The same reason to impress the people. 334 00:19:29,160 --> 00:19:33,280 His zeal for the people caused. Them. 335 00:19:34,030 --> 00:19:39,750 To violate a covenant, an ancient one, and it would cost 336 00:19:39,750 --> 00:19:47,190 the nation living for the opinions of men is a sure method 337 00:19:47,550 --> 00:19:51,990 of spiritual suicide. You live for people. 338 00:19:51,990 --> 00:19:54,510 You have a passion for what people have to say about you or 339 00:19:54,510 --> 00:19:57,710 don't say about you. Disobedience is inevitable. 340 00:19:58,950 --> 00:20:02,070 See, Saul's problem was that his zeal wasn't for God. 341 00:20:03,030 --> 00:20:05,510 If his zeal was for God, then he would have punished the 342 00:20:05,550 --> 00:20:09,030 Malachites and protected the Gibianites at all. 343 00:20:09,030 --> 00:20:11,870 This is yet another reminder of how deceptive our emotions can 344 00:20:11,870 --> 00:20:14,030 be. He was enthusiastic, he was 345 00:20:14,030 --> 00:20:18,110 passionate about this cause, and he interpreted his feelings and 346 00:20:18,350 --> 00:20:22,750 allowed it to filter to determine what was right and 347 00:20:22,750 --> 00:20:25,390 what was wrong. Emotions can do that. 348 00:20:26,440 --> 00:20:29,160 And it doesn't matter how emotionally invested you are in 349 00:20:29,160 --> 00:20:33,400 a person or in a thought or a conviction or an idea, your 350 00:20:33,400 --> 00:20:36,400 emotions do not validate the cause. 351 00:20:37,240 --> 00:20:42,480 They don't. And how important is this in 352 00:20:42,480 --> 00:20:46,960 light of our day, where we are now in a culture that is pushing 353 00:20:46,960 --> 00:20:51,520 for this notion that if you feel strongly about it, that it must 354 00:20:51,520 --> 00:20:55,880 be right? As long as you feel strongly 355 00:20:55,880 --> 00:20:58,880 about it, then we will accept it and we will. 356 00:20:59,040 --> 00:21:02,120 That's the path that we're on. Thank God we still have some 357 00:21:02,120 --> 00:21:06,120 same people, but the trajectory is proving otherwise. 358 00:21:06,120 --> 00:21:09,160 We're losing a grip on simple, right and wrong. 359 00:21:09,520 --> 00:21:12,480 But let's let's let's take it beyond just just that. 360 00:21:12,480 --> 00:21:17,360 Let's, let's zoom in here. How true is Saul's attitude in 361 00:21:17,360 --> 00:21:20,960 day-to-day things? day-to-day things, we commit to 362 00:21:20,960 --> 00:21:24,180 a ministry. And then you no longer feel 363 00:21:24,180 --> 00:21:27,340 passionate about the ministry, and so you just pick up and move 364 00:21:27,340 --> 00:21:29,740 on. You were so in love with her, 365 00:21:29,740 --> 00:21:32,340 right? And your ceremony was so 366 00:21:32,340 --> 00:21:34,660 spiritual, and it was so Spurgeon asked. 367 00:21:34,660 --> 00:21:38,620 When you made your vows beautiful, people were crying 368 00:21:38,620 --> 00:21:41,220 and it looks so awesome and it sounded so romantic, but you 369 00:21:41,220 --> 00:21:44,020 just don't feel like you're in love anymore. 370 00:21:44,180 --> 00:21:46,820 And so divorce is very attractive now. 371 00:21:47,100 --> 00:21:50,900 She Saw's problem was his feelings completely ignored the 372 00:21:50,900 --> 00:21:54,280 principle of covenant. And people are doing the same 373 00:21:54,280 --> 00:21:57,320 today, whether the zeal is there or the absence of zeal, and that 374 00:21:57,320 --> 00:21:59,160 determines what you do with your. 375 00:21:59,160 --> 00:22:02,200 Promises. That's contrary to the nature of 376 00:22:02,200 --> 00:22:03,800 God. That's contrary to the calling 377 00:22:03,800 --> 00:22:07,800 of the people of God. That your yes be yes and your no 378 00:22:07,800 --> 00:22:10,480 be no. I thought about that Jesus. 379 00:22:10,480 --> 00:22:12,240 What Jesus? Meant by that is you don't need 380 00:22:12,240 --> 00:22:14,560 to attach with your with your yes and yes. 381 00:22:14,560 --> 00:22:16,720 I promise I'll do it. I promise I won't do it. 382 00:22:16,880 --> 00:22:19,560 Your yes should be enough. Your no should be enough. 383 00:22:19,920 --> 00:22:21,960 That should be the level of integrity that we should strive 384 00:22:21,960 --> 00:22:25,600 for in the Spirit. So Saul had a zeal, and that 385 00:22:25,600 --> 00:22:27,640 zeal let him in the wrong direction, but he justified it 386 00:22:27,640 --> 00:22:31,600 because it just was so there, present and powerful. 387 00:22:32,920 --> 00:22:34,240 And it let him into disobedience. 388 00:22:34,240 --> 00:22:37,880 Your feelings can do that. And so we come here and what do 389 00:22:37,880 --> 00:22:39,880 we see? David confronts to give you 390 00:22:39,880 --> 00:22:42,480 nights. He calls them over and he asked 391 00:22:42,480 --> 00:22:44,880 them, OK, this has been made known to me. 392 00:22:45,240 --> 00:22:48,400 What do we do about it? And before we look at this 393 00:22:48,400 --> 00:22:51,640 interaction. Did anybody think to themselves, 394 00:22:52,440 --> 00:22:54,080 where were the Gibianites to begin with? 395 00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:58,720 What I mean by that is, why didn't the Gibianites initiate 396 00:22:59,520 --> 00:23:02,640 this case for retribution? Where were they for all this 397 00:23:02,640 --> 00:23:06,080 time? Saul had long passed. 398 00:23:06,080 --> 00:23:08,040 David was king for quite some time. 399 00:23:08,120 --> 00:23:10,480 You would think that once David took his place that they would 400 00:23:10,480 --> 00:23:14,920 have been there in line to say, hey David, I'm not sure if you 401 00:23:14,920 --> 00:23:17,520 realize what Saul had done, but we have a problem here. 402 00:23:17,520 --> 00:23:21,110 Can you help us? None of that happened. 403 00:23:21,190 --> 00:23:23,830 David is the one initiating it, David is the one approaching 404 00:23:23,830 --> 00:23:27,310 them, and the Gibby Night seem to have just held their peace 405 00:23:27,310 --> 00:23:31,190 for all this time. And there is no explanation for 406 00:23:31,310 --> 00:23:35,430 their silence. But it makes you wonder, based 407 00:23:35,430 --> 00:23:38,110 on what you see about their character in this interaction, 408 00:23:38,110 --> 00:23:42,270 if they had just paused and waited and trusted in the 409 00:23:42,270 --> 00:23:46,070 sovereignty of God, I wonder. This is just speculation. 410 00:23:46,070 --> 00:23:47,990 This isn't dogmatic, but I wonder. 411 00:23:48,640 --> 00:23:52,160 If they give you nice just allowed God to deal with their 412 00:23:52,160 --> 00:23:54,360 offense, Maybe they cried out to him. 413 00:23:54,360 --> 00:23:58,680 It's not indicated. They trusted in God's vengeance 414 00:23:58,680 --> 00:24:02,000 for sure. And God did come to their aid. 415 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:05,640 He brought a famine. He brought a famine and it got 416 00:24:05,640 --> 00:24:08,400 the people's attention. And again, look here at their 417 00:24:08,400 --> 00:24:13,480 character when the opportunity comes their way, look what they 418 00:24:13,480 --> 00:24:17,630 said in verse 4. The giving night said to him it 419 00:24:17,630 --> 00:24:20,550 is not a matter of silver or gold between us and salt or his 420 00:24:20,550 --> 00:24:22,550 house. Neither is it for us to put any 421 00:24:22,550 --> 00:24:24,390 man to death in Israel. There's two things that are 422 00:24:24,390 --> 00:24:26,190 being said here. Look, you can't give us any 423 00:24:26,190 --> 00:24:28,990 amount of money to make up for this and we're not looking to 424 00:24:28,990 --> 00:24:34,150 make any money out of this. Secondly, we recognize our place 425 00:24:34,150 --> 00:24:37,550 in this nation because remember. When they made that treaty with 426 00:24:37,550 --> 00:24:40,310 Israel, they didn't have the same status as the people of 427 00:24:40,310 --> 00:24:41,950 Israel. They were servants. 428 00:24:42,430 --> 00:24:44,430 They carried water and they cut wood. 429 00:24:46,220 --> 00:24:51,260 We have no civil rights in this. We can't put anyone to death. 430 00:24:51,340 --> 00:24:55,220 And So what I take from that is these people did not exploit the 431 00:24:55,220 --> 00:24:57,020 situation. They didn't say, oh, this is our 432 00:24:57,020 --> 00:25:00,340 chance to get money, this is our chance to get rich, this is our 433 00:25:00,340 --> 00:25:03,100 chance to get some revenge, to give them a taste of their own 434 00:25:03,100 --> 00:25:04,980 medicine and put some of their own to death. 435 00:25:05,700 --> 00:25:09,540 No, these were people who had integrity and we're not 436 00:25:09,540 --> 00:25:13,100 vengeful, nor were they greedy. They said we're not looking to 437 00:25:13,100 --> 00:25:16,660 take advantage of this time. So that says something about 438 00:25:16,660 --> 00:25:18,300 their nature, that says something about their heart 439 00:25:18,300 --> 00:25:21,540 posture. But then David asked then what 440 00:25:21,540 --> 00:25:24,380 do you want? And this is what they asked. 441 00:25:24,980 --> 00:25:29,060 Give us seven of Saul's sons. Let us hang them. 442 00:25:30,300 --> 00:25:33,580 Let us hang them. Now that. 443 00:25:33,580 --> 00:25:41,380 Further confirms something about their wisdom, One they asked for 444 00:25:41,380 --> 00:25:46,600 Saul's sons. To be hung by their own hands. 445 00:25:47,040 --> 00:25:50,640 I think that's a detail that we can't miss, because I think they 446 00:25:50,640 --> 00:25:54,120 had this understanding that if David were to perform this, that 447 00:25:54,120 --> 00:25:57,360 it could have added more fuel to the fire between the feud of the 448 00:25:57,360 --> 00:25:59,480 dynasty of Saul and David's dynasty. 449 00:25:59,480 --> 00:26:02,000 And they didn't want that. We'll take care of it. 450 00:26:02,560 --> 00:26:06,800 There's wisdom there. Secondly, these Gibianites, 451 00:26:07,680 --> 00:26:11,130 though, not Israelites. We're among the people of Israel 452 00:26:11,130 --> 00:26:15,170 long enough, I believe, to be familiar with some of God's law. 453 00:26:16,490 --> 00:26:21,290 Let's hang them. Now, why that form of execution 454 00:26:21,650 --> 00:26:24,370 out of many forms of execution that were available in that 455 00:26:24,370 --> 00:26:25,330 time? Any idea? 456 00:26:27,530 --> 00:26:28,810 Yes, that's right. Somebody said it. 457 00:26:29,250 --> 00:26:33,090 And Deuteronomy 21, we're told in verse 22 that if anyone 458 00:26:33,410 --> 00:26:36,450 committed a crime that was worthy of death, they were to be 459 00:26:36,450 --> 00:26:39,570 hung before the Lord. And in that hanging. 460 00:26:40,110 --> 00:26:43,110 There would be a display demonstration of divine 461 00:26:43,110 --> 00:26:45,710 displeasure. This person has been cursed by 462 00:26:45,710 --> 00:26:52,630 God, and the people understood that by doing this they were not 463 00:26:52,630 --> 00:26:55,950 only seeking some kind of retribution for themselves, but 464 00:26:55,950 --> 00:27:00,470 they were going to satisfy God's justice, and so they wanted to 465 00:27:00,470 --> 00:27:04,830 perform this particular legislation, this particular 466 00:27:04,830 --> 00:27:08,020 punishment. And David understood what they 467 00:27:08,020 --> 00:27:08,620 were saying. He says. 468 00:27:08,620 --> 00:27:09,380 You know what? It's yours. 469 00:27:09,380 --> 00:27:12,300 But here's what we might consider a philosophical debate, 470 00:27:12,420 --> 00:27:18,180 or theological one, although there is such an obvious array 471 00:27:18,180 --> 00:27:20,420 of wisdom and fairness and grace. 472 00:27:21,460 --> 00:27:27,660 Is it just for Saul's? Sons to receive capital 473 00:27:27,660 --> 00:27:33,800 punishment for Saul's sin. Because there are some who go to 474 00:27:33,800 --> 00:27:36,680 the extent of saying that this story is really about how David 475 00:27:36,680 --> 00:27:41,320 was in the wrong and instead of seeking God, he sought the 476 00:27:41,320 --> 00:27:45,120 council of these Gibianites. And in doing so he killed 477 00:27:45,200 --> 00:27:48,440 innocent men. Because the sons are not 478 00:27:48,440 --> 00:27:52,200 supposed to pay for the sins of their father, right? 479 00:27:52,200 --> 00:27:55,040 That is in Deuteronomy. So what do we have here? 480 00:27:55,040 --> 00:27:58,840 Do we have David who is mistaken or do we have something else? 481 00:27:59,040 --> 00:28:03,840 Any ideas? Was it right for Saul sons to 482 00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:15,420 undergo this punishment? Yes. 483 00:28:18,900 --> 00:28:21,020 Right. So there are consequences of 484 00:28:21,020 --> 00:28:23,900 sins from especially parents, anybody in authority? 485 00:28:24,460 --> 00:28:26,660 Yes, absolutely. There is that principle of 486 00:28:26,660 --> 00:28:29,620 consequences going beyond your own life. 487 00:28:30,340 --> 00:28:35,540 That's. Throughout the Word of God, yes. 488 00:28:47,480 --> 00:28:50,200 OK, so verse 14, how the people prayed. 489 00:28:50,520 --> 00:28:53,600 And so you're saying that it wasn't necessarily David's 490 00:28:53,600 --> 00:28:56,040 dealing with the Gibby Knights, but the people's prayers that 491 00:28:56,040 --> 00:29:02,760 brought about OK Was it right for Saul's sons to receive 492 00:29:02,760 --> 00:29:06,320 punishment for what happened? What seems to be Saul's sin? 493 00:29:22,180 --> 00:29:24,620 OK. So there's something about God's 494 00:29:24,620 --> 00:29:27,580 approval of what taken place that seems to validate what 495 00:29:27,580 --> 00:29:29,140 happened. OK, I understand your answer and 496 00:29:29,220 --> 00:29:30,780 that's a good point. That's a good observation 497 00:29:30,780 --> 00:29:35,620 because if God did end up giving rain, then there's no error 498 00:29:35,620 --> 00:29:37,980 here, right? Let's see. 499 00:29:38,060 --> 00:29:50,290 Yes, yes, seven is a significant number, number of completion. 500 00:29:57,500 --> 00:30:09,970 It gets into the OK, so you're talking about the glory of God, 501 00:30:09,970 --> 00:30:13,570 where it's told that those who hate him, they will be visited 502 00:30:13,570 --> 00:30:16,410 in the 3rd and 4th generation. Is that you're speaking about 503 00:30:16,410 --> 00:30:19,690 Yes. Yes. 504 00:30:22,930 --> 00:30:25,370 Yeah, that's that's that's one answer that people would allude 505 00:30:25,370 --> 00:30:29,080 to that God's. Recognition of Saul's hatred 506 00:30:29,160 --> 00:30:32,200 again back to our sister point. Affected generations after. 507 00:30:32,640 --> 00:30:34,720 Yes, you have one more answer. Maybe 2. 508 00:30:34,720 --> 00:30:43,590 And then we'll move forward. Yes. 509 00:30:48,630 --> 00:31:00,830 Blood guilt. So life and life, right? 510 00:31:01,610 --> 00:31:03,650 Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, foot for foot. 511 00:31:11,290 --> 00:31:13,090 OK. So the nation is that guilt 512 00:31:13,090 --> 00:31:14,370 here. It's not necessarily a 513 00:31:14,370 --> 00:31:17,210 particular person. OK, one more and then we're 514 00:31:17,210 --> 00:31:19,210 going to have to move forward. Brother George, did you have 515 00:31:19,210 --> 00:31:21,410 something or were you scratching your neck earlier? 516 00:31:22,250 --> 00:31:24,170 No answer. OK, we'll take it for Lori. 517 00:31:32,770 --> 00:31:38,890 Very good and perfect segue. How do we know that it wasn't 518 00:31:38,890 --> 00:31:43,290 just Saul? What we do know and that, and I 519 00:31:43,290 --> 00:31:45,890 think it's just careful reading that eliminates philosophical 520 00:31:45,890 --> 00:31:49,490 debate and speculation and more than that, even wrong 521 00:31:49,490 --> 00:31:52,210 interpretation. Go back to verse one. 522 00:31:52,410 --> 00:31:55,930 Read it carefully now. There was a famine in the days 523 00:31:55,930 --> 00:31:58,690 of David for three years, year after year, and David sought the 524 00:31:58,690 --> 00:32:01,170 face of the Lord and the Lord said There is blood guilt on 525 00:32:01,170 --> 00:32:02,210 Saul. And who? 526 00:32:05,730 --> 00:32:13,970 And on his house, not just Saul, but it's household, you see now 527 00:32:15,010 --> 00:32:20,010 careful reading. And on his house the sons of 528 00:32:20,010 --> 00:32:23,970 Saul were not guilty merely by association, but because of 529 00:32:23,970 --> 00:32:27,770 participation. On some level they were agents 530 00:32:27,810 --> 00:32:32,170 of destruction against the Gibianites, at least in part. 531 00:32:32,670 --> 00:32:36,710 And David here, receiving this proposal is not just 532 00:32:36,710 --> 00:32:39,670 subjectively trying to deal with this issue. 533 00:32:40,070 --> 00:32:43,710 I believe, at least in this part, he is in perfect alignment 534 00:32:43,710 --> 00:32:46,910 with the law and another law. So let me read this to you. 535 00:32:46,910 --> 00:32:48,830 And if you're writing notes, you can write down this reference in 536 00:32:48,830 --> 00:32:52,470 numbers 35 and Numbers 35 we read here. 537 00:32:52,470 --> 00:32:56,430 In verse 33, the Lord speaks you shall not pollute the land in 538 00:32:56,430 --> 00:33:01,310 which you live in Numbers 3533, for blood pollutes the land. 539 00:33:01,840 --> 00:33:05,320 And no atonement can be made for the land, for the blood that is 540 00:33:05,320 --> 00:33:09,160 shed in it, except by the blood of the one who shed it. 541 00:33:10,880 --> 00:33:13,880 So there is no violation of the law. 542 00:33:13,880 --> 00:33:16,720 There is no contradiction. There is no neglect. 543 00:33:17,000 --> 00:33:21,200 There is perfect alignment, Saul and his household. 544 00:33:22,080 --> 00:33:25,280 There's blood, guilt on them. And because the land has been 545 00:33:25,280 --> 00:33:27,640 polluted by blood, it demanded the lives of those. 546 00:33:27,640 --> 00:33:30,600 Who shed that blood? And that is what we have up to 547 00:33:30,600 --> 00:33:32,990 this point. So we addressed briefly the 548 00:33:32,990 --> 00:33:37,030 silence of the Gibianites. But there is another silence 549 00:33:37,030 --> 00:33:40,310 that we have to address. We talked about why it took 550 00:33:40,830 --> 00:33:44,110 David to come to the Gibianites for this to happen. 551 00:33:44,310 --> 00:33:47,230 But here's another question. Why did God wait so long? 552 00:33:49,710 --> 00:33:54,270 Why did God wait so long? Why didn't he make this known? 553 00:33:54,270 --> 00:33:57,790 Why didn't he let a famine happen in the days of Saul? 554 00:33:59,030 --> 00:34:02,970 Why at this point? With David at this time, with 555 00:34:02,970 --> 00:34:06,370 the nation at this point in history, why? 556 00:34:06,370 --> 00:34:08,330 Any idea? And listen before you answer 557 00:34:08,330 --> 00:34:10,810 that you can think about it and apply it in your own life, in 558 00:34:10,810 --> 00:34:13,730 your own observation. How is this person committing 559 00:34:13,730 --> 00:34:15,570 such evil and they still get away with it? 560 00:34:15,570 --> 00:34:18,770 How are they still prospering? How is that ministry still 561 00:34:18,770 --> 00:34:21,570 standing? How are their doors still open? 562 00:34:21,889 --> 00:34:25,929 And there's so much false doctrine, there's so much sexual 563 00:34:25,929 --> 00:34:28,850 sin, there's so much meddling with the funds. 564 00:34:28,889 --> 00:34:30,530 How? How are they still standing? 565 00:34:30,860 --> 00:34:34,620 How can a nation still be a nation, still be in the top 566 00:34:34,620 --> 00:34:39,060 three super powers of the world and legalize and promote such 567 00:34:39,060 --> 00:34:43,219 perversion and push God out of their schools and push God out 568 00:34:43,219 --> 00:34:44,380 of their government? How? 569 00:34:44,380 --> 00:34:47,179 How? Any idea? 570 00:34:49,179 --> 00:34:52,659 I'll give you what I believe. It's a hint there in the Book of 571 00:34:52,659 --> 00:34:55,540 Revelation. It's in chapter 2 when the Lord 572 00:34:55,540 --> 00:34:59,820 speaks to one church, and in that address you have. 573 00:35:00,170 --> 00:35:02,850 And insight about how God deals with man's sin. 574 00:35:03,850 --> 00:35:05,450 Look there in chapter 2, verse 20. 575 00:35:06,170 --> 00:35:08,690 There is a woman in this church and she's referred to as 576 00:35:08,690 --> 00:35:10,490 Jezebel. Not the Jezebel that you read in 577 00:35:10,490 --> 00:35:16,330 Kings, but one who imitates Jezebel and her rebellion 578 00:35:16,330 --> 00:35:19,290 against authority in her attempt to be authoritative and to lead 579 00:35:19,290 --> 00:35:21,530 people into sin. And the Lord speaks. 580 00:35:21,530 --> 00:35:25,090 He writes a letter to this church and he says there are 220 581 00:35:25,090 --> 00:35:26,930 revelation. But I have this against you. 582 00:35:27,650 --> 00:35:30,570 That you tolerate that woman Jezebel who calls herself a 583 00:35:30,570 --> 00:35:34,410 prophet test and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice 584 00:35:34,410 --> 00:35:37,490 sexual morality and to eat food, sacrifice to idols. 585 00:35:37,490 --> 00:35:39,130 Look at verse 21, the first few words. 586 00:35:39,850 --> 00:35:47,250 I gave her time to repent. I gave her time to repent. 587 00:35:48,770 --> 00:35:53,730 Why does the Lord allow this prophet test to preach this 588 00:35:53,730 --> 00:35:55,770 false teaching and to lead people into sin? 589 00:35:56,920 --> 00:35:58,680 Why didn't God just strike her down right away? 590 00:35:58,680 --> 00:36:00,400 Why didn't God close the church down? 591 00:36:00,480 --> 00:36:03,280 Because I gave her time to repent. 592 00:36:05,240 --> 00:36:08,600 Why didn't God strike Saul down? Why didn't he bring a famine and 593 00:36:08,600 --> 00:36:11,600 days of Saul? I believe because he gave the 594 00:36:11,600 --> 00:36:15,000 household of Saul. He gave the nation of Israel 595 00:36:15,000 --> 00:36:19,120 time to repent and they didn't take advantage of that time. 596 00:36:19,120 --> 00:36:23,040 Just like sinners today, sinners take that silence from heaven 597 00:36:23,040 --> 00:36:26,520 and allow it to just feel them to sin even more. 598 00:36:27,720 --> 00:36:30,600 It's unfortunate, isn't it? But here it is. 599 00:36:31,240 --> 00:36:34,160 God finally brings discipline because again, he doesn't 600 00:36:34,160 --> 00:36:38,320 forget. Man may forget and the time is 601 00:36:38,320 --> 00:36:40,720 up, and time will come up for every single person. 602 00:36:41,680 --> 00:36:44,640 And so we see here that once David deals with the Gibianites, 603 00:36:44,640 --> 00:36:47,760 and we just settled the matter that this is not any 604 00:36:47,960 --> 00:36:50,280 confliction, there's no any confliction with the word of 605 00:36:50,280 --> 00:36:51,720 God. We move forward in the selection 606 00:36:51,720 --> 00:36:55,320 of the men. Look here in verse 7, verse six 607 00:36:55,320 --> 00:37:00,950 rather. He says I will give them verse 608 00:37:00,950 --> 00:37:02,190 7. But the king spared 609 00:37:02,190 --> 00:37:08,070 Mephebisheth, the son of Saul, son Jonathan, because of the 610 00:37:08,110 --> 00:37:10,270 oath of the Lord that was between them, between David and 611 00:37:10,270 --> 00:37:13,990 Jonathan the son of Saul. Isn't that wonderful? 612 00:37:15,150 --> 00:37:16,990 What a contrast between these two leaders. 613 00:37:17,390 --> 00:37:20,790 You have Saul, who had no regard for a promise, and then yet you 614 00:37:20,790 --> 00:37:24,110 have David, who kept his from Mephebisheath. 615 00:37:25,100 --> 00:37:28,780 Covenant with Jonathan that his descendants would not be hurt, 616 00:37:28,900 --> 00:37:31,340 they would not be touched. And when it came to the 617 00:37:31,340 --> 00:37:34,140 selection, when it came to possible judgment coming to this 618 00:37:34,140 --> 00:37:36,900 household, the Fed Bechet was spared. 619 00:37:36,980 --> 00:37:40,220 We were told here that he would evade judgment. 620 00:37:40,220 --> 00:37:41,620 You have a shadow of the gospel here. 621 00:37:41,620 --> 00:37:45,500 Is it not clear? the Fed bechet was associated 622 00:37:45,500 --> 00:37:50,620 with a guilty family and because of an oath that he had this only 623 00:37:50,700 --> 00:37:53,620 covenant that would have spared him because that covenant was 624 00:37:53,620 --> 00:37:55,430 made. He was able to escape the 625 00:37:55,430 --> 00:37:57,870 judgment that finally came. It's no different than you and 626 00:37:57,870 --> 00:37:59,990 I. You and I are associated with a 627 00:37:59,990 --> 00:38:04,750 guilty family, the human race, son and daughter of that rebel 628 00:38:04,750 --> 00:38:07,910 Adam. But because of your covenant, 629 00:38:07,910 --> 00:38:11,270 not with David, but the son of David, you will be spared. 630 00:38:12,470 --> 00:38:14,750 And what I love about this picture of Mephebuscheth is that 631 00:38:15,270 --> 00:38:18,710 the scene before this, that the last time we see Mephebuscheth 632 00:38:18,710 --> 00:38:21,510 and David, David and Mephebuscheth had an encounter. 633 00:38:21,910 --> 00:38:25,990 Mefebachev was accused by Ziba for being disloyal to David. 634 00:38:26,630 --> 00:38:31,590 He was a traitor, apparently, according to Ziba's words, he 635 00:38:31,590 --> 00:38:34,430 betrayed you. And yet, despite the 636 00:38:34,470 --> 00:38:38,030 accusations, his status remained the same. 637 00:38:38,790 --> 00:38:42,950 David did not change his promise to Mefebachev, though there was 638 00:38:42,950 --> 00:38:45,150 an accuser that convinced them otherwise. 639 00:38:45,310 --> 00:38:47,070 It is the same for you and I in Christ. 640 00:38:47,570 --> 00:38:50,370 Satan will accuse you. Do you realize right now that 641 00:38:50,370 --> 00:38:52,210 one of the things that Satan is doing while you're doing your 642 00:38:52,210 --> 00:38:55,730 own thing is trying to convince God the Father that you're not 643 00:38:55,730 --> 00:39:03,130 worthy to be saved day and night, He accuses the brethren. 644 00:39:04,930 --> 00:39:09,650 That person got baptized, and he promised to never watch 645 00:39:09,650 --> 00:39:11,650 pornography again. And there he is. 646 00:39:12,010 --> 00:39:13,930 He. He's your son, Huh? 647 00:39:15,930 --> 00:39:20,450 You're going to let him in? Is that really how your justice 648 00:39:20,450 --> 00:39:25,330 works? And then Satan comes to you and 649 00:39:25,330 --> 00:39:27,930 he tries to convince you something wrong about the 650 00:39:27,930 --> 00:39:30,930 Father, like he's such a liar. Look at you. 651 00:39:30,930 --> 00:39:32,170 You think God's going to love you? 652 00:39:32,170 --> 00:39:35,130 I think God's going to hold on to you. 653 00:39:35,410 --> 00:39:38,050 You're a mess. How many times are you going to 654 00:39:38,050 --> 00:39:41,570 pray about this? You realize how holy he is. 655 00:39:41,570 --> 00:39:43,530 You realize he's not going to really tolerate this. 656 00:39:46,380 --> 00:39:49,220 But the picture we have. Here is, despite the accusation, 657 00:39:49,660 --> 00:39:55,860 despite the demand for your life, his word remains it will 658 00:39:55,860 --> 00:39:59,460 prevail, and that's the comfort you and I have. 659 00:40:00,300 --> 00:40:02,380 But unfortunately, not everybody lived under that blessing. 660 00:40:02,380 --> 00:40:04,540 And so you read in verse eight of the victims. 661 00:40:05,420 --> 00:40:08,940 Not really victims of the ones who deserve to be punished. 662 00:40:08,940 --> 00:40:12,620 The king took two sons of Rispa, the daughter of Aya. 663 00:40:13,210 --> 00:40:16,410 Whom she bore to Saul, Armoni and Mefebachev. 664 00:40:16,450 --> 00:40:19,770 A different Mefebachev. And the five sons of Mira, the 665 00:40:19,770 --> 00:40:22,930 daughter of Saul, whom she bore to age-old, the son of Barzalai 666 00:40:23,410 --> 00:40:28,210 and Mihola fight. So seven were chosen. 2 of them 667 00:40:28,210 --> 00:40:33,090 came from a woman named Rispa. According to Second Samuel 3 668 00:40:33,090 --> 00:40:35,890 verse 7. Rispa was one of Saul's 669 00:40:35,890 --> 00:40:38,530 concubines. That's important. 670 00:40:39,530 --> 00:40:42,130 And then you come here and you realize that 5. 671 00:40:42,940 --> 00:40:45,300 Came from Mirab, the daughter of Saul. 672 00:40:45,300 --> 00:40:48,380 Now some of your translation might read what not Mirad, 673 00:40:48,380 --> 00:40:51,420 Mikhail. Now the reason why some 674 00:40:51,420 --> 00:40:53,780 transitions have Mirab is because there are different 675 00:40:53,780 --> 00:40:57,180 manuscripts that identify this person differently. 676 00:40:58,260 --> 00:41:03,180 Mirab is the other daughter of Saul, not the one that David 677 00:41:03,180 --> 00:41:04,580 married. Mikhail is the one that David 678 00:41:04,580 --> 00:41:07,260 married. And there is an explanation here 679 00:41:07,260 --> 00:41:08,980 if whether it's Mirab or Mikhail. 680 00:41:08,980 --> 00:41:12,140 If it is Mikhail, the problem is Mikhail could not have children. 681 00:41:12,680 --> 00:41:15,640 You guys remember that she could not bear children, but the 682 00:41:15,640 --> 00:41:19,400 transition would read that Mikhail perhaps reared she 683 00:41:19,400 --> 00:41:23,800 adopted the kids of her sister. Something must have. 684 00:41:23,800 --> 00:41:27,320 Happened to her sister Mirab, and she raised them up herself. 685 00:41:27,320 --> 00:41:30,160 She almost adopted them. That's if you have the Mikhail 686 00:41:30,160 --> 00:41:33,040 transition, right? Mirab here. 687 00:41:33,240 --> 00:41:36,400 They're basing it off other Hebrew manuscripts that would 688 00:41:36,400 --> 00:41:38,880 identify her. And that makes more sense 689 00:41:38,880 --> 00:41:41,000 because she was the one who was married to a Joe, the son of 690 00:41:41,000 --> 00:41:44,960 Berzalai. Regardless, the seven have been 691 00:41:44,960 --> 00:41:50,680 determined and will be executed. And that's exactly what happens. 692 00:41:51,160 --> 00:41:54,040 Verse 9. And he gave them into the hands 693 00:41:54,040 --> 00:41:57,080 of the Gibianites, and they hang them on the mountain before the 694 00:41:57,080 --> 00:42:00,800 Lord, and the seven of them perished together. 695 00:42:01,080 --> 00:42:03,880 They were put to death in the first days of the harvest, at 696 00:42:03,880 --> 00:42:09,520 the beginning of barley harvest. I'm surprised the chapter 697 00:42:09,520 --> 00:42:11,200 doesn't end there. I'm surprised the story doesn't 698 00:42:11,200 --> 00:42:14,600 end there. They were hung. 699 00:42:15,200 --> 00:42:17,200 It's over. Move on. 700 00:42:18,200 --> 00:42:23,440 But instead, you and I are brought into a very sad scene. 701 00:42:24,120 --> 00:42:26,640 It's heartbreaking. It's tragic, actually. 702 00:42:28,120 --> 00:42:31,680 Instead of just concluding that the Lord honored this and then 703 00:42:31,680 --> 00:42:34,160 he made it rain and then you move on. 704 00:42:35,220 --> 00:42:37,820 We have a very descriptive scene of RISPA. 705 00:42:40,900 --> 00:42:43,380 There have been many books written about Woman of the 706 00:42:43,380 --> 00:42:47,140 Bible, many blogs written. Personally, I've never 707 00:42:47,140 --> 00:42:53,060 encountered anything mentioning this woman and what she 708 00:42:53,060 --> 00:43:00,500 displayed in her character. Let's read it and you'll get how 709 00:43:00,500 --> 00:43:02,460 dark it is just by my simple reading. 710 00:43:02,940 --> 00:43:07,580 Then Rispa, the daughter of Aya, took sackcloth and spread it for 711 00:43:07,580 --> 00:43:11,700 herself on the rock from the beginning of harvest until rain 712 00:43:11,700 --> 00:43:15,580 fell upon them from the heavens. And she did not allow the birds 713 00:43:15,580 --> 00:43:19,380 of the air to come upon them by day, or the beast of the field 714 00:43:19,380 --> 00:43:23,780 by night. That's a tragic sight. 715 00:43:25,500 --> 00:43:29,420 Here you have a mother who already lost so much of her 716 00:43:29,420 --> 00:43:32,420 security when Saul killed himself. 717 00:43:33,410 --> 00:43:36,010 Right. If there's any security left in 718 00:43:36,010 --> 00:43:38,890 her life, it's through her sons. And now that's taken from her. 719 00:43:39,330 --> 00:43:43,490 It wasn't easy to be a widow. It wasn't easy to be a widow 720 00:43:43,490 --> 00:43:48,010 with no one to take care of you, and the next person to take care 721 00:43:48,010 --> 00:43:50,930 of you would be either Redeemer or your own children. 722 00:43:51,370 --> 00:43:53,810 And all of that is taken from her right? 723 00:43:54,770 --> 00:43:57,010 And the impression that you get from this verse is that she 724 00:43:57,010 --> 00:44:01,290 decides to make her home at this atrocious. 725 00:44:01,620 --> 00:44:05,700 Despicable sight. While her sons are there 726 00:44:05,700 --> 00:44:09,100 technically being crucified, not in the Roman way, but hanging 727 00:44:09,100 --> 00:44:13,900 there day and night, she sought to preserve them from being 728 00:44:13,900 --> 00:44:17,260 further defiled. And so you can just imagine that 729 00:44:17,260 --> 00:44:18,820 she's there. Throughout the day, in the 730 00:44:18,820 --> 00:44:24,340 blazing Middle Eastern sun, she would stand and keep her post so 731 00:44:24,340 --> 00:44:27,260 that whenever any bird would fly on the shoulder of one of her 732 00:44:27,260 --> 00:44:28,700 sons, she would try to shoo them away. 733 00:44:29,640 --> 00:44:33,880 I want you to imagine and feel how she would lay on that rock 734 00:44:34,000 --> 00:44:37,240 in the coldness of the night while her clothing would be wet 735 00:44:37,240 --> 00:44:42,080 from the dew and she would be awakened midnight at the sound 736 00:44:42,080 --> 00:44:46,840 of dogs attempting to rip a limb off of that tree from one of her 737 00:44:46,840 --> 00:44:50,440 sons and her fearlessly getting up and shooing them away, 738 00:44:50,440 --> 00:44:53,720 chasing them off. This is the kind of life that 739 00:44:53,720 --> 00:44:58,880 this woman lived for. Days, weeks and some even 740 00:44:58,880 --> 00:45:00,480 believe. Months. 741 00:45:01,520 --> 00:45:05,320 You're going to find out that what was left of her son's was 742 00:45:05,320 --> 00:45:09,680 just bones. So they were there for some 743 00:45:09,680 --> 00:45:13,560 time. Their flesh rotted, their organs 744 00:45:14,040 --> 00:45:17,960 dissipated, and they were just left with bones. 745 00:45:19,200 --> 00:45:22,560 And she guarded them and she watched over them, and she was 746 00:45:22,840 --> 00:45:26,280 under severe surveillance night and day. 747 00:45:27,040 --> 00:45:30,130 And what do we make of this? Like why are we told that she 748 00:45:30,130 --> 00:45:32,530 did this? Why is that even important? 749 00:45:33,410 --> 00:45:36,090 I mean, you can just write it off and say, well, all the Holy 750 00:45:36,090 --> 00:45:38,690 Spirit really wants us to do is just get another glimpse of the 751 00:45:38,770 --> 00:45:41,970 ugliness of sin, the brokenness of our world. 752 00:45:42,250 --> 00:45:46,730 Here you have a mother who in a, in a sense, almost lost her mind 753 00:45:48,010 --> 00:45:52,130 because all her loved ones experienced these tragic deaths, 754 00:45:52,130 --> 00:45:55,650 the closest people to her. And here she is abandoned and 755 00:45:55,650 --> 00:46:01,450 alone almost in hysteria. But there must be more than 756 00:46:01,450 --> 00:46:02,970 that, and I believe there is more than that. 757 00:46:04,810 --> 00:46:08,290 I believe that the best way to look at this is to understand it 758 00:46:08,290 --> 00:46:11,930 again in in the light of the law of God. 759 00:46:12,650 --> 00:46:15,610 The law of God. Because I believe what we have 760 00:46:15,610 --> 00:46:18,610 here is more than just a woman who is displaying her love for 761 00:46:18,610 --> 00:46:20,330 her children in a very public way. 762 00:46:21,090 --> 00:46:24,250 I believe you have a woman here who is displaying A perseverance 763 00:46:24,450 --> 00:46:27,050 that proves to us that even a poor woman. 764 00:46:27,450 --> 00:46:34,410 Can move the hand of a king. Deuter Army 21, verse 22 tells 765 00:46:34,410 --> 00:46:37,770 us that if anyone commits a crime that is worthy of death, 766 00:46:37,770 --> 00:46:41,090 he used to be hanged on a tree, but that's not the completion of 767 00:46:41,090 --> 00:46:44,050 those instructions. Does anyone remember what else 768 00:46:44,050 --> 00:46:46,490 is to be done if someone were to be hung on a tree? 769 00:46:49,890 --> 00:46:54,330 Very good in Deuter Army 2123. Let me read it to you. 770 00:46:54,690 --> 00:46:58,730 His body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall 771 00:46:58,730 --> 00:47:02,890 bury him the same day. For a hangman is cursed by God. 772 00:47:03,050 --> 00:47:06,730 You shall not defile your land that the Lord your God is giving 773 00:47:06,730 --> 00:47:11,210 you for an inheritance. So yes, hang him on a tree. 774 00:47:12,090 --> 00:47:16,450 But in order to not defy the land even further, remove him 775 00:47:16,450 --> 00:47:19,130 from the tree. Is that what happened with the 776 00:47:19,130 --> 00:47:21,410 sons of Rispa? No. 777 00:47:22,230 --> 00:47:27,150 Weeks go by and they're they're rotting, and I wonder why. 778 00:47:27,750 --> 00:47:29,870 I'm under the persuasion that the Gibianites didn't really 779 00:47:29,870 --> 00:47:32,510 know any better. Remember, David handed them off 780 00:47:32,510 --> 00:47:35,310 to them. They hung them and they kept 781 00:47:35,310 --> 00:47:39,030 them. But Rispa knew better. 782 00:47:41,230 --> 00:47:46,310 And so this woman, I believe, comes to this place and she 783 00:47:46,310 --> 00:47:51,550 desperately seeks to protect her children in order. 784 00:47:51,910 --> 00:47:56,350 To honor them the way God would have honored them in that sense 785 00:47:56,790 --> 00:48:02,550 and honored the land she defends, She protects, she 786 00:48:02,550 --> 00:48:07,990 overseas and she was powerless. I mean, who is this woman to 787 00:48:07,990 --> 00:48:11,790 remove them from the tree? Who is this woman to to to make 788 00:48:11,790 --> 00:48:13,910 this happen? And so she does the best that 789 00:48:13,910 --> 00:48:18,430 she can and she just chases away the animals. 790 00:48:19,890 --> 00:48:23,490 That would try to bring about more dishonor to these precious 791 00:48:23,490 --> 00:48:29,730 boys of hers. And her commitment to that, more 792 00:48:29,730 --> 00:48:34,890 than just grief, her commitment to that was so obvious, was so 793 00:48:34,890 --> 00:48:38,890 persistent, was so unbroken that it came to David's attention. 794 00:48:40,010 --> 00:48:43,410 And when David learned about what risk I was doing, he 795 00:48:43,410 --> 00:48:48,770 realized what they had not done. And he makes it a mission of his 796 00:48:48,770 --> 00:48:52,170 to not only take the bones of Rispa's sons, but to go after 797 00:48:52,170 --> 00:48:56,410 Saul and Jonathan's bones and to give them a proper burial. 798 00:48:57,250 --> 00:49:00,210 Why, as an expression of honor in that culture, more than that, 799 00:49:00,770 --> 00:49:03,130 to be in alignment with God's heart and will and law. 800 00:49:05,530 --> 00:49:09,610 I look at this woman and I think to myself, if the perseverance 801 00:49:09,610 --> 00:49:14,570 of this woman was able to stir a forgetful. 802 00:49:15,080 --> 00:49:20,680 Inattentive, sinful king, How much can you and I expect from a 803 00:49:20,680 --> 00:49:25,800 God who is perfect in all of his ways? 804 00:49:26,440 --> 00:49:29,080 You know, there's some people who pray, There's some people 805 00:49:29,080 --> 00:49:33,120 who walk in faithfulness, and they wonder how long will this 806 00:49:33,120 --> 00:49:34,800 take before I get God's attention? 807 00:49:37,200 --> 00:49:41,720 God, if you can only tell me how much of prayer, how much of 808 00:49:41,720 --> 00:49:44,000 obedience, how much of my participation? 809 00:49:44,380 --> 00:49:48,100 We'll finally get you to look at my situation and to bestow favor 810 00:49:48,100 --> 00:49:49,860 upon me. You have some people who think 811 00:49:49,860 --> 00:49:52,180 like that. They think like the pagans. 812 00:49:52,180 --> 00:49:56,060 That's how Pagans think. Let let's beat our chest. 813 00:49:56,060 --> 00:49:59,700 Let's bruise ourselves, let's starve ourselves until we 814 00:49:59,700 --> 00:50:02,660 finally get Bow's attention right. 815 00:50:02,740 --> 00:50:05,420 That's what the face off on Mount Carmel was all about. 816 00:50:07,020 --> 00:50:08,780 And Elijah's like. Maybe your God is sleeping. 817 00:50:08,780 --> 00:50:10,820 Maybe he's on the toilet. He said that, not me. 818 00:50:13,020 --> 00:50:15,780 And unfortunately, we can translate paganism into our 819 00:50:16,260 --> 00:50:18,500 theology because it's human nature. 820 00:50:21,060 --> 00:50:27,220 And this woman here displays such brilliance in her 821 00:50:28,380 --> 00:50:32,300 perseverance, and it encouraged us to do the same. 822 00:50:32,580 --> 00:50:37,140 But not to expect what she finally realized that, oh oh, 823 00:50:37,140 --> 00:50:38,580 really? Rispa is doing that? 824 00:50:38,580 --> 00:50:40,140 Well, we got to do something. I can't believe it. 825 00:50:40,140 --> 00:50:42,300 We How did we miss that? That's not how God works. 826 00:50:42,960 --> 00:50:47,080 There are so many examples I I can point to This one example 827 00:50:47,080 --> 00:50:48,880 came to mind, and I'm not biased. 828 00:50:48,880 --> 00:50:53,240 His name is Daniel, and there's one little insight in Daniel's 829 00:50:53,240 --> 00:50:57,400 prayer life that touched me so deeply because it helped me 830 00:50:57,400 --> 00:51:01,800 realize how prayer works or how God hears prayer. 831 00:51:02,600 --> 00:51:04,680 There was a point in Daniel's life where we're told that he 832 00:51:04,680 --> 00:51:07,480 prayed for three weeks, he fastened and prayed for three 833 00:51:07,760 --> 00:51:11,400 long weeks, and at the end of three weeks an Angel appears 834 00:51:11,400 --> 00:51:13,400 with a revelation. That would actually give him 835 00:51:13,400 --> 00:51:17,920 insight into the last days. But when the Angel appears, he 836 00:51:17,920 --> 00:51:22,040 says something that was not just true for Daniel, it is true for 837 00:51:22,040 --> 00:51:25,840 the prayerful St. of this hour. Now I want to show it to you so 838 00:51:25,840 --> 00:51:28,320 that you'll never forget it, so that you'll never pray the same. 839 00:51:28,320 --> 00:51:30,360 You'll never think about prayer the same way again. 840 00:51:30,440 --> 00:51:33,480 It's in Daniel chapter 10 and it's found there in verse 12. 841 00:51:35,320 --> 00:51:44,490 And notice what is said to him. Daniel 1012. 842 00:51:48,690 --> 00:51:50,890 Then he said to me, Daniel writes. 843 00:51:51,010 --> 00:51:57,690 Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your 844 00:51:57,690 --> 00:52:00,650 heart to understand. And humbled yourself before your 845 00:52:00,650 --> 00:52:03,690 God. Your words have been heard from 846 00:52:03,930 --> 00:52:09,370 the first day heaven heard you. But when was his prayer 847 00:52:09,370 --> 00:52:11,290 answered? 3 weeks later. 848 00:52:13,070 --> 00:52:14,710 But from the first day, he was heard. 849 00:52:15,310 --> 00:52:17,470 Can you imagine that? Think about that. 850 00:52:18,270 --> 00:52:21,110 If that wasn't there, we would have thought that after three 851 00:52:21,110 --> 00:52:27,070 weeks, finally Daniel was able to break through and get this 852 00:52:27,070 --> 00:52:32,230 busy God's attention and to get a appointment with his ear. 853 00:52:32,350 --> 00:52:36,630 That's how we think about God. No, we're told through this the 854 00:52:36,630 --> 00:52:41,030 moment that you set your heart to humble yourself and to seek. 855 00:52:41,330 --> 00:52:43,730 My face, I heard you. I heard you. 856 00:52:44,330 --> 00:52:47,850 And in my wisdom, I don't answer right away because there's a 857 00:52:47,850 --> 00:52:49,490 development of your faith in this. 858 00:52:49,810 --> 00:52:52,090 But in this context, it wasn't because of that necessarily. 859 00:52:52,090 --> 00:52:55,970 It's because of the warfare that took place, Satan trying to 860 00:52:56,330 --> 00:52:59,810 interfere with the revelation that was trying to come to 861 00:52:59,810 --> 00:53:02,450 Daniel. But I pray that you would never 862 00:53:02,450 --> 00:53:05,690 forget that truth. From the moment that you set 863 00:53:05,690 --> 00:53:10,010 your face to seek his, God hears, there's no doubt. 864 00:53:10,390 --> 00:53:15,630 How comforting is that? That it's not prayer attempt 96 865 00:53:15,710 --> 00:53:18,550 that's going to grow through as though some divine lottery that 866 00:53:18,550 --> 00:53:21,070 we just throw things in the air and one thing will be caught by 867 00:53:21,070 --> 00:53:22,870 the Lord eventually. If I keep doing it, that's not 868 00:53:22,870 --> 00:53:25,270 how it worked. From the first moment I can, I 869 00:53:25,270 --> 00:53:28,790 can be so at peace knowing, Lord, I know I might be at at a 870 00:53:28,790 --> 00:53:31,510 while doing this. I know that I might be. 871 00:53:31,670 --> 00:53:35,510 Here seeking unite after night. But one thing I am comforted by 872 00:53:35,510 --> 00:53:37,640 is that you know. You see, you hear? 873 00:53:37,640 --> 00:53:39,960 You've already taken into consideration from the first 874 00:53:39,960 --> 00:53:45,200 time, the first time. What kind of God is this? 875 00:53:45,880 --> 00:53:48,280 It's our God. What kind of king is this? 876 00:53:48,280 --> 00:53:51,200 It's our king. Not like David, who learned from 877 00:53:51,200 --> 00:53:55,400 some messenger that Rispa was there indirectly protesting what 878 00:53:55,400 --> 00:53:59,200 is taking place is injustice and wanting her sons to be buried 879 00:53:59,200 --> 00:54:02,000 properly. He sees right away. 880 00:54:04,360 --> 00:54:06,770 And so finally. We won't read it. 881 00:54:08,370 --> 00:54:11,770 Why not? Verse 11. 882 00:54:11,810 --> 00:54:15,170 When David was told what Rispa, the daughter of a I, the 883 00:54:15,170 --> 00:54:18,050 concubine of Saul, had done, David went and took the bones of 884 00:54:18,050 --> 00:54:20,730 Saul and the bones of his son Jonathan from the men of Jay 885 00:54:20,730 --> 00:54:24,170 Besh Gilead, who had stolen them from the public square of Beth 886 00:54:24,170 --> 00:54:28,450 Shan, where the Philistines had hanged them on the day of the 887 00:54:28,450 --> 00:54:30,170 Philistines killed Saul and Gilboa. 888 00:54:30,170 --> 00:54:33,010 And he brought up from there the bones of Saul and the bones of 889 00:54:33,010 --> 00:54:35,370 his son Jonathan, and they gathered the bones of those. 890 00:54:35,760 --> 00:54:38,160 Who were hanged. And they buried the bones of 891 00:54:38,160 --> 00:54:40,840 solemn his son Jonathan in the land of Benjamin and Zela in the 892 00:54:40,840 --> 00:54:44,840 tomb of Kish, his father. And they did all that the king 893 00:54:44,840 --> 00:54:48,960 commanded. And after that God responded to 894 00:54:48,960 --> 00:54:52,960 the plea for the land. There's something about that 895 00:54:52,960 --> 00:54:55,760 last phrase that's worthy of meditation. 896 00:54:57,240 --> 00:55:00,840 In this concluding sentence you have a very another very 897 00:55:00,840 --> 00:55:05,400 important truth about how prayer works in the economy of our God. 898 00:55:06,870 --> 00:55:11,710 And after that, God responded to the plea for the land. 899 00:55:11,710 --> 00:55:16,750 There was a plea for the land that God did not respond to 900 00:55:17,110 --> 00:55:23,110 until something took place, namely the dealing with Saul Sin 901 00:55:23,270 --> 00:55:28,590 along with his household God. Would not recognize the plea 902 00:55:29,430 --> 00:55:37,570 until the sin was dealt with. When sin is tolerated, prayer is 903 00:55:37,570 --> 00:55:42,170 obstructed. When sin is tolerated, prayer is 904 00:55:42,170 --> 00:55:46,930 obstructed, the Psalmist said. If I had cherished iniquity in 905 00:55:46,930 --> 00:55:49,050 my heart, the Lord would not have listened. 906 00:55:50,050 --> 00:55:53,650 If I cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have 907 00:55:53,650 --> 00:55:56,330 listened. And so yeah. 908 00:55:56,330 --> 00:55:59,330 In Daniel's case, you see that he sought the face of God, and 909 00:55:59,330 --> 00:56:01,130 the first moment he did, God hurt him. 910 00:56:01,570 --> 00:56:04,370 But if you want one way for God not to hear your prayer, not 911 00:56:04,370 --> 00:56:07,610 that he can't hear, but that he chooses not to recognize, it's 912 00:56:07,610 --> 00:56:11,450 to lovingly hold on to sin and expect the privilege of prayer 913 00:56:11,450 --> 00:56:13,610 at the same time. Just won't happen. 914 00:56:15,410 --> 00:56:20,290 And in this case, here we see a very important, timeless truth. 915 00:56:21,450 --> 00:56:25,130 As long as sin is ignored, as long as sin is tolerated, you 916 00:56:25,130 --> 00:56:26,490 will not know prayer. And here's how I'm going to 917 00:56:26,490 --> 00:56:28,450 conclude the Bible today. I hope you didn't fall asleep. 918 00:56:28,770 --> 00:56:32,430 I know it's late. But let me give you a pressing 919 00:56:32,430 --> 00:56:36,550 question in in pressing love. And I thought about this in 920 00:56:36,550 --> 00:56:39,510 meditation. I looked at it, and this went 921 00:56:39,510 --> 00:56:46,230 through my mind. What do I believe about prayer? 922 00:56:48,030 --> 00:56:51,350 What do I believe about prayer that would make the possibility 923 00:56:51,350 --> 00:56:56,870 of not experiencing its promises a great enough motivation for me 924 00:56:56,870 --> 00:57:00,550 to forsake sin? Does that make sense, or was 925 00:57:00,550 --> 00:57:04,670 that a mouthful? What do I personally, through I 926 00:57:04,670 --> 00:57:08,630 hope the Word of God, believe about prayer that the 927 00:57:08,630 --> 00:57:13,790 possibility of not experiencing its promises would be enough of 928 00:57:13,790 --> 00:57:24,230 a motivation to forsake sin? Or is prayer in the peripheral 929 00:57:24,230 --> 00:57:28,350 of my reality? That the threat of God 930 00:57:28,350 --> 00:57:31,670 confiscating the promises tied to it not bother me? 931 00:57:33,030 --> 00:57:37,590 That makes sense. A good father. 932 00:57:37,590 --> 00:57:38,950 A good mother. And one of the ways that they 933 00:57:38,950 --> 00:57:42,430 would discipline their children would see something that that 934 00:57:42,430 --> 00:57:46,350 child might enjoy in light of disobedience in order to teach 935 00:57:46,350 --> 00:57:49,430 them something about the consequences of disobedience. 936 00:57:52,120 --> 00:57:55,320 Now if my father told me, son, because of your attitude on the 937 00:57:55,320 --> 00:57:59,520 dinner table, there's no dessert for you, that would upset me. 938 00:57:59,520 --> 00:58:02,800 It would upset me, especially if I had to sit in another room and 939 00:58:03,000 --> 00:58:06,160 see my siblings devouring chocolate fudge sundae. 940 00:58:08,040 --> 00:58:11,200 But if my father came to me and said, son, because of your 941 00:58:11,200 --> 00:58:15,720 disobedience, you're not going to have broccoli tonight, all 942 00:58:15,720 --> 00:58:19,200 right? Woe is me. 943 00:58:19,600 --> 00:58:25,020 No broccoli tonight. It's a very silly analogy, all 944 00:58:25,020 --> 00:58:28,300 right, but sometimes simplicity helps. 945 00:58:28,940 --> 00:58:31,420 You have some people who view prayer as a chocolate fudge 946 00:58:31,420 --> 00:58:33,940 sundae. You have others who see prayer 947 00:58:33,940 --> 00:58:43,790 as cold broccoli, and so they're able to live without it. 948 00:58:45,150 --> 00:58:47,350 My friend, if you're able to live without prayer, I have many 949 00:58:47,350 --> 00:58:51,510 questions for you. Serious questions, but one thing 950 00:58:51,510 --> 00:58:55,720 I am convinced of. Of a person who can consistently 951 00:58:56,240 --> 00:58:59,440 go without knowing the promises and pleading with the Lord is 952 00:58:59,440 --> 00:59:02,000 that you don't know what prayer is all about. 953 00:59:05,080 --> 00:59:07,920 What what what? We're in your history with the 954 00:59:07,920 --> 00:59:10,120 Lord. What is it about your life that 955 00:59:10,120 --> 00:59:16,320 you can say if it wasn't for prayer, if it wasn't for prayer, 956 00:59:16,320 --> 00:59:18,480 then if it's not prayer for today? 957 00:59:18,920 --> 00:59:22,240 These things would change. This is what would change about 958 00:59:22,240 --> 00:59:28,910 me, certainly. So the Lord, as a loving father, 959 00:59:28,910 --> 00:59:32,750 would not respond to their plea until that sin was dealt with. 960 00:59:33,750 --> 00:59:36,590 And once that sin was dealt with, the heavens opened again 961 00:59:37,750 --> 00:59:39,590 and He was willing to heal their land. 962 00:59:41,950 --> 00:59:47,230 I hope that you would live in such a way where prayer as Cory 963 00:59:47,230 --> 00:59:51,970 Tanboom would say. Prayer is either the steering 964 00:59:51,970 --> 00:59:56,450 wheel of your life or it is a spare tire. 965 01:00:00,210 --> 01:00:06,010 It's the last resort. It's your emergency call. 966 01:00:08,010 --> 01:00:12,690 But for some, it's the very thing that helps you, guides 967 01:00:12,690 --> 01:00:15,610 you, directs you, leads you, empowers you, strengthens you. 968 01:00:17,410 --> 01:00:19,810 There's so much more to say in these verses, right? 969 01:00:20,980 --> 01:00:22,660 But we will have to wait till next week. 970 01:00:22,860 --> 01:00:27,540 If the Lord wills, let's pause our hearts again and pray. 971 01:00:51,220 --> 01:00:58,180 Lord, tonight we thank you that even in a very dark chapter in 972 01:00:58,180 --> 01:01:04,020 David's life and the life of the nation of Israel, we have felt 973 01:01:04,020 --> 01:01:09,180 the warmth of your rays of wisdom, truths about your 974 01:01:09,180 --> 01:01:13,660 nature. And Lord, we just ask that our 975 01:01:13,660 --> 01:01:16,740 hearts, as our brother open the surface with our hearts would be 976 01:01:16,740 --> 01:01:22,710 softened even more. And we ask, oh God, that 977 01:01:22,710 --> 01:01:27,190 whatever point resonated with us would not be ignored, but it 978 01:01:27,190 --> 01:01:29,910 would be applied. Father, we pray that you would 979 01:01:29,910 --> 01:01:33,350 receive the necessary worship as a response. 980 01:01:34,350 --> 01:01:37,550 More than just a song, more than just emotions being stirred. 981 01:01:39,230 --> 01:01:41,590 Help us be a people who keep their promises. 982 01:01:42,350 --> 01:01:47,630 Help us in days where we doubt where we stand with you, your 983 01:01:47,630 --> 01:01:50,360 promises. We remember that you were not a 984 01:01:50,360 --> 01:02:01,200 forgetful king. Lord, we look at Rispa and we 985 01:02:01,200 --> 01:02:08,240 see a woman who is willing to fight and stay until what she 986 01:02:08,240 --> 01:02:10,200 believed to be true would come to pass. 987 01:02:10,200 --> 01:02:15,360 And it did. And Lord, we just even lift up 988 01:02:15,360 --> 01:02:18,910 parents. Now who would apply the same 989 01:02:19,030 --> 01:02:22,070 tenacity of this woman, not for the dead, but for the living, 990 01:02:22,590 --> 01:02:26,230 spiritually speaking, the vultures and the creatures of 991 01:02:26,230 --> 01:02:28,630 the night that seek to defile our children? 992 01:02:28,630 --> 01:02:35,550 May you give mothers and fathers the stamina and the insight and 993 01:02:35,550 --> 01:02:38,350 the grace to shield their little ones. 994 01:02:41,350 --> 01:02:43,510 And Lord, we just want to give you glory tonight. 995 01:02:44,820 --> 01:02:47,220 We want to extol you and exalt you. 996 01:02:47,700 --> 01:02:54,820 Every word in this book has been given, Lord, for our 997 01:02:54,820 --> 01:02:57,140 sanctification, and we felt it tonight. 998 01:02:57,580 --> 01:03:00,180 And we want to thank you for it. In Christ's name. 999 01:03:00,580 --> 01:03:01,700 Amen. Amen. 1000 01:03:02,700 --> 01:03:04,980 Why don't we do that? Why don't we worship the Lord? 1001 01:03:05,060 --> 01:03:05,860 Give him glory.