1 00:00:01,520 --> 00:00:05,440 Want to thank Chris for the reading of the chapter. 2 00:00:05,440 --> 00:00:07,680 A little bit of a lengthy reading and I appreciate his 3 00:00:08,920 --> 00:00:10,840 willingness to do so. Kind of just threw it on him 4 00:00:10,840 --> 00:00:13,000 right before service. So thankful for him and his 5 00:00:13,320 --> 00:00:15,920 efforts in that. So we're studying continuing our 6 00:00:15,920 --> 00:00:19,080 study in Second Samuel. We're now in Chapter 19 and 7 00:00:19,080 --> 00:00:24,960 we'll be kind of going over the son of King David, which is 8 00:00:24,960 --> 00:00:29,120 Absalom, his wicked son, who of course tried to overthrow King 9 00:00:29,120 --> 00:00:35,800 David and usurp his kingship over Israel and, and all that 10 00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:39,000 had to do with that and how Absalom went about that and, and 11 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:43,560 how he failed at it, of course. And when we read sometimes in 12 00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:48,040 the Old Testament, one of the ways that we need to try to 13 00:00:48,040 --> 00:00:50,520 read, there's two different ways you can just read it and 14 00:00:50,520 --> 00:00:52,000 understand it for just its history. 15 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:54,160 But also when we read the Old Testament, we find ourselves 16 00:00:54,160 --> 00:00:58,520 kind of pointing forward to Jesus because of what we find 17 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:04,000 there is so vivid of it, making an image or a picture of Jesus. 18 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:06,480 And other times when we read the chapter or the Old Testament, 19 00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:09,880 we're pointed toward Jesus in a different way because what's 20 00:01:09,880 --> 00:01:13,760 happening in the Old Testament is so far away and so opposite 21 00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:16,400 of what Jesus looks like. It points us to Jesus saying, 22 00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:20,840 well, we need to have Jesus because of of those those 23 00:01:20,840 --> 00:01:23,480 things. And in Second Samuel 19 would 24 00:01:23,480 --> 00:01:26,760 actually be the latter type because in chapter 19 of Second 25 00:01:26,760 --> 00:01:30,640 Samuel, it is really about the return of King, the return of 26 00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:35,720 King David to Jerusalem to continue his reign. 27 00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:39,840 Of course, we're talking about King David now. 28 00:01:39,840 --> 00:01:45,160 David's son Absalom is dead. And what we're going to discover 29 00:01:45,160 --> 00:01:48,520 is that in return, in David's return to Jerusalem, everything 30 00:01:48,520 --> 00:01:51,000 does not work out perfectly as he intends it to. 31 00:01:52,280 --> 00:01:56,160 Of course, we recognize that Jesus the King, when he returns, 32 00:01:56,160 --> 00:01:59,200 everything will be perfect. All things will be settled, 33 00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:03,000 justice will be restored, truth will be absolutely established, 34 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:05,440 and all wrongs will be righted in all nations. 35 00:02:05,960 --> 00:02:10,039 And races that are divided through the history of life will 36 00:02:10,039 --> 00:02:12,120 be unified on that day when he returns. 37 00:02:12,960 --> 00:02:15,920 And so when we read that this morning, I hope that you might 38 00:02:15,920 --> 00:02:18,400 have that kind of in the back of your mind as we go through our 39 00:02:18,400 --> 00:02:21,040 study. So at the end of Chapter 18, we 40 00:02:21,040 --> 00:02:27,760 see the triumph, victory of David and his army over over the 41 00:02:28,840 --> 00:02:32,640 his son Absalom. A victorious win if you want to 42 00:02:32,640 --> 00:02:34,800 say, but it is overshadowed by tragedy. 43 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:37,760 As we read, the defeat of the rebel forces has been 44 00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:41,200 successful, but it has left behind scar tissue. 45 00:02:41,200 --> 00:02:44,920 If you want to say that proves to be evident and problematic 46 00:02:44,920 --> 00:02:48,920 moving forward. Or if you want to think of David 47 00:02:48,920 --> 00:02:52,360 being reinstated, his crown that he, you know, if you want to say 48 00:02:52,360 --> 00:02:55,400 he's got his crown back now, but it's not the same crown as it 49 00:02:55,400 --> 00:02:57,000 used to be. Maybe it's a little tarnished, 50 00:02:57,000 --> 00:03:01,560 little beat up, a little dirty, still glistens in the sun, but 51 00:03:01,560 --> 00:03:03,880 not with the same splinter that it did the beginning of his 52 00:03:03,880 --> 00:03:10,800 reign, but is now tarnished. And life is going to go on, but 53 00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:13,480 it'll never go on in the same way that it did before. 54 00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:17,160 Now, in the light of that, we're going to try and summarize, or 55 00:03:17,160 --> 00:03:21,880 at least make an attempt to summarize this chapter, these 43 56 00:03:21,880 --> 00:03:24,240 verses, by first of all, acknowledging that the king is 57 00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:26,720 grieving. Secondly, we're going to 58 00:03:26,720 --> 00:03:28,800 recognize that the people are arguing. 59 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:31,800 And thirdly, we'll recognize that there's three lives 60 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:33,800 identified for us in this chapter that are going to be 61 00:03:33,800 --> 00:03:37,280 changing. So firstly, the king is 62 00:03:37,280 --> 00:03:39,480 grieving. First of all, in verses 8, one 63 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:42,960 through 8, we're going to start there. 64 00:03:43,320 --> 00:03:45,120 Behold, it's it was told to Joab. 65 00:03:45,120 --> 00:03:47,000 Behold, the king is weeping in mourning. 66 00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:50,160 Well, of course, David, the king was weeping in mourning. 67 00:03:50,160 --> 00:03:53,480 It's understandable because the death that he just encountered 68 00:03:53,480 --> 00:03:56,560 with his son is bringing great sadness. 69 00:03:57,680 --> 00:04:00,800 David had dealt with death in many times since this his story 70 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:02,280 began. In the Bible we see that what 71 00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:05,160 happened at the death of Saul and Jonathan. 72 00:04:05,240 --> 00:04:11,280 David had wrote a poem about for Saul and when Abner was killed, 73 00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:14,440 David again writes another poem and disclaims the responsibility 74 00:04:14,440 --> 00:04:17,800 for what happened to him. When the child of Bathsheba 75 00:04:17,800 --> 00:04:22,280 dies, David said, the child will not return to me, but I will go 76 00:04:22,280 --> 00:04:25,040 to him. And David is confronted at that 77 00:04:25,040 --> 00:04:28,960 moment with his own mortality. When Amnon is killed, we 78 00:04:28,960 --> 00:04:32,000 remember that Absalom kills his brother Amnon because of what 79 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:33,760 happened. And then when that happens, 80 00:04:33,760 --> 00:04:35,720 David's response to that was anger. 81 00:04:36,440 --> 00:04:39,960 And so there's all kinds of responses that that David had to 82 00:04:39,960 --> 00:04:43,240 death on around him. But here we'll notice that there 83 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:46,040 are no words. There's no words. 84 00:04:46,040 --> 00:04:49,840 There's no poem. All that we have is David is 85 00:04:49,840 --> 00:04:55,080 reduced to kind of a a stammering repetition of grief 86 00:04:55,880 --> 00:05:00,120 filled with his son's name, O Absalom, my son, O Absalom, my 87 00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:05,040 son, my son. Now what we need to recognize is 88 00:05:05,160 --> 00:05:08,160 that Absalom is a rebel to David. 89 00:05:08,800 --> 00:05:12,280 Absalom is opposed to the king, opposed to the Lord's anointed. 90 00:05:13,320 --> 00:05:16,640 Absalom is the usurper, as we saw, and Absalom is now dead. 91 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:19,400 What could be worse for David than this? 92 00:05:19,400 --> 00:05:24,000 Because we see to die opposed to the king, to die to the opposed 93 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:27,720 to the Lord's anointed is to be lost as Absalom was. 94 00:05:28,160 --> 00:05:32,400 And David says, oh, Absalom, he doesn't respond to Absalom as 95 00:05:32,400 --> 00:05:36,640 his enemy, as his, as a rebel, as a usurper. 96 00:05:36,640 --> 00:05:40,720 He responds to him as a father. For what could be worse for a 97 00:05:40,720 --> 00:05:49,840 father than his son to die? And David says, oh, Absalom, I 98 00:05:49,840 --> 00:05:52,920 just want to pause and reaffirm what the Bible tells us 99 00:05:53,520 --> 00:05:56,320 concerning these things. Jesus is king. 100 00:05:57,640 --> 00:06:02,320 Unless we bow to Jesus is king, embracing him as Lord and Savior 101 00:06:02,520 --> 00:06:07,920 in our life, we will face him as judge, as our judge in eternity 102 00:06:07,920 --> 00:06:10,960 on that day, and we will have nothing to say in our defense. 103 00:06:12,120 --> 00:06:16,000 So leaders lead and the way David responds to this great 104 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:20,000 tragedy bleeds over into the community of the Israelites. 105 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:22,440 If you want to say into into those who he has just won the 106 00:06:22,440 --> 00:06:27,800 battle for the way he responds to that tragedy tragedy we see 107 00:06:28,040 --> 00:06:31,640 here in verse 3. The people were told stole into 108 00:06:31,640 --> 00:06:36,080 the city as people steal in who were ashamed when they flee 109 00:06:36,080 --> 00:06:40,360 battle, but the battle was won they won the battle. 110 00:06:41,360 --> 00:06:45,800 So why would they respond in a way where they're kind of somber 111 00:06:45,800 --> 00:06:48,840 morning, you know, have their heads hanging? 112 00:06:48,840 --> 00:06:54,640 If you want to say, well, because David had covered his 113 00:06:54,640 --> 00:06:59,800 face, we're told he's in no way prepared to look upon upon his 114 00:06:59,800 --> 00:07:01,360 people. We can't see what he can't 115 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:03,400 really see what's going on. He's got his face covered, is 116 00:07:03,400 --> 00:07:06,400 what it tells us. He's been wailing so loudly. 117 00:07:06,400 --> 00:07:09,160 If you want to say that he can't really hear what his people are 118 00:07:09,160 --> 00:07:12,800 doing. And as we see at the beginning 119 00:07:12,800 --> 00:07:15,880 of the chapter, Joab has been told this, Joab knows this and 120 00:07:15,880 --> 00:07:18,760 how David's reacting and Joab realizes that somebody needs to 121 00:07:18,760 --> 00:07:21,800 step in, somebody needs to intervene. 122 00:07:21,800 --> 00:07:25,240 Of course, know if you know Joab into, you know, his personality, 123 00:07:25,240 --> 00:07:27,400 he has no problem going and telling the king with the king 124 00:07:27,400 --> 00:07:30,760 needs to do. And you have David's statement 125 00:07:30,760 --> 00:07:33,880 there at the end of verse four. And then into verse 5, it says 126 00:07:33,880 --> 00:07:38,040 Joab came into the house. Now we can read, you can read it 127 00:07:38,040 --> 00:07:40,080 on your own, but I'm going to try to summarize it here. 128 00:07:40,080 --> 00:07:44,520 And essentially what's what the text is telling us, it says Job 129 00:07:44,520 --> 00:07:48,280 is going to David and he says to them, hey, David, listen, it's 130 00:07:48,280 --> 00:07:52,000 one thing to cover your face, but you've got you're covering 131 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:54,120 something else. And that that's you've covered 132 00:07:54,120 --> 00:07:58,560 the people with shame, the people who risk their lives for 133 00:07:58,560 --> 00:08:00,840 you, the people who are out there in battle fighting for 134 00:08:00,840 --> 00:08:03,960 you, who have come back expecting some sort of victory 135 00:08:03,960 --> 00:08:06,080 parade. And instead what they have, what 136 00:08:06,080 --> 00:08:08,200 did they receive, David? David, this is not right in the 137 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:12,040 way that you're reacting to this job says. 138 00:08:12,040 --> 00:08:14,880 You know, if you show such affection to Absalom, your son 139 00:08:14,880 --> 00:08:18,080 who was actually your enemy, then you create this impression 140 00:08:18,080 --> 00:08:21,040 that you're turning your friends into your enemies and your 141 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:24,760 enemies into your friends. I'm going to tell you, David, 142 00:08:25,680 --> 00:08:27,960 you're sending a message out to your commanders, into the 143 00:08:27,960 --> 00:08:30,520 leaders and of the troops, that they don't even matter to you. 144 00:08:31,440 --> 00:08:34,880 You're sending that idea that if Absalom were actually alive and 145 00:08:34,880 --> 00:08:37,240 all of us were dead, then you would be perfectly happy. 146 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:44,120 And clearly what Joab is doing, he's exaggerating here in order 147 00:08:44,120 --> 00:08:50,320 to wake David from his state of mind at the time, wake him out 148 00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:53,680 of his great sadness. Drop says if you fail on this, 149 00:08:53,880 --> 00:08:56,320 when you wake up in the morning, you won't even have an army. 150 00:08:56,320 --> 00:09:00,760 You won't even have the people. All things will be worse than it 151 00:09:00,760 --> 00:09:03,680 has been in the past. So what happened? 152 00:09:04,440 --> 00:09:07,320 Well, the kid says the king arose and took his seat in the 153 00:09:07,320 --> 00:09:10,320 gateway. And the men were told the king 154 00:09:10,320 --> 00:09:14,680 is sitting in the gateway. In other words, David's back in 155 00:09:14,680 --> 00:09:17,840 business. He was back at the city gates 156 00:09:17,840 --> 00:09:20,760 doing what he did in the past. And all the people came before 157 00:09:20,760 --> 00:09:23,640 the king. And this gate, of course, has 158 00:09:23,640 --> 00:09:27,440 appeared more than once, most recently, if you want to say we 159 00:09:27,440 --> 00:09:30,520 can look back at Chapter 15 when Absalom takes his place in the 160 00:09:30,520 --> 00:09:33,520 gate. And Absalom, he's at the entry 161 00:09:33,520 --> 00:09:34,960 of the gate. So Absalom could meet the 162 00:09:34,960 --> 00:09:39,400 people, so he could show that he's kind of a caring guy. 163 00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:42,360 And one of the people's hearts, he won the one to steal the 164 00:09:42,360 --> 00:09:46,480 people's hearts. It tells us, you know, Absalom's 165 00:09:46,480 --> 00:09:48,680 was saying, no, Dave, it's not even here, It's me. 166 00:09:49,120 --> 00:09:53,400 And that was really the start of Absalom's attempt to overthrow. 167 00:09:53,880 --> 00:09:55,640 Well, the people now are in a different position. 168 00:09:55,800 --> 00:09:58,280 They heard all that had David said to the commanders, which 169 00:09:58,280 --> 00:10:02,120 was deal gently with Absalom. And we know that that did not 170 00:10:02,120 --> 00:10:05,720 happen. Then they had heard that David 171 00:10:05,720 --> 00:10:09,240 was grieving, and the people began to grieve and to mourn 172 00:10:09,240 --> 00:10:13,160 with him, that he they heard that he was back at the gate. 173 00:10:13,160 --> 00:10:15,120 And so they all came before the king. 174 00:10:18,120 --> 00:10:21,840 The people always know what the duty of the king is, do they 175 00:10:21,840 --> 00:10:25,080 not? They always know what the duty 176 00:10:25,080 --> 00:10:29,040 of a leader is. And David was unable to bear 177 00:10:29,040 --> 00:10:32,520 either the burden or the privilege in that situation. 178 00:10:33,520 --> 00:10:36,200 That's one of the reasons when we pray, you know, we pray for 179 00:10:36,200 --> 00:10:39,800 the leaders of our land. We pray for our nation. 180 00:10:39,800 --> 00:10:44,640 We pray for those who have the responsibility and the 181 00:10:44,640 --> 00:10:49,880 obligations to make those tough, hard decisions for a multitude 182 00:10:49,880 --> 00:10:53,040 of people. So we we pray for them because 183 00:10:53,040 --> 00:10:56,240 we know that great, that great responsibility. 184 00:10:56,400 --> 00:11:01,000 What they say heavy is the crown is it is a term that we hear. 185 00:11:02,200 --> 00:11:04,680 It's a large responsibility to lead people. 186 00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:09,840 But of course that won't stop us from having our own opinions 187 00:11:09,960 --> 00:11:11,520 claiming that we know what's best. 188 00:11:12,440 --> 00:11:14,640 Secondly, what we're going to we're going to look at here is 189 00:11:14,640 --> 00:11:18,600 the people are arguing Halfway through verse 8, the scene 190 00:11:18,600 --> 00:11:22,280 switches, changes. It's the sad picture fades and 191 00:11:22,280 --> 00:11:25,680 up onto the scenes comes a bigger picture of what's 192 00:11:25,680 --> 00:11:27,560 actually really happening throughout the land. 193 00:11:28,440 --> 00:11:31,000 And all the people it says in verse nine were arguing, they 194 00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:35,560 scattered in confusion. So from the king is grieving to 195 00:11:35,560 --> 00:11:40,360 the people were arguing. Now, what we have, if my 196 00:11:40,360 --> 00:11:42,920 understanding is correct, we have here in two different 197 00:11:42,920 --> 00:11:48,920 sections of this chapter, sections verses 9 through 15 and 198 00:11:48,920 --> 00:11:53,400 then 40 through 43 are kind of bookends, if you want to say 199 00:11:53,400 --> 00:11:56,440 what's actually happening in the greater scheme of things in the 200 00:11:57,320 --> 00:12:02,640 Kingdom of Israel, both amongst the northern tribes of Israel 201 00:12:02,640 --> 00:12:07,760 and as well as Judah. And as we get to chapter 20, we 202 00:12:07,760 --> 00:12:10,800 can see there's actually what I've seen some commentators say, 203 00:12:10,800 --> 00:12:12,640 actual civil war that happens there. 204 00:12:12,640 --> 00:12:17,080 My understanding is proper. So in verses 9 and following 205 00:12:17,080 --> 00:12:20,800 into verse 15, I'm going to try to quickly summarize it for us. 206 00:12:20,800 --> 00:12:24,480 Absalom, as we know, had stolen the hearts of the people and 207 00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:28,200 they and the people had followed Absalom, but he's now dead. 208 00:12:28,440 --> 00:12:31,120 And so in verses 9 and 10, they're quite confused about 209 00:12:31,120 --> 00:12:33,600 what to do. They're confused because they 210 00:12:33,600 --> 00:12:36,840 had rejected the true king. They had gone with the potential 211 00:12:36,840 --> 00:12:40,560 king who was Absalom. He Absalom, is now gone and 212 00:12:40,560 --> 00:12:43,840 therefore a number of now saying now it's you know that now what 213 00:12:43,840 --> 00:12:45,400 we do, you know, we were going to follow Absalom. 214 00:12:45,400 --> 00:12:46,840 He's now dead. So now we're going to reverse 215 00:12:46,840 --> 00:12:48,320 our decision. Now we're going to go back with 216 00:12:48,320 --> 00:12:52,360 King David. Their efforts were futile. 217 00:12:53,120 --> 00:12:55,880 So they wanted to get back with the one who was the true king, 218 00:12:55,880 --> 00:12:59,520 and that was David at the time. And clearly some people even 219 00:12:59,520 --> 00:13:01,400 then were challenging that at that time. 220 00:13:02,680 --> 00:13:06,720 And all of this disruption and this arguing had gotten back to 221 00:13:06,720 --> 00:13:09,840 David's years. We'll see that down in verse 11 222 00:13:10,440 --> 00:13:12,840 towards the verse of end of verse 11, it says the word of 223 00:13:12,840 --> 00:13:18,400 all Israel came to the king. So David hears that the northern 224 00:13:18,400 --> 00:13:23,200 tribes, those are the ones who had sided with Absalom, are 225 00:13:23,200 --> 00:13:25,400 having a discussion about how they're going to handle the 226 00:13:25,400 --> 00:13:29,080 future. He then dispatches Abby, Athar 227 00:13:29,080 --> 00:13:33,040 and Zeda, who we've who we've learned about previously. 228 00:13:34,160 --> 00:13:37,440 He dispatches them to go to the people of Judah and say to them, 229 00:13:37,440 --> 00:13:39,680 well, hey, what's going on with you guys? 230 00:13:39,680 --> 00:13:42,640 How come you're not here celebrating or bringing David 231 00:13:42,640 --> 00:13:46,240 back, but you're you're the last ones to bring him back. 232 00:13:46,240 --> 00:13:50,240 It says in verse 11. And so he sends a word to Judah, 233 00:13:51,240 --> 00:13:53,440 Remember, David is from the tribe of Judah. 234 00:13:53,920 --> 00:13:57,640 And he says, why are you not at the front of this celebration or 235 00:13:57,640 --> 00:14:01,920 bringing David back? He tells them to go, go after 236 00:14:01,920 --> 00:14:03,000 them. Go ask them after. 237 00:14:03,240 --> 00:14:05,640 He says, you are my brother. You were bone to my bone. 238 00:14:07,000 --> 00:14:09,560 You're my own flesh and blood. If you want to say is what it 239 00:14:09,560 --> 00:14:12,520 says in the scripture, there you should be the ones who are 240 00:14:12,520 --> 00:14:19,360 taking me back. Now we're not going to come back 241 00:14:19,360 --> 00:14:22,760 to this, but if you go back to the beginning of when the story 242 00:14:22,760 --> 00:14:29,040 of David happens back in Second Samuel chapter 2, Judah was 243 00:14:29,040 --> 00:14:32,040 actually the first tribe to anoint King David. 244 00:14:32,040 --> 00:14:34,800 They were the ones that were kind of leading and and doing 245 00:14:34,800 --> 00:14:36,960 that for David. But now they're not doing so. 246 00:14:36,960 --> 00:14:39,480 And David says, you were at the front of my kingship before. 247 00:14:39,480 --> 00:14:41,080 Why are you now hesitant to do so? 248 00:14:41,360 --> 00:14:43,880 You're actually my brothers. You are mine. 249 00:14:43,880 --> 00:14:47,480 You are my flesh was and which is exactly what the armies of 250 00:14:47,480 --> 00:14:50,600 Israel or the people of Israel said when they adopted David as 251 00:14:50,600 --> 00:14:54,600 king back in chapter 5. And So what is David doing here? 252 00:14:57,640 --> 00:15:00,520 What I think David is doing here is he's actually stitching 253 00:15:00,520 --> 00:15:03,920 together in his mind. He's arguing factions of the 254 00:15:04,560 --> 00:15:07,960 tribes of Israel. They're see, he's seeking to 255 00:15:07,960 --> 00:15:09,960 bring them together on the same page. 256 00:15:10,760 --> 00:15:16,040 And he adds to this in a political way, I think as we see 257 00:15:16,320 --> 00:15:20,680 in verse 13 where he says, say to Amasa, are you not my own 258 00:15:20,680 --> 00:15:24,120 flesh and blood? Now if we've been following the 259 00:15:24,120 --> 00:15:27,720 story and understanding who Amasa is, Amassa was the 260 00:15:27,720 --> 00:15:30,400 commander of the armies of Absalom. 261 00:15:32,120 --> 00:15:37,480 So he was leading the the soldiers against David when 262 00:15:37,480 --> 00:15:39,200 Absalom was trying to overtake David. 263 00:15:41,120 --> 00:15:45,920 So David now says go to Judah and say listen, let's have 264 00:15:45,920 --> 00:15:48,400 Amassa now be commander in place of Joab. 265 00:15:50,560 --> 00:15:53,400 Now what I think he's doing here in some parties, making it clear 266 00:15:53,400 --> 00:15:57,680 that they weren't going to face any retribution for their 267 00:15:57,680 --> 00:16:02,520 rebellion in one one sense. But I think we're actually he's 268 00:16:02,520 --> 00:16:06,640 also doing at the same time, he's actually punishing Joab for 269 00:16:06,880 --> 00:16:10,200 the party he had in the that Joab didn't in the in the death 270 00:16:10,200 --> 00:16:13,320 of his son Absalom. Remember, Joab actually killed 271 00:16:14,080 --> 00:16:15,960 Absalom when David told him not to. 272 00:16:18,080 --> 00:16:20,520 So Joab is not going to be commander anymore, not after 273 00:16:20,520 --> 00:16:22,600 that. And what happened? 274 00:16:22,600 --> 00:16:25,800 Well, we're told that he swayed the hearts of the people where 275 00:16:25,800 --> 00:16:29,240 he won them over and they were united as one man, and they 276 00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:34,760 brought the king over Jordan. Now, if you notice, David does 277 00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:38,160 not force the people to follow him. 278 00:16:39,560 --> 00:16:43,680 David does not force them to recognize him as king. 279 00:16:45,960 --> 00:16:48,360 He instead sways their hearts of the people. 280 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:52,080 Now that should remind us of what Jesus does. 281 00:16:53,440 --> 00:16:56,000 Jesus does not force us to obey Him. 282 00:16:56,520 --> 00:17:00,080 Jesus does not force us to follow Him. 283 00:17:00,080 --> 00:17:01,960 Jesus, in fact, He just lays it out. 284 00:17:02,840 --> 00:17:05,079 This is what I can do for you. This is what I will do for you. 285 00:17:05,079 --> 00:17:06,200 This is what I'm going to do for you. 286 00:17:06,200 --> 00:17:07,680 This is what I have done for you. 287 00:17:08,640 --> 00:17:14,800 He, He shows us everything that we can have if we follow His 288 00:17:14,800 --> 00:17:20,480 wills so that we may follow Him. He doesn't force it upon us. 289 00:17:22,359 --> 00:17:26,160 That's the beginning of the chapter, verses 9 through 15. 290 00:17:26,359 --> 00:17:29,040 And what I'm going to do is I'm just going to skip to the back 291 00:17:29,040 --> 00:17:32,240 of the chapter beginning in verse 40, and we'll come back to 292 00:17:32,240 --> 00:17:34,240 the middle of the chapter here in a minute. 293 00:17:34,320 --> 00:17:36,160 And really it's starting in verse 40. 294 00:17:36,160 --> 00:17:39,520 We come to the second part of this argument, reuniting the 295 00:17:39,520 --> 00:17:42,320 Kingdom of Israel. The king went over. 296 00:17:42,560 --> 00:17:45,960 He went on to Gilgal. Chim Ham, who we'll come back to 297 00:17:45,960 --> 00:17:49,800 in a moment, went on with him. But notice now it says all the 298 00:17:49,800 --> 00:17:53,440 people of Judah and also half the people of Israel brought the 299 00:17:53,440 --> 00:17:56,960 king on his way. OK, So again, if my 300 00:17:56,960 --> 00:17:59,640 understanding is correct, what we're seeing is actually the 301 00:17:59,640 --> 00:18:05,200 fragile nature of a renewed Kingdom between Judah and 302 00:18:05,200 --> 00:18:07,720 Israel. They're back together, but it's 303 00:18:07,720 --> 00:18:10,400 not perfect. Judah was united. 304 00:18:10,400 --> 00:18:13,240 It says all the people, but only half the people of Israel. 305 00:18:14,520 --> 00:18:18,480 The disagreements that we saw it back in verses 9 and 10 amongst 306 00:18:18,480 --> 00:18:21,080 Israel, they still haven't been resolved by the end of the 307 00:18:21,080 --> 00:18:25,240 chapter. The efforts that David has has 308 00:18:25,240 --> 00:18:29,760 put forth, they haven't, they haven't produced the unity that 309 00:18:29,760 --> 00:18:33,320 David desired. But there was one thing that 310 00:18:33,320 --> 00:18:35,520 that they agreed on and it was their conviction. 311 00:18:35,520 --> 00:18:38,120 And we'll see here that the people of Judah had stolen the 312 00:18:38,120 --> 00:18:41,560 king and brought him over. They'd stolen him and brought 313 00:18:41,560 --> 00:18:46,520 him over there in verse 41. Well, was this the case? 314 00:18:47,920 --> 00:18:50,440 And so they said to him, why is this? 315 00:18:50,440 --> 00:18:53,240 Why have you done this? And all the men of Israel or 316 00:18:53,240 --> 00:18:55,520 Judah answered the men of Israel. 317 00:18:56,320 --> 00:18:58,280 This is because the king is our close relative. 318 00:18:59,320 --> 00:19:03,360 Why would you be angry? Well, the response to that says, 319 00:19:03,360 --> 00:19:06,720 well, you may be close, but actually we have 10 shares in 320 00:19:06,720 --> 00:19:10,040 the king and and in David. And also we have more than you. 321 00:19:10,400 --> 00:19:13,280 Basically they're saying we have a weighted vote here because in 322 00:19:13,280 --> 00:19:16,960 Israel, the northern Kingdom of Israel, that there was 10 tribes 323 00:19:17,600 --> 00:19:19,120 associated with that northern Kingdom. 324 00:19:19,120 --> 00:19:23,200 And then the the the Kingdom of Judah was a singular tribe in 325 00:19:23,200 --> 00:19:25,560 the South. That's where the split was. 326 00:19:27,120 --> 00:19:29,240 Well, of course, it made perfect sense because when they were 327 00:19:29,240 --> 00:19:32,720 tear 10 tribes in that in the north, Judah was of course by 328 00:19:32,720 --> 00:19:34,600 itself. And the narrator tells us that 329 00:19:34,960 --> 00:19:39,080 as this argument continues, the argument from Judah carried more 330 00:19:39,080 --> 00:19:42,920 weight or was fiercer than the argument from Israel. 331 00:19:44,080 --> 00:19:47,280 And so at the end of the chapter, it's clear that the 332 00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:51,080 return of the King has not united the people. 333 00:19:52,960 --> 00:19:55,760 So back to the beginning of what I said to start with. 334 00:19:55,760 --> 00:19:58,880 If we remember, we said one of the ways which we see Jesus and 335 00:19:58,880 --> 00:20:02,000 we see God's purpose in the Old Testament. 336 00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:07,320 We see a picture or silhouette of things that look to be 337 00:20:07,320 --> 00:20:11,440 fulfilled, or a picture of what might be or what may not be. 338 00:20:12,800 --> 00:20:16,000 And this clearly does not look like what King Jesus can do. 339 00:20:16,640 --> 00:20:21,640 You know Jesus, Jesus can create unity and he will unify, but an 340 00:20:21,640 --> 00:20:24,520 earthly king cannot do what King Jesus can do. 341 00:20:25,440 --> 00:20:28,520 Because you see, all that David would have wanted to accomplish, 342 00:20:28,880 --> 00:20:33,920 he was unable to accomplish. And in fact, every endeavor that 343 00:20:33,920 --> 00:20:36,560 we see all the way through the United Nations that we see 344 00:20:36,560 --> 00:20:40,960 today, that seems to break about peace, tranquility, unity, 345 00:20:41,160 --> 00:20:46,040 oneness, every endeavor, every battle, every fight to that end, 346 00:20:46,040 --> 00:20:49,240 no matter how good, no matter how admirable those efforts may 347 00:20:49,240 --> 00:20:55,600 be, it's destined to defeat. Only when King Jesus returns 348 00:20:55,920 --> 00:20:59,000 will that which David desired to be accomplished will be done 349 00:20:59,520 --> 00:21:01,800 only when the one true king returns. 350 00:21:02,920 --> 00:21:06,920 There's only one fixed to all the world's issues, and that is 351 00:21:06,920 --> 00:21:10,720 in the gospel, in the king. And earthly kings cannot 352 00:21:10,720 --> 00:21:15,560 achieve, which is only achieved in and through Jesus as the one 353 00:21:15,560 --> 00:21:21,240 true King. So now we have 3 lives changing. 354 00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:24,280 That's the beginning and the end of the chapter. 355 00:21:24,280 --> 00:21:26,480 We're going to come back to the final point which deals with the 356 00:21:26,480 --> 00:21:29,520 middle of the chapter 3 lives changing. 357 00:21:29,520 --> 00:21:33,120 In verses 6 through 23, we have Shimmy Eye appealing for mercy. 358 00:21:34,080 --> 00:21:37,720 Verses 24 through 30 we have Miss FIBA Chef displaying his 359 00:21:37,720 --> 00:21:40,880 loyalty. And verses 31 through 39, 360 00:21:40,880 --> 00:21:43,560 Barzillai confronts his mortality. 361 00:21:44,600 --> 00:21:47,880 So Shimia, hopefully we haven't forgot about Shimia. 362 00:21:48,760 --> 00:21:52,040 He made quite as quite a striking appearance back in 363 00:21:52,040 --> 00:21:53,800 chapter 16. He was cursing. 364 00:21:53,800 --> 00:21:56,600 He was throwing stones at David. He was flinging dust. 365 00:21:57,040 --> 00:22:00,760 He was dramatically opposed to David as he made his exit from 366 00:22:00,760 --> 00:22:03,200 Jerusalem. And remember that there was on 367 00:22:03,200 --> 00:22:06,320 one side of the road, he was shouting, Oh, he was calling him 368 00:22:06,320 --> 00:22:08,600 a bad act. He was calling him like you have 369 00:22:08,600 --> 00:22:10,880 all this blood on your hands. You're the reason for all this 370 00:22:10,880 --> 00:22:14,720 turmoil. He was telling David and it's 371 00:22:15,080 --> 00:22:18,800 and it's he's back. If you want to say Shemi is back 372 00:22:18,800 --> 00:22:21,600 now in chapter 19 and he's not alone. 373 00:22:22,320 --> 00:22:25,280 He's got 1000 people with him. He says all the House of Joseph 374 00:22:25,280 --> 00:22:27,040 is with him. The tribe of Benjamin, which was 375 00:22:27,040 --> 00:22:30,520 Saul's tribe. He's got Zeba who we who we've 376 00:22:30,520 --> 00:22:32,920 seen and which we'll come back to as well. 377 00:22:32,920 --> 00:22:36,000 And and there they are. They're on they're on a mission 378 00:22:36,960 --> 00:22:38,800 to now get on the winning side of David. 379 00:22:38,800 --> 00:22:45,720 And in verse 19, I'm excuse me. And he's now concerned that his 380 00:22:45,720 --> 00:22:49,800 hostility now he wants that hostility that he showed back in 381 00:22:49,800 --> 00:22:52,080 chapter 16. He wishes that to be vanquished. 382 00:22:52,600 --> 00:22:54,480 He wants to be met with forgiveness from David. 383 00:22:55,080 --> 00:22:59,120 And so he appeals on that basis for mercy or and clemency. 384 00:23:00,240 --> 00:23:04,080 And in verse 19, he said, said, said, he said to the king, let 385 00:23:04,080 --> 00:23:07,040 my Lord not hold me guilty. You remember how your servant 386 00:23:07,040 --> 00:23:11,640 did wrong on that day for my Lord the king left Jerusalem on 387 00:23:11,640 --> 00:23:13,560 the day my Lord the king left for Jerusalem. 388 00:23:16,400 --> 00:23:18,920 You know, why would even why would shimmy I even mention this 389 00:23:18,920 --> 00:23:21,320 to David. You know, David remembers 390 00:23:21,320 --> 00:23:23,200 exactly what shimmy I did to him. 391 00:23:23,800 --> 00:23:25,120 There's no way you could forget that. 392 00:23:25,120 --> 00:23:28,200 But shimmy I thinks that it's a good idea to remember to bring 393 00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:31,400 it back up again. If you want to say and shimmy I 394 00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:34,400 says, don't let the king take that to heart. 395 00:23:34,760 --> 00:23:36,160 Basically forget about what I've done. 396 00:23:37,120 --> 00:23:39,280 Forget about that act. Well, that's easy for him to 397 00:23:39,280 --> 00:23:43,960 say, you know, for your servants know that I have sinned, it 398 00:23:43,960 --> 00:23:46,640 says, and the reason I'm here today, I'm the first of the 399 00:23:46,640 --> 00:23:49,160 House of Joseph to come and to meet my Lord the King. 400 00:23:49,280 --> 00:23:51,240 I haven't wasted any time to come see you. 401 00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:56,080 I'm the 1st and you'll notice. Well, what are we to do with 402 00:23:56,080 --> 00:23:57,080 that? How would you make sense of 403 00:23:57,080 --> 00:24:00,120 that? I kind of think, well, how 404 00:24:00,120 --> 00:24:02,240 sincere is really Shimmy I being here? 405 00:24:02,600 --> 00:24:06,400 Is he really being sincere about the things that he's saying? 406 00:24:07,640 --> 00:24:09,440 Do we take it for base face value? 407 00:24:10,160 --> 00:24:11,840 I don't know. I think it's strategic 408 00:24:11,880 --> 00:24:14,560 regardless. It's convenient, of course, for 409 00:24:14,560 --> 00:24:19,960 Shimmy I to do so when Shimmy I assumes victory was certainly 410 00:24:19,960 --> 00:24:22,120 absaloms. He was throwing dirt clods at at 411 00:24:22,120 --> 00:24:24,720 David. Now that he realized that he 412 00:24:24,720 --> 00:24:27,720 knows that David is the king, he's not throwing dirt clods 413 00:24:27,720 --> 00:24:30,400 anymore. He's throwing himself at at 414 00:24:30,400 --> 00:24:35,000 David, throwing himself at the feet of the king. 415 00:24:36,120 --> 00:24:38,440 Because apparently now that things have gone in a different 416 00:24:38,440 --> 00:24:42,160 direction then shimmy, I thought I put now apparently Shimmy I 417 00:24:42,160 --> 00:24:46,960 has a conscious about himself. And then you have Mr. Abishai, 418 00:24:47,120 --> 00:24:50,840 Mr. Consistent, always wanting to take somebody's head off. 419 00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:55,600 If you read through Shimmy I he, he responds as he's done in 420 00:24:55,600 --> 00:24:57,880 previous times. Remember in Shimmy I doing this 421 00:24:57,880 --> 00:25:02,680 when when Shimmy I did this in chapter 16, Abishai said, let's 422 00:25:02,680 --> 00:25:06,600 just take his head off then and now just as consistent as ever. 423 00:25:06,880 --> 00:25:10,440 And of course, there's a indication of mercy immediately. 424 00:25:10,440 --> 00:25:15,280 David says you shall not die and the king swore to him. 425 00:25:17,040 --> 00:25:21,920 Well, when you get to 1st Kings chapter 2, we'll discover that 426 00:25:21,920 --> 00:25:26,960 David actually did take care of Shimmy I, and it's a reminder to 427 00:25:26,960 --> 00:25:31,200 us. Again, by way of contrast, you 428 00:25:31,200 --> 00:25:34,640 could beg before for mercy before King David and not get 429 00:25:34,640 --> 00:25:37,680 it. And all who beg for mercy before 430 00:25:37,680 --> 00:25:41,440 King Jesus will receive it. So you saved yourself? 431 00:25:41,440 --> 00:25:45,120 Well, my life has been 1 of cursing and of Jesus. 432 00:25:45,120 --> 00:25:46,640 I've been on the other side of the street. 433 00:25:46,640 --> 00:25:49,120 I've been had no interest in Jesus at all. 434 00:25:50,520 --> 00:25:53,360 Are you actually telling me that if I come to him and acknowledge 435 00:25:53,360 --> 00:25:55,640 him that I've sinned, that I've been wrong, that I've made the 436 00:25:55,640 --> 00:25:57,720 wrong decisions, that he will grant me forgiveness? 437 00:25:58,520 --> 00:26:05,760 Absolutely, 100% of the time we look at the cross of Christ and 438 00:26:05,760 --> 00:26:08,440 we see that there is the ultimate expression of 439 00:26:08,440 --> 00:26:12,760 forgiveness at the cross. So that's Shimia, that's his 440 00:26:12,760 --> 00:26:16,120 appeal for mercy. Then we have Mephibosheth 441 00:26:16,680 --> 00:26:19,760 declaring his loyalty beginning in verse 24. 442 00:26:21,320 --> 00:26:23,600 And Mephibosheth, the son of Saul, came down to meet the 443 00:26:23,600 --> 00:26:30,880 king, and he was quite a scene to be seen, you know, as the 444 00:26:31,080 --> 00:26:34,040 Scripture tells us here. We've been introduced to 445 00:26:34,040 --> 00:26:39,000 introduced to him back in chapter 16 by Ziba. 446 00:26:39,360 --> 00:26:41,880 And on that occasion, Ziba had painted a picture of 447 00:26:41,880 --> 00:26:45,520 Mephibosheth, the Saint staying home and not supporting the king 448 00:26:45,520 --> 00:26:50,000 because Ziba said he is keen to see Absalom succeed so that the 449 00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:53,080 Kingdom of Saul will prevail. That's what Ziba told David. 450 00:26:53,080 --> 00:26:56,360 He kind of painted a a poor picture of what Misuvosheth was 451 00:26:56,360 --> 00:26:59,880 doing. And if we remember, David made a 452 00:26:59,880 --> 00:27:03,280 knee jerk reaction to that and he said everything that I gave 453 00:27:03,280 --> 00:27:05,920 to Mephibosheth, I'm going to give now to use Eva. 454 00:27:07,160 --> 00:27:09,640 And we read that and we say, well, that's quite the reaction. 455 00:27:10,080 --> 00:27:12,640 And now here we're on the other side of the story because 456 00:27:12,640 --> 00:27:16,080 Mephibosheth now has returned to the king and he comes looking 457 00:27:16,080 --> 00:27:18,080 like somebody who's been on a hunger strike. 458 00:27:18,080 --> 00:27:21,840 If you want to say in a solidarity to the king, his 459 00:27:21,840 --> 00:27:26,920 toenails are long, presumably dirty, we wouldn't want to sit 460 00:27:26,920 --> 00:27:31,160 next to him on a plane ride. He hasn't showered or washed or 461 00:27:31,400 --> 00:27:33,120 taken care of himself in some time. 462 00:27:35,080 --> 00:27:37,040 And he looks like this. And the reason he looked like 463 00:27:37,040 --> 00:27:41,760 this, and we discovered that this is when David invites him 464 00:27:41,760 --> 00:27:44,680 to come clean. The reason that he expressed his 465 00:27:44,680 --> 00:27:49,160 solidarity in absence, because David asked him, well, you know 466 00:27:49,160 --> 00:27:50,960 what's really going on here, Mephibosheth? 467 00:27:51,880 --> 00:27:54,880 Mephibosheth says, Well, Ziba deceived you and deceived me. 468 00:27:55,560 --> 00:28:00,000 What Zeba told you was not true. I was getting ready to come and 469 00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:01,840 join you, but Zeba took off without me. 470 00:28:01,840 --> 00:28:06,600 Now again, you know, we need to ask ourselves, are we with 471 00:28:06,600 --> 00:28:09,000 Mephibosheth on this or with Zeba on this? 472 00:28:10,240 --> 00:28:11,680 There was a little phrase in there. 473 00:28:13,880 --> 00:28:18,320 I was. It says, My Lord, O king, my 474 00:28:18,320 --> 00:28:21,160 servant, deceive me. For your servant said to him, I 475 00:28:21,160 --> 00:28:24,040 will saddle the donkey for myself, that I may ride on it 476 00:28:24,560 --> 00:28:27,600 and go with the king. For your servant is lame. 477 00:28:29,040 --> 00:28:34,000 Maybe kind of wander there for a minute, maybe kind of question 478 00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:37,280 Mephibosheth's motives, like David didn't know Michelle 479 00:28:37,280 --> 00:28:39,680 himself and fish up. Mephibosheth was a cripple. 480 00:28:40,240 --> 00:28:44,120 David knew that David took him into his house because he was 481 00:28:44,120 --> 00:28:46,760 lame. He did it out of kindness, even 482 00:28:46,760 --> 00:28:48,040 though he was a grandson of Saul. 483 00:28:48,040 --> 00:28:50,360 He knew exactly that Mister Fibosheth was lame. 484 00:28:51,280 --> 00:28:53,800 So I'm just wondering whether he's Mephibosheth was kind of 485 00:28:53,800 --> 00:28:58,160 pushing a little too hard here. He's got every vested interest 486 00:28:58,160 --> 00:29:01,920 to be welcomed. You can decide that on your own. 487 00:29:01,920 --> 00:29:03,760 It's just something that I thought about during the course 488 00:29:03,760 --> 00:29:06,320 of the study. It's not the main point of the 489 00:29:06,320 --> 00:29:08,160 study, but make your own decisions. 490 00:29:08,440 --> 00:29:11,080 And he's prepared to say to him, why don't you just do what seems 491 00:29:11,080 --> 00:29:13,200 good to you? I don't have any right to ask 492 00:29:13,200 --> 00:29:14,560 you for anything, is what he's asking. 493 00:29:14,560 --> 00:29:22,200 And notice what David does, he says and and the way that David 494 00:29:22,200 --> 00:29:24,960 responds to makes you kind of wonder if there's something 495 00:29:24,960 --> 00:29:27,080 going on there. And the king said to David, why 496 00:29:27,080 --> 00:29:29,040 speak any more of the your matters? 497 00:29:29,360 --> 00:29:32,120 Basically, I've had enough of this conversation than what 498 00:29:32,120 --> 00:29:38,200 David was telling Mephibosheth. I don't know whether he's David 499 00:29:38,200 --> 00:29:41,080 saying, I don't know whether to believe you or to believe in or 500 00:29:41,240 --> 00:29:44,000 Zeba. But David says, I'll tell you 501 00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:46,920 what I'm going to do. We're going to do A505050 split 502 00:29:46,920 --> 00:29:50,040 now. I gave it to you, then I gave it 503 00:29:50,040 --> 00:29:51,440 to Ziva. Now we're just going to give it 504 00:29:51,440 --> 00:29:53,600 to each of you and we're just going to move on and let's be 505 00:29:53,600 --> 00:29:55,920 done with this whole matter of who's getting what inheritance. 506 00:29:58,800 --> 00:30:02,920 Well, we see that there. And I wonder, you know, are his 507 00:30:02,920 --> 00:30:06,720 dirty toenails, his messed up appearance and are sacraments of 508 00:30:06,720 --> 00:30:10,920 his faithfulness, or whether they're just an attempt to put 509 00:30:10,920 --> 00:30:12,680 himself in the good graces of King David. 510 00:30:14,520 --> 00:30:16,840 People will go through all kinds of endeavours to try and be 511 00:30:16,840 --> 00:30:24,040 accepted by the king. Lastly, we'll come to Barcelona, 512 00:30:24,040 --> 00:30:27,520 the Gileadite who confronts his mortality. 513 00:30:28,800 --> 00:30:33,080 We've seen this guy before as well, in chapter 17, when he 514 00:30:33,080 --> 00:30:36,360 provided resources for David, when David and his friends were 515 00:30:36,880 --> 00:30:38,560 out in the wilderness, as it were. 516 00:30:39,640 --> 00:30:42,440 And we noticed first of all that he was an elderly man. 517 00:30:43,080 --> 00:30:47,200 Verse 32 says he was a very aging man, and he was 80 years 518 00:30:47,200 --> 00:30:49,120 old. OK. 519 00:30:49,120 --> 00:30:53,280 He has not shown up. Not he has shown up not to seek 520 00:30:53,280 --> 00:30:57,240 anything for himself, but to escort the king over the Jordan 521 00:30:57,440 --> 00:31:00,880 going back to Jerusalem. And he receives an invitation 522 00:31:00,880 --> 00:31:05,800 from the king to come and receive all these things. 523 00:31:05,800 --> 00:31:11,680 And so he responds and says, how many years have I still to live? 524 00:31:12,440 --> 00:31:15,880 Have I still left to live now? It's not because he's being 525 00:31:15,880 --> 00:31:19,240 morbid. I think he's actually being very 526 00:31:19,240 --> 00:31:22,600 realistic of his situation. The psalmist tells us that the 527 00:31:22,600 --> 00:31:27,240 years of our life are 70 or even by reason of strength 80 in 528 00:31:27,240 --> 00:31:31,120 Psalms 90, verse 10. Now there's very smart people 529 00:31:31,120 --> 00:31:34,120 who work in the insurance agency, the life insurance 530 00:31:34,120 --> 00:31:39,440 agency, those who put together the do, the actuarials who are 531 00:31:39,760 --> 00:31:42,800 way smarter than any of us here in this room. 532 00:31:43,440 --> 00:31:47,200 And I'm inclined to think that despite the ability for people 533 00:31:47,200 --> 00:31:50,160 to live any longer, it wouldn't be at all surprised that when 534 00:31:50,160 --> 00:31:53,440 they did all their calculations, they look at everything that 535 00:31:53,440 --> 00:31:56,680 they don't come really, really close to this number that's put 536 00:31:56,680 --> 00:32:04,680 forth in Psalms chapter 90, 70 years is good. 537 00:32:05,200 --> 00:32:08,760 After that you're on extra time, 70 and then extra time. 538 00:32:08,760 --> 00:32:11,600 Some are here are approaching 70 or far beyond 70. 539 00:32:12,160 --> 00:32:15,640 There's many here. There are on what some consider 540 00:32:15,640 --> 00:32:19,280 extra time. Incidentally, you never die a 541 00:32:19,280 --> 00:32:21,320 day early and you never die too late. 542 00:32:22,120 --> 00:32:26,360 I believe God has that plan. Where we're at here in our 543 00:32:26,360 --> 00:32:29,480 lives, where you've been placed, were you growing up, Jobs you 544 00:32:29,480 --> 00:32:31,880 have are exactly what God has intended for you. 545 00:32:31,880 --> 00:32:35,520 And in the mystery of God's Providence, He's got it under 546 00:32:35,520 --> 00:32:39,680 his control. But Barzilai recognizes this. 547 00:32:40,600 --> 00:32:43,600 Barzili says. I'm on the outer limits of 548 00:32:43,600 --> 00:32:46,440 things. Life has shifted me, he says. 549 00:32:46,440 --> 00:32:49,400 Can I discern the things that are really pleasant? 550 00:32:49,400 --> 00:32:52,360 Can I taste? Can I listen to the songs of men 551 00:32:52,360 --> 00:32:56,040 and women? Furthermore, why should I be? 552 00:32:56,040 --> 00:32:57,760 Why should I burden you, King David? 553 00:32:58,600 --> 00:33:01,040 I can't walk as good as I used to be able to walk. 554 00:33:01,440 --> 00:33:05,680 My earthly powers are fading. They're shifting in my 555 00:33:05,680 --> 00:33:08,280 expectations. But I'll tell you what I go part 556 00:33:08,280 --> 00:33:11,960 way with you, is what Barzili tells him in verse 36. 557 00:33:12,760 --> 00:33:15,120 Is your servant will go a little way over the Jordan with the 558 00:33:15,120 --> 00:33:17,720 king. Why would I get repaid with such 559 00:33:17,720 --> 00:33:20,000 reward? No, he says. 560 00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:22,440 I won't let I want you to let me go back. 561 00:33:23,240 --> 00:33:27,480 I want to die in my own city near the grave of my father and 562 00:33:27,480 --> 00:33:32,360 my mother. Now I understand that. 563 00:33:32,520 --> 00:33:36,560 I think we all get that. I don't understand the people 564 00:33:36,560 --> 00:33:39,480 who say it doesn't matter what I get, where I get buried. 565 00:33:40,720 --> 00:33:43,440 Well, if it doesn't matter to you, I guess it doesn't matter 566 00:33:43,440 --> 00:33:47,200 to anybody else, does it, Barzila? 567 00:33:47,200 --> 00:33:51,840 I wanted to go home and I want to pause here for a second and 568 00:33:51,840 --> 00:33:56,360 talk about those who are older in age, who are in the range of 569 00:33:56,360 --> 00:33:59,880 Barzila or beyond. Those who may have are retired, 570 00:33:59,880 --> 00:34:02,840 have the privilege of being retired, have their abilities 571 00:34:02,840 --> 00:34:06,200 about them, still may have some extra time on their hands. 572 00:34:06,960 --> 00:34:11,199 The time that we may complain about when we're younger, in the 573 00:34:11,199 --> 00:34:13,040 middle of our life, that we just don't have the time. 574 00:34:13,040 --> 00:34:15,199 I wish I could do this. I wish I had more time to serve. 575 00:34:15,199 --> 00:34:17,960 I wish I had more time to help in some way. 576 00:34:17,960 --> 00:34:24,560 The church, There may be no better time in your life than 577 00:34:24,560 --> 00:34:28,199 right now to serve King Jesus the way he intends you to. 578 00:34:30,080 --> 00:34:33,320 The Lord needs you. The church needs you. 579 00:34:34,080 --> 00:34:40,080 Our children need you. We look to the older in the 580 00:34:40,080 --> 00:34:46,440 church to guide us, to help us, to share your experiences with 581 00:34:46,440 --> 00:34:50,560 us and lead us. There is no greater time in your 582 00:34:50,560 --> 00:34:55,880 life to be a champion for the church then you have now. 583 00:34:59,200 --> 00:35:00,400 Now, how's that supposed to look? 584 00:35:00,400 --> 00:35:03,160 I don't know. I don't know how that looks when 585 00:35:03,160 --> 00:35:05,920 you're retired on what you can and can't do what you're able to 586 00:35:05,920 --> 00:35:09,240 and able not to do. You know those things better 587 00:35:09,240 --> 00:35:11,880 than we do. There's great wisdom in just 588 00:35:11,880 --> 00:35:15,120 from your past experience. Like we like I mentioned, 589 00:35:15,120 --> 00:35:18,440 there's no answer that I have, but I do know that doing 590 00:35:18,440 --> 00:35:23,320 something, something that you were not able to do in the past, 591 00:35:23,520 --> 00:35:27,920 something small or great, take the opportunity before it's gone 592 00:35:28,240 --> 00:35:34,240 to further the Kingdom of God. Some of you might know Tom Brady 593 00:35:34,640 --> 00:35:39,000 and his Hall of Fame speech. He said to be successful at 594 00:35:39,000 --> 00:35:45,280 anything, the truth is you don't have to be special, he said. 595 00:35:45,280 --> 00:35:49,280 You just have to be what most people aren't consistent, 596 00:35:49,680 --> 00:35:51,920 determined and willing to work for it. 597 00:35:54,120 --> 00:35:56,480 But in the word of the scriptures, we understand by 598 00:35:56,600 --> 00:36:00,720 Barzilai's reaction says, let me return to my own place. 599 00:36:01,320 --> 00:36:03,440 I'm going to go a little way with you, but I'm going to go 600 00:36:03,440 --> 00:36:06,240 home. And why don't you give Chim Ham, 601 00:36:07,440 --> 00:36:12,560 Jim Ham, relative, a friend, a son, I think it's a son. 602 00:36:13,400 --> 00:36:16,600 It talks about the sons of Chim Ham later on in Chronicles. 603 00:36:17,320 --> 00:36:20,600 He says, why don't you give Chim Ham what you would have given to 604 00:36:20,600 --> 00:36:23,640 me? And then we have a lovely 605 00:36:23,640 --> 00:36:25,880 picture here. It says I'm Barzili went home 606 00:36:26,280 --> 00:36:28,680 and Chim Ham went on with the key. 607 00:36:33,880 --> 00:36:39,600 Isn't that what we long for as parents, because we will 608 00:36:39,600 --> 00:36:42,640 eventually go home, but we longed that our children will go 609 00:36:42,640 --> 00:36:48,080 on with the king, that they would come to know the king, 610 00:36:48,080 --> 00:36:52,880 that they would come to submit to the rule of King Jesus so 611 00:36:52,880 --> 00:36:56,720 that when our time has come, we could go home and they could go 612 00:36:56,720 --> 00:37:01,320 on with him. 400 years later. Actually, we read about this in 613 00:37:01,320 --> 00:37:05,160 Jeremiah, We read of the habitation of Chim Ham was which 614 00:37:05,160 --> 00:37:07,560 was near Bethlehem in Jeremiah 41. 615 00:37:08,320 --> 00:37:11,640 So to the end, all the battles fought, all the kingdoms 616 00:37:11,640 --> 00:37:15,960 established, the work of God continues day by day in the 617 00:37:15,960 --> 00:37:19,320 lives of His people. Our names may not be known 618 00:37:19,320 --> 00:37:22,640 beyond our borders, beyond the city limits, but they are known 619 00:37:22,640 --> 00:37:26,720 entirely to God. So let us give ourselves 620 00:37:26,720 --> 00:37:30,720 unreservedly to spend the balance of our time, of our 621 00:37:30,720 --> 00:37:36,560 life, our talents, our energies, to serve the one true King, that 622 00:37:36,560 --> 00:37:40,840 is King Jesus, who can do what no earthly king can do. 623 00:37:43,400 --> 00:37:46,400 Are we ready to serve King Jesus, the one who can do what 624 00:37:46,400 --> 00:37:50,120 earthly kings cannot do? Are we ready to do what is 625 00:37:50,120 --> 00:37:52,800 needed to come in contact with this cleansing blood? 626 00:37:54,000 --> 00:37:57,880 Are you in need of being baptized, come believing, 627 00:37:57,920 --> 00:38:02,720 repenting, confessing Jesus as the Son of God, And then when we 628 00:38:02,720 --> 00:38:05,800 are baptized, we come in contact with the blood of Christ and we 629 00:38:05,800 --> 00:38:11,320 are forgiven of our sins, removing all evidence of sin 630 00:38:11,320 --> 00:38:14,800 that God the Father sees. Or do we need to make a public 631 00:38:14,800 --> 00:38:17,120 confession? Because maybe we're like Shimmy 632 00:38:17,120 --> 00:38:19,360 eye. Maybe we made a mistake. 633 00:38:19,360 --> 00:38:21,040 Maybe we were living on the other side of the road. 634 00:38:21,040 --> 00:38:25,360 Maybe we were cursing Jesus and doing all the things that we 635 00:38:25,360 --> 00:38:28,040 shouldn't be doing for Jesus, but now we need to make things 636 00:38:28,040 --> 00:38:30,760 right again. We're going to give an 637 00:38:30,760 --> 00:38:32,480 opportunity for an invitation to do so. 638 00:38:33,240 --> 00:38:36,080 If there's one who is in either one of those class or just needs 639 00:38:36,080 --> 00:38:38,600 the public prayers of the congregation here, we ask you to 640 00:38:38,600 --> 00:38:40,920 come while we stand and while we see.