THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

The Books Of Samuel: God's Shift Of Israel From Apostasy Under The Judges To David's Reign

II. 2 Samuel: The Reign Of David Over Israel

A. David's Exemplary Oversight Of Women At Saul's Death

(2 Samuel 1:1-27)

Introduction: (To show the need . . .)

Many women are frustrated with men today, but they seem unable to know how to resolve it:

(1) One of our Church members last Sunday told me she watched the media coverage of the recent women's march that opposed President Trump, and she expressed dismay at the coarsely negative attitudes of many marchers.

Her reaction was validated by how even a politically progressive author viewed the march: Jia Tolentino, a writer for the New Yorker, in her article, "The Somehow Controversial Women's March on Washington" (January 18, 2017; newyorker.com) wrote, "(T)he Women's March on Washington . . . has produced fracture as well as inspiration, evincing the same crisis of confidence and solidarity that the march aims to resist, if not resolve."

(2) However, Ms. Tolentino also exposed a confusion even feminists have in understanding and resolving their frustration when she mused, "Perhaps we don't need a women's march, or a woman President - or perhaps we need those things so badly that we can't even decide which women should get what first . . . There is a reasonable suspicion that the alliances, rights, and prospects that women have hoped for and counted on are blown away far too easily -- by men, by our own divisions, by conflict and contempt." (Ibid.)

(3) Men have sure contributed to the problem: (a) Nataliya Vasilyeva's piece, "Slap-your-spouse-for-$500 bill advances in Russian parliament" (Republican-American, January 23, 2017, p. 4A) claimed, "This week, the Russian parliament is expected to take a step closer toward decriminalizing" the act of "giving one's spouse a slap."

(b) Yet, men in America frustrate women, too: former Connecticut State Senator Robert J. Kane at a recent "confirmation hearing to be a chief auditor for the legislature" was asked about falling "nearly $5,000 behind in payments to his ex-wife" for child support. (Ibid., "Kane making progress, from grocery shopping to cooking," p. 1B)

(4) For decades in the ministry, I have heard even Christian women express intense frustration about men!

Need: Accordingly, we ask, "What is the solution to the angry frustration many women have about men today?!"

I. Opposite "political correctness" today, Scripture claims women need men to oversee them due to their greater liability to being deceived and its ensuing lack of wisdom, explaining why feminists are confused:

A. God created the man to be the head over the woman, signified by His bringing Eve to Adam that he might name her in sovereignty over her, Genesis 2:20-23; Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978, ftn. to Genesis 1:10.

B. Even after mankind's fall into sin, God directed that men would be head over women in Genesis 3:16.

C. This order exists today: Paul appealed to creation for why men are to over women in the Church, and he added that women have a greater tendency to be deceived than do men as seen in Eve's being deceived in a lack of wisdom versus Adam's willfully rebelling, one reason why women must not teach men,1 Timothy 2:12-15.

II. However, both men and women have failed to relate well to each other due to sin, Genesis 3:1-7, 8-13.

III. Thus, the SOLUTION to the problem comes by handling sin, with one result being that MEN take CONSIDERATE, CORRECTIVE HEADSHIP over WOMEN as David did in 2 Samuel 1:1-27:

A. An event in 2 Samuel 1:1-16 after Saul's death exposed to David the threat to Israel's unity under his future reign due to the well-intentioned but dreadfully unwise words of a song by Israel's women, 2 Sam. 1:1-16:

1. A messenger claiming to be the son of an Amalekite "stranger," a resident foreigner, a ger (H. A. W., T. W. O. T., 1980, v. I, p. 155-156) in Israel, arrived at Ziklag to tell David of Saul's death and Israel's defeat by the Philistines, and he claimed that he had heeded Saul's request to kill him since Saul was gravely wounded, 2 Sam. 1:1-10, 13 KJV. This messenger was looking for a reward from David for killing Saul.

2. David and his men initially mourned over news of Saul's death, but since the messenger had claimed to have killed Saul, the Lord's anointed, based on his own testimony regardless if it was true or not, David had one of his men execute the messenger, 2 Samuel 1:14-16.

3. This event revealed to David the threat of a big division in Israel: if even a resident alien would try to win David's favor by claiming that he killed Saul, then many others in Israel thought David hated Saul, what would lead to David's future rule over a split monarchy, with Saul's supporters strongly opposing David!

4. David also recalled that Saul's hatred of him had risen from the words of the song Israel's women had very unwisely sung in lauding his exploits in battle over Saul's exploits, 1 Samuel 18:7-9.

5. Thus, David knew he had to correct that song's effects in Israel if he would rule over a united kingdom, but that he also needed to do so in a way that was considerate of Israel's women. These women had produced their song that lauded David in genuine gratefulness to him for slaying Goliath and thus saving them from Philistine captivity and abuse (1 Samuel 18:6-7 with 17:48-53), so David needed to correct them kindly!

B. Spiritually aligned with God and led by the Holy Spirit, David thus exercised wise oversight over Israel and its women, considerately correcting the destructive impact of their song in forming a new song, 2 Sam. 1:17-27:

1. We recall from 1 Samuel 16:13 that the Holy Spirit equipped David who believed in God to minister starting at his anointing by Samuel to be king and continuing for the rest of his life.

2. So, under the Holy Spirit's leading, David authored a song that considerately corrected the earlier song of Israel's women, and he taught it to the men of Judah that the nation might heed it (2 Sam. 1:17-18, 19-27):

a. Three times in David's lament song, he referred specifically to women, highlighting them: (1) he spoke of the women of the Philistines (2 Sam. 1:20b), (2) he addressed Israel's women (2 Sam. 1:24) and (3) he told of the superiority of Jonathan's love for him over the love of women in general (2 Sam. 1:26b).

b. Each of these references wisely, considerately corrected the song of Israel's women: (1) in verse 20, David called for news of Saul's death not to be mentioned in Gath lest the Philistine women rejoice by debasing Saul in song. David wanted Saul not to be even perceived as being debased in song by women as had occurred in the song by Israel's women. (2) In verse 24 ESV, David told Israel's women to weep over Saul for clothing them luxuriously with his spoils of war. The prepositional phrase "over Saul" ('el-Sha'ul) is emphatic, being put before the verb "weep" that it modifies, so Israel's women were to laud Saul for their fineries over other warriors, including David! (Kittel, Biblia Hebraica, p. 458) This expression wisely counters unwise excess praise for David in the women's song! (3) In verse 26, David praised Jonathan's love for him as being greater than the love of women. Israel's women were to learn that David valued Jonathan's love for him over the love even Israel's women in their song had expressed for David!

c. Also, three times in his lament song, David stated of Saul and his sons, "How are the mighty fallen!" (v. 19b, v. 25a an v. 27a), repeatedly honoring these men before all Israel, especially its women.

Lesson: When David realized from the resident alien's report of Saul's death that the song Israel's women had sung had to be corrected to start to unite Israel, under Holy Spirit's leading, David considerately corrected the women's song by authoring his own song that honored Saul and Jonathan as great achievers for Israel.

Application: To handle the frustration many women have with men, (1) may men and women alike trust in Christ for salvation from sin that creates the rift between men and women (John 3:16 with Gen. 3:7-13) to be indwelt by the Holy Spirit, Rom. 8:9b. (2) Then, may we all rely on the Holy Spirit to relate well to one another (Rom. 8:3-4; Gal. 5:16-23), with (a) women submitting to men and (b) men independent of women taking oversight of them in considerate, wise ways (Eph. 5:22-33; 1 Pet. 3:1-9) using Scripture for guidance (Psa. 119:105).

Conclusion: (To illustrate the message . . . )

Last Sunday following our morning worship service, in sharp contrast to the report of the member who told me of her dismay at the attitude of the marchers in the Women's March on Washington, another lady told me of her appreciation of a certain Christian man's wise oversight in an important realm. Of note, that man's oversight involved his giving a recommendation to correct a problem that had occurred in that realm, a realm that involved women.

So, on the one hand, hundreds of thousands of angrily frustrated women expressed rage and confusion at men in general or our president in the nation's capitol, and on the other hand, a lady with a meek and quiet spirit (1 Peter 3:4) voiced appreciation in our Church for a believing man's Holy Spirit-led, even corrective, careful, wise oversight.

What caused the difference between these two starkly contrasting cases? The absence of or the presence of a proper relationship with the Lord, reliance on the Holy Spirit for behavior and thought control and an understanding of and the application of God's written Word to life!

May we trust in Christ for salvation. Then, may we men in particular heed David's example of oversight in relying on the Holy Spirit and Scripture guidance independent of women to take the oversight of women under our divine charge. Then we will enjoy God's blessing!