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

C. Functioning Productively Amid Destructive Conflicts

(2 Samuel 3:2-5:2)

Introduction: (To show the need . . .)

Destructive conflicts occur all around us today, and we need to know how to function productively amid it all:

(1) We face it in our national politics: last Wednesday, a caller on "The Talk of Connecticut" radio talk show admitted he was afraid that newly-elected President Donald Trump may not survive the opposition he faces from the mainstream media so as to fulfill his campaign promises. Show hosts Brad Davis and Dan Lavallo added that even former President Barak Obama was organizing groups around the country to oppose President Trump.

(2) We face it in our government: Answers (Jan.-Feb. 2017, p. 46) reports that Martin R. Castro, chairman of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, recently claimed, "'The phrases 'religious liberty' and 'religious freedom' [are] code words for discrimination, racism, sexism, homophobia, Islamophobia, Christian supremacy [and] intolerance.'" Answers magazine adds that the commission's report "singles out Christianity, argues that LGBT rights are more important than Constitutional guarantee of religious liberty, and suggests that the government may restrict citizens' freedom to practice their religious beliefs." (Ibid.)

(3) We face it locally as a Church: a woman in our Church recently asked about a missionary letter that was read to our Church. The missionary uses counseling training, not the Bible to counsel, and the woman asked about this part of the letter: "I have started back to counselling. [sic] One woman I am seeing took an overdose a couple of weeks ago . . . I admit it can be hard hearing the struggles people are going through and not being able to fix it . . . (I)t can be hard . . . for the people who have to watch it and can't help." ("Looking Back and Looking Forward," 1/22/17)

Yet, Jesus invited all who labor and are heavy laden to come to Him to find rest to the soul (Matt. 11:28-30), but the missionary is bothered at failing by her counseling training minus the Bible to help a suicidal party find rest!

[We will Biblically answer each of these issues in the this sermon's conclusion in line with the sermon lesson.]

Need: So, we ask, "What can we do to be productive amid the destructive conflicts we face in today's world?!"

I. There was a long period of war between the house of David and the house of Saul, with Saul's house growing weaker and David's house stronger until all Israel anointed David as king, 2 Samuel 3:1; 5:3.

II. Viewing the details of that war reveals that the degree of divine blessing David or others experienced amid all the conflict was due to the degree each thought and acted in a Biblical manner, 2 Sam. 3:2-5:2:

A. On marriage, David violated Scripture, yielding short-term and long-term grief, 2 Samuel 3:2-5, 12-16 et al.:

1. Deuteronomy 17:17a called Israel's kings not to multiply wives to themselves lest they cause them to sin.

2. Yet, David disobeyed this call at Hebron to enhance his bid for the throne (Bib. Know. Com., O. T., p. 459), adding to Ahinoam and Abigail whom he brought with him to Hebron (2 Sam. 2:1-2) (a) Maacah, daughter of the Gentile king of Geshur, a pagan people north of Israel that Israel failed to destroy (2 Sam. 3:3b; Jos. 13:11, 13) along with (b) Haggith, (c) Abital and (d) Eglah, 2 Samuel 3:4-5. (e) David also had Abner bring him his wife Michal, Saul's daughter whom he had left in fleeing from Saul, 2 Sam. 3:12-15.

3. Short-term, David directed that his former wife Michal, Saul's daughter, be retrieved from a man she had wed after David had fled out of his house from Saul, a retrieval to strengthen David's claim to the throne by union with the former king's daughter, 2 Sam. 3:12-15. (Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978, ftn. to 2 Sam. 3:13) Yet, forcibly retrieving Michal from her second husband to give to her first husband violated Deut. 24:1-4 NIV in principle and heartlessly grieved her second husband in violation of Lev. 19:18b; 2 Sam. 3:16. Also, Michal was doomed to stay childless for later mocking David's worship, 2 Sam. 6:20-23.

4. Long-term, adding Canaanite Maacah to David's harem produced Absalom who caused a civil war (2 Sam. 3:3b; 15:1-6), and adding Haggith to David's harem produced Adonijah who later tried to gain the throne by repeat efforts of intrigue, only for Solomon to execute him, 2 Sam. 3:4a; 1 Kings 1:5-53; 2:13-25.

B. On all the other issues in the war, David heeded God while other notables did not, leading to the decline of Saul's house and the rise of David's house until he was made king by all Israel over the nation, 2 Sam. 3:6-5:3:

1. Saul's general Abner tried to enhance his position to help Saul's house by cohabiting with Saul's mistress, Rizpah (2 Sam. 3:6-7a) in adultery (Ex. 20:14). Yet, this act was culturally a claim to the throne, so Saul's son Ish-bosheth critiqued Abner for his cohabitation with Rizpah, 2 Sam. 3:7b; Ibid., ftn. to 2 Sam. 3:7.

2. Due to Ish-bosheth's criticism when Abner was only trying to help him (2 Sam. 3:8; Ibid., ftn. to 2 Sam. 3:8), Abner told Ish-bosheth he would give the kingdom to David, to Ish-bosheth's dread, 2 Sam. 3:9-11.

3. Abner then met with Israel's elders and later with David to get Israel to follow David (2 Sam. 3:12-21), but David's general Joab who sought revenge against Abner for accidentally killing his brother was so upset at David's peaceful meeting with Abner that Joab executed Abner in Hebron, a city of refuge, violating Exodus 20:13 against murder and also Numbers 35:24-25 against executing one in a city of refuge who was held to have accidentally slain another without his being convicted of murder, 2 Samuel 3:22-27, 30.

4. When David heard of Joab's deed, he put a curse on him but did not slay Joab since he was his nephew. David told Joab and all others to honor Abner in his burial, impressing all Israel that David was innocent of Abner's death, what helped to secure a following for David in all Israel, 2 Sam. 3:28-39; 2 Chr. 2:12-16.

5. Two of Ish-bosheth's military leaders then tried to win David's approval by assassinating Ish-bosheth and bringing his severed head to David at Hebron, 2 Samuel 4:1-8. However, their deed violated the Exodus 20:13 prohibition against murder, and for slaying Saul's son, David had them executed like he had slain the Amalekite who had earlier claimed to have slain Saul, seeking David's reward, 2 Sam. 4:9-12a. David also disgraced the slain bodies of Ish-bosheth's killers and honorably buried Ish-bosheth's head, 2 Sam. 4:12b.

6. So, (a) for adultery in violation of Scripture, Abner died; (b) for resisting God's anointing of David by the God's Word to Samuel to be king, Ish-bosheth died; (c) for slaying Abner in a city of refuge without a fair trial, Joab was dishonored by David and later executed by Solomon, 2 Samuel 3:29; 1 Kings 2:5-6, 28-34.

7. Conversely, for his trying to make peace with Abner, for condemning his assassinator and giving him an honorable burial, and for executing and dishonoring Ish-bosheth's killers while honoring Ish-bosheth, all Israel knew David was upright, so they made him king over them in God's will, 2 Sam. 5:1-3; 1 Sam. 16:1.

Lesson: To the degree that those in the long war between the houses of David and of Saul thought and acted Biblically were they blessed, and to the degree they did not think and act Biblically did they lack God's blessing.

Application: To function productively amid destructive conflicts today, (1) may we heed Scripture to trust in Christ as Savior, Acts 17:30; John 3:16. (2) Then, may we think and act Biblically amid the conflicts to live productively.

Conclusion: (To illustrate the message . . . )

We apply this sermon lesson to the issues we mentioned in our sermon introduction (as follows):

(1) On the destructive conflicts we face in our national politics as well as in our government, we note several Scripture passages by which we can get direction, become settled and live productively amid it all (as follows):

(a) First, in 1 John 5:19 NIV, John wrote, "(T)he whole world is under the control of the evil one," namely Satan, so we should expect unrighteous, destructive conflicts from the political and governmental realms of the world.

(b) However, in 1 John 4:4b, John claimed that "the one who is in you," God the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9), "is greater than the one who is in the world," or Satan! Thus, we believers need to rely on the indwelling Holy Spirit for thought and behavior control to function productively in a world that hands us destructive conflicts, Romans 8:3-4!

(c) Additionally, in Matthew 16:18, Jesus promised to build His Church so that even the "gates" of hell, a reference to physical death (B. K. C., N. T., p. 57), would not prevail against it. Regardless what conflicts we face in the world, this promise stands sure, encouraging us focus on our assignment in God's work in the local church.

(d) Also, as we have noted in past sermons of late, Revelation 3:21 with 7:17 implied that in our era of Church History, the Laodicean Church era, troublesome men would come to power by means of evil intrigue and oppress subordinates under God's permissive will, men who are like the evil antichrist of the future post-rapture, Great Tribulation era, that such oppressive men will unintentionally drive their hurting subordinates who reel from their actions to heed Bible exposition for spiritually healing solutions. Thus, we believers must apply and promote the exposition, proclamation and application of Scripture in the power of the Holy Spirit to function productively today.

(e) Finally, Revelation 3:21 with the context of 7:17 indicates that if we heed all of these Biblical directives, God will give us great influence to His glory in discipling needy people all around us in today's world!

(2) On the issue of the missionary letter regarding counseling by use on one's professional training minus the Bible, we note that Isaiah 8:19-9:2 claims that unless one looks to Scripture and the revelation of God in the life of Jesus Christ as recorded in Scripture for guidance, he is in deep spiritual darkness. Then, Isaiah 9:6 calls Christ the Supernatural Counselor, and since He is also the Word of God personified in Revelation 19:11-16, we assert that true, effective counseling expounds and applies Scripture truth to the needy for their help, not some other source material.

May we trust in Christ to be saved. Then, may we think and act Biblically for blessing in today's world.