2 Samuel - Chapters 5-7 with Psalm 16

In 2 Samuel, King Saul and his sons die in battle. David becomes king of Judah, while Abner makes Ish-bosheth king of Israel. There is war between Israel and Judah. Abner makes a pact with David to make him king over all Israel. Abner is killed by Joab, David mourns his death. Ish-bosheth is killed and David becomes the natural leader of Israel. David captures Jerusalem and becomes more powerful. Hiram helps build a palace for David. Psalm 16 talks about taking refuge in God. David takes more wives and concubines. The Philistines attack, David seeks God's guidance and wins. David tries to bring the ark to Jerusalem but Uzzah dies. The ark stays with Obed-Edom and David learns the fear of the Lord. The ark is brought to Jerusalem with sacrifices and celebrations. Michael, David's wife, despises him for dancing before the Lord. David desires to build a house Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedules to tune in with me today. If by chance you want to contact me, you can do that at dab.bc.pc at gmail.com. Today our lesson covers chapters 5-7 of 2 Samuel with Psalm 16. So far in 2 Samuel, King Saul and three of his sons including Jonathan have died in battle against the Philistines. David had nothing to do with the death of the Lord's anointed because he was fighting the Amalekites in the other direction. Judah and his men came back to the land of Judah and the elders of Judah made him king. Abner, Saul's commander of the army, made Saul's remaining son Ish-bosheth king of Israel. But the truth is he was not a leader and it was only because of Abner's leadership that he had that position. There was war between Israel and Judah which lasted a long time. Abner became upset with king Ish-bosheth and made a pact with David to make him king over all the house of Israel. Joab, David's commander of the army, learned about it and he found a way to kill Abner because he had killed Joab's brother during a battle. David and his people mourned Abner's death and the people realized David had nothing to do with that too. Two of king Ish-bosheth's men snuck into his palace while the king was on his bed and killed him, cut off his head and brought it to David. David in turn killed those two men to show that he had nothing to do with that either. This made David the natural leader of Israel. Chapter 5 verses 1 and 2 say, All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, We are your own flesh and blood. In the past, while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel on their mighty campaigns and the Lord said to you, You will shepherd my people Israel and you will become their ruler. They made a pact with king David at Hebron before the Lord and anointed him king over all Israel. He was thirty years old and he reigned for forty years, seven years over Judah and thirty three over all of Israel. Then the first act as king of Israel was he wanted to take the city of Jerusalem from the Jebusites. This is one city which the Jews were never able to conquer. Joshua chapter 15 verse 63, Judah could not dislodge the Jebusites who were living in Jerusalem. To this day the Jebusites live there with the people of Judah. Judges chapter 1 verse 21, the Benjamites however failed to dislodge the Jebusites who were living in Jerusalem. To this day the Jebusites live there with the Benjamites. Joshua chapter 18 verse 28 allots the city of Jerusalem to the tribe of Benjamin but it is described as the Jebusite city, that is Jerusalem. The Jebusites were one of those people groups that the Israelites were to destroy because their ways were evil, Exodus chapter 23, chapter 33 and 34 and Deuteronomy 7 and chapter 20. Jerusalem was a highly fortified wall and verse 7 says nevertheless David captured the fortress of Zion, the city of David. David made Jerusalem his home and built it up even more. Verse 10 tells us and he became more and more powerful because the Lord God Almighty was with him. We also learn that Hiram king of Tyre sent David cedar logs, carpenters and stone masons to help build a palace for David. Verse 12 says and David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel and had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel. That is what is key about leadership from the Lord. He places us in positions in order to be a blessing to others, not for our own glory for it is only the Lord that truly receives glory. David was there for the people of Israel, that is what it means to be a shepherd. The shepherd takes care of the sheep, not the other way around. Psalm 16 reads, keep me safe O God for in you I take refuge. I said to the Lord, you are my Lord, apart from me I have no good thing. As for the saints who are in the land, they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight. The sorrows of those will increase who run after other gods. I will not pour out their libations of blood or take up their names on my lips. Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup. You have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places. Surely I have a delightful inheritance. I will praise the Lord who counsels me. Even at night my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices. My body also will rest secure. Because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the path of life. You will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. In the second half of chapter five we learn that once David left Hebron and made his home in Jerusalem, he took more wives and concubines. Many of these were for political reasons, plus the more wives one has, it shows wealth because he can take care of them. They also produce heirs to the throne. Chapter five also explains that now the Philistines understood that David is their enemy. They have come back in full force. David sought the Lord to see how to fight them, and David obeyed the Lord's direction and won. In chapter six David set out to bring the ark of God and the tabernacle to Jerusalem. The problem is they did not bring it on poles and have the Levites carry it. Instead they put it on a new cart and it stumbled. Uzzah reached out and touched the ark to keep it from falling over, and he died instantly because it was an irreverent act. No one was to touch the ark because it is holy, because that is the place the Lord dwelt between the cherubim. Verse eight tells us David was angry, and verse nine tells us that David was afraid. This death put a damper on David's celebration, but it also brought David an understanding of the fear of the Lord. He was so afraid that he did not want the ark in Jerusalem, so it stayed with Obed-Edom the Gittite. It stayed for three months until word came that Obed-Edom was being so blessed by the Lord that David wanted in on the action. This time no carts. Verse 13 tells us that men carried it this time, and after taking six steps they made a bold sacrifice in honor of the Lord. David this time wore an ephod, a priestly item, and he danced before the Lord with everything he had. When it entered Jerusalem there were shouts and the sound of trumpets. They placed it in the tent which David made for it, and he sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the Lord. David then blessed the people with food, and then he went home to bless his household. Now David's first wife, Michael, the daughter of King Saul, who at one time loved him, now despised him, in part because he had ripped her from the husband that loved her. Now she is just a part of one of the many wives of David. She thought his dancing in front of the people was undignified, and she told him so. He reprimanded her, and verse 23 tells us, and Michael, daughter of Saul, had no children to the day of her death. Chapter 7 begins, After the king was settled in his palace, and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, he said to Nathan the prophet, Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent. At first Nathan said, Do what you want, for the Lord is with you. But that night the Lord spoke to Nathan. He told him to go and tell David that the Lord never asked for a home of cedar. The Lord also stressed that the people the Lord raised up to lead were to shepherd his people. The Lord promised to bless David, and verse 10 reads, And I will provide a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, so that they can have a home of their own, and no longer be disturbed. God also promised to build David's house, and when he is gone, the Lord will raise up his offspring to succeed him, and his kingdom will be established. When the offspring does wrong, the Lord will punish him, but he will not remove his love from him. Verse 16 says, Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me. Your throne will be established forever. Ladies, it is through the line of King David that Jesus was born, and it is because of Jesus' life, death on the cross, resurrection, and ascension to the heavenly kingdom that it will last forever, and all who believe, whether Jew or Gentile, become a part of the Lord's everlasting kingdom. In the New Testament, Galatians chapter 3, verses 28 and 29. When David got the news from Nathan, he went into the tabernacle and sat before the Lord. This is just a part of his prayer. Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? And as if that were not enough in your sight, O Sovereign Lord, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant. Is this your usual way of dealing with man, O Sovereign Lord? For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant. How great you are, O Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. And who is like your people Israel, the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to perform great and awesome wonders? You have established your people Israel as your very own forever, and you, O Lord, have become their God. O Sovereign Lord, you are God, your words are trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant. For you have spoken, and with your blessing, the house of your servant will be blessed forever. That blessing extends to all who believe that Jesus is the Son of David and the Son of God. Jesus is, O Sovereign Lord! So ladies, if you have heard his voice today, please don't harden your heart like David's first wife, Michael. Even though she had reason to be angry with David, it was when she saw him dancing before the Lord that she despised him. Her heart had turned bitter. Let's not be like that. Instead, let's be women who hear from the Lord, and obey, and forgive if necessary. Until next time, and thank you so very much for listening.