Why did David wait 20 years to help Mephibosheth? (Talk Back Question 3)

After David became king of Judah (in the south), there was a long civil war with most of the tribes of Israel following Ishbosheth (Saul’s son and Mephibosheth’s uncle) in the north.  After the David’s side one, he became king of the united Israel.  Next David dealt with Israel’s external enemies - either winning wars or making peace treaties.  After David’s kingdom was solidly established and Israel had a period of peace, David seems to have taken time to reflect on his promise to look after Jonathan’s descendants.  

So basically, David seems to have forgotten about his promise (or to have been to busy to fulfill it) until there was peace.  But then he did right by Mephibosheth.  Even though it was late in coming, it was still a pretty courageous act, considering that David had fought a civil war against Ishbosheth.

Who killed King Saul and Crown Prince Jonathan? (Talk Back Question 2)

The Israelites were at war with the Philistines in the Jezreel Valley, and the Philistines attacked on the slopes of Mount Gilboa.  They killed three of Saul’s sons - including Jonathan.  A Philistine archer severely wounded Saul.  Seeing that he would be captured, Saul killed himself by falling on his sword.  This ceremonial suicide was an ancient way to preserve honor in defeat.

By the way, since he was on the outs with Saul at this time, David was not involved in this battle.  (See 1 Samuel 31.) 

Also, cool ... check out this fascinating painting of this scene by Pieter Bruegel the Elder 

Ending the Cover-Ups (2 Samuel 11)

Read 2 Samuel 11.

I wanted to preach a nice, fairly traditional sermon on temptation and how to avoid it.  That is a fair and relatively easy application of this text.  But I couldn’t do it.  I sat down at my computer to write, and I ended up just surfing the web or playing games.  For two days, I tried to write the nice sermon about avoiding temptation - the expected sermon when dealing with this passage, but I just couldn’t get the words to come out.

Then, on Wednesday afternoon, I started digging into the passage again.  I went online and read every sermon or article I could find on this passage.  Danielle Shroyer, a pastor from Texas, knew the way to my heart when she asked: “Anybody brave enough to preach this one squarely?”

  What?  A controversial sermon on a difficult topic?  I never do those. OK, I’m in.

The David and Bathsheba story is famous because it deals with the big three: money, sex, and power.  It’s famous because it describes the messy fall of a hero.  It reads like a soap opera, and that’s why we like it.    

But this story isn’t just about the massive failure of one man and its many consequences - although that is the outline of the story.  If David and Bathsheba were simply about adultery, then - as Tim Elliot said at lunch on Thursday - this sermon could have one simple point: “Don’t do it.”  

This story is more complex and more painful than that.  We are not allowed to stand at a distance as people not concerned with this story - not when we really hear it.  This story is about the misconduct of a leader and the cover-up that followed.  And that, unfortunately, is something we know a lot about.  Just consider this very brief inventory of high profile abuse and cover-up in the past few years.

Why Did Saul Want to Kill David? Out of Jealousy? (Talk Back Question 1)

[This is the first in a new series.  Each week we're giving people at church the opportunity to ask questions about the sermon, about the Bible, or about life in general.  We'll answer some of the questions once a month, and we'll try to answer all of the questions here.  If you're a blog reader, feel free to post your question in the comments section.]

Basically, yes.  Saul was jealous of David - insanely jealous - as in he was literally crazy at times.  Because of Saul’s disobedience, God withdrew his blessing from Saul and put his blessing on David.  David began to succeed more and more, and Saul became weaker and weaker.  Apparently the event when Samuel anointed David as king was still mostly a secret, but everyone in Israel could see that David was becoming the national hero instead of Saul.  Saul became increasingly jealous and afraid.

The really difficult part of this story is that multiple times 1 Samuel says God sent “a tormenting spirit” upon Saul, which sometimes sent Saul into depression and sometimes made him “rave like a madman.”  Several times when this happened, Saul threw a spear at David - always just missing.    

In chapter 19, the story takes a turn for the worse, and Saul began to pursue David with the army.  That started a long drama of David running from Saul, yet remaining faithful and loyal to Saul all the while.  Twice David could have killed Saul but didn’t.  David only made a move to be king after Saul and Jonathan were dead.  (See 1 Samuel 16-26.)

Mephibosheth: From Shame to Grace (2 Samuel 9)

Read 2 Samuel 9.

My nanny dropped me.  Worst day of my life.  My father and grandfather were with the army in Jezreel.  Every time they went out, I staged my own battle with little wooden men in the garden.  I had archers and chariots and flag bearers.  I was only five, but I moved the men forward in formation until they crashed into one another - with soldiers flying this way and that.  It was great fun!  Of course, Israel always won, and my father and grandfather were always the heros.  The king and the crown prince were always the gallant warriors who saved the day.

Until the rider came.  My nanny had to drag me away from my little Battle of Jezreel.  We at at the royal table, eating the best food of the land, the only food I had ever known.  I still had my dad’s toy soldier in my hand for the whole meal.  I took it with me wherever I went.  It was my way of feeling closer to him while he was away.  

Until the rider came.  We could hear him pounding on the gate - and I can still hear his desperate, haunting voice - hoarse from shouting, dry from riding.  The whole palace spilled into the courtyard to see what all the fuss was about.  There standing in our safe little sanctuary of home was a wounded, bloodied, exhausted rider announced the news that shattered our entire family:  “King Saul and Crown Prince Jonathan are dead!”  

No one had any idea what would happen next. 

Unconditional Conditional Grace (2 Samuel 7:1-17)

I’m a bit of a control freak. 

I tend to have a plan with three points for everything.  

Really, I just want things done the right way.  And of course, I usually think the right way is my way.  

Now, you’re not allowed to laugh at this one .  Not that I’m trying to control you or anything, just a recommendation.  

If you don’t think I’m a control freak, that’s good.  That means one of two things: either I’m getting better or I’m getting better at hiding it.  Maybe those are the same thing.

Some of us are loose and free, but for most of us, one of the hardest things in life is letting go of control.  We want to control our present, past, and future.  If we’re really honest, we want to control our family, friends, and pets.  We want to control our bosses, our employees, and our customers.  We want to control our food, our weight, and our appearance.  We want to control the environment, the weather, and global warming.  We stop short of trying to control the stars and planets - but only because we’re too busy trying to control everything else.

Control is hard.  Being out of control is one of the worst feelings out there.  But one of the most basic lessons with God is that we are not in control.  God is.

The Ark (2 Samuel 6)

[By popular demand - due to the need to re-read this heavy sermon, here is Daniel Helbling's sermon from Sunday.]

It turned out to be a bad day for David. Worse for the family of Abinadab. It took David three months to get over it. How long will it take us?

Let’s look for understanding and insight that will help us find the value and present-day help in this scripture.

David was rejoicing; he was doing what he thought was the right thing in bringing the ark back to His own city. The presence of the ark in the king’s city would do even more to solidify and demonstrate the unity David had achieved among various factions after Saul’s death. David was careful about the things that he did; he sought the Lord's approval and help and wisdom when he would go out against his enemies in battle. Somehow, however, he didn't stop to review what the historical records would have shown: God had a clearly stated method for moving the ark. He had appointed a specific group of men to transport the ark on their shoulders with poles that went through rings on the sides of the ark. That's the way God had intended it, and that's the way it had been done every time God told Israel to move the ark. The Philistines put the ark on a cart. They had found the ark to be a curse, not a blessing. They just wanted to get rid of it as quickly and as painlessly as possible. Now David wanted the ark to become a blessing on his new reign.

Social-Spiritual Covenant of Leadership (2 Samuel 5:1-12)

The idea of the social contract is one of the most influential ideas in the history of government.  From the beginning of time, societies have formal or informal agreements between leaders and followers.  Socrates and Plato said that we have a moral obligation to obey the laws of our land as long as we choose to remain in the land.  Epicurus argued that justice is essentially the mutual agreement not to hurt each other.  

However, the social contract theory took giant steps forward among philosophers of the 17th century.  Hugo Grotius suggested that individuals have certain natural rights which enable us to live together.  Then, Thomas Hobbes argued that we choose to surrender some rights to a king or to a government to protect us from the loss of all rights in anarchy.  Next, John Locke took this theory a step further, saying that government only holds its power through the “consent of the governed.”  In other words, we all agree to keep our governments in power because that is essentially in our best interests.  Locke’s most radical stance was the right to reform the government to make it more effective in serving those governed.

  

This “consent of the governed” is a really important concept still today.  There are two types of consent - overt and tacit.  Overt consent is when the people choose their leader and submit to his or her leadership.  Tacit consent is when there is neither a formal choice nor a formal rejection of the leader.  Therefore, the people under the leader tacitly (or passively) accept the leader’s authority over them.

  

Now, hold all of this social contract theory in mind as we turn to our text.  What we will see today is a form of overt consent to leadership.  The people of Israel unite in their commitment to make David their king.  They form a covenant with David, which is a formal social contract.

Read 2 Samuel 5:1-12.

Between Anointed and Abandoned (2 Samuel 1:17-27)

[This week Logan Kruck is preaching at our church.  He has graciously allowed me to share his sermon here.]

Superman Dies!  How can it be?  Superman can’t ever die!  Don’t you read the stories?!

Those who know me know that I love comics.  I read them all the time.  And Superman is the comic hero of heroes, the standard of what it means to be virtuous and good.  But, when I was 8 years old, I read this comic and was shocked.  Superman was dead.  It’s hard to separate fiction from reality when you are 8.  All of your favorite characters are very real to you.  So, when Superman died, a real hero died.  What could I say?  What should I feel?  As a child, when your hero dies, you feel very alone, as if all the good in the world died with him.  What do I do from here?

Listen now, to the words of David

Your glory, oh Israel, lies slain upon your high places!  How the mighty have fallen!

This isn't the song of Israel on opposite side of the Red sea watching Egypt drown.  It is not, "Horse and chariot are cast into the sea!  How the mighty God triumphs!"

It is a different song.  It is a song of shock and lament.  It is a song out of the midst of the horror of battle.  And our king, our representative to God, is dead.  

Caution and Challenge (1 Samuel 17)

Read 1 Samuel 17.

“David and Goliath” is one of the world’s best known Bible stories.  It is the classic story of victory for the “underdog.”  David and Goliath are now part of the global vocabulary.  When a small company enters a new market, reporters call it a “David and Goliath” situation.  This is a “feel good” story that we all love to love.

But this very familiarity creates a problem.  We are so likely to hear this story wrong.  We are so likely to apply it incorrectly to our lives.  If we take the simple childlike version of this story and apply it to our grown-up lives, we could get a gross distortion of the Christian message.  This story has an important message for us, but we have to be careful how we get there.  Today, as we talk about David and Goliath, I want to offer us four cautions and one challenge.  

First the cautions.

Caution #1: Don’t assume using God’s name leads to victory.

History is littered with people and nations who got this wrong.  Even the Bible tells one story after another of people who misused God’s name in battle.  

In the book of Numbers, when Israel finally got to the borderland of Canaan, they chickened out and decided to go back to Egypt.  God told them to go into the desert for more lessons in faith, but the people changed their minds again and decided that they would try to fight the Canaanites after all.  “‘Let’s go,’ they said. ‘We realized that we have sinned, but we are ready to enter the land the LORD has promised us’” (Numbers 14:40).  They marched forward in God’s name as God’s people to the land God had promised, and they were soundly defeated.  They used God’s name, but they were still not faithful to God.

Seeing with your Heart (1 Samuel 16)

Shaquile O’Neil felt like an outsider and a freak for most of his childhood.

Thomas Edison daydreamed so much in school that his first teacher called him addled (or air-headed) and said he could never learn.

  

Benjamin Franklin failed math twice.  After that his father took him out of school and put him to work in the family candle shop at age 10.

  

Albert Einstein was so slow in learning to speak that his parents went to a doctor to see if his brain was OK.  As a teenager, he was so rebellious that one of his teachers said he would never amount to much.  Then, Einstein failed his university entrance exam and had to go to trade school instead.

The small become great.  The fool becomes the genius.  The ugly duckling becomes the swan.  Cinderella becomes the princess.  Even though we have heard these stories a thousand times in a thousand ways, we still hear each story with awe and wonder.  Even though we know from history that people surprise us, we are still surprised.  Even though we know from experience that outward appearances can be deceiving, we are still deceived.  

Again and again, we return to one profound truth which is so easy to forget: “The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them” (1 Samuel 16:7).  Reality is different from what we see.  Let’s go now to the story that explains this life-shaping truth: 1 Samuel 16:1-13.

Summer Worship

This summer, we’re studying 1 and 2 Samuel, which mostly tell the story of David, Israel’s greatest king.  David was a man deeply flawed and yet also “a man after God’s own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14).  

David gives us hope in an ironic sort of way.  We’re all just as broken as he was, and yet God loves us and - if we will allow it - God slowly remakes his own heart in our hearts.  Two parts of David’s life stand out as possible examples of how he embodied God’s heart.  

First, David prayed ... and prayed ... and prayed.  73 of the Bible’s Psalms are his own prayers.  But these aren’t clean, simple, “churchy” prayers.  This is a man pouring out his heart to God - all of the pain and all of the joy.

Second, when the Arc of the Covenant - the symbol of God’s presence with Israel - was being carried to Jerusalem, David let loose in celebration.  He danced “before the Lord with all his might.”  

Could it be that the essential part of having God’s heart formed in us is total openness ... unhindered worship ... holding nothing back ... going all out with God? 

As we talk about kings and kingdoms, we will continually return our focus to the King and the Kingdom.   Let’s go all out for our King and hold nothing back - in worship full of life and in lives full of worship.

[By the way, the art above is from Rebecca Brogan's great spiritual art at John the Baptist Artworks.]