Are You Prepared For Your Time? • 2 Samuel 18
48:56 Teaching begins
Notes
Today a rebellion against the king of Israel comes to an abrupt stop because God determines it. A son who is loved by his father dies as a traitor and an enemy, because that’s what he’s become by his own choice.
God gives people time, and options, and the ability to choose how they will live their lives. And then everyone comes to a time that is awesome, when you run out of chances, you run out of choices, you run out of time. God says, “You’re done.” Then you come face to face with God in judgment. Are you right with Him or are you rebelling against Him?
The right use of our days and years is to prepare for that time, because no one can avoid it. What you want to do is to reconcile with God before it’s too late.
The time is coming. Are you prepared for your time?
I’m reading in 2 Samuel 18.
1. David has to fight Absalom, vv. 1-5.
A. It’s come to a fight!
1. Absalom has followed David to Mahanaim with all Israel that follows him.
2. David wants to bear his share of the fight because it’s all about him.
3. But the people know that. They can beat us and kill us but you are the target. You are the cause. We will protect you.
B. So David says, okay, I’ll stay behind.
C. Then David says something you can’t when you go out to battle: “Go easy on the young man Absalom.”
1. Maybe he hopes that even now we can patch things up and reconcile.
2. He doesn’t want to fight, he doesn’t hate Absalom, he’s not trying to take anything away from him, not trying to get something for himself.
3. But he does have to defend himself. His only alternative is to lie down and say, “Kill me.” It’s okay to defend yourself when someone wants to kill you.
D. Absalom has come out to fight, to take the kingdom. If he got David in his power he would not show him mercy.
E. So David can’t avoid fighting and Absalom doesn’t want to avoid it. Only one person is going to walk away from this battle.
2. God makes sure the loser is Absalom, vv. 6-18.
A. We’re told the battle is against Israel. 20,000 men are slaughtered.
B. The battle takes place in a forest and more people died in the forest than in battle.
1. How do you die in a forest? What can happen to you? Have you walked through a dangerous forest? Lions, bears, snakes, poisonous bugs, falling tree branches, quicksand, what else?
2. I’ve never been killed in a forest. But more people died from this forest than died from battle, you know, a guy swinging a sword trying his hardest to cut you.
C. That means the Lord is fighting for David. It’s really important to see that the Lord is for David.
1. Yes, David sinned against God. God is now disciplining David. But He is not destroying David. He is still for David.
2. He allowed Absalom to attack David and humble him.
3. But God is still listening to David. When David prayed, “Make the counsel of Ahithophel foolishness.” God answered that prayer. Against all reason Absalom said, okay, let’s ask Hushai what he thinks. The rebellion was lost right there because God listened to David.
4. And now God has made this forest the most dangerous forest in the world, more deadly than an army with swords and spears. God is fighting for David.
D. Here’s an example of how a forest can kill more guys than an army of men: Absalom gets stuck in a tree.
1. He’s riding on his mule, which means he’s running away. His men are falling left and right, he knows he’s defeated today. But there’s always tomorrow and he’s still king of Israel. So he’s getting himself out of there.
2. He just happens to get his head caught in a tree so that he’s hanging in the air by his head. It doesn’t say his hair. Now, if you hit a tree while you’re on a donkey, don’t you think that you could just stand up, get yourself untangled and walk away? But he is hanging in a tree by his head.
E. In one move God has stripped Absalom of everything.
1. He has no army, no 50 runners before his chariot, no distinguished of Jerusalem society supporting him, no counsellors, no spies, no one to help him.
2. He can’t even touch the ground. He may not even be conscious. The soldier who tells Joab says I saw Absalom hanging in an oak. He didn’t say I saw him thrashing in an oak. Just hanging there.
3. Absalom has no more options.
F. God allows people to do their own thing and gives space to do what they want. He also says, “Okay, you’re done.” And there’s nothing you can say about it at that point. You’re done.
G. Joab says, why didn’t you kill him on the spot? I would have rewarded you! The soldier says you couldn’t pay me enough. You heard the king.
I. Joab deliberately disobeys David and kills Absalom. Why?
1. Absalom has had lots of chances to change his mind. He’s had years and years of time to think about things.
2. After all this rebellion and warfare do you think that Absalom is ever going to submit to the king and say he was wrong?
3. Joab takes the choice out of David’s hand. You’re done with chances. You have sealed your fate.
J. They bury Absalom in the forest and the last we see of him is his memorial pillar because he didn’t have any sons to carry on his name. He had three sons, 2 Samuel 14:27, but they didn’t seem to survive. What’s his reputation now? Self-centred, traitorous, bitter, deceiver, murderer. Ironic that he thought so well of himself yet by his actions he ruined his reputation.
3. David hears the message he doesn’t want to hear, but needs to hear, that his enemy is dead, vv. 19-33.
A. Ahimaaz, son of Zadok the priest wants to deliver the message to King David.
1. He and Jonathan, son of Abiathar the other high priest, had brought messages to David during this rebellion.
2. Joab says, there’s no reward in this for you. This isn’t good news at all.
B. He turns down Ahimaaz and gives orders to the Cushite: go, tell the king what you have seen.
C. Ahimaaz pesters Joab to run till Joab says I don’t care, if you want to go, go.
D. Look at the differences between Ahimaaz and the Cushite.
1. Difference in their orders. The Cushite has a commission to go. Ahimaaz is not acting on orders. He left on his own.
2. Difference in running ability. The Cushite is an okay runner, nothing special. Ahimaaz is a better runner in every way; he knows a faster way, he has running style that the watchman recognizes.
3. Difference in reputation. Ahimaaz has a name, a reputation (“he’s a good man and brings good news”). He’s valuable as the high priest’s son. The Cushite doesn’t have a name. He’s a nobody. He’s also probably expendable, knowing that he carries bad news that the king doesn’t want to hear. If he gets killed delivering the message, that’s the way it goes. That couldn’t happen to Ahimaaz.
E. The biggest difference is that one of them delivers the message faithfully, the other one doesn’t.
1. Ahimaaz says the Lord has delivered you! That’s good news, but David asks him what about Absalom? Ahimaaz says, I don’t know. He’s lying. He was there, he heard and he saw. He’s not delivering the message faithfully. And the king says, stand over here. And that’s the last we see of Ahimaaz.
2. The Cushite is a so-so runner, he’s a nobody, he’s not valuable, he gets there last, but he gets the most important thing right: he is a faithful messenger. Joab didn’t have to spell it out to him, he just said, you, go. He has to face a king who could kill him and declare the truth: may all the enemies of my lord the king be as that young man. He’s telling the king what he saw and heard, Absalom is not a son, he’s an enemy. He’s against you and wanted to kill you. He got what he deserved for raising a hand against the anointed of God.
3. Ahimaaz changed the message hoping to get a reward for himself. The Cushite delivered the truth that the king needed to hear.
4. So what? We have a graphic representation of the gospel.
A. First part of the gospel is that every person is a sinner, an active enemy of God.
1. People show this in their indifference to God. They don’t want God. They avoid God and they shy away from God the closer you bring Him.
2. If you ever want to prove you are a sinner, just try to please God for the rest of this day. Think about God as your Creator, your Benefactor, your Redeemer, and your Judge. Hate everything contrary to His will and keep yourself far from it. Spend time praising Him and praying for His help to put to death sin in your body and to be transformed to be more and more like Jesus in holiness and righteousness. Is this how you got up this morning?
3. What you find is that you have the ability to do what is right, but you have no moral strength to do it. You don’t care, you don’t want to, you rebel against doing it.
B. The next part of the gospel is that God calls us to repent.
1. He commands you. It’s not negotiating, it’s not a sales consultation as God uses sales techniques to overcome buyer’s resistance until you say, aww, what the heck? I’ll just do it.
2. Acts 17:30-31 Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”
3. Repent means to change your mind and therefore change your actions. For Absalom it would mean laying down his sword at David’s feet and say, “I have been a traitorous rebel and no son of yours. You are right and I am wrong.”
4. God gives time and chances to repent. He convicts you that you really are wrong, and that you need to turn to Him and get right with Him.
C. Especially that you trust in Jesus to save you because He alone deals with your sin and rebellion.
1. When He died on the cross you died with Him. His death is your death to sin, self-centredness, and rebellion.
2. The Father raised Him from the dead. That eternal life means restored relationship with the Father.
D. That death and resurrection saves you in a way that David could never do. He says, oh if only I had died instead of you. That doesn’t solve anything. What Absalom needed was death to his rebellious and hateful self and a new life in Christ.
E. This is how you know you’ve turned to Jesus, and He is really living in you. You put down your sword. You are no longer an enemy of God, you submit yourself to Him. You ask Him to help you live for His glory and to subdue you to Himself. That isn’t anything to avoid or rebel against. You want Jesus to be in control of your life because He is worthy to submit to. He knows better.
F. Now you become the messenger. Deliver the message faithfully. You can’t change any of it because you look for a reward. You can’t hold back on the sin part because that might not be well received. You can’t worry about if you get rejected or killed. People need to hear this message even if they don’t want to. So pray to be a faithful messenger who doesn’t worry about self. But just delivers the truth that a person needs to hear.
G. Because sin and rebellion have no future. Repent, before you run out of options, run out of chances, run out of time. Receive Jesus and submit to Him before it’s too late.
Let’s pray.