Love and Truth Will Prevail • 2 Samuel 15
54:04 Teaching begins
Notes
When you sin greatly you feel like a hypocrite going back to asking God for help. You’re not a nice person anymore. You damaged yourself and others. So why should you expect God to help you?
The answer to that is, there is no other saviour who can help you. And God is a lot better than you give Him credit for. He is lovingkindness and truth. He uses the wrath of man and difficult circumstances to discipline and correct but not to destroy.
Absalom attacks David with deception, corruption, hatred, and bitterness. David goes into great difficulty, a lot of it a result of his own choices and sins. But David responds to God in humility, depending on lovingkindness and truth to preserve him.
Evil has a head start and it looks like it will win.
But lovingkindness and truth will prevail because they come from God, and God never fails.
1. Absalom conspires to deceive the nation, overthrow and kill David, vv. 1-6.
A. Absalom projects this image of himself as royal. When you are royalty you have 50 guys run in front of your chariot. People know someone important is coming, and who is it? The most beautiful man in Israel! Wow! He looks royal! Remember, if you look good, you are good!
B. Absalom wants to look good because he’s a deceiver.
1. He gets up early and is there at the gate of the city every day. That’s where business is transacted. He’s where the action is.
2. He intercepts people coming to see the king about a legal matter. And he is very interested in them, who they are. Hey, where are you from? He spends time chatting, listening to them.
3. He affirms each person. Your case has merit. You could get justice on this, but there’s a problem. There’s no agent of the king to listen to you. I see this every day, and you know, it breaks your heart. It makes me wish I could say what goes on here. Boy, I’d fix things. You’d get justice, friend.
4. No, no, no, don’t bow to me! I’m just a guy like you that really cares.
C. Absalom deceived Israel.
1. I know it says he stole their hearts, it sounds like a transfer of affection.
2. This same idiom is used in Genesis 31:20, and there it’s translated: Jacob deceived Laban by not telling him he was fleeing.
3. It’s worse than campaigning to win people’s affection: He is actively deceiving the nation that he is diligent, busy, humble, cares about them and that David doesn’t care, is too lazy to do his job and give justice. He’s slandering the king.
4. That’s not justice. All Absalom cares about is himself and his ambition to take over the country.
2. Now Absalom is ready to spring his trap on David, vv. 7-12.
A. Absalom lies to David: “May I have permission to pay my vow to the Lord?”
1. It sounds religious and diligent, “I want to thank the Lord.” This is six years after Absalom came back from exile to Jerusalem. Deuteronomy 23:21 “When you make a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not delay to pay it, for it would be sin in you, and the LORD your God will surely require it of you.” He waited six years to pay his vow?
2. Hebron is where David was first crowned king of the tribe of Judah, before the rest of Israel accepted him as king. That would be the heart of David’s popularity. Absalom is going to overwhelm that first, make it the center of his rule.
B. David says, “Go in peace.” In essence, be blessed, let God accept you and make you prosperous. Now he can say, “Hey, I’m here with David’s permission.”
C. Absalom sends spies to be ready to interpret the trumpets when they blow a chain reaction of signals all over Israel. “Do you hear that? It’s happened! Absalom is king in Hebron!” And people are left to assume that King David isn’t with us anymore. “You know, stuff happens, I guess. Whatever.” People accept the news.
D. Absalom deceives 200 prominent persons from Jerusalem. They don’t know what’s going on. They will also accept what’s happening when Absalom says, “I came here with David’s blessing. ‘Go in peace’, he said to me.” They accept this. “Okay, well done.”
E. Absalom subverts and corrupts Ahithophel to be his counselor.
1. We’ll see that Ahithophel is equivalent to the world’s smartest man. Both David and Absalom respect his advice as if it were the word of God. He’s that smart.
2. He’s counselor to David, but he’s also father of Eliam, one of David’s elite group of warriors, the Thirty. He was the father-in-law of Uriah the Hittite, also in the Thirty. Ahithophel is Bathsheba’s grandfather.
3. Absalom evidently came to Ahithophel and said, “How would you like to get me where I need to be so you can help me kill David? Are you interested?” And Ahithophel was interested. “Kill David? Yeah! Let’s do this!”
F. The conspiracy grows and it’s strong.
3. David hears and he does just the opposite to Absalom, He corrupts no one, deceives no one, betrays no one.
A. David has lived his life in lovingkindness and truth. He trusted in the Lord when he was a kid. He trusted in the Lord to fulfill His own word to make him king.
B. He fell into grievous sin. There’s no doubt about that.
C. Now he’s in great adversity, partly of his own making. How does he react to this?
1. Does he say, “Well, life is a dirty game, I’m being treated badly by my own son. I’m being betrayed. People are corrupting around me. It’s so difficult. Now I have to play dirty too or I’ll never make it.” Nope.
2. In humility David accepts the discipline of God. He continues to trust in God’s lovingkindness and truth. He deals with people in lovingkindness and truth.
4. The first thing David does is abandon Jerusalem to Absalom, vv. 13-17.
A. Part of this is tactics. David is unprepared, not ready to defend against Absalom and battle it out. It would destroy the city and cost many lives.
B. But should David fight it out to be king?
1. The principle is: a man can receive nothing unless it comes from above. John the Baptist said that, but it was David’s principle as well.
2. God called David to be king, and God had to make David king as well. If God wants David to stay king, He’s going to have to do it. David is not going to take it for himself.
C. So his attitude is to submit to God. I will let God make me what He wants. Until then, I’m not grasping and defending and fighting and cheating. That’s stealing, lying, betrayal. That’s sin against God and sin against man. I’d rather be blameless before God without a kingdom than grasp the kingdom against the will of God.
5. The king leaves ten concubines to keep house.
A. You think, really? At a time like this? Do they need to keep house? Can’t Absalom do that?
B. The answer is, David knows that Absalom will take them for his own. It’s part of the judgment of God: 2 Samuel 12:11-12 Thus says the LORD, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you from your own household; I will even take your wives before your eyes and give them to your companion, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. Indeed you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and under the sun.’”
C. David is submitting to the discipline of God.
6. The Cherethites and Pelethites and Gittites go with David.
A. The Cherethites and Pelethites are his bodyguards. That’s what he has them there for.
B. The Gittites don’t have to go with David. They are exiles from the Philistines.
C. David gives Ittai and the Gittites the option. You don’t have to do this. He is not requiring them to suffer with him. It would have to be a choice on their part. He tells them, I’m going to be an exile. Go back to where you came from and take your brothers.
1. The revelation of God is that He is abounding in chesed and emeth. That’s Hebrew for lovingkindness and truth, or faithfulness. In order to have relationships you need lovingkindness and truth. Without strong love and faithfulness that does not change you don’t have the basis and means for a relationship.
2. Proverbs 3:1-4 My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments; for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you. Do not let kindness and truth leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good repute in the sight of God and man.
3. That’s how you deal with people, in lovingkindness and truth. David is a man after God’s own heart. Therefore David values lovingkindness and truth. He values relationships. He values commitment.
D. Ittai wants to stay knowing that it’s dangerous and a disadvantage if he keeps lovingkindness and truth with David.
1. This is why he’s not with the Philistines, it’s why he is an exile. There’s no lovingkindness and truth with the Philistines. You can hang with them for a long time and think everything is okay. But when it becomes difficult they turn on you, gaslight you and throw you under the bus. The change with the wind. Easy for them, tough on you.
2. See, David tells the truth up front. You want to deal with me in lovingkindness of the Lord and in His faithfulness. I’d rather have lovingkindness and faithfulness than be betrayed. I’m with you in life, I’ll be with you in death because I want to go where you are going, to the God of lovingkindness and truth.
7. David trusts in God alone, vv. 24-29
A. Here come the priests with the ark of the covenant. They assume David would want to take that with him.
1. This is probably the most valuable possession in Jerusalem. This is made by Bezalel the son of Uri under the direction of Moses. It is a wooden box overlaid with gold, containing the tablets of stone with the ten commandments written by the finger of God Himself. Just as a historical artifact it is priceless.
2. More than that, it’s the symbol of the presence of God. God dwells between the cherubim of gold on either side of the mercy seat, the representation of the throne of God on earth.
B. What a statement that would make: you can have the city and the country, but you’re not getting this!
C. David wasn’t even thinking that. “Oh! I need to get the ark and take it with me! I need God with me!” He’s not thinking of the ark like a lucky rabbit’s foot—“as long as I have this I have God with me. I need that thing.”
D. He’s trusting in God Himself. God is always with me even if I don’t have the ark, even if I go into exile. Either God is going to bring me back or else He won’t. Here I am. Let Him do what is good in His sight. David means this! This is how David lives! He lives with God who is for him.
8. Though David doesn’t trust in people, he does ask ask for help from those committed to him. In humility he depends on lovingkindness and truth, vv. 30-37.
A. He asks Zadok and Abiathar to stay in the city, be apolitical and watch. Send word of what’s going on by Ahimaaz or Jonathan, their sons. He’s asking them to share in his danger.
B. David learns that Ahithophel is working with the conspirators. The smartest man in the world is planning to kill him. David knows that he is no match for Ahithophel. So he prays to God to make Ahithophel’s counsel foolishness. God can do that. Isaiah 44:24-26 Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb, “I, the LORD, am the maker of all things, stretching out the heavens by Myself and spreading out the earth all alone, causing the omens of boasters to fail, making fools out of diviners, causing wise men to draw back and turning their knowledge into foolishness, confirming the word of His servant and performing the purpose of His messengers.
C. But here comes the friend of David, Hushai the Archite, in lovingkindness and truth. His clothes are torn, dust on his head. This is the outward expression of sympathy and mourning with David. He’s not saying, “Oh well, glad it didn’t happen to me. Hope he figures it all out. I guess life got hard for him. I’m going to the Philistines till this thing blows over.”
D. David asks Hushai to risk his life for David.
1. He says, “You could really do me a favour if you go back and pretend to defect to Absalom. You could counter anything Ahithophel says. Use Ahimaaz and Jonathan if you need them.“
2. You can only ask this on the basis of lovingkindness and truth. It would be far safer to run with David. But because of his friendship with David, Hushai says okay, I’ll do it.
E. Hushai goes back into the city. He’s one guy against the most beautiful traitor in Israel and the world’s smartest betrayer and all Absalom’s supporters.
8. So what?
A. Does it not look hopeless?
1. Absalom seems to have all the advantages: years of planning, the element of surprise, superior numbers, notable people as allies, communication across the nation.
2. And it looks like David’s given more advantages to Absalom: no resistance, a peaceful city, ten concubines, the temple, the ark of the covenant, the priests, and even David’s personal friend.
3. David has to deal with the shock of betrayal, the motivations of hatred and revenge. He knows ultimately it comes out of his own sin. He has to live with “What would have happened if I hadn’t fallen into sin?”
B. What advantage does David have? Not in things as such. His advantage is he’s trusting in lovingkindness and truth.
1. He has lived his life that way up until now, trusting in the Lord to make him king in the right way. He kept good relationships with those who also live with lovingkindness and truth, like Jonathan, Saul’s son, and the guys who came to him when he was a fugitive.
2. David fell into sin. He trusted in himself, drifted from the Lord. He got into serious trouble that hurt others and hurt himself as well.
3. But what he did was go back even more to living according to lovingkindness and truth. That’s how you preserve yourself, that’s how you live with God and man.
C. You might think that would be a disadvantage. You’re in a difficult situation and you’ve blown it with God, you are tempted to think you can’t depend on God anymore. That’s over. And if the other guys are corrupting and betraying and cheating, you had better do the same or you’ll lose, because the harder and dirtier you fight, the more you win.
D. That’s not true. This is still God’s universe, and He is lovingkindness and truth.
1. Psalm 33:16-22 The king is not saved by a mighty army; a warrior is not delivered by great strength. A horse is a false hope for victory; nor does it deliver anyone by its great strength. Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, on those who hope for His lovingkindness, to deliver their soul from death and to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. For our heart rejoices in Him, because we trust in His holy name. Let Your lovingkindness, O LORD, be upon us, according as we have hoped in You.
2. Depend on the lovingkindness and truth of God Receive His discipline and let Him save you even from the consequences of your own actions.
3. Do not let kindness and truth leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good repute in the sight of God and man.
Let’s pray.