Rely on Your Redeemer • 2 Samuel 4

43:47 Teaching begins

Notes

I’m sure you have trusted someone before who let you down. It’s not a nice feeling. It’s weird to have a support, a help, and then, it’s not there. And it’s worse when you think or assume something and you find out the hard way, that’s not true. And you let yourself down.

Letdown is a universal human experience.

There are a number of people in this chapter we see this happening to, and it’s painful.

One person in this chapter doesn’t trust or rely on people. He does because they’re there, but they’re always dying on him when he needs them, or doing outrageous things that mess his life up.

This one person depends on God. He expects God to take care of him and never fail him. He counts on God to save him out of everything because God has already done it. God is David’s Redeemer and David knows he can rely on His Redeemer.

You can fully rely on your Redeemer, too.

I’m reading in 2 Samuel 4.

1. News of Abner’s death shakes Ish-bosheth and all Israel, v. 1.

A. When Ish-bosheth hears he loses courage. That’s understandable.

1. Abner is the one who took him and made him king. Abner had the personality, the planning, the ideas, the motivation. Abner did the hard stuff, Ish-bosheth reaped the benefits.

2. Now Ish-bosheth’s resource is gone. There isn’t anyone else he can rely upon. He doesn’t have the mental or moral strength to face danger and uncertainty. The bottom of his life falls out. Now what?

B. All Israel is upset and at a loss as well. There is weakness in the leadership, there is uncertainty in the nation as well. Who do they have to depend on to make things secure and peaceful?

2. As soon as we begin this account we have an interruption, vv. 2-3.

A. The writer introduces us to these two commanders of Ish-bosheth, Baanah and his brother Rechab. They are from Ish-bosheth’s tribe of Benjamin.

B. Then we are introduced to Mephibosheth.

1. He is the son of Jonathan, who was the son of Saul, and David’s great friend.

2. He comes into the accounts later, but for now we are told that when his father and grandfather were killed his nurse took him and fled. In her haste to get to safety something happened, she dropped him, and he was injured in both his legs. She had the best motives but she damaged him by accident and he never walked again.

3. Now we get into what Baanah and Rechab did, which was, murder Ish-bosheth, vv. 5-8.

A. They are from the tribe of Benjamin, they are his commanders, so you would think that Ish-bosheth trusts them and depends on them. They’re on his side.

B. But they’re on their own side. They turn on Ish-bosheth and murder him in the heat of the day while he’s taking a siesta. No one suspects them walking in, walking out, like nothing is going on, because they are trusted.

C. They immediately travel through the night and go the 80 miles to Hebron.

D. They bring the head of Ish-bosheth to David hoping he will reward them for what they have done.

1. They say to David, “The Lord has given you vengeance on your enemy Saul and his descendants.”

2. Now, this isn’t the Lord, He didn’t tell them, “Go ahead and kill Ish-bosheth while he’s sleeping.” God has commanded, “You shall not murder.” Plus, God says, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” That’s against the character of God. This is NOT the Lord.

3. These guys think: the end justifies the means. They thought, “If David’s anything like us, he’d be glad to know he doesn’t have to bother with Ish-bosheth anymore. He might be so glad that he gives us jobs in his government. We can be his highly trusted guys.

4. Too late they find that David doesn’t think like they assumed he would, vv. 9-12.

A. David swears by the Lord that these wicked men who killed a righteous man in his sleep are going to die.

B. He gives the word, the two are killed on the spot, their hands and feet cut off, their bodies posted by the pool of Hebron. That’s where everyone goes to get their water, and it’s an ongoing message that wickedness will not be tolerated.

5. Almost everybody in this chapter is depending on someone else who lets them down and fails them, and it’s universal human experience.

A. Ish-bosheth looked to Abner. Now that Abner’s gone where is Ish-bosheth going to get the plans, the confidence to go forward? He’s left hanging.

B. The nation depends on its leadership. Now that the leadership is up in the air, it’s unsettled, the ship of state has no rudder. Where are we going? The people are let down.

C. I don’t know why the writer chose to mention Mephibosheth in this chapter, but he was literally let down by his nurse. Good intentions but she failed him.

D. Ish-bosheth trusted in Baanah and Rechab. They betrayed his trust.

E. Baanah and Rechab trusted in themselves. They were confident this was going to work and be a good thing. Their last few seconds on earth were spent realizing they worked against themselves. They failed themselves.

F. You trust in others, you trust in yourself, and it doesn’t work. The situation changes for the worst. Someone you trust in will die. They can’t help it. Someone will drop you without meaning to. You will have the wrong idea  about something and it will mess you up and get you in trouble.

6. The only one not depending on himself or people is David. He depends on his Redeemer.

A. Redeem is to buy back, to buy out of the hand of another. You pay the price and that thing or person returns to your possession.

B. The Lord has redeemed me from all adversity, says David. Adversity means, trouble, distress, extreme pain, suffering, anxiety. It means what happens to David. It also means what David causes to himself and to others. ALL adversity. Whatever situation David got into the Lord got him out.

C. Notice that David said God has already redeemed him.

1. God redeemed Israel from being owned by Egypt, where they laboured as slaves. He had them sacrifice a lamb and paint its blood on the doorposts and lintel of Israel’s houses. When God’s destroyer passed through Egypt to kill the firstborn, he saw the blood and passed over that house. That’s what redeemed Israel out of Egypt and slavery to become God’s people, His own possession.

2. Israel was already redeemed. Every Israelite was born into a redeemed relationship with God. Each male baby was circumcised on the eighth day, the sign of being in the covenant with God. The sacrifices were given in order to restore a person to that redeemed state.

3. David was one of these people that God redeemed for Himself. David was God’s possession. He didn’t belong to anyone else. He had a relationship with God.

4. And in the original language it is completely done, doesn’t need to be done again. Permanent.

D. Practically this meant that David depended on the Lord for stability, for planning, for help in trouble.

1. He sought the Lord for direction and God gave it to him.

2. He depended on the Lord to make him king as He had promised him. He didn’t have to do desperate things like assassinate Abner or Ish-bosheth, because the end justifies the means. God promised, therefore God had to make him king. And it’s not over just because he became king, God would have to keep him as king as well.

3. David said, I have been redeemed by God. He has already saved me out of all adversity. He must accomplish all things that concern me because I am His. All the things he needed he expected from God. That wasn’t presumption because God made the first move by redeeming him in the first place.

E. All this means David relied on his Redeemer and he was confident.

7. So what? Rely on your Redeemer.

A. If you have received Jesus Christ, He has redeemed you to Himself.

1. Galatians 3:13-14 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE”— in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

2. Galatians 4:4-5 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

3. Titus 2:13-14 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.

4. 1 Peter 1:17-19 If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.

B. Since He has redeemed you to Himself, then you have those things that you need because you are His. Confidence that He will help in time of need, trouble, danger. Forgiveness and cleansing when I have sinned against others or yourself. Whatever the trouble, whatever the need He will be there and give help because He redeemed you for Himself. He didn’t redeem you to lose you. It doesn’t make sense that He would give His only begotten Son for you, just to get careless, like He didn’t care what happened.

C. Jesus gave Paul the confidence he needed to face danger and not go to pieces. 2 Timothy 4:16-18 At my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me; may it not be counted against them. But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was rescued out of the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

D. Just like David could say He has redeemed me from all adversity, you can say that too. If you have received Jesus as your Saviour and Lord you have a Redeemer. Have you received Jesus? Then do not rely on people or yourself. You rely on your Redeemer.

Let’s pray.