DAVID’S CHOICE

DAVID’S CHOICE

1 Chronicles 21:9-13 NET.

⁹ The LORD told Gad, David’s prophet, ₁₀ “Go, tell David, ‘This is what the LORD says: “I am offering you three forms of judgment from which to choose. Pick one of them.” ¹¹ Gad went to David and told him, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Pick one of these: ¹² three years of famine, or three months being chased by your enemies and struck down by their swords, or three days being struck down by the LORD, during which a plague will invade the land and the LORD’s messenger will destroy throughout Israel’s territory.’ Now, decide what I should tell the one who sent me.” ¹³ David said to Gad, “I am very upset! I prefer to be attacked by the LORD, for his mercy is very great; I do not want to be attacked by men!”

Our Bible reading this week has brought us to a pivotal moment in King David’s life. He makes a catastrophic mistake, and the LORD uses that mistake to teach him about making wise choices. Everyone needs to make wise choices, but the higher up the chain of leadership you are, the more dangerous your choices can be.

The recent news about the conflict between Israel and Hamas, as well as Iran, has reminded us of an important fact. Leaders on all sides, including our own American President, have made decisions that have led to serious consequences. These decisions were more than just personal; lives have been either lost or saved because of the choices made by the leaders involved.

First, let’s review David’s sin—the poor choice he made that caused him to end up in this mess.

Israel faced an enemy. David was used to facing enemies. He had faced enemies as a young shepherd. Whenever a lion or a bear would come into his sheepfold to carry off a sheep from the flock, he would hunt that enemy and strike it down with his trusty sling. If the animal got too close for his artillery, he would grab it by its jaw, strike it with a club, and kill it. For every attack, David had an appropriate weapon.

David thought about this new enemy. It wasn’t just a personal rival; it was another nation opposing the one David ruled as king. Naturally, David wanted to know if his kingdom had enough resources to fight and defeat this other nation. He told his commanding general, Joab, and the other leaders of his army to gather their troops and take a count. He wanted a complete total of warriors from the southern outpost in Beersheba all the way to the northern outpost in Dan.

David is making a poor decision here. His first mistake is that he has bypassed those he should have consulted before making such a decision. Today’s chapter highlights Joab, the commanding general, as one of the people he should have consulted. Joab would have known the approximate strength of his troops. Joab was also aware of the prohibition against taking a census. He tried to intervene by pleading with the King not to proceed with this action. He knew that taking a census at this time would bring judgment upon the nation. But David refused to consult his general. For some reason, David would not listen to his military leaders.

The Bible teaches us that it is wise to seek advice from others when making important decisions. It says, “Plans fail when there is no counsel, but with abundant advisers they are established” (Proverbs 15:22). David had many military advisers, but he chose to ignore this support system. As king, he believed no one could stop him from doing what he wanted. This is pride, arrogance, and a stubborn refusal to listen to anyone but your own heart. The human heart is more deceptive than anything else and is incurably wicked (Jeremiah 17:9). Whenever we start thinking “I can handle this,” we are risking disaster. That is what David was doing.

David also had other advisers he could have consulted. Today’s text mentions Gad, the king’s prophet. The prophets served as God’s voice to his people. When God had a word of encouragement, He spoke that word through His prophets. When God had a word of condemnation and judgment, He spoke that word through His prophets. Why didn’t David go to Gad and find out what the LORD wanted him to do? Again, it was David’s pride and arrogance that kept him from reaching out to God’s representatives. David said, “This is my problem and I’m going to handle it my way.” That might have worked for Frank Sinatra in the song, but it is not wisdom.

David could have directly sought the LORD for guidance on how to handle his adversary. The Bible says that a person is blessed if they find joy in the LORD’s commands and meditate on them day and night (Psalm 1:2). David was more focused on his own commands than on discovering what God actually commanded.

David’s decision that day was simple, but it had disastrous consequences. This chapter states that God was offended by it, so God attacked Israel. Then, all of a sudden, David realized he needed to pray. He came to the LORD and told Him that he had greatly sinned by ordering this census. He begged the LORD to remove his guilt and admitted that he had acted very foolishly. But instead of immediately forgiving David for his terribly bad decision, the LORD tested him by giving him a multiple-choice quiz.

David had three options. The LORD sent this message to David through the prophet Gad: ‘This is what the LORD says: “I am offering you three forms of judgment from which to choose. Pick one of them. The nation can have three years of famine, three months of being chased by your enemies and being struck down by their swords, or three days of being struck down by the LORD himself through a plague.”

There was no simple answer to this quiz. Either of David’s choices would result in innocent people dying because of his sin. There are always consequences for sinful actions. Nobody evades sin’s repercussions. If our sins don’t cause immediate pain or embarrassment, we might be fooled into a false sense of security. But this situation showed David that, as king, his decisions could either bless his people or bring judgment upon them.

If David had chosen the first option, his kingdom would have endured three years of famine. The nation would have lost people to starvation and been forced to seek aid from neighboring nations for subsistence. This is similar to what happened to Israel during its early days. The Patriarch Jacob had to send his sons to Egypt to buy grain from the Pharaoh, with Joseph overseeing the process. When the people ran out of money to buy Egyptian grain, Joseph made them slaves to Pharaoh. David would have known this history. He was not going to allow his nation, rescued by God from slavery, to be forced back into it.

If David had chosen the second option, his kingdom would have become an easy target. For three whole months, the surrounding nations would attack repeatedly and gain more territory. City after city would fall, and no matter how many soldiers David’s generals managed to gather, they would be defeated on the battlefield. Israel had experienced this before. They had been told about their ancestors’ conquest of this same land. Their grandparents passed down stories of the fall of Jericho and other battles of the conquest. David got himself into this mess because he feared a neighboring nation. There was no way he was going to let that happen to his people.

That left the third option. It didn’t seem much better. It would mean three days of plague. Again, the Israelites were familiar with the concept. Their ancestors had lived in Egypt when the LORD had struck that nation with the ten plagues. When a plague becomes global, we call it a pandemic. We know the fear that COVID brought us a few years ago. Nobody would choose to experience that. But David faced not a worldwide pandemic, but a local epidemic. He figured they could handle that judgment best because it would stay within his nation and wouldn’t involve aggression or domination by an outside nation.

His choice also shows David’s faith. He said, “I prefer to be attacked by the LORD, for his mercy is very great; I do not want to be attacked by men!” This is the David we know — the man of faith who trusted God to help him do the impossible.

The LORD sent the epidemic, and it struck the nation of Israel, killing 70,000 Israelite men. Perhaps those men would have been part of the warriors counted by Joab and his generals. The entire nation would have mourned the loss of its sons. But God was not finished yet. He then turned his attention to Jerusalem, the capital city. He sent a destroying angel. Once again, the Israelites would have remembered the stories they had been told about that destroying angel who struck down the firstborn of Egypt. This time, there was no remedy. No blood on the doorposts and lintels could stop this destroying angel. It would bring death and destruction wherever it went. It was going to ravage Jerusalem.

David was no longer cocky. He and his leaders wore sackcloth and threw themselves down, faces to the ground, humbled and repentant. David looked up and saw the destroying angel approaching. This mighty angel stood between the land and the sky with his sword drawn. The whole city could have been destroyed, and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

But God—this same God that David said is merciful and compassionate—watched and relented from his judgment. He told the destroying angel to stop. He said, “That’s enough.” David once again takes responsibility for his bad choice and offers to sacrifice to God right there at the threshing floor of Ornan. David purchases the threshing floor and offers the sacrifice. That would become the place where the temple of God would be built by David’s son, Solomon.

What can we learn from today’s lesson? What does it reveal about the decisions we make? What does it teach us about choosing wisely? Consider these principles. When you’re facing a problem, don’t assume that you already know the answer. Seek help from others before responding to the issue. Look for godly advisers. Second, set aside some time for prayer. You want to understand God’s will. God is not stingy with his will, but he probably won’t tell you what he wants unless you take the time to ask for it.

But what happens if you fail to follow these principles? What if you’ve already made a bad decision and are facing the consequences? Don’t hide it. Don’t try to distance yourself from the problem. Humble yourself before the LORD and submit to His mercy. Do what you can to make amends for the harm you’ve caused. Trust the LORD to turn your failure into a blessing for yourself and others. We all sin, but after sinning, we have a choice. We can choose to hide it or we can choose to confess it. We can choose to take pride in our sins or to repent of them. David decided to repent. He admitted that he was the one who sinned and committed this terrible deed. He demonstrated faith and wisdom when he said, “Have Thine own way, LORD!”

FINDING YOUR ROOTS

FINDING YOUR ROOTS

1 Chronicles 1:1-4 NET.

¹ Adam, Seth, Enosh, ² Kenan, Mahalalel, Jered, ³ Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, ⁴ Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

We began reading 1 Chronicles this week and started with an always-exciting genealogical list. Since we have committed to reading through the Bible in eighteen months, I should have warned you about genealogical lists. We find several of them in the Bible. Consider this sermon your warning. You can also view it as special instructions for when you encounter such lists. They are not like the fine print in the instructions for a product you buy. You know, the fine print that the manufacturer has to include, but nobody reads?

I titled today’s sermon “Finding Your Roots” after the PBS series of the same name. I genuinely enjoy watching that show. I appreciate how Louis Gates Jr. reveals interesting facts about a celebrity’s family tree. Some of the Black guests discover they have slave ancestors, while some of the White guests find they had slave-owner ancestors. Others realize they have a king, a general, or a preacher in their lineage. Conversely, some uncover murderers, horse thieves, and deserters among their relatives. Some hear a mix of good and bad news. The show is fascinating because it teaches so much about history connected to real people and real families.

We should not be surprised that God provided us with so many genealogies in the Bible. He had the most important message ever to share through the pages of His word. However, He did not simply give us a bullet list of facts and philosophical ideas. Instead, He wrapped His message in the stories and everyday events from biblical times. He ensured that those who would listen to and read His word had a context that helped them see its significance. They could understand His story because it was part of their own story. The opposite was also true. Everyone could see how important they were to God because He revealed how their story was part of His story. In both the Old and New Testaments, the truth of God’s word is conveyed within the context of the history of His people.

Today’s short text reminds us that all roots are connected. If you go back far enough, everyone is related. Everyone’s family tree begins with Adam. He and Eve were my first parents and yours too. 1 Chronicles is all about David, the greatest king of the United Kingdom, not Britain, but Israel. So we would expect it to begin at David’s coronation. But that is not recorded until chapter eleven. The first ten chapters trace the history of God’s people from Adam to David, doing so primarily through genealogical lists.

God wanted the people of the United Kingdom under David to know that they were important to him, so he wrote their names down in his holy book. The book also included their stories—good and evil, famous and infamous. As we read these stories, we need to recognize that they are our stories, too. We may not trace our ancestry back to King David, but we could trace our lineage back to Father Adam. To make that point, the Holy Spirit began this book not in Jerusalem, but in Eden. Everyone’s story begins there. The spiritual message of 1 Chronicles is not about one ethnic group. It’s about God’s purpose for every nation and every language. The sons of Noah produced children from three major language groups all across the planet: the Semitic, the Hamitic, and the Indo-European. We’re all in there.

As we read through the genealogical lists, we often come across names that are hard for us to pronounce, even though they were not hard to pronounce by the people who named them. Names are root clues, clues to the culture of the owner. For example, the Hebrew word for God is El, short for Elohim. Lots of Hebrew names in these genealogies contain that name. It shows up in Eldad, Eleazar, Eli, Eliakim, Elihu, Eliphaz, Elisha, Ariel, Bethel, Daniel, Gabriel, Immanuel, Ishmael, Israel, Nathaniel – and these are just a small percentage. You will also find the name Yah – short for Yahveh in many Hebrew names. Yahveh is the proper name of the God of the Bible. Yah is in Jason, Jehu, Jesus, Joanna, John, Jonathan, and Joshua.

The deity names point to the people’s connection with God. Other names emphasize the connections they had within their families. Many Hebrew names contain the syllable ‘ab. Names like Abigail, Abihu, Abner, Absalom, Ahab, Joab, Moab, and Aholiab point to the father of the person named. The syllable ben is also in many names. It means son. It is found in Benjamin and Reuben. Lots of other names became place names, and people began naming themselves after that place.

The names appearing in genealogical lists serve as clues to the culture from which those people emerged. One way archaeologists authenticate a document or inscription they find is by comparing the included names. If the document contains personal or place names that don’t correspond with the period it is supposed to have been written in, that indicates the document may be a forgery. Many books written around the same time as biblical texts were excluded from the biblical canon because they were found to be inauthentic, and the names they included offered significant clues.

When we start doing our genealogical research, we are sometimes embarrassed by what we find. Every family seems to have some bad apples. But the biblical genealogies highlight a helpful truth. Roots are not prophecies. You don’t have to match your roots. You don’t have to follow in the footsteps of your father. As we examine the kings of Israel and Judah, we find that some kings established dynasties that turned away from the covenant with God and sought other gods. Yet, even in those dynasties, occasionally a king would emerge who did not walk after the pattern established by his ancestors. There were some good kings, like Asa, Hezekiah, and Josiah. They did not follow the bad examples set for them.

The lesson for all of us is that we are free to be nonconformists as well. If it is evil, and everybody is doing it, then we do not have to be like everybody. If we have alcoholics in our family, we do not have to drink alcohol. If we have horse thieves in our family tree, we do not have to become thieves.

As we read the Bible, we also discover that roots matter in both Testaments. Both have genealogies. In fact, the New Testament begins with the genealogy of Jesus. Matthew did his research and found that God had been at work in the family of Christ for millennia. Jesus descended from Abraham, the man to whom God promised that he would be a blessing to many nations and would father many nations. Jesus was going to be the ultimate fulfillment of those promises. Jesus descended from Jacob, a deceiver whom God blessed despite his character. God inspired him to become more than he was. Jesus descended from Ruth, a foreign woman who found grace in the eyes of Boaz, and in God’s eyes. She was rescued by love. Jesus descended from David, a man after God’s own heart, a king whom God established, and to whom God promised a descendant who would rule eternally. Jesus is that descendant.

The Bible does not contain your family tree or mine. What is essential is not that we can be traced physically to Jesus’ family. Jesus himself said that his mother and his brothers are those who hear and do the word of God. When we repent of our sins and put our faith in Christ, we become part of his spiritual family.

Roots connect us. They show us our context. One of the fallacies that Jesus encountered during his earthly ministry was the belief among the physical descendants of Abraham that they were automatically saved due to their lineage. However, Jesus told them that God could raise children for Abraham from the rocks. What truly matters is our connection to Christ, which is established not by a blood test but by our faith in Him.

However, some Christians fall for another fallacy: that since we are saved by faith in Christ, all the Jewish elements in the Old Testament are irrelevant. They view the Old Testament as a shell from which they can extract the gospel, ignoring the shell itself. Those who embrace this fallacy essentially treat 77% of the Bible as unimportant. But God’s word is not merely directed at a group of ancient Jews; it is meant for us—every part of it, one hundred percent. The ancient roots preserved in the family trees recorded in the Old Testament are our roots. We are connected to them through Christ, making them significant for us because of Him.

That is why, even when we consider the 23% of our Bibles known as the New Testament, we find over 300 direct quotations and hundreds more allusions and indirect quotations. These references indicate that Jesus fulfills Old Testament prophecies. They demonstrate that the New Testament apostles utilized the Old Testament as Scripture to teach theology to the New Testament church. They reference the Old Testament to explain the person and work of God, since God remains constant in both testaments. Even when the New Testament authors discuss the old covenant, they do so to help their listeners understand the new covenant by comparing the two.

We decided to embark on a project to read the entire Bible this year and part of next year. We chose not to skip ahead to the more familiar passages of the New Testament because we wanted to become skilled in using the whole sword, not just the handle. It’s a shame to be a Christian and not know the entire Bible.

In the television show, guests talk with Dr. Gates because they want to find their roots. They aim to learn more about themselves by researching their family tree. Most of the time, they are astonished by what they discover. They uncover where their families originated, what they experienced, and who they interacted with. Sometimes, they find ancestors who made choices similar to their own. Other times, they encounter ancestors who faced different challenges and made distinct decisions. However, nobody finishes the show and says, “What a waste of time.” They seek to find their roots because pieces of the puzzle of their present lives are missing.

The Bible can guide you and me. It serves as the voice of God addressing our current circumstances. We might be Cain, tempted to respond violently when things don’t go our way. We might be Enoch, choosing to walk with God when the surrounding culture has turned away from Him. We could be Noah, listening to God and taking on the impossible simply because we know God desires it. Naturally, there are also many negative examples in the Bible. Those poor choices and the ensuing consequences can serve as warnings if we encounter similar temptations.

We have chosen to read through the Bible. We have had those Bibles on our shelves or in our phones, tablets, and computers. We have had the lights, but we might not have turned them on when we needed them. Once we turn to the biblical records and find our spiritual roots, we will be more likely to make the right choices and avoid the wrong ones. We will gain what King Solomon called wisdom. The more we dig into God’s word and make it a light for our path, the more we will understand why Solomon called wisdom a treasure worth more than gold and precious gems.

HEZEKIAH’S CHOICE

HEZEKIAH’S CHOICE

2 Kings 19:1-4 NET.

¹ When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and went to the LORD’s temple. ² He sent Eliakim the palace supervisor, Shebna the scribe, and the leading priests, clothed in sackcloth, with this message to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz: ³ “This is what Hezekiah says: ‘This is a day of distress, insults, and humiliation, as when a baby is ready to leave the birth canal, but the mother lacks the strength to push it through. ⁴ Perhaps the LORD your God will hear all these things the chief adviser has spoken on behalf of his master, the king of Assyria, who sent him to taunt the living God. When the LORD your God hears, perhaps he will punish him for the things he has said. So pray for this remnant that remains.'”

The superpower during this time was the Assyrian Empire under King Sennacherib. The empire had already invaded the holy land and taken control of the entire northern kingdom, Israel. It had also captured all the fortified cities in Judah, except for Jerusalem itself. Sennacherib fully intended to complete the task and conquer Jerusalem as well. However, he first wanted to play with them a little. He sent his commanding general and chief adviser along with a taunting letter. The letter cautioned Judah not to rely on an alliance with Egypt to save them. It stated that they could not depend on Yahveh, the God of the Jews, either, since Yahveh had instructed Assyria to march against the land and destroy it.

While he was reading this letter, some officials in Judah asked the commanding general not to speak in Hebrew but to deliver his message in Aramaic. They were concerned that ordinary people would be discouraged by this news. However, the commanding general refused. He stated, “My master did not send me to speak these words only to your master and to you. His message is also for the men who sit on the wall, for they will eat their excrement and drink their urine along with you.” He proclaimed this message in Hebrew so everyone could hear it: “This is what the king says: ‘Don’t let Hezekiah mislead you, for he is not able to rescue you from my hand! Don’t let Hezekiah talk you into trusting in the LORD when he says, “The LORD will certainly rescue us; this city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” Don’t listen to Hezekiah!’ For this is what the king of Assyria says, ‘Send me a token of your submission and surrender to me. Then each of you may eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his cistern, until I come and take you to a land just like your own — a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey. Then you will live and not die. Don’t listen to Hezekiah, for he is misleading you when he says, “The LORD will rescue us.” Have any of the gods of the nations actually rescued his land from the power of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? Indeed, did any gods rescue Samaria from my power? Who among all the gods of the lands has rescued their lands from my power? So how can the LORD rescue Jerusalem from my power?”

The king of Judah at that time was Hezekiah. He was not a perfect man; in fact, the Bible records some of his failures. However, today’s passage focuses on a time when he and his city faced a terrible crisis, and he made the right choice. That is what I want to discuss this morning. The Bible recounts instances where the people of God faced insurmountable odds and emerged triumphant. These stories are God’s gift to us, guiding us in making the right choices. So, here is what I observe in today’s text.

What Hezekiah wore (1).

He tore his clothes and put on sackcloth, which is funeral attire. It is what someone wears when they are in deep mourning. Hezekiah ripped up his royal robe and donned the dress of the seriously afflicted. He did not strap on his sword and call his captains to battle. He understood that would not work. The enemy was too great, and he had no confidence that he could prevail. Now was not the time to pull himself up by his bootstraps. Now was not the time for a stirring speech to motivate his troops into battle. Now was the time for the king to serve as a representative of the people and appeal to a power greater than himself and more potent than his army.

The book of the prophet Jonah describes such a time. Jonah appeared to the Ninevites and proclaimed their impending destruction. The King of the Ninevites declared a fast and led his people to repent and seek God’s favor. That is not what Jonah wanted, but it is always what God desires. He does not wish for anyone to be destroyed; He wants everyone to repent. By the way, do you know what Nineveh was? It was the capital city of this same Assyrian empire. It was a large, evil, and violent city, but even Nineveh was not a lost cause. The lesson we learn from all this is that it does not matter who you are or what your reputation is. In times of crisis, the best choice is to humble yourself.

But there’s more. Look at where Hezekiah went (1).

He did not barricade himself in his palace. He did not lock himself in his royal panic room. Instead, he went into the temple courts. When all else fails – or, in this case, is about to fail – seek God. Cast your cares on the Lord because he cares for you. In times of trouble, seek God. In times of crisis, go to the Lord’s house.

Contact any medical facility in this area, and you will likely first encounter a recording. What does that recording say? The first thing you will probably hear is this: “If this is an emergency, hang up and dial 9-1-1.” Don’t waste time trying to get help from a clinic that isn’t equipped to provide the assistance you need. You need an ambulance. You need the police. You need firefighters. This is not a normal situation. This is a crisis that requires a first responder.

Hezekiah realized he had to go to God’s house. God was the only qualified first responder in this crisis. While all the fortified cities of Judah had walls, those walls could not stop the invasion of the Assyrian armies. Hezekiah understood that the walls of Jerusalem wouldn’t be sufficient. However, he recognized that Jerusalem possessed something none of the other cities had: the temple of Yahveh. God is present everywhere, but the symbol of His presence is located in a specific place in this city.

Notice also what Hezekiah said (3).

From his position in the temple courts, Hezekiah summoned his cabinet members: his chief of staff, Eliakim; his secretary, Shebna; and the leading priests. He gave them all the same instruction: to find Isaiah. The king had a message for Isaiah: Now is the time. The baby is ready, but the mother lacks the strength to give birth. Isaiah was the most prominent prophet of Yahveh during Hezekiah’s reign. King Hezekiah understood that he needed the Lord, so he went to the temple. He also recognized that he needed the word of the Lord, so he called for Isaiah. All he required was a message from God.

Notice what Hezekiah prayed (4).

He said, “Perhaps the LORD your God will hear all these things the chief adviser has spoken on behalf of his master, the king of Assyria, who sent him to taunt the living God. When the LORD your God hears, perhaps he will punish him for the things he has said. So pray for this remnant that remains.’

Hezekiah does not pray for the walls of Jerusalem to be strong enough to withstand Sennacherib’s army or for the defeat of the Assyrian Empire. Instead, he prays for two things: that God would punish Sennacherib for his blasphemy—his insult to God himself—and that God would help the remnant.

When Isaiah responds, his message goes beyond the specific requests that Hezekiah mentioned. We should not be surprised by this, as that is how God always works. He is able to do far more than we ask Him to do or even think of asking Him for (Ephesians 3:20). Hezekiah didn’t need to get all the wording of his prayer correct. What was important was that Hezekiah knew where to go and to whom to pray.

Isaiah sent back this message: “’This is what the LORD says: ‘Don’t be afraid because of the things you have heard — these insults the king of Assyria’s servants have hurled against me. Look, I will take control of his mind; he will receive a report and return to his land. I will cut him down with a sword in his land.”

That did happen, but it would occur many years later. It was the answer to Hezekiah’s prayer, but it did not lead to an immediate end to the siege. God took care of that problem as well, even though Hezekiah did not specifically pray for it at that time. In a later prayer, Hezekiah would say, “Yahveh, God of Israel, who is enthroned on the cherubs! You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the sky and the land. Pay attention, Yahveh, and hear! Open your eyes, Yahveh, and observe! Listen to the message Sennacherib sent and how he taunts the living God! It is true, Yahveh, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands. They have burned the gods of the nations, for they are not really gods, but only the product of human hands, manufactured from wood and stone. That is why the Assyrians could destroy them. Now, O Yahveh our God, rescue us from his power, so that all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you, Yahveh, are the only God.

In response to that prayer, the Lord halted Senacherib’s army without Judah firing a single shot. While the soldiers in the Assyrian camp were sleeping, an angel from God entered the camp and killed 185,000 of them. They broke camp the next day and returned to Nineveh.

If you visit London today, you can check out a museum housing a message penned by Sennacherib boasting about all his conquests. The message lists the nations he defeated. Notably absent from that list is any reference to his conquest of the great city of Jerusalem. The Bible explains why he stopped at that point. It was all due to a prayer.

I had mentioned at the beginning of today’s message that Hezekiah was not a perfect man. It is essential that we also understand where Hezekiah failed (ch. 20).

The Old Testament documents the people of God’s failures and successes. We must understand that even if God has used us in the past, we are not immune to making poor choices now. Chapter 20 recounts how a delegation from the King of Babylon visited Hezekiah. He welcomed them and treated them to a tour of his palace and all his treasures. That was not a wise decision.

Isaiah told Hezekiah that a time would come when everything in his palace and the belongings his ancestors had accumulated would be carried away to Babylon; nothing would remain. He mentioned that some of Hezekiah’s descendants would be taken captive and made eunuchs in the king of Babylon’s palace. Hezekiah replied that at least there would be peace during his lifetime.

We cannot afford to make choices that will lead to challenging times for our children and grandchildren. We cannot look around at all the blessings we have now and not think about the world in which our children and grandchildren will live.

On this day, as we celebrate the fathers among us, we must learn from the mistake Hezekiah made as a father. Fathers all over the planet are currently making the same error. They are befriending the enemy, not realizing that their children will bear the consequences of that friendship. A little accommodation here, a little compromise there, and they are creating a world that enslaves their children and grandchildren.

Some of you have not been blessed with a believing father. That is unfortunate. However, the real tragedy would be this: it would be a tragedy if your children do not experience the blessing of having a believing father. Our faith in Christ must be firm, built on the unshakable foundation of the word of God. We owe our children that legacy. We may not have a wealth of material possessions to leave them, but we must pass on that faith. If we fail them in this regard, nothing else will matter.

DAVID’S LAST WORDS

DAVID’S LAST WORDS

2 Samuel 23:1-7 NET.

¹These are the final words of David: “The oracle of David son of Jesse, the oracle of the man raised up as the ruler chosen by the God of Jacob, Israel’s beloved singer of songs: ² The LORD’s spirit spoke through me; his word was on my tongue. ³ The God of Israel spoke, the protector of Israel spoke to me. The one who rules fairly among men, the one who rules in the fear of God, ⁴ is like the light of morning when the sun comes up, a morning in which there are no clouds. He is like the brightness after rain that produces grass from the earth.⁵ My dynasty is approved by God, for he has made a perpetual covenant with me, arranged in all its particulars and secured. He always delivers me, and brings all I desire to fruition. ⁶ But evil people are like thorns — all of them are tossed away, for they cannot be held in the hand. ⁷ The one who touches them must use an iron instrument or the wooden shaft of a spear. They are completely burned up right where they lie!”

When people train for an advanced degree in ministry beyond the initial bachelor’s degree, they usually go to a seminary. I had the opportunity to study at three seminaries, and graduated from two of them. While I was at seminary, in addition to the classes, I also attended regular worship services during the week – chapel services. Sometimes we would have guest speakers at the chapels, but many times it would be the same teachers we had in regular classes. In one of my chapel experiences, they put on a series called The Last Sermon. Each professor would give a message as if it were the last message the speaker could give before dying. When I attended those messages, I did not hear anything new. It was a lot of what I had heard in the classes. The speakers wanted to emphasize the things that they had stressed in their teaching throughout the years. They tried to pass on their legacy.

Reading today’s text, I get the impression that David is doing the same thing. He had one last chance to make an impact on the people who would read these words, so he focused on the things that really mattered to him. He could have recounted the significant victories of his life, like his defeat of Goliath, or his many victorious battles against the surrounding enemies. He could have apologized for his disastrous failures. He could have recounted all his friendships and loyal supporters. But of all the things that David could have spoken about, it is revealing that he chose to say these things.

David is not the only one whose last words are given to us in Scripture. Peter told his readers that the Day of the Lord is coming, that there will be a new heaven and a new earth, and that they should make every effort that when Jesus comes, he finds them at peace and without stains or blemishes (2 Peter 3). John said that he has no greater joy than hearing that his children are living according to the truth (3 John). Paul says that he is already being poured out as an offering, and the time for him to depart is at hand. He says he has competed well; he has finished the race; he has kept the faith! He says the crown of righteousness is reserved for him. The Lord, the righteous Judge, will award it to him on that day — and not to him only, but also to all of us who have set our affection on his appearing (2 Timothy 4).

We all want two things: to live life well and to make a difference in the lives of others. David made some terrible mistakes, but as he surveys his life, he can still see that he made an impact. He wanted to pass on his legacy, and that is what this little poem is all about.

It tells us who David said he was (1).

David identifies himself first as the son of Jesse. If you remember the story, Samuel was told by the LORD to go to Jesse’s house and anoint one of his sons. He gets there and surveys seven sons of Jesse, but the Spirit tells him that none of them is the one. Then he discovers that Jesse had another son, the youngest, who was not invited to the party. He was tending the flocks. His father did not see greatness in him. His father saw potential in the others, but not in him. We could say that God saw into David’s heart and knew he had what it takes. But that is not what David noted in his last words. He calls himself “the man raised up as the ruler chosen by the God of Jacob.” He implied that all his accomplishments were the result of the plan of God. God raised him up, and God chose him.

Our ladies are watching and studying the video series called “The Chosen.” It is about the apostles whom Jesus chose to proclaim his teachings and to begin the process of evangelizing the world. They are the chosen. That is what David wanted to be remembered as. He wanted people to know that he was an ordinary man whom God chose to do extraordinary things. He was just the son of Jesse, but God chose him. God raised him up. Everything he experienced – his life in the field, his ordeals in exile and under threat from Saul, his battles – everything was preparation for the life God wanted him to live.

David calls himself Israel’s beloved singer of songs. Music and poetry set to music was David’s legacy. It turns out that the words of David’s songs would be more influential than he would ever dream. His words would outlast his life. His words are still changing lives today, thousands of years later. We have been reading the history of David’s life and reign, and some of the things that happened to him encourage us, and some of the things confuse us. But when we read his songs, that is when we see the man’s true legacy.

Today’s text tells us what David said God did for him (2-5).

David does not brag about what he did. He brags about what the Lord did for him. He says that the LORD’s Spirit spoke through him. God’s word was literally on his tongue and came out of his mouth. He was the one who told us that the person whom God blesses will be like a tree planted by flowing streams, yielding its fruit and brandishing leaves that never fall off. He was the one who told us that the LORD is his shepherd, and because of that relationship, he will never need anything. His shepherd takes care of him today and gives him hope for eternity. He was the one who wrote the longest chapter in the Bible, an acrostic poem that praises the excellency of God’s word. After 3000 years, the words of David are still being read, studied, translated, sung, paraphrased, preached, and published.

David tells us about God’s ruler. He calls his poem an oracle. That clues us in that David is not just talking about the past. He is prophesying. He speaks of his dynasty because he sees a future king who will do more for humanity than even he was able to accomplish. It is this ruler who rules in the fear of God and is like the morning sunlight, producing divine growth. It is this ruler who is the reason that God made a covenant with David. God made the covenant, arranged all the particulars, and will see to it that all the stipulations of the covenant are met. In order to really understand the legacy of David, we have to look beyond David. We have to realize that David is a type. A type predicts a coming antitype. A type prophesies the future fulfillment. David’s existence helps us to focus on the one greater than David who was to come. David is a prophecy of Jesus.

When Matthew wrote his Gospel, he called Jesus the son of David and the son of Abraham. The last part of Matthew’s Gospel is all about the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. He was fulfilling the type of the son of Abraham: Isaac. Isaac was the one and only son that God told Abraham to sacrifice on Mount Moriah. The first part of Matthew’s Gospel contains stories about how God preserved Jesus from destruction. An evil king wanted to destroy him because he saw this child as a threat to his reign. The wizards had seen in the stars that a new king of Israel had been born. Jesus was the descendant of David. God still has a plan that includes a future reign of this son of David. In his legacy poem, David spoke of God’s approving of his dynasty. Many of the kings of his dynasty were not approved by God. But Jesus was the reason that God approved of his dynasty.

Today’s text tells us what David said God did not do to him (6-7).

Verse six changes the imagery. Here, David speaks of evil people and says that they are like thorns. Nobody keeps a thorn collection. If I am out in my garden and I find a thorn bush, I pull it up and toss it away. Thorns cannot be held in the hand, and they serve no purpose. David says that if I want to hold on to thorns, I use an iron instrument or the wooden shaft of a spear. Thorns are best disposed of and burned. David had some times in his life when he definitely felt like thorns that God would be justified in burning up.

For example, in Psalm 51, David cries out for God to have mercy on him because he has committed such a terrible sin that he knows all he deserves is to be treated like those thorns and burned up. He knows he deserves condemnation, and so he cries out for God to cleanse him and let him see the joy of forgiveness. He deserves for God to reject him, to take the Holy Spirit away from him. God would have been entirely justified if he had done just that. But David pleads for God to act in grace and mercy.

David’s ultimate legacy is twofold. First, he set the stage for the king who would come after him. He was a type of Christ and started the dynasty from which Christ came. Second, David serves as an example for all of us in recognizing the gravity of his rebellion, turning to God in repentance, and seeking his forgiveness and restoration.

Every Sunday, we have a member ministry time, and one of the things we have an opportunity to do during that time is to give our testimony. Not many of us have given our testimony. I imagine many of you want to say something, but you don’t know what to say. Maybe we can take our cue from David. In today’s text, he draws our attention to the thorns – the evil people. What David is saying is that he has been a thorn. He had the opportunity to do the right thing, but he blew it. He failed God. He deserves to be burned to a crisp. But God, in his grace, chose to forgive him instead. He was dirty, and God in his grace decided to clean him up rather than throw him out. He deserved to be cursed, but God in his grace chose to bless him instead.

LORD, give us all a legacy! Use us to impact those around us and lead them to you.

EXTENDING GOD’S KINDNESS

EXTENDING GOD’S KINDNESS

2 Samuel 9:1-7 NET.

¹ Then David asked, “Is anyone still left from the family of Saul, so that I may extend kindness to him for the sake of Jonathan?” ² Now there was a servant from Saul’s house named Ziba, so he was summoned to David. The king asked him, “Are you Ziba?” He replied, “At your service.” ³ The king asked, “Is there not someone left from Saul’s family, that I may extend God’s kindness to him?” Ziba said to the king, “One of Jonathan’s sons is left; both of his feet are crippled.” ⁴ The king asked him, “Where is he?” Ziba told the king, “He is at the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar. ⁵ So King David had him brought from the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar. ⁶ When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed low with his face toward the ground. David said, “Mephibosheth?” He replied, “Yes, at your service.” ⁷David said to him, “Don’t be afraid, because I will certainly extend kindness to you for the sake of Jonathan, your father. You will be a regular guest at my table.”

We are reading through the Bible, two chapters a day, and our calendars have brought us to the story of Mephibosheth. This is a fantastic story from the Bible, and it is so relevant for us. I have prayed that God would give me the ability to open this story to reveal all its significance because, as we read the text, it is possible to recognize some of what is going on but miss so much.

The story of Mephibosheth

The story begins when King David asks if there are any members of Saul’s family left. That question was not unusual for a king to ask. In that period, when a new king gained the throne, one of the first things he did was to seek out all the family members and supporters of the previous king and put them to death. No one would have been surprised if David had asked that question for that purpose. It would have been the politically appropriate choice for David in that position. He had spent a significant portion of his life being pursued by Saul. The former king had been envious of David and fearful of him, and that led to Saul taking aim at David and seeking to destroy him on numerous occasions.

There were even some occasions when it appeared that God had miraculously handed Saul over to David. We read about one such time when David and his men were sitting in the recesses of a cave. Saul had taken three thousand soldiers and set off to capture David. They had come to the sheepfolds by the road, and Saul had to relieve himself, so he decided to duck into this cave. David and his men were watching. The men told David that this was a fulfillment of God’s promise to give his enemy into his hand. But all David did was sneak in and cut off the edge of Saul’s robe.

That was one such incident, and there was another later on. Saul was again out with his 3,000-soldier army seeking to kill David. He and his men set up camp on a hill. David and one of his men (Abishai) came into the camp and found everyone sleeping. So they went all the way up the hill to the top, and there, in the center of the camp, they found Saul sleeping, with his commanding general Abner at his side. Abishai said, “Today God has delivered your enemy into your hands. Now let me drive the spear right through him into the ground with one swift jab! A second jab won’t be necessary!” But David would not do it. It wasn’t because David was afraid of Saul. It was because David knew that he did not have to be the one to destroy his enemy. He trusted God to do that.

That fateful day for Saul came during a battle with the Philistines at Mount Gilboa. Saul was severely wounded and chose to take his own life by falling on his sword. His sons, including Jonathan, also died in that battle. Jonathan had been a very close friend of David. He had protected and defended David.

Mephibosheth was five years old on the day his father, Jonathan, and grandfather, Saul, died. When they heard the news of that tragic battle, the members of Jonathan’s household panicked. His nanny picked him up and started to run. But she tripped, and Mephibosheth was injured in the fall. From that day on, Mephibosheth was disabled. He would live the rest of his life that way.

Our text indicates that Mephibosheth was living in hiding. He escaped destruction only by keeping his whereabouts secret. He did not announce his family history. Only a few knew where he was hiding. David interviews Ziba to find out. Ziba had been one of Saul’s slaves, but he had made a good life for himself after the death of his master. Ziba knew the secret, but he was reluctant to tell anyone. You get the sense that he was not exactly trusting David’s motivation. He reveals the fact that the man is disabled and where he is living, but he does not tell David his name.

David’s men find Mephibosheth at he house of Makir in Lo Debar. He is brought before the king, and he bows low with his face to the ground. He had every reason to expect to be put to death that day. But David says to him, “Don’t be afraid, because I will certainly extend kindness to you for the sake of Jonathan, your father. You will be a regular guest at my table.”

David showed kindness to Mephibosheth for three reasons. First, as the text says, David wanted to repay Jonathan’s kindness. He misses his friend and wants to bless Jonathan’s family.

Second, David had promised Saul that he would not eliminate all of Saul’s family when he gained the throne. David was being faithful to Saul even though Saul had not been kind to him. David was acting with integrity.

But David chose to bless Mephibosheth for a third reason, which is also in today’s text. Look more closely at verse 3, where David asks Ziba, “Is there not someone left from Saul’s family, that I may extend God’s kindness to him?” The word for “kindness” in Hebrew is very significant in the Old Testament. It is the word חֶסֶד, a word that suggests loyalty to a covenant, mercy, and loving faithfulness.

It was the word Lot used to explain why God had mercifully saved him from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:19).
It was the word that Abraham’s servant used when he prayed that God would be loyal to Abraham by blessing him with a daughter-in-law (Genesis 24:12).
It was the word Jacob used when he praised God for all his faithful love (Genesis 32:10).
When the LORD passed by Moses, he proclaimed his own identity by giving himself this title: “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, and abounding in חֶסֶד and faithfulness, keeping חֶסֶד for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.”

David learned that one thing is always true of God: He is always faithful to his covenant. That attribute made it possible always to approach God and get forgiveness when needed. David knew failure, but he also knew forgiveness. He knew that he could trust God to correct any of his failures. He knew that he had a friend in heaven who would never turn him away.

What David wanted to do for Mephibosheth was to bless him with the same kind of faithful love that God had blessed him with. That is why David said that he wanted to extend God’s kindness to this young man. He did not know Mephibosheth. The man had never done anything to deserve his kindness. David wanted to bless him because God had blessed David.

We can learn some things from how Mephibosheth was blessed by David. Mephibosheth is an example of How to Receive God’s Kindness.

The man is damaged goods, and he knows it. Someone made a mistake, and he has spent his whole life paying for that mistake. His grandfather was a king, but he never felt like a king. His legacy was failure. Saul failed at being a king. He failed in battle. He failed God. He failed his family. Mephibosheth was alive, but he was not intact. He was a broken man.

The man had lived his entire adult life in hiding. He was the son of Adam and Eve, who thought that they would find freedom by transgressing God’s commandment. But as soon as they sinned, they came to know that their sin did not bring them glory, but shame. So, they hid. By one act, we are all forced to be separated from the source of life.

The man was weak. He did not function properly. He needed others to do for him because he could not manage his protection and provision.

The man was poor. He had lost all his resources, and the means to correct his poverty were out of his reach.

Mephibosheth is forced to receive David’s kindness passively, and every one of us who has come to Christ came to him the same way. We could not save ourselves, bless ourselves, or rescue ourselves.

Nothing in my hands I bring,
Simply to Thy cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress,
Helpless, look to Thee for grace:
Foul, I to the fountain fly,
Wash me, Savior, or I die.[1]

Receiving God’s kindness and forgiveness is not difficult. However, it does require letting go of one’s pride and sense of accomplishment. Repentance happens when we realize that we are like Mephibosheth—our greatness is nonexistent, our power is weakness, and our wealth is poverty.

If you are listening to my voice today and you have not come to God for forgiveness, you may think you have a life, but you are missing out. Mephibosheth was ready to give up his life in hiding because he stood to gain a life at the king’s table. A life of blessing awaits all those who humbly come to God and receive his kindness.

We also learn some things from David’s actions in today’s story. He had been a recipient of God’s kindness, and he chose to extend that kindness to Mephibosheth. He showed us How to Extend God’s Kindness.

David was blessed, and he decided to be a blessing. This was not an arbitrary decision. He chose to bless Mephibosheth because he knew that God expected him to extend the kindness he received to others. When we were studying the commands of Christ, we learned that. We learned that Jesus taught his disciples how to live, not because they needed to do those things in order to be saved. They were already saved because they had put their faith in Christ. No, Jesus began his sermon on the mount by pronouncing a blessing on his apostles. He blessed them because they were already the light of the world. Then he taught them how to shine. They were not to shine in order to become the light of the world. They were to shine in order to bless others so that they could know salvation as well. They were not to be obedient in order to get saved. They were to be obedient so that others could get saved.

So, Jesus taught us to love our enemies and do good to those who abuse us. By so doing, we extend God’s kindness to them, and it might result in their recognizing their need for God’s salvation in Christ. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Roman Christians, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; … Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:20-21). The Apostle Peter wrote, “Do not return evil for evil or insult for insult, but instead bless others” (1 Peter 3:9). The Apostle John wrote that “love is from God, and God has fathered everyone who loves and knows God. The person who does not love does not know God, because God is love” (1 John 4:7-8).

This theme, revealed in the story of David and Mephibosheth, reverberates throughout the entire Bible. It tells us that people who are saved will pass on the blessing of their relationship with God by blessing others so that they also have an opportunity to be blessed. That is extending God’s kindness because it all began with a loving God who decided to save sinners by his grace when we all deserved his wrath.

My challenge to you, brothers and sisters, is to extend God’s kindness. If we do so, miracles will happen, but they might not be the miracles we expect. David blessed Mephibosheth, but he remained disabled all his life. The miracles in that story happened in the hearts of both David and Mephibosheth.

We can extend God’s kindness by reacting to hurt and being agents of healing, helping the needy when we are able, and befriending the people that everybody else ignores. We can extend God’s kindness by taking down some of the walls that we have built to protect ourselves from other people’s problems. Our Lord himself is the master at doing this. He told his disciples to spread his gospel to every nation. There are Mephibosheths everywhere. It won’t be hard to find them. The hard part will be loving them out of hiding and giving them a place at our dinner tables. That will take a kindness greater than any natural inclination. It will take the supernatural blessing that David called “God’s Kindness.”

[1] Rock of Ages, cleft for me