2 Samuel chapter 4, if you are looking in the Pew Bibles, that is page 257, 2 Samuel chapter 4.
If you haven't been with us through, if this is your first time tonight, we're sort of jumping into the,
you're sort of jumping into the middle of a story where Saul was king, the first king in Israel,
and at the end of, and his story is told through most of the book of 1 Samuel. At the end of 1 Samuel,
Saul is killed in battle along with his son Jonathan. And David, who has previously been
anointed king, actually quite a long time ago, is beginning to prepare to be anointed king.
But, there's a whole war between the house of Saul and the house of David that's going on in these
first four chapters, and so we're coming to the conclusion of it. So, I'm just going to go ahead
and read the chapter, and then we'll dive in. So, chapter 4 of 2 Samuel, beginning at verse 1.
When Ish-bosheth, Saul's son, heard that Abner, the commander of his army, the former commander of
his army, had died at Hebron. His courage failed, and all Israel was dismayed. Now, Saul's son had
two men who were captains of raiding bands. The name of the one was Banna, the name of the other
Rechab, sons of Rimon, a man of Benjamin from Beroth. From Beroth is also counted part of Benjamin.
The Berothites fled to Gittim and have been sojourners there to this day. Jonathan, the son of Saul,
had a son who was crippled in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan
came from Jezreel, and his nurse took him up and fled. And as she fled in her haste, he fell and
became lame, and his name was Mephibosheth. Now, the sons of Rimon the Berothite, Rechab and Banna,
set out, and about the heat of the day, they came to the house of Ish-bosheth, as he was taking his
noonday rest. And they came into the midst of the house, as if to get wheat, and they stabbed him
in the stomach. Then Rechab and Banna, his brother, escaped. When they came into the house, as he lay on
his bed in his bedroom, they struck him and put him to death and beheaded him. They took his head and
went by way of the Arabah all night and brought the head of Ish-bosheth to David at Hebron. And they
said to the king, Here is the head of Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul, your enemy, who sought your life.
The Lord has avenged my lord, the king, this day on Saul and on his offspring. But David answered,
Rechab and Banna, his brother, the sons of Rimon the Berothite, as the Lord lives, who has redeemed
my life out of every adversity. When one told me, Behold, Saul is dead, and thought he was bringing
good news, I seized him and killed him at Ziklag, which was the reward I gave him for his news.
How much more, when wicked men have killed a righteous man in his own house, on his bed,
shall I not now require his blood at your hand and destroy you from the earth? And David commanded
his young men, and they killed them and cut off their hands and feet and hang them beside
the pool at Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-bosheth and buried it in the tomb of Abner
at Hebron. If you read the news, the world can seem pretty chaotic. Forest fires out west that
have burned seven million acres, an earthquake this week in Chile, causing a million people to
be evacuated from their homes, civil war in Syria resulting in nine million people displaced,
three million seeking refuge in other countries. Even closer to home here in New Haven just this week,
one of the largest public housing projects, Church Street South, also known as the Jungle,
housing almost 300 families, has officially been condemned as unlivable due to leaky roofs and
extensive mold. Already at least 30 families have been moved out, are staying in hotels,
while the city and the management company are trying to figure out what to do.
And the HUD inspectors are arriving this week. Well, maybe you don't have to look at the news,
maybe your own life feels crazy and chaotic, maybe you have sick kids or sick parents,
corruption at work or crime in your neighborhood or unresolved conflicts among family and friends
or unresolved bitterness in your own heart. And sometimes you might wonder, what is God up to
in such a crazy world? Now, on first glance, the chapter we're reading tonight seems chaotic.
I mean, it's pretty gory, violent. Abner, the end of the last chapter, Abner, the former commander of
Ish-bosheth, who is the son of Saul, who had declared himself king, former commander of his army,
has just been stabbed to death in broad daylight in the middle of the street by Joab, the commander of
David's army. Now, in this chapter, these two guys, Banna and Rechab, captains in Ish-bosheth's army,
stab Ish-bosheth to death. They turn on their leader. They stab him to death while he's taking
an afternoon nap. They carry his head to David, hoping to be rewarded. David then has them
executed, hands and feet cut off, bodies hanged. And then in the middle of the chapter, we have this
odd reference to Mephibosheth, five-year-old who gets crippled. You might wonder, what is going on
in this chapter? What do we take away from a chapter like this? What is God doing in the midst of all
this chaos? Well, what we see in this passage is God is doing two things. He is bringing down the proud
and he is raising up the humble. And in fact, that's what God is doing throughout much of this book of
Samuel, 1 and 2 Samuel. If you go back to the beginning of 1 Samuel and look at 1 Samuel chapter
2 for just a moment, there's a prayer of Hannah in 1 Samuel chapter 2. And this prayer that Hannah
prays, it sort of sets the agenda for the whole book of Samuel, for 1 and 2 Samuel, what God is doing
here. And I'm not going to read all of Hannah's prayer, but look down at verse 3. Hannah says,
talk no more, so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth, for the Lord is a God of
knowledge and by him actions are weighed. Then she talks about these dramatic reversals. The bows of
the mighty are broken, but the feeble bind on strength. Those who were full have hired themselves
out for bread, but those who are hungry have ceased to hunger. The barren has born seven, but she has
many children is forlorn. The Lord kills and brings to life. He brings down to she all, that means the
grave, and raises up. The Lord makes poor and makes rich. He brings low and he exalts. If you want to
summarize Hannah's prayer in one sentence, it's this, God brings down the proud and he raises up the humble.
And that's what God is doing in this chapter. First, God is bringing down the proud, in particular, the
house of Saul. Saul's kingdom had been characterized by pride and arrogance. We'll see some of that as we
go along. But at the beginning of this chapter, we see that Saul's house is weakened. It's crippled.
Verse 1, Ish-bosheth heard that Abner had died, his army commander had died, his courage failed.
Literally, that means his hands started shaking and all Israel was dismayed. Verse 4, Mephibosheth,
that was Saul's grandson, was literally crippled due to an accident that happened on the day that his
father and grandfather were both killed in battle. Saul and Jonathan. And you might wonder, why is this
detail mentioned here when it happened several years beforehand? Well, I think, again, it's showing
the weakness of Saul's house, right? Saul has reigned for a long time, but Saul has died and now none of
his descendants are fit to rule the nation. As a crippled man, Mephibosheth would have been unable to
lead the Israelites into battle, which was one of the main responsibilities of a king. But not only was
Mephibosheth physically incapable of carrying out the royal responsibilities, we actually learn later
on in chapter 9 that he didn't even want to be king, that he had pledged his loyalty to David,
just like his father Jonathan did. That he recognized David as God's anointed king,
and he was loyal to David, even though he was born into the house of Saul.
Saul. And so we see this picture of the house of Saul sort of crippled, both physically and spiritually.
And then we see these two guys, Banna and Recap, verse 2 and 3. You might sort of wonder,
why all the geographical detail about Beroth, mentioned three times, the tribe of Benjamin,
and, you know, the sons of Rimen? What is, I mean, who are, where, who are those? What's the point of that?
Well, Beroth was one of the cities occupied in part by the Gibeonites. Now, the Gibeonites
were a group of people who made a peace treaty with the people of Israel when they entered the
promised land. It's recorded in Joshua 9. And so Joshua promised that they would always be safe
within the land of Israel. But King Saul had violated that peace treaty. We don't actually
learn this until the end of 2 Samuel. It's in 2 Samuel 21. But King Saul had actually, in his zeal
to have a strong and unified nation, he had tried to go and wipe out the Gibeonites and drive them out,
even though there was a peace treaty. They were supposed to be safe. There was a promise that had been made.
That Saul was responsible to uphold. And yet, he went after them. And so, the Israelites,
living in those Gibeonite towns, had to run away. That's what verse 3 means in this chapter.
The Berothites fled to Gitaim and have been sojourners, or resident aliens, or refugees.
They are to this day. So imagine what it was like for these guys, Banna and Recap, right?
They were from King Saul's tribe, the tribe of Benjamin. So it's sort of like King Saul's your
cousin, right? You're loyal to him. You're going to stick up for him and be on his side. But then,
Saul attacks your hometown because he doesn't like your neighbors. And you have to run away. He lets
you run away, but you have to live the rest of your life in exile away from your hometown.
And so, you kept working for Saul, right? These guys were sort of captains of raiding bands,
right? They could, whatever, go take out their anger on other people, right? And still work for Saul,
but there's some resentment there. And then, when things turn bad for Ish-bosheth, they say,
here's our chance. Let's get rid of him and join with David instead. Notice verse 5 through 7,
how it describes the killing of Ish-bosheth. Okay? He's not a war criminal. He's not a soldier who's
killed in war. He's not a war criminal being executed for his crimes. He's portrayed as a helpless victim
murdered in his own house. If you look at verse 6 and 7, if you read verse 6 and 7, you might think
they're sort of repetitive. That's actually a common way that writers of the Old Testament would draw
attention to particular facts as they would repeat them. It's sometimes called parallelism.
All right? They sort of tell the story one way and then tell the story again, highlighting slightly
different details, but getting the same point across, right? Verse 5 says,
he was taking his noonday rest in the midst of his house and they stabbed him in the stomach.
Verse 7 says, he lay on his bed in his bedroom, helpless, asleep, and they struck him and put him
to death and beheaded him. It almost seems like Ish-bosheth was sort of ready to lay down and give up.
He was hardly even trying to be king anymore. He had declared himself king over Israel, but
seemed like he was ready to give that up.
Doesn't even have a bodyguard protecting him, which would have been unusual.
So Recap and Banna, they weren't sort of courageously assassinating an evil dictator.
They were taking advantage of a defenseless and broken man.
And then they brag about what they've done to David. They go to David and they must have told
David the whole story because David says in verse 11, you killed him in his own house on his bed.
David had no other way to know that. Clearly they're bragging. Hey, this is how it happened.
We just went in there and got rid of him. And now we want to be loyal to you.
Don't you think we deserve a high place in your kingdom?
Now what we see here in this whole story is we see a destructive downward spiral in the house of Saul.
And it starts with selfish ambition and reckless violence and cowardly deception, murderous revenge.
And it just snowballs, right?
It starts with Saul and his ambition to strengthen his own people.
He murders the Gibeonites in violation of a peace treaty.
Instead of doing things God's way, Saul was taking matters into his own hands.
But then the effect of what Saul did turned some of his own people away from him.
These guys from his own tribe who should have been loyal to him more than anybody else.
And then they turn on his son and do the same thing.
Murder him. The one who they were supposed to protect.
You see, Saul's kingdom lacked a solid foundation.
And now it was falling apart once and for all.
Saul's kingdom lasted for 40 years.
Ish-bosheth reigned for two years.
But Saul's house ended in disgrace.
Because, you know, if you read the story of Saul,
Saul, he's, yes, he sins.
But then the prophet Samuel comes to him and says,
This is what you've done.
And Saul says,
Well, it wasn't really my fault.
They forced me to do it.
I mean, please, you've got to understand me.
I mean, a man's got to do what he's got to do.
Saul never repented.
He never confessed his sin.
And so his life just kept going down and down and down and down.
And destroying itself and destroying each other.
See, if we are building our kingdom
on anything besides the promises of God
and the faithfulness of God,
it will ultimately self-destruct.
In the New Testament,
the book of James says,
Sin, when it is fully grown,
brings forth death.
Sin starts small, often.
Often it starts hidden.
Things like pride.
Or envy.
Or lust.
Or deception.
Nobody else sees those things.
At least not at first.
But if they continue to grow,
if they're never brought out into the light
and recognized for what they are,
the end result is chaos and destruction
for individuals and for whole societies.
That's what we see in the kingdom of Saul
breaking down.
And you know, it can be even more dangerous
when people try to justify sinful patterns
by spiritualizing them.
Or by dressing them up in theological language.
That's what Rechab and Banna,
I don't know how to pronounce his name,
Rechab, Rechab.
But verse 8.
Look at what they say in verse 8
when they come to David.
They say,
The Lord has avenged my Lord,
the king,
this day on Saul and on his offspring.
In other words,
God was accomplishing his will through us
and we were instruments of his justice.
And David says,
No.
What you did was not justice.
It was murder.
You know, it's very dangerous
when people use spiritual language
to justify sin.
How about something like this?
Sister, I wanted to share
a prayer request with you.
You know, it's about this other woman
in our church.
I think she and her husband
might be getting a divorce.
I overheard them arguing
as they left church last week.
It was so embarrassing.
Would you pray for her?
They really need some counseling, you know.
That's not a prayer request.
That's gossip.
And gossip destroys churches.
It can destroy your relationships.
James says,
How great a forest
is set ablaze
by such a small fire
and the tongue is a fire.
Or how about this one?
God told me.
God told me
that I should marry this guy
even though he hasn't had a job
for three years
and I've only known him
for two months
and he
isn't part of a church
but I feel peace about it.
God told me.
Or how about this?
Occasionally I hear this one.
God told me
that I am called
to become a great pastor
and preach to thousands of people.
Well maybe he did.
But have you started
by being a good shepherd
in your own home?
By loving your wife
and your kids?
Or if you're single
loving your roommates?
Serving the least of these?
Jesus' brothers and sisters.
See Jesus says
the way to become a leader
is to be a servant.
The Bible says
God will bring down
those who are proud.
And this is a warning.
God brought down
the house of Saul.
It ended in
self-destruction
and chaos.
But there's also
an encouragement here.
God raises up
the humble.
Look at David's response
at verse 9
to these two guys.
The first thing he says
the Lord
has redeemed my life
out of every adversity.
Think of all the adversity
that David has faced
so far.
He's faced adversity
from his family.
He was the youngest brother.
Right?
The youngest sibling.
His older brothers
despised him.
His father
overlooked him.
When the important prophet
Samuel was coming
to their house
to anoint
the future king of Israel
David was simply
left out
taking care of the sheep
and all the other brothers
were brought before him.
When he came to
serve his brothers
who were fighting
in the battle
they didn't
and he
asked a question
what's going on here?
Why are you asking questions?
Get out of here.
He was despised.
He faced adversity
from his boss
King Saul
tried to kill him
18 times.
You think you have
a hard boss?
David had much worse.
Saul tried to turn
his best friend
against him
and stole his wife
from him.
David faced adversity
from his enemies
from the Amalekites
who
kidnapped his wives
while he was away
one day
out at work
took over his city
he had to chase him down
from the Philistines
who sheltered him
for a while
and then turned on him
he faced adversity
from his friends
at one point
David was living
in a cave
and it said
everybody who was
discontented
and bitter in soul
came to live with him.
Just imagine
being in charge
of 400 men
in the middle
of the desert
living in a cave
and it's all these guys
who are bitter
and discontent.
David says
I faced all these adversities
and there's one thing
that's always
been constant
the Lord
has redeemed
my life
out of every
adversity.
The Lord
has promised
to be with me
from the very beginning
and he's never
left me
and I know
he's never
going to leave me
all the way
to the end
whatever I face.
God is my redeemer
he's my rescuer
and that's why
David
rejected
these guys
attempt to take
matters into their
own hands
and murder
Ish-bosheth.
he says to them
God is my redeemer
you are not
God is my rescuer
not you
in verse 11
David says
wicked men
have killed
a righteous man
in his own house
you might think
well
it's pretty generous
to call Ish-bosheth
a righteous man
Ish-bosheth
sets up
a rival kingdom
to David's
I mean
he
he's not
the greatest guy
I don't think
David was saying
Ish-bosheth
was perfect
he's clearly
not saying that
I think what he was
saying is that
he was innocent
of a crime
that deserved
the death penalty
that Ish-bosheth
did not deserve
to be
murdered
in his own house
on his own bed
when by all appearances
he was ready
to give up anyway
so David
executed justice
on these men
who had killed
Ish-bosheth
that's basically
David saying
you have
committed
premeditated
cold-blooded
murder
and so you deserve
the death penalty
that's why he responds
to them so harshly
I understand
it seems harsh
he cuts off
their hands and feet
well
their hands
did the deed
and their feet
carried his head
all the way to David
so there's a little bit
of ironic justice
there
that's why he cuts
them off
I think
now these first
four chapters
of 2 Samuel
have been full
of chaos
and violence
some pretty nasty
things that have
gone on here
but think
think about it
if you've read
these chapters
if you've been here
the last few weeks
what is
what do we see
David doing
in these chapters
we see David
prayerfully
waiting
and trusting
God
instead of
selfishly
seizing
power
David
waits
for God
to bring down
his rivals
he doesn't
try to take
matters into
his own hands
and do it
himself
now
people have
pointed out
of course
there's some
political wisdom
there
right
David sort of
quiet
slowly
gains the support
of people
who might be
most prone
to oppose him
but
I think there's
more than just
David
being a shrewd
politician
David
waited
because
he trusted
in God
as his
redeemer
one commentator
put it this way
he said
we see
in these chapters
we see David
praying
waiting for his
kingdom to be
given to him
under the
sovereignty of God
right
David had been
anointed
a long time
ago
to be the
future king
of Israel
and Saul
had died
and this rival
king had
stepped up
and David
doesn't say
I've got to
immediately shut
him down
he doesn't
respond out of
insecurity
he says
I'm going to
trust the
Lord
and wait
on God's
timing
so we see
David refusing
to hurry
in contrast
to the
frenzy
of ambition
that David
sees around
him
excited by
Saul's
empty
throne
David
conducts a
funeral
for Saul
and Jonathan
composes
poetry
marries and
has children
and administers
justice
in contrast
to all the
killing
going on
around him
to grab
power
David
does not
kill
anyone
who could
be
considered
a rival
David
was humble
and confident
in the
Lord
and so he
was able
and willing
to wait
upon the
Lord
instead of
taking matters
into his
own hands
now if you
look at these
chapters
right
David's
an imperfect
example
of prayerfully
waiting on
God
and God
raises him
up
this is the
next chapter
if you come
back next
week
David
becomes king
over all
Israel
he unifies
the nation
that was
falling apart
under Saul's
proud and
self-centered
leadership
he unifies
the nation
he defeats
their enemies
there's a
there's triumph
but we see
David prayerfully
and patiently
waiting
for God
you know
and then he's
raised up to be
king but you
know in the
in the big story
of the Bible
there's someone
else
who prayerfully
waited and
patiently
waited on
God's
timing
before
he was
he
was publicly
recognized as
king
right when
Jesus Christ
began his
ministry he went
out into the
desert
and Satan
came to him
and Satan
showed him
all the
kingdoms of
the world
and Satan
said if
you just
bow down
to me
it can
all be
yours
right
now
easy
and Jesus
said no
worship the
Lord your
God and
serve only
him
I won't
take a
shortcut
I won't
take matters
into my
own hands
I'm trusting
the will
of my
father
and then a
little later
on Jesus
Christ fed
the 5,000
in the desert
and it says
some people
wanted to
make him
king by
force
and it says
he walked
through the
crowd and
went away
and then
he was
arrested
and his
disciples
took up
their
swords
to defend
him
and Peter
sliced off
the high
priest's
servant's
ear
and Jesus
says no
more of
that
you live
by the
sword
you die
by the
sword
my kingdom
is not
of this
world
that's not
the way
to establish
it
you see
Jesus was
the rightful
king of
all
he knew
that from
the beginning
but he
patiently
waited
so that
God's
plan
might be
accomplished
he humbled
himself to
the point
of death
on a
cross
and God
raised Jesus
to life
that's what
he sang
that great
song
forever he
is glorified
forever he
is lifted
high because
he humbled
himself to
death to
the point
of death
on the
cross in
obedience
to God
and one
day
Jesus
promises
he'll come
back
and he'll
establish his
kingdom once
and for
all
and he
promises
that we'll
be part
of it
and that if
we trust
in him
we'll also
reign with
him in the
new heavens
and the
new earth
so you see
like David
in these
chapters
we're waiting
for a kingdom
to come
that's what
David is doing
in these first
four chapters
of second
Samuel
he's waiting
for the
kingdom to
come
for him
to reign
and that's
also our
position
if we put
our trust
in Jesus
as our
king and
savior
and we're
waiting for
him to
come again
and he
promises
he'll come
and he'll
establish a
glorious kingdom
but you know
I think
sometimes we
we don't
believe that
promise
or we
think
it's never
going to
happen
right and
so we're
tempted to
take matters
into our
own hands
what does
that look
like
well
sometimes
we
sometimes
we get
into a
frenzy
of activity
have you
ever been
so busy
you're
like
cutting
people
off
in
traffic
cutting
in front
of
people
on
the
sidewalk
because
you
have
a
place
to
go
and
wherever
you
are
going
is
more
important
than
anywhere
that
anybody
else
is
going
that
day
because
you
have
a
kingdom
to
build
and
the
time
is
now
and
you
better
not
wait
really
is
that
God's
kingdom
that
you're
building
when
we're
doing
that
when
we
over
commit
ourselves
when
we
can't
stop
to
pray
and
we
think
that
the
salvation
of
the
world
ultimately
depends
on
us
but
no
we're
not
the
Messiah
or
maybe
we've
been
wronged
maybe
we've
been
hurt
and
maybe
we
feel
like
I
just
can't
let
it
go
I
need
justice
now
and
we
just
can't
let
go
of
the
bitterness
we
can't
wait
and
trust
that
God
will
right
wrongs
someday
and
so
our
responsibility
is not
to make
all our
enemies
pay
our
responsibility
is
step
by
step
to
walk
in
trust
and
obedience
to
the
Lord
and
speak
truth
speak
in
love
and
be
willing
to
forgive
sometimes
we take
matters
into
our
own
hands
sometimes
we
go
to
the
other
end
we
retreat
and
we
become
passive
out
of
fear
again
right
when
we
don't
believe
that
Jesus
will
come
again
and
that
we'll
be
part
of
his
kingdom
forever
we
either
try
to
build
the
kingdom
by
ourselves
or
we
decide
it's
not
worth
it
I'm
just
I'm
not
I
and
we
lose
our
courage
maybe
we're
afraid
to
engage
with
the
brokenness
of
the
world
because
we
fear
that
we'll
get
totally
sucked
into
it
right
and so
we
might
admire
when
other
people
spend
time
helping
refugees
or
mentoring
troubled
teenagers
or working
with people
who are
homeless
but we
think
man
I
don't
want
to
get
into
it
because
if
I
get
sucked
into
that
then
I'll
never
be
able
to
say
no
and
I'll
burn
out
and
so
we
retreat
and
we
do
nothing
out
of
fear
we
go
back
and
forth
between
trying
to do
everything
and taking
everything
into
our
own
hands
and
then
giving
up
and
saying
I'm
not
going
to
do
anything
David
says
in
Psalm
20
70
says
wait
for
the
Lord
be
strong
and
take
courage
and
wait
for
the
Lord
see
waiting
for
the
Lord
doesn't
mean
being
passive
and
not
doing
anything
and
it
doesn't
mean
trying
to
take
everything
into
our
own
hands
and
trying
to
be
the
Messiah
it
means
doing
something
while we
trust
God
to
be the
ultimate
judge
and
while we
say
with
David
the
Lord
has
redeemed
my
life
out
of
every
adversity
he's
the
one
he's
brought
me
through
and
he
will
continue
to
bring
me
through
he's
been
with
me
all
the
way
and
he's
never
going
to
leave
me
so
I
can
live
in
that
confidence
in
a world
full
of
chaos
and
violence
and
unresolved
tensions
we're
called
to
wait
patiently
in
light
of
God's
promise
to
establish
his
kingdom
in
the
future
let me
close
with
these
words
from
first
Peter
says this
he says
humble
yourselves
under
the mighty
hand
of
God
so
at
the
proper
time
he
may
exalt
you
casting
all
your
anxieties
on
him
because
he
cares
for
you
but
then
he
concludes
his
letter
with
a
promise
he
says
after
you
have
suffered
a
little
while
the
God
of
all
grace
who
has
called
you
to
his
eternal
glory
in
Christ
will
himself
restore
confirm
strengthen
and
establish
you
to
him
be
the
dominion
and
glory
forever
amen
let's
pray
Lord
we
thank
you
for
your
word
Lord
we
thank
you
that
you
are
a
God
who
brings
down
the
proud
but
lifts
up
the
humble
Lord
tonight
we
want
to
confess
to
you
the
ways
that
we
have
been
proud
the
ways
that
we
have
tried
to
take
matters
into
our
own
hands
repaid
evil
for
evil
instead
of
overcoming
evil
with
good
we
confess
to
you
the
ways
that
we
have
sometimes
given
up
and
just
want
to
disengage
but
Lord
we
thank
you
for
your
words
that
David
spoke
that
you
are
the
one
who
has
redeemed
our
lives
out
of
every
adversity
we
thank
you
Lord
Jesus
that
we
too
can
claim
that
promise
because
of
what
you
have
done
for
us
that
you
will
never
leave
us
nor
forsake
us
and
Lord
that
you
are
the
king
and
one
day
your
kingdom
will
be
established
in
its
fullness
so
Lord
teach us
to wait
patiently
teach us
to act
courageously
teach us
to trust
in you
above all
else
we pray
this in
Jesus name
amen
at the
end of
our
evening
service
we
often
take
five
minutes
or so
for
any
questions
and
answers
I
know
this
is a
challenging
passage
with
you
may
have
questions
we
have
time
for
maybe
two
or
three
questions
tonight
if
anyone
has
them
so
feel
free
to
raise
your
hand
questions
or
brief
comments
and
we'll
do
the
best
we
can
with
them
yes
so
the question
was
I understand
about the
house of
Saul being
humbled
but what
about
Jonathan
right
Jonathan
was a
faithful
man
he was a
faithful friend
to David
he was loyal
to David
and yet
he was
killed
his offspring
never became
king
right
so
we do
see
with
Jonathan's
son
Mephibosheth
I'm gonna
struggle
with that
name
but
if you're
looking for
a name
for your
son
Pastor
Nick
and Beth
are due
with the
baby
soon
so you
can pray
for them
for a
safe
delivery
and pray
for them
as they
think about
a name
and maybe
it'll be
Mephibosheth
all right
sorry
Nick
okay
so
Jonathan's
son
Mephibosheth
later in
2 Samuel
we'll see
that David
David
actually
shows
kindness
to Mephibosheth
and gives
him a
special
place
at his
table
and
David
and Jonathan
had sort of
promised to be
loyal to one
another
Jonathan
had basically
said
you know
normally
in the
ancient world
kingship is
passed on
to the
firstborn son
Jonathan
says
you know
I have
the right
to that
but
God
has chosen
you
David
and so
I'm
gonna put
all my
eggs
in your
basket
what's
the
metaphor
right
I'm
gonna
give
all
my
loyalty
to you
rather
than
to try
to fight
for what
I think
I deserve
or
whatever
he says
no I
actually
don't
deserve
anything
right
I didn't
choose
to be
born
in this
family
I'm
willing
to give
my
loyalty
to
David
and
so
David
promises
also
loyalty
to
Jonathan
now
it's
a
tragedy
when
Jonathan
is
killed
in
battle
right
with his
father
Saul
that's
one
of the
tragic
moments
in the
book
of
Samuel
and
David
weeps
for
Jonathan
and
he
weeps
over
the
reality
that
in
this
world
in
this
fallen
world
sometimes
one
person
will
bear
the
consequences
of the
sin
of
another
right
in this
fallen
world
and we
sort of
see that
in
Jonathan
right
falling
in
battle
along
with
his
father
Saul
though
Jonathan
is
portrayed
as
very
loyal
right
ultimately
Jesus
Christ
becomes
that
man
who's
willing
to bear
the
consequences
of our
sin
even though
he had
no
sin
right
and so
Jonathan
is really
a picture
of
Jesus
Christ
in many
ways
that he
bears
the consequence
of another
sin
and yet
he remains
faithful to
God
and remains
loyal to
God's
appointed
King
David
so
even
though
Jonathan's
life
ends
in
being
cut down
in battle
and his
son is
crippled
I think
we do
begin to
see some
of God's
redemption
and how
David treats
Mephibosheth
and also
just in
the promise
of God
Jonathan
and Mephibosheth
will probably
be honored
in God's
kingdom
because
God was
faithful to
them
and
so
we don't
see the
end of
that story
either
great question
one or two
other questions
yes
God had
already
proclaimed
David
to lead
his people
yes
Saul
had
sort of
he had
failed to
be loyal
to God
a long
time ago
and so
his kingdom
was sort of
going down
and down
and he
was persecuting
David
and David
gave him
David said
you know
David sort of
gave him a lot
of chances
and David
was like
you know
what
I'm not
you know
Saul
I could have
killed you
I could have
got rid of
you
I didn't
and he
shows
that love
for his
enemy
right
that Jesus
Christ
says love
your enemies
do good
to those
who hate
you
that's what
David did
to Saul
and yet
Saul
continued
in his
downward spiral
in his
pride
in his
refusing to
acknowledge
his own
sin
and yet
David
patiently
waited on
the Lord
and God
was faithful
to him
so
yes
the
Reckbytes
that is
great
question
I don't
know
but
that's
something
we can
do a little
research
this week
so
I enjoy
question and
answer
because usually
I get at
least one
question that
I don't
know the
answer to
but it
simulates
hopefully our
thinking and
digging deeper
into God's
word
well
it's getting
late so
let me
conclude
a couple
things in
your bulletin
a couple
announcements
let me
highlight
there is
and if
you
look sort
of in the
middle
page of
your bulletin
there is
something that
says help
local
refugee
families