So we are back in 2 Samuel tonight.
So let's pick up where we left off last week.
We're going to pick up with chapter 3 tonight.
That's page 256 in the Pew Bible.
It's a long passage that we're looking at tonight, so we won't put it on the screens.
But let me encourage you to turn there in a Bible so you can follow along in the text.
Page 256, 2 Samuel chapter 3.
We're going to cover the whole of the third chapter tonight.
And as you turn there, here's the proposition that I want us to consider tonight from 2 Samuel chapter 3.
And it is this.
Human corruption cannot confound God's kingdom.
In this chapter that we're going to look at tonight, we've got basically three main characters.
And each of those three characters is pretty much a study in human selfishness and corruption.
So we are going to look briefly at each one of those characters.
And next we're going to consider God's kingdom in all of that.
And then we'll end by making some applications.
So let's dive right in.
Starting at verse 1.
Look at verse 1 with me.
There was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David.
And David grew stronger and stronger while the house of Saul became weaker and weaker.
You'll remember from last week, at this point in Israel's history, there are two rival kings vying for the throne of all Israel.
The second half, actually, of chapter 2, which we didn't get a chance to go over in detail last week,
tells the story of how these rival kings ended up sort of erupting into a civil war in Israel.
On one side was Ish-bosheth, Saul's son, carrying on the house of Saul along with his general Abner.
And on the other side was, of course, David, along with his general Joab.
Two sides, civil war.
And as we know, as we've been following the story of Samuel, that the Lord is with David.
So over time, as verse 1 puts it,
David grows stronger and stronger and the house of Saul grows weaker and weaker.
There's the context.
Jump down to verse 6.
Here's the first character in our story.
Abner.
While there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David,
Abner was making himself strong in the house of Saul.
Now, that should come as no surprise.
After all, as we saw last week, Abner was really the one who made Ish-bosheth king after Saul's death.
Abner took him, made him king, and set it all up.
He was the one who was really in control.
He was the neck that was turning the head, right?
And it was Abner who marched out in battle at the second half of chapter 2
who provoked the civil war in the first place.
Now, you have to admit, Abner was, of course,
he must have been a highly talented man.
He must have been skillful in war.
He must have been wise in diplomacy.
He must have been a natural leader.
People must have naturally wanted to follow him.
But as verse 6, this verse we just read, shows us,
Abner's heart is driven by what?
Driven by power.
A desire to make himself strong.
Let's pick up his story in verse 7.
Now, Saul had a concubine whose name was Rizba, the daughter of Aiah.
And Ish-bosheth said to Abner,
Why have you gone into my father's concubine?
Then Abner was very angry over the words of Ish-bosheth and said,
Am I a dog's head of Judah?
To this day, I keep showing steadfast love to the house of Saul, your father,
to his brothers, and to his friends,
and have not given you into the hand of David?
And yet you charge me today with a fault concerning a woman.
God do so to Abner and more also,
if I do not accomplish for David what the Lord has sworn to him,
to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul
and set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah,
from Dan to Beersheba.
And Ish-bosheth could not answer Abner another word
because he feared him.
So here is Abner, this man driven by power,
and now he is crossed, his will is crossed by Ish-bosheth.
And in the ancient world,
the action of sleeping with another king's concubine
was basically a symbolic way of claiming authority
over everything else that that king owned.
So it was a pretty brazen act.
And we don't know actually whether or not the accusation was true,
whether Abner actually did this or whether he didn't do this.
But either way, in frustration, taking great offense,
Abner says, forget you Ish-bosheth, and he defects.
He abandons this puppet king that he set up,
and he goes over to David.
Abner couldn't stand to have his will crossed.
But you know, his defection here
probably wasn't just a brash decision in the heat of anger.
Because as we've seen, Abner was no fool, right?
He knew probably at this point that David's side was winning.
And now, here was Abner's chance
to keep seeking power for himself.
He'd give the kingdom to David.
And we imagine in doing so,
Abner would probably secure a place of power for himself
in David's kingdom.
So chapter 3 continues.
In verse 12, Abner reaches out to David
and offers to make a covenant with him.
David accepts.
And in verse 17, Abner upholds his end of the bargain.
He brings the elders of Israel,
that is all the northern tribes
who are against David at this point.
He brings all the elders of Israel over to David's side.
And in verses 20 and 21,
if you scan down there,
Abner and David seal their agreement with a meal,
with a feast,
which was a common way of ratifying covenants
of treaties in the ancient world.
Now, for just a moment,
consider Abner here and his thirst for power.
He props up Ish-bosheth
and then hangs him out to dry.
He makes this utterly bombastic claim in verse 12.
Look at verse 12.
He asks this rhetorical question,
to whom does the land belong?
In other words, Abner's saying,
the land really belongs to me.
I'm the one who's going to give it to you.
But then we see in verse 17
that going over to David,
look down at verse 17,
that's exactly what all the elders of the northern tribes,
they wanted at this point.
So Abner here saw a moment of opportunity
when all the chips were in the right place
and he played them for his own power
and his own benefit.
So here then is the first portrait of human corruption,
Abner, the man driven by power
to make himself strong.
But in verse 22,
another character enters the picture.
Joab.
Joab shows up right after this feast
between David and Abner
and when he finds out what David has just done,
Joab says to David in verse 24,
look at verse 24,
what have you done?
Behold, Abner came to you.
Why is it that you have sent him away
so that he is gone?
You know that Abner, the son of Ner,
came to deceive you
and to know you're going out
and you're coming in
and to know all that you're doing.
Basically, Joab is saying,
David, you cannot trust this guy.
He's just here to spy on us
so he can know our movements,
know our weaknesses,
and eventually defeat us.
You've been taken, David.
What is going on?
And on one hand,
you can't blame Joab here, right?
I mean, they're in the middle of a civil war
and suddenly the opposing general
just happens to change his mind
and offer the kingdom to David
on a silver platter,
no strings attached.
A warrior like Joab knows
that that's probably too good to be true.
But you know,
there's a deeper thing going on here
with Joab.
Joab isn't merely concerned
for David's safety
and for David's kingdom.
Because you see,
back in chapter two,
when the civil war broke out
between Abner's army
and Joab's army,
in all of that mess,
Abner ended up killing Joab's brother.
Turn back to chapter two in your Bible.
Turn back a page
to chapter two, verse 18.
Let's read this account.
Chapter two is the first military encounter
of the civil war,
the sort of battle of Gibeon,
and Abner's army is being beaten back
at this point in the story.
Verse 18.
And the three sons of Zeruiah were there,
Joab, Abishai, and Azahel.
Now Azahel was as swift of foot
as a wild gazelle,
and Azahel pursued Abner.
And as he went,
he turned neither to the right hand
nor to the left
from following Abner.
Then Abner looked behind him and said,
is it you, Azahel?
And he answered,
it is I.
Abner said to him,
turn aside to your right hand
or to your left
and seize one of the young men
and take his spoil.
But Azahel would not turn aside
from following him.
And Abner said again to Azahel,
turn aside from following me.
Why should I strike you to the ground?
How then could I lift up my face
to your brother Joab?
But he refused to turn aside.
Therefore Abner struck him in the stomach
with the butt of his spear
so that the spear came out at his back.
And he fell there
and died where he was.
And all who came to the place
where Azahel had fallen
and died stood still.
Here's the background
between Abner and Joab.
And take note here
that Abner killed Azahel
in the middle of battle,
in the middle of war.
Azahel wasn't an innocent victim.
In fact, Abner gave him,
I mean, we just read it,
gave him more than enough time
to pick a different fight.
But Azahel refused
and Abner drove him through
with his spear.
The picture there is
Abner is basically just stopping,
holding out his spear
and Azahel running straight into it.
It's pretty graphic, actually.
But this is something
that Joab didn't forget.
And in the months and years
since his brother died,
Joab was waiting
for his opportunity
to get revenge.
Underneath Joab's outrage
in chapter 3
that David would make
a covenant with Abner
is his thirst
for getting even.
To make Abner pay
for the blood of his brother.
And that's exactly what he does.
Back in chapter 3,
verse 26,
Joab sends a message
to Abner
without David knowing.
And Abner returns
to meet with Joab
thinking that they're going to
seal maybe a sort of pact.
Well, who's going to run the army
now that we're sort of
working on the same side?
And Joab takes him aside privately
and sticks a knife
into his ribs
and murders him
in cold blood.
And the narrator's very clear
that all of this
was motivated
by pure revenge.
Look at verse 30.
So Joab and Abishai,
his brother,
killed Abner
because he had put
their brother Asahel
to death
in the battle of Gibeon.
Portrait number 2.
Joab,
the man driven by revenge.
But lastly,
there's David.
In verse 31,
David responds rightly
to Abner's death
by lamenting
and by honoring him.
And he also publicly blames
Joab
for killing Abner.
Look at verse 38.
And the king,
that is David,
said to his servants,
Do you not know
that a prince and a great man
has fallen this day in Israel?
Speaking of Abner.
And I was gentle today,
though anointed king.
And these men,
the sons of Zeruiah,
that is Joab and Abishai,
are more severe than I.
The Lord repay the evildoer
according to his wickedness.
But you know,
even though David responds rightly
to Abner's death,
the narrator here
wants us to see
that not even David
is innocent
in these verses.
Of course,
there's the question
of why David
doesn't remove
Joab from his position.
Think about it.
What Joab did
could have cost
David the kingdom.
His personal vendetta
could have exploded
in David's face,
brought more years
of civil war,
turned the people
against David.
But rather than
removing Joab,
David gives him
what sort of feels
like a slap on the wrist
and moves on.
But there are more
troubling things
that the narrator
wants us to see.
Go back to the beginning
of the chapter.
You notice that we skipped
verses 2 through 5.
But look at them now.
Here the narrator
starts telling us
about David's sons.
And we find here
that David's sons,
many in number,
were not born to one wife.
David's sons
were not born to two wives.
David's sons
were not born to three wives,
but six wives
at this point
in David's career.
And when David
cuts a deal
with Abner
in verse 13,
his end of the bargain
is that Abner
bring him back
his first wife,
Michal.
That would be number 7
for David.
And Michal,
at this point,
has already been
remarried for years.
Look at verse 15.
And Nishbosheth
sent for her,
that is Michal,
from her husband,
Paltiel,
the son of Leish.
But her husband
went with her,
weeping after her
all the way
to Baharim.
Then Abner said to him,
Go, return.
And he returned.
What a sad scene.
This guy's wife
being ripped away
from him
to add another
to David's
collection of wives.
What are we
to make of all this?
Well, I think
there's a right way
and there's a wrong way
to understand
David's multiple wives.
Some would look
at a passage like this
and say,
Look,
these sorts of passages
are proof
that the Bible
doesn't really have
a consistent ethic
when it comes
to marriage.
They would point out
that the patriarchs,
like Abraham
and Jacob
had multiple wives
and here David
has multiple wives.
So they'd say
the Bible
doesn't really teach
just one thing
about marriage.
And because of that,
well,
we're free
to change
and to evolve
as we see fit.
You see,
you can't really trust
the Bible morally.
So this reading goes.
But you know,
that reading
of this passage
can't be right.
And here's why.
First off,
just because something
is described
in the Bible
doesn't mean
it's prescribed.
Do you see
what I'm saying?
In other words,
the Bible's recounting
history here.
It's telling us
what really happened
and it's being
brutally honest.
But it's not saying,
well,
look,
David did this,
so you can do that too.
Are there any indications
in this text
that that's what
the narrator
wants us to get?
But you know,
there's another reason
why the sort of
revisionist reading
can't be right.
I mean,
friends,
you simply have to look,
look at the outcome
of what happens
on account of David
taking all these wives.
Yes,
he had a lot of sons.
Yes,
on the surface,
it seems that he was
establishing his rule.
But his lust
for multiple wives
would bring nothing
but heartache
and dissolution
to his kingdom.
In fact,
in nearly every place
where a man
takes more than one wife
in the Bible,
nothing but trouble
and problems
follow in the wake.
Just think of the story
of Abraham,
Sarah,
and Hagar.
Remember how that one
turned out?
Bitterness,
hatred,
one of them getting
sent away,
sons that ended up
hating each other.
Or think back
to 1 Samuel chapter 1.
Elkanah has two wives,
Hannah and Penina.
And what's the result?
Bitterness,
jealousy,
heartache.
So friends,
I ask you,
is the Old Testament
saying,
this is just fine.
Is the Bible
being morally inconsistent
and trustworthy?
Of course not.
Anyone who can read
2 Samuel
and not realize
that David's lust
after multiple wives
is nothing less
than a ticking time bomb
waiting to explode
in turmoil
and strife
just doesn't know
how to read a text.
What the narrator
wants us to see
is that David too
for all of his virtues
is also
a picture
of our common
weakness
and corruption.
He too
is part of the problem.
He's a man
driven by lust.
Okay.
Now what are we
to make of all this?
Why in the world
is this chapter
in the Bible
other than to be
a bit depressing?
What do we gain
from these three portraits
of our own
corruption in a sense?
It's like we're looking
in a mirror,
our enslavement
to power
and to revenge
and to lust.
Well friends,
I hope we can appreciate
looking at a chapter
like this
that at least
the Bible
is a brutally
honest book.
The Bible
is not willing
for one second
to turn away
from the harsh reality
of the fallen world
that we live in
or the harsh realities
living within our own hearts.
The Bible
is about sinners.
Fallen,
corrupt,
selfish human beings.
Humans just like
you and me.
But the Bible
you see
isn't just
about sinners.
It's for sinners.
The Bible
is written
for
messed up people
like Abner
and Joab
and David
and like
Nick
and Greg
and Matt
and all of us.
People who hoard power,
people who hold grudges,
people who lust
after people
who aren't their spouses.
These are the kind
of people that God
has come
to rescue.
And the God
who inspired
the pages
of this story,
friends,
trust me,
he is not ignorant
and he is not surprised
at anything
that you've done.
And this brings us
back to what I said
was I think
the main idea
that this text
is showing us.
That human corruption
cannot thwart
the kingdom of God.
Where do we see that
in our text?
Well,
take a step back
and take the whole chapter in.
Try to view this chapter
as a whole.
What happens
when we take this
30,000 foot level
and view?
Well,
what happens?
Abner is removed,
David is vindicated
at the end,
and God's kingdom
takes another step forward.
Look at verse 36.
David mourns Abner
and the narrator says,
and all the people
took notice of it
and it pleased them
as everything
that the king did
pleased all the people.
So all the people
and all Israel
understood that day
that it had not been
the king's will
to put to death
Abner the son of Ner.
Do you see what's happened?
The biggest obstacle
standing in the way
of David's uncontested
reign in Israel,
that is the person
of Abner,
has been taken away
and in such a way
that David is totally
innocent of his blood.
And the way in which
this has fallen out
ends up to mean
that the people
love David all the more.
All the people,
the narrator says,
not just Judah,
David's home tribe,
but all the people.
God has just united
the kingdom around David.
So out of the mess
of this chapter,
the power-hungry betrayals,
the revenge-fueled killings,
the patriarchal exploitation
of women,
out of the cesspool
of human corruption,
God is still able
to move his redemptive kingdom
one step closer
to its goal.
Human corruption,
friends,
cannot stop God's kingdom.
But you know,
there's an even greater
example of this
in the Bible,
isn't there?
And it's at the center
of the gospel itself.
In Acts chapter 2,
the apostle Peter
stands up in Jerusalem
and gives his
Pentecost sermon.
And in verse 23,
he says to the crowd,
this Jesus delivered up
according to the definite plan
and foreknowledge of God,
you crucified and killed
by the hands of lawless men.
Do you see what Peter's
saying there?
At the cross,
God was able to take
the most horrible sin
of humankind,
the crucifixion
of his own son,
and use it
for the greatest
triumph of his kingdom.
The once for all
defeat of sin
and death
and darkness.
At the cross,
human corruption
could not thwart
God's kingdom.
In fact,
in the mystery
of God's wisdom,
in the mystery
of God's sovereignty
and human responsibility,
the cross,
in a way that boggles
our mind,
was at the same time
both the result
of God's plan
and the result
of lawless men.
God was able
to accomplish
his purposes
even through
the sinful acts
of human beings.
Let me end
with three applications.
First,
I think this text
ought to cause us
to worship God.
Only God
is loving enough
and powerful enough
to advance
his purpose
and his kingdom
even in the face
of the most fierce
human corruption.
You and I
are thwarted
all the time,
aren't we?
My plans
rarely seem
to work out
as planned
even when
everything's going
right.
I have two toddlers.
Our plans
are never
carried out
the way we want
them to carry out
because someone's
dropping something
or someone's
forgetting something
or one of them's
having a breakdown.
When everything
goes right,
even our plans
are often thwarted.
But friends,
for God,
even when everything
seems to be going
wrong,
his kingdom
cannot fail.
God's
God
is
God.
He is
second,
this text
does not
give us
an excuse
to disobey
God.
Abner,
Joab,
David,
they were wrong
to do what they did.
They clearly
disobeyed God's
revealed will
in scripture,
right?
So we must
not think
that just
because,
well,
God's in
control,
that we
can just
do whatever
and disregard
God's commands.
No,
just the opposite.
We should
obey God.
We should
follow his
word in
scripture with
all the
strength that
he gives.
But,
this text
does mean
that we
should not
despair
over our
past mistakes
and our
past sins.
Friends,
Jesus died
on the cross
to forgive
the sins
of all
who repent
and believe.
The apostle
John will say,
if we confess
our sins,
he is faithful
and just
to forgive us
our sins
and to cleanse
us from
all
unrighteousness.
though you
may have
been as
power hungry
as Abner,
betraying
your friends
and just
looking out
for number
one,
though you
may have
been as
bitter
and angry
and murderous
as Joab,
though you
may have
been as
lust driven
as David,
friend,
there is no
sin in
your life
so great
that God
cannot
and does
not
forgive
it
through
the
cross
of
Christ.
And there
is no
sin so
great
in your
life
that God
cannot
bring
his
redemption
through
it
or in
spite
of it.
So do
follow
God's
commands.
They're
for your
good.
But don't
despair
over your
sin.
God's
kingdom
is bigger
and more
powerful
than your
sin
and your
failures.
Third
and last,
as we
see human
corruption,
not just
in our
own
hearts,
but also
in the
world
around
us.
We ought
to apply
this text
by trusting
that God's
power and
God's
righteousness
will
ultimately
prevail
in our
fallen
world.
Each day
the newspapers
carry more
and more
stories about
refugees fleeing
for their
lives,
murders and
wars breaking
out,
hunger and
oppression
persisting,
race relations
deteriorating,
but in
the face
of all
this
brokenness,
friends,
let us
who know
the risen
Christ not
lose heart.
God's
kingdom will
ultimately
overcome all
human corruption.
And that
truth doesn't
make us
passive.
No,
just the
opposite.
It gives
us encouragement,
it gives
us courage,
and it gives
us hope
to pray
for God's
kingdom to
come and
God's will
to be done
on earth
as it is
in heaven.
And it
gives us
the courage
to speak
and to
act as
God's
agents of
justice and
healing right
now.
Knowing that
human corruption
cannot thwart
God's kingdom
gives us the
deep courage
that we need
to act.
And of
course in
doing so we
act humbly,
don't we?
Because we
know that we
too are in
need of
grace.
We too
need God's
kingdom to
overcome our
weakness and
our failure.
We too
need the
Lord Jesus
and his
spirit to
cover our
sins and
to remake
us in
his image.
Friends,
these are the
things that we
need.
We need to
know this.
And so we
can go out
into the
world humbly
and boldly
to be bearers
of peace and
bearers of
grace and
bearers of
justice.
Confident
that our
human corruption
cannot thwart
the kingdom of
God.
God,
let's
pray.
Lord Jesus,
thank you that
through your
cross and
through your
resurrection,
you have
forgiven sins
and you have
granted new
life to all
who come in
humble faith to
you.
Lord,
thank you that
none of the
sins of our
past can
destroy your
saving purposes.
God,
and that you
will work
all things
out according
to your
redemptive plan
in the end.
Lord,
we confess that
in the middle
of the story
of your
redemptive work,
we don't often
see how the
pieces connect.
God,
as we see
heartbreak and
as we see
pain,
we confess
that we doubt
and we wonder
sometimes what's
going on in the
world.
And Lord,
we cry out,
how long?
But oh Lord,
help us to
see that just
as you took
the mess of
this passage
and were able
to bring through
it just a spark
of your good,
God,
one day you
will take the
mess of the
world and you
will flood it
with your glory
and you will
bring healing
and restoration
and peace.
God,
we long for
that day.
We look forward
to it.
In Jesus'
name,
amen.
I want to
mine.
I want to
see you
in Jesus'
name,
amen.
Now,
I want to
let you
call me
an
name,
Moojna,
Wayne.
I lover today
he wanted
to come
to leave
the
tiger
born
to keep
there