If you don't know me, my name is Niels. I'm one of the leaders here. I'll be preaching.
Because of the baptisms, we'll have a lot of people here today who have not been in the rest of the service, in the series.
We're in the book of 2 Samuel, in the Old Testament, in the Bible.
So I thought, let me, you know, start with the introduction so that, yeah, we can bring you a bit up to speed.
But also, actually, before all that, let's pray because we want God to speak to us.
So let's pray together.
Our Father, thank you that you speak.
That you speak to us in your love, in your grace.
We pray that we would listen.
Pray that we would hear, each of us, what we need to hear.
Thank you that you are a God of grace.
God who gave your son, Jesus.
And pray that we would look to him today.
In Jesus' name. Amen.
Amen.
Great.
But, yeah, we're in 2 Samuel, and it's nearly the end of the series.
Now, our youngest daughter turned 12 a couple of months ago.
So she's finally old enough to watch Marvel.
And so we've been going movie by movie through the MCU, which has been really great.
Now, there's one movie in there that I'm not going to say its name because I know of some people who haven't seen it all yet.
But there's one that I think is outstanding because it's very different from all the others.
Because it doesn't have a happy ending.
Now, most movies have a happy ending, right?
All those movies, you know, yes, the heroes, they are struggling.
They're having a tough time.
But ultimately, they win.
And that's what you want, right?
You want to have a movie.
You want to relax and be encouraged.
And so you want a movie with a happy ending.
I mean, we all want happy endings, right?
In all our life, maybe your marriage is going through a difficult time.
But, you know, with counseling and prayer, you hope that you will work through it.
And then, you know, our marriage is restored.
Maybe work at the moment is really tough.
The hours, the pressure.
But when this project is over, then we go back to the good old days, right?
That's what we're waiting for.
Maybe you remember the COVID days.
We were just waiting for it all to finish.
And now, actually, Hong Kong is really nice again, right?
Without all the restrictions.
The economy, you know, if we just wait long enough, it will start growing again.
That's what we want.
We want, is everything okay?
Okay.
Yeah, we just want things to be restored.
We want a happy ending.
Now, the Bible is all about ultimately happy endings, right?
It's all about hope.
It's all about restoration.
It all, I mean, it starts with everything going wrong in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve.
But it ends with restoration.
And so many along the way.
And so, this is 2 Samuel.
It's the story of David.
David, who we all know from David and Goliath.
God's chosen king.
And he was a wonderful king.
And under him, God built this beautiful kingdom that we saw a few weeks ago.
And, yeah, it looked great.
The only thing is, it was all under threat because of what David had done, right?
He had committed adultery and murder.
There were terrible consequences.
It affected him.
It affected everyone else around him.
And, yeah, two weeks ago, he had to flee for his life because his son tried to take over the kingdom, made himself king.
But the past two weeks, then, some good news.
First of all, everything that happened really changed him, brought him back to God.
And then, last week, yeah, David was saved.
He was delivered from certain death.
Basically, because his great enemy, his son, yeah, died.
The war was over.
And so, now everything is set for him to come back, right?
It was a great cost.
But today, David is going to come back and sit on the throne again.
And this is basically the end of the story.
Next week is just an epilogue.
But, yeah, we called it The Return of the King, right?
So, you know that movie.
We want a happy ending.
So, why don't we go and look at that?
So, Anastasia is going to come up and read a few parts of this passage.
And then, we'll look at it together.
The scripture reading today comes from the book of 2 Samuel, chapter 19 to 20.
Please follow along on your bulletin, on the screen, or on your own Bibles.
Starting in chapter 19, verse 8, we read,
Now, Israel had fled every man to his own home.
And all the people were arguing throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying,
The king delivered us from the hand of our enemies and saved us from the hand of the Philistines.
And now he has fled out of the land from Absalom.
But Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle.
Now, therefore, why do you say nothing about bringing the king back?
And King David sent this message to Zadok and Abiathar, the priests.
Say to the elders of Judah,
Why should you be the last to bring the king back to his house,
when the word of our Israel has come to the king?
You are my brothers.
You are my bone and my flesh.
Why then should you be the last to bring back the king?
And say to Amsa,
Are you not my bone and my flesh?
God do so to me and more also,
if you are not commander of my army from now on in place of Joab.
And he swayed the heart of all the men of Judah as one man,
so that they sent word to the king,
Return, both you and all your servants.
So the king came back to the Jordan,
and Judah came to Gilgal to meet the king,
and to bring the king over the Jordan.
And Shemai, the son of Jerah, the Benjamite from Baharim,
hurried to come down with the men of Judah to meet King David.
And with him were a thousand men from Benjamin.
And Ziba, the servant of the house of Saul,
with his fifteen sons and his twenty servants,
rushed down to the Jordan before the king,
and they crossed the fort to bring over the king's household,
and to do his pleasure.
And Shemai, the son of Jerah,
fell down before the king,
as he was about to cross the Jordan,
and said to the king,
Let not let my lord hold me guilty,
or remember how your servant did wrong on the day my lord the king left Jerusalem.
Do not let the king take it to heart,
for your servant knows that I have sinned.
Therefore, behold, I have come this day,
the first of all the house of Joseph,
to come down to meet my lord the king.
Abishai, the son of Zeriah, answered,
Shall I be put to death for this,
because he cursed the Lord's anointed?
But David said,
What have I to do with you,
you sons of Zeriah,
that you should this day be as an adversary to me?
Shall anyone be put to death in Israel this day?
For do I not know that I am this day king over Israel?
And the king said to Shimei,
You shall not die.
And the king gave him his oath.
And Mephibosheth, the son of Saul,
came down to meet the king.
He had neither taken care of his feet,
nor trimmed his beard,
nor washed his clothes,
from the day the king departed
until the day he came back in safety.
And when he came to Jerusalem to meet the king,
the king said to him,
Why did you not go with me, Mephibosheth?
He answered,
My lord, O king,
my servant deceived me.
For your servant said to him,
I will saddle a donkey for myself,
that I may ride on it and go with the king.
For your servant is lame.
He has slandered your servant to my lord the king.
But my lord, the king is like the angel of God.
Do therefore what seems good to you.
For all my father's house were but men doomed to death
before my lord the king.
But you set your servant among those who eat at your table.
What further right have I then to cry to the king?
And the king said to him,
Why speak any more of your affairs?
I have decided you and Ziba shall divide the land.
And Mephibosheth said to the king,
Oh, let him take it all,
since my lord the king has come safely home.
In chapter 20, verse 23, we read,
Now Joab was in command of all the army of Israel.
And Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada,
was in command of the Kertites and the Pelethites.
And Adoram was in charge of the forced labor.
And Jehoshaphat, the son of Ahilut,
was the recorder.
And Shiva was secretary.
And Zadok and Abithar were priests.
And Ira, the Jairat, was also David's priest.
This is the word of God.
Thanks, Anastasia.
Yeah, we're in the middle of a story.
I'm sure there's some details that, for visitors,
you wonder what that's about.
But let's look at it together.
Now, we couldn't read it all.
And yet, if you look at the big story,
what's the big point?
I think you can see David is back, right?
David is back.
Today, he's crossing the Jordan,
and he's going to come back to Jerusalem
and come on the throne.
He had to flee for his sin,
but now he's back,
and he's going to Jerusalem
with great fanfare.
Everyone's coming to meet him.
And you can really see that
if you look at all the different stories, right?
So in chapter 15, when he had to flee,
what happened?
Well, he left Jerusalem,
and then he met his loyal friends.
Next slide.
He met his loyal friends.
Then he met Tiba.
Then he met Shimi.
And then he crossed the Jordan.
And now, what happens today?
Well, he crosses the Jordan.
He meets Shimi.
He meets Jiba.
He meets his loyal friends.
And he gets back to Jerusalem.
It's really the same thing in reverse, right?
I don't know.
We sometimes go on holiday,
and we take the airport bus.
And it's always the same, right?
Here's the Eagle's Nest Tunnel,
and then the Stonecutters Bridge
and the Tsing Ma Bridge
and under City Gate Outlets,
and we get to the airport.
And then when we come back,
well, the City Gate Outlets
and what's it?
The Tsing Ma Bridge
and the Stonecutters Bridge.
And you really feel,
hey, we're getting back, right?
And that's the point here.
David is back.
It's exactly reversed.
Everything that happened
is like it's reversed,
which is incredible mercy, right?
God's incredible mercy
after what he had done.
He deserved to die,
but God had mercy,
and now he's back,
which is great news for David himself.
And of course, given who David is,
it should be such great news for the people
because here was God's chosen king,
the man after God's heart, right?
He was the one who ruled
with righteousness and justice,
and everything was so great under him.
And when you see this passage,
now we have a Bible reading plan
at this church,
and in the summer,
we went to Samuel,
and people were sharing,
and many of them were struck
by how David is so forgiving, right?
So there was this guy, Shimee,
who, yeah,
when David had to flee,
he stood on some higher ledge,
and he threw stones at David.
Get out, get out,
you man of blood.
He cursed the king,
and yeah,
terrible event.
But then, of course,
he made a miscalculation, right?
Because now David is back.
And you can hear Shimee,
and you can hear him come.
Anastasia read it so well, right?
Oh, please, Lord,
I know I've sinned.
Please don't take it to heart, right?
Because, yeah,
he knows David is back,
and he did real wrong.
And then one of David's officers says,
I mean,
shouldn't we put this guy to death, right?
He cursed the king.
That is,
you shouldn't do that, right?
But then what does David say?
No, right?
Why should you be as an adversary to me,
you sons of Zeruiah,
my officers,
shall anyone,
what is it,
verse 22,
shall anyone be put to death in Israel this day?
For do I not know
that I am this day king over Israel?
And the king said to Shimee,
you shall not die,
and the king gave him his oath, right?
Here is someone who did something so wrong,
and yet David is forgiving, right?
He,
you won't die,
I swear.
Wonderful, right?
So,
yeah,
David is really back.
And that's important
because then in chapter 20,
we get the counterpart.
What is the counterpart?
Well,
you have the king
and you have the kingdom.
In chapter 20,
we didn't read it,
but it's all about how the kingdom is back.
If you're interested,
why is it?
The story isn't that important.
There's a bit of squabbling.
An argument between David's tribe,
Judah,
and some of the other tribes.
And at some point,
there's one guy who says,
well,
we've had enough.
20 verse 1.
Now,
there happened to be there
a worthless man
whose name was Sheba,
the son of Bichri,
a Benjaminite.
And he blew the trumpet
and said,
we have no portion in David
and we have no inheritance
in the son of Jesse.
Every man to his ten,
so Israel.
And,
yeah,
he tries to just split the kingdom.
Now,
in the end,
he doesn't get many followers.
He and his friends
flee to some city
and David's army
comes after him
and in the end,
he gets beheaded.
In the story,
Joab becomes commander again.
It's not that important,
but the interesting thing is,
it's actually a reboot
of chapters 2 to 4.
We never preached on it,
but it seems to,
there's three key events
that are exactly the same
as chapters 2 to 4.
Why does that matter?
Well,
chapters 2 to 4 of the book
was God establishing
David's kingdom.
It's how David became king
over all Israel.
And so,
the fact that we get
a reboot,
but we get the same thing,
David,
here's the kingdom.
God is reestablishing
David's kingdom,
which is what we want,
right?
It's not just about
the guy on the throne,
but his rule,
a rule of victory
and peace
and rest
and blessing.
That is what we want.
And yeah,
that's what we get
in chapter 20.
And at the end of the chapter,
we read that summary.
It's the same as chapter 8,
right?
At the end of chapter 8,
there was this summary,
kind of,
David seems so stable,
the kingdom is here,
and now end of chapter 20.
Again,
we get this summary,
and Joab was over the army,
and Jehoshaphat,
the son of El-Hilut,
was the recorder,
and this guy was a priest,
and right?
Again,
it's not Absalom's kingdom,
it's David's kingdom.
David is back.
The kingdom is back.
That is such a wonderful news.
It really feels like
the good old days,
the happy ending
that we want.
Except,
I know what you're expecting,
right?
Is it really so good?
If you've read it carefully,
if you've maybe read
the rest of the Bible,
is it really so good?
They seem back,
but are they?
Are the king
in the kingdom back?
Because with this guy,
Shimee,
I don't know if you did
the Bible reading plan,
and after 2 Samuel,
you read 1 Kings.
And we meet David
at the end of his life,
when he kind of gives
instructions to his son Solomon,
who will become
the next king.
And what kind of things
does David say?
He gives some instructions.
1 Kings chapter 2,
verses 8 and 9,
it's here on the screen.
And David says,
And there's also with you
Shimee,
the son of Gerah,
the Benjaminite
from Bacchariim,
who cursed me
with a grievous curse
on the day
when I went to Maganaim.
And when he came down
to meet me at the Jordan,
I swore to him
by the Lord,
saying,
I will not put you
to death with a sword.
Now therefore,
do not hold him guiltless,
for you are a wise man.
You will know
what you ought to do to him,
and you shall bring
his gray head
down with blood
to shale.
That's not very nice, right?
Yeah, this guy cursed me,
but I promised
not to kill him,
so when I'm gone,
you kill him.
Right?
That's what he's saying.
Now,
I don't think it's a grudge.
I mean,
it's justice,
right?
The justice needs to be done
on this guy, maybe,
and it doesn't have to be
so negative.
But you may wonder,
why didn't he do that
in chapter 19?
Right?
Why not do it then?
Well,
if you go back
to 2 Samuel,
I think the answer
is clear, right?
Because
verse 16 and 17
of chapter 19,
and Shimei,
the son of Gerah,
the Benjaminite
from Bacarim,
hurried to come down
with the men of Judah
to meet King David,
and with him
were a thousand men
from Benjamin.
And he had a lot
of friends with him.
And if David just
had him executed
there and then,
those thousand men
wouldn't really like it,
and maybe that wouldn't
really help the stability
of his kingdom.
So it's just politically
that he says,
okay,
I'm not going to deal
with this opponent
because I want to
keep my king together.
So let me not do justice,
let me do what's helpful
for my kingdom.
Right?
That's the problem.
And you see that even more
with the next story,
right?
With Ziba and Mephibosheth.
Now again,
that's something we've seen
over the past few sermons,
right?
Do you remember
Mephibosheth?
He was the grandson
of Saul,
who was kind of
David's great enemy
in the past,
the previous king.
And so,
of course,
you know,
he comes from
his enemy's family,
and yet David
was so wonderfully
kind to him,
right?
He gave Mephibosheth,
the guy was crippled,
he was lame,
such a wretch,
and yet David gave him,
you know,
all the land of Saul,
and Mephibosheth
could always eat
at his table.
It was such grace,
right?
Such steadfast love.
But then a few weeks ago,
when David was fleeing,
Tiba,
who was the servant
of Saul,
and David told him
to serve Mephibosheth now,
he came to David
with a lot of food,
and David asked,
hey,
Tiba,
where's Mephibosheth?
And Tiba said,
well,
he is wringing his hands,
right?
He is saying,
yeah,
now today,
the kingdom is going
to come back to me,
right?
It felt like such a betrayal,
a stab in the back.
He had been so kind
to Mephibosheth,
and now he's
stabbing him in the back.
But now,
Mephibosheth himself
shows up,
right?
Verse 20,
and Mephibosheth,
the son of Saul,
came down to meet
the king at 24.
He had neither
taken care of his feet,
nor trimmed his beard,
nor washed his clothes
from the day
the king departed
until the day
he came back in safety.
Mephibosheth,
you know,
he looks terrible
because,
you know,
all this time
he hadn't taken care
of himself
because he was
clearly so upset
that David had to leave.
And David asked,
hey,
why didn't you
come with me?
Well,
I'm lame,
right?
I can't just go.
I need a donkey.
And I asked my servant,
give me a donkey,
but instead he went off
to you and lied,
right?
Because Siva said,
yeah,
he was just lying
about Mephibosheth.
Everyone can see,
look,
Mephibosheth,
he was so loyal
to David.
And Siva was just a liar
who just thought
this is a good opportunity
to get all the land
for me,
right?
How does David
deal with it?
Well,
what should he do?
It's very obvious,
right?
He should get everything
back to Mephibosheth.
And Siva needs
to be punished.
Instead,
verse 29,
and the king
said to him,
why speak any more
of your affairs?
I have decided
you and Siva
shall divide the land
half and half.
That's not really just,
right?
That's completely unjust.
Clearly,
Siva is a liar.
Mephibosheth is your
loyal servant.
Why would you do that?
Well,
again,
who is Siva,
right?
Verse 17,
19 verse 17,
that detail,
and Siva,
the servant
of the house of Saul
with his 15 sons
and his 20 servants.
I don't know
what you think
when you hear
the servant of Saul.
Do you think
he's a cleaner?
No.
This guy has
20 servants himself,
right?
This guy is
pretty powerful.
He has 15 sons.
That doesn't mean
that,
you know,
he likes large families.
It means he has
like three or four wives,
right?
Which is kind of
the status symbol.
It's like having
three Ferraris,
right?
back then.
So basically,
this guy is just
very powerful.
And David doesn't
want to cross him.
Hey,
here's a crippled guy.
Here's a really
powerful man.
Let me do
half and half,
right?
It's just corruption.
Let me favor
the powerful
so that,
that is what
David's doing.
And so,
the guy of
justice
and righteousness,
well,
he's basically
just the
compromised king.
Right?
We see David
here.
We thought
David's back.
He is back,
but he's a
compromised king.
No more justice,
no more
self-interest
instead of justice.
We thought
he's back,
but he's not.
So sad,
right?
The old
David
is gone.
He's a
compromised king.
And that's
such a
shock,
right?
Because David
was such a
good guy.
He had such
an amazing
track record
for almost
all this book,
right?
For almost
all his life.
And then there
was just one
thing with
Bathsheba,
one adultery
and murder.
And then,
you know,
but then he
went through
so much,
right?
He had to
flee,
all the
discipline,
all the
consequences,
the costs,
and now he's
back.
Surely that's
enough.
Except it's
not.
Right?
He will never
be the same
again.
He's truly
forgiven,
restored,
and yet he
is never
the same
again.
One sin
and it's
all lost.
In a way,
just like
Adam and
Eve,
right?
One rebellion,
one time that
they turned
away from God
and did their
own thing,
and it's
all lost.
Ultimately,
David is just
a sinful
human being.
I think that
challenges us,
right?
It's not how
we usually
think of
people.
You know,
when we think
of bad and
good,
we think of
this kind
of spectrum,
right?
From really
bad to really
good.
And,
you know,
David,
he was pretty
much here.
Maybe he
wasn't all
the way
there,
but he
was pretty
good,
right?
That's what
we think
of people.
We just,
you know,
we need
someone good
or better.
So often
in our life,
right?
Like marriage.
Apparently,
Hong Kong has
the seventh
highest divorce
rate in the
world.
I didn't know
that,
depending on
how you
calculate it.
Now,
why do people
divorce?
Why do people
not get
married?
So that it's
easier to
break up?
Well,
because they
think,
I need a
better spouse,
right?
I need
someone,
well,
who doesn't
have these
annoying habits
with whom I
have less
disagreements,
less conflict.
That's what
people want.
I mean,
there's some
truth in that.
I mean,
there are some
people,
yeah,
some people are
better than
others.
And there's some
people that are
terrible and you
should never
marry them,
right?
You need to be
very careful
who you marry.
But,
don't forget
the universality
of sin.
In the end,
they're all
sinners.
And,
you know,
here's David,
the most wonderful
king,
yet one sin
and it's over,
right?
You don't need a
slightly better
king who's more
to the right.
I think the
Bible's view is
more like this
one,
right?
It's binary.
You have perfect
and you have
sinful.
Now,
some people are
more sinful
than others,
but this is
basically what
the Bible says.
And this passage
shows,
you know,
this one sin.
Clearly,
David's not
perfect and
he's just in
the other
spectrum with
everyone else,
right?
The most
godly spouse
is not
perfect.
They will
sin.
The most
wonderful boss
that you
have will
make your
life difficult
at some
point at
work.
The best
kings will
let you
down.
All people
are sinners.
They're all
compromised.
Such a
sobering
truth,
right?
You know,
that's saying
nobody's
perfect.
It's kind
of encouragement.
Ah,
nobody's
perfect.
It's actually
really depressing.
Nobody's
perfect.
It's really,
yeah,
that's it.
And the
thing is,
that has
consequences.
Because the
king and
the kingdom
are linked.
Right?
If David
is a
compromised
king,
well,
what do
we get
in the
kingdom?
Now,
we don't
see that
much.
We don't
see this
wonderful
description
as we
had in
chapter
8.
But look
at that.
We need
to look
at that
summary.
Now,
do you
know the
game
spot the
difference?
Right?
If you
have kids,
you probably
know that.
There's two
pictures,
and they
look the
same,
but if you
look carefully,
there's a few
differences.
Right?
Well,
let's do that
with the
summary at
the end of
chapter 20,
and the
other one
at the
end of
chapter 8.
I've put
them here
on the
screen.
I've also
in the
bulletin
at the
bottom,
I've printed
it,
so if you're
sitting at
the back,
but you
have a
bulletin.
So just
have a
look.
Read it
through.
I mean,
sometimes things
have been
swapped around,
but there's
three major
differences.
See if
anyone can
find them.
If you
find the
differences,
raise your
hand.
Is the
kingdom
really the
same?
Don't
be shy.
Anyone?
Anything
that's
missing?
Anything
that's
been
added?
No one?
Oscar.
Yeah.
Exactly.
Chapter 8,
it started
with,
and David
reigned
over all
Israel,
and he
did justice
and equity
for all
the people.
David isn't
even mentioned
in the other
one, right?
It's just his
officials.
David is like
a shadow.
He's not
even there.
No justice,
no equity
is not
even mentioned.
Anything
else?
Yeah,
Faith?
Yeah.
Adoram was
over the
forced labor.
Maybe you
see it in
the middle.
So now
we have
a department
of forced
labor,
a department
of slavery
in the
cabinet.
Right?
I don't
know what
you think.
That doesn't
sound very
good.
There's
one more
maybe at
the end.
Chapter 8,
David's
sons were
priests,
and David's
sons are
not mentioned
in the
other one.
Maybe
because between
the two,
three of
David's
sons have
died.
But yeah,
let's put it
here.
But here
we go,
right?
We have a
kingdom of
justice and
equity.
And now
we have a
place with
forced labor.
Right?
It's just not
the same.
If you read
carefully,
man,
in chapter
8,
you saw
that it
was so
wonderful.
I want
to live
there.
But the
opposite is
also true.
Right?
Now you
see David's
kingdom,
and you
think,
man,
I don't
want to
live there.
Well,
forced labor.
What a
terrible place.
The glory
is gone.
Right?
And so
basically,
yeah,
we have here
the broken
kingdom.
And no
longer the
godly king
and the
glorious
kingdom,
we have
the
compromised
king and
the
broken
kingdom.
That is,
if you
look carefully,
it looks
good,
it looks
back,
and yet,
it's gone.
Right?
It's so true of
life,
right?
The king
leads to the
kingdom.
You know,
if you have a
sinful spouse,
you're going to
have problems in
your marriage.
If you have a
boss and
colleagues who
fall short,
you have a
job that falls
short.
And we
often don't
get it.
We keep
changing.
I had this
friend of
mine,
like,
a few years
ago.
Every time I
met him,
he had a
different job.
That was in
the time that
the job market
was better.
But yeah,
why?
Well,
my boss is a
jerk,
next job.
Oh,
my colleagues
are annoying,
next job.
But the
customers are so
frustrating.
Right?
He was never
happy,
and he kept on
changing.
He kept
looking for
the perfect
job,
and he
never got
it,
because,
yeah,
people are
sinful,
and therefore
you will have
a bad
experience,
right?
People fleeing
the country,
so many people
fleeing or
emigrating because
hopefully it's
better somewhere
else.
Sometimes that's
really true.
If you want to
escape the war
in Ukraine,
that's a really
good thing to
do.
And yet,
nowhere is
perfect,
right?
Wherever you
move to,
the people are
sinners,
the people in
charge,
they don't
follow God,
it will never
be perfect.
And so wherever
you look for
your hope,
it's not going
to work.
And those of
reality,
I don't know
what you're
going to face
tomorrow,
but I can
tell you it's
going to be
disappointing,
right?
People will
sin against you
and you will
have a bad
experience.
That's life
in this world,
right?
Because,
yeah,
just like the
king and the
kingdom are
linked,
people lead
to your
experience.
Some days are
better than
others,
but it's never
perfect.
And I'm not
even talking
about your
own sin,
right?
This is about
the people we
hope in,
the people we
look to.
I mean,
so much of
problems in
my life,
I'm part of
the problem,
right?
But we're not
talking about
that.
And,
you know,
it gets even
worse.
Because the
kingdom is not
just broken.
In a way,
having in chapter
20 another
rebellion isn't
that good.
But especially
that cry of
Sheba in verse
1,
right?
we have no
portion in
David.
We have no
inheritance in
the son of
Jesse.
Every man to
his ten
so Israel.
Does it sound
familiar to
anyone?
Probably not.
Well,
come with me to
1 Kings chapter
12.
I mean,
what happens
in,
what happens
to David,
after David
came Solomon,
he had this
glorious kingdom,
although he
then turned
away from the
Lord.
And then we
had,
what's it,
but after him
came Rehoboam.
And God had
said under him
the kingdom
would split.
And Rehoboam,
he was a bit
of an idiot,
right?
So the people
came to him
that, hey,
we had it a bit
tough under
Solomon,
can you make
it lighter?
And he asked
for advice,
and his friend
said to him,
oh, just
tough them.
And so that's
what he said,
right?
Well, you think
my father's tough,
I'm going to be
even tougher.
What did they
say?
1 Kings chapter
12, verse 16.
And when all
Israel saw that
the king did
not listen to
them, the
people answered
the king,
what portion
do we have
in David?
We have no
inheritance in
the son of
Jesse.
To your
ten, so
Israel.
Look to your
own house,
David.
It's pretty
much exactly
the same
thing as
begging to
Samuel.
Exactly the
same words.
And even
more, what
does Rehoboam
do?
He's not a
very good
diplomat, right?
Verse 18.
Then King
Rehoboam
sent Adoram,
who was
taskmaster
over the
forced labor,
and all
Israel
stoned him
to death
with stones.
It's not
really good,
right?
If people
are complaining
that you're
too tough,
don't send
a chief
slave driver.
But basically,
yeah.
But the
same Adoram.
Which is
interesting,
right?
So back
into Samuel,
it's like we
have a cameo.
We have a
little foreshadowing,
right?
What happens in
chapter 12,
this big event,
the split of the
kingdom,
how the kingdom
fell apart,
we get that
kind of
foreshadowed.
We get a
cameo into
Samuel.
Marvel movies,
you often have
foreshadowing,
you often have
cameos,
because people
expect you to
see all the
movies.
And that's
kind of here.
And you may
think, oh man,
this is quite
complicated.
Just to say,
the only thing I
do for this is
just read my
Bible,
right?
If you read
the Bible
every year,
every two
years,
and you
kind of
remember what
it says,
the writer
wants you to
pick up on
these things.
It has nothing
to do with
knowing Hebrew
or seminary.
You know,
if you notice
a verse,
hey, this is
very similar
to that verse,
go back and
check it.
But that's
what the
writer wants
you to see.
Man,
the kingdom,
you know,
the doom of
the kingdom
is foreshadowed
here.
And so we
have not just
a broken
kingdom,
we have a
doomed kingdom.
A doomed
kingdom.
Right?
The readers
know David's
kingdom didn't
last.
But where
did it go
wrong?
You know,
we've read
through kings.
Was it
Manasseh and
his idolatry?
Was it
Ahaz and
his politics?
Was it
Solomon and
his 700
wives?
Well, the
writer is
hinting,
actually,
already under
David.
Under David,
it was basically
already doomed.
And there's
some truth
that, you
know,
there's great
kings and
bad kings,
and David
was pretty
good, and
in the rest
of kings,
he's always
the standard.
All the
other kings,
well, they're
as good as
David, or
not as good
as David,
or nowhere
like David,
and God
was gracious.
You know,
400 years,
the kingdom
went on and
on and on.
God was
merciful,
yet the writer
is saying,
already under
David,
it was doomed.
Already under
David, not
Manasseh,
not Ahaz,
not Solomon,
as soon as
David sinned,
it was basically
done.
Because,
ultimately,
sin brings
judgment.
Right?
We've seen how
awful sin is,
and as soon as
sin comes in,
it's doomed.
Like we had
with COVID,
right?
As soon as
there was one
Omicron case
in a place,
you know,
everyone's going
to get it.
And that's
basically the
message here.
It's doomed.
Even the best
human kingdoms,
the best
institutions,
the best
marriages,
the best
jobs,
they can run
on a bit,
some better
than others.
Everything in
the ultimately
is doomed.
Right?
Where there's
sin,
God wants a
perfect world.
Everything that's
less than perfect
will go one
day.
It's doomed.
So that is where
we're ending,
right?
The Bible warns
you everything's
broken.
Everywhere there's
sin and everything
is doomed.
It's so depressing,
right?
We thought there
would be a happy
ending here in
2 Samuel.
Actually,
there isn't.
Actually,
David,
once he sinned,
it was over.
Now we need
a better king,
right?
We need to go
back to this
spectrum.
We don't need
someone who is
further along that
little spectrum
on the left.
We need someone
on the right.
We need a king
who is not just
less sinful.
We need someone
who is perfect.
If he is perfect,
if he never sins,
there will never
be judgment.
He can bring the
perfect kingdom
that we all need
that lasts forever.
And it's no
surprise that
that's Jesus,
right?
That is the king
we need because
everything else
will fail.
Everything else
will not work.
He's the only one
who can save,
the only one
who can bring
the kingdom.
So the right
response,
yeah,
is to turn
from him,
to turn to him,
right?
To turn away
from the things
in the world
that we know
are not going
to work,
that we know
we're not going
to satisfy,
and turn to him.
That's what we're
going to do
in a moment
with the baptisms,
right?
All these people,
people who saw
that there was
no hope in the world
and so they've
turned to Jesus
and found life
in him.
But not just
one day,
no,
every day of our lives.
Right?
We need Jesus
so much
because there's
no other hope
in the world.
well,
let's pray
and sing.
Our Father,
thank you for
this reality check.
Father,
there are many
good things in the world
and yet nothing's
perfect.
So much of life,
there's frustrations,
there's disappointments
because ultimately
this is a world
where people sin,
where we sin,
where things go wrong.
Father,
would we see that?
Would we not chase
after other things,
think that we can find
just something better here?
Would we see that
it's only Jesus
who can make things right,
only Jesus who's perfect,
only Jesus who obeyed you
perfectly on the cross
when he died for our sins,
only Jesus who can bring
us back to you?
Lord,
would we look to him?
Lord,
give us faith,
whoever we are here,
wherever we're at,
bring us to Jesus.
In his name we pray.
Amen.