WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.439 we were going to have our reading, which Anna is going to do for us. 00:00:03.520 --> 00:00:08.160 And it is from the book of 2 Samuel, chapter 1, verses 1 to 16. 00:00:08.279 --> 00:00:09.700 It's on page 304. 00:00:10.320 --> 00:00:14.380 Anna will give a pause long enough for you all to find that in the Bible. 00:00:14.560 --> 00:00:16.280 2 Samuel, chapter 1. 00:00:21.359 --> 00:00:22.219 Is that long enough? 00:00:22.879 --> 00:00:23.600 Good morning. 00:00:23.600 --> 00:00:32.200 After the death of Saul, David returned from striking down the Amalekites and stayed in Ziklag two days. 00:00:33.140 --> 00:00:37.900 On the third day, a man arrived from Saul's camp with his clothes torn and dust on his head. 00:00:39.260 --> 00:00:42.000 When he came to David, he fell to the ground to pay him honor. 00:00:43.480 --> 00:00:45.460 Where have you come from? David asked him. 00:00:46.000 --> 00:00:48.980 He answered, I have escaped from the Israelite camp. 00:00:49.680 --> 00:00:51.680 What happened? David asked. Tell me. 00:00:51.679 --> 00:00:55.019 The men fled from the battle, he replied. 00:00:55.439 --> 00:00:56.659 Many of them fell and died. 00:00:57.700 --> 00:00:59.560 And Saul and his son Jonathan are dead. 00:01:01.280 --> 00:01:04.859 Then David said to the young man, who brought him... 00:01:04.859 --> 00:01:05.159 Oh, sorry. 00:01:05.519 --> 00:01:07.799 And David said to the young man who brought him the report, 00:01:08.260 --> 00:01:10.519 How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead? 00:01:11.439 --> 00:01:14.019 I happen to be on Mount Gilboa, the young man said. 00:01:14.799 --> 00:01:16.640 And there was Saul leaning on his spear. 00:01:17.719 --> 00:01:20.079 And the chariots and their drivers in hot pursuit. 00:01:20.079 --> 00:01:23.760 When he turned round and saw me, he called out to me. 00:01:24.000 --> 00:01:25.219 And I said, what can I do? 00:01:26.120 --> 00:01:27.759 He asked me, who are you? 00:01:28.719 --> 00:01:30.039 An Amalekite, I answered. 00:01:30.739 --> 00:01:33.400 Then he said to me, stand here by me and kill me. 00:01:33.500 --> 00:01:35.679 I'm in the throes of death, but I'm still alive. 00:01:35.680 --> 00:01:38.920 So I stood beside him and killed him, 00:01:39.060 --> 00:01:41.720 Because I knew that after he'd fallen, he could not survive. 00:01:42.720 --> 00:01:45.740 I took the crown that was on his head and the band on his arm, 00:01:46.140 --> 00:01:47.660 And I brought them here to my Lord. 00:01:49.400 --> 00:01:53.260 Then David and all the men with him took hold of their clothes and tore them. 00:01:53.980 --> 00:01:55.700 They mourned and wept and fasted, 00:01:56.140 --> 00:01:58.020 Till evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, 00:01:58.560 --> 00:01:59.920 And for the army of the Lord, 00:02:00.320 --> 00:02:01.660 And for the nation of Israel, 00:02:01.659 --> 00:02:03.959 Because they had fallen by the sword. 00:02:05.700 --> 00:02:08.099 David said to the young man who brought him the report, 00:02:08.379 --> 00:02:09.120 Where are you from? 00:02:10.259 --> 00:02:12.680 I am a foreigner, an Amalekite, he answered. 00:02:13.879 --> 00:02:14.659 David asked him, 00:02:14.780 --> 00:02:17.759 Why weren't you afraid to lift your hand to destroy the Lord's anointed? 00:02:18.620 --> 00:02:20.699 Then David called one of his men and said, 00:02:21.340 --> 00:02:22.479 Go, strike him down. 00:02:23.060 --> 00:02:24.659 So he struck him down and he died. 00:02:24.659 --> 00:02:26.340 But David had said to him, 00:02:26.900 --> 00:02:28.620 Your blood be on your own head. 00:02:28.699 --> 00:02:31.139 Your own mouth testified against you when you said, 00:02:31.259 --> 00:02:32.359 I killed the Lord's anointed. 00:02:33.599 --> 00:02:34.159 Amen. 00:02:36.139 --> 00:02:38.359 It really is an exercise in faith, isn't it? 00:02:38.400 --> 00:02:40.400 Coming to look at these ancient stories, 00:02:40.759 --> 00:02:45.439 With the trust and confidence that it is through hearing these 00:02:45.439 --> 00:02:47.359 And understanding these stories rightly, 00:02:48.280 --> 00:02:50.840 That we are really not only helped, 00:02:50.840 --> 00:02:55.140 But we are pointed to the Lord Jesus and saved 00:02:55.140 --> 00:02:58.159 Through the good news of the scriptures. 00:02:58.280 --> 00:03:00.039 So it's an exercise in faith for us all, 00:03:00.140 --> 00:03:00.860 For me as a preacher, 00:03:01.319 --> 00:03:02.599 For all of us as we listen. 00:03:03.340 --> 00:03:05.840 And so if writing notes is helpful to you, 00:03:06.080 --> 00:03:06.980 And it helps you concentrate, 00:03:07.120 --> 00:03:07.420 Then do it. 00:03:07.480 --> 00:03:07.980 If it's not, 00:03:09.120 --> 00:03:09.620 Don't. 00:03:10.060 --> 00:03:10.900 Just sit and listen. 00:03:11.659 --> 00:03:11.920 Great. 00:03:12.159 --> 00:03:14.740 Let me pray again for the Lord's help as we come to his word. 00:03:14.840 --> 00:03:15.240 Let me pray. 00:03:16.159 --> 00:03:18.360 Father, we want to pray just quietly in our hearts now, 00:03:18.360 --> 00:03:20.580 That you might help us in these moments, 00:03:21.240 --> 00:03:22.340 To listen carefully, 00:03:22.520 --> 00:03:24.180 To understand properly. 00:03:25.020 --> 00:03:27.340 But even more than just understanding with our minds, 00:03:27.440 --> 00:03:28.400 We pray that in our hearts, 00:03:28.460 --> 00:03:30.340 We might be moved to love and trust you. 00:03:31.680 --> 00:03:32.080 Oh Lord, 00:03:32.120 --> 00:03:34.640 We know that we are prone to wander from you. 00:03:35.240 --> 00:03:37.000 Bring us back to faith in Christ, 00:03:37.120 --> 00:03:39.020 To trust and confidence in him this morning, 00:03:39.100 --> 00:03:39.500 We pray. 00:03:40.120 --> 00:03:41.080 In Jesus name. 00:03:41.740 --> 00:03:42.120 Amen. 00:03:44.440 --> 00:03:44.840 Well, 00:03:44.840 --> 00:03:47.140 I want you to imagine the scene with me as we start. 00:03:47.139 --> 00:03:50.059 It's at 1010 BC. 00:03:50.859 --> 00:03:52.319 You're an Amalekite, 00:03:52.500 --> 00:03:53.879 And you are on the run. 00:03:55.319 --> 00:03:58.899 You've been involved in a raid on a foreign city, 00:03:59.339 --> 00:04:00.879 And it was successful. 00:04:01.659 --> 00:04:04.299 So you managed to burn the city, 00:04:04.539 --> 00:04:06.479 You captured the women and the children, 00:04:06.639 --> 00:04:08.299 You took the spoils of war, 00:04:08.479 --> 00:04:11.099 And you had an amazing party. 00:04:12.319 --> 00:04:14.639 You ate lots of food, 00:04:14.639 --> 00:04:16.979 You drank lots of wine, 00:04:17.560 --> 00:04:20.459 You were in a kind of state of oblivion. 00:04:21.519 --> 00:04:23.360 But then your party was interrupted. 00:04:24.319 --> 00:04:29.419 Your party was interrupted by the owner of the wives and the children, 00:04:30.099 --> 00:04:31.719 Who had turned up. 00:04:31.979 --> 00:04:34.180 He was a warrior called David. 00:04:34.180 --> 00:04:38.879 He'd come with 400 of his best troops, 00:04:39.400 --> 00:04:43.720 And he arrives with you having this amazing party, 00:04:43.860 --> 00:04:46.939 Celebrating the fact that you've captured all his wives and children. 00:04:47.439 --> 00:04:49.060 What do you think happens next? 00:04:49.060 --> 00:04:51.819 Well, it's carnage, isn't it? 00:04:52.240 --> 00:04:54.000 Drunk men do not fight well, 00:04:54.180 --> 00:04:57.540 And men robbed of their wives and children show no mercy. 00:04:58.560 --> 00:04:59.620 So the battle went on, 00:04:59.660 --> 00:05:01.920 It went on all the way through the night, 00:05:02.280 --> 00:05:03.340 Started at dusk, 00:05:03.360 --> 00:05:05.360 And carried right on until the next day. 00:05:05.620 --> 00:05:07.800 And only a few of you escaped David's men 00:05:07.800 --> 00:05:09.740 By jumping on camels and running north. 00:05:10.939 --> 00:05:11.600 And that's you. 00:05:12.519 --> 00:05:13.660 A little while later, 00:05:13.819 --> 00:05:14.939 Having escaped that battle, 00:05:15.019 --> 00:05:17.279 You find yourself on the scene of another one. 00:05:17.279 --> 00:05:19.119 Well, of what's left of it anyway. 00:05:19.979 --> 00:05:21.299 Our bodies lying on the ground, 00:05:21.439 --> 00:05:23.019 The victors are working their way round, 00:05:23.139 --> 00:05:25.059 Finishing people off and taking the spoil. 00:05:25.579 --> 00:05:27.339 Collecting anything of any value 00:05:27.339 --> 00:05:29.159 And leaving the bodies to the wild animals. 00:05:30.299 --> 00:05:33.219 And as you're tiptoeing around the battle scene, 00:05:33.319 --> 00:05:34.399 Trying to avoid being noticed, 00:05:34.539 --> 00:05:35.919 You hear a distant groan, 00:05:36.000 --> 00:05:37.919 The sound of a soldier who is still alive, 00:05:38.239 --> 00:05:40.099 And who is calling out for help. 00:05:40.739 --> 00:05:42.919 When you get over to this soldier, 00:05:42.919 --> 00:05:47.179 You realize that this soldier is none other than King Saul. 00:05:47.279 --> 00:05:48.619 Himself, the king of Israel. 00:05:49.359 --> 00:05:50.219 Everyone knows him. 00:05:50.339 --> 00:05:52.059 He's taller than the average bloke. 00:05:52.139 --> 00:05:52.679 He's handsome. 00:05:52.819 --> 00:05:54.239 He has a crown on his head. 00:05:54.299 --> 00:05:55.319 He has an armlet on his arm. 00:05:55.359 --> 00:05:57.399 And he has a spear with him. 00:05:57.419 --> 00:05:59.079 He always had a spear by his side. 00:05:59.799 --> 00:06:00.799 But here he is, 00:06:01.299 --> 00:06:02.079 Badly injured, 00:06:02.719 --> 00:06:03.739 Calling for your help. 00:06:04.419 --> 00:06:05.099 Stand here, 00:06:05.139 --> 00:06:05.879 He says to you, 00:06:06.279 --> 00:06:07.319 And kill me. 00:06:08.019 --> 00:06:08.639 I'm in agony. 00:06:08.779 --> 00:06:10.739 I don't want those Philistines to have the satisfaction 00:06:10.740 --> 00:06:12.199 Of finishing me off. 00:06:12.540 --> 00:06:14.660 So you kill me, please. 00:06:15.759 --> 00:06:17.500 Now here's the question for you this morning. 00:06:18.639 --> 00:06:19.439 What do you do? 00:06:20.480 --> 00:06:21.060 What do you do? 00:06:22.639 --> 00:06:22.879 You know, 00:06:23.180 --> 00:06:25.680 He's asking you to kill him, 00:06:25.780 --> 00:06:27.519 But it's a big deal, isn't he? 00:06:27.519 --> 00:06:28.759 He's the king. 00:06:29.419 --> 00:06:31.819 The king of a powerful nation. 00:06:32.019 --> 00:06:33.680 This isn't someone you mess with. 00:06:34.699 --> 00:06:35.799 But then as you're thinking, 00:06:35.899 --> 00:06:36.479 They're going thinking, 00:06:36.719 --> 00:06:38.060 What am I going to do? 00:06:38.120 --> 00:06:39.319 Am I going to kill this guy? 00:06:39.519 --> 00:06:42.259 Or am I going to show him mercy and just leave him? 00:06:43.019 --> 00:06:43.759 What am I going to do? 00:06:44.019 --> 00:06:46.439 Well then you have this brilliant brainwave. 00:06:46.439 --> 00:06:53.240 Because you remember that King Saul and you have a mutual enemy. 00:06:54.579 --> 00:06:54.939 David. 00:06:56.019 --> 00:06:58.699 You've just robbed his wives and children and he's after you. 00:06:59.199 --> 00:07:01.560 King Saul has been after David for a long time. 00:07:02.500 --> 00:07:04.399 So you come across a brainwave and you think, 00:07:04.519 --> 00:07:06.360 Huh, what an opportunity. 00:07:06.779 --> 00:07:08.540 An opportunity too good to miss. 00:07:08.699 --> 00:07:15.079 If I kill Saul and take his crown and his armlet and his spear to David, 00:07:15.079 --> 00:07:18.379 Then David is sure going to forgive me, isn't he? 00:07:19.039 --> 00:07:20.639 For stealing his wife and his children. 00:07:21.839 --> 00:07:23.599 So without a second thought, you pick up a sword, 00:07:23.659 --> 00:07:25.060 You push it through the chest of King Saul. 00:07:25.240 --> 00:07:29.519 You take off his crown and his armlet and you run to claim your forgiveness from David. 00:07:30.599 --> 00:07:34.099 Now that in a nutshell is our story in 2 Samuel chapter 1. 00:07:34.139 --> 00:07:37.339 Or at least it's the story that the Amalekite tells in our passage. 00:07:37.439 --> 00:07:38.279 And for the next few minutes, 00:07:38.319 --> 00:07:40.839 I just want us to look at the main characters in the story 00:07:40.839 --> 00:07:44.479 and then come at the end to think about how it might apply to us. 00:07:44.480 --> 00:07:47.360 So let's take a closer look firstly at the Amalekites. 00:07:48.259 --> 00:07:49.160 The Amalekites. 00:07:50.000 --> 00:07:52.860 Now, they've had their party crashed, haven't we? 00:07:52.939 --> 00:07:55.480 Or there they are having their party just before David crashed it. 00:07:55.819 --> 00:07:57.460 And if you look at the opening verse of our passage, 00:07:57.560 --> 00:07:59.620 you'll find that David is in a place called Ziklag, 00:07:59.740 --> 00:08:03.100 having returned from striking down the Amalekites. 00:08:03.700 --> 00:08:08.360 Ziklag was the Philistine city that David had been given by the king of Gath. 00:08:08.360 --> 00:08:11.240 And he'd been living there to try and escape King Saul, 00:08:11.520 --> 00:08:12.860 who had been trying to kill him. 00:08:13.680 --> 00:08:16.139 Over the page back in 1 Samuel chapter 30, 00:08:16.280 --> 00:08:19.080 you read the story of the Amalekite attack on the Ziklag. 00:08:19.840 --> 00:08:20.620 David was away. 00:08:20.980 --> 00:08:23.960 He was trying to join the battle between the Israelites and the Philistines. 00:08:24.240 --> 00:08:27.740 And the Amalekites seized on the defenseless city with David away 00:08:27.740 --> 00:08:29.720 and had come and attacked it, burned it with fire, 00:08:30.139 --> 00:08:31.840 taken the women and the children captive. 00:08:32.139 --> 00:08:33.700 It's a terrible, terrible crime. 00:08:34.279 --> 00:08:36.100 It's the worst kind of robbery, isn't it? 00:08:36.100 --> 00:08:39.840 It's like arriving from home to find that someone's not only broken into your house 00:08:39.840 --> 00:08:43.040 and taken your stuff, but they've taken your family as well. 00:08:43.680 --> 00:08:46.060 And that makes David mad, as you might expect. 00:08:47.540 --> 00:08:48.840 And he goes after the Amalekites. 00:08:48.960 --> 00:08:50.399 Eventually, he catches up with them, 00:08:50.500 --> 00:08:53.159 catches up with them at their party as they're celebrating their victory. 00:08:53.600 --> 00:08:57.600 And 1 Samuel tells us that David has only 400 men against his vast army 00:08:57.600 --> 00:08:59.779 because the rest of them are far too tired. 00:09:00.279 --> 00:09:03.600 But even so, they defeat the Amalekites and rescue the wives and children, 00:09:03.600 --> 00:09:08.180 with the Bible telling us that only 400 of the Amalekites get away on camels. 00:09:08.920 --> 00:09:09.879 That's what's just happened. 00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:11.139 And David is now back home. 00:09:11.560 --> 00:09:12.940 He's been home for two days. 00:09:13.240 --> 00:09:14.180 When in verse 2, 00:09:14.340 --> 00:09:19.159 in walks the young man who has torn clothes and dust on his head or soil on his head. 00:09:19.740 --> 00:09:22.120 And he bows down on the ground to David. 00:09:23.420 --> 00:09:26.440 Now, in those days, having dust or soil on your head 00:09:26.440 --> 00:09:28.800 is not because you've fallen over in a puddle. 00:09:29.159 --> 00:09:32.719 It's a sign that someone has died and you're showing sort of empathy with them. 00:09:32.799 --> 00:09:34.759 You have been buried with them, if you like. 00:09:34.819 --> 00:09:38.079 You have soil on your head like they have soil on their head under the ground. 00:09:38.699 --> 00:09:41.539 And you tear your clothes open to mourn them to show your sadness. 00:09:42.419 --> 00:09:45.799 Anyway, this young man tells David that King Saul and his son Jonathan 00:09:45.799 --> 00:09:48.000 have died in the battle along with a whole load of Israelites 00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:49.620 and the Philistines have won. 00:09:50.439 --> 00:09:53.939 David, if you remember from Anna's reading, wants to check out the story. 00:09:53.940 --> 00:09:56.000 So he asks the young man how he knows. 00:09:56.540 --> 00:09:58.080 To which, if you look down at verse 6, 00:09:58.240 --> 00:10:00.940 the Amalekite tells the story that we started with. 00:10:01.400 --> 00:10:03.540 A story which isn't included in one Samuel. 00:10:03.620 --> 00:10:06.100 And you have no real idea whether it's a true story or not. 00:10:06.300 --> 00:10:09.960 Or whether the details have been twisted by this Amalekite just to get his own way. 00:10:10.940 --> 00:10:12.200 But whatever the details, 00:10:12.380 --> 00:10:15.560 he does have Saul's crown and armlet in verse 10. 00:10:15.660 --> 00:10:17.180 So he must have been there or thereabouts. 00:10:17.740 --> 00:10:19.560 David never questions the truth of the story. 00:10:19.559 --> 00:10:22.259 But he does ask the man to identify himself. 00:10:22.639 --> 00:10:24.179 To which he says, verse 13, 00:10:24.319 --> 00:10:27.019 I am the son of a foreigner and Amalekite. 00:10:28.279 --> 00:10:29.879 Now just stop and think about that for a moment. 00:10:29.979 --> 00:10:31.819 This is a crunch moment in the story, isn't it? 00:10:32.959 --> 00:10:37.679 The young man thinks that coming to David with Saul's crown 00:10:37.679 --> 00:10:41.500 and with his armlet is enough to let him off the fact 00:10:41.500 --> 00:10:44.939 that he's just raided David's hometown and carried off his wife and children. 00:10:47.039 --> 00:10:49.239 Saul's death saves my life. 00:10:49.240 --> 00:10:51.060 That's the Amalekite's reckoning. 00:10:51.700 --> 00:10:52.799 But what happens in the end? 00:10:52.919 --> 00:10:54.000 Well, look down at verse 15. 00:10:54.159 --> 00:10:58.120 David says, go strike him down. 00:10:58.860 --> 00:10:59.919 Go execute him. 00:11:00.419 --> 00:11:03.740 So the Amalekite dies there in Ziklag with verse 16 saying 00:11:03.740 --> 00:11:06.000 it's his own fault for killing King Saul. 00:11:07.000 --> 00:11:08.460 Now we'll think about that some more in a moment. 00:11:08.560 --> 00:11:10.779 But the next character, let's think about the next character. 00:11:11.080 --> 00:11:12.100 That's King Saul. 00:11:12.399 --> 00:11:13.000 King Saul. 00:11:13.799 --> 00:11:17.279 Now I grant you that King Saul isn't a major character in this story 00:11:17.279 --> 00:11:18.220 because he's dead, right? 00:11:18.259 --> 00:11:20.319 So he doesn't do a fat lot in our story. 00:11:20.740 --> 00:11:23.600 He dies in the battle along with his sons and a whole load of other Israelites 00:11:23.600 --> 00:11:25.220 just as God had said would happen. 00:11:26.199 --> 00:11:29.399 One Samuel telling us that Saul died by falling on his own sword. 00:11:30.059 --> 00:11:32.000 Whether or not it was the Amalekite, we don't know. 00:11:32.740 --> 00:11:34.519 But the thing that we need to see in order to understand 00:11:34.519 --> 00:11:37.819 the significance of Saul for our story this morning 00:11:37.819 --> 00:11:39.799 is how he is referred to. 00:11:40.439 --> 00:11:44.059 So in verse 4, if you look, the Amalekite calls him just Saul. 00:11:44.259 --> 00:11:46.699 He doesn't call him King Saul or anything else. 00:11:46.720 --> 00:11:48.240 He just calls him Saul. 00:11:48.460 --> 00:11:52.579 But in verse 14 and verse 16, David calls him by a special name. 00:11:52.779 --> 00:11:54.139 Let me read those verses to you again. 00:11:55.019 --> 00:11:55.720 David asked him, 00:11:55.720 --> 00:12:00.800 Why weren't you afraid to lift your hand to destroy the Lord's anointed? 00:12:01.920 --> 00:12:03.980 Then David called one of his men and said, 00:12:04.360 --> 00:12:05.500 Go strike him down. 00:12:05.580 --> 00:12:07.279 So he struck him down and he died. 00:12:07.660 --> 00:12:08.879 For David said to him, 00:12:09.000 --> 00:12:10.639 Your blood be on your own head. 00:12:11.060 --> 00:12:14.019 Your own mouth testified against you when you said, 00:12:14.440 --> 00:12:18.399 I killed not Saul but the Lord's anointed. 00:12:19.480 --> 00:12:21.160 David calls him the Lord's anointed. 00:12:21.279 --> 00:12:22.940 Literally the word there is Messiah. 00:12:23.740 --> 00:12:24.700 This is amazing. 00:12:25.700 --> 00:12:29.580 David sees that Saul, despite all his failings and all his weaknesses, 00:12:29.800 --> 00:12:31.600 has been God's chosen king. 00:12:31.980 --> 00:12:33.120 His sent one. 00:12:33.780 --> 00:12:35.879 The one that God had chosen to lead his people. 00:12:36.640 --> 00:12:39.440 And that meant that his life was precious 00:12:39.440 --> 00:12:41.680 and it should be spared and not taken. 00:12:42.560 --> 00:12:45.520 And David says in verse 14 that the Amalekite should have known that. 00:12:45.520 --> 00:12:49.400 Clearly, if he knew enough to know who he was by the crown and the armlet, 00:12:49.460 --> 00:12:51.879 he knew enough to know you shouldn't kill him. 00:12:51.879 --> 00:12:55.840 I think it's probably an important aside here as well. 00:12:56.480 --> 00:13:00.519 Joni Erikson-Tarda points out in her book called When Is It Right to Die? 00:13:00.519 --> 00:13:06.799 That David's assumption in the passage here is that it is always morally wrong to take the life of someone, 00:13:07.220 --> 00:13:11.939 even if they're asking you to do so and even if they're coming towards the end of their life. 00:13:12.000 --> 00:13:12.759 Do you notice that? 00:13:13.860 --> 00:13:14.879 Let me say that again. 00:13:14.879 --> 00:13:19.580 David's assumption here is that it is morally wrong to take the life of someone, 00:13:19.700 --> 00:13:24.559 even if they're asking you and even if they are coming towards the end of their life anyway. 00:13:25.379 --> 00:13:27.460 Now, you need to know that because you need to remember that 00:13:27.460 --> 00:13:30.039 because that's going to be significant in our country in years to come. 00:13:30.100 --> 00:13:31.000 I am sure of it. 00:13:31.659 --> 00:13:35.820 Point is, euthanasia or assisted suicide is morally wrong in the scriptures, 00:13:36.360 --> 00:13:38.860 even when death is near and assistance is requested. 00:13:38.860 --> 00:13:40.639 It's just an aside. 00:13:41.840 --> 00:13:45.820 The fact here that this is the Messiah of Israel just heightens the guilt of the Amalekite, 00:13:46.080 --> 00:13:51.080 which makes Saul in our passage the murdered Messiah, doesn't it? 00:13:51.759 --> 00:13:53.200 He is the murdered Messiah. 00:13:54.240 --> 00:13:58.519 Now, the final character to look at is King David or David as the king in waiting. 00:13:59.560 --> 00:14:03.159 Samuel had anointed him as king way back in 1 Samuel chapter 16. 00:14:03.159 --> 00:14:07.939 He'd risen to fame in Israel through things like defeating Goliath and winning lots of battles. 00:14:08.399 --> 00:14:12.019 But King Saul, you might remember, hated him and kept chasing away, 00:14:12.480 --> 00:14:14.819 even trying to kill him to stop him from becoming king. 00:14:15.539 --> 00:14:20.519 But despite David having had lots of opportunities to kill Saul and take revenge, he never does. 00:14:20.620 --> 00:14:20.980 Why? 00:14:21.419 --> 00:14:23.959 Well, because he's sure that Saul is God's anointed king 00:14:23.959 --> 00:14:26.659 and it's God's job to make the king and not his. 00:14:27.539 --> 00:14:30.559 And in the way our story is told this morning, the way the passage is laid out, 00:14:30.559 --> 00:14:34.879 it places David's reaction to Saul right at the center of the passage, 00:14:35.239 --> 00:14:36.299 right at the center of the story. 00:14:36.719 --> 00:14:42.159 So verses 1 to 10 is really a conversation between David and the Amalekites. 00:14:43.079 --> 00:14:44.719 The Amalekite comes and speaks to David. 00:14:45.099 --> 00:14:47.699 And then at the end of the passage in verses 13 to 16, 00:14:47.699 --> 00:14:50.919 you've got another conversation between David and the Amalekite. 00:14:51.239 --> 00:14:55.719 And in between, the bit that the author really wants you to look at and zoom in on and focus 00:14:55.719 --> 00:14:58.739 is David's reaction to Saul's death. 00:14:59.199 --> 00:15:00.439 Verses 11 and 12. 00:15:00.559 --> 00:15:01.500 Let me read those to you again. 00:15:01.599 --> 00:15:02.599 Look down in your Bibles. 00:15:03.559 --> 00:15:07.719 Then David and all the men with him took hold of their clothes and tore them. 00:15:08.379 --> 00:15:12.859 They mourned and wept and fasted till evening for Saul and his son Jonathan 00:15:12.859 --> 00:15:16.359 and for the army of the Lord and for the nation of Israel, 00:15:16.699 --> 00:15:18.839 because they had fallen by the sword. 00:15:20.099 --> 00:15:24.879 Now that I think brings us to the big point, the big lesson for us this morning. 00:15:24.879 --> 00:15:28.519 And it's there in that contrast between David and the Amalekite. 00:15:29.120 --> 00:15:32.600 The Amalekite kills God's anointed to get his own way. 00:15:33.279 --> 00:15:37.439 Thinking that by killing Saul, he will secure for himself the life that he really wants, 00:15:37.639 --> 00:15:44.059 or at least secure the pardon from David for being part of the Amalekite tribe who stole his family. 00:15:44.059 --> 00:15:52.739 But in contrast, David, the righteous one, the man after God's heart, mourns for the sword that kills the Lord's anointed, 00:15:53.379 --> 00:15:58.119 tearing his clothes and weeping and going out without food and leading others to do the same 00:15:58.119 --> 00:16:01.579 because the sword has killed God's king and destroyed his army. 00:16:01.580 --> 00:16:04.320 And that's the point of the story, right? 00:16:04.700 --> 00:16:12.379 You understand the characters of the story by understanding their opposed reactions to the death of the Lord's anointed. 00:16:13.300 --> 00:16:19.560 In other words, if you want to know who's good and bad in the story in 2 Samuel chapter 1, 00:16:19.800 --> 00:16:24.900 you look at their reactions to the death of the Lord's anointed king. 00:16:25.900 --> 00:16:31.259 Wickedness dismisses God's king, takes his life just cheaply to achieve its own ends. 00:16:31.259 --> 00:16:36.460 While righteousness longs for the life and the success of God's king. 00:16:37.720 --> 00:16:40.220 Let me say that's still true today. 00:16:40.340 --> 00:16:41.860 That's the point of the story for us. 00:16:41.939 --> 00:16:47.860 That you and I, we see ourselves and we understand ourselves. 00:16:48.379 --> 00:16:55.059 We see our destinies and our futures in our reactions to the death of the Lord's anointed king. 00:16:55.860 --> 00:16:57.580 That's where you find out who you are. 00:16:58.480 --> 00:17:03.139 Jump forward in history and you'll know that the real king of God's people is not Saul, it's not even David. 00:17:03.420 --> 00:17:05.900 The fulfillment of all those people is King Jesus. 00:17:06.860 --> 00:17:11.120 King not of a nation of Israel, but the perfect king of God's eternal heavenly kingdom. 00:17:11.539 --> 00:17:14.799 A kingdom that you glimpse now in the life of a local church like this, 00:17:15.039 --> 00:17:17.380 but you see gloriously in the return of the Lord Jesus. 00:17:17.860 --> 00:17:19.519 And to use the words of the passage, 00:17:19.519 --> 00:17:23.680 Jesus is the Messiah, the murdered Messiah. 00:17:25.960 --> 00:17:29.759 The Bible tells us King Jesus dies, not in a battle, but on a cross. 00:17:30.440 --> 00:17:36.000 And so just like in 2 Samuel 1, you find the good and the bad from their reactions to the death of the king. 00:17:36.000 --> 00:17:43.099 So now today you see who we are in our reactions to the death of God's king. 00:17:43.099 --> 00:17:50.379 You might remember that just before his death, Jesus told the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem a parable. 00:17:50.959 --> 00:17:53.139 It's called the parable of the tenants. 00:17:54.039 --> 00:17:59.099 In this story, Jesus pictures himself as the son of a vineyard owner 00:17:59.099 --> 00:18:04.519 who is going back to the vineyard to collect the rent of the people who are running the vineyard. 00:18:05.099 --> 00:18:08.079 But the people running the vineyard are a bunch of wicked tenants 00:18:08.079 --> 00:18:11.879 and they see the son coming and they plan to kill him. 00:18:11.880 --> 00:18:17.560 But the sting of the story as Jesus tells it is that he tells it to expose the Jewish leaders. 00:18:18.560 --> 00:18:22.960 He says to them, look, why do you hate me so much? 00:18:24.080 --> 00:18:26.440 Well, it's because you know who I am. 00:18:26.760 --> 00:18:30.980 You know, the tenants say, let's kill the son and the inheritance will be ours. 00:18:31.080 --> 00:18:33.100 If we kill the son, we get the vineyard, right? 00:18:33.460 --> 00:18:34.360 That's what they think. 00:18:35.160 --> 00:18:38.940 In other words, let's do away with God's Messiah so that we can get what we want for ourselves. 00:18:39.460 --> 00:18:41.560 That's the Amalekites heart, isn't it? 00:18:42.480 --> 00:18:46.340 Let's do away with Jesus and we can be Lord and King. 00:18:46.560 --> 00:18:47.900 We can get what we want. 00:18:48.520 --> 00:18:52.480 You know, we might not have the chance to shout out in the crowd for Pilate to kill Jesus. 00:18:52.600 --> 00:18:54.600 We might not be able to physically drive the nails in. 00:18:55.020 --> 00:18:58.560 But we must see that at its heart, sin is not naughtiness, 00:18:58.559 --> 00:19:06.879 but a desire to push God out of the way so that we can live life for ourselves, get what we want. 00:19:06.880 --> 00:19:10.160 It's a murderous intent towards God's kingly rule. 00:19:10.280 --> 00:19:11.560 It's like the Amalekite. 00:19:11.559 --> 00:19:13.599 I mean, think about it. 00:19:13.659 --> 00:19:17.039 It's much easier, isn't it, to get along at work without the rule of Jesus. 00:19:18.720 --> 00:19:22.740 School is a much happier place for me if I don't talk about following Jesus or trusting him. 00:19:23.619 --> 00:19:26.659 You know, the people around me seem to be perfectly happy enough without him. 00:19:26.720 --> 00:19:27.619 Why would I bring him up? 00:19:27.619 --> 00:19:33.099 Besides, it seems as if life would be so much better if it was dictated by my life choices, 00:19:33.239 --> 00:19:35.979 by doing what I want, by living for myself. 00:19:36.239 --> 00:19:41.399 So I'm tempted to ignore Jesus or just get rid of him altogether so I can do my own thing. 00:19:41.400 --> 00:19:45.600 But in 2 Samuel chapter 1, that's the Amalekite, right? 00:19:46.480 --> 00:19:48.160 And it doesn't end well for him. 00:19:49.120 --> 00:19:50.000 You know the story. 00:19:50.640 --> 00:19:51.400 That's the warning. 00:19:52.240 --> 00:19:53.420 Don't be the Amalekite. 00:19:53.640 --> 00:19:54.960 Don't be the Amalekite. 00:19:56.220 --> 00:19:59.980 But there's one more thing, I think, to say about the story because there's a twist in this. 00:20:00.740 --> 00:20:08.580 Because not only is King Jesus like King Saul, he is also better than King Saul. 00:20:09.320 --> 00:20:10.540 Better than even King David. 00:20:11.539 --> 00:20:15.700 The story tells the gospel in a kind of ironic twist. 00:20:16.659 --> 00:20:17.279 Think about it. 00:20:17.319 --> 00:20:23.700 Here we've got a wicked Amalekite who thinks that he can purchase forgiveness by murdering God's anointed king. 00:20:24.980 --> 00:20:30.579 Thinking that killing the Messiah would mean David would overlook the fact that he'd robbed his wife and kids while he was out of town. 00:20:30.599 --> 00:20:33.399 But he failed and he died for his wickedness. 00:20:34.259 --> 00:20:39.740 You know, in 2 Samuel chapter 1, the death of the Lord's anointed king is not sufficient for your forgiveness. 00:20:39.740 --> 00:20:40.380 Right? 00:20:40.380 --> 00:20:40.500 Right? 00:20:40.940 --> 00:20:41.660 Why is that? 00:20:42.359 --> 00:20:44.900 Because King Saul is not King Jesus. 00:20:44.900 --> 00:20:52.440 The real Messiah, the real king, Jesus, dies on a cross giving up his life. 00:20:52.440 --> 00:20:56.100 And he does purchase our forgiveness. 00:20:57.440 --> 00:20:58.420 Stunning, isn't it? 00:20:58.420 --> 00:21:05.039 As the sword of the soldier pierces the side of the Lord Jesus, from it flows forgiveness for all who would turn to him. 00:21:05.039 --> 00:21:10.039 The death of the real Messiah does pay for your forgiveness. 00:21:10.039 --> 00:21:14.180 You see, here's the story of 2 Samuel chapter 1 for us this morning. 00:21:14.480 --> 00:21:17.819 It's not really 1010 BC anymore, is it? 00:21:18.000 --> 00:21:21.639 You're not really an Amalekite running from King David. 00:21:21.779 --> 00:21:22.859 No, it's 2024. 00:21:24.799 --> 00:21:27.740 And you're not on the run from David for robbing his wife and kids. 00:21:27.879 --> 00:21:31.379 Instead, all of us by nature on the run from the Lord. 00:21:31.380 --> 00:21:36.040 We've robbed the life that the Lord gave us. 00:21:36.320 --> 00:21:39.740 We've robbed the gifts that he's given us, the blessings that he's showered upon us. 00:21:39.780 --> 00:21:42.060 And we've used them for ourselves and for our own glory. 00:21:42.800 --> 00:21:44.840 And the battleground is not Mount Gilboa. 00:21:44.980 --> 00:21:48.160 It's school or the workplace, the home or the streets. 00:21:48.160 --> 00:21:51.720 Where it's easier to ignore him completely or do away with him. 00:21:52.320 --> 00:21:55.080 Planning life without any reference or notice to Jesus. 00:21:55.620 --> 00:21:57.680 Breaking his rules, ignoring his priorities. 00:21:58.380 --> 00:22:00.580 Failing to worship him in any meaningful sense of the word. 00:22:00.980 --> 00:22:06.080 Hoping perhaps that just a nodding glance and an occasional attendance at church might just be enough. 00:22:06.160 --> 00:22:07.000 But we know it's not. 00:22:07.940 --> 00:22:13.920 And then here in 2 Samuel chapter 1, we stumble upon the dying King Jesus. 00:22:14.779 --> 00:22:16.560 Dying in our place for our sin. 00:22:16.559 --> 00:22:18.759 So that we don't need to run anymore. 00:22:19.480 --> 00:22:23.220 Because there he purchases for us forgiveness through his shed blood. 00:22:24.059 --> 00:22:27.759 So that with tears like David's, we can weep at the wickedness that held him to the cross. 00:22:28.039 --> 00:22:29.720 Not a wickedness that overpowered him. 00:22:29.779 --> 00:22:32.759 But our wickedness that he took on himself to die in our place. 00:22:33.480 --> 00:22:34.859 The better King Jesus. 00:22:36.200 --> 00:22:37.500 The better Messiah. 00:22:38.419 --> 00:22:42.319 It was my sin that held him there until it was accomplished. 00:22:42.980 --> 00:22:45.440 His dying breath has brought me life. 00:22:45.440 --> 00:22:47.580 I know that it is finished. 00:22:49.080 --> 00:22:50.500 If you look down at verse 13. 00:22:51.160 --> 00:22:54.539 You see the Amalekite standing before David to give an account of himself. 00:22:54.960 --> 00:22:55.880 Look at what David says. 00:22:55.960 --> 00:22:56.700 Where are you from? 00:22:57.259 --> 00:22:57.920 Where are you from? 00:22:58.660 --> 00:23:01.500 You know, I'll give you 30 seconds to justify your existence to me. 00:23:02.279 --> 00:23:04.380 I'm the son of a foreigner, an Amalekite. 00:23:04.480 --> 00:23:04.860 He answers. 00:23:04.859 --> 00:23:10.939 Why weren't you afraid to lift your hand to destroy the Lord's anointed? 00:23:11.159 --> 00:23:11.959 David asks him. 00:23:13.719 --> 00:23:14.859 Who do you think you were? 00:23:15.379 --> 00:23:16.279 Killing King Saul? 00:23:17.419 --> 00:23:19.459 Go strike him down, comes the verdict. 00:23:19.460 --> 00:23:22.860 It's not hard, is it, to imagine us to be in the same position. 00:23:23.000 --> 00:23:25.360 Not before David, but before the Lord. 00:23:25.460 --> 00:23:27.980 To whom one day all of us will give an account. 00:23:28.880 --> 00:23:29.880 Where are you from? 00:23:30.519 --> 00:23:31.680 We're asked by the Lord. 00:23:32.960 --> 00:23:35.200 Well, I'm the son of a foreigner. 00:23:35.400 --> 00:23:37.600 I'm a sinner, Lord. 00:23:38.259 --> 00:23:38.940 That's who I am. 00:23:38.940 --> 00:23:43.799 Why weren't you afraid to lift your hand to destroy the Lord's anointed? 00:23:44.620 --> 00:23:45.539 We're asked. 00:23:46.320 --> 00:23:47.720 There's no answer to that, is there? 00:23:48.500 --> 00:23:50.660 Justify yourself for living life for yourself. 00:23:51.440 --> 00:23:53.580 Justify yourself for ignoring Christ. 00:23:54.440 --> 00:23:56.960 Justify yourself for worshipping yourself and not him. 00:23:57.440 --> 00:23:58.259 You can't do it. 00:23:58.720 --> 00:23:59.420 You can't do it. 00:23:59.900 --> 00:24:02.519 Why weren't you afraid to lift your hand to destroy the Lord's anointed? 00:24:02.700 --> 00:24:03.960 I have no idea, Lord. 00:24:04.320 --> 00:24:05.980 I have no answer for you, Lord. 00:24:06.660 --> 00:24:07.320 I have nothing. 00:24:07.319 --> 00:24:09.240 I have absolutely nothing. 00:24:10.240 --> 00:24:11.639 And so we await the verdict, don't we? 00:24:12.139 --> 00:24:13.519 Go strike him down. 00:24:13.599 --> 00:24:14.339 It doesn't come. 00:24:15.220 --> 00:24:16.019 It doesn't come. 00:24:16.819 --> 00:24:18.059 Instead, what comes? 00:24:18.700 --> 00:24:19.500 This verdict. 00:24:20.279 --> 00:24:24.679 I struck him down so that you might live. 00:24:25.220 --> 00:24:25.799 Isn't that wonderful? 00:24:26.859 --> 00:24:28.759 What a great, great story. 00:24:29.359 --> 00:24:35.819 A gospel story of an anointed king laying down his life to purchase your forgiveness 00:24:35.819 --> 00:24:37.419 and my forgiveness. 00:24:38.200 --> 00:24:40.500 I struck him down so you might live. 00:24:40.500 --> 00:24:45.480 Come, join my eternal kingdom, says the Lord to us. 00:24:45.819 --> 00:24:48.019 Let me pray and then we'll sing together. 00:24:48.019 --> 00:24:54.660 Heavenly Father, we confess that there is an Amalekite in each of us. 00:24:54.660 --> 00:25:04.080 We treat rather lightly who you are and your rule and your reign in order to get our own way. 00:25:04.079 --> 00:25:12.839 But we thank you that King Jesus gave his life to purchase our forgiveness. 00:25:12.839 --> 00:25:20.459 Thank you that coming to him and trusting in him means that we don't get stricken down by you. 00:25:21.379 --> 00:25:26.259 But you forgive us and show us mercy and grace and welcome us into your eternal kingdom. 00:25:26.259 --> 00:25:29.700 We thank you that Jesus is better than Saul. 00:25:30.559 --> 00:25:33.160 We thank you that his death is better than Saul's. 00:25:33.859 --> 00:25:38.059 We thank you that he's better than David, more gracious and kind and forgiving. 00:25:39.119 --> 00:25:45.839 And so we come to you with joy and thankfulness this morning that all the word, the whole Bible, 00:25:46.680 --> 00:25:51.000 sings of the glory of Jesus who gave his life that we might be forgiven. 00:25:51.859 --> 00:25:54.039 And so we praise you in Jesus name. 00:25:54.680 --> 00:25:55.059 Amen. 00:25:56.259 --> 00:25:57.259 Amen.