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2nd
Samuel 1:1-27 “Now
it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David was returned from the
slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had abode two days in Ziklag; 2
it came even to pass on the third day,
that, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul with his clothes rent, and
earth upon his head: and so it
was, when he came to David, that he fell to the earth, and did obeisance. 3
And David said unto him, From whence
comest thou? And he said unto him, Out
of the camp of Israel am I escaped. 4
And David said unto him, How went the
matter? I pray thee, tell me. And he answered, That the people fled from
the battle, and many of the people also are fallen and dead; and Saul and
Jonathan his son are dead also. 5
And David said unto the young man that
told him, How knowest thou that Saul and Jonathan his son are dead? 6
And the young man that told him said, As
I happened by chance upon mount Gilboa, behold, Saul leaned upon his spear;
and, lo, the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him. 7
And when he looked behind him, he saw
me, and called unto me. And I answered,
Here am I. 8 And
he said unto me, Who art thou?
And I answered him, I am an Amalekite. 9
He said unto me again, Stand, I pray
thee, upon me, and slay me: for anguish
is come upon me, because my life is yet whole in me. 10
So I stood upon him, and slew him,
because I was sure that he could not live after that he was fallen: and I took the crown that was upon his
head, and the bracelet that was upon his arm, and have brought them
hither unto my lord. 11 Then
David took hold on his clothes, and rent them; and likewise all the men that were
with him: 12 and
they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, for Saul, and for Jonathan his
son, and for the people of the LORD,
and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword. 13
And David said unto the young man that
told him, Whence art thou? And he
answered, I am the son of a
stranger, an Amalekite. 14 And
David said unto him, How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to
destroy the LORD’s
anointed? 15 And
David called one of the young men, and said, Go near, and fall upon
him. And he smote him that he died. 16
And David said unto him, Thy blood be
upon thy head; for thy mouth hath testified against thee, saying, I have slain
the LORD’s
anointed. 17 And
David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son: 18
(Also he bade them teach the children of
Judah the use of the bow, it is written in the book of Jasher.) 19
The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy
high places: how are the mighty fallen! 20
Tell it not in Gath, publish it
not in the streets of Ashkelon; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice,
lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph. 21
Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be
no dew, neither let there be rain upon you, nor fields of
offerings: for there the shield of the
mighty is vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, as though he had not been
anointed with oil. 22 From
the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan turned
not back, and the sword of Saul returned not empty. 23
Saul and Jonathan were lovely and
pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided: they were swifter than eagles, they were
stronger than lions. 24 Ye
daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet, with other
delights, who put on ornaments of gold upon your apparel. 25
How are the mighty fallen in the midst
of battle! O Jonathan, thou wast
slain in thine high places. 26 I
am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan:
very pleasant hast thou been unto me:
thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women. 27
How are the mighty fallen, and the
weapons of war perished!” Introduction [Audio
version: https://resources.ccphilly.org/detail.asp?TopicID=&Teaching=WED665] “David
and his men, for a number of years living in Philistine territory, because of
David’s failure, David finally being disheartened by the years of Saul’s
persecution, fleeing to the area of the Philistines and then Achish king of Gath
taking David to himself. David settling
with his men and their wives and their children in Ziklag. Of course Achish coming to David saying ‘I
got great news David, we’re going to war against Saul and Israel, and you’re
gonna be right next to me, you’re my number one man,’ and David
thinking ‘Oh boy’ So as they come
up to Aphek, up to Gilboa where the battle would take place, the other
Philistine kings don’t want David in the battlelines with them, because they
don’t trust him, and God’s grace is there to have David sent back. Saul and his sons, remember, killed on Mount
Gilboa, there’s a great defeat, the Israelite forces, many of them fleeing, the
Philistines taking a number of cities in the northern part of Israel where they
normally did not rule. And David and his
men coming back to Ziklag, and when they come back to Ziklag, Ziklag is burned
with fire, what they thought was their security is burned to the ground. And the Amalekites had come, knowing that
David and his men had gone north, and the Amalekites had taken all of the
women, David’s two wives, taken all of the women, taken the children, taken the
spoil of the city, and burned it to the ground.
So David and his men then begin to pursue, to catch up to the
Amalekites. Out of the 600 men, 200 are
too weak to go on, and they ask if they might abide by the brook, David and 400
other men, they’ve been going day and night for days, pursue them. They find an Egyptian that the Amalekites had
cast away because he was ill, and David’s men nurse him back to health and find
out where they were encamped, and David then promised this Egyptian he wouldn’t
take his life, and he led them to the camp of the Amalekites, and the
Amalekites were drunk, partying,
unsuspecting, thinking David was over 100 miles north, they come into the camp,
there’s a great slaughter, and David and his men pursue after the Amalekites
all night, slaughtering. And they gain
back their wives, their children, their flocks, their herds, it says ‘Not
a soul was lost,’ and the other plunder that they had taken. So as David comes back to the area, he gives
part of those spoils to the men that had waited there by the river, too weary
to go on, he gives part of the spoil to the southern cities of Judah that had
been pirated and pilfered by the Amalekites.
And we find David now in this situation, Saul is dead on Mount Gilboa, with
his sons, they had taken his body and strung it on the wall of Bashan, and the
men of Jabesh-gilead had come, because Saul had delivered them many year before
this, and taken the bodies of Saul and his sons and burned them with fire, and
then took their bones and buried them.
And David now is catching up on all of these things, as we head into the
2nd Book of Samuel, we’re going to watch David ascend the throne of
Israel [Judah first] and become the greatest king, besides Jesus Christ, that
the nation would see. We’re going to now enter into the 40 years of his reign,
seven and a half years at Hebron, and 33 years in Jerusalem. We’re going to see his failures, his
successes, his sin, his repentance, his life, his humanity, his royalty. Next to the Lord himself this is a man who
gets more print than anyone else in Scripture, and the Lord does not hide his
failings, he brings the man before us in all of his humanness, a man after
God’s own heart. An
Amalekite Comes To David Hoping To Profit From Saul’s Death It
says “Now it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David was returned
from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had abode two days in Ziklag;” and
his heart is right with the LORD
once again, at this point in time, “it even came to pass on the third day,
that, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul with his clothes rent, and
earth upon his head: and so it
was, when he came to David, that he fell to the earth, and did obeisance.”
(verses 1-2) So he’s come from
Gilboa in three days, it’s 100 miles in three days, this guy’s really moving,
he’s making over 30 miles a day. We’re
going to find out he has a selfish motive behind that. He comes to David in Ziklag, and he comes
with his clothes torn and earth upon his head, and David knows just from the
culture, from looking at him that that means there’s bad news, that the battle
has gone wrong, that this man is in mourning.
“And David said unto him, From whence comest thou? And he said unto him, Out of the camp of
Israel am I escaped. And David said unto
him, How went the matter? I pray thee,
tell me. And he answered, That the
people are fled from the battle, and many of the people also are fallen and
dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also.” (verses 3-4) This falls like a bomb on David, and no doubt
he loved Jonathan, Jonathan was his best friend, he knows that Israel is
defeated, Saul is dead. “And David
said unto the young man that told him, How knowest thou that Saul and Jonathan
his son be dead?” (verse 5) ‘Are you
sure?’ “And the young man that told
him said, As I happened by chance upon mount Gilboa, behold, Saul leaned upon
his spear; and, lo, the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him.” (verse
6) “As I happened by chance” now it
seems to me, you can form your own opinion, I believe he is making this up, and
I think there’s some evidence to that fact.
“And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called unto me. And I answered, Here am I. And he said unto me, Who art
thou? And I answered him, I am an
Amalekite.” (verses 7-8) And they
would normally come and loot the battlefields, if they could get in before the
victors did that. “He said unto me
again, Stand, I pray thee, upon me, and slay me: for anguish is come upon me, because my life is
yet whole in me. So I stood upon him,
and slew him, because I was sure that he could not live after that he was
fallen: and I took the crown that was
upon his head, and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought
them hither unto my lord. Then David
took hold on his clothes, and rent them; and likewise all the men that were
with him: and they mourned, and wept,
and fasted until even, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people
of the LORD,
and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword.” (verses
9-12)
So this interesting encounter, this Amalekite, not realizing David’s not
real chummy with the Amalekites at this particular time. This Amalekite says ‘When I got to the
battlefield I found Saul,’ there were not many seven-footers with
crowns on the battlefield, so he was easy to pick out, ‘and he was
mortally wounded, and he begged me to finish him off. Knowing that he couldn’t live, I did that,
then I took the crown and I took the signet with the bracelets and I brought
them here to you,’ no doubt thinking that David is going to rejoice.
The hostilities between David and Saul were well known, we saw that with
Abigail, as we studied through different passages, that people knew what was
going on. And he’s thinking to curry
David’s favour, that he’s going to be rewarded for this, that he, by his own
hand finished off Saul’s life, slew him, and he figures it’s win-win situation. If David still has any feelings towards Saul,
‘I feel like I did something merciful, if David hates Saul as much as I hope
he does, then he’s going to be thankful I finished him off and I’m bringing the
crown to him, acknowledging that he’s king.’
But it doesn’t seem to be the truth, back in chapter 31 it said “The
battle went sore against Saul,” this is God’s Word, “and the
archers hit him, and he was sore wounded of the archers,” (verse 3) “Then said
Saul unto his armourbearer, Draw thy sword and thrust me through therewith,
lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armourbearer” who knew David,
how he had been many years before, “his armourbearer would not, for he
was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a
sword, and fell upon it.” Saul
it seems, from this record in chapter 31, took his own life. It says “And when his armourbearer saw
that Saul was dead” and that’s clearly what the Hebrew says, “when
his armourbearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise upon his sword, and
died with him. So Saul died, and his
three sons, and his armourbearer, and all his men that same day together.” Now this man comes and tells David this “story.” In chapter 4, verse 10, when David
recounts this story, he says “When one told me, saying, Behold, Saul is
dead, thinking to have brought good tidings, I took hold of him, and slew him
in Ziklag, who thought that I would have given him a reward for his
tidings:” So David tells us this guy
came with a story, thinking he was bringing good news to him, ‘I took him
and I slew him in Ziklag.’ So
David tells us in chapter 4, verse 10, this guy’s disingenuous, he had the
wrong motives as he came with this story bragging that he had killed king
Saul. So look, here’s one of those
places in Scripture, in 2nd Samuel chapter 1, where we have God’s
Word giving us an accurate record of a lie.
It doesn’t say what the man said was God’s Word, it’s God’s Word telling
us this Amalekite came and he lied to David about this, which was David’s
impression, which David says in chapter 4, verse 10. The truth, God’s Word, God’s record of what
happens, seems to be clearly in 1st Samuel 31. Now there are people that feel otherwise
about this, and of course if in fact Saul fell on his sword and then his
armourbearer fell on his sword, and Saul still wasn’t dead, it is a cruel irony
it would be an Amalekite that would kill him, and people take that and want to
make sermons out of it because he should have slaughtered all the Amalekites
back in chapter 15. But the language,
you know if you torture a text long enough you can get it to confess anything
[i.e. you can either twist the Scripture or you can teach it accurately]. The clear plain language says that Saul was
dead on the battlefield. Evidently
before the Philistines came back and searched through and found his body, this
Amalekite had come, pilfering the battlefield, while the battle was still
raging in certain places, and he took the crown, took the bracelet off of Saul,
and he comes to David with this story, expecting that when he tells this to
David, David’s going to rejoice. He’s
seeking David’s favour. David
Remarkably Makes A Decision That Bitterness And Hatred Are Wrong It
says in verse 11 though, that “David took hold on his clothes, and rent
them; and likewise all the men that were with him: and they mourned, and wept, and fasted until
even,” notice, “for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people
of the LORD,
and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword.” (verses
11-12)
David is vastly becoming the king that he had been anointed to be at
this point in time. Think of what is
required here, and look, as we go through the chapter, it’s just going to
continue to bear out that David at this point in time is not holding bitterness
towards Saul. Think of what’s here,
David begins to mourn, he tears his clothes.
Saul had treated David, listen, with jealousy, with hatred, with spite,
with ungodliness for over a decade, for years.
He took from David his family, his home, his career, his security, and
years of his life. And David here will
mourn over Saul and Jonathan. David is a
man who has taken ahold of God’s grace, you see he took hundreds of men into
Philistine territory, and jeopardized the lives of the men and their wives and
their children, and was so wrong, where he got to the point where he became
Saul. And his own men were discontent,
like back at the Cave of Adullam, they were discontent and angry, but with
David, and they threatened him. And it
says David then sought the LORD,
that was it, it broke David all the way down.
And I think David realized that he was a man that was no better than
Saul, except for God’s grace, and God’s call on his life. And David, remarkably, listen, without the
New Testament, without the full exhortation we have, without being indwelt
by the Spirit of the LORD,
David remarkably makes a decision, that bitterness and hatred and all of these
things are wrong. [Comment: Now this is a Calvary Chapel doctrine that
the saints of the Old Testament could not be indwelt by the Holy Spirit the
same way New Testament Christians are. I
honestly believe this is an inaccurate interpretation of Scripture, as we see
that Abraham was called “the father of the faithful,” and all New Testament
teachings about grace, about faith and works, is based on Old Testament
Abraham. Moses talked about the Holy
Spirit in Numbers 11, wishing that all Israel could have the Holy Spirit in
them. So, I believe this is a doctrine
particular to Calvary Chapel, and does not reflect what we see in Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and Joshua, as well as in all the Old Testament
Prophets of God, who exhibited the Holy Spirit acting within them throughout
their lives. Other than Calvary Chapels
being really good in most of their interpretations of Scripture as they go
verse by verse, book by book through the Bible, they do at times seem to have a
few quirky beliefs. But then most of the
genuine denominations within the greater Body of Christ have some weird
interpretations of their own.] That
demonstrates something to us, because bitterness and hatred and unforgiveness,
those are things that are chosen and they are not imposed upon us. David teaches us that bitterness and
unforgiveness and hatred ultimately is a choice, and it is not imposed upon
us. If we will bring our hearts before
the Lord, and if we realize we’re sinners, saved by grace, like every other
sinner, saved by grace around us, it demands something of us. And if David without all of our advantages
was able to mourn for this man, who had tortured him, look, you know how you
feel if somebody gossips about you, for 15 minutes. You’re ready to send them to the electric
chair, ‘They don’t deserve to live, they gossiped about you, they hurt your
feelings,’ what if that goes on for a week, you’re ready to use nuclear
weapons. What if it goes on for a
month? What if it goes on for 10
years? What if it goes on for over a
decade, for 15 years? What if because of
that, bitter, hateful, spiteful, ungodly person, you loose everything, family,
home, career, opportunities, security?
And David has made a choice. And
it isn’t an easy choice, and I would never be cavalier about it, and I’m not
naïve. And I think it’s really
hard. And I don’t think there is a human
resource that is fit for the task, I think it comes strictly from God’s grace
[and from the indwelling of God’s Holy Spirit in David, and in us]. And I think David had found that, that was
being effective in his life. Just you
look at this, and see how remarkable it is.
Listen, it will say this in the Book of Proverbs, “Rejoice not
when thine enemy falleth, and let not thy heart be glad when he
stumbleth.” Again, “Whoso
mocketh the poor reproacheth his maker, and he that is glad at calamities shall
not go unpunished.” [For those
who say Karma doesn’t exist, I say Karma in this sense, is an integral part of God’s
Law, which is also exemplified in the Book of Proverbs] Let us be honest, if somebody has hassled me
for 15 years, taken away my wife, my kids, my home, my ministry here at church,
taken everything from me, and I hear that guy’s dead, it’s real hard for me not
to say ‘Ha, ha, ha, he had it coming.’
Isn’t it? That’s the reason
you’re laughing, you’re just as human as I am. Here is Solomon, the wisest man, writing these
things in the Book of Proverbs about not rejoicing when those things happen,
and Solomon hadn’t learned them in college, Solomon learned them from his
father who was a shepherd, who learned them from God. [God has lead his people Israel through two
shepherds, Moses and king David, and they will be prominent leaders in the
Millennial Kingdom of God, under Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of
lords.] And he writes them down for
us. They mourned, David taking no pleasure
in the death of the wicked as it were.
New Testament, 1st Peter, ‘Honour all men, love the
brotherhood, fear God, honour the king,’ we hear these exhortations
about being tenderhearted one with another, loving one another, love covers a
multitude of sins. It’s not just in the New
Testament. David and his men, they fast,
they mourn, they tear their clothes. David
Writes A Dirge About The Death Of Saul & Jonathan And
at evening, evidently, when they began to eat again, “And David said unto
the young man that told him, Whence art thou? And he answered, I am the son of a
stranger, an Amalekite.” (verse 13) his
guys are all going ‘Grrrrowl…’ “And
when David said unto him, How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand
to destroy the LORD’s
anointed?” (verse 14) ‘How is it that
you weren’t afraid to kill the king of Israel?’ David had come to the fast resolution that
God had raised Saul up and it was God’s responsibility to take Saul down. And I think David realizing as he is
approaching the throne, that he is going to be as in need of God’s grace to
maintain that throne as Saul was. ‘How
is it’ he says ‘that you weren’t afraid to stretch out your hand
and do this?’ “And David called one
of the young men, and said, Go near, and fall upon him. And he smote him that he died.” (verse 15) he didn’t get the reward he was hoping to get,
the Amalekite. “And David said unto
him, Thy blood be upon thy head; for thy mouth hath testified against
thee, saying, I have slain the LORD’s
anointed.” (verse 16) So
David evidently rebuking him as he is executed.
And look, it says “And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul
and over Jonathan his son:” (verse 17) “lamented” there, it speaks of a
dirge, David is going to write quite a psalm, but he’s writing a song here, “And
David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son: (Also he bade them teach the children of
Judah the use of the bow: behold,
it is written in the book of Jasher.)” (verses 17-18) now the King James says “the use of the
bow”…“behold it is written in the book of Jasher” and I have a copy, but I’m
sure David had a different copy than I did.
It says, the Hebrew lays it out this way, it says David wrote this
lamentation, this dirge, and it was a dirge over Saul and Jonathan, this song
of lamentation, “and then he bade them to teach the children of Judah the
use of” is in italics you’ll see, it’s inserted “he bade them
to teach the children of Judah the bow”
Now it’s hard for us to interpret that with archery, because they were
good at that already, Jonathan was a great archer. The bow seems to be the name of the song that
we have here, that’s brought before us, the title of it. “he bade them teach the children of Judah
the bow: behold it is written in
thee book of Jasher.) (verse 18) and here’s the song now that David taught
them, and it has much instruction for us.
Listen to this, “The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high
places: how are the mighty fallen!”
(verse 19) the beauty of Israel, her
king, her king’s sons, this man who had so mistreated David, the beauty of
Israel. David knew Saul as a boy, Saul
was a man to be feared, Saul was head and shoulders above the rest, David knew
Saul in wonderful moments in his life too, and no doubt knew this man was
troubled. And David had come to the
conclusion that Saul was no threat to the promises of God, Saul was no threat
to the promises of God. Here’s the song,
“The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: how are the mighty fallen!” (verse 19) and
three times we’re going to have this refrain “how are the mighty fallen!” now
that’s both an exclamation, you’ll see and exclamation mark probably in your
Bible, but it also has the form of a question, it is both, it’s crying out in
the spirit, ‘How are the might fallen!?’ Listen, “Tell it not in
Gath” it’s a little late for that, because the last chapter told us that
they had published it throughout the Philistine territory, and they took some
of Saul’s armour and put it in the house of their gods, but David says “Tell
it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon; lest the
daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised
triumph.” (verse 20) he says God’s honour is at stake here. ‘LORD,
don’t let this happen, the beauty of Israel has been slain on the mountains,
how are the mighty fallen! Don’t let
this be published amongst the Philistines, don’t let them rejoice about this
defeat.’ “Ye
mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be
rain, upon you, nor fields of offerings:
for there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, the shield of
Saul, as though he had not been
anointed with oil.” (verse 21)
Now it gives you the wrong idea, again, it says “the shield of Saul” you
see “as he had not” is in italics, this is what it really says, it says
“for there the shield of the mighty” speaking of Saul, “is vilely cast away,
the shield of Saul not anointed with oil.”
The idea is, no longer prepared for battle, the shields were covered
with leather, in fact it specifically says olive oil there, and they were
taken, this thick leather, and they were oiled, and it would take the blow of a
sword or a spear much better than if it was dried and brittle which would be
pierced right through. He’s saying the
sword, and the shield of Saul would no longer be prepared for battle. “From the blood of the slain, from the fat
of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan turned not back, and the sword of Saul
returned not empty.” (verse 22) they moved forward, there’s not a bitter
note here, David is not crying his own blues here. He’s saying they moved forward valiantly, the
bow of Jonathan turned not back, the sword of Saul returned not empty, it took
down enemies is the idea. “Saul and
Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death
they were not divided: they were swifter
than eagles, they were stronger than lions.” (verse 23) the man that had
persecuted me, they were lovely. “Ye
daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet, with other
delights, who put on ornaments of gold upon your apparel.” (verse 24) he
was your king, he brought victories to the nation. “How are the mighty fallen in the midst of
battle! O Jonathan, thou wast
slain in thine high places.” (verse 25) How
are the mighty fallen, Saul began to fall long before this, the battle was just
the ultimate issue of his rebellion against the LORD. David says “I am distressed for thee, my
brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast
thou been unto me: thy love to me was
wonderful, passing the love of women.
How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished.” (verses
26-27) There’s some important
lessons here, now, there is no indication of anything unclean between David and
Jonathan. We live in such a perverse
culture, that it’s impossible for us to imagine genuine love without sexuality
of some kind being attached to it. There
is no evidence at all that there’s anything unclean or sexual between David and
Jonathan. You know, look, it’s hard for
us to imagine, I think about their common ground, hard for us to imagine. If you have friends, my dad, World War II,
stayed in touch with some of those guys for the rest of his life, they fought
side by side. Friends that came back
from Vietnam, from Iraq, saw some of their best friends die next to them, never
the same. There’s a love in that
comradery that’s very hard for anyone to understand except the members of that
exclusive club. And to fight all day on
a battlefield with swords. I watched
that Mel Gibson movie, what’s that movie [Braveheart], ya, you sit around
watching TV all the time? I could watch
that movie over and over and over again, that’s just my problem, pray for me. But you know, when you look at that, you need
a vacation when those battles are over, you think of the amount of energy you
expend. And some of these battles, it
says they fought all night and all the next day. How can you swing a sword that long? These guys, you know, they bled together,
they fought together, it’s hard for us I think to imagine the camaraderie. And then the reverence that Jonathan showed
to David, realizing he was the king of Israel, even to the point of rescuing
David from his own father, I mean, the depth that there was between them, has
to do with honour, it has to do with something that’s valiant and noble. For anybody to make that filthy is only a
reflection of the culture that we live within that has lost so much, of what is
right and honourable and good. [Pastor
Joe gave this sermon in 2010, that culture, our culture right now in 2022 has
gone to the bottom of the cesspool so to speak, by comparison.] “How
Are The Mighty Fallen”--“Here A Little, There A Little” “How
are the mighty fallen,” three times, got to be
a lesson here, three times, how are the mighty fallen, how does it happen? Saul, chosen of the LORD,
head and shoulders above the rest of the men of Israel. This guy, you had to shoot him with a bow,
you didn’t want to mess with this guy on the battlefield with a sword, hand to
hand this guy was trouble for anybody.
No wonder he was hit by the archers.
How, how did his life come to that point? This is a guy God had anointed, this is a guy
in the beginning who gets angry, he rescues the men of Jabesh-gilead from
Nahash, he has remarkable victories, how has he fallen? For that to be said three times here, and
David says “teach them this song, make them memorize this song,” and the chorus
is over and over “How are the mighty fallen” how does it happen? And I’m convinced it happens the same way
growth happens. How does growth happen? Does growth happen overnight? It doesn’t happen overnight. Isaiah says this, it gives us a little bit of
an insight I think into answering the question.
Isaiah says “Whom shall I teach knowledge, whom
shall he make to understand doctrine?
Them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breast. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon
precept, line upon line, line upon line; here a little, there a little.”
(Isaiah 28:9-10) That’s the way
we grow, that’s the way we learn, increments, line upon line, precept upon
precept, here a little there a little.
And I believe it’s the same way with the mighty that are fallen, here a
little, there a little. A compromise it
made, it seems insignificant, the Holy Ghost says to us ‘Hey, what are you
doing, you’re blowing it.’ And we
tell the Holy Ghost ‘Hey Lord, you don’t have to worry about me, I
understand, I appreciate it, but you got a lot of Christians out there in worse
shape than I am, you should probably go take care of them, I’m cool,’ like
the Lord’s going to go ‘Hew, there’s one Christian I don’t have to worry
about,’ instead of saying ‘Wow Lord,’
and then another increment.
Satan is content to take years, he’s content to take away our foundation
pebble by pebble, no rush. And we fall
the same way we grow, little by little, we desensitize ourselves to the Holy
Spirit, and we create some world of illusion, because the Scripture is speaking
to us, the Holy Spirit is speaking to us, and little by little we step away
from it. Like termites in a huge oak
tree, and all of a sudden you start to hear snap, crackle, the whole thing’s
been eaten from the inside and it comes down, all of a sudden a wind blows, and
you’re not expecting it, you’ve stood close enough to the edge and you can’t
save yourself and you’re gone. Some
temptation, some thing just comes, and it hits you, and you fell long before
that, step by step. Listen, how are the
mighty fallen? Rebellion is like the sin
of witchcraft, stubbornness is like unto idolatry, he had begun to deny the LORD
in things and justified himself in small things, he was still on the throne, he
was still king, he had this illusion ‘Ya ok, I messed up, hey, God’s still
using me, hey, God’s still blessing,’ God was still giving him victory,
this was still going on. And I think it
is put before us here, repeated three times, ‘How are the mighty fallen!
How are the mighty fallen! How are the mighty fallen!’ Pray for me, pray for yourselves, don’t let
the little foxes into your life that steal the grapes, don’t let the little
things get in, that’s how the enemy comes, he’s wise. You know if you see someone, and you think ‘Man,
that guy was on fire! That guy fasted
and prayed, and he fell into adultery, that guy, he’s stoned, I don’t
understand,’ he was not on fire yesterday, that is not true, all sin has a
history, and it begins line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little,
there a little we surrender, an inch at a time.
It’s the same way we grow, it’s gradual.
And the enemy is very content to take that if we’ll give that to
him. We think of Samson, ‘Tell me the
secret of your strength?’ ‘Tie fresh
bowstrings around my head,’ if you give that, that’s what the enemy will
take, and you’ll wake up with bowstrings around your head. ‘Ah, use fresh ropes, tie me up,’ if
that’s what you give the enemy that’s what the enemy will take, and you wake up
with fresh ropes wrapped around you. ‘Weave
my hair into the loom,’ you give that to the enemy, you’ll wake up with
your hair in a loom, and he’s content.
How have the mighty fallen. How
interesting to look at this. Now,
chapter 2. 2nd
Samuel 2:1-32 “And
it came to pass after this, that David enquired of the LORD,
saying, Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? And the LORD
said unto him, Go up. And David said,
Wither shall I go up? And he said, Unto
Hebron. 2 So
David went up thither, and his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and
Abigail Nabal’s wife the Carmelite. 3
And his men that were with him
did David bring up, every man with his household: and they dwelt in the cities of Hebron. 4
And the men of Judah came, and there
they anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, saying, That the
men of Jabesh-gilead were they that buried Saul. 5
And David sent messengers unto the men
of Jabesh-gilead, and said unto them, Blessed be ye of the LORD,
that ye have shewed this kindness unto your lord, even unto Saul, and
have buried him. 6 And
now the LORD
shew kindness and truth unto you: and I
also will requite you this kindness, because ye have done this thing. 7
Therefore now let your hands be
strengthened, and be ye valiant: for
your master Saul is dead, and also the house of Judah have anointed me king
over them. 8 But
Abner the son of Ner, captain of Saul’s host, took Ishbosheth the son of Saul,
and brought him, over to Mahanaim; 9
and made him king over Gilead, and over
the Ashurites, and over Jezreel, and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and over
all Israel. 10 Ishbosheth
Saul’s son was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and
reigned two years. But the house of
Judah followed David. 11 And
the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years
and six months. 12 And
Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ishbosheth the son of Saul, went out
from Mahanaim to Gibeon. 13 And
Joab the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went out, and met together
by the pool of Gibeon: and they sat
down, and the one on the one side of the pool, and the other on the other side
of the pool. 14 And
Abner said to Joab, Let the young men now arise, and play before us. And Joab said, Let them arise. 15
Then there arose and went over by number
twelve of Benjamin, which pertained to Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and
twelve of the servants of David. 16
And they caught every one his fellow by
the head, and thrust his sword in his fellow’s side; so they fell down
together: wherefore that place was
called Helkath-hazzurim, which is in Gibeon. 17
And there was a very sore battle that
day; and Abner was beaten, and the men of Israel, before the servants of David.
18 And
there were three sons of Zeruiah there, Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel: and Asahel was as light of foot as a
wild roe. 19 And
Asahel pursued after Abner; and in going he turned not to the right hand nor to
the left from following Abner. 20 Then
Abner looked behind him, and said, Art thou Asahel? And he answered, I am. 21
And Abner said to him, Turn thee aside
to thy right hand or to thy left, and lay thee hold on one of the young men,
and take thee his armour. But Asahel
would not turn aside from following him. 22
And Abner said again to Asahel, Turn
thee aside from following me: wherefore
should I smite thee to the ground? how then should I hold up my face to Joab
thy brother? 23 Howbeit
he refused to turn aside: wherefore
Abner with the hinder end of the spear smote him under the fifth rib,
that the spear came out behind him; and he fell down there, and died in the
same place: and it came to pass that
as many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died stood still.
24 Joab also and Abishai pursued after
Abner: and the sun went down when they
were come to the hill Ammah, that lieth before Giah by the way of the
wilderness of Gibeon. 25 And
the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together after Abner, and became
one troop, and stood on the top of an hill. 26
Then Abner called to Joab, and said,
Shall the sword devour for ever? knowest
thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end? how long shall it be
then, ere thou bid the people return from following their brethren? 27
And Joab said, As God liveth,
unless thou hadst spoken, surely then in the morning the people had gone up
every one from following his brother. 28
So Joab blew a trumpet, and all the
people stood still, and pursued after Israel no more, neither fought they any
more. 29 And
Abner and his men walked all that night through the plain, and passed over
Jordan, and went through all Bithron, and they came to Mahanaim. 30
And Joab returned from following
Abner: and when he had gathered all the
people together, there lacked of David’s servants nineteen men and Asahel. 31
But the servants of David had smitten of
Benjamin, and of Abner’s men, so that three hundred and threescore men
died. 32 And
they took up Asahel, and buried him in the sepulchre of his father, which was
in Bethlehem. And Joab and his men
went all night, and they came to Hebron at break of day.” Introduction: God Calls His Wandering Children To
Hebron--Communion City “Chapter
2, 2nd Samuel, “And it came to pass after this, that David
enquired of the LORD,
saying, Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? And the LORD
said unto him, Go up. And David said,
Wither shall I go up? And he said, Unto
Hebron.” (verse 1) David is right where he belongs at this point
in time, he has learned his lessons well.
David, it seems very obvious to him evidently that he should go up to
Judah. He said ‘Shall I go up to
any of the cities of Judah?’ he had that sense ‘That’s where I
should be heading,’ but David even now at this point when it seems obvious,
he waits, and he prays, and he seeks the LORD. He has bungled so many things, that now he
says ‘Should I go up to any of the cities of Judah?’ and the LORD
said ‘Go up.’ And he says ‘Alright,
which cities in Judah?’ he wants more information, he doesn’t just
move. And his heart is just where God
wants his heart. And God has taken those
decades to move him to this place, very interesting. He says ‘I want you to go up to
Hebron.’ Now, Hebron, you
remember back in Genesis 13 Abraham came there, settled there. You remember back in Joshua, 13 or 14, it’s
the place where Caleb wanted Hebron.
Hebron means “to be joined together,” it means “union,” it means
“communion,” and the beautiful picture is, God has called David back to
communion, David has been joined back to the LORD. Where does God tell his wandering children to
go?--Hebron, Communion. You know what,
if you’ve been struggling, you’ve been wandering, you’ve been away from the
Lord. We do this thing, ‘How do I get
back, how to I get back pastor Joe?’ and I think…it’s not a geographical
problem, ‘How do I get back,’ it’s not a place, it’s a heart-attitude,
God calls his wandering children to Hebron, he says ‘Come back to fellowship
with me, join yourself to me again.’
It isn’t something you need to do, you don’t need to put stars on the
refrigerator where God says ‘ok I like you again.’ Christ paid the price, and the veil in the
Temple was torn so that every sinner could come to God. And when we fail, when we fall away, we think
‘Lord, how do we get back?’ it’s communion, get on your knees,
fellowship. You don’t have to worry
about anything else, he will lead. And
what we’re going to see at Hebron here, it says the nation begins to come to
him [the tribe of Judah, that is, one twelfth of the nation in reality]. David does not strive, David does not try to
find his way to the throne, David goes to Hebron, and he’s in that place ‘LORD
shall I go up? LORD,
where should I go?’ he was back in
communion with the LORD,
and the nation [of Judah] gathers to him, he doesn’t have to ask for it, God
will now establish his throne [gradually] in Israel, and it’s just so
interesting to watch. And it’s such a
lesson for us. You know I think of the
days we’re living in, honestly, everybody’s worried about the economy, and it’s
scary, I hear from other Calvary’s, other churches from around the country,
it’s way worse in other places than it is here.
But I hear from some of you about what’s going on, it’s a little bit,
some of us need to get a little de-stressified right now because of what’s going
on [that’s nothing, right now in 2022, just as we approach 2023 as I transcribe
this sermon, the whole world is re-arming, just like before WWII, and the
Russian Federation has gone to war against the Ukraine (to bring you up to
speed, see https://unityinchrist.com/topical%20studies/America-ModernRomans5.htm).] The healthcare thing, war, there’s a genuine
threat of terrorism in our nation [that was an overblown threat, which never
materialized]. What do we do? I don’t think there’s ever been a more
important time for us [esp. as 2023 approaches in two days from this being
transcribed] to pray, Corporately,
individually, to seek him. I don’t think
there’s a way that anyone in this room can be a greater benefit to the person
next to them, to their husband, to their wife, to their family, to their
friends, than to be in a communion with the Lord that’s genuine, and to come
from that place to the others that are around them. It is not time to be phony at all, because
what’s going on around us [and especially now, just before WWIII, with the war
in Ukraine] is not phony, it’s real, it’s real.
And it’s wonderful to see David here, coming to Hebron. God tells him to go there. “So David went up thither,” and the
Holy Spirit always takes note “and his two wives also, Ahinoam the
Jezreelitess, and Abigail Nabal’s wife the Carmelite.” (verse 2) and by the
way, how are the mighty fallen? You can
write it next to that verse, because it will slowly take David. He’s got two wives here, by the time we get
to the next chapter he’s going to have six wives, six wives and six sons from
all the different wives, that can’t be a happy house, it just can’t be. And David’s going to fall into adultery when
he’s over 50 years old, and he’s already got at least six or seven wives that
we know about. And Solomon will be
infected with that and end up with 300 wives and 700 concubines, a thousand
mother-in-laws [laughter], imagine that.
I love the one I have, ok. “So
David went up thither, and his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and
Abigail Nabal’s wife the Carmelite. And
his men that were with him did David bring up, every man with his
household: and they dwelt in the cities
of Hebron.” (verses 2-3) David is leading.
And they dwelt in the cities of Hebron, more than one city in this
particular area. Notice this, “And
the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of
Judah. And they told David, saying, That
the men of Jabesh-gilead were they that buried Saul.” (verse 4) Almost 20 years before when Samuel had dumped
the oil on his head, and now the house of Judah comes, David’s not labouring,
he’s not sweating, he’s just being where God tells him to be, he’s in communion
with the LORD,
it’s God’s work, it’s God’s promise, it’s not David’s, he knows it by now. They came, they anointed David king of Judah,
“And they told David, saying, That the men of Jabesh-gilead were
they that buried Saul. And David
sent messengers unto the men of Jabesh-gilead, and said unto them, Blessed be
ye of the LORD,
that ye have shewed this kindness unto your lord, even unto Saul, and
have buried him.” (verses 4b-5) David is a
diplomat, he immediately responds to those who had done what was right. “And now the LORD
shew kindness and truth unto you: and I
also will requite you this kindness, because ye have done this thing. Therefore now let your hands be strengthened,
and be ye valiant: for your master Saul
is dead, and also the house of Judah have anointed me king over them.” (verses
6-7) So
he says ‘I’m with you, I appreciate what you’ve done, you have my
support, I want you to know that I’m here.’
Now the house of Judah, that would include most of the territory
of Benjamin also, where Saul lived, Saul was a Benjamite. David
Is Waiting, Abner Is Struggling “But”
and when you read through a good portion
of Scripture and you find a “but” like that it usually means trouble. Now we come to Abner, “But Abner the son
of Ner, captain of Saul’s host, took Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and brought
him over to Mahanaim;” (verse 8) and by the way we’re told that he is in
fact Saul’s cousin, Abner, and he should have died with Saul. David, remember when he came into the camp,
and he got a safe distance away, he said ‘Whose that man whose supposed
to be looking after you Saul, what’s the guy’s name, Abner? How come I come in there, Abner’s the one
whose the real threat here, because I came in and out, and I could have taken
your life, and he was sleeping.’ And
Abner’s known David for 20 years. When
David killed Goliath it says Saul, king Saul said to Abner, his righthand man, ‘Whose
youth is this, what’s this kid’s family?
Go find out what’s going on.’ And
way back in chapter 17, around verse 55, we know for sure that Abner and David
are face to face and know each other. So
Abner’s known for a long time that in fact God has a calling on David. “But Abner the son of Ner, captain of
Saul’s host, took Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and brought him over to
Mahanaim;” “Ishbosheth” which means “man of shame,” so you got a problem
already, Ishbosheth is the one son of Saul we haven’t heard of all along, he
all of a sudden shows up here, Abner takes Ishbosheth the son of Saul and
brought him over to Mahanaim, “and made him king over Gilead, and over the
Ashurites, and over Jezreel, and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and over all
Israel.” (verses 8-9) no doubt protecting Abner and his own interests, it
becomes clear right away that Ishbosheth is a weaker personality than Abner,
Abner’s the one here with his own design, his own ambition. And he’s very much like Saul, his playing the
fool, like Saul did, because he knows that he is in contest with the Living God
here. So he takes and makes him king,
and verse 10 says “Ishbosheth Saul’s son was forty years old
when he began to reign over Israel, and reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David.” Now interesting, David doesn’t go to war,
David doesn’t fight, David in some ways becomes a very interesting picture of
Jesus Christ here. God’s true King will
never take territory by force [except at the 2nd coming of Jesus
Christ, when Jesus must return and fight to stop the genocidal World War III,
before it kills off all of mankind].
Abner’s imposing himself, David is waiting. David will only take loyalty that is
willingly given to him, he is waiting, he is in transition, he is learning to
be the king God wants him to be. It says
“And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was
seven years and six months.” (verse 11) For
seven and a half years David does not pursue Ishbosheth, there’s no war, David
is waiting, Abner is struggling. It
Starts With A Sword-Fight At The O.K. Corral “And
Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ishbosheth the son of Saul, went out
from Mahanaim to Gibeon.” (we want to get to the
end here, but we want to get some of this) and notice “And Joab the son of
Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went out, and met together by the pool of
Gibeon: and they sat down, the one on
the one side of the pool, and the other on the other side of the pool.” (verse
13) Now Zeruiah is David’s sister
we’re told in 1st Chronicles chapter 2, verse 16, Zeruiah is David’s
older sister, and her three boys Joab, Abishai and Asahel are David’s
nephews. Now this might be one of those
circumstances where the uncle is younger than the nephews, because the sister
is so much older, you kind of have that once in awhile, have a teenager looking
down at a baby, ‘Hey, uncle Bud,’ but these are David’s nephews, these
are the sons of David’s sister. So “Joab
the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went out, and met together by
the pool of Gibeon: and they sat down,
the one on the one side of the pool, and the other on the other side of the
pool.” (verse 13) So you got Abner
on one side of the pool, and he’s got some soldiers with him, yet Joab, he mossies’
up, he sits down across the pool on the other side with some of his soldiers,
and they lay there eyeing each other up.
And no doubt Abner and Joab know each other, Joab was a great warrior,
no doubt he joined himself to his uncle in the Cave of Adullam with David. So Joab now coming before us. “And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men
now arise, and play before us. And Joab
said, Let them arise.” (verse 14) ‘Let’s
do battle,’ the kind of guys that Joab and Abner are, it’s play for
them, ‘Let them dual before us, let them entertain us,’ it seems
there was a mutual respect. “Then
there arose and went over by number twelve of Benjamin, which pertained
to Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David. (verse 15) there’s
a question here in the grammar, “And they caught every one his fellow by the
head,” does the “they” refer back to the servants of David, and is it
telling us that the 12 servants of David slaughtered the 12 servants of
Ishbosheth? or does it say, as it seems to say that they all grabbed each other
and killed each other, and all 24 of them dropped down at the same time? that’s
why they named the place “the OK Corral,” we’re going to see that here. “And they caught every one his fellow by
the head, and thrust his sword in his fellow’s side; so they fell down
together: wherefore that place was
called Helkath-hazzurim, which is in Gibeon.” (verse 16) so they have each other by the hair, and
everyone thrust his sword into his fellow’s side…“Helkath-hazzurim,” “the place
of slaughter,” “the place of drawn swords,” depending on who you listen
to. “And there was a very sore battle
that day; and Abner was beaten, and the men of Israel, before the servants of
David.” (verse 17) now what happens evidently, it seems this dual goes
down, these 12 young men from each side, they kill each other, and as they’re
laying there, sprawling, dying, David’s men, just infuriated start to pursue
Abner and his men, and they start to flee.
“And there were three sons of Zeruiah there, Joab, and Abishai, and
Asahel: and Asahel was as light
of foot as a wild roe.” I don’t know if that’s like kind of a manly
compliment [it just means he was as fast on his feet as a deer, which are very
swift runners]… “And Asahel pursued after Abner; and in the going he turned
not to his right hand nor to the left from following Abner. Then Abner looked behind him, and said, Art
thou Asahel? And he answered, I am. And Abner said to him, Turn thee aside to thy
right hand or to thy left, and lay thee hold on one of the young men, and take
thee his armour. But Asahel would not
turn aside from following him.” ‘you want a trophy today, get away from me
kid, pick on somebody your own age, I’m a warrior, and take one of their
armour.’ “And Abner said
again to Asahel, Turn thee aside from following me: wherefore should I smite thee to the ground?
how then should I hold up my face to Joab thy brother?” (verses 18-22) You know, there’s some honour here on the
battlefield, ‘kid, I don’t want to kill you, how can I face your brother
Joab if you don’t stop?’ “Howbeit he
refused to turn aside: wherefore Abner
with the hinder end of the spear smote him under the fifth rib, that the
spear came out behind him; and he fell down there, and died in the same
place: and it came to pass, that
as many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died stood still.”
(verse 23) now this is the butt end of the spear, the point in front of
him, probably uses it to get up a hill, and they would sharpen the butt end, it
was dull point so you could stick it in the ground. Here’s Asahel catching up to Abner as he’s
going up the hill, Abner’s not as swift as a wild roe, so Asahel’s gaining on
him, and it says he warned him several times to turn away, and he refused, so
he took that butt end of his spear, and it says he smashed it, he smote him
under the 5th rib so hard that the spear came out from behind him,
the butt end of the spear came out his back.
This man’s a warrior, that is quite a blow to deal to somebody. “and he fell down there, and died in the
same place: and it came to pass, that
as many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died stood still. And Joab also and Abishai pursued after
Abner: and the sun went down when they
were come to the hill of Ammah, that lieth before Giah by the way of the
wilderness of Gibeon. And the children
of Benjamin gathered themselves together after Abner, and became one troop, and
stood on the top of an hill.” (verses 23b-25) so he’s getting
reinforcements, troops are coming as he’s getting closer to home. They take the position of higher ground,
which of course is always an advantage. “Then
Abner called to Joab, and said, Shall the sword devour for ever? knowest thou
not that it will be bitterness in the latter end? how long shall it be then,
ere thou bid the people return from following their brethren?” (verse26) ‘Look, we’re all Israelites, Joab, you
want to continue to push this thing? I
warned your brother, I didn’t want this part of the battle, what are we gonna
do here, are you just going to keep pursuing?’
“Then Joab said,” and I don’t know if he was right here, “As
God liveth, unless thou hadst spoken, surely then in the morning the people had
gone up every one from following his brother.
So Joab blew a trumpet, and all the people stood still, and pursued
after Israel no more, neither fought they any more. And Abner and his men walked all that night
through the plain, and passed over Jordan, and went through all Bithron, and
they came to Mahanaim.” (verses 27-29) Mahanaim,
remember Jacob back in Genesis 32, “And Joab returned from following
Abner: and when he had gathered all the
people together,” look at this “there lacked of David’s servants
nineteen men and Asahel.” (verse 30) they lost 20 men, I’m assuming that
includes the 12 by the pool of Gibeon, they lost 20 men total. “But the servants of David had smitten of
Benjamin, and of Abner’s men, so that three hundred and threescore men
died.” (verse 31) So David’s men,
battle-hardened warriors. And Abner and the
men with Ishbosheth had no idea what they were getting involved in. Now of course they’re coming against God’s
will also in attacking David’s troops at this point in time. But David, casualties on his side, 20 men,
casualties on Abner’s side 360, David’s men quite the men. “And they took up Asahel, and buried him
in the sepulchre of his father, which was in Bethlehem. And Joab and his men went all night, and they
came to Hebron at break of day.” (verse 32)
So, read ahead, as we come to the third chapter, if the Lord
tarries, very interesting things, we’re going to meet David’s six wives and six
of his sons, and some of the problems that begin to creep into his life, and
you can begin to remember “how are the mighty fallen,” because we see the
erosion in David’s life as we move forward through some of these things. So take note of those things. Let’s stand, let’s pray. Exhortations tonight, I don’t know, look as
we go through this, anger, bitterness, it’s not imposed on you, it’s a choice,
and sometimes we’re so hard, we’ve been so hurt, so violated and so betrayed,
that it’s really what we want to choose, and it’s quite natural. Whereas supernatural is what we need, which
is forgiveness, David teaches us that.
That it is not imposed upon us, anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, it’s a
choice. Exhortation, how are the mighty
fallen, listen, if you’re playing with something now, and it’s eating away at
you like termites, little by little, it’s a great night to go home, get on your
knees, say ‘Lord, that’s me, I’ve been playing with this, except for your
grace it’s going to take me down, I don’t want it to happen. If you leave me to myself I’m dead in the
water here, Lord, I need your grace tonight, your mercy.’ And I think, Hebron, communion, God
always leads his wandering people back to Hebron, back to prayer, back to
communion. Don’t try to figure out how
to get back, it’s not a place, it’s not geographical, get alone with him,
that’s back, that is back. His blood was
shed so we can have fellowship with him, getting back, this is back. When you’re back with him, and you’re back in
fellowship with him, enjoying his presence, his grace, you’re back, that’s
where we need you to be, that’s where I need to be, that’s where you need me to
be, remember to pray for me…[transcript of a connective expository sermon on 2nd
Samuel 1:1-27 and 2nd Samuel 2:1-32, given by Pastor Joe Focht,
Calvary Chapel of Philadelphia, 13500 Philmont Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19116] related
links: Right
now in 2022, just as we approach 2023 the whole world is re-arming, just like
before WWII. To bring you up to speed, see https://unityinchrist.com/topical%20studies/America-ModernRomans5.htm
Audio
version: https://resources.ccphilly.org/detail.asp?TopicID=&Teaching=WED665
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