Through the Bible - 2 Samuel

God, thank you for giving us the opportunity tonight to gather together, to sit at your feet, and to go through your Word. I pray that you would speak to us, Lord, as we've been going through your Word, a book a week. Every single week, you've shown us new things that I haven't seen before as I've been studying through your Word. I'm sure my brothers and sisters, as we've been going through it, have been challenged and encouraged, Lord. We thank you that you have given us your Word, that all these things were written for our admonition, for our instruction, upon whom the end of the age has come. I ask, Lord, that we would take them to heart, that we would learn, and that we would be able to apply these things. For we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.

Now, the book of 2 Samuel is really just a continuation of 1 Samuel. If you look at a Hebrew Bible, there's no distinction between 1 and 2 Samuel; it is just one large book. I'm thankful that there is a distinction for us because it would have been way too long for us to go through it in one sitting. I've had a hard enough time going through 20 chapters a week. But God has been gracious, and we've been able to go through these books.

As I've read through them, and many of you have been reading along, they are really challenging. Some of the stories that we've heard before, maybe we even taught them in Sunday school or read them to our kids, are familiar. Yet, when you go through them again and consider them in one snapshot—the entire book—it gives you an understanding of what it is that the Lord is trying to speak to us.

This book is a powerful book, 2 Samuel. It focuses on a character of the Bible that is a favorite of many: King David. We saw King David in 1 Samuel as the one who is God's anointed king, but he is constantly running. He never really took hold of the position of reigning as king that God desired for him to have in 1 Samuel because Saul, the king that the people desired...

The king after the people's own heart, I guess you could say, was not willing to give up the throne. In that, I think we see very clearly, as we talked about when we were going through 1 Samuel, that really 1 Samuel shows us the man of the flesh, Saul, and the man of faith, King David. You see there this struggle, this constant struggle that every single one of us as Christians battles with: the battle of the flesh versus the life of faith. That battle that Paul speaks of in Romans chapter 7, where he says, "The good that I want to do, I don't do, and the bad things I don't want to do, that I practice. Oh, wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?"

In 1 Samuel, you see this struggle back and forth constantly. There is a throne in every single one of our lives, just as there was a throne in Israel. God desires to be the one who inhabits that throne, but we have this flesh that fights for it. Saul was that king of the flesh, the king who sought for things that would make him wealthy, the king who sought for things that would bring him pleasure. He was the king that all the people desired.

But there was another king, a king that the Scripture tells us in Acts chapter 7 was a man after God's own heart. However, he wasn't a perfect man, and we're going to see that very clearly in 2 Samuel as we go through this book tonight. This book divides nicely for us into three passages. The first part, starting here in chapter 1 through chapter 10, verse 19, covers the triumphs of David. This is where we see David come to the throne for the first time, but it doesn't happen until a very specific thing takes place.

The first chapter surrounds the death of King Saul. Before David, the man of faith, can reign and be seated on the throne, King Saul, the man of the flesh, has to die. He can't just be subdued; he can't just be sent away. He won't leave on his own; he must die. The very last chapter of 1 Samuel records for us Saul's death, but 2 Samuel chapter 1 also shows us his death, albeit in a little bit different light.

In the end of 1 Samuel, we saw King Saul going out to battle against that great enemy of Israel, the Philistines. As he is out to battle against them, he recognizes that his men have lost and that he is going to die. However, he knows that if the Philistines take him, they are going to torture him.

And so he turns to his armor bearer, one of his right-hand men, and he says to him, "Take my life. Here’s my sword. Kill me." His armor bearer responds, "I'm not going to do that." The king then decides that he will fall upon his own spear and tries to take his life. Thus, 1 Samuel ends with us believing that Saul is dead by his own hand, that he killed himself.

However, when we come to 2 Samuel chapter 1, we find that this is not the case. A man comes to David in 2 Samuel chapter 1. It came to pass, in verse 2, that on the third day, behold, a man came out from the camp of Saul, with his clothes torn and earth upon his head. When he came to David, he fell to the ground and did obeisance, or he worshipped David there. David asked him, "From where do you come?" The man replied, "Out of the camp of Israel have I escaped."

David then inquired, "How went the matter? What happened there in the battle?" He wanted to know what became of King Saul and his son Jonathan. The man began to speak to him, saying, "Well, it happened that as I was among the battle, I was picking among the spoils." This young man who came to David was essentially scavenging the battlefield. The children of Israel had lost, and he was searching for armor, swords, or anything of value that he could take.

As he went through the area, he came upon King Saul, who had fallen upon his own spear but was not yet dead. Saul called to this young man and asked, "Who are you?" The man replied, "I am an Amalekite. I'm from the people of Amalek." This is particularly interesting because in 1 Samuel, God commanded King Saul through the prophet Samuel to utterly destroy the Amalekites. In 1 Samuel chapter 15, Saul went out to destroy the Amalekites but kept everything that was good in the land of Amalek. He killed all that was not appealing, but he spared the good livestock and Agag, the king of the Amalekites. He acted contrary to what the Lord had commanded, which was to utterly destroy the Amalekites.

Because of what they did to the children of Israel when the children of Israel came out of Egypt, the Amalekites were the ones that followed the children of Israel in the wilderness. They started to take out the stragglers in the camp, the people that lagged at the back, the ones that were weak. They were a quiet enemy, a subtle enemy that came into the land. In Scripture, they are a picture and a type of the flesh. We need to utterly destroy the flesh; we can't let it live. If we do, ultimately it will destroy us.

It is interesting because here King Saul was told early in his rulership to go and utterly destroy the Amalekites, but he didn't do it. He did not fully obey. Because of that, what ultimately took his life? What destroyed him? There was an Amalekite picking amongst all the spoil of war. Saul asked him, "Who are you?" The Amalekite replied, "I am an Amalekite." Saul then said to him, "Take my life. Kill me." This young man, this Amalekite, killed King Saul and came to David with the crown of King Saul. He brought what could be seen as the signet ring of King Saul, saying, "You know what, David? Now you are king. Your enemy, King Saul, is gone. The one who has kept you from coming to the throne is gone."

When this Amalekite came to David, we see in 2 Samuel chapter 1 that he came seeking some sort of bonus, some sort of gift. He may have thought that King David would give him a payment or put him into a leadership position in his household because he had removed his enemy, King Saul. David responded with those impressive, amazing words to this man in verse 14 of chapter 1 of 2 Samuel. He asked, "How was it that you were not afraid to stretch forth your hand and destroy the Lord's anointed?" He questioned the Amalekite, "Do you think that I'm going to reward you because of how you've taken King Saul's life? How is it that you had no fear in killing the Lord's anointed?"

It is interesting because back in 1 Samuel, we saw on two occasions that David had an opportunity to take King Saul's life. Yet, he knew that he was not to touch the Lord's anointed. He recognized that God had Saul's life in His hand, and whenever God wanted to remove King Saul and put David on the throne, God would do so. But here, this Amalekite, this picture of the flesh, had no problem going and destroying the Lord's anointed. And so, David turned.

To one of his men, one of the guys that was there with him, he said, "You've got to kill this guy." Instead of giving him a reward, they took his life that day because he did not fear touching the Lord's anointed.

We have two pictures of Saul's death. One is him taking his own life because, at the end of his life, he recognized that there was nothing he could do to save it. The Philistines were coming—those whom, early on in his life, he had great victory against. Yet now, because of his love for the things of this world and keeping the good things of this world, his life is taken because of the battle with the Philistines. Not only that, but the one who ultimately takes his life is an Amalekite, the picture of the flesh. The man of flesh, the king of the flesh, King Saul, is gone.

Now, here is the anointed king, the one after God's own heart, ready to take the throne. The throne is vacant, and there must be someone on the throne. This is the same in my life and in yours as well. There will never remain a vacant throne in your life. There will never be a time when someone or something is not dictating to you what you're going to do and how you're going to live.

For many people in this world, they occupy their own throne. They are the captains of their own ships, the determiners of their own destinies. However, they often choose paths that the Scriptures speak of, which end in death. There is a way that seems right unto a man, but the end thereof is death. This is what we see in King Saul.

Now we are introduced to a new king, and in the next several chapters of 2 Samuel, we see the triumphs of this king. The reason he was triumphant is that, in Acts 13:22, we read that he was a man after God's own heart. He desired to have God's heart and to follow after what the Lord had for him. Yet, as we will see, he is not perfect.

The first several things we see about him when he begins to step to the front and take the throne is that his first order of business is to reestablish something very important in the nation of Israel: worship. Remember back in 1 Samuel 4, the children of Israel had gone out to battle against the Philistines. In that battle, on the first day, they lost 32 men.

I believe it was the next day that night when all the elders of Israel got together. They asked, "Why is it that we lost in the battle today?" One elder had the bright idea to say, "You know what? We forgot God." They decided to go to Shiloh to get the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, believing that when it came among them, it would save them from the Philistines.

The children of Israel said, "Bring the Ark of God to us from Shiloh, from the tabernacle, and when it comes to us, it's going to save us." They viewed God as their good luck charm, but God is not to be used in that way. This is similar to what Joshua learned in Joshua chapter 5 when he met with the commander of the army of the Lord. Joshua asked him, "Are you for us or for our enemies?" The commander replied, "No, but as the captain of the host of the Lord, I have now come." Essentially, he was saying to Joshua, "I'm not on your team or the team of your enemies. The question is, are you on my team? Are you going to be used for my purpose, my plan, and my army?"

In 1 Samuel chapter 4, the children of Israel believed that when the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord came among them, it would save them. But did it save them? No, the next day they were defeated like never before. Thousands of their men fell in battle, and the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord was taken from the children of Israel. Ultimately, this caused the Philistines a lot of trouble, and they sent it back to the children of Israel a few chapters later in 1 Samuel. However, it did not return to its rightful place; it did not go back to the tabernacle, the place of worship for the children of Israel.

During King Saul's reign, the worship of God and the presence of God were not priorities for him. As a result, the Ark remained on the outskirts of the nation of Israel and was forgotten for about 20 to 30 years. Then King David came to the throne and made a significant decision: the first decision as king was to bring the Ark of the Covenant back to the forefront of the nation. He set out to bring it to Jerusalem, as we find earlier in 2 Samuel when he began this important task.

There in Jerusalem, he does so on his own terms with his own plan. In fact, he does the very same thing that the ungodly Philistines did in moving the Ark of the Covenant. He got a cart, just a cart pulled by a couple of oxen, and he put the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord on this cart. But did God command that this was the way they moved the Ark? No. That was the way the world handled God. The Philistines handled God in this way, and David fell into the same pattern as the people of the world, the Philistines.

So he got a cart and put the Ark on the cart, and it began to move. David was overjoyed because the Ark was coming back to Jerusalem. However, as it was going, it hit a bump in the road, and the Ark started to topple a little bit. A man put forth his hand, and Uzzah touched it, and he fell down dead right there. The anger of the Lord came against him, and the scripture tells us that when that happened, David began to fear the Lord. There was a fear that came into his heart because he saw the power of God. He was so upset, thinking, "I'm trying to do what God wants me to do, but here the Lord strikes one of my people, Uzzah, and kills him."

They left the Ark for a period of time in that area, and David went back to Jerusalem, feeling upset. He wondered why God allowed that to happen. He thought he was doing what God wanted him to do. He noticed that the Ark blessed the household of the people where it stayed, and he desired for the Ark to come into Jerusalem so it would bless the entire nation. He sought the Lord, and the Lord shared with him, "This is how the Ark is to be moved. It has to be carried by the priests, by the Levites."

Ultimately, he brought the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord back into Jerusalem as he was supposed to do, just in the same way that he had intended. He was dancing before the Ark. In fact, the scripture tells us in 2 Samuel that they would take six steps and offer a sacrifice unto the Lord. That must have been the slowest parade ever. I can't even imagine how long that must have taken to bring the Ark from where it was into Jerusalem.

David recognized that there is a reverence that needs to surround the things of God and the worship of God. It is not to be done in a flippant way. It is not to be done as the world does it, just putting it on a cart and bringing it back to Jerusalem. No. God is holy, and He is to be revered. He is to be feared. And David learned that.

Now, an interesting thing here, as David brings the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord back to Jerusalem, we find that David...

David is king, but he is only king over one tribe in Israel. What tribe is that? The tribe of Judah. The tribe of Judah was the only tribe that had come to him. His own tribe, and the rest of the tribes of Israel, were still following the house of King Saul. They were still going after the house of Saul and the son of Saul, who took over after that point in time.

One of the interesting things to consider is that when we begin to put God on the throne, our flesh still fights against it. It takes some time. In fact, David ruled for seven years over Judah, over the tribe of Judah, before the entire nation of Israel came to recognize him as king. There is sometimes that struggle described in Romans chapter 7 that continues to take place, and many of you, I see you nodding your heads because you know exactly what I'm talking about. The Lord desires to be the one who is seated upon the throne in our lives, and yet sometimes He occupies only a part of our lives because we are not willing to give Him all the rest. We are not willing to yield and submit to His control, His leadership, and His master position over our lives as Lord. But that is the position He desires.

The very first thing that God does, just as David did when he came to the throne, is to bring worship back to the forefront. He brings the presence of the Lord back to the central position of the nation. That is the same thing that God does in my life and in yours as well. Paul tells the Corinthians, "Do you not know that you are the temple of the Holy Spirit?" God is the one who dwells in you. He desires to be there in the midst of our lives.

David recognized that God needs to be at the central position of the nation of Israel. He ultimately brings the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord back to Jerusalem, back to the central focus. In chapter 7 of 2 Samuel, we find that after he brings the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord back to the central focus of the nation, he recognizes that there is something wrong. He sees in chapter 7 that he has this glorious house that he lives in, this palace, while the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord sits in a tent. He tells his friend Nathan the prophet, "I don't think this is right that I dwell in this house. I want to build a house for the Lord." Nathan responds, "Do all that is in your heart, our king."

As soon as he leaves, the Lord speaks to the prophet and says, "No, you spoke too soon. You weren't supposed to tell him that. You've got to go and tell him that he's not able to build me this house because he's a man of war. He's got blood on his hands. But his son will be able to build it."

In chapter 7, God speaks something so amazing and beautiful to King David. He says, "You desire to build me a house, and because of this, I am going to establish your kingdom. I am going to establish your life." God tells him that there will not fail to be one from his line upon the throne, which is ultimately a prophecy of Jesus, the son of David who would come.

God says to David, "Because you desire to have me at the central focus of your life, to have me in that prominent position of the nation, and because you desire to beautify the house, the temple of the Lord, because of that, I am going to establish you as king." The same thing happens in my life and in yours as well. When we recognize that God needs to be the central focus of our lives, that He needs to take the prominent position, the throne of our lives, then He begins to transform our lives from the inside out. He establishes us in a way that we could never establish ourselves. Only God can do this work.

David recognized that, and that's one of the key components that made him, as we see in Acts chapter 13, a man after God's own heart. He wanted God to be the one at the center of the nation. He wanted God to take the prominent position. He recognized that although he was the earthly king, there was a king over him in heaven.

As God begins to establish this king, King David, we come to chapter 8 of 2 Samuel, where David's military victories happen. He begins to see great military victories against all of his enemies: the Philistines, the Moabites, the Edomites. All of them come against David, and he sees victory. Why? What brought him victory? Who was at the central focus of his life? God was. God took the throne, and because of that, God brought him victory.

In my life as well, when God is the one who takes the throne, when He is at the prominent position of my life, then I will experience the same sort of victory that King David did in 2 Samuel chapter 8. But at the very same time, when God takes that prominent position in our lives and we yield ourselves to the Holy Spirit, there is something else that begins to grow.

In our lives, we see it in Galatians chapter 5. The fruit of the Spirit, right? One of those fruits of the Spirit is the fruit of kindness. In 2 Samuel chapter 9, we see David exercising this fruit of kindness towards King Saul's family. Remember, King Saul is the one who tried to kill him for years—some 20 years. David was on the run, and Saul was chasing after him. Saul would throw his spear at him when David was in the household of Saul. He would chase after David through the wilderness as if he were some dog trying to kill him for years.

Yet, after Saul had died, and after Jonathan, David's good friend and Saul's son, had died, we come to chapter 9 of 2 Samuel. What does David want to do? Notice this in chapter 9, verse 1: "Is there yet any left of the household of Saul that I may show him kindness?" David seeks out in the nation, asking if there is anybody left from the household of Saul because he wants to show kindness. Ultimately, one person comes to the forefront—a man by the name of Mephibosheth.

Bible names are something else, aren't they? I mean, Mephibosheth. You have to wonder where they come up with these names. This is an interesting story about Mephibosheth. He was the son of Jonathan, and as the nation was in upheaval, when Mephibosheth was just a young child, his nursemaid was trying to escape. She took Mephibosheth with her, but as she was running, she dropped him. His legs were broken, and because they didn't have the kind of medical science we have today, his legs weren't set right. As a result, he was lame for the rest of his life.

This lame man of King Saul was brought to David, and surely he was wondering what David would do to him. Was this just an appearance of kindness, or was he truly trying to be kind? In 2 Samuel chapter 9, David extends to him the kindness of the Lord. He says, "You are going to eat at my table for the rest of your life. I'm going to take care of you."

What an awesome thing we see in that! David, in the scripture, is many times a type of Christ—a picture of Christ. In that, we see ourselves. We are the lame Mephibosheths that the king brings into his household and says, "You're going to sit at my table." What a powerful thing! What an awesome thing that God has done for you and me. As we sang tonight from 1 John chapter 3, "Behold what manner..."

Of love, the Father has given unto us that we would be called the children of God. Here, David extends this kindness to one who was his enemy at a former time. However, that kindness doesn't only extend to people in the nation of Israel. In chapter 10, David extends kindness to another nation.

In verse 1, it says, "And it came to pass after this that the king of the children of Ammon died. And Hanan, his son, reigned in his stead." Then David said, "I will show kindness unto Hanan, the son of Nahash, as his father showed kindness unto me." The king of the people of Ammon dies, and David expresses his desire to show kindness to these people who are not part of his family or the children of Israel. They had a close connection as cousins, I guess you could say, but he still wants to show kindness to them.

Unfortunately, his kindness is misunderstood. The advisors of the king of Ammon say, "Listen, don't receive this from David; he's only trying to come and spy out your land so he can take over your land." As a result, they shamefully treated David's ambassadors, shaving their heads, cutting off their beards, and sending them away naked. When David sees this, he executes judgment upon the people of Ammon and destroys them because of their actions.

One of the things we see in this is that our Lord, our God, Jesus Christ, the son of David, extends kindness to all mankind, not just the house of Israel. Unfortunately, there are those who say, "I don't want that." They disregard it and reject it. The scripture makes it very clear that if you reject the Son of God, if you reject Jesus, the son of David, the king, the true and rightful king, and if you reject the grace that he gives, there is no way that you will stand in the day of judgment. God is just, and he will execute judgment upon those who reject the kindness of his Son.

In the same way that David, a type of Christ, brings kindness to the children of Ammon, they respond by saying, "No, you're just trying to find an opportunity to take us out. You're just spying on our land." They shamefully treated the ones who brought the message, and God says, "I will bring judgment upon you for that shame that you brought upon these people."

We should consider this because you and I are messengers of Christ. We are ambassadors of Christ, just as David sent ambassadors.

Out to the children of Ammon, you and I are sent as ambassadors of Christ into the world. Not everybody is going to receive the message; not everybody is going to take hold of the grace of God. Sometimes, they may shamefully treat us, just as Jesus said they would. But the scripture makes it very clear. To those who do such things, He says, "Shake the dust off your feet and go to the next town." God warns that greater will be the judgment upon them than was upon Sodom and Gomorrah. God will execute judgment; He will bring justice upon those who reject the kindness He extends.

The scripture reveals the character of God in Exodus chapter 34, where God defines His name for Moses. He says, "The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and kind, extending forgiveness and mercy to thousands." Yet, the scripture also states that God, by no means, clears the guilty. God is just, and He will judge those who reject the kindness that He offers.

This theme continues in 2 Samuel chapter 10. In 2 Samuel chapter 11, we reach part two or the second division of this book. This passage is often a hard thing for believers to understand. How is it that David could be called a man after God's own heart and yet do something so wicked?

In 2 Samuel chapter 11, during the time when kings went forth to battle, David tarried at Jerusalem. In the evening, he arose and walked upon the roof of his house. From the roof, he saw a woman washing herself, and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. He sent and inquired after her, and one said, "Is it not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" David sent messengers, took her, and she came in unto him. He lay with her, for she was purified from her uncleanness, and she returned unto her house. But the woman conceived and sent and told David, "I am with child."

Here in this passage, the hero of so many Christians, King David, is viewed by many believers as a great hero of the Old Testament. Yet, as we examine this, it just doesn't seem to fit. How could he commit adultery? You know the story.

After this, when he finds out that Bathsheba is conceived and she is with child, he calls Uriah back from the battle, back from the war. Uriah is the husband of Bathsheba, and David tries to get him to go home so that he can be with his wife. David hopes to spin the situation and make it look like he hadn't done something wicked, that he hadn't committed adultery. However, it didn't work out quite the way he thought.

Ultimately, David sends Uriah back to the battle with instructions—a sealed letter to Joab, the commander of David's army. In the letter, he instructs Joab to put Uriah at the front of the battle and then pull everybody away from him, allowing him to be killed. In this way, David commits adultery, he commits murder, and then he lies about it for nearly a year. He ends up looking like the hero because when Uriah dies, David exclaims how horrible it is that one of his servants, one of his mighty men, has died. He takes Bathsheba as his wife and presents himself as a gracious king, saying he will take care of her because she is a widow. The whole nation likely views him as a wonderful king, thinking, "Here her husband dies in battle, and he is such a good king for bringing her into his household."

In reality, David was lying about the fact that he had brought about a child through adultery and ultimately killed her husband. One might look at this and wonder how this could be the man after God's own heart. This is a question many people grapple with.

It is important to consider that the Bible, in many ways, acts like an unbiased newspaper, which we don't tend to have very many of these days. It reports the facts without endorsing them. God is not saying that what David did was okay. By including this story in the Scriptures, God is not telling us that this is exactly what He wanted David to do. No, God merely presents the facts, allowing us to examine the report about David.

I am so thankful that He does this because it reveals something very important about a man or a woman after God's own heart. It shows us that being a person after God's own heart does not mean that they are perfect. If David were portrayed in Scripture without any mention of his sins, if all we ever saw was the great psalmist of Israel, his military victories, and how wonderfully he cared for Saul's family members, we would miss the deeper truth.

We never considered the fact that this man had sinned. He messed up in a big way. He committed adultery, committed murder, and lied about it. When we read in Acts chapter 13 that he is a man after God's own heart, if we never saw any of the report about his sin, we might think, of course he is a man after God's own heart; he is perfect. I could never be a man after God's own heart.

So what was it that made this man, David, a man after God's own heart? I believe the answer is found in Psalm 51. In Psalm 51, David is found out. How is he found out? Well, in chapter 12 of 2 Samuel, we read in verse 1 that the Lord sent Nathan to David. Nathan came to him and said, "There were two men in one city. One was rich and the other poor. The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds, but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb. This little lamb was all he had, which he had brought and nourished up. It grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own meals, drank from his own cup, and lay in his bosom. It was like a daughter to him."

Then there came a traveler to the rich man, and he spared to take from his own flock and herd to dress for the wayfaring man that had come to him. Instead, he took the poor man's lamb and dressed it for the man who had come to him. David's anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, "As the Lord lives, that man who has done these things shall surely die."

This story that Nathan brings to him about the rich man stealing from the poor man enraged David. He declared that the rich man shall surely die and shall restore the lamb fourfold because he did this thing and had no pity. Then Nathan said to David these powerful words: "You are the man."

Thus saith the Lord God of Israel: "I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your bosom, and I gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. If that had been too little, I would moreover have given you such and such things. Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife. You have slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon."

And so here, David's sin is exposed. We see the difference between David and King Saul. Back in 1 Samuel chapter 15, King Saul's sin was exposed when Samuel came to him. Saul went out to Samuel and said, "I've done all that the Lord commanded." Samuel responded, "Then what is this bleeding of sheep that I hear in the distance?" King Saul repeated, "I have done what the Lord told me to do. I am righteous. I have done what God told me to do." Saul held to his own righteousness in 1 Samuel chapter 15.

However, in 2 Samuel chapter 12, when David's sin was exposed, what did he do? He repented. His repentance is beautifully expressed in Psalm 51. Let's turn there real quick and read from it because it is so important. This is really the key to understanding why David is described as a man after God's own heart.

In Psalm 51, we read the preface: "To the chief musician, a Psalm of David when Nathan the prophet came to him after he had gone in unto Bathsheba." This gives us the exact timing of when these events took place. Here, we see David's mindset when he was confronted with his sin:

"Have mercy upon me, O God, according to your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of your tender mercies, blot out my transgression. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgression, and my sin is ever before me. Against you and you only have I sinned and done this evil in your sight, that you might be justified when you speak and clear when you judge. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, you desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part, you shall make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear the joy of gladness, that the bones which you have broken may rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, O Lord, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of your salvation and uphold me with your free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors your ways, and sinners shall be converted unto you. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, you, O God of my salvation, and my tongue shall sing aloud of your righteousness."

Open thou my lips, and my mouth shall show forth thy praise. For thou desirest not sacrifice, or else I would give it. And you delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit and a broken and contrite heart, O God. These you will not despise.

There we see the difference between the man after God's own heart, King David, and the man of the flesh, King Saul. King Saul, several times in 1 Samuel chapter 15, when his sin is exposed, says, "See, we kept the good to make a sacrifice unto the Lord." It was all just about the external things for this man, King Saul. But King David here recognizes, "Lord, create in me a clean heart." He recognized that he was a wicked man at heart and that only God could make him clean. That is what made him a man after God's own heart.

Yes, he messed up. He messed up royally. In this passage, the second portion of 2 Samuel, we find the transgression of David. In chapters 1 through 10, we saw the triumphs of David, and here we see the transgression of David. But we also see at the end of that transgression this beautiful picture of repentance, where he turns to God and cries out to Him, saying, "Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow." He recognized that only God could do this, whereas King Saul, the man of the flesh, thought that in some way he might be able to purge his own sin by his sacrifice.

But David would say, "Sacrifice is not what you desire; otherwise, I would give it. You do not delight in burnt offering. God, your sacrifices are a broken spirit and a broken and contrite heart. This you will not despise." And God says, "You are a man after my own heart." Although you sin and although consequences would come because of sin, that takes us into the third division of the book. From chapter 12, verse 1, through the end of the chapter, or through the end of the book, we find the troubles of David.

The troubles of David follow the triumphs of David in the first 10 chapters and the transgression of David in chapter 11. Why? Well, notice what the Lord says to David through Nathan the prophet in verse 10 of 2 Samuel chapter 12: "Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife." And so God says to him...

Thus saith the Lord in verse 11: "Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of your own house. I will take thy wives before thy eyes and give them unto thy neighbor, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this son." Why? "For you did this in secret, but I will do this thing before all Israel."

And David said unto Nathan in verse 13, "I have sinned against the Lord." Nathan replied, "The Lord has also put away your sin, and you shall not die. However, because of this deed, you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme. The child that is born unto you shall surely die."

We see an important principle here that is also illustrated in the New Testament. In Galatians chapter 6, God tells us through the Apostle Paul, "Do not be deceived. Whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap." If he sows to the flesh, he shall reap corruption. Here, David sowed to the flesh. Although he was a man after God's own heart and God would forgive his sin, he would still reap the consequences of his actions. God declared, "The sword shall not depart from out of your house," and He also said that the child conceived would die.

We see the heart of David continue here as he cries out to the Lord for an entire week. For seven days, he fasts, prays, and seeks the Lord, asking God to spare the child that was sick because of David's sin. Ultimately, after seven days, the child dies. David's servants discuss among themselves who will tell him the news. They are uncertain and perhaps even casting lots to decide who will break the news to David.

David overhears them talking and asks one of his servants, "Is the child dead?" The servant replies, "Yes, the child is dead." David then rises from fasting, washes himself, puts on new clothes, and goes to the house of the Lord to worship. Afterward, he returns and asks for a meal to be set before him. His servants look at him in confusion, saying, "What is this? This doesn't make any sense to us. Before the child died, you fasted, prayed, mourned, and grieved. Now, after the child is dead, you rise up? Why?"

Here again, we see the faith of David. He responds to his servants, saying, "That child will not return unto me, but I will go unto that child." David had faith in the resurrection. He was a man after God's own heart because he was a man of deep faith and understanding.

David was a man of faith. He believed in the resurrection, but not only that; he was a man who was willing to repent. He recognized that he had a wicked heart. Unlike King Saul, he was not self-righteous. David understood that he was a sinner, and he came before God with repentance, crying out to the Lord to make his heart clean. Because of this, God said that David was a man after His own heart. However, there are consequences for sin. If you sow to the flesh, you will reap corruption and destruction. Because David had sown to the flesh, God declared that there would not fail to be the sword in his own household. Therefore, the sword shall never depart from his household, and this child shall die.

This marks the beginning of the troubles David faced because of his own sin. Due to how he had turned away from the Lord and followed his flesh, the first consequence was the death of the child. As time went on, another trouble arose in chapter 13. David had many children because of his many wives. In chapter 13, verse 1, it came to pass that Absalom, the son of David, had a beautiful sister named Tamar. Amnon, another son of David, loved her.

Amnon was so vexed that he fell sick for his sister Tamar, for she was a virgin. He desired to have her as his own, his half-sister. Amnon devised a plan to pretend that he was sick and asked for Tamar to come and take care of him. Ultimately, during this situation, he wickedly raped her. Absalom, Tamar's brother, was furious about what had taken place. David, their father, did not do what he was supposed to do regarding his son Amnon. The law stated that if something like this occurred, the righteous requirement was that Amnon should be taken outside and capitally punished. He was to be put to death because of this incest and rape. However, David was unwilling to place judgment upon his own family member, his own son. As a result, Absalom looked at his father with disdain, and his view of David diminished.

From that point on, about a year later, Absalom devises a plan and kills his brother Amnon. He then flees far away from Jerusalem for a period of three years. David should have judged Amnon for the sin against his daughter Tamar, and he should have judged Absalom for the sin of killing Amnon. But did David do it? No, he didn't.

This sword continues in David's household because the next thing we see is Absalom returning to Jerusalem after three years. He starts to go around making connections; he was a real politician. In fact, the Scripture tells us in 2 Samuel that he stood outside the city gates. Anytime someone would come to the city gates for judgment, which is where people would come to get justice, Absalom would take them aside and say, "There's no justice in there. You're not going to find justice and judgment in there," because Absalom hadn't found justice and judgment in there. He despised his father at that point in time.

Absalom would say, "If you want justice, if you want judgment, come to me; I'll judge your case." He would bring people aside, give them a good handshake, hug them, and say, "I'll take care of your problems." As a result, Absalom started to bring all the people of Jerusalem to himself, ultimately developing and planning a coup to overthrow the kingdom of his father.

Absalom takes over the city and the nation, and David is sent on his way; he leaves the city of Jerusalem. This whole situation unfolds as 2 Samuel begins to wrap up the troubles of David. All of these troubles could have been avoided had David not sinned against the Lord and turned away from the Lord's commandment. God says to him, "Because you have done these things, the sword shall not depart from your house."

Amnon, his son, commits rape. Absalom, his son, commits murder. Absalom takes over his kingdom, and ultimately, through the whole story, we find that Absalom ends up dead as well. David cries out to the Lord because of this whole situation; he weeps because of the death of Absalom.

In many ways, I have to be honest: 2 Samuel kind of ends on a low note for the nation of Israel. King David, the man after God's own heart, reaps the consequences of his sin, as will every single one of us.

If we sow to the flesh, we will reap corruption. However, we can experience great triumph as we recognize that God needs to take that central position in our lives. He needs to be the one who occupies the throne of our lives. When He occupies that throne, we will experience victory and partake of the fruit of the Spirit. Kindness will be a part of our lives, along with love, joy, peace, gentleness, and self-control. All these things will be evident in our lives when God occupies the central position.

When we are not going out to battle, as David should have been in chapter 11, we will find that we begin to drift away from God and His rulership in our lives. When we sow to the flesh, we will reap destruction and corruption. Do not be deceived; God is not mocked. Whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap. This is the picture of 2 Samuel in the life of David. When God was on the throne, he was powerful and triumphant. But when David sowed to the flesh, it brought about trouble and destruction.

The book ends, if you turn over to chapter 21, with an interesting commentary about what was happening during the time of David's reign. David decided at a certain point that he wanted to number the people of the nation near the end of his life in these last several chapters. He sent forth his men, Joab and a few others, to number the nation. Joab, who is an interesting character for another Bible study someday, came to David and asked, "Why are you doing this? Has God told you that you should number the people? This seems like a strange thing."

David replied, "Just do it." So Joab went and numbered the people for nine months, bringing back the information to David about how many warriors there were. It wasn't just a census of all the people in the nation; it was a census of how many people were ready to fight. The scripture states that even David would say, "Some trust in horses, some trust in chariots, but we will trust in the name of our God." We are to trust in God. However, David started to put his focus and trust in what he had in the military, ready to go to battle. Ultimately, this brought about a famine in Israel.

In chapter 24, we see a significant moment in Israel's history. As soon as David received the numbers about how many men he had in his army, it says in verse 10 that David's heart smote him after he had numbered the people. He recognized that he had done something wrong; he had fixed his focus on the wrong thing. David said unto the Lord, "I have sinned greatly." He beseeched the Lord, saying, "Take away the iniquity of thy servant, for I have done very foolishly."

When David was up in the morning, the word of the Lord came unto the prophet Gad, David's seer, saying, "Go and say unto David, Thus saith the Lord, I offer thee three things. Choose thee one of them that I may do unto thee." Gad came to David and told him, asking, "Shall seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land? Or will you flee three months before your enemies while they pursue thee? Or that there be three days of pestilence in your land? Now advise and see what answer I shall return unto him."

God came to David and said that because he had sown to the flesh, there would be judgment and consequences for his sin. David had put his trust and focus in his army and how powerful he was, rather than in the name of the Lord God. Because of this, he had three choices: seven years of famine, three months of defeat at the hands of his enemies, or three days of pestilence.

In verse 14, we see the heart of David. He said unto Gad, "I am in a great strait. Let us fall now into the hand of the Lord, for his mercies are great, and let me not fall into the hand of man." David chose to leave the decision in God's hands, recognizing his wrongdoing and the consequences of his sin. He acknowledged God's mercy and said, "Lord, you choose."

The Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel from morning until the time appointed. From Dan to Beersheba, 70,000 men died. When the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord repented of the evil and said to the angel that destroyed the people, "It is enough; stay now thine hand." The angel of the Lord was by the threshing place of Arunah, the Jebusite.

We see the heart of David because David spoke unto the Lord when he saw that the angel smote the people. He said, "Lo, I have sinned and I have done wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? Let thine hand, I pray thee, be against me and against my father's house." He says, "God, please don't pour out your judgment upon these people. If you're going to judge anybody, judge me. It's my sin."

David went up to the threshing floor of Arunah, which is actually the place we would call today the Temple Mount at the top of Mount Zion. Arunah said to him, "David, let my lord the king take and offer up what seems good unto him. Behold, here are oxen for the burnt sacrifice and threshing instruments and other instruments of the oxen for wood." All these things did Arunah, as a king, give unto David. Arunah said unto the king, "The Lord thy God accept thee."

David went up to the threshing floor of Arunah and said, "I've got to offer a sacrifice unto the Lord here." The man who owned the land, Arunah, who was a Jebusite, came to David and said, "Listen, take the land, take whatever you want, just sacrifice unto the Lord. I'll give it to you." But David said unto him, "No, but I will surely buy it of thee at a price. Neither will I offer a burnt offering unto the Lord my God that does cost me nothing."

The powerful mindset and heart of David are clearly seen here. He said, "When I have sinned, God, let your judgment be upon me for my sin." When he went to offer a sacrifice to the Lord, someone offered to give him everything he needed. David responded, "No, I'm not going to offer something to the Lord that has not cost me something."

So, David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. He built there an altar unto the Lord and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. The Lord was entreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel.

You could say it ends on a little bit of an up note. Here, you see the heart of King David. Although he had sinned and transgressed the Lord, and although he had sown to the flesh and reaped the consequences of it, the troubles that came upon him, he was a man after God's own heart who desired God to be on the throne of his life. He recognized that when he had sinned, it was before God that he had sinned. He hadn't sinned against anybody but God. All sin is before God; it's transgression against His law, His commandment. David knew that he was accountable to God.

And so he says, "God don't place your judgment upon anybody but upon me." Then he brings this sacrifice to the Lord and says, "I'm not going to sacrifice something to the Lord that hasn't cost me something." He entreated the Lord.

Now, an interesting point in verse 24 is that at the last little bit, it says, "So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for 50 shekels of silver." This is talking about that piece of ground that the entire world is focused upon, wondering who has rights to the Temple Mount. Whose land is it? It's interesting that here we find who bought it. Who paid for it? King David, the king of the Jews, purchased it. It is rightfully Israel's land, even though it is a big contention in the world today.

Who has rights to that piece of ground called the threshing floor of Arunah or the Temple Mount in Jerusalem? The people that really have the rights to it are the children of Israel. In this passage from 2 Samuel, we see a correlation to our lives. When God is upon the throne, we will experience triumph. We will experience triumph against our enemies, and we will taste of the fruit of the Spirit in abundance.

However, when we drift from that and get our focus back on our flesh, we are easily duped into sin. Take heed when you think you stand, because even though you may be like King David, a man or a woman after God's own heart, you may think that you're having triumph and that everything is happening the way it should be. We are so close to sin because of our flesh. The heart of man is desperately wicked and quickly turns toward the things of this world when we walk where we shouldn't be, inquiring about things that we shouldn't be, as David did in chapter 11.

Do not be deceived. God is not mocked; whatsoever a man sows, he will reap. There will be consequences to sin. We will experience the consequences of sin here in this life. Thankfully, God has forgiven us of our past sins, and He is renewing us and removing us from the presence of sin here and now, the power of sin in our lives. But there are consequences, and we do reap those consequences. Some of you are shaking your heads because you know you've made mistakes and sinned in the past, and even today, you experience the consequence of that sin. We see it here.

In the life of David, I am thankful for the picture that we see in 2 Samuel because it shows us that a man after God's own heart was not a perfect man. The only thing that made him a man after God's own heart was the faith that he had towards God and the willingness to repent and receive the punishment. Even though God would not place that punishment ultimately upon David, it would be placed upon the son of David. Amen? Amen.

Let's stand and pray.

God, I thank you for the testimony of David. Lord, I thank you for the testimonies that we see throughout the Old Testament of these men and women who followed you. When we look at the father of our faith, Abraham, he too wasn't a perfect man. He messed up many times, Lord, and yet what made him the father of faith is that he went where you told him to go. He followed you without truly knowing what was going to happen and what the ultimate outcome would be.

David, as well, was certainly not a perfect person, and yet he had faith towards you. He recognized that his heart needed you to touch, cleanse, and clean. So, Lord, I pray that we would be those men and women of faith as well, who recognize that the only way we can stand before you is because of the work that you did on our behalf. We praise you and we thank you for that work. We ask, Lord, that you would help us to constantly be mindful of it, for we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.