A Word about an Exalted Kingdom

 

Today I want to share a word about an Exalted Kingdom as I comment on Scripture passages from 2 Samuel 5. 

In our last episode, we saw how an uncivil war had broken out among God’s people after the death of Saul. Instead of following the clearly understood will of God, His people acted just like the subjects of every other kingdom of the world do when they are confronted with a succession crisis. They fought each other for power and control, and we learned important lessons from their experience. First, we learned that conflict comes when people sinfully exceed their authority, and the level of conflict is accelerated by unchecked aggression. We also learned that conflict is made more complicated by playing politics, and that conflict is no justification for assassination, either physical or reputational. In the end, we learned that conflict is resolved when we yield our will to God’s. In this case, David was anointed king over all of the Tribes of Israel, and this led to what I consider to be an exalted kingdom. 

Our world is full of kingdoms which make great promises, but they don’t fulfill them, or if they do, their benefits don’t last. One example of that is Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. It appears to be a wonderful place, and it is often called “The happiest place on earth,” yet, in fact, it is all a huge illusion. For example, those three-story buildings along Main Street are really only about two stories high, but the technique of forced perspective is used to make them seem taller. The third floors of those buildings are actually only half as tall as they should be. Some other buildings in the park are constructed so that they obscure views of the hotels and other modern buildings outside the park, to prevent the illusion from being shattered. 

In addition to the clever use of architecture, essential items that are not attractive, like trash cans and other such objects, are painted with a color that the Disney staff, who are called imagineers, call “Go Away Green.” Other items that are higher in elevation are painted “Blending Blue.” These colors help those ugly necessities to blend into the background, and they tend to remain unseen unless a visitor needs to throw away some trash.   

The most interesting, and possibly insidious, feature of the Magic Kingdom is the use of smelitizers, which are machines that emit artificial aromas such as the smell of fresh-baked cookies. The magic of the Magic Kingdom is how the imagineers create such powerful illusions of grandeur, mystic, and downhome comfort. The Magic Kingdom is wonderful and captivating, but it is an illusion. To be unkind, it is all fake. Even more, no one can live there! 

As David took the throne over all of Israel, an exalted kingdom would emerge. God’s people would realize their best lives in the Promised Land. But why? How? Let’s begin by reading 2 Samuel 5:1-5,  

All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “Here we are, your own flesh and blood. Even while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led us out to battle and brought us back. The Lord also said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will be ruler over Israel.’” So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron. King David made a covenant with them at Hebron in the Lord’s presence, and they anointed David king over Israel. David was thirty years old when he began his reign; he reigned forty years. In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah. 

The Right King Must Be On The Throne: 

Long before it was a common saying, the Children of Israel learned the truth of the phrase, “United we stand and divided we fall.” In a healthy kingdom, only one king can reign and rule, and only one throne can exist. If that authority is divided in any way, chaos and weakness will ensue.  

In our last episode, we saw that Israel and Judah had been divided and that they each had their own king. The result was conflict, war, death, and an abundance of trouble. One people with two kings obviously doesn’t work, but what about two peoples with one king. Is that any better? Actually, no. 

An interesting historical example of that was the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary, which joined two independent countries under one king, Emperor Franz Joseph, in 1867. They had one king and one throne, but each country had veto powers over the kingdom’s laws, policies, and budgets. This made the nation unstable, and that instability helped spark World War I, which, ironically, resulted in the collapse of the dual monarchy itself. They were not united, and so divided, they fell. 

The only way that a kingdom works is for one people to have one king who is their sovereign ruler. This is the way it works in human kingdoms, and it is the way that it works in God’s Kingdom as well. Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and no one else can be on the thrones of our lives. For Christians, that should be an obvious statement, and it is. Sadly, we too often try to qualify that statement, however. Jesus cannot be a part-time, or sometime King of our lives. We can’t decide to obey Him when we want to but then decide to go our own way when we want to. He can’t be the Lord of some parts of our lives, but not Lord over other parts of our lives. As Hudson Taylor, the missionary to China, said, "Christ is either Lord of all, or He is not Lord at all." 

God’s Exalted Kingdom begins with the right King. Then, we must let Him overcome the strongholds in our lives. Next, let’s read 2 Samuel 5:6-8, 

The king and his men marched to Jerusalem against the Jebusites who inhabited the land. The Jebusites had said to David, “You will never get in here. Even the blind and lame can repel you” thinking, “David can’t get in here.” Yet David did capture the stronghold of Zion, that is, the city of David. He said that day, “Whoever attacks the Jebusites must go through the water shaft to reach the lame and the blind who are despised by David.” For this reason it is said, “The blind and the lame will never enter the house.”  

Strongholds Must Be Overcome: 

A stronghold is any obstacle that separates us from God or from accomplishing His mission. The easiest strongholds to recognize are the physical strongholds like Jericho, and Jerusalem, both of which were fortifications that were held by the enemies of the Children of Israel. While these strongholds were different in many ways, they were both too strong for the Israelites to overcome on their own. 

In the time of Saul and David, it was not possible to successfully attack a well-prepared, fortified city. The armies of the day had no artillery, no explosives, and no aircraft. Neither did they have the Roman siege engines like the catapults and towers that they used to defeat the Jewish revolt in A.D. 70. If a city like Jericho or Jerusalem had the opportunity to stock-up on food, and if there was a well or other source of water in the city, then its people could hold-out almost indefinitely. It is no wonder that the Jebusites were so confident.  They saw their own strength, and they saw no way the army of Israel could prevail. 

Israel, on the other hand, could not abide the presence of strongholds like Jericho and Jerusalem. Until Jericho was reduced, the Jews could not enter the Promised Land and claim their inheritance from God. Until Jerusalem was reduced, the Jews could not be united as one people under one king who had been appointed for them by one God. The kingdom could never be exalted as long as such strongholds existed. 

The same is true for us today, although few physical strongholds stand in our way like Jericho or Jerusalem. Many other strongholds can exist in our lives, however, which separate us from God, and from the abundant life promised to us by Jesus. Emotional strongholds like arrogance or doubt or fear can keep us from committing our lives to God. Likewise, we may be faced with other strongholds, like an unhealthy relationship, or like an unwillingness to risk ridicule from the culture which surrounds us today. Some of us may be confronted by economic or financial strongholds which we can see no way to overcome. Regardless of whether the stronghold we face is spiritual, physical, emotional, or relational, and regardless of whether it is internal to ourselves, or imposed from outside of ourselves, the basic fact of a stronghold is that we need help to overcome them. From where does such help come? From God, of course, when we turn to Him the way that the Jews did before Jericho and before Jerusalem. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, 

For although we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh, since the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments and every proud thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ. 

 God overcame the stronghold of Jericho, and He also overcame the stronghold of Jerusalem. He is willing and able to overcome the strongholds in our lives as well, if we will allow Him!  

For an exalted kingdom to be created, strongholds must be overcome, but foundations must also be built upon, as we see in 2 Samuel 5:9-12, 

David took up residence in the stronghold, which he named the city of David. He built it up all the way around from the supporting terraces inward. David became more and more powerful, and the Lord God of Armies was with him. King Hiram of Tyre sent envoys to David; he also sent cedar logs, carpenters, and stonemasons, and they built a palace for David. Then David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel and had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel. 

Foundations Must Be Built Upon: 

Although tearing down strongholds is essential, it is not sufficient. Indeed, simply removing obstacles from our path is different than following that path to achieving God’s will for our lives. Solomon, David’s son, said in Ecclesiastes 3 that there is “a time to tear down and a time to build.” He also said that there is “a time to plant and time to uproot,” and that there is “a time to tear and a time to sew” as well. We must allow God to root out the bad things in our lives, but we must also allow Him to build-up the good things as well. This is what Jesus taught about this in Matthew 12:43-45, 

“When an unclean spirit comes out of a person, it roams through waterless places looking for rest but doesn’t find any. Then it says, ‘I’ll go back to my house that I came from.’ Returning, it finds the house vacant, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and settle down there. As a result, that person’s last condition is worse than the first. That’s how it will also be with this evil generation.” 

Clearly, once the strongholds in our lives have been thrown down, we must shift our focus from fighting strongholds to becoming fruitful for God’s Kingdom. Fruitfulness is clearly God’s will for our lives, as demonstrated by when Jesus cursed the fig tree in Mark 11:12-14, 

The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it.  

Later, in Mark 11:20-25, we also read, 

In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!” “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins. 

 Jesus clearly wants us to grow and mature and be fruitful as we walk with Him. If we don’t, I don’t believe that Jesus will curse us. People are far more valuable to Him than a fig tree, which we know is true because Jesus died so that all people would have the opportunity for salvation. Still, this event clearly shows us that we must lay the foundations for growth in our lives, and allow Jesus to nurture us, the way a gardener tends his garden. 

Remember, Jesus has also sent us the Holy Spirit, who lives in our lives, and who gives us spiritual gifts for growth and maturity and the edification of others. Also, if we let Him, the Holy Spirit will produce the Fruit of the Spirit in our lives, as Paul taught us in Galatians 5:22-24, 

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and selfcontrol. The law is not against such things. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 

King David led the Children of Israel into building an exalted kingdom through having the right king, through overcoming strongholds, and through building on firm foundations, but one other thing was also necessary, as we will see in 2 Samuel 5:17-25, 

When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, they all went in search of David, but he heard about it and went down to the stronghold. So the Philistines came and spread out in Rephaim Valley. Then David inquired of the Lord: “Should I attack the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?” The Lord replied to David, “Attack, for I will certainly hand the Philistines over to you.” So David went to Baal-perazim and defeated them there and said, “Like a bursting flood, the Lord has burst out against my enemies before me.” Therefore, he named that place The Lord Bursts Out. The Philistines abandoned their idols there, and David and his men carried them off. The Philistines came up again and spread out in Rephaim Valley. So David inquired of the Lord, and he answered, “Do not attack directly, but circle around behind them and come at them opposite the balsam trees. When you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, act decisively, for then the Lord will have gone out ahead of you to strike down the army of the Philistines.” So David did exactly as the Lord commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Geba to Gezer. 

The Lord’s Way Must Be Our Way: 

Finally, we must walk with our Lord in our daily lives. David’s actions here are a great model for us to follow. First, a need arose, and David recognized that it was a need. Second, David turned to God, not just once, but on a regular basis. Third, God responded to David, as we know He always does to the needs of His people. Finally, and essentially, David followed the revealed will of the Lord.  

Something we must not overlook here is that David inquired of God twice, and God responded twice, but the details were different. Every challenge that comes into our lives is not the same. Noted football coach and sportscaster John Madden once wrote a book, and his title reminds us of this fact: One Size Doesn’t Fit All. As an extra-large person in a world designed for medium-sized people, that sentiment resonates with me, and not just for fashion reasons alone. 

Spiritually, we must remember that God’s will for one situation might be different than it is for another situation. But get this: God’s will for two similar situations might be different, or it might even mature into something else halfway through the same situation. So, is God’s will as chaotic and arbitrary as the Transportation Security Agency’s airport boarding policies seem to be? 

No, of course not. 

Our God is an intentional God, but His ways are vastly higher and more complex than ours are. We don’t have to understand all that He is doing, however, to trust Him and His will. What we must do, however, is stay in touch with Him. One of the first signs of trouble in the Garden of Eden was when God came to fellowship with Adam and Eve, but they hid from Him because of their sin. Instead, let us confess our sin, and stay in touch with God! 

Conclusion: 

 No one lives in the Magic Kingdom, and truthfully, no one lives on the mountain top experiences we can have from time to time with God, either. If, however, we get real with Him, we can live our best lives in His Exalted Kingdom, both with Him here on earth and also in the hereafter with Him in heaven. 

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt

A Word about An Uncivil War

Today I want to share a word about an uncivil war as I comment on Scripture passages from 2 Samuel 2-5.

In our last episode, we saw how David and his followers mourned the tragic end of Saul’s life, and we learned important lessons from their experience. First, when confronted with bad news, we must not blame the messenger, and also, while we should therapeutically tell our story of loss, we should not tell details that might complicate our grief process. We must always tell the truth, but we don’t have to tell everything that we know. We also observed that David could cherish his memories of Saul and Jonathan, while also not living in the past. In addition, while we must look to the future, we must not neglect to show appreciation for those who helped us experience good grief.

As David and his followers moved forward in their service to God, the people of Judah anointed David as their king. As we might remember, Judah was physically separated from the rest of the tribes of Israel by Jerusalem, which was occupied by the Jebusites. Although Judah had accepted David as their king, the remainder of Israel had not yet done so. In fact, the situation would get worse before it got better. Sadly, a civil war was about to break-out.

Having been born and raised in the South, I am well aware of the many people who make remembering the American Civil War into more than just a hobby to become an avocation. The thoughts of these folks range from the erudite reflections of noted author Shelby Foote to the way a crotchety old lady teacher insisted on calling it the War Between the States. I clearly remember this latter example, because she would loudly, and quite directly, correct anyone who called it anything else. And, of course, there were the wags who jokingly, well I think they were joking, called it the War of Northern Aggression. History is written by the victors, but the vanquished also find ways of having their say as well. 

The saddest part about the idea of a civil war, is that, like the friendly fire that killed Pat Tilman, it isn’t. Usually there is nothing civil about it. The American Civil War produced over 650,000 deaths, not to mention untold civilian deaths as well. As we examine the uncivil war that broke out over Saul’s succession, let’s begin with 2 Samuel 2:8-13,

Abner son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, took Saul’s son Ish-bosheth and moved him to Mahanaim. He made him king over Gilead, Asher, Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin—over all Israel. Saul’s son Ish-bosheth was forty years old when he became king over Israel; he reigned for two years. The house of Judah, however, followed David. The length of time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.  Abner son of Ner and soldiers of Ish-bosheth son of Saul marched out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. So Joab son of Zeruiah and David’s soldiers marched out and met them by the pool of Gibeon. The two groups took up positions on opposite sides of the pool.

 Conflict Begins By Exceeding Our Authority:

Conflict begins in a family, or in a community, or in a church, when someone exceeds their authority. The Bible uses three different terms for sin. One type of sin is inherent in the human condition. It is simply falling short of God’s perfection. A second word for sin describes a transgression. This is a deliberate act of rebellion against God’s clearly known will. The third way the Bible describes sin is as iniquity, or deliberate and heinous sin. Conflict begins when someone deliberately takes an action or harbors an attitude that is against God’s Will, God’s Word, or God’s Way. In other words, conflict begins when someone deliberately sins. 

In some cases, like this one, the sin is easy to see. Abner’s role was to serve kings, not to be a kingmaker. What he did may have seemed perfectly logical to him, and in other circumstances, it might have been an acceptable act. In this case, however, God had appointed David to be Saul’s replacement, and Abner was out of bounds. He, and he alone, bears the brunt of the responsibility for all the deaths that followed.

Rebellion like that of Abner is easy to spot, but another form of rebellion exists also. It happens when we take offense at another’s mistake without being patient and trying to sort things out. Remember, Jesus told His followers to leave their offering at the altar and go and be reconciled with those whom they were in conflict. In Mathew 18, he told His followers that it was their responsibility to go make things right. Paul also said in Romans 12:18-21,

If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for God’s wrath, because it is written, Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord. But If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. For in so doing you will be heaping fiery coals on his head. Do not be conquered by evil but conquer evil with good.

 A pastor once saw this to be the problem that a couple was having in their marriage. In a counseling session he said, “I think you both have the problem of getting too historical with each other.” The husband replied, “Don’t you mean hysterical?” The pastor said, “No, what I mean is you both keep bringing up the past that you said was dead and buried. That’s your problem, you are both too historical!”

Conflict begins with exceeding our authority, which is a deliberate sin. We accelerate conflict through aggression. Next, let’s read 2 Samuel 3:14-28,

Then Abner said to Joab, “Let’s have the young men get up and compete in front of us.” “Let them get up,” Joab replied. So they got up and were counted off—twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth son of Saul, and twelve from David’s soldiers. Then each man grabbed his opponent by the head and thrust his sword into his opponent’s side so that they all died together. So this place, which is in Gibeon, is named Field of Blades. The battle that day was extremely fierce, and Abner and the men of Israel were defeated by David’s soldiers. The three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Asahel was a fast runner, like one of the wild gazelles. He chased Abner and did not turn to the right or the left in his pursuit of him. Abner glanced back and said, “Is that you, Asahel?” “Yes it is,” Asahel replied. Abner said to him, “Turn to your right or left, seize one of the young soldiers, and take whatever you can get from him.” But Asahel would not stop chasing him. Once again, Abner warned Asahel, “Stop chasing me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How could I ever look your brother Joab in the face?”  But Asahel refused to turn away, so Abner hit him in the stomach with the butt of his spear. The spear went through his body, and he fell and died right there. As they all came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died, they stopped, but Joab and Abishai pursued Abner. By sunset, they had gone as far as the hill of Ammah, which is opposite Giah on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon. The Benjaminites rallied to Abner; they formed a unit and took their stand on top of a hill. Then Abner called out to Joab, “Must the sword devour forever? Don’t you realize this will only end in bitterness? How long before you tell the troops to stop pursuing their brothers?”  “As God lives,” Joab replied, “if you had not spoken up, the troops wouldn’t have stopped pursuing their brothers until morning.” Then Joab blew the ram’s horn, and all the troops stopped; they no longer pursued Israel or continued to fight.

Conflict Is Accelerated By Aggression:

We must recognize that the day comes when we must fight. Solomon, in Ecclesiastes 3:8, told us that there is “A time for war, and a time for peace.” So fighting is an option, but we must pick our fights wisely. Sadly, I don’t see either general exhibiting much wisdom in this battle.

The idea of a battle of champions was familiar to the Jews because of the story of David and Goliath, but they forgot that such an arrangement meant that one side or the other must lose. The goal of conflict resolution is a just and equitable solution to a problem caused by sin. The goal is not victory, but grace, peace, and mercy. The battle of champions didn’t go well for the Philistines, and it didn’t go well for both sides in this situation.

The problem that Abner and Joab had is described by the meme about a child with a hammer. That meme goes, “If all you have is a hammer, then all the world is a nail.” All Abner and Joab had was armies and testosterone, and that is an explosive mixture. And what was the result?

First, the conflict was not resolved. Both David and Ish-bosheth remained on their thrones. Second, the cost of this aggression was high. Two-dozen of the best and brightest of Israel and Judah were killed, as was Joab’s brother Asahel. All told, 380 men died that day, all cousins of one another. That was far too high a price to pay for a stalemate. All that blood shed resolved nothing.

It would be nice to say that such unfruitful aggression among God’s people died out with the advent of the church, but we can’t because it isn’t true. But this is what James, the pastor of the mother church at Jerusalem said to his members in James 4:1-4,

What is the source of wars and fights among you? Don’t they come from your passions that wage war within you? You desire and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and wage war. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and don’t receive because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. You adulterous people! Don’t you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? So whoever wants to be the friend of the world becomes the enemy of God.

Belligerent conduct was also present in the Church at Corinth and Paul rebuked them as well. Unbridled aggression accelerates conflict and it is almost never the solution we need to choose within the church. Neither is the next solution Abner turned to next, which is found in 2 Samuel 3:6-11,

During the war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner kept acquiring more power in the house of Saul. Now Saul had a concubine whose name was Rizpah daughter of Aiah, and Ish-bosheth questioned Abner, “Why did you sleep with my father’s concubine?” Abner was very angry about Ish-bosheth’s accusation. “Am I a dog’s head who belongs to Judah?” he asked. “All this time I’ve been loyal to the family of your father Saul, to his brothers, and to his friends and haven’t betrayed you to David, but now you accuse me of wrongdoing with this woman!  May God punish Abner and do so severely if I don’t do for David what the Lord swore to him:  to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and establish the throne of David over Israel and Judah from Dan to Beer-sheba.”  

Conflict Is Complicated By Playing Politics:

As we saw above, Abner viewed himself as a kingmaker. He knew who was supposed to be king, but he rejected the clearly revealed will of God. When he installed Ish-bosheth, he did so with ulterior motives. We don’t know what those motives were, but when Ish-bosheth acted like a king, Abner took offense. He showed just how thin-skinned he was, and just how shallow his commitment to his king was as well.

Abner, in his arrogance, seemed to look upon the throne of Israel as a gift that he could give to anyone that he wanted. We must be careful not to look upon the gifts of God as our own, to do with what we will. If we aren’t careful, we might end up like the Seven Sons of Sceva in Acts 19:11-17. They found that appropriating the gifts of God for their own benefit was playing with fire:

God was performing extraordinary miracles by Paul’s hands, so that even facecloths or aprons that had touched his skin were brought to the sick, and the diseases left them, and the evil spirits came out of them. Now some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists also attempted to pronounce the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I command you by the Jesus that Paul preaches!” Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish high priest, were doing this. The evil spirit answered them, “I know Jesus, and I recognize Paul—but who are you?” Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them, overpowered them all, and prevailed against them, so that they ran out of that house naked and wounded. When this became known to everyone who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks, they became afraid, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high esteem.

The gifts of God are bestowed upon us for the building-up of the church, not for the building-up of ourselves. Playing politics with the things of God does not bring a good result. Neither does resorting to assassination, as we see in 2 Samuel 3:1-4,

Joab went to the king and said, “What have you done? Look here, Abner came to you. Why did you dismiss him? Now he’s getting away. You know that Abner son of Ner came to deceive you and to find out about your military activities and everything you’re doing.” Then Joab left David and sent messengers after Abner. They brought him back from the well of Sirah, but David was unaware of it. When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab pulled him aside to the middle of the city gate, as if to speak to him privately, and there Joab stabbed him in the stomach. So Abner died in revenge for the death of Asahel, Joab’s brother.

Let’s also read 2 Samuel 4:1 and 5-7,

When Saul’s son Ish-bosheth heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he gave up, and all Israel was dismayed . . . Rechab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, set out and arrived at Ish-bosheth’s house during the heat of the day while the king was taking his midday nap. They entered the interior of the house as if to get wheat and stabbed him in the stomach. Then Rechab and his brother Baanah escaped. They had entered the house while Ish-bosheth was lying on his bed in his bedroom and stabbed and killed him. They removed his head, took it, and traveled by way of the Arabah all night. 

Conflict Is No Justification For Assassination:

It is tempting to think that both Abner and Ish-bosheth got what they deserved. One might find some sympathy for Ish-bosheth, who, after all, was a son of King Saul, and who might be forgiven for trying to see if he could replace his father. Leaving him aside, surely Abner deserved his death, right? He had blatantly ignored God’s will, and in doing so, the blood of many was on his hands. 

Despite the sins and mistakes made by Abner and Ish-bosheth, their deaths were not committed as righteous acts. In the modern world we would call these extrajudicial killings, and since neither fell in battle, then their deaths were no less than murders, and their killers were no less than murderers. As the saying goes, “two wrongs don’t make a right,” and as a former colleague of mine liked to say, “There is no right way to do the wrong thing.”  We must never try to do God’s work with the Devil’s tools.

It would be rare to find a church conflict today that resulted in a literal assassination, though I was once told about a deacon’s meeting where a gun was pulled and laid upon the conference table. That’s said, modern social media is a loaded gun for character assassination, and it is one which has been fired far too often by those who should know better. We must never assassinate another’s character just to win an argument. Whether we kill someone’s body, or whether we kill someone’s reputation, we are still committing murder, at least if we believe Jesus in Matthew 5:21-22,

You have heard that it was said to our ancestors, Do not murder, and whoever murders will be subject to judgment. But I tell you, everyone who is angry with his brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Whoever insults his brother or sister will be subject to the court. Whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be subject to hellfire.

Finally let’s read 2 Samuel 5:1-3,

All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “Here we are, your own flesh and blood Even while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led us out to battle and brought us back. The Lord also said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will be ruler over Israel.’” So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron. King David made a covenant with them at Hebron in the Lord’s presence, and they anointed David king over Israel.

 Conflict Is Resolved When We Yield To God:

The best part of banging your head against a wall is when you stop. God’s people finally quit resisting God’s will, the same way that Saul did on the Damascus Road. In Acts 26:14 Paul described his conversion in this way,

We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice speaking to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’

When we resist God’s Word, His Will, and His Way, we are like Saul, kicking against the goads like a rank bull in a rodeo. When we accept His Word, His Will, and His Way, we set ourselves up to experience the abundant life Jesus said that He came to give us.

Once the Children of Israel accepted David as their God-anointed king, they put aside their uncivil and ungodly war. They began to experience their best life in the Promised Land they’d ever had, and God led David to develop an exalted kingdom, as we will see in our next episode,

Conclusion:

When we do things God’s way, it works every time. When we deliberately go our own way, however, rebellion, conflict, war, and even assassination are the results. Let’s learn from the mistakes of the past, so that we may profit from them in our daily walk with God.

Every blessing, 

Dr. Otis Corbitt

A Word about Good Grief

Today I want to share a word about good grief as I comment on 2 Samuel 1:1-2:7.

In our last episode, we saw the tragic end of Saul’s life and reign as he took his own life rather than be captured by the Philistines who had decisively defeated his army. Saul’s life clearly demonstrated the cost of disobedience to God: defeat and death, disintegration and disgrace, dismay and displacement. Saul left the scene, but he left his people to deal with the consequences. That is why we will turn our attention next to how David and the people of Israel reacted to Saul’s death, and to the lessons we can learn from that reaction.

Grief is a universal experience of life. All people suffer loss during their lives, and the experience of loss brings grief. Grief and mourning are intense emotions, and that is why pastors and funeral directors are very careful about the way that funerals are arranged and how they are conducted. Things don’t always turn out as planned, however.

Paul Harvey recounted one instance when things went array during a funeral. As a funeral procession in Illinois drove from the church to the cemetery, they passed a local school where all the students and teachers were standing curbside. When the funeral procession approached them, they all began waving and shouting and jumping up and down. They were even beating drums and clanging cymbals. The funeral director was horrified and when they arrived at the cemetery, he profusely apologized to the deceased’s family. Later, he found out that the school was standing by to welcome Vice President Dan Quayle, who was in town to campaign for a local candidate. The teachers were told to cheer and celebrate as his motorcade passed by. Unfortunately, the funeral procession passed by the school first!

Good grief was the favorite expression of dismay in the cartoon series Charlie Brown. The response of David and his followers to the death of Saul provides us some lessons on how our own grief can be constructive instead of destructive.  Let’s begin with 2 Samuel 1:1-16,

After the death of Saul, David returned from defeating the Amalekites and stayed at Ziklag two days. On the third day a man with torn clothes and dust on his head came from Saul’s camp. When he came to David, he fell to the ground and paid homage. David asked him, “Where have you come from?” He replied to him, “I’ve escaped from the Israelite camp.” “What was the outcome? Tell me,” David asked him. “The troops fled from the battle,” he answered. “Many of the troops have fallen and are dead. Also, Saul and his son Jonathan are dead.”  David asked the young man who had brought him the report, “How do you know Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?”  “I happened to be on Mount Gilboa,” he replied, “and there was Saul, leaning on his spear. At that very moment the chariots and the cavalry were closing in on him. When he turned around and saw me, he called out to me, so I answered: I’m at your service. He asked me, ‘Who are you?’ I told him: I’m an Amalekite. Then he begged me, ‘Stand over me and kill me, for I’m mortally wounded, but my life still lingers.’ So I stood over him and killed him because I knew that after he had fallen he couldn’t survive. I took the crown that was on his head and the armband that was on his arm, and I’ve brought them here to my lord.” Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and all the men with him did the same. They mourned, wept, and fasted until the evening for those who died by the sword—for Saul, his son Jonathan, the Lord’s people, and the house of Israel. David inquired of the young man who had brought him the report, “Where are you from?” “I’m the son of a resident alien,” he said. “I’m an Amalekite.” David questioned him, “How is it that you were not afraid to lift your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?” Then David summoned one of his servants and said, “Come here and kill him!” The servant struck him, and he died. For David had said to the Amalekite, “Your blood is on your own head because your own mouth testified against you by saying, ‘I killed the Lord’s anointed.’”

Don’t Kill The Messenger:

Receiving bad news is not a pleasant experience, but neither is giving bad news. Too often, messengers are blamed for the bad outcome, when, in fact, they had no part in causing it. Reacting this way is both unfair and counterproductive.

Before cell phones existed, I was once given the task by my boss of tracking down a fellow employee on their day off from work to ask them to come in for a special assignment. My boss knew that my colleague played in a softball league, and he sent me to the local park to deliver this unwelcome message. When I found my colleague, he had just picked-up a bat and was about to go out to the on-deck circle. When I told him that our mutual boss was calling him in to work, I thought he was going to hit me with the bat! He didn’t, but if he had not had more restraint than David, he would have!

We must not over-react to the bearers of bad news, because they are providing us a valuable service. Bad news does not get better with age, and what we don’t know can hurt us. We may not have become too comfortable with violence the way that David had, but we must receive bad news with grace, knowing that the bearer of it is both not responsible for its cause, and also because the messenger has probably been dreading the moment of revelation all day.

Frankly, the bearers of bad news have responsibility as well. I don’t know why this Amalekite told the lie that he did, but this interaction did not end well for him. Saul fell on his own sword, and while the Amalekite may have observed Saul’s death, and he may have even heard what Saul had said to his armor bearer, Saul did not have a spear, and he fell on his own sword. The bearers of bad news are performing a sacred task. They must not mishandle the news, nor use it for their own benefit.

Pat Tilman was a professional football player who enlisted in the US Army after the 9/11 attacks. He tragically died in combat in Afghanistan, and the impact of his death was made worse when the Department of Defense hid the fact that Tilman had died due to fratricide, which is commonly called, “friendly fire.” The lies told to Tilman’s family made their grief worse, and they were a disservice to Tilman’s bravery and self-sacrifice.

Good grief begins when we honor the service of those who graciously and gently bring us the bad news we don’t want to hear, but also which they regret having to share. Next, let’s read 2 Samuel 1:17-21,

David sang the following lament for Saul and his son Jonathan, and he ordered that the Judahites be taught The Song of the Bow. It is written in the Book of Jashar: The splendor of Israel lies slain on your heights. How the mighty have fallen!  Do not tell it in Gath, don’t announce it in the marketplaces of Ashkelon, or the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice, and the daughters of the uncircumcised will celebrate. Mountains of Gilboa, let no dew or rain be on you, or fields of offerings, for there the shield of the mighty was defiled—the shield of Saul, no longer anointed with oil.

Don’t Cast Your Pearls Before Swine:

We must remember that while everything we say must be true, we don’t have to say all that we know. Exercising discretion in grief is a way to avoid making a difficult situation even worse. This can be difficult, because when we experience a dismaying event, it is natural that we tell the story of that event.

I was once involved in a traffic accident that left both ends of my car, front and rear, damaged and crumpled like an accordion. I was sitting at a traffic light behind a large pick-up truck when I was struck from behind, and my car was pushed into the reinforced back bumper of the truck. I was not injured, but I was surprised to say the least. Besides that, the back of my car seat gave way, and I landed sprawled across the back seat. Although I was not injured, and although my car was repairable (at significant cost, but that’s another story), I told my story of that event multiple times over the next month. If I had not seen you since the accident, I probably told you about it in some way.

Chaplains and crisis counselors have a saying, “Everyone has a story. They will tell their story until they are finished telling it. Then they don’t tell it anymore.” A listening ear is a key tool in helping someone to endure their grief. Job’s friends were a great help to Job as long as they were listening to him. It was when they opened their mouths that they failed him!

Jesus told his followers in Matthew 7:6, “Don’t give what is holy to dogs or toss your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them under their feet, turn, and tear you to pieces.” Some elements in our grief story might be true, but it is not necessary to share them with everyone. Although we do need to tell the whole story to those involved in a crisis, or those who can help us to mourn well, some people who are not your friends might use them to your detriment.  Next, let’s read 2 Samuel 1:22-27,

Jonathan’s bow never retreated, Saul’s sword never returned unstained, from the blood of the slain, from the flesh of the mighty. Saul and Jonathan loved and delightful, they were not parted in life or in death. They were swifter than eagles, stronger than lions. Daughters of Israel, weep for Saul, who clothed you in scarlet, with luxurious things, who decked your garments with gold ornaments. How the mighty have fallen in the thick of battle! Jonathan lies slain on your heights.  I grieve for you, Jonathan, my brother. You were such a friend to me. Your love for me was more wondrous than the love of women.  How the mighty have fallen and the weapons of war have perished!

Don’t Forget To Cherish What Has Passed:

One of the biggest failures of God’s people in the Bible was their forgetfulness. When things were going well, when they were prosperous in a “land flowing with milk and honey,” they forgot how they came to be in that place, and they forgot who made them prosperous. They became full of themselves, and they forgot all that God had done for them.

God knew His people would forget, and that’s why He gave them various tools to help them remember.  First, He instituted the Passover to remind the Jews of how the Death Angel passed over them when he killed all the first born in Egypt, which is how God convinced Pharoah to let God’s people go. Next, He had the Children of Israel create a monument of riverbed rocks beside the Jordan River to remind them of how they crossed over on dry ground because of God’s actions on their behalf. In Deuteronomy 6:4-8, God also told His people,

Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your city gates.

Later in Jeremiah, God said that He would write His Word on the hearts of His people, and even later, Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper, conveying through it even more of God’s truths. Finally, God inhabited our very lives with His own Spirit, reminding us from the inside of His amazing actions to bless us. Yet, we still have trouble remembering God’s works on our behalf.

So, God approves of remembering the past, and He also wants us to remember and to cherish the things in our lives that have passed. We can benefit from remembering both the good times and the bad times. We don’t need to make our lost loved one’s saints, nor do we need to whitewash all our mistakes. We can remember people and things as they were and be grateful for God bringing them into our lives.

For me, a great example of this is my memories of my mother and my mother-in-law. Both women loved me and my wife and our children, but neither were perfect. We were blessed by their love, and I learned many things, even from their frailties. So, clearly, we must cherish the past, but we must be careful not to live there. This is another lesson that we can learn from David as we read 2 Samuel 2:1-4,

Some time later, David inquired of the Lord: “Should I go to one of the towns of Judah?” The Lord answered him, “Go.” Then David asked, “Where should I go?” “To Hebron,” the Lord replied. So David went there with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail, the widow of Nabal the Carmelite. In addition, David brought the men who were with him, each one with his family, and they settled in the towns near Hebron. Then the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. They told David, “It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul.”

Don’t Live In The Past:

As much as God wants us to remember the past, He doesn’t live there, and He doesn’t want us to live there, either. We remember the past in order to provide context to our present, which is the foundation for our future. God has a plan for His relationship with us, and He is working that plan, constantly. He is moving forward, and He wants us to be moving forward with Him as well.

We see clear evidence in God’s Word that David cherished the memory of King Saul, and that he also cherished the memory of Jonathan, his best friend. The Word also clearly reflects David’s deep grief and heart-felt mourning for their loss, not only in its reality and finality, but also in its circumstances. That said, at the right time, David lifted his head up and asked, “What do I do now?” And God told him what to do.

Please note that David did what God said to do. It has no effect on our lives if we know God’s will, but don’t have the will ourselves to embrace His direction for the future. If David had not gone to Hebron, he would not have been anointed king of Judah, nor would he have become king of all of God’s people. So, David did not forget, but he also forged on into the future, and God would have us to do the same.  Finally let’s read 2 Samuel 2:4-7,

Then the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. They told David, “It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul.” David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead and said to them, “The Lord bless you because you have shown this kindness to Saul your lord when you buried him. Now, may the Lord show kindness and faithfulness to you, and I will also show the same goodness to you because you have done this deed. Therefore, be strong and valiant, for though Saul your lord is dead, the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.”

Don’t Neglect Those Who Helped:

Gratefulness is an under-appreciated quality in a person’s life. None of us should be kind or helpful in order to receive another’s thanks or praise. If we do, as Jesus told the Pharisees about their over-the-top public prayers, that will be all the blessing we ever receive.  We are kind and helpful to others to honor God in response for all He has done for us.  That said, we should also be grateful to others for their kindness and helpfulness to us.

I know of a denominational leader who once went out of his way to help a pastor find a new church. That pastor had made some mistakes at a couple of previous churches, but the denominational leader believed that the pastor had grown and matured, and that he had learned some difficult lessons. He gave the minister’s name to the pastor search committee of one of the biggest churches in his denominational group. That church called the pastor to come to their church. Not long after, the pastor led his church to reduce their support of the denomination, and he began criticizing the denominational servant’s leadership. Gratefulness was apparently not among this pastor’s core values.

David showed gratefulness to the people of Jabesh, and he also gave them a word of encouragement. In this way, David is a good role model for us to follow when coming out of a time of grief and mourning. We should be thankful for those who helped, and we should ask them to join us as we look to the future.

Conclusion:

Charlie Brown and his friends used the term “Good grief!” as an expression of dismay and disbelief. If we learn from the experiences of David and the other Children of Israel good grief can become a reality for us as we face the difficult times that come into our lives. 

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt