2 SAMUEL 1-2 PURSUE GODS HEART INTO A NEW SEASON2018 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: 2 Samuel 1-2 Pursue Gods Heart Into A New Season

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2018.

2 Samuel chapter 1 is where we're going to be this evening, and we'll begin by reading through verses 17 through 27, and then we'll work our way into the first few verses of 2 Samuel chapter 2 as well. But let's begin just by looking at this last half of 2 Samuel chapter 1. Starting in verse 17, it says this, Then David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son.

And he told them to teach the children of Judah the song of the bow. Indeed, it is written in the book of Jasher. The beauty of Israel is slain on your high places. How the mighty have fallen. Tell it not in Gath. Proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon. Lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice. Lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.

Verse 1.

And in their death, they were not divided. They were swifter than eagles. They were stronger than lions. O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet with luxury, who put ornaments of gold on your apparel. How the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle. Jonathan was slain in your high places.

I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan. You have been very pleasant to me. Your love to me was wonderful, surpassing the love of women. How the mighty have fallen and the weapons of war perished.

Here in 2 Samuel chapter 1, we're looking at this song of lamentation, this song of mourning and sorrow that David wrote regarding the death of King Saul and his son Jonathan. And really, this marks a new season in the life of David because for the past years,

10 years or so, he has been in hiding, on the run, and being pursued by King Saul. Although David was anointed and called to be the next king of Israel, he's been in the wilderness. He's been in hiding. He's been

you know, surviving by the skin of his teeth and just barely making it through as Saul would attack and all kinds of situations unfolded as he continued to try to survive in the various things that he faced. But now the one who threatened him, the one who pursued him, the one who chased him is dead. And so it's a new season that David is headed into. And so I've titled the message this evening, Pursue God's Heart Into a New Season.

And the things that we learned from David in the passages, the verses we'll look at tonight, of course, they're good things, they're important things for us to do in any season, not just a new season, but I would suggest and encourage you to consider that oftentimes in a new season, we need to be encouraged and built up in these examples that we'll look at in David and the characteristics that he had, because we

Well, many times there can be a relaxing, you know, as you come out of a trial, come out of a wilderness season, a season of difficulty, a season where David was in a place where he had to rely upon God moment by moment, you know, as he described himself as being in a place where he was just a step between him and death, you know, that he was just right on the verge and he had to rely upon God and call out to God and, uh,

in a way that was very dramatic because he was in the midst of that intense situation. And it would be easy and it can be tempting for us in times of transition as we head into a new season. It's like, okay, finally I can breathe. I can let my guard down. I don't have to be, you know, so on the edge. I don't have to be so on top of things. And it can be easy for us to

change our behavior, change our routines, change our attitude, and behave differently as we head into a new season, as we experience the time of transition. And I want to encourage you this evening, as you face those times of transition, as you face those new seasons, to keep in mind and to remember that we still need to be men and women who pursue God's heart. Sometimes we are, you know, just surviving the trials, but sometimes we're inheriting the blessings.

And in both cases, we need to have the same kind of pursuit of God's heart. Of course, we experience different elements and different aspects of our walk with God in those times, but that pursuit needs to be there. Our heart needs to be seeking after, chasing after, desiring to know God, desiring to walk with God, desiring to be pleasing to God in the same way during the trials as it is

During the blessings and in the receiving of promises and in the new seasons that God may place before us.

As we consider different men and women throughout the Bible, you can see over and over again how there were so many who began really well, and even through great difficulty and tribulation, they started off really well. As you look at the different kings who will come after David, many of them, you know, it gives a description of their life, and they start well, and yet so many of them

after they've kind of reached a climax and reached kind of a peak in their life, then there's a turning away from God, and there's a falling away from the disciplines that they had in their walk with God. And many kings started off well and went into times of revival only to fail at the end of their life or in the next season of their life. They got lost

relaxed in their pursuit of God, and it had a big impact in their life and in their ministry. And so this evening, as we look at David and we begin this journey now with him into this new season, I want to encourage you that the things that we've been looking at in 1 Samuel, the pursuit of God's heart, all of these remain true, and we need to continue that.

Even when we experience new seasons, perhaps a change of season into a time of blessing, or maybe it's a change of season into a time of affliction. Either way, as we head into a new season, we need to be those who pursue God's heart.

And so we'll see a few examples from David and some characteristics to consider for our own hearts as we look at this. Four points I'd like to highlight for you this evening. The first one is found in these verses that we read, verses 17 through 27 of 2 Samuel chapter 1. Point number one is model an attitude of humility. What we see David do here in this passage is set before us a model attitude.

of what it looks like to be humble in the midst of this transition, in the midst of this new season that he is heading into. It tells us in verse 17, then David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan, his son.

And it's going to go on to record for us this lamentation. Now, that word lamentation, it means mourning. It means sorrow. But it's kind of like an official thing. It's like an official part of a funeral service. You know, it's a funeral song that is sung. And so what David did was he wrote a funeral song for Saul and Jonathan. And so he's lamenting the death of Saul.

This is, I think, a really good example of humility as we look at David's life because David here is lamenting the death of the one who has brought so much trouble into his life.

I'm not going to go through all of the details of the trouble that Saul brought, but you can, I'm sure, remember and think back to the things that we saw in 1 Samuel, the many times that Saul pursued David and threw spears at David and sought to take his life. And it's been many years of difficulty for David because of this man, Saul. And if you would think about that in your own life,

Just maybe it's not hard for you to imagine. Maybe this is not a, you know, theoretical type of thing. Maybe you have someone in your life who has brought lots of difficulty and lots of hurt and heartache and affliction for many, many years. But if you don't have that active right now in your life, just try to put yourself in that mindset and then they die. What kind of song would you write?

What kind of song would you sing? Would it be the hallelujah? Would it be the songs of rejoicing? Because the one who has brought so much pain and difficulty to you

is finally gone, is out of the way. And I would be tempted, I would desire in those times to have that kind of song in my heart if my Saul, you know, was no more. That if that went away, that that was taken away and Saul died, then

Well, it would be easy to jump into celebration. But David here in his humility, not consumed with himself, not consumed with his own pain and trials and difficulty, not so consumed with himself that he can rejoice over the situation, he writes a lamentation. And this is not just, you know, David putting on a show and pretending to be sorrowful.

I'm sure there is also relief in David's heart. And there is, you know, that kind of like catching your breath a little bit, like, okay, you know, like, whew, I survived that onslaught that he brought King Saul. But at the same time, it's a time of sorrow for him because, well, Saul has died. I like what Pastor David Guzik shares about this. I shared it last week, but it's worth considering again.

He says,

The attitudes that we have and the heart that we have towards those who have hurt us or wronged us, towards the things that have brought so much difficulty and affliction on us, it is our choice regarding how we respond to that and the attitude and the heart that we have. And David here demonstrates his heart of forgiveness, his heart of humility, his

And that he actually cares for Saul, even though Saul has done so much wrong to him and has hurt him so deeply and so greatly. And so David here models humility. Not only does he just, you know, do it as we look at this and we can see this in his life. In verse 18, it goes on to say, Indeed, it is written in the book of Jasher.

And so the verses that follow are the song of the boat. That's what he called this song. That's what he called this lamentation that he wrote, the song of the boat. But notice that David gives a command. Not only does David write this lamentation, not only does he sing this or record this himself, but then he issues instruction. Okay, everybody, you need to teach this.

to the children of Judah. You need to teach this to the people of Judah. You need to teach this to everyone around you, your friends and neighbors and family. This is a song that everybody in the nation needs to know. That's what David says. It's a song that everybody needs to know. Everybody needs to become familiar with this song and to sing this song. And so teach the children of Judah the song of the bow. Not only is David practicing the

this sorrow, this lamentation, this humility, but he's helping others to put it into practice. This is really important to consider because if you think about David, he has 600 men with him, right? His soldiers are 600 men, but they also have their families. And so he's got a good group of men and women with him.

who have been affected by Saul for a long time, just like he has. They've been on the run for a long time, just like David has. They've been through the thick of it. And we saw just a couple weeks back that they were so fed up. They were ready to stone David because they've gone through so much. You know, they are at their wit's end, just as we've seen David at his wit's end many times as well. But David here takes this opportunity and says, guys, you need to learn this song.

Even though I know you want to rejoice and celebrate that the one, you know, the wicked witch is dead, you know, the one who has brought so much difficulty and pain, yet at the same time, this is a time of mourning. And we need to lament and we need to reflect and we need to honor the Lord's anointed. And David had and continued to maintain this reverence for this position, for this place, for that anointing of God that had been placed upon Saul.

And David here has a big responsibility to show them this is how you react to this new season, to this situation, to the unfolding of this. And in this, again, he's demonstrating real humility. He's modeling it. He's showing the guys, hey guys, this is how you are to respond to this situation. And this is really important for us to consider that

We may not have 600 soldiers, you know, standing behind us, watching us and learning from us, but we do have people around us who are watching us. And as we head into new seasons, as we encounter new things in our pursuits of the Lord, we have a responsibility to model, to show, to demonstrate, look, this is how one who pursues God's heart handles these kinds of situations.

This is the appropriate way to honor God in the midst of this kind of situation. And whatever it is that we might be facing, whether it be a time of sorrow or difficulty or blessing, but we have a responsibility then to model, to show this is what it looks like when a man of God or a woman of God encounters this kind of situation.

And we see David set the model for that and encourage and help them. Hey guys, here's how to participate. Writing, you know, now to addressing the whole nation of Judah. He says the children of Judah, as in like the children of Israel. You know, I don't know that he's just saying just the kids, you know, 12 and under, you know, that's who are to learn. No, he's saying the people of Judah are

You're to learn this song and to think about and honor this man, Saul, who has been slain. He goes on in verse 19 as he starts this lamentation, this song. He says, the beauty of Israel is slain on your high places, how the mighty have fallen.

And that phrase there, how the mighty have fallen, is kind of the key phrase. It's repeated, I think, three times in this song. And so this is what David is saying. The mighty have fallen. Again, it's a song that honors Saul. It approaches Saul with reverence. How the mighty have fallen. Now, I think if I was writing this song,

I would say something more along the lines of, you know, now the mighty Jerry will rise, you know, but that's not what he's focused on. That's not what he's talking about. He's not talking about now's my chance. Now I get to be mighty. No, he is lamenting how the mighty have fallen.

He goes on in verse 20 to say, tell it not in Gath and proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon. These are main, the Philistine cities. And so he's saying, look, don't let the enemies of Israel find out about this. Let's keep this quiet. Let's not celebrate this and dance in the streets. You know, let's not give them cause for celebration. Proclaim it not. Now, again, if I was writing this song, I would probably say, let everybody know, right?

It's finally over. This one who has brought so much trouble is finally out of the way. But he says, no, don't let it be known. Don't let the enemies hear about this through your celebration. But let it be quiet because we've lost this man, Saul.

He says in verse 21, David here now speaks of the mountain and the specific place where Saul has died. And he says...

you guys, you mountains, you hills, you, you, you know, grass and trees and everything. You guys be affected from this as well. This, this is devastating to us, to our land, to our nation. This is a time of sorrow. Verse 23, Saul and Jonathan were beloved and pleasant in their lives. And in their death, they were not divided. They were swifter than eagles. They were stronger than

Throughout this song, you see, David shows nothing but honor and respect for Saul. Again, even though he's spent, you know, the past many years on the run and in difficulty through evil and wickedness from Saul. Yet at the same time, David makes sure to bring forth nothing but honor and respect for Saul. And, you know, he works hard. I'm sure this was not like just...

easy, just on the tip of his tongue. But he kind of crafts his words well in a way where it's like, you know, he had to work hard at it, but he found a way to express honor and respect to Saul. And so he talks about the relationship between Saul and Jonathan. They were beloved and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided.

He talks about in verse 22 how the bow of Jonathan did not turn back and the sword of Saul did not return empty. That they went forward into the battle. They fought hard until the end, David is saying. That they, you know, they went forward. They worked together. They lived together. They died together. He talks about how swift they were and how strong they were.

Again, he's giving honor and he's not lying about Saul. He's not saying Saul had the best character of anyone I've ever known. You know what I mean? Like he's not just like making stuff up to not speak ill of the dead, but he's really keeping himself in a place where he can find something to honor and respect Saul for. And he's bringing that forth in this memorial, in this lamentation.

In verse 24, he says, He calls the ladies of Israel, the daughters of Israel, to weep, mourn this. This is a tragedy. This is a tragic thing. It's not a time for rejoicing. It's a tragedy. And I think it's interesting. In verse 24, he says,

Now, this is not an aspect of Saul's kingdom that we've really explored, at least on Wednesday evenings, that Saul had an economic impact on the nation of Israel. And there was a bringing forth of scarlet, and there was a bringing forth of luxuries, putting ornaments of gold on your apparel, that there was prosperity that happened as a result of Saul's reign.

And David here is calling attention to that. Now, again, like, that's not something I don't think I've shared it on Wednesday evenings as we went through 1 Samuel. That's not something we kind of highlighted or, you know, paid attention to. We've paid a lot of attention to, you know, Saul's failures. We've paid a lot of attention to how he messed up or even how he started well and, you know, things that he could have done. We've learned a lot about Saul, but

To stop and think and consider, he was God's anointed. He was the one that God had given them to be their king. And there were benefits. There was prosperity. There were benefits that you receive. Daughters of Israel weep over Saul. He calls them to mourn along with him. In verse 25, again, he says, how the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle.

Jonathan was slain in your high places. I'm distressed for you, my brother Jonathan. You've been very pleasant to me. Your love to me was wonderful, surpassing the love of women. Here is David speaks of Jonathan. We're not surprised by this. We've seen their relationship and how they had such a great friendship and love for one another. And so it's not surprising that David would mourn Jonathan, but it is surprising that he would mourn with Jonathan.

you know, David and Jonathan, I'm sorry, Saul and Jonathan in the same way. And he mourns over them both because they are men that God had placed in his life in a way that David was affected by this. In his humility, again, it comes back to his life. It wasn't just consumed with his own self and he wasn't just consumed with what was in store for him, but

But he took the time here to mourn how the mighty have fallen. He says again in verse 27, and the weapons of war perished. The mighty have fallen. Saul and Jonathan were strong. They were great men. They were warriors. They were fierce. They did much in their lives. And David, in his humility, shows this is the attitude to have when people

Someone who has even brought such great hurt and affliction and difficulty is taken out of the way, is no more, has gone on into eternity. It's not a time of rejoicing and celebration necessarily. There is appropriate relief, and it's not that we can't feel relief in those kinds of situations. But it tells us in the book of Ezekiel that God does not rejoice over the death of the wicked.

And so it's not appropriate for us to rejoice over the death of the wicked. If God doesn't rejoice and we are those who pursue God's heart, we're not in a position to rejoice. But instead, it is appropriate for us to mourn and for us to esteem those that God has placed in our lives in the various ways. Now, again, what kind of song would you write if Saul had done those things to you and then died? I think we would all be tempted.

to write the celebration, you know, and to throw a party. And we would be, you know, really focused on that. And yet there is that need for humility and for us to show the people around us, listen, this is how a man of God, a woman of God reacts to these situations. This is God's heart on what has unfolded here. And God's heart was not that of celebration. Oh yes, finally Saul's out of the way again.

God's heart was, wow, there's a big loss. Sure, Israel, it could have gone so much better had Saul continued to walk with the Lord. But in his death, it's a time of sorrow. It's appropriate to lament and to mourn over that. And so David here sets the example, shows humility and encourages and helps others to express that and to walk in that appropriate reflection of the life that was lost.

Well, moving on now to chapter two, we'll look at verses one through four for point number two, and that is ask God for direction. So we go on from the morning. He goes through the lamentation. He sends out the song, and now it's time to take some steps. He's mourned Saul in the appropriate way, but it's not, you know, that he has to continue in that forever. But now there's time to

to go forward. It's time to take some steps and start to walk in what God has for him next. And so to begin to do that, he starts out really well. He asks God for direction. Check out verses one through four of 2 Samuel 2. It says, it happened after this that David inquired of the Lord saying, shall I go up to any of the cities of Judah? And the Lord said to him, go up. David said, where shall I go up? And he said to Hebron.

So David went up there and his two wives, also Ahinom, the Jezreelitess, and Abigail, the widow of Nabal, the Carmelite. And David brought up the men who were with him, every man with his household. So they dwelt in the cities of Hebron. Verse 4. Then the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, saying, The men of Jabesh-Gilead were the ones who buried Saul. We find in verse 1, it happened after this.

After David had that time of mourning, after that appropriate reflection of the life that was lost, David inquires of the Lord. He asks God, okay, Lord, what should I do? And he looks to God for direction and for instruction for the next steps that he is to take. Now, keep in mind where David's at. He was anointed as a young man in the

many years ago now, to be the next king of Israel and declared by the Lord to be the king who would reign after Saul. Now Saul's dead. Now what, Lord? Okay, I know you've called me to be king. I know Saul's dead now. So what do you want me to do? How do you want me to go forward? I've been on the run. I've just been surviving. I've just been escaping, you know, moment by moment, day by day for such a long time. Now what do I do? David has to figure out

Where am I going to go now? How am I going to handle things now? And such a great example for us, David inquires of the Lord. Last week, as we looked at the first part of chapter one, we talked about the flesh and how the flesh jumps to conclusions. And it is very easy for us in situations like David to jump to conclusions and to skip inquiring of the Lord. It would be easy in David's shoes to say, I'm going to go to the Lord.

Well, here I am in the Philistine territory. I wasn't supposed to be here to begin with, but I ran here and now I've repented and I've got right with the Lord, but now Saul's dead. And so it's time for me to go back and here's what I need to do. And David could easily just decide what he should do. It's easy to jump to conclusions. And I could see David, you know, writing down his list. Okay, I know I'm anointed to be king. I know God wants me to be king after Saul. I know Saul is dead. I know Saul is dead.

Now it's my turn to be king, so I'm going to go become king. And David could make decisions and go forward with some conclusions that he could draw from what he knows. But David shows us such a great example of how to approach these kinds of situations. He doesn't just rely upon his own conclusions. He says, Lord, what do you want?

Now, you can see here that David has some conclusions. David has an idea of what needs to happen, but he doesn't just act on it. Notice he says in verse three, no, verse one, shall I go up to any of the cities of Judah?

David already has an idea. I think, Lord, I'm supposed to go to the cities of Judah. I think I need to head back to the land of Judah, move away from the Philistines. I think I need to go back there. Is that what you think, Lord? Is that what you think? Is that what you want me to do? He had an idea. He had a conclusion, and it was the right one. But David just doesn't rely and expect that I have the right conclusion. I know the answer. I know what I need to do, and so that's what I'm going to do.

And again, it's such a great example for us. It is so easy in those times where the answer seems so obvious to just, well, it's obvious, just do it. But David inquires of the Lord. It seems obvious, Lord, I think I need to go to Judah. Is that what you want? Do you think that? And to seek the counsel of God and direction of God is so important. David asks God for direction.

The commentator Albert Barnes says, the death of Saul and Jonathan had entirely changed David's position, and therefore he needed divine guidance how to act under the new circumstances in which he was placed. He couldn't just rely upon what he thought. He couldn't just rely upon, you know, what he would have expected. He needed to find out, Lord, what do you want? And as we head into new seasons, as we experience new circumstances and things change, we need

There's going to be decisions that need to be made. And some of those decisions are going to look completely obvious. And yet it is appropriate for us to stop and inquire of the Lord. Say, Lord, this is what I think needs to happen. This is where I think we need to go. Is this what you want? And notice kind of the step-by-step inquiring of the Lord that takes place in verse one. David says, shall I go up to any of the cities of Judah? And how does the Lord respond? He says,

In verse 1, the Lord says to him, go up. That's it. Should I go? Yeah, go. But then David takes it another step and says, where shall I go? This is really, really important to take note of and why he's on David's part. He doesn't just get God's permission. Okay, I can go. And then, well, I'm just going to go wherever I want. Then God said I could go. But he continues to ask God for clarification. Where should I go?

And the Lord gives him the specific to Hebron. God gives him a specific and clear direction. He gives him a specific answer as David continues to inquire and to ask God for directions. Notice that when David said, shall I go up to any of the cities of Judah? The first question, God doesn't give the final answer to the first question. He gives the final answer to the second question. Now, is God capable of saying, go to Hebron?

When David first says, shall I go up to any of the cities of Judah? It's possible. God could have said, yes, I want you to go up to Judah and I want you to go to Hebron and I want you to go to this address, you know, and camp out of this wall. Like God could have given him all the instructions at the first question, but that's not how the Lord responded. He says, yes, go to Judah. And then David says, where shall I go? Now I'm,

calling attention to that to just encourage us to continue to ask God for direction, even when we have direction from God, because, well, that's what God is desiring. He's desiring for us to be walking with Him. And when He responds to us, many times He's not giving the whole blueprint. He's not giving all the answers.

He's giving us the first step. And then as we make that first step, we're still needing to be communicating with God. And then he gives us the next step and he gives us more detail and more clarity as we walk with him. That's what God desires. That step by step, that walk with him, not just, you know, Lord, I need a roadmap. Give me directions. And, you know, in the old days back when it was just MapQuest and there wasn't, you know, the devices like we have today, you know, like you'd print out

You guys ever do that? Like I used to have to do that all the time when I worked for Paychex because I would have to drive all over LA, you know, all over the place. And so I'd have these like printouts of all the turn by turn directions. Now what my phone just tells me to do it, but I had to print it all out. And before I left for the day, I had to print out all the directions and then from that place to that place. And then, okay, then my next appointment from that place to that place. And you know, the whole route, I had to do it all ahead of time.

But now I can just do it moment by moment. I can change addresses on the fly. You know, we're going and we decide we're going to go to dinner somewhere else. And we just change the address and then it just updates the directions. That's the kind of relationship with God that he's desiring with us, that we would be walking with him. Not, okay, Lord, I'm going to print out all the directions and then, you know, I'll check back in with you tomorrow. You know, and then that it's not a step by step, a moment by moment, but that

once in a while type of relationship with God. That's not what he wants. As we head into new seasons, as we experience new things, we need to walk through those things with God. And it's very easy. And you could imagine, you know, sometimes we,

New seasons, they develop very quickly. And especially when you're like David, you're going out of a season of affliction and difficulty and wilderness into a season of blessing and the fulfillment of things that God has promised you. Like you could just run into that, right? I mean, you would be so excited. You know, you just rush into it. But David is careful to not just rush ahead on his own thoughts and wisdom and strength, but to let God tell him. And he's asking God, Lord, would you tell me?

should I go up? And would you tell me where should I go up? He's asking God for details and specifics for how he should handle these things. Pastor John Corson talks about this a little bit. He mentions how this quote from Corrie Ten Boom, where she asked, is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire? And it's an interesting illustration to think about. You utilize your steering wheel a

but one you use probably more frequently than the other, at least I hope, because otherwise, you know, you have a lot of tire damage. But your steering wheel, that's day to day. That's moment by moment. Your spare tire, that's once in a while. And which one is a better picture of your prayer life? And so in that thought, John Corson says, many of us pull prayer out of the trunk when we're feeling flat or when there's a blowout.

However, prayer ought to be the steering wheel guiding us through the day, keeping us out of the ruts and ditches of life. This is what God wants to do as we walk with him. He wants to keep us out of the ruts and ditches, not just bail us out of the ruts and the ditches. You know, that's when we pray, but that we would walk with him. And David, he's facing a difficult situation, even though he's headed into the time of

he's going to be the king now. You know, God's going to make the way for that to happen and fulfill all the things that God has promised. And yet there's a lot of tension. There's a lot of politics. There's a lot of danger still ahead if this is not handled well. And so David asks God for directions and he lets God lead him step by step. And so he takes his family, it tells us in verse two and three, he takes his two wives. He takes the men who are with him and all of their households and

And again, it's a reminder. This is one of the reasons why it's so important for us to ask God for directions is our decisions are not just affecting us, but they're affecting our families. And so many times, you know, we think it's just about me. You know, it's just this decision only affects me, but

But the reality is, no, it actually, you're bringing your family with you. You're bringing people around you. You're affecting the body of Christ with your decisions. There are ramifications to the decisions that we make. And that's why it's so important that we ask God for directions. As David obeys, though, he now gets to see the beginning of those things that God has promised. In verse four, the men of Judah come and they anoint David over the house of Judah.

They anoint him as king and they say, you are the king of Judah. Now Judah was just one of the 12 tribes of Israel. So he's not the king over Israel yet. He's just king over that southern portion, that one tribe. But it's the beginning. It's that first step of the fulfillment of this promise that God had given to David and that he had called David to be king. He's king over Judah.

Not by his doing, not by his manipulating. Notice they come to him because he inquired of the Lord and went where God wanted him to be. So he was in the place that he needed to be for God to take this next step and for David to be anointed the king over Judah. Well, continuing on here in chapter two, we have point number three in verses four through seven, and that is initiate offers of peace.

As we head into this new season with David, he reaches out to try to make peace. You see that Judah has anointed him king, but all the rest of Israel hasn't

accepted him yet in that way. And so David here is going to begin to offer peace and to offer that relationship. Looking again at verse four, it says, then the men of Judah came and they anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David saying, the men of Jabesh Gilead were the ones who buried salt.

So David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh Gilead and said to them, you are blessed of the Lord for you have shown this kindness to your Lord, to Saul and have buried him. And now may the Lord show kindness and truth to you. I also will repay you this kindness because you have done this thing. Now, therefore, let your hands be strengthened and be valiant for your master Saul is dead. And also the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.

Here in verse 4, we find that as they anoint David king, they tell David what happened to the body of Saul. Now, we read about this at the end of 1 Samuel, but David hasn't heard the news yet. Remember, he heard the news of Saul's death from the Amalekites, and that news source was questionable. And so, you know, he only knew what he'd been told thus far. And now as he gets into

the land of Judah again, they give him further information and say, look, the men of Jabesh Gilead are the ones who actually rescued Saul's body from the humiliation that the Philistines were doing and how they had pinned him naked to the wall. And they went, they broke through, they rescued him and buried him and gave him a proper burial. They risked their necks, you know, in order to do this. And so David sends a message to them and he reaches out to them. Now,

Again, this is important to consider because here you have the men of Jabesh Gilead. Maybe it's not a technical truth, but you could think about it this way. These are the guys who loved Saul the most, the men of Jabesh Gilead.

Because they're the ones, when they heard about what the Philistines had done to Saul's body, mounted up, marched into Philistine territory. After this huge defeat that they just experienced by the Philistines, these guys went back into the battle, back behind enemy lines to rescue Saul's body. They were very loyal to Saul. And you can trace this loyalty back to 1 Samuel 11.

When Saul was first anointed to be king, but didn't really act as king yet, he just kind of went home and went back to farming. Until he found out that the men of Jabesh Gilead were threatened by their enemy, the Ammonites. And the Ammonites said, look, we're going to destroy you guys.

And Saul said, no, you're not. And Saul summoned all of Israel and he led troops up to defend the men of Jabesh Gilead, the people of Jabesh Gilead. And it was, you know, kind of his step into royalty and his step into that role as king back in 1 Samuel chapter 11. And so here you have these strong roots, these strong ties with the men of Jabesh Gilead who are tied to Saul. They're loyal to Saul. They're fiercely protective of Saul, right?

And David wants them to know, hey guys, I'm with you. I'm with you in this. I'm not rejoicing over this situation. I'm glad that you guys rescued Saul's body and gave him a proper burial. I'm glad it's an honorable thing that you did. In verse five again, David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh Gilead and said, you are blessed of the Lord for you have shown kindness to your Lord to Saul and have buried him.

And now may the Lord show kindness and truth to you. And I will repay this kindness because you've done this thing. He went out of his way. He sent a special message and said, you guys, I know you loved Saul. And I want you to know, I love Saul too. And we had different relationships with Saul, that's for sure. But

But I'm not rejoicing over this. And what you did is a good thing. And I'm really, I'm blessed that you did that. And I'm praying that the Lord would bless you. And I will repay you that kindness also because you did well in treating Saul that way. He makes sure, he reaches out, he initiates the contact and offers peace and unity and camaraderie and seeks to build a bridge between us

David and the men of Jabesh Gilead, that this is part of the people that God has called him to be king over. And so he's taking some very smart steps, some wise moves to offer peace and to let them know we're on the same side. Even though Saul had attacked me and done what he did to me, I wasn't against Saul. I wrote a lamentation, maybe you heard it, you know, for Saul's death, that I really mean that. May the Lord bless you.

And I will show kindness to you also. But he also is, with that, inviting them to participate in the next season and the things that God is doing. In verse 7, he says, And so he's inviting them, you guys can be part of this. God's called me to be king. And the house of Judah has anointed me and...

I'm with you guys. I would love it if you would be with me and join with me in this new season for our nation that I would become the king over Israel. Now, it's not going to happen. We'll see that in the next verses, but he offers it. Whether or not he expected them to respond and to accept that, we don't know, but

Whether or not he did, he offered it. And again, sometimes we jump to the conclusions and we don't offer peace and we don't seek to reconcile because we expect there could never be reconciliation. There could never be it, you know, that could never be fixed. They're never going to accept me or whatever. And we just kind of just skip it then. Well, don't even offer peace because they're not going to receive it. But here, I think David, he sets a good example for us. We should be the ones to initiate.

Even when there are the people who are loyal and faithful to those who've been enemies towards us, there are those appropriate times for us to be the ones who reach out and say, look, God wants to do something new. And I'm not the enemy that I was painted to be. And even though I was attacked in this way, you know, that's not how I felt in return. In fact,

I think you've done a great thing in the way that you've honored this person or those people or that situation, you know, and to initiate and to be building that bridge and making those connections to offer peace and to invite that opportunity to be part of what God wants to do next. It's pursuing God's heart into a new season. God loves harmony. He loves it when the brethren are united, when we're joined together, moving forward in the things that he desires for us.

We can't, you know, just let those things continue to divide us. And it would have been easy for David to do that and for David to allow these guys who loved Saul and were fiercely loyal to Saul to have this animosity and harbor. And David says, he makes the first move. He initiates. He says, no, I want to try to bring peace. I didn't feel that way towards Saul. I'm glad that you guys did what you did and honored Saul in that way.

Well, finishing it up with the fourth point found in verses 8 through 11, and that is don't force your plan. Don't force your plan. As we head into a new season, as new things develop and new doors are open to us, again, it is very easy to want to rush ahead, to want to, you know, finally, after a long time of not getting what I want now, is the time to receive all the things that God has said or that I've wanted, that I've desired, and I want to get what I want.

And it is very easy to try to make things happen, but that will end up with greater difficulty. We see that beginning in verse eight. It says, but Abner, the son of Ner, commander of Saul's army, took Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim. And he made him king over Gilead, over the Asherites, over Jezreel, over Ephraim, over Benjamin, and over all Israel.

Here in these verses, we find that Abner, he says, no, David's not going to be king. You know who's going to be king? Ish-bosheth. And who in the world is Ish-bosheth? Well, that's Saul's son. Now,

It was known, it was clear, David was the Lord's anointed. He was called to be king. Abner tries to force his plan. Abner is Saul's cousin, so he's family. This is deeply personal to him. He makes his plan.

Second cousin, Ish-bosheth, Saul's son, king, keep it in the family, you know, and that was the tradition. And so he seeks to set up and continue on the dynasty of Saul. When God had clearly made known that that was not what he had desired. And in the coming chapters, we're going to see there is devastation there.

that is brought there is civil war that unfolds because abner here is trying to force

His plan. Now, I think we could all probably put ourselves in Abner's shoes and say, you know, look, my relative Saul, he's dead. It's supposed to go to his son. So Ish-bosheth, you know, we have to make this happen. And Abner, he works hard. And you can kind of see the process there as it describes it in verse 9. He made him king over Gilead, over the Ashrites, over Jezreel, over Ephraim, over Benjamin, and over all Israel. Like, you know, there's this progression of

political maneuvering and, you know, building up and establishing the throne of Ish-bosheth. And it's a direct reaction, a contrast, kind of a rebuttal to David's offer. In verse 7, he writes to, David writes to Jabesh Gilead and says, hey, they've anointed me king, you know, would you like to be part of this? But then in verse 8, it says, but Abner is

But Abner, but, you know, instead of accepting David to be king, Abner steps in and says, no, Ish-bosheth is going to be king. And let's make this happen. And he is pushing forward with his idea of how the kingdom should go and how the king, you know, should be established and who should be king. And so he promotes and he parades and he brings forth the kingdom of Ish-bosheth. And so Ish-bosheth begins to reign.

And now Israel is divided. And there's going to be a lot of difficulty. There's going to be conflict. There's going to be death and bloodshed as a result of this forcing of what, from Abner's perspective, I'm sure he thought was a good idea. The right thing to do, perhaps. Let's give him the benefit of the doubt. But he wasn't inquiring of the Lord. This wasn't God's plan. This was Abner's plan.

And he's doing his best to make it happen. I like what Warren Wiersbe says about this. He says, had everybody put the glory of God and the good of the nation first, tragedies would have been avoided. If Abner would have asked God for directions, tragedies would have been avoided. If he wouldn't have tried to force his plan, there would have been a whole different scene that unfolds. Much less death and difficulty and sorrow and heartache.

But notice how David responds to this in verse 11. And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months. Can you believe what David did in response? What did he do? Nothing. He's king over Judah in Hebron for seven years and six months.

Now there's a little bit of discussion to be had because in verse 10 it talks about Ish-bosheth being king for two years and then here you have David and Hebron for seven and a half years and what's the time difference there and how exactly does that interact and it's possible that it took five years for Ish-bosheth to really become king and then he reigned for two years or it's possible that it's just talking about David's time in Hebron which was five years ago.

you know, the first two years with Ish-bosheth, and then after the rest of Israel accepted him, he continued to reign from Hebron and moved his capital later. And so it could just be talking about where David's capital was for that amount of time. Again, lots of discussion. But here's the point. David doesn't force the issue. He doesn't launch an assault and say, no, I'm supposed to be king. Let's take Ish-bosheth out. You know, 600 soldiers, let's march. He doesn't go try to make it happen.

He doesn't try to make himself the king of Israel. He doesn't directly, you know, march against Abner or Ish-bosheth. And there is a civil war. There is a conflict, but it's not David marching into it. It's David standing where God has called him to stand as king of Judah. And whether it was two years or seven and a half years, David, he just waits.

He accepts, okay, this is where God has me. This is what God has established. I'm not going to make more happen than what God has given to me. I'm sure that David could have figured out ways. He could have come up with plans. He could have, you know, taken out Ish-bosheth. But he doesn't do that. He doesn't take matters into his own hands to force his plan.

It's not recorded, but I would say it's safe to assume that David is inquiring of the Lord. Lord, do you want me to fight against Ish-bosheth? And the Lord's saying, no, don't do it. You don't have to force it. Again, remember David, he moved to Hebron and then the people of Judah came and said, we want you to be king. He just followed what God said. He just went where God told him to go. And then God took the next step. And as God led him, then he

experience the next step in God's plan, and he doesn't get caught up in forcing his plans. Now, listen, if you and I were there with David, we could easily be giving him bad counsel, saying, but David, look at this civil war that's going on, and you could just end this. Look at this difficulty, you know. Wouldn't it be so much better, David, if you would just become king over the whole nation, and it would be very easy for us to try to talk him into, you know,

taking the next step and forcing the plan because we could see the value of it. We could see the benefit of it. But again, we need to inquire of the Lord. What does God want? We can't force our plans. No matter how great or awesome we think they are or how awesome the benefits, you know, we could see, oh, wouldn't it be so much better if we did this or if we had that or if we were there or if they did that or, you know what I mean? And it's so easy to imagine all the things. It's

that green grass right on the other side of the fence. You know, if only we could get our way. But we need to be careful not to force our plan, to be like Abner and take matters into our own hands. And it brings more difficulty, more tragedy, more bloodshed, more heartache when we take things into our own hands and force our plan instead of going back to ask God for direction. And if God says, hey, go fight against Ish-bosheth, then you go fight against Ish-bosheth. That's what the Lord wants.

But if that's not what the Lord is leading, if that's not what God is saying, we have to be very careful that we don't just force it, try to make it happen in our wisdom or our strength, our strategy or technique, because it's really about what God wants and he knows what's best. And that's why we keep coming back to this idea of pursuing God's heart. What's God's heart? Does God want your plan to be unfolded, to be implemented? Well, great, then implement that plan. But don't force it. What does God want? Do you know God's heart?

And David here sets a good example for us for these new seasons as we enter into new circumstances and things change in our life. And of course, these things are appropriate for us at any time, but especially when there is that new season and we're stepping into territory that we don't know exactly how things are going to go. You know, it's kind of a different routine than we've been experiencing before. We need to enter into those times with humility and

and to show others, to lead the way and say, look, here's how to respond to this situation and to be a model for a humble heart, a humble attitude, and to ask God for direction, not just automatically walk in what we think is best, what we know is best, you know, what we expect to happen, but to ask God, and not just once, but to continue to walk with God in this new season.

reaching out and initiating and seeking to build bridges and seeking to make connections and allow God to develop relationships, initiating those offers of peace. And whether it's accepted or not, being careful not to force our plans, our ways, our thoughts, our ideas, but instead continuing to ask God for direction and let God lead. David is going to be king over the whole nation, but it's not quite time yet.

And because of the situation with Abner and that thing, that's got to play out. And God's going to deal with that. And David would deal with it if God told him to deal with it. But God hasn't told him to deal with it. And so David, he's just, he's patient. He's waiting. Lord, you've got that apparently. You haven't called me to do it. You haven't called me to handle it. So I'm not going to force my plan. I'm going to let you do what you want. Such a great example for us for how to pursue God's heart.

They're going to come up and close us in a time of worship. And as they do, we want to encourage you to be men and women who pursue God's heart. And I don't know where you're at and what season you might be in, but these things that the Lord has been ministering to us this evening, it's a good opportunity for us to take them before him, to ask him for direction, to ask him if there is some plans that we're trying to force, to ask him if there is some

peace that we need to be offering to some people around us and to maybe build some bridges that we've once burned or are in the process of being burned to repent of pride and to demonstrate humility. It's a good opportunity for us to pursue God's heart this evening. And so let's do that. And as we always do,

During this time of worship, if you are just prompted by the Lord, you want to pray together, you want to minister to one another, encourage each other, help each other, ask for prayer from someone, then we're free to do that. So go ahead and minister to one another and pray with one another as the Lord leads. But let's be those who pursue God's heart as we seek his will and his plan for our lives. He has the best in store for us. Let's walk in that.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.