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The Book of 2 Samuel Like You_ve Never Seen It Before · truthunedited

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  Speaker 1: The book of Second Samuel tells the story of David,
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  Speaker 1: a man chosen by God to lead Israel after King Saul.
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  Speaker 1: The narrative begins with difficult moments as David learns of
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  Speaker 1: the deaths of Saul and his friend Jonathan. We follow
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  Speaker 1: David's journey from a humble shepherd to the great king
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  Speaker 1: of all Israel. We'll witness his struggles, victories, and how
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  Speaker 1: he brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. It's
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  Speaker 1: a story filled with emotion, betrayal, triumph, and the guiding
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  Speaker 1: presence of God every step of the way. You'll also
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  Speaker 1: meet important figures like abner, Ishbosheth, and Joab, each of
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  Speaker 1: whom played a key role during this pivotal time in history.
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  Speaker 1: Get ready for an incredible journey through the first six
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  Speaker 1: chapters of Second Samuel, where we watch a man after
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  Speaker 1: God's own heart rise to the throne of Israel. After
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  Speaker 1: the battle against the Philistines, David had just returned to
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  Speaker 1: Ziklag following his defeat of the Amalekites. On the third day,
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  Speaker 1: a man arrived from Saul's camp. His clothes were torn
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  Speaker 1: and dust covered his head, clear signs of deep mourning
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  Speaker 1: as he approached David, he bowed down to the ground
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  Speaker 1: in respect. David asked anxiously, where have you come from?
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  Speaker 1: I have escaped from the Israelite camp, the man replied.
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  Speaker 1: In Chapter one, verse three, David's heart began to race.
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  Speaker 1: Something terrible had happened. What happened? Tell me, he urged.
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  Speaker 1: The messenger then delivered devastating news. The men fled from
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  Speaker 1: the battle, many fell and died, and Saul and his
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  Speaker 1: son Jonathan are dead. David wanted to know how the
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  Speaker 1: man was certain that Saul had died. The man explained
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  Speaker 1: that he had been on Mount Gilboa and saw Saul
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  Speaker 1: leaning on his spear with enemy chariots and horsemen closing in.
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  Speaker 1: According to him, Saul called out and asked to be killed,
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  Speaker 1: as he was in agony and about to be captured.
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  Speaker 1: So I stood over him and killed him, because I
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  Speaker 1: knew that after he had fallen, he could not survive.
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  Speaker 1: I took the crown that was on his head and
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  Speaker 1: the bracelet that was on his arm, and I have
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  Speaker 1: brought them here to my lord, the man said in
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  Speaker 1: verse ten. Upon hearing this, David tore his clothes a
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  Speaker 1: sign of deep grief. All the men with him did
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  Speaker 1: the same. They mourned, fasted, and wept until evening for Saul,
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  Speaker 1: for Jonathan, and for the army of the Lord that
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  Speaker 1: had fallen by the sword. Rather than rejoice over the
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  Speaker 1: death of someone who had long persecuted him, David was
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  Speaker 1: deeply grieved. He turned to the young messenger and asked,
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  Speaker 1: where are you from. I am the son of a
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  Speaker 1: foreigner and a Malakite. The man replied. David then questioned him,
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  Speaker 1: how is it you were not afraid to lift your
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  Speaker 1: hand to destroy the lords Anointed verse fourteen. Without delay,
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  Speaker 1: David called one of his men and ordered go and
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  Speaker 1: strike him down. The soldier struck the Amalekite, and he died.
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  Speaker 1: David said, your blood be on your own head. Your
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  Speaker 1: own mouth testified against you when you said I killed
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  Speaker 1: the lords Anointed. Grief stricken, David composed a lament for
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  Speaker 1: Saul and Jonathan. He commanded that it be taught to
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  Speaker 1: the people of Judah and recorded in the Book of Jeshar.
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  Speaker 1: In his lament, David cried out your glory, O Israel
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  Speaker 1: lies slain on your heights. How the mighty have fallen?
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  Speaker 1: Verse nineteen. He continued his lament by pleading that the
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  Speaker 1: news not be spread among the Philistines lest they rejoice.
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  Speaker 1: He cursed the mountains of Gilboa, where the shields of
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  Speaker 1: the Mighty were cast. Aside, he honored the bravery of
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  Speaker 1: Saul and Jonathan, who were loved and admired in life
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  Speaker 1: and not separated even in death. About Jonathan, in particular,
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  Speaker 1: his dear friend, David poured out his heart. I grieve
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  Speaker 1: for you, Jonathan, my brother. You were very dear to me.
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  Speaker 1: Your love for me was more one than that of women.
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  Speaker 1: Verse twenty six. This was David's response to the death
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  Speaker 1: of Israel's first king, demonstrating his noble character and respect
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  Speaker 1: for God's appointed authority, even though that authority had once
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  Speaker 1: pursued him. After the Morning period, David sought divine guidance
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  Speaker 1: for his next steps. He didn't act on impulse or
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  Speaker 1: seize the throne by force. Instead, in chapter two, verse one,
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  Speaker 1: David inquired of the Lord, shall I go up to
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  Speaker 1: one of the towns of Judah. The Lord said, go up.
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  Speaker 1: David asked, where shall I go to Hebron? The Lord answered.
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  Speaker 1: Obeying God's direction, David went up to Hebron with his
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  Speaker 1: two wives, A Hinoum of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow
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  Speaker 1: of Nabel of Carmel. He also brought his men along,
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  Speaker 1: each with his family. They all settled in the towns
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  Speaker 1: around Hebron. Then, in a solemn and historic moment, the
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  Speaker 1: men of Judah came to Hebron and anointed David king
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  Speaker 1: over the tribe of Judah verse four. Thus began David's
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  Speaker 1: reign at the age of thirty. Although he was from
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  Speaker 1: the tribe of Judah, he did not yet rule over
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  Speaker 1: all of Israel. One of his first acts as king
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  Speaker 1: was to honor the bravery of the men of Jabesh Gilead,
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  Speaker 1: who had retrieved and buried the bodies of Saul and
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  Speaker 1: his sons. David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh
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  Speaker 1: Gilead to say to them, the Lord bless you for
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  Speaker 1: showing this kindness to Saul, your master by burying him.
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  Speaker 1: May the Lord now show you kindness and faithfulness, and
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  Speaker 1: I too will show you the same favor because you
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  Speaker 1: have done this Verses five to six. David encouraged them
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  Speaker 1: to be strong and courageous, reminding them that even though
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  Speaker 1: Saul was dead, the tribe of Judah had anointed him
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  Speaker 1: as king. This gesture showed David's ability to recognize honorable actions,
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  Speaker 1: even toward his former enemy. Meanwhile, on the other side
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  Speaker 1: of the Jordan River, something happened that would divide the nation. Abner,
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  Speaker 1: Saul's cousin and commander of his army, refused to accept
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  Speaker 1: David as king over all Israel. Instead, Abner's son of Ner,
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  Speaker 1: the commander of Saul's army, took Ishbosheth, son of Saul,
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  Speaker 1: and brought him over to Mahanaim. He made him king
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  Speaker 1: over Gilead, Asherites, Jezrael, Ephraim, Benjamin, and all Israel Verses
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  Speaker 1: eight to nine. Ishbosheth was forty years old when he
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  Speaker 1: began to reign over Israel, and he reigned for two years.
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  Speaker 1: Only the tribe of Judah followed David, so the kingdom
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  Speaker 1: was divided. David ruled in Hebron over Judah for seven
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  Speaker 1: years and six months, while Ishbosheth, backed by Abner, reigned
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  Speaker 1: over the rest of Israel. This marked the beginning of
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  Speaker 1: David's reign, not over a united nation, but over his
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  Speaker 1: own tribe. For now, he accepted that reality without forcing
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  Speaker 1: his authority over the other tribes. With patience and trust
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  Speaker 1: in God. David began his kingship, knowing that the Lord
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  Speaker 1: would fulfill his promises at the right time. The division
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  Speaker 1: of the kingdom soon led to open conflict. In chapter two,
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  Speaker 1: verse twelve, Abner's son of Ner, together with the servants
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  Speaker 1: of Ishbosheth's son of Saul, left Mahanaim and went to Gibeon.
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  Speaker 1: On the other side, Joab, son of Zeruyah, and David's
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  Speaker 1: men also went out and met them by the pool
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  Speaker 1: of Gibeon. The two groups took up positions on opposite
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  Speaker 1: sides of the pool, like armies ready for battle. Trying
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  Speaker 1: perhaps to avoid greater bloodshed, Abna suggested a contest between
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  Speaker 1: young soldiers. Let some of the young men get up
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  Speaker 1: and fight hand to hand in front of us, He
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  Speaker 1: said to Joab Jobab agreed. Twelve men from Benjamin representing
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  Speaker 1: Ishbosheth and twelve of David's men stood up. But what
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  Speaker 1: was meant to be a display of skill and into
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  Speaker 1: a slaughter. Each man grabbed his opponent by the head
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  Speaker 1: and thrust his dagger into his opponent's side, and they
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  Speaker 1: fell down together. Recounts verse sixteen that place in Gibeon
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  Speaker 1: came to be called Helkath Hazarim, meaning field of sharp swords.
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  Speaker 1: What began as a controlled contest quickly escalated into a
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  Speaker 1: fierce battle that day. The battle was very fierce, and
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  Speaker 1: Abner and the Israelites were defeated by David's men. Records
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  Speaker 1: verse seventeen. Ziiah's three sons were there, Joab, Abishai, and Asahel.
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  Speaker 1: Asahel was as swift as a gazelle in the open field,
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  Speaker 1: and he began to chase Abner without turning aside to
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  Speaker 1: the right or to the left. Abner looked behind him
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  Speaker 1: and asked, is that you Asahel? He replied it is.
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  Speaker 1: Sensing the danger, Abner tried to dissuade the young man,
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  Speaker 1: turn aside to the right or to the left, seize
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  Speaker 1: one of the young men and take his equipment, but
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  Speaker 1: Asahel kept pursuing him. Again, Abner warned him, turn aside
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  Speaker 1: from following me. Why should I strike you down? How
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  Speaker 1: could I look your brother Joab in the face? Verse
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  Speaker 1: twenty two. He knew that killing Assahel would bring Joab's vengeance,
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  Speaker 1: the older brother and commander of David's army, but Asahel
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  Speaker 1: refused to give up, so Abner struck him in the
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  Speaker 1: stomach with the butt of his spear so forcefully that
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  Speaker 1: the spear came out through his back. Asahel fell there
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  Speaker 1: and died on the spot, And every one who came
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  Speaker 1: to the place where Asahel had fallen and died stood still,
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  Speaker 1: says verse twenty three. Joab and Abishai kept pursuing Abner.
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  Speaker 1: At sunset, they reached the hill of Ama near Ghia,
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  Speaker 1: on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon. There the
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  Speaker 1: men of Benjamin regrouped behind Abner, forming a single unit,
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  Speaker 1: and took their stand on the top of a hill.
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  Speaker 1: Then Abner called out to Joab, must the sword dive
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  Speaker 1: vour forever? Don't you realize that this will end in bitterness?
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  Speaker 1: How long before you order your men to stop pursuing
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  Speaker 1: their fellow Israelites Verse twenty six. Joab replied, as surely
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  Speaker 1: as God lives. If you had not spoken, the men
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  Speaker 1: would have continued pursuing their brothers until morning verse twenty seven.
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  Speaker 1: So Joab blew the trumpet, and all his troops stopped
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  Speaker 1: pursuing Israel. Abner and his men marched through the Araba
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  Speaker 1: all that night. They crossed the Jordan, continued marching and
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  Speaker 1: arrived at Mahanaim. Joab stopped chasing Abner and gathered his troops.
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  Speaker 1: Nineteen of David's men were missing in addition to Assahel,
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  Speaker 1: but David's men had struck down three hundred and sixty
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  Speaker 1: men from Benjamin and Abner's forces. They took Assahel and
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  Speaker 1: buried him in his father's tomb at Bethlehem. Then Joab
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  Speaker 1: and his men marched all night and arrived at Hebron
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  Speaker 1: at daybreak. The civil war between the House of David
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  Speaker 1: and the House of Saul dragged on for a long time.
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  Speaker 1: There was a long war between the House of Saul
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  Speaker 1: and the House of David, says Chapter three, verse one.
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  Speaker 1: During that time, David grew stronger and stronger, while the
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  Speaker 1: House of Saul grew weaker and weaker. As the war
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  Speaker 1: dragged on, David's power increased. In chapter three we see
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  Speaker 1: that his family also grew in Hebron. Sons were born
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  Speaker 1: to David in Hebron. His first born was Amnon by
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  Speaker 1: ahinoam of Jezreel. His second Kiliab by Abigail, the widow
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  Speaker 1: of Nabel of Carmel. The third Absalom, the son of Macha,
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  Speaker 1: daughter of Talmai, king of Gesha, the fourth Adonija, the
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  Speaker 1: son of Hagith, the fifth Shepetia, the son of Abital,
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  Speaker 1: and the sixth Ishriim by David's wife Egler Verses two
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  Speaker 1: to five. Meanwhile, Abner was strengthening his position within Saul's house.
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  Speaker 1: He was not only the army commander but also a
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  Speaker 1: powerful political figure behind Ishbosheth's throne. However, a particular incident
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  Speaker 1: changed the course of events. Ishbosheth accused Abna, why did
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  Speaker 1: you sleep with my father's concubine verse seven, referring to Rispa,
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  Speaker 1: daughter of Ayah. At that time, taking a former king's
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  Speaker 1: concubine was considered a claim to the throne. Abner was
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  Speaker 1: furious at the accusation. Am I a dog's head on
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  Speaker 1: Judah's side this very day? I'm loyal to the house
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  Speaker 1: of your father, Saul, to his family and friends. I
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  Speaker 1: haven't handed you over to David, and yet now you
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  Speaker 1: accuse me of an offense involving this woman verse eight. Outraged,
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  Speaker 1: Abner made a vow, may God deal with Abner, be
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  Speaker 1: it ever so severely if I do not do for
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  Speaker 1: David what the Lord promised him. On oath and transfer
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  Speaker 1: the kingdom from the house of Saul and established David's
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  Speaker 1: throne over Israel and Judah from Dan to Beersheba Verses
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  Speaker 1: nine to ten. Ishboshev didn't dare say another word to
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  Speaker 1: Abner because he was afraid of him. Realizing his position
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  Speaker 1: was at risk and that Saul's house was weakening, Abner
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  Speaker 1: decided to switch sides. He sent messengers to David, whose
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  Speaker 1: land is it, Make a covenant with me, and my
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  Speaker 1: hand shall be with you to bring all Israel over
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  Speaker 1: to you Verse twelve. David replied, good, I will make
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  Speaker 1: a covenant with you, but one thing I require. You
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  Speaker 1: must not come into my presence unless you bring Mihal,
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  Speaker 1: Saul's daughter when you come to see me verse thirteen.
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  Speaker 1: Mikhaal was David's first wife, whom Saul had given to
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  Speaker 1: another man while David was on the run. David also
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  Speaker 1: sent messengers to Ishbosheth, demanding give me my wife, Mikhal,
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  Speaker 1: whom I betrothed to myself for a hundred Philistine foreskins.
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  Speaker 1: Ishbosheth sent and took her from her husband, Paltiel, son
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  Speaker 1: of Laish. Her husband followed her weeping as far As
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  Speaker 1: Bahurim until Abner ordered him to go back. Abner then
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  Speaker 1: spoke with the elders of Israel. For some time, you
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  Speaker 1: have wanted to make David your king. Now do it.
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  Speaker 1: For the Lord promised David. Through my servant David, I
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  Speaker 1: will rescue my people Israel, from the hand of the
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  Speaker 1: Philistines and from all their enemies Verses seventeen eighteen. Abner
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  Speaker 1: also spoke to the tribe of Benjamin, Saul's own tribe.
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  Speaker 1: After that, Abna went to Hebron with twenty men to
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  Speaker 1: speak with David about the desires of all Israel and
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  Speaker 1: the house of Benjamin. David hosted a banquet for Abner
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  Speaker 1: and his men. Then Abner said to David, let me
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  Speaker 1: go and gather all Israel to my lord, the King,
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  Speaker 1: so that they may make a covenant with you, and
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  Speaker 1: you may reign over all that your heart desires, as
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  Speaker 1: stated in verse twenty one, and David sent Abner away
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  Speaker 1: in peace. Abner's defection marked a turning point in the
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  Speaker 1: civil war. The powerful general who had upheld Saul's house
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  Speaker 1: was now working to unite Israel under David's leadership. Shortly
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  Speaker 1: after Abner left David's men, and Joab returned from a raid,
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  Speaker 1: bringing much plunder. When Joab learned that Abner had been
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  Speaker 1: with David and had left in peace, he was furious.
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  Speaker 1: In chapter three, verse twenty four, so Joab went to
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  Speaker 1: the king and said, what have you done? Abner came
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  Speaker 1: to you? Why did you let him go? Now he
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  Speaker 1: is gone, Joab accused Abner of coming only to spy
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  Speaker 1: without David's knowledge. Joab sent messengers after Abner, and they
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  Speaker 1: brought him back from the well of Syrah, as recorded
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  Speaker 1: in verse twenty six. When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab
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  Speaker 1: took him aside into the gateway, as if to speak
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  Speaker 1: with him privately, and there he stabbed him in the stomach,
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  Speaker 1: and he died for the blood of assa Hel, his brother.
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  Speaker 1: In verse twenty seven, Joab thus avenged his brother's death
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  Speaker 1: during the battle at Gibeon. Upon hearing this, David declared,
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  Speaker 1: I and my kingdom are forever innocent before the Lord
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  Speaker 1: concerning the blood of Abner's son of Ner, may his
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  Speaker 1: blood fall on Joab's head and on his whole family line.
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  Speaker 1: In verses twenty eight and twenty nine. David publicly mourned
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  Speaker 1: Abner's death, refusing to eat until sunset. Everyone noticed and
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  Speaker 1: was pleased with David's response. David said to his officials,
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  Speaker 1: don't you realize that a prince and a great man
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  Speaker 1: has fallen in Israel this day? And though I am
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  Speaker 1: the anointed king, to day I am weak, and these
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  Speaker 1: sons of Zariah are too harsh for me. May the
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  Speaker 1: Lord repay the evildoer according to his evil deeds in
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  Speaker 1: verses thirty eight and thirty nine. The news of Abner's
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  Speaker 1: death had a devastating effect on Iti Ishbosheth. In chapter four,
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  Speaker 1: verse one, when Saul's son heard that Abner had died
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  Speaker 1: in Hebron, his hands grew weak and all Israel was dismayed.
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  Speaker 1: Ishbosheth had two men, Barna and Rechab, captains of raiding
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  Speaker 1: bands and sons of rimmen from Beiroth, a town of Benjamin.
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  Speaker 1: They came into Ishbosheth's house around midday while he was resting.
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  Speaker 1: They entered the house as if to get wheat and
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  Speaker 1: stabbed him in the stomach. Then Richab and his brother
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  Speaker 1: Barna escaped. According to verse six, after killing him, they
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  Speaker 1: cut off his head and traveled all night through the Araba.
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  Speaker 1: They brought Ishbosheth's head to David in Hebron and said,
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  Speaker 1: here is the head of Ishbosheth's son of Saul, your enemy,
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  Speaker 1: who tried to kill you. To day. The Lord has
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  Speaker 1: avenged my lord the King against Saul and his descendants
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  Speaker 1: in verse eight. But David replied, as surely as the
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  Speaker 1: Lord lives, who has delivered me out of every trouble.
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  Speaker 1: When someone told me Saul is dead, thinking he was
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  Speaker 1: bringing good news, I seized him and put him to
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  Speaker 1: death in Ziklag. That was the reward I gave him
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  Speaker 1: for his news. How much more, when wicked men kill
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  Speaker 1: an innocent man in his own house, on his own bed,
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  Speaker 1: should I not now demand his blood from your hands
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  Speaker 1: and rid the earth of you? In verses nine to eleven.
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  Speaker 1: At David's command, his young men killed Rechab and Bahana.
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  Speaker 1: They cut off their hands and feet and hung their
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  Speaker 1: bodies beside the pool in Hebron. But they buried Ishbosheth's
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  Speaker 1: head in Abner's tomb in Hebron. With Ishbosheth's death, the
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  Speaker 1: last remaining claimant to Saul's throne had fallen. The way
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  Speaker 1: was now clear for David to become king over all Israel.
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  Speaker 1: After Ishbosheth's death, the tribes of Israel finally acknowledged David
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  Speaker 1: as their rightful king in chapter five, verse one. Then
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  Speaker 1: all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron
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  Speaker 1: and said, we are your own flesh and blood. They
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  Speaker 1: remembered David's leadership even during Saul's reign in the past,
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  Speaker 1: while Saul was king over us, you were the one
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  Speaker 1: who led Israel on their military campaigns. And the Lord
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  Speaker 1: said to you, you will shepherd my people Israel, and
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  Speaker 1: you will become their ruler. In verse two, in a
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  Speaker 1: solemn ceremony in Hebron, all the elders of Israel came
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  Speaker 1: to King David at Hebron. The king made a covenant
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  Speaker 1: with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed
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  Speaker 1: David king over Israel in verse three. David was thirty
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  Speaker 1: years old when he began to reign, and he reigned
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  Speaker 1: for forty years. In Hebron, he reigned over Judah for
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  Speaker 1: seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned
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  Speaker 1: over all Israel and Judah for thirty three years, according
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  Speaker 1: to verse five, with all the tribes united under his leadership,
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  Speaker 1: David now ruled a strengthened nation. His next step was
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: to establish a capital for the unified kingdom. Until then,
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: he had ruled from Hebron, a city in Judah, but
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: he needed a more central and strategic location, one that
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: all the tribes could see as belonging to them, not
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: just to Judah. The unification of the tribes under David
• 20:19
  Speaker 1: fulfilled the promise God had made long before, Since the
• 20:23
  Speaker 1: days when the young shepherd watched his father Jesse's flocks,
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: God had chosen him to be the king of his people.
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: The journey had been long filled with challenges, persecution, and waiting,
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: but at last David stood in the position for which
• 20:39
  Speaker 1: he had been anointed years earlier. This was a crucial
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: moment in Israel's history. After the era of the Judges
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: and the troubled reign of Saul, the people now had
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: a king after God's own heart. Under David's leadership, Israel
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: would enter its golden age, expanding its borders and become
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: coming a stronger, unified nation. The unification of the tribes
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: under David also foreshadowed a greater king to come, a
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: descendant of David who would one day unite not just
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: the tribes of Israel, but all peoples under his eternal reign.
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: This promise would later be reaffirmed to David through the
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: prophet Nathan. With the kingdom unified, David decided to establish
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: a new capital. His attention turned to Jerusalem, an ancient
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: Canaanite city still under Jebusite control. In chapter verse six,
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: the king and his men marched to Jerusalem to attack
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: the Jebusites who lived there. The Jebusites felt so secure
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: behind their walls that they mocked, David, you will not
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: get in here. Even the blind and the lame can
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: ward you off, thinking David can't get in here. But
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: David captured the fortress of Zion, which became the City
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: of David. On that day he said, whoever attacks the Jebusites,
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: let him go up through the water shaft and strike
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: down the lame and the blind, whom David's soul despises.
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: Verse eight. From this came the saying, the blind and
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: the lame will not enter the house. David then took
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: up residence in the fortress and named it the City
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: of David. And David built all around from the millow
• 22:24
  Speaker 1: inward verse nine. Under his leadership, the city grew in
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: both size and importance. David's rise didn't go unnoticed by
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: neighboring kings. Hiram, king of Tire, sent messengers to David,
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: along with cedar logs, carpenters, and Stonemasons, and they built
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: a house for David verse eleven. This alliance with Tire,
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: a powerful maritime and commercial city state, reflected David's growing
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: influence on the international stage. David then knew that the
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: Lord had established him as king over Israel and had
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: Verse twelve. David recognized that his authority was granted by
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: God not for his own glory, but for the good
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: of the people. While in Jerusalem, David took more concubines
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: and wives after coming from Hebron, and more sons and
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: daughters were born to him Verse thirteen. Among the children
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: born in Jerusalem were Shamua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, Ibh, Elishua, Nepheg, Jafia, Elishama, Eliada,
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: and Eliphelet. When the Philistines heard that David had been
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: anointed king over Israel, they mobilized to capture him. Upon
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: Hearing this, David went down to the stronghold. Now the
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: Philistines had come and spread out in the valley of
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: Riphaeim Verse seventeen. David inquired of the Lord, shall I
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: go up against the Philistines? Will you deliver them into
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: my hands? And the Lord answer, go up, for I
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: will surely deliver the Philistines into your hands. David went
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: to bal Perizim and defeated them there. He said, the
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: Lord has broken through my enemies before me, like a
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: breakthrough of waters. Therefore he named that place bal Perazim,
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: meaning Lord of breakthroughs. The Philistines abandoned their idols there,
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: and David and his men carried them off. But the
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: Philistines came again and spread out in the valley of
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: Refheim once more. David consulted the Lord, and he said,
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: do not go straight up. Instead, circle around behind them
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: and come upon them in front of the balsam trees.
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: When you hear the sound of marching in the tops
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: of the balsam trees, act quickly, for that will be
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: the Lord going out before you to strike the Philistine
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: army Verses twenty three to twenty four. David did as
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: the Lord commanded and struck down the Philistines all the
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: way from Gibeon to the entrance of Giza. These victories
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: secured Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and confirmed that
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: God was with David in battle. The conquest of Jerusalem
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: was one of the most significant achievements of David's reign.
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: The city, strategically located between the Northern and Southern tribes,
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: would serve as the United Kingdom's capital for generations. Later,
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: it would be the site of the temple built by
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: David's sons Solomon and become known as the Holy City.
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: After establishing Jerusalem as his capital, David sought to bring
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: the Ark of the Covenant into the city. The ark,
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: which held the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments, symbolized
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: God's presence among the people. In Chapter six, verse one,
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand.
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: With this large group, David and all the people with
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: him set out from Balah of Judah to bring up
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: from their the Ark of God, which is called by
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: the name of the Lord of Hosts, who sits enthroned
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: between the Cherubim. Verse two. Balah of Judah is another
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: name for Kirieth Jiarim, where the ark had remained since
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: being returned by the Philistines. They placed the Ark of
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: God on a new cart and brought it from the
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: house of Abinadab, which was on the hill, and Duzar
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart.
• 26:29
  Speaker 1: Verse three. David and the entire house of Israel were
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: celebrating before the Lord with instruments made of cypress wood, harps, liars, tambourines, castanets,
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: and cymbals. When they came to the threshing floor of Naikon,
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: the oxens stumbled and Uzar reached out his hand to
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: steady the Ark of God. The Lord's anger burned against
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: Usa because of his irreverent act, and God struck him
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: down there, and he died beside the Ark of God. Seven.
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: David was disturbed that the Lord had struck Uza down.
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: That place was named perez Uza, meaning Uza's breach. David
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: feared the Lord that day and said, how can the
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: Ark of the Lord come to me? He was unwilling
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: to bring the Ark into the city of David. Instead,
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: David took it to the house of Obedidom the Gittite
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: verse ten. The ark remained there for three months, and
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: the Lord blessed Obediedom and his entire household. When David
• 27:33
  Speaker 1: was told that the Lord had blessed Obededom's household because
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: of the ark, he resolved to complete the mission. So
• 27:40
  Speaker 1: David went and brought up the Ark of God from
• 27:43
  Speaker 1: the house of Obededom to the city of David with
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: rejoicing verse twelve. This time David took proper precautions. When
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: those carrying the Ark of the Lord had taken six steps,
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: he sacrificed a bull and a fat and calf to
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: verse thirteen. He also danced before the Lord with all
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: his might, wearing a linen ephod verse fourteen. So David
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: and all the house of Israel brought up the Ark
• 28:13
  Speaker 1: of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets
• 28:17
  Speaker 1: verse fifteen. It was a moment of great celebration. The
• 28:21
  Speaker 1: symbolic presence of God was entering the capital. But not
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: everyone shared David's joy. As the Ark of the Lord
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: entered the city of David, Mihal daughter of Saul, looked
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: out of the window and saw King David leaping and
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: dancing before the Lord, and she despised him in her
• 28:39
  Speaker 1: heart verse sixteen. Unbothered by Mikaal's disapproval, David placed the
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: ark inside the tent he had pitched for it. He
• 28:46
  Speaker 1: offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord, and
• 28:50
  Speaker 1: when he had finished offering the sacrifices, he blessed the
• 28:54
  Speaker 1: people in the name of the Lord of Hosts. Verse eighteen.
• 28:58
  Speaker 1: He gave every man and woman in the crowd a
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: loaf of bread, a portion of meat, and a cake
• 29:03
  Speaker 1: of raisins. Then all the people returned to their homes.
• 29:07
  Speaker 1: When David returned to bless his household, Michal came out
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: to meet him and said, sarcastically, how distinguished the King
• 29:14
  Speaker 1: of Israel looked to day, going around half naked in
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: full view of the servant girls like some vulgar fellow
• 29:22
  Speaker 1: Verse twenty. David replied, it was before the Lord who
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: chose me, rather than your father or anyone from his house,
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: when he appointed me ruler over the Lord's people Israel.
• 29:34
  Speaker 1: I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even
• 29:37
  Speaker 1: more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in
• 29:42
  Speaker 1: my own eyes. But by these servant girls you mentioned,
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: I will be held in honor Verses twenty one, twenty two.
• 29:50
  Speaker 1: As a result of this misunderstanding, Mihal, daughter of Saul,
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: had no children to the day of her death, Verse
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: twenty three. The rival of the Ark in Jerusalem was
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: a pivotal moment in David's reign. By bringing Israel's most
• 30:06
  Speaker 1: sacred symbol into his new capital, he united political and
• 30:11
  Speaker 1: religious authority in one place. Jerusalem became not only the
• 30:15
  Speaker 1: political capital, but also the spiritual center of the nation.
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: This act also demonstrated David's devotion to the Lord. Unlike
• 30:25
  Speaker 1: many kings who used religion merely as a political tool,
• 30:28
  Speaker 1: David genuinely cared about worshiping God. His dance before the Ark,
• 30:34
  Speaker 1: despite Mihail's criticism, revealed a heart that truly rejoiced in
• 30:38
  Speaker 1: the Lord's presence. The arrival of the Ark in Jerusalem
• 30:42
  Speaker 1: marked the completion of the power transition from Saul to David.
• 30:47
  Speaker 1: The process had begun with the news of Saul's death,
• 30:51
  Speaker 1: followed by David's anointing as King of Judah, the Civil War,
• 30:55
  Speaker 1: the betrayal and deaths of Abner and Ishbosheth, the unification
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: of the tribes under David, the conquest of Jerusalem, and
• 31:03
  Speaker 1: finally the Ark entering the city. David was now the
• 31:08
  Speaker 1: undisputed king of a united Israel, with a firmly established
• 31:13
  Speaker 1: capital and the divine blessing symbolized by the Ark's presence
• 31:17
  Speaker 1: in Jerusalem. Once David had settled into his Cedar palace
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: in Jerusalem and the Lord had granted him rest from
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: all his enemies, something began to stir in his heart.
• 31:30
  Speaker 1: In chapter seven, while speaking with the prophet Nathan, David
• 31:35
  Speaker 1: shared a thought that troubled him. Here I am living
• 31:39
  Speaker 1: in a house of cedar, while the Ark of God
• 31:43
  Speaker 1: remains in a tent. At first, Nathan encouraged the king, saying,
• 31:49
  Speaker 1: go and do all that is in your heart, for
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: the Lord is with you. But that same night the
• 31:54
  Speaker 1: word of the Lord came to Nathan with a very
• 31:57
  Speaker 1: different message for David. Go and tell my servant, David,
• 32:01
  Speaker 1: this is what the Lord says. Are you the one
• 32:03
  Speaker 1: to build me a house to dwell in? I have
• 32:05
  Speaker 1: not dwelt in a house from the day I brought
• 32:08
  Speaker 1: the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I
• 32:11
  Speaker 1: have been moving from place to place with a tent
• 32:14
  Speaker 1: as my dwelling, said the Lord through Nathan in verses
• 32:17
  Speaker 1: five and six. God reminded David how he had taken
• 32:21
  Speaker 1: him from tending sheep to become ruler over Israel, how
• 32:26
  Speaker 1: he had been with him wherever he went, and how
• 32:28
  Speaker 1: he had destroyed all his enemies. But then, instead of
• 32:32
  Speaker 1: allowing David to build him a house, God made a
• 32:35
  Speaker 1: stunning promise. The Lord declares to you that he himself
• 32:39
  Speaker 1: will establish a house for you. When your days are
• 32:42
  Speaker 1: over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise
• 32:46
  Speaker 1: up your offspring to succeed you your own flesh and blood,
• 32:50
  Speaker 1: and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one
• 32:53
  Speaker 1: who will build a house for my name, and I
• 32:55
  Speaker 1: will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will
• 32:59
  Speaker 1: be his father, and he will be my son, proclaimed
• 33:02
  Speaker 1: the Lord. In verses eleven to fourteen. God also promised,
• 33:07
  Speaker 1: your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me.
• 33:11
  Speaker 1: Your throne will be established forever. As we read in
• 33:14
  Speaker 1: verse sixteen, When Nathan relayed all these words and this
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: entire vision to David, the king was deeply moved. He
• 33:22
  Speaker 1: went in sat before the Lord and said, who am
• 33:26
  Speaker 1: I sovereign Lord? And what is my family that you
• 33:29
  Speaker 1: have brought me this far? And as if this were
• 33:32
  Speaker 1: not enough in your sight, Sovereign Lord, you have also
• 33:35
  Speaker 1: spoken about the future of the house of your servant,
• 33:38
  Speaker 1: as seen in verses eighteen and nineteen. In his prayer
• 33:42
  Speaker 1: of gratitude, David acknowledged God's greatness. How great you, our
• 33:49
  Speaker 1: Sovereign Lord. There is no one like you, and there
• 33:52
  Speaker 1: is no God but you, as we have heard with
• 33:54
  Speaker 1: our own ears, as expressed in verse twenty two. David
• 33:59
  Speaker 1: concluded his prayer by asking for God's blessing. And now,
• 34:02
  Speaker 1: Lord God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning
• 34:07
  Speaker 1: your servant and his house. Do as you promised, so
• 34:10
  Speaker 1: that your name will be great forever. As we read
• 34:13
  Speaker 1: in verses twenty five and twenty six, this divine promised
• 34:16
  Speaker 1: to David established an eternal covenant that would shape Israel's future.
• 34:22
  Speaker 1: God promised that David's royal lineage would endure forever, a
• 34:27
  Speaker 1: promise that would extend beyond his son Solomon and find
• 34:30
  Speaker 1: its ultimate fulfillment in a greater descendant whose kingdom would
• 34:35
  Speaker 1: have no end. This covenant became the foundation of the
• 34:39
  Speaker 1: Messianic hope that would sustain the people of Israel for centuries.
• 34:44
  Speaker 1: Empowered by this divine promise, David began expanding Israel's borders
• 34:49
  Speaker 1: through a series of remarkable military victories. In chapter eight,
• 34:53
  Speaker 1: we see how he defeated Israel's traditional enemies in every direction,
• 34:58
  Speaker 1: establishing the king as a regional power. After this, David
• 35:03
  Speaker 1: defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and he took metheg
• 35:08
  Speaker 1: Ammah from the hands of the Philistines, says verse one.
• 35:12
  Speaker 1: The Philistines, who had long troubled Israel, were finally subdued.
• 35:17
  Speaker 1: David took control of their main territory, ending the constant
• 35:21
  Speaker 1: threat they posed. Turning eastward, he also defeated the Moabites.
• 35:27
  Speaker 1: He made them lie down on the ground and measured
• 35:29
  Speaker 1: them off with a length of cord. Every two lengths
• 35:32
  Speaker 1: of them were put to death, and the third length
• 35:35
  Speaker 1: was allowed to live. According to verse two, David established
• 35:40
  Speaker 1: dominance over Moab, and the Moabites became subject to David
• 35:46
  Speaker 1: and brought him tribute. Next, David faced a greater threat
• 35:51
  Speaker 1: to the north. David also defeated Hadadis, a son of Rehob,
• 35:55
  Speaker 1: king of Zoba, when he went to restore his monument
• 35:58
  Speaker 1: at the Euphrates River, as stated in verse three. In
• 36:03
  Speaker 1: this battle, David captured a thousand of his chariots, seven
• 36:07
  Speaker 1: thousand charioteers, and twenty thousand foot soldiers. He hamstrung all
• 36:12
  Speaker 1: but a hundred of the chariot horses, as recorded in
• 36:15
  Speaker 1: verse four. When the Aramians of Damascus came to help Hadadezah,
• 36:20
  Speaker 1: David was undeterred. David struck down twenty two thousand Aramians.
• 36:26
  Speaker 1: He then put garrisons in aram of Damascus, and the
• 36:29
  Speaker 1: Aramians became subject to him and brought tribute. According to
• 36:33
  Speaker 1: verses five and six, the text affirms God's favor in
• 36:37
  Speaker 1: these victories. The Lord gave David victory wherever he went
• 36:42
  Speaker 1: through these battles, David captured great wealth. David took the
• 36:47
  Speaker 1: gold shields carried by the officers of Hadadezah and brought
• 36:50
  Speaker 1: them to Jerusalem from Tebah and Berethi, towns of Hadadezah.
• 36:55
  Speaker 1: King David took a great quantity of bronze, as we
• 36:58
  Speaker 1: read in verses seven, David's fame spread rapidly when two
• 37:03
  Speaker 1: king of Hamath heard that David had defeated the entire
• 37:07
  Speaker 1: army of Haddadizah. He sent his son Joram to King
• 37:10
  Speaker 1: David to greet him and congratulate him on his victory
• 37:14
  Speaker 1: in battle over Hadadizah, says verses nine and ten. Recognizing
• 37:19
  Speaker 1: the rising regional power, Tao sent gifts of silver, gold,
• 37:23
  Speaker 1: and bronze, seeking to establish an alliance with David, the
• 37:27
  Speaker 1: King of Israel. Recognizing that his victories came from the Lord,
• 37:31
  Speaker 1: dedicated to the Lord the silver and gold that he
• 37:35
  Speaker 1: had consecrated from all the nations he had subdued from Syria, Moab,
• 37:41
  Speaker 1: the Ammonites, the Philistines, Amalek, and from the spoils of Hadadezah,
• 37:46
  Speaker 1: son of Rihab, king of Zobah, as recorded in verses
• 37:50
  Speaker 1: eleven and twelve. David also gained fame for his victory
• 37:54
  Speaker 1: over the Edomites. David made a name for himself when
• 37:58
  Speaker 1: he returned after strong viking down eighteen thousand Aramians in
• 38:02
  Speaker 1: the Valley of Salt. He stationed garrisons in Edom. Throughout
• 38:07
  Speaker 1: all Edom he placed garrisons, and all the Edomites became
• 38:11
  Speaker 1: David's subjects, according to verses thirteen and fourteen, Once again
• 38:16
  Speaker 1: the text emphasizes the Lord gave David victory wherever he went.
• 38:21
  Speaker 1: These military campaigns transformed Israel from a small kingdom constantly
• 38:27
  Speaker 1: under threat into a powerful nation that dominated the region.
• 38:32
  Speaker 1: David's conquests significantly expanded Israel's borders, bringing peace and prosperity
• 38:38
  Speaker 1: to the people. Tribute flowed into Jerusalem, enriching the royal
• 38:43
  Speaker 1: treasury and making it possible to plan projects such as
• 38:47
  Speaker 1: the future Temple. More importantly, these victories fulfilled the promise
• 38:52
  Speaker 1: God had made to Abraham centuries earlier to give his
• 38:55
  Speaker 1: descendants all the land from the River of Egypt to
• 38:59
  Speaker 1: the Great River the Euphrates. Under David's leadership, Israel finally
• 39:04
  Speaker 1: occupied the full extent of the territory that God had
• 39:07
  Speaker 1: promised to the patriarchs. With the kingdom now expanded and secure,
• 39:12
  Speaker 1: David established an efficient administration to govern Israel. In Chapter eight,
• 39:17
  Speaker 1: verse fifteen, we read that David reigned over all Israel,
• 39:21
  Speaker 1: administering justice and righteousness to all his people. David surrounded
• 39:26
  Speaker 1: himself with capable men to help him govern. Joab, son
• 39:30
  Speaker 1: of Zuruyah, was over the army. Jehoshafat, son of Ahilud
• 39:35
  Speaker 1: was recorder. Zadok sn of Ahitub and a Himalek, son
• 39:39
  Speaker 1: of Abiathar were priests. Sarayah was secretary as stated in
• 39:43
  Speaker 1: verses sixteen and seventeen, The king's security and special missions
• 39:49
  Speaker 1: were intrusted to Benaiah, son of Jehoyada, who was over
• 39:53
  Speaker 1: the Karathites and Pelethites. As Verse eighteen records, these were
• 39:58
  Speaker 1: likely foreign mercenaries who formed a royal guard free from
• 40:01
  Speaker 1: tribal loyalties that might complicate the command of Israelite troops.
• 40:07
  Speaker 1: Rounding out his governing team, David's sons were chief officials.
• 40:11
  Speaker 1: As noted at the end of verse eighteen, David involved
• 40:15
  Speaker 1: his own family in the administration, following a patent common
• 40:19
  Speaker 1: in ancient monarchies. This governmental structure represented a significant evolution
• 40:25
  Speaker 1: for Israel. During the time of the Judges, the nation
• 40:28
  Speaker 1: had no permanent central administration. Even under Saul, the government
• 40:33
  Speaker 1: remained quite rudimentary. David, however, established a complete administrative system
• 40:40
  Speaker 1: with clear divisions of responsibility. They army, led by Joab,
• 40:47
  Speaker 1: ensured external security and maintained control over conquered territories. Jehoshafat
• 40:53
  Speaker 1: the recorder, likely maintained official records and functioned as something
• 40:57
  Speaker 1: of a prime Ministers Zadok and Ahimelech oversaw religious affairs,
• 41:04
  Speaker 1: maintaining the vital link between throne and altar. In Israel,
• 41:08
  Speaker 1: Sir Rayah, the Secretary was responsible for official correspondence and
• 41:13
  Speaker 1: royal documents, an essential role in an age when literacy
• 41:18
  Speaker 1: was limited. Benaia's royal guard insured the king's security and
• 41:24
  Speaker 1: carried out special missions. David's sons, as chief officials, were
• 41:29
  Speaker 1: trained in leadership and helped extend royal influence. This administrative
• 41:34
  Speaker 1: organization enabled David to effectively govern a territory far larger
• 41:40
  Speaker 1: than any previous Israelite leader. The Biblical text stresses that
• 41:45
  Speaker 1: he administered justice and righteousness to all his people, indicating
• 41:50
  Speaker 1: that this structure served not just to glorify the king,
• 41:54
  Speaker 1: but to insure fair governance for the people. David's administrative
• 41:58
  Speaker 1: wisdom contributed did just as much as his military skill
• 42:02
  Speaker 1: to Israel's stability and prosperity. A well governed kingdom flourished
• 42:08
  Speaker 1: in times of peace and could mobilize resources efficiently in
• 42:12
  Speaker 1: times of war. The system David established became a model
• 42:17
  Speaker 1: followed by the kings of Israel and Judah for generations
• 42:21
  Speaker 1: to come. Amid all his victories and royal duties, David
• 42:25
  Speaker 1: did not forget past promises. In chapter nine, he asks,
• 42:29
  Speaker 1: is there still any one left of the house of
• 42:31
  Speaker 1: Saul to whom I may show kindness for Jonathan's sake?
• 42:36
  Speaker 1: This question revealed David's heart. Though he was now powerful
• 42:40
  Speaker 1: and his former enemies had been subdued, he remembered his
• 42:44
  Speaker 1: friendship with Jonathan, Saul's son, and the promise they had
• 42:48
  Speaker 1: made to one another. Instead of eliminating potential rivals to
• 42:53
  Speaker 1: the throne, as was typical among kings of the time,
• 42:56
  Speaker 1: David sought to show kindness. A servant of Saul's household
• 43:02
  Speaker 1: named Ziba was brought before the king. When David asked
• 43:07
  Speaker 1: if there was still any one from Saul's house to
• 43:10
  Speaker 1: whom he could show the kindness of God, Zebra replied,
• 43:13
  Speaker 1: there is still a son of Jonathan, crippled in his feet,
• 43:17
  Speaker 1: as verse three states. David immediately wanted to know where
• 43:21
  Speaker 1: this man was. Ziba informed him that he was in
• 43:25
  Speaker 1: the house of Makir, son of Amiel, in Lodibar. As
• 43:29
  Speaker 1: in verse four, Lodibar was beyond the Jordan, far from Jerusalem,
• 43:35
  Speaker 1: suggesting that Mephibosheth was essentially in hiding, fearing that the
• 43:39
  Speaker 1: new king might want to eliminate him. So King David
• 43:42
  Speaker 1: had him brought from the house of Makir, son of
• 43:46
  Speaker 1: Amiel at lo Debar. As we read in verse five,
• 43:50
  Speaker 1: we can imagine the fear Mephibusheth must have felt upon
• 43:53
  Speaker 1: receiving the order to appear before the king. As a
• 43:58
  Speaker 1: descendant of Saul's house, he lightly expected the worst. When Mephibosheth,
• 44:03
  Speaker 1: son of Jonathan and grandson of Saul, came before David,
• 44:07
  Speaker 1: he bowed down to pay him honor. As verse six records,
• 44:11
  Speaker 1: David then called him by name, Mephibosheth, to which he replied,
• 44:16
  Speaker 1: at your service. Instead of threats or punishment, Mephibosheth heard
• 44:22
  Speaker 1: astonishing words. Do not be afraid, David said, for I
• 44:26
  Speaker 1: will surely show you kindness for the sake of your
• 44:30
  Speaker 1: father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land
• 44:33
  Speaker 1: that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always
• 44:36
  Speaker 1: eat at my table, as declared in verse seven. Perplexed
• 44:41
  Speaker 1: by such unexpected kindness, Mefibusheth responded, humbly, what is your
• 44:46
  Speaker 1: servant that you should notice a dead dog like me,
• 44:49
  Speaker 1: as recorded in verse eight, referring to himself as a
• 44:54
  Speaker 1: dead dog, reflected how unworthy and insignificant he felt to
• 44:58
  Speaker 1: receive royal attention. Then David summoned zeba Saul's servant, and
• 45:04
  Speaker 1: said to him, I have given your master's grandson everything
• 45:08
  Speaker 1: that belonged to Saul and his family. You and your
• 45:11
  Speaker 1: sons and your servants are to farm the land for
• 45:13
  Speaker 1: him and bring in the crops, so that your master's
• 45:17
  Speaker 1: grandson may be provided for. But Mephibusheth, your master's grandson,
• 45:22
  Speaker 1: will always eat at my table, as recorded in verses
• 45:25
  Speaker 1: nine and ten, Zebra, who had fifteen sons and twenty servants,
• 45:30
  Speaker 1: pledged to do everything the king had commanded. Thus Mephibosheth
• 45:34
  Speaker 1: ate at David's table like one of the king's sons,
• 45:37
  Speaker 1: as verse eleven states. The passage also mentions that Mephibashev
• 45:42
  Speaker 1: had a young son named Mika, and that all who
• 45:46
  Speaker 1: lived in Zebra's household were servants of Mephibosheth. The chapter
• 45:51
  Speaker 1: concludes by noting that Mephibusheth lived in Jerusalem because he
• 45:56
  Speaker 1: always ate at the king's table and he was lame
• 46:00
  Speaker 1: in both feet, as we read in verse thirteen. This
• 46:05
  Speaker 1: final mention of his physical disability reminds the reader of
• 46:08
  Speaker 1: the man's vulnerability and highlights David's extraordinary generosity. The way
• 46:14
  Speaker 1: David treated Mephibasheth revealed his character beyond military victories and
• 46:19
  Speaker 1: administrative skills. In a time when vengeance and elimination of
• 46:24
  Speaker 1: rivals were the norm, David chose to honor a friendship commitment,
• 46:28
  Speaker 1: showing mercy to a potential rival. Instead of seeing Mephibosheth
• 46:33
  Speaker 1: as a threat, David treated him like a son, giving
• 46:36
  Speaker 1: him a place of honor at his own table. The
• 46:39
  Speaker 1: peace David had secured through military victories would not last forever.
• 46:45
  Speaker 1: In chapter ten, a new crisis emerged when the king
• 46:49
  Speaker 1: of the Ammonites died and his son Hanun succeeded him
• 46:53
  Speaker 1: as king. According to verse one, remembering the kindness the
• 46:57
  Speaker 1: previous king had shown him, wished to show the same
• 47:01
  Speaker 1: to the new king. David said, I will show kindness
• 47:04
  Speaker 1: to Hahnan, son of Nahash, just as his father showed
• 47:08
  Speaker 1: kindness to me. So David sent envoys to express sympathy
• 47:12
  Speaker 1: to Harnan concerning his father as stated in verse two. However,
• 47:17
  Speaker 1: when David's ambassadors arrived in the land of the Ammonites,
• 47:21
  Speaker 1: they were met with suspicion. The Amonite princes said to Hanun,
• 47:25
  Speaker 1: do you think David is honoring your father by sending
• 47:28
  Speaker 1: envoys to express sympathy. Hasn't David sent them to you
• 47:32
  Speaker 1: only to explore the city and spy it out and
• 47:35
  Speaker 1: overthrow it, as we read in verse three. Persuaded by
• 47:41
  Speaker 1: these distrustful advisers, Hanun made a decision with serious consequences.
• 47:46
  Speaker 1: He seized David's envoys, shaved off half of each man's beard,
• 47:51
  Speaker 1: cut off their garments at the hips, and sent them away.
• 47:54
  Speaker 1: As stated in verse four, this was an act of
• 47:57
  Speaker 1: extreme humiliation and a grave diplomatic insult. When David learned
• 48:03
  Speaker 1: what had happened, recognizing how deeply humiliated his men were,
• 48:07
  Speaker 1: he sent messengers to meet them. For they were greatly humiliated.
• 48:11
  Speaker 1: The king said, stay in Jericho until your beards have
• 48:14
  Speaker 1: grown back, and then return, As recorded in verse five,
• 48:19
  Speaker 1: This act of consideration shows David's sensitivity to his servant's dignity.
• 48:24
  Speaker 1: Realizing they had deeply offended David, the Ammonites prepared for war.
• 48:30
  Speaker 1: They hired twenty thousand Aramian foot soldiers from Beth Rehab
• 48:35
  Speaker 1: and Zoba, as well as the king of Maca with
• 48:37
  Speaker 1: a thousand men and twelve thousand men from tob As
• 48:41
  Speaker 1: Verse six notes, this coalition posed a serious threat to Israel.
• 48:45
  Speaker 1: When David heard of it, he sent Joab out with
• 48:48
  Speaker 1: the entire army of fighting men. According to verse seven,
• 48:52
  Speaker 1: the Ammonites positioned themselves at the city gate, while the
• 48:56
  Speaker 1: hired Aramians spread out in the open country, creating a
• 49:00
  Speaker 1: tactical challenge for Joab, who realized that battle lines were
• 49:04
  Speaker 1: drawn before him and behind him. As verse nine puts it,
• 49:09
  Speaker 1: in a brilliant military maneuver, Joab divided his forces. He
• 49:13
  Speaker 1: selected some of the best troops in Israel and deployed
• 49:16
  Speaker 1: them against the Aramians. The rest of the men he
• 49:20
  Speaker 1: put under the command of Abeshi, his brother, to face
• 49:23
  Speaker 1: the Ammonites. As described in verses nine and ten, Joab
• 49:27
  Speaker 1: then said to his brother, if the Aramians are too
• 49:30
  Speaker 1: strong for me, you were to come to my rescue.
• 49:34
  Speaker 1: But if the Ammonites are too strong for you, I
• 49:36
  Speaker 1: will come to rescue you. Joab also inspired his troops
• 49:40
  Speaker 1: with stirring words be strong, and let us fight bravely
• 49:45
  Speaker 1: for our people and the cities of our God. The
• 49:48
  Speaker 1: Lord will do what is good in his sight, as
• 49:51
  Speaker 1: we read in verse twelve. With this strategy and motivation,
• 49:55
  Speaker 1: Joab and his troops advanced to fight the Aramians, and
• 49:59
  Speaker 1: they fled before him, according to verse thirteen. Seeing the
• 50:03
  Speaker 1: Aramians flee, the Ammonites also fled before Abeshi and went
• 50:07
  Speaker 1: inside the city. As verse fourteen recounts, Joab then returned
• 50:12
  Speaker 1: to Jerusalem, ending the first phase of the conflict, but
• 50:16
  Speaker 1: the Aramians were not ready to accept defeat. They regrouped,
• 50:21
  Speaker 1: and this time Hadadeza brought out the Aramians from beyond
• 50:25
  Speaker 1: the Euphrates River. As verse sixteen says, this force assembled
• 50:30
  Speaker 1: at Hellam under the command of Shobach, Hadadezza's army commander.
• 50:35
  Speaker 1: When David heard of this, he personally took charge. He
• 50:39
  Speaker 1: gathered all Israel, crossed the Jordan, and went to Helam.
• 50:44
  Speaker 1: As stated in verse seventeen, the Aramians formed their lines
• 50:47
  Speaker 1: against David and fought him, but were once again defeated.
• 50:51
  Speaker 1: David and his men killed seven hundred of their charioteers
• 50:55
  Speaker 1: and forty thousand horsemen. They also struck down Shobach, the
• 50:59
  Speaker 1: commander of their army, and he died there. According to
• 51:03
  Speaker 1: verse eighteen, this decisive victory had significant political consequences. When
• 51:09
  Speaker 1: all the kings who were vassals of Hadadaza saw that
• 51:13
  Speaker 1: they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with
• 51:16
  Speaker 1: Israel and became subject to them, as recorded in verse nineteen.
• 51:21
  Speaker 1: The text concludes by noting that the Aramians were afraid
• 51:25
  Speaker 1: to help the Ammonites anymore. The war against the Ammonites
• 51:29
  Speaker 1: demonstrated not only Israel's military might under David, but also
• 51:33
  Speaker 1: the complexity of international relations at the time. A diplomatic
• 51:38
  Speaker 1: insult triggered a conflict that drew in multiple regional powers.
• 51:42
  Speaker 1: David's victory further solidified Israel's status as a regional force
• 51:47
  Speaker 1: and elevated the king's prestige. In the midst of so
• 51:52
  Speaker 1: many victories and achievements, David would face his greatest failure
• 51:57
  Speaker 1: not on the battlefield, but within his own character. Chapter eleven,
• 52:02
  Speaker 1: verse one tells us that in the spring, at the
• 52:05
  Speaker 1: time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab
• 52:08
  Speaker 1: out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army.
• 52:11
  Speaker 1: They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rubbah, but David remained
• 52:16
  Speaker 1: in Jerusalem. This decision to stay behind while his men
• 52:20
  Speaker 1: fought set the stage for a series of tragic events.
• 52:24
  Speaker 1: One evening, David got up from his bed and walked
• 52:27
  Speaker 1: around on the roof of the palace. From the roof,
• 52:31
  Speaker 1: he saw woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful,
• 52:34
  Speaker 1: as verse two describes. Driven by desire, David sent some
• 52:39
  Speaker 1: one to find out about her. The man said she
• 52:42
  Speaker 1: is Bathsheba, the daughter of Elium and the wife of
• 52:46
  Speaker 1: Uriah the Hittite verse three. Even knowing she was married
• 52:51
  Speaker 1: and that her husband was away fighting for the kingdom,
• 52:55
  Speaker 1: David sent messengers to get her. She came to him
• 52:58
  Speaker 1: and he slept with her verse four. The text notes
• 53:02
  Speaker 1: that she had purified herself from her uncleanness, indicating she
• 53:06
  Speaker 1: was not pregnant before this encounter. Afterward, the woman conceived
• 53:12
  Speaker 1: and sent word to David saying I am pregnant verse five.
• 53:16
  Speaker 1: The news confronted David with the consequences of his actions,
• 53:20
  Speaker 1: prompting him to quickly devise a plan to cover up
• 53:23
  Speaker 1: his transgression. So David sent this word to Joab send
• 53:29
  Speaker 1: me Uriah the Hittite verse six. When Uriah arrived, David
• 53:37
  Speaker 1: asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were, and
• 53:40
  Speaker 1: how the war was going, pretending that his interest was
• 53:43
  Speaker 1: merely in receiving news from the front lines. Then David
• 53:47
  Speaker 1: told Uriah go down to your house and wash your
• 53:50
  Speaker 1: feet verse eight. David even sent a gift after him
• 53:53
  Speaker 1: from the king's table. The king expected Uriah to go
• 53:57
  Speaker 1: home and sleep with his wife, making the pregnancy appear legitimate.
• 54:01
  Speaker 1: But Uriah, showing remarkable integrity, slept at the entrance to
• 54:06
  Speaker 1: the palace with all his master's servants and did not
• 54:10
  Speaker 1: go down to his house verse nine. When David heard
• 54:13
  Speaker 1: about it, he asked, Uriah, haven't you just come from
• 54:17
  Speaker 1: a journey. Why didn't you go home. Uriah's reply revealed
• 54:21
  Speaker 1: his noble character. The ark and Israel and Judah are
• 54:24
  Speaker 1: staying intense, and my commander Joab and my lord's men
• 54:28
  Speaker 1: are camped in the open country. How could I go
• 54:31
  Speaker 1: to my house to eat and drink and lie with
• 54:33
  Speaker 1: my wife? As surely as you live, I will not
• 54:36
  Speaker 1: do such a thing Verse eleven. In a second attempt,
• 54:39
  Speaker 1: David said to Euriah, stay here one more day and tomorrow,
• 54:44
  Speaker 1: I will send you back. So David had Euriah eat
• 54:48
  Speaker 1: and drink with him, and he made him drunk, hoping
• 54:51
  Speaker 1: that under the influence of alcohol, the soldier might lower
• 54:55
  Speaker 1: his guard. But even inebriated, in the evening, Uriah went
• 54:59
  Speaker 1: out to sleep on his mat among his master's servants.
• 55:03
  Speaker 1: He did not go home verse thirteen. The failure of
• 55:07
  Speaker 1: his plan drove David to commit an even graver sin.
• 55:12
  Speaker 1: The same man who once refused to raise a hand
• 55:15
  Speaker 1: against Saul the lords anointed, now coldly plotted the death
• 55:20
  Speaker 1: of one of his loyal soldiers. This episode with Bathsheba
• 55:24
  Speaker 1: marked a dramatic fall for David. The same man who
• 55:28
  Speaker 1: had shown mercy to Mefibusheth and composed beautiful psalms of
• 55:32
  Speaker 1: praise to God now gave in to lust, adultery, and
• 55:36
  Speaker 1: soon to follow murder. The story serves as a warning
• 55:41
  Speaker 1: of how even people of great faith and character can
• 55:43
  Speaker 1: fall when they lower their guard and give in to temptation.
• 55:48
  Speaker 1: Faced with the failure of his attempts to cover up
• 55:51
  Speaker 1: the affair, David resorted to desperate measures. In chapter eleven,
• 55:56
  Speaker 1: verse fourteen. In the morning, David wrote a letter to
• 55:59
  Speaker 1: Joab and sent it with Uriah. In that letter, David
• 56:03
  Speaker 1: gave Sinister instructions. Put Euriah in the front line, where
• 56:07
  Speaker 1: the fighting is fiercest, then withdraw from him so he
• 56:10
  Speaker 1: will be struck down and die verse fifteen. The cruel
• 56:14
  Speaker 1: irony is that Uriah himself unknowingly carried the very letter
• 56:19
  Speaker 1: that sealed his fate, a tragic testimony to the trust
• 56:22
  Speaker 1: he placed in his king. Joab received the letter and
• 56:26
  Speaker 1: carried out David's orders. So, while Joab had the city
• 56:31
  Speaker 1: under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he
• 56:35
  Speaker 1: knew the strongest defenders were verse sixteen. When the city's
• 56:40
  Speaker 1: soldiers came out to fight, some of the men in
• 56:42
  Speaker 1: David's army fell. Moreover, Euriah the Hittite died verse seventeen.
• 56:48
  Speaker 1: Joab then sent a messenger to report to David about
• 56:51
  Speaker 1: the battle. He instructed the messenger, after you have given
• 56:56
  Speaker 1: the king this account of the battle, the King's anger
• 57:00
  Speaker 1: flare up, and he may ask you, why did you
• 57:03
  Speaker 1: get so close to the city to fight? Didn't you
• 57:06
  Speaker 1: know they would shoot arrows from the wall? Who killed Abimelech,
• 57:10
  Speaker 1: son of Jerubsheth? Didn't a woman throw an upper millstone
• 57:13
  Speaker 1: on him from the wall, so that he died in thebes.
• 57:16
  Speaker 1: Why did you get so close to the wall. If
• 57:19
  Speaker 1: he asks you this, then say to him moreover, your servant, Uriah,
• 57:25
  Speaker 1: the Hittite is dead Verses nineteen to twenty one. The
• 57:28
  Speaker 1: messenger went and told David everything Joab had instructed him
• 57:33
  Speaker 1: when he reported Uriah's death. David responded with calculated indifference.
• 57:38
  Speaker 1: Say this to Joab, don't let this upset you. The
• 57:42
  Speaker 1: sword devours one as well as another. Press the attack
• 57:45
  Speaker 1: against the city and destroy it. Say this to encourage
• 57:49
  Speaker 1: Joab verse twenty five. When Bathsheba heard that her husband
• 57:53
  Speaker 1: was dead, she mourned for him verse twenty six. After
• 57:57
  Speaker 1: the period of mourning, David had her brought to his house,
• 58:02
  Speaker 1: and she became his wife and bore him a son
• 58:05
  Speaker 1: verse twenty seven. The text ends this episode with a
• 58:09
  Speaker 1: solemn statement, but the thing David had done displeased the Lord.
• 58:14
  Speaker 1: This simple but weighty conclusion makes it clear that although
• 58:17
  Speaker 1: David managed to hide his sin from people, he could
• 58:21
  Speaker 1: not escape divine judgment. David's conspiracy against Uriah reveals the
• 58:27
  Speaker 1: depth of his moral collapse. The man who once spared
• 58:32
  Speaker 1: Saul's life despite having justification and opportunity now schemed the
• 58:37
  Speaker 1: death of an innocent and loyal man. David had fallen
• 58:40
  Speaker 1: so far that he used his royal power not to
• 58:43
  Speaker 1: protect his people, but to sacrifice one of them for
• 58:47
  Speaker 1: his own gain. The contrast between Euriah and David in
• 58:51
  Speaker 1: this story is striking. Euriah, even when drunk, held on
• 58:56
  Speaker 1: to his integrity and refused to enjoy the comfort of
• 59:00
  Speaker 1: home while his comrades were at war. David, on the
• 59:03
  Speaker 1: other hand, remained in Jerusalem when he should have been
• 59:06
  Speaker 1: leading his army, and now used his authority to fulfill
• 59:10
  Speaker 1: selfish desires. David's conspiracy shows how one sin can lead
• 59:15
  Speaker 1: to another. What began as a lustful glance became adultery,
• 59:20
  Speaker 1: which led to deceit, and finally to murder. Each step
• 59:24
  Speaker 1: in this chain of sin took David further from being
• 59:27
  Speaker 1: a man after God's own heart. This story also illustrates
• 59:31
  Speaker 1: how power can corrupt. David used his authority as king
• 59:35
  Speaker 1: to summon Bathsheba, attempt to manipulate Uriah, and ultimately have
• 59:40
  Speaker 1: him killed. The power meant to serve the people was
• 59:43
  Speaker 1: turned into a weapon to destroy an innocent man. David's
• 59:48
  Speaker 1: plan seemed to have worked. Uriah was dead, Bathsheba was
• 59:53
  Speaker 1: now his wife, and the scandal had been avoided. But
• 59:57
  Speaker 1: God saw everything and would not let the go without consequences.
• 1:00:02
  Speaker 1: In Chapter twelve, verse one, the Lord sent Nathan to David.
• 1:00:06
  Speaker 1: The prophet approached the king with a parable There were
• 1:00:09
  Speaker 1: two men in a certain city, one rich and the
• 1:00:12
  Speaker 1: other poor. The rich man had a very large number
• 1:00:16
  Speaker 1: of sheep and cattle, but the poor man had nothing
• 1:00:18
  Speaker 1: except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it,
• 1:00:22
  Speaker 1: and it grew up with him and his children. It
• 1:00:24
  Speaker 1: shared his food, drank from his cup, and even slept
• 1:00:28
  Speaker 1: in his arms. It was like a daughter to him,
• 1:00:31
  Speaker 1: As verses one to three tell us, Nathan continued, Now
• 1:00:36
  Speaker 1: a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich
• 1:00:39
  Speaker 1: man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or
• 1:00:42
  Speaker 1: cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had
• 1:00:45
  Speaker 1: come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that
• 1:00:49
  Speaker 1: belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the
• 1:00:51
  Speaker 1: one who had come to him. According to verse four,
• 1:00:57
  Speaker 1: when David heard this story, he burned with anger against
• 1:01:00
  Speaker 1: the man and said to Nathan, as surely as the
• 1:01:04
  Speaker 1: Lord lives, the man who did this must die it,
• 1:01:07
  Speaker 1: as we read in verse five. Outraged at the injustice
• 1:01:11
  Speaker 1: in the parable, David added, he must pay for that
• 1:01:14
  Speaker 1: lamb four times over because he did such a thing
• 1:01:17
  Speaker 1: and had no pity. Then came the moment of confrontation.
• 1:01:22
  Speaker 1: Nathan said to David, you are the man as recorded
• 1:01:26
  Speaker 1: in verse seven. The prophet then delivered God's message. This
• 1:01:30
  Speaker 1: is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says. I
• 1:01:34
  Speaker 1: anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from
• 1:01:38
  Speaker 1: the hand of Saul. I gave your master's house to you,
• 1:01:41
  Speaker 1: and your master's wives into your arms. I gave you
• 1:01:45
  Speaker 1: all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been
• 1:01:47
  Speaker 1: too little, I would have given you even more. Why
• 1:01:51
  Speaker 1: did you despise the word of the Lord by doing
• 1:01:55
  Speaker 1: what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Euriah
• 1:01:59
  Speaker 1: the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to
• 1:02:01
  Speaker 1: be your own. You killed him with the sword of
• 1:02:04
  Speaker 1: the Ammonites. As verses seven to nine recount. Nathan then
• 1:02:08
  Speaker 1: pronounced divine judgment. Now, therefore the sword will never depart
• 1:02:13
  Speaker 1: from your house, because you despised me and took the
• 1:02:16
  Speaker 1: wife of Euriah the Hittite to be your own according
• 1:02:20
  Speaker 1: to verse ten, and he added, this is what the
• 1:02:23
  Speaker 1: Lord says, out of your own household. I am going
• 1:02:26
  Speaker 1: to bring calamity on you before your very eyes. I
• 1:02:29
  Speaker 1: will take your wives and give them to one who
• 1:02:32
  Speaker 1: is close to you, and he will sleep with your
• 1:02:34
  Speaker 1: wives in broad daylight. You did it in secret, but
• 1:02:38
  Speaker 1: I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.
• 1:02:42
  Speaker 1: As verses eleven and twelve declare. Faced with this direct confrontation,
• 1:02:47
  Speaker 1: David did not try to deny or justify his actions. Instead,
• 1:02:51
  Speaker 1: he confessed, I have sinned against the Lord, as stated
• 1:02:55
  Speaker 1: in verse thirteen. This sincere, though brief confession show that
• 1:03:00
  Speaker 1: David recognized his guilt not just against Uriah, but ultimately
• 1:03:05
  Speaker 1: against God. Nathan replied, the Lord has taken away your sin.
• 1:03:10
  Speaker 1: You are not going to die, But because by doing
• 1:03:13
  Speaker 1: this you have shown utter contempt for the Lord, the
• 1:03:16
  Speaker 1: son born to you will die. According to verses thirteen
• 1:03:20
  Speaker 1: and fourteen, divine forgiveness would not erase all the temporal
• 1:03:26
  Speaker 1: consequences of David's sin. Soon after, the Lord struck the
• 1:03:30
  Speaker 1: child that Uriah's wife had borne to David, and he
• 1:03:33
  Speaker 1: became ill. As verse fifteen says, Deeply distressed, David pleaded
• 1:03:38
  Speaker 1: with God for the child. He fasted and spent the
• 1:03:42
  Speaker 1: nights lying in sackcloth on the ground, As verse sixteen recounts,
• 1:03:47
  Speaker 1: The elders of his household tried to get him up
• 1:03:49
  Speaker 1: from the ground, but he refused and would not eat.
• 1:03:54
  Speaker 1: On the seventh day, the child died. David's attendants were
• 1:03:58
  Speaker 1: afraid to tell him, thinking, while the child was still alive,
• 1:04:01
  Speaker 1: we spoke to him, but he would not listen to us.
• 1:04:04
  Speaker 1: How can we now tell him the child is dead.
• 1:04:07
  Speaker 1: He may do something desperate, as verse eighteen records. But
• 1:04:11
  Speaker 1: David noticed his attendants whispering and realized the child was
• 1:04:16
  Speaker 1: dead when he asked them, and they confirmed it. Surprisingly,
• 1:04:20
  Speaker 1: David got up from the ground. After he had washed,
• 1:04:23
  Speaker 1: put on lotions, and changed his clothes. He went into
• 1:04:26
  Speaker 1: the house of the Lord and worshiped, as stated in
• 1:04:29
  Speaker 1: verse twenty. Then he returned to his own house, asked
• 1:04:33
  Speaker 1: for food and ate. His servants, confused by this sudden
• 1:04:37
  Speaker 1: change in behavior, asked, why are you acting this way.
• 1:04:40
  Speaker 1: While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but
• 1:04:43
  Speaker 1: now that the child is dead, you get up and eat.
• 1:04:46
  Speaker 1: As verse twenty one describes, David explained, while the child
• 1:04:50
  Speaker 1: was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, who knows?
• 1:04:55
  Speaker 1: The Lord may be gracious to me and let the
• 1:04:58
  Speaker 1: child live. But now that he's dead, why should I
• 1:05:00
  Speaker 1: go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I
• 1:05:03
  Speaker 1: will go to him, but he will not return to me.
• 1:05:07
  Speaker 1: According to verses twenty two and twenty three, this response
• 1:05:12
  Speaker 1: revealed David's acceptance of God's will and his faith in
• 1:05:16
  Speaker 1: life after death. The chapter then tells us that David
• 1:05:21
  Speaker 1: comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and
• 1:05:24
  Speaker 1: made love to her. She gave birth to a son,
• 1:05:27
  Speaker 1: and they named him Solomon. The Lord loved him, as
• 1:05:30
  Speaker 1: verse twenty four says. The text adds that God sent
• 1:05:33
  Speaker 1: the prophet Nathan to name the child Jedediah, meaning loved
• 1:05:36
  Speaker 1: by the Lord, showing that divine grace still rested on
• 1:05:41
  Speaker 1: David's house despite his sin. Nathan's confrontation and its aftermath
• 1:05:46
  Speaker 1: highlighted both God's justice and his mercy. On the one hand,
• 1:05:50
  Speaker 1: David would face serious consequences for his actions, a continuing
• 1:05:55
  Speaker 1: pattern of conflict within his family, as later as stories reveal.
• 1:06:00
  Speaker 1: On the other hand, God did not completely reject David.
• 1:06:04
  Speaker 1: His sincere repentance was accepted, and God continued to work
• 1:06:09
  Speaker 1: through him and his lineage. The parable Nathan used to
• 1:06:13
  Speaker 1: confront David was particularly powerful because it allowed the king
• 1:06:17
  Speaker 1: to see his own sin clearly, free from the distortions
• 1:06:21
  Speaker 1: of self interest and rationalization. In condemning the rich man
• 1:06:25
  Speaker 1: in the parable, David was in fact condemning himself, and
• 1:06:29
  Speaker 1: when Nathan said, you are the man, the king could
• 1:06:33
  Speaker 1: no longer deny his guilt. Psalm fifty one, traditionally attributed
• 1:06:37
  Speaker 1: to David after this episode, expresses the depth of his repentance,
• 1:06:42
  Speaker 1: Have mercy on me, O, God, according to your unfailing love,
• 1:06:46
  Speaker 1: blot out my transgressions according to your great compassion. This
• 1:06:50
  Speaker 1: heartfelt prayer of contrition shows that despite his fall, David
• 1:06:55
  Speaker 1: still had a heart sensitive to divine correction. After David
• 1:06:59
  Speaker 1: sinned with Bathsheba and the sword of divine justice was
• 1:07:03
  Speaker 1: pronounced upon his house, it didn't take long for the
• 1:07:06
  Speaker 1: prophecy to begin unfolding. The drama started with Amnon, David's
• 1:07:12
  Speaker 1: oldest son. In chapter thirteen, a terrible situation developed within
• 1:07:17
  Speaker 1: the royal family. Amnon, son of David, fell in love
• 1:07:21
  Speaker 1: with Tamar, the sister of Absalom, also a child of David.
• 1:07:26
  Speaker 1: Amnon became so obsessed with his sister Tamar that he
• 1:07:29
  Speaker 1: made himself ill. She was a virgin, and it seemed
• 1:07:33
  Speaker 1: impossible for him to do anything to her, say verses
• 1:07:36
  Speaker 1: one and two. Amnon's sick obsession with his half sister
• 1:07:41
  Speaker 1: consumed him. He had a friend named Jonadab, son of Shima.
• 1:07:46
  Speaker 1: David's brother. Jonadab was very shrewd and noticed something was
• 1:07:51
  Speaker 1: troubling the prince. Why do you the king's son looked
• 1:07:55
  Speaker 1: so dejected morning after morning. Won't you tell me what's
• 1:07:58
  Speaker 1: going on? Jonadah asked. Amnon confessed, I'm in love with Tamar,
• 1:08:03
  Speaker 1: my brother Absalom's sister. Instead of urging Amnon to restrain
• 1:08:07
  Speaker 1: his improper desires, Jonadab devised a wicked plan. Go to
• 1:08:12
  Speaker 1: bed and pretend to be sick. When your father comes
• 1:08:16
  Speaker 1: to see you, say to him, please let my sister
• 1:08:19
  Speaker 1: Tamar come and prepare some food in my sight, so
• 1:08:22
  Speaker 1: I may watch her and eat it from her hand,
• 1:08:25
  Speaker 1: he advised in verse five. Amnon followed this advice when
• 1:08:30
  Speaker 1: David came to visit him. Amnon asked that Tamar be
• 1:08:33
  Speaker 1: sent to prepare cakes for him. The king, unaware of
• 1:08:36
  Speaker 1: his son's intentions, sent word to Tamar, go to your
• 1:08:40
  Speaker 1: brother Amnon's house and prepare something for him to eat.
• 1:08:45
  Speaker 1: Tamar innocently went to Amnon's house, where he lay in bed.
• 1:08:49
  Speaker 1: She took some dough, kneaded it, made the cakes in
• 1:08:52
  Speaker 1: front of him, and baked them. She took the pan
• 1:08:55
  Speaker 1: and served him, but he refused to eat, say verses
• 1:08:59
  Speaker 1: eight and nine. Then Amnon ordered every one to leave,
• 1:09:02
  Speaker 1: leaving him alone with Tamar. When she approached with the food,
• 1:09:07
  Speaker 1: he grabbed her and said, come lie with me, my sister. Terrified,
• 1:09:13
  Speaker 1: Tamar pleaded with him, No, my brother, don't force me.
• 1:09:17
  Speaker 1: Such a thing should not be done in Israel. Don't
• 1:09:20
  Speaker 1: do this wicked thing. What about me? Where could I
• 1:09:23
  Speaker 1: go to get rid of my disgrace? And you, you
• 1:09:26
  Speaker 1: would be like one of the wicked fools in Israel.
• 1:09:28
  Speaker 1: Please speak to the king. He will not keep me
• 1:09:30
  Speaker 1: from being yours, as we read in verses twelve and thirteen.
• 1:09:35
  Speaker 1: But Amnon, consumed by his sick desire, refused to listen
• 1:09:39
  Speaker 1: to her, and since he was stronger than she, he
• 1:09:43
  Speaker 1: raped her. As verse fourteen, recounts, right after that horrific act,
• 1:09:48
  Speaker 1: something even darker happened. Amnon hated her with intense hatred.
• 1:09:54
  Speaker 1: In fact, he hated her more than he had loved her.
• 1:09:57
  Speaker 1: His obsession turned to loathing. Get up and get out,
• 1:10:00
  Speaker 1: he shouted. Devastated, Tamar replied, no, sending me away would
• 1:10:05
  Speaker 1: be a greater wrong than what you've already done to me.
• 1:10:08
  Speaker 1: But Amnon wouldn't listen. He called his servant and ordered,
• 1:10:12
  Speaker 1: get this woman out of here and bolt the door
• 1:10:15
  Speaker 1: after her. Tamar was wearing a long robe, the kind
• 1:10:18
  Speaker 1: the king's virgin daughters traditionally wore. She put ashes on
• 1:10:22
  Speaker 1: her head, tore the robe she was wearing, put her
• 1:10:25
  Speaker 1: hand on her head, and went away, weeping aloud as
• 1:10:28
  Speaker 1: she went. As Verse nineteen states, her brother Absalom saw
• 1:10:33
  Speaker 1: her and asked, has Amnon your brother been with you?
• 1:10:38
  Speaker 1: Be quiet for now, my sister, he is your brother.
• 1:10:42
  Speaker 1: Don't take this to heart. So Tamar remained desolate in
• 1:10:45
  Speaker 1: Absolom's house, while Absalom held on to a simmering hatred
• 1:10:49
  Speaker 1: for Amnon. When David heard all of this, he was furious.
• 1:10:53
  Speaker 1: According to verse twenty one, However, he took no action
• 1:10:57
  Speaker 1: to punish Amnon, perhaps because Amnon was his first born,
• 1:11:01
  Speaker 1: or because David felt morally compromised due to his own
• 1:11:05
  Speaker 1: sin with Bathsheba. This family tragedy marked the beginning of
• 1:11:09
  Speaker 1: the fulfillment of Nathan's prophecy. The sword would never depart
• 1:11:14
  Speaker 1: from David's house, and evil would rise from within his
• 1:11:17
  Speaker 1: own family. Amnon's crime against Tamar was only the first
• 1:11:22
  Speaker 1: in a string of tragedies that would plague the royal house.
• 1:11:25
  Speaker 1: Two years passed since Tamar's terrible ordeal, and Absalom patiently
• 1:11:31
  Speaker 1: waited for the right moment to avenge his sister's honor.
• 1:11:34
  Speaker 1: While David took no steps to punish Amnon, Absalom carefully
• 1:11:38
  Speaker 1: planned his revenge. In chapter thirteen, verse twenty three, we
• 1:11:42
  Speaker 1: read two years later, when Absalom's sheep were being sheared
• 1:11:47
  Speaker 1: at Balhazor near Ephraim, he invited all the king's sons
• 1:11:51
  Speaker 1: to come. Sheep shearing time was traditionally a festive occasion,
• 1:11:56
  Speaker 1: a perfect setting for a family gathering. Absalom went to
• 1:11:59
  Speaker 1: the king and said, said, your servant has shearers. Please
• 1:12:03
  Speaker 1: let the King and his attendants join me. David declined,
• 1:12:07
  Speaker 1: not wanting to be a burden on his son, even
• 1:12:10
  Speaker 1: after Absalom insisted. Then Absalom made a seemingly innocent request,
• 1:12:16
  Speaker 1: If you're not coming, then let my brother Amnon come
• 1:12:20
  Speaker 1: with us. The king asked why should he go with you,
• 1:12:26
  Speaker 1: but Absalom kept pressing, and David sent Amnon and the
• 1:12:30
  Speaker 1: rest of the king's sons with him. As we read
• 1:12:32
  Speaker 1: in verse twenty seven, the plan was in motion. Absalom
• 1:12:36
  Speaker 1: ordered his men watch Amnon when he's in high spirits
• 1:12:40
  Speaker 1: from drinking wine, and I give the signal, then strike
• 1:12:43
  Speaker 1: him down. Don't be afraid, haven't I given you this order?
• 1:12:46
  Speaker 1: Be strong and brave, As verse twenty eight states, during
• 1:12:50
  Speaker 1: e the banquet, when Amnon was drunk, Absalom's men did
• 1:12:54
  Speaker 1: to Amnon what Absalom had ordered. Then all the king's
• 1:12:57
  Speaker 1: sons got up, mounted their mule and fled. According to
• 1:13:02
  Speaker 1: verse twenty nine, as the princes made their way back
• 1:13:05
  Speaker 1: to Jerusalem, a distorted message reached David, Absalom has killed
• 1:13:10
  Speaker 1: all the king's sons. Not one of them is left. David, overwhelmed,
• 1:13:15
  Speaker 1: tore his robes and lay on the ground, and all
• 1:13:18
  Speaker 1: his servants stood by with their clothes torn. As seen
• 1:13:21
  Speaker 1: in verse thirty one. Jonadab, the same one who had
• 1:13:24
  Speaker 1: advised Amnon, then spoke to David, My lord should not
• 1:13:29
  Speaker 1: think they killed all the princes. Only Amnon is dead.
• 1:13:32
  Speaker 1: Absalom has been planning this ever since Amnon raped his
• 1:13:35
  Speaker 1: sister Tamar, as Verses thirty two and thirty three explain,
• 1:13:40
  Speaker 1: soon it was confirmed that only Amnon had died. The
• 1:13:44
  Speaker 1: rest of the king's sons arrived in Jerusalem weeping loudly.
• 1:13:48
  Speaker 1: The king and all his servants also wept very bitterly,
• 1:13:52
  Speaker 1: as Verse thirty six recounts, as for Absalom, he fled
• 1:13:56
  Speaker 1: and went to Talmai, son of Amihud, the king of Gesher.
• 1:14:00
  Speaker 1: Verse thirty seven tells us Yeshur was his mother's homeland,
• 1:14:04
  Speaker 1: where he would be safe. He stayed there three years
• 1:14:07
  Speaker 1: while David mourned for his son every day. Over time,
• 1:14:12
  Speaker 1: David's grief over Amnon faded, and he began longing for Absalom.
• 1:14:17
  Speaker 1: Absalom's revenge revealed his calculating and relentless nature. He waited
• 1:14:22
  Speaker 1: patiently for the right moment, carefully planned his actions, and
• 1:14:26
  Speaker 1: executed his vengeance without hesitation. The cost was steep. He
• 1:14:30
  Speaker 1: had to flee the Kingdom and live in exile, far
• 1:14:33
  Speaker 1: from his homeland and family. This episode deepened the crisis
• 1:14:37
  Speaker 1: within the royal family. Amnon, the first born and presumed
• 1:14:41
  Speaker 1: heir to the throne, was dead. Absalom, another key son,
• 1:14:47
  Speaker 1: was in exile, and David, torn between mourning one son
• 1:14:51
  Speaker 1: and longing for another, watched helplessly as his family fell
• 1:14:54
  Speaker 1: apart before his eyes. Fulfilling Nathan's prophecy, Absalom remained in
• 1:14:59
  Speaker 1: exile in god Yesha for three years. In Jerusalem, Joab
• 1:15:03
  Speaker 1: noticed that the king's heart longed for Absalom's return. Chapter
• 1:15:07
  Speaker 1: fourteen tells how Joab devised a plan to bring the
• 1:15:11
  Speaker 1: prince back. Joab sent to Tekoah and brought a wise
• 1:15:15
  Speaker 1: woman from there. He said to her, pretend to be
• 1:15:18
  Speaker 1: in mourning dress, in mourning clothes, don't anoint yourself with oil,
• 1:15:22
  Speaker 1: and act like a woman who has been grieving for
• 1:15:24
  Speaker 1: the dead a long time. As we read in verse two,
• 1:15:28
  Speaker 1: he instructed her on what to say to the king.
• 1:15:34
  Speaker 1: Two woman from Toccoah went to David, bowed down and
• 1:15:38
  Speaker 1: cried out, help me, O King. When David asked what
• 1:15:41
  Speaker 1: troubled her, she told a story about her two sons
• 1:15:45
  Speaker 1: your servant had two sons. They fought in the field
• 1:15:48
  Speaker 1: where there was no one to separate them, and one
• 1:15:51
  Speaker 1: struck the other and killed him. Now the whole family
• 1:15:55
  Speaker 1: has risen against your servant. They say, hand over the
• 1:15:58
  Speaker 1: one who struck his brother, so that we may put
• 1:16:01
  Speaker 1: him to death for the life he took. If they
• 1:16:04
  Speaker 1: do that, they'll extinguish my only remaining heir. As she
• 1:16:08
  Speaker 1: explains in verses six and seven, David promised to protect
• 1:16:12
  Speaker 1: her remaining son. Then the woman revealed the true purpose
• 1:16:16
  Speaker 1: of her visit. Why then, have you devised such a
• 1:16:19
  Speaker 1: thing against the people of God? By saying this, the
• 1:16:23
  Speaker 1: king convicts himself, for he has not brought back his
• 1:16:26
  Speaker 1: banished one. As verse thirteen says, She continued with a
• 1:16:30
  Speaker 1: moving reflection, we must all die. We are like water
• 1:16:35
  Speaker 1: spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again.
• 1:16:38
  Speaker 1: But God does not take away life. Instead, he devises
• 1:16:42
  Speaker 1: ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged
• 1:16:46
  Speaker 1: from him. From verse fourteen, David realized Joab was behind
• 1:16:51
  Speaker 1: it and asked the woman directly. She confirmed, your servant
• 1:16:55
  Speaker 1: Joab gave me these instructions, and it was he who
• 1:16:59
  Speaker 1: put all these words words into the mouth of your servant.
• 1:17:02
  Speaker 1: As verse nineteen recounts, David then summoned Joab and said,
• 1:17:07
  Speaker 1: very well, I will do this. Go bring back the
• 1:17:11
  Speaker 1: young man Absalom. As we read in verse twenty one,
• 1:17:15
  Speaker 1: Joab thanked him, went to Gesher and brought Absalom back
• 1:17:19
  Speaker 1: to Jerusalem, according to verse twenty three, but his return
• 1:17:23
  Speaker 1: did not mean full reconciliation. David ordered he must go
• 1:17:28
  Speaker 1: to his own house. He must not see my face.
• 1:17:32
  Speaker 1: So Absalom went to his own house and did not
• 1:17:35
  Speaker 1: see the king's face. As verse twenty four states, Absalom
• 1:17:39
  Speaker 1: was remarkable for his appearance. In all Israel, there was
• 1:17:43
  Speaker 1: no one so praised for his looks as Absalom. From
• 1:17:46
  Speaker 1: the soul of his foot to the crown of his head,
• 1:17:49
  Speaker 1: there was no blemish in him. As verse twenty five
• 1:17:52
  Speaker 1: tells us, his hair was especially impressive. Whenever he cut
• 1:17:56
  Speaker 1: the hair of his head, he used to cut it
• 1:17:59
  Speaker 1: once a year because it became too heavy. It weighed
• 1:18:02
  Speaker 1: two hundred shekels by the royal standard. According to verse
• 1:18:06
  Speaker 1: twenty six. Absalom had three sons and a daughter, whom
• 1:18:10
  Speaker 1: he named Tamar lightly in honor of his sister who
• 1:18:13
  Speaker 1: had been wronged. She was a beautiful woman. As verse
• 1:18:16
  Speaker 1: twenty seven notes. After two years in Jerusalem without seeing
• 1:18:20
  Speaker 1: the king, Absalom grew impatient. He sent messages to Joab
• 1:18:24
  Speaker 1: asking him to intervene, but Joab refused to come. After
• 1:18:28
  Speaker 1: being ignored a second time, Absalom told his servants, look,
• 1:18:33
  Speaker 1: Joab's field is next to mine, and he has barley there.
• 1:18:36
  Speaker 1: Go and set it on fire, and they did just that. Finally,
• 1:18:41
  Speaker 1: Joab came to Absalom's house and asked, why did your
• 1:18:44
  Speaker 1: servants set my field on fire. Absalom replied, I sent
• 1:18:49
  Speaker 1: for you and you wouldn't come. I want you to
• 1:18:51
  Speaker 1: go to the king and ask why did I come
• 1:18:54
  Speaker 1: from Gesher. It would have been better for me to
• 1:18:57
  Speaker 1: stay there. Now I want to see the King's face,
• 1:19:00
  Speaker 1: and if I'm guilty of anything, let him put me
• 1:19:02
  Speaker 1: to death. As stated in verse thirty two, Joab delivered
• 1:19:06
  Speaker 1: the message and David summoned Absalom. He came to the
• 1:19:11
  Speaker 1: king and bowed down with his face to the ground
• 1:19:14
  Speaker 1: before him, and the king kissed Absalom, as we read
• 1:19:18
  Speaker 1: in verse thirty three. On the surface, father and son
• 1:19:21
  Speaker 1: were reconciled, but as we'll see Absalom's heart was already
• 1:19:26
  Speaker 1: plotting betrayal. Absalom's return to Jerusalem was merely a superficial reconciliation.
• 1:19:33
  Speaker 1: Though he had finally been readmitted into the King's presence,
• 1:19:36
  Speaker 1: the years of exile and rejection had left deep scars
• 1:19:41
  Speaker 1: in Absalom's heart. Filial love had been replaced by ambition
• 1:19:45
  Speaker 1: and resentment, feelings that would soon take shape in action.
• 1:19:49
  Speaker 1: After being restored to the king's presence, Absalom began to
• 1:19:53
  Speaker 1: carry out an ambitious plan. In chapter fifteen, we see
• 1:19:57
  Speaker 1: how he carefully prepared a conspiracy to seize his father's throne.
• 1:20:02
  Speaker 1: Absalom got himself a chariot, horses, and fifty men to
• 1:20:06
  Speaker 1: run ahead of him. As verse one says, this show
• 1:20:09
  Speaker 1: of royal splendor clearly signaled his intentions. His strategy for
• 1:20:14
  Speaker 1: winning the people's hearts was clever. Absalom would rise early
• 1:20:19
  Speaker 1: and stand beside the road leading to the city gate.
• 1:20:23
  Speaker 1: Whenever some one came with a case to be judged
• 1:20:26
  Speaker 1: by the king, Absalom would call out and ask where
• 1:20:29
  Speaker 1: are you from Udrin, and the person would reply, your
• 1:20:32
  Speaker 1: servant is from such and such a tribe of Israel.
• 1:20:35
  Speaker 1: Then Absalom would say, look, your claims are valid and proper,
• 1:20:39
  Speaker 1: but there's no representative of the king to hear you,
• 1:20:43
  Speaker 1: as described in verses two and three. Then he'd make
• 1:20:46
  Speaker 1: a persuasive promise. If only I were appointed judge in
• 1:20:50
  Speaker 1: the land, then every one who has a complaint or
• 1:20:53
  Speaker 1: case could come to me, and I would see that
• 1:20:56
  Speaker 1: they received justice. As we read in verse four, and
• 1:20:59
  Speaker 1: when someone approached to bow down to him, Absalom would
• 1:21:03
  Speaker 1: reach out, take hold of him and kiss him, presenting
• 1:21:07
  Speaker 1: himself as approachable and warm and like the distant image
• 1:21:11
  Speaker 1: he painted of his father. This is how Absalom treated
• 1:21:14
  Speaker 1: all the Israelites who came to the king for justice,
• 1:21:17
  Speaker 1: and so he stole the hearts of the people of Israel.
• 1:21:20
  Speaker 1: As verse six concludes, for four years he worked methodically
• 1:21:25
  Speaker 1: to build his base of support. When he felt the
• 1:21:28
  Speaker 1: time was right, Absalom said to the King, let me
• 1:21:32
  Speaker 1: go to Hebron to fulfill a vow I made to
• 1:21:35
  Speaker 1: the Lord while your servant was living at Gesher in Aram.
• 1:21:39
  Speaker 1: I made this vow. If the Lord brings me back
• 1:21:42
  Speaker 1: to Jerusalem, I will worship him in Hebron. As verses
• 1:21:46
  Speaker 1: seven and eight recount David, unaware of his son's true intentions, replied,
• 1:21:52
  Speaker 1: go in peace. So Absalom went to Hebron. But he
• 1:21:55
  Speaker 1: sent messengers throughout all the tribes of Israel with this instruction.
• 1:22:00
  Speaker 1: As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet,
• 1:22:03
  Speaker 1: say Absalom is king in Hebron, as recorded in verse ten.
• 1:22:07
  Speaker 1: With Absalom went two hundred men from Jerusalem who had
• 1:22:11
  Speaker 1: been invited by him. They went innocently, knowing nothing, says
• 1:22:15
  Speaker 1: verse eleven. He also sent for Ahithefel, the Gilonite, David's counselor,
• 1:22:20
  Speaker 1: from his home town of Giloh. While he was offering sacrifices.
• 1:22:25
  Speaker 1: The conspiracy gained strength, and Absalom's following kept growing. As
• 1:22:30
  Speaker 1: Verse twelve recounts, a Hitherefel's involvement was a heavy blow
• 1:22:34
  Speaker 1: to David. This counselor was renowned for his wisdom. The
• 1:22:39
  Speaker 1: advice a Hitherefel gave in those days was like that
• 1:22:42
  Speaker 1: of one who inquires of God, as described in Second
• 1:22:46
  Speaker 1: Samuel sixteen twenty three. Some scholars suggest a Hithefel may
• 1:22:51
  Speaker 1: have been Bathsheba's grandfather, which could explain his bitterness toward David.
• 1:22:56
  Speaker 1: Soon the news reached David. The hearts of the men
• 1:23:00
  Speaker 1: of Israel are with Absalom. As stated in verse thirteen,
• 1:23:05
  Speaker 1: the conspiracy had reached a critical point, and the king
• 1:23:09
  Speaker 1: had to act swiftly to preserve his life and that
• 1:23:12
  Speaker 1: of his loyal followers. Absalom's conspiracy marks one of the
• 1:23:17
  Speaker 1: most bitter chapters in David's life. His own son, whom
• 1:23:21
  Speaker 1: he had forgiven and welcome back, now turned against him
• 1:23:24
  Speaker 1: to seize his throne. Personal betrayal merged with political crisis,
• 1:23:29
  Speaker 1: creating a dangerous situation for the king. Absalam's strategy was
• 1:23:34
  Speaker 1: remarkably effective. He identified weaknesses in his father's rule, especially
• 1:23:39
  Speaker 1: in matters of justice, and presented himself as a better alternative.
• 1:23:44
  Speaker 1: His striking appearance, combined with charm and generous promises, won
• 1:23:49
  Speaker 1: over many hearts. He also demonstrated calculated patients, working for
• 1:23:55
  Speaker 1: years to build his support base before striking. But Absalom's
• 1:23:59
  Speaker 1: conspiracy he was not merely political. It was the culmination
• 1:24:03
  Speaker 1: of the consequences of David's own sin. As foretold by
• 1:24:06
  Speaker 1: the prophet Dathan, evil rose from within the king's own house,
• 1:24:11
  Speaker 1: threatening to undo everything he had built. When David heard
• 1:24:15
  Speaker 1: about Absalom's rebellion, he made a surprising decision. Rather than
• 1:24:20
  Speaker 1: fortifying himself in Jerusalem and resisting the attack, the seasoned
• 1:24:25
  Speaker 1: warrior chose to retreat, at least for the time being.
• 1:24:29
  Speaker 1: David said to all his servants who were with him
• 1:24:32
  Speaker 1: in Jerusalem, let us arise and flee, or we will
• 1:24:36
  Speaker 1: not escape from Absalom. Hurry, or he will overtake us quickly,
• 1:24:40
  Speaker 1: bring disaster upon us, and strike the city with the
• 1:24:44
  Speaker 1: edge of the sword, as we read in chapter fifteen,
• 1:24:47
  Speaker 1: verse fourteen. The king's servants responded with loyalty. Your servants
• 1:24:53
  Speaker 1: are ready to do whatever our lord, the king decides.
• 1:24:57
  Speaker 1: So the king set out with his entire household, but
• 1:25:01
  Speaker 1: left ten concubines behind to take care of the palace.
• 1:25:05
  Speaker 1: Says verse sixteen. David's departure from Jerusalem was a somber procession.
• 1:25:13
  Speaker 1: The king set out on foot, and all the people
• 1:25:16
  Speaker 1: followed him. They halted at a distant place. Verse seventeen
• 1:25:20
  Speaker 1: notes his servants marched with him, including the Cherithites and Pelethites,
• 1:25:25
  Speaker 1: his personal bodyguard, and six hundred Gittites who had followed
• 1:25:30
  Speaker 1: him from Gath. Among them was Ittai, the Gittite commander
• 1:25:35
  Speaker 1: of these six hundred men. Concerned for his well being,
• 1:25:39
  Speaker 1: David told him, why should you come along with us?
• 1:25:42
  Speaker 1: Go back and stay with the king, For you are
• 1:25:44
  Speaker 1: a foreigner and an exile from your homeland. You came
• 1:25:48
  Speaker 1: only yesterday. Should I now make you wander with us?
• 1:25:52
  Speaker 1: Go back and take your brothers with you. May mercy
• 1:25:54
  Speaker 1: and truth be with you, as we read in verses
• 1:25:57
  Speaker 1: nineteen and twenty, but Ittai rescis bonded with extraordinary loyalty.
• 1:26:03
  Speaker 1: As surely as the Lord lives, and as my Lord
• 1:26:06
  Speaker 1: the King lives. Wherever my Lord the King may be,
• 1:26:09
  Speaker 1: whether it means life or death, there your servant will be.
• 1:26:13
  Speaker 1: Verse twenty one declares. Moved by this devotion, David allowed
• 1:26:18
  Speaker 1: it Taie and his men to go with him. All
• 1:26:21
  Speaker 1: the people were weeping loudly as the king passed by.
• 1:26:24
  Speaker 1: He crossed the Kidron Valley, and all the people moved
• 1:26:28
  Speaker 1: on toward the wilderness. Verse twenty three says the priests
• 1:26:32
  Speaker 1: Zadok and Abiathar were also there, carrying the Ark of
• 1:26:35
  Speaker 1: the Covenant. But David commanded take the Ark of God
• 1:26:39
  Speaker 1: back into the city. If I find favor in the
• 1:26:42
  Speaker 1: Lord's eyes. He will bring me back and let me
• 1:26:45
  Speaker 1: see it in his dwelling place again. But if he
• 1:26:48
  Speaker 1: says I am not pleased with you, then I am
• 1:26:51
  Speaker 1: ready let him do to me whatever seems good to him,
• 1:26:54
  Speaker 1: As found in verses twenty five and twenty six. David
• 1:26:58
  Speaker 1: also saw a strategic opportunity to keep informants in the city.
• 1:27:02
  Speaker 1: He said to Zadok, aunt you a seer returned to
• 1:27:06
  Speaker 1: the city in peace, you and your son Ahimaz and
• 1:27:09
  Speaker 1: Jonathan's son of Abiathar. I'll wait at the fords in
• 1:27:13
  Speaker 1: the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me,
• 1:27:16
  Speaker 1: as noted in verses twenty seven and twenty eight. So
• 1:27:20
  Speaker 1: the Ark and the priests returned to Jerusalem. David continued
• 1:27:24
  Speaker 1: up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, his
• 1:27:27
  Speaker 1: head covered and barefoot. All the people with him covered
• 1:27:31
  Speaker 1: their heads and wept as they went up. As verse
• 1:27:33
  Speaker 1: thirty describes, when David learned that a Hithefel was among
• 1:27:38
  Speaker 1: the conspirators with Absalom, he prayed, O Lord, turn a
• 1:27:42
  Speaker 1: Hitherefel's counsel into foolishness. At the summit where people used
• 1:27:47
  Speaker 1: to worship God, David was met by Hushai the Arkite,
• 1:27:51
  Speaker 1: with his robe torn and dust on his head, mourning
• 1:27:54
  Speaker 1: the dire situation. Seeing another opportunity, David said to Hushai,
• 1:28:00
  Speaker 1: if you go with me, you'll be a burden to me.
• 1:28:04
  Speaker 1: But if you return to the city and say to Absalom,
• 1:28:07
  Speaker 1: your majesty, I will be your servant. I was your
• 1:28:10
  Speaker 1: father's servant in the past, but now I will be
• 1:28:14
  Speaker 1: your servant. Then you can help me by frustrating Ahitherefel's advice,
• 1:28:18
  Speaker 1: as we read in verses thirty three and thirty four,
• 1:28:22
  Speaker 1: David explained that the priests Zadok and a Biath would
• 1:28:25
  Speaker 1: be there, and that Hushai could send him information through
• 1:28:29
  Speaker 1: their sons. So Hushai, David's friend, returned to Jerusalem just
• 1:28:34
  Speaker 1: as Absalom was entering the city, concludes verse thirty seven.
• 1:28:39
  Speaker 1: David's flight from Jerusalem represents a moment of deep humiliation.
• 1:28:43
  Speaker 1: The man who had once conquered the city and made
• 1:28:47
  Speaker 1: it his capital was now abandoning it. Fleeing from his
• 1:28:50
  Speaker 1: own son, he walked barefoot, weeping with his head covered
• 1:28:54
  Speaker 1: in mourning, a dramatic contrast to the victorious David of
• 1:28:58
  Speaker 1: earlier years. In the midst of crisis, David's wisdom as
• 1:29:02
  Speaker 1: a leader and strategist became evident. He chose not to
• 1:29:06
  Speaker 1: engage in an urban battle that could destroy Jerusalem and
• 1:29:09
  Speaker 1: kill many innocent people. Instead, he set up a network
• 1:29:13
  Speaker 1: of informants within the city to stay updated on Absalom's movements.
• 1:29:18
  Speaker 1: He also found a way to neutralize the dreaded Council
• 1:29:22
  Speaker 1: of Ahitherfel. David's flight also revealed who his true friends were.
• 1:29:28
  Speaker 1: Some like Ittai, showed extraordinary loyalty, while others like Ahitherefel,
• 1:29:34
  Speaker 1: betrayed him. This painful separation between the wheat and the
• 1:29:39
  Speaker 1: chaff allowed David to know who he could truly rely
• 1:29:43
  Speaker 1: on in a time of crisis. As David fled along
• 1:29:47
  Speaker 1: the slope of the Mount of Olives, another drama was
• 1:29:51
  Speaker 1: unfolding in Jerusalem. Absalom had entered the city and taken
• 1:29:54
  Speaker 1: over the palace, but now he needed to decide his
• 1:29:58
  Speaker 1: next move. For that, he would turn to two advisers,
• 1:30:03
  Speaker 1: a Hithafel, David's former counselor who had joined the conspiracy,
• 1:30:08
  Speaker 1: and Hushai, David's friend who pretended to support Absalom. In
• 1:30:12
  Speaker 1: order to sabotage his plans. In chapter sixteen, when Absalom
• 1:30:17
  Speaker 1: asked a Hitherefel what he should do, the advice was
• 1:30:20
  Speaker 1: blunt and scandalous. Sleep with your father's concubines, whom he
• 1:30:26
  Speaker 1: left to take a care of the palace. Then all
• 1:30:29
  Speaker 1: Israel will hear that you have made yourself obnoxious to
• 1:30:33
  Speaker 1: your father, and the hands of every one with you
• 1:30:35
  Speaker 1: will be strengthened. As we read in verse twenty one,
• 1:30:38
  Speaker 1: this advice had a twisted logic. In ancient culture, taking
• 1:30:43
  Speaker 1: a king's concubines was a public declaration of seizing his throne.
• 1:30:47
  Speaker 1: The act would make reconciliation between father and son impossible,
• 1:30:52
  Speaker 1: thereby strengthening the loyalty of Absalom's followers. So they pitched
• 1:30:57
  Speaker 1: a tent for Absalom on the roof, and he slept
• 1:31:00
  Speaker 1: with his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel.
• 1:31:03
  Speaker 1: As verse twenty two states, unknowingly, Absalom was fulfilling Nathan's
• 1:31:08
  Speaker 1: prophecy to David, I will take your wives before your
• 1:31:11
  Speaker 1: eyes and give them to someone close to you, and
• 1:31:14
  Speaker 1: he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. In
• 1:31:18
  Speaker 1: chapter seventeen, a Hitherfel offered another decisive plan. Let me
• 1:31:23
  Speaker 1: choose twelve thousand men and set out to night in
• 1:31:26
  Speaker 1: pursuit of David. I would attack him while he is
• 1:31:29
  Speaker 1: weary and weak. I would strike down only the king.
• 1:31:32
  Speaker 1: As we read in verses one and two, the idea
• 1:31:35
  Speaker 1: was to act swiftly before David had a chance to
• 1:31:38
  Speaker 1: regroup and prepare a defense. The plan pleased Absalom, but
• 1:31:44
  Speaker 1: he also wanted to hear Hushai's opinion. Knowing he had
• 1:31:48
  Speaker 1: to undermine a Hitherefel's plan to save David, Hushai proposed
• 1:31:52
  Speaker 1: an alternative strategy. This time, the advice a Hitherafel has
• 1:31:56
  Speaker 1: given is not good. Hushai began. You know your father
• 1:32:00
  Speaker 1: and his men. They are fighters and as fierce as
• 1:32:02
  Speaker 1: a wild bear robbed of her cubs. Besides, your father
• 1:32:06
  Speaker 1: is an experienced warrior. He will not spend the night
• 1:32:09
  Speaker 1: with the troops, as verses seven and eight say, Hushai
• 1:32:13
  Speaker 1: went on, right now, he is probably hiding in a
• 1:32:16
  Speaker 1: cave or some other place. If he attacks and some
• 1:32:20
  Speaker 1: of your men fall, it will be reported that there
• 1:32:23
  Speaker 1: has been a slaughter among Absalom's followers. Then even the
• 1:32:26
  Speaker 1: bravest soldier whose heart is like the heart of a lion,
• 1:32:30
  Speaker 1: will melt with fear. For all Israel knows that your
• 1:32:34
  Speaker 1: father is a mighty warrior, and that those with him
• 1:32:37
  Speaker 1: are valiant, as stated in verses nine and ten. Then
• 1:32:41
  Speaker 1: Hushai laid out a different strategy. I advise that all Israel,
• 1:32:47
  Speaker 1: from Dan to Beersheba, as numerous as the sand on
• 1:32:50
  Speaker 1: the sea shore, be gathered to you, with you yourself
• 1:32:54
  Speaker 1: leading them into battle. Then we will attack him wherever
• 1:32:57
  Speaker 1: he may be found, and we will fall on him.
• 1:33:00
  Speaker 1: As due settles on the ground, neither he nor any
• 1:33:03
  Speaker 1: of his men will be left alive. According to verses
• 1:33:06
  Speaker 1: eleven and twelve, this advice appealed to Absalom's vanity, suggesting
• 1:33:11
  Speaker 1: he personally lead a grand army, and also seemed safer
• 1:33:15
  Speaker 1: as it allowed for an overwhelming force to be assembled
• 1:33:19
  Speaker 1: against David. Absalom and all the men of Israel said,
• 1:33:23
  Speaker 1: the advice of Hushai, the Archite, is better than that
• 1:33:26
  Speaker 1: of a Hitheraphel. As verse fourteen notes, the text adds,
• 1:33:31
  Speaker 1: for the lord had determined to frustrate the good advice
• 1:33:34
  Speaker 1: of a Hitherefel in order to bring disaster on Absalom.
• 1:33:38
  Speaker 1: Hushai immediately informed the priest Zadok and Abiathar of what
• 1:33:43
  Speaker 1: had happened. A Hitherefhel has advised Absalom and the elders
• 1:33:47
  Speaker 1: of Israel in such and such a manner, and I
• 1:33:50
  Speaker 1: have advised in this and that way. Now send a
• 1:33:53
  Speaker 1: message quickly and tell David. Do not spend the night
• 1:33:56
  Speaker 1: at the wilderness ford, but cross over at once a
• 1:34:00
  Speaker 1: king and everyone with him will be swallowed up. As
• 1:34:03
  Speaker 1: we read in verses fifteen and sixteen Jonathan and ahimaas
• 1:34:07
  Speaker 1: the priests sons were waiting at the Enrosal spring on
• 1:34:12
  Speaker 1: the outskirts of Jerusalem to carry the message to David,
• 1:34:16
  Speaker 1: a servant girl went to inform them, and they left
• 1:34:20
  Speaker 1: to deliver the message to the king, for they could
• 1:34:22
  Speaker 1: not risk being seen entering the city, says verse seventeen.
• 1:34:26
  Speaker 1: But a boy saw them and reported it to Absalom.
• 1:34:29
  Speaker 1: The two young men fled and hid in the house
• 1:34:32
  Speaker 1: of a man in Bahurim, who had a well in
• 1:34:35
  Speaker 1: his courtyard. The man's wife took a covering, spread it
• 1:34:39
  Speaker 1: over the mouth of the well, and scattered grain on
• 1:34:41
  Speaker 1: it so that nothing was noticed. As verse nineteen says
• 1:34:45
  Speaker 1: when Absalom's servants arrived at the house and asked about
• 1:34:49
  Speaker 1: Jonathan and Ahimaas, the woman said they crossed over the brook.
• 1:34:55
  Speaker 1: The servants searched but found nothing and returned to Jerusalem.
• 1:34:59
  Speaker 1: After they had gone, Jonathan and ahima As climbed out
• 1:35:03
  Speaker 1: of the well and went to inform King David. Get
• 1:35:06
  Speaker 1: up and cross the river quickly, for Ahithafel has advised
• 1:35:10
  Speaker 1: such and such against you. As we read in verse
• 1:35:13
  Speaker 1: twenty one, this information was critical. It allowed David to
• 1:35:18
  Speaker 1: escape before absalom could reconsider and follow a Hitherefel's original plan.
• 1:35:25
  Speaker 1: David and all the people with him got up and
• 1:35:27
  Speaker 1: crossed the Jordan. By daybreak, not one was left who
• 1:35:31
  Speaker 1: had not crossed. According to verse twenty two, as for
• 1:35:34
  Speaker 1: a Hitherefel, when he saw that his advice had not
• 1:35:36
  Speaker 1: been followed, he saddled his donkey set out for his
• 1:35:40
  Speaker 1: house in his home town. He put his house in order,
• 1:35:43
  Speaker 1: and then hanged himself. So he died and was buried
• 1:35:47
  Speaker 1: in his father's tomb. As verse twenty three states, the
• 1:35:51
  Speaker 1: proud adviser, realizing that the rejection of his plan likely
• 1:35:55
  Speaker 1: meant Absalom's defeat, and his own downfall, chose to take
• 1:36:00
  Speaker 1: his own life. The battle of Council between a Hitherefel
• 1:36:04
  Speaker 1: and Hushai was a turning point in Absalom's rebellion. Though
• 1:36:10
  Speaker 1: no swords or spears were drawn, this battle of minds
• 1:36:14
  Speaker 1: determined the course of what was to come. Absalom's choice
• 1:36:17
  Speaker 1: to follow Hushai's advice gave David the crucial time he
• 1:36:21
  Speaker 1: needed to regroup his forces and prepare a proper defense.
• 1:36:26
  Speaker 1: This episode also shows how God was working behind the
• 1:36:30
  Speaker 1: scenes to protect David, using Hushai as an instrument to
• 1:36:34
  Speaker 1: thwart a Hitherefel's good advice, as the Biblical text itself
• 1:36:38
  Speaker 1: puts it, David's prayer on the Mount of Olives, O Lord,
• 1:36:43
  Speaker 1: turn a Hitherefel's counsel into foolishness was being answered. After
• 1:36:48
  Speaker 1: crossing the Jordan River, David arrived in Mahanaim, where he
• 1:36:53
  Speaker 1: reorganized his forces. David mustered the men who were with
• 1:36:56
  Speaker 1: him and appointed over them commanders of thousand and commanders
• 1:37:01
  Speaker 1: of hundreds. As we read in chapter eighteen, verse one,
• 1:37:05
  Speaker 1: he divided the army into three groups, a third under
• 1:37:09
  Speaker 1: the command of Joab, a third under Abeshai, son of Zurwya,
• 1:37:13
  Speaker 1: Joab's brother, and a third under Itai the Gittite. As
• 1:37:18
  Speaker 1: stated in verse two, the king declared that he himself
• 1:37:22
  Speaker 1: would go out with them into battle, but the men
• 1:37:25
  Speaker 1: persuaded him otherwise. You must not go out, for if
• 1:37:29
  Speaker 1: we are forced to flee, they won't care about us.
• 1:37:32
  Speaker 1: Even if half of us die, they won't care. But
• 1:37:35
  Speaker 1: you are worth ten thousand of us. It is better
• 1:37:39
  Speaker 1: that you stay in the city and send us help
• 1:37:41
  Speaker 1: from there. As verse three tells us, David agreed, I
• 1:37:45
  Speaker 1: will do whatever seems best to you. He stood beside
• 1:37:48
  Speaker 1: the city gate as all the troops marched out in
• 1:37:51
  Speaker 1: units of hundreds and thousands. At that moment, David gave
• 1:37:55
  Speaker 1: an order that revealed his fatherly heart, even in the
• 1:37:59
  Speaker 1: midst of rebellions. Be gentle with the young man Absalom,
• 1:38:03
  Speaker 1: for my za kay. All the commanders heard the king
• 1:38:07
  Speaker 1: give this command concerning Absalom. So the army marched into
• 1:38:11
  Speaker 1: the field to fight Israel, and the battle took place
• 1:38:14
  Speaker 1: in the forest of Ephraim. As verse six states, the
• 1:38:18
  Speaker 1: text describes a brutal conflict there. Israel's troops were defeated
• 1:38:23
  Speaker 1: by David's men and The casualties that day were great,
• 1:38:26
  Speaker 1: twenty thousand men. The battle spread out over the whole countryside,
• 1:38:31
  Speaker 1: and the forest swallowed up more men that day than
• 1:38:33
  Speaker 1: the sword. As verses seven and eight explain, this detail
• 1:38:37
  Speaker 1: suggests that the difficult terrain of the forest claimed many
• 1:38:41
  Speaker 1: of Absolom's inexperienced troops. In the midst of this chaos,
• 1:38:45
  Speaker 1: a fateful encounter occurred. Absalom happened to meet David's men.
• 1:38:50
  Speaker 1: He was riding his mule, and as the mule went
• 1:38:53
  Speaker 1: under the thick branches of a large oak, Absalom's head
• 1:38:57
  Speaker 1: got caught in the tree. He was left hanging in
• 1:39:00
  Speaker 1: mid air, while the mule he was riding kept going.
• 1:39:03
  Speaker 1: As described in verses nine and ten, a man saw
• 1:39:08
  Speaker 1: what happened and went to report it to Joab. I
• 1:39:12
  Speaker 1: saw Absalom hanging in an oak tree. Joab was furious
• 1:39:17
  Speaker 1: what you saw him? Why didn't you strike him down
• 1:39:21
  Speaker 1: right there? I would have given you ten shekels of
• 1:39:24
  Speaker 1: silver and a warrior's belt, as we read in verses
• 1:39:27
  Speaker 1: ten and eleven. But the man replied with integrity, even
• 1:39:31
  Speaker 1: if a thousand shekels were weighed out into my hands,
• 1:39:35
  Speaker 1: I would not lay a hand on the king's son.
• 1:39:37
  Speaker 1: We all heard the king command you, Abishai and Dettai,
• 1:39:41
  Speaker 1: protect the young man Absalom for my sake. As verse
• 1:39:44
  Speaker 1: twelve recounts, he added that if he had killed Absalom,
• 1:39:48
  Speaker 1: Joab himself would have turned him into the king. Joab responded,
• 1:39:52
  Speaker 1: I'm not going to waste time like this with you.
• 1:39:55
  Speaker 1: Taking three javelins in his hand, he plunged them into
• 1:39:58
  Speaker 1: Absalom's heart while Absalom was still alive in the oak tree,
• 1:40:02
  Speaker 1: as recorded in verse fourteen, Then ten of Joab's armor
• 1:40:06
  Speaker 1: bearers surrounded Absalom and finished him off. Joab then sounded
• 1:40:11
  Speaker 1: the trumpet, and the troops stopped pursuing Israel because Joab
• 1:40:16
  Speaker 1: halted them. They took Absalom, threw him into a big
• 1:40:19
  Speaker 1: pit in the forest, and piled up a large heap
• 1:40:21
  Speaker 1: of stones over him. Meanwhile, all the Israelites fled to
• 1:40:25
  Speaker 1: their homes. As verse seventeen narrates, it's ironic that Absalom,
• 1:40:31
  Speaker 1: so proud of his looks, especially his hair, met his
• 1:40:35
  Speaker 1: end because of it. It's also tragic that during his
• 1:40:38
  Speaker 1: life he had erected a monument for himself in the
• 1:40:41
  Speaker 1: King's valley, saying, I have no son to preserve the
• 1:40:44
  Speaker 1: memory of my name. Now instead of a glorious memorial,
• 1:40:49
  Speaker 1: he had a heap of stones over him, a mark
• 1:40:52
  Speaker 1: of disgrace. The battle in the Forest of Ephraim was decisive,
• 1:40:57
  Speaker 1: with Absalom's death the rebellion loss to both its leader
• 1:41:01
  Speaker 1: and its driving force. The Israelite troops, hastily assembled and
• 1:41:05
  Speaker 1: lacking the experience of David's veterans, were no match for
• 1:41:09
  Speaker 1: the seasoned warriors of the king, especially in such a
• 1:41:13
  Speaker 1: challenging terrain. Joab, though directly disobeying David's command to spare Absalom,
• 1:41:19
  Speaker 1: acted with the pragmatic ruthlessness that had always defined him.
• 1:41:23
  Speaker 1: In his view, Absalom's death was necessary to end the
• 1:41:27
  Speaker 1: rebellion once and for all, and to prevent further bloodshed. Still,
• 1:41:32
  Speaker 1: as we'll see next, his decision would cause deep anguish
• 1:41:35
  Speaker 1: for the king. With Absalom dead and the battle decided,
• 1:41:40
  Speaker 1: it was time to bring word to King David, who
• 1:41:43
  Speaker 1: waited anxiously in Mahanaim. Ahima's son of Zadok, asked Joab
• 1:41:49
  Speaker 1: for permission to run and deliver the good news to
• 1:41:51
  Speaker 1: the king, but Joab hesitated you are not the bearer
• 1:41:56
  Speaker 1: of news today. You may take news another day to day.
• 1:42:01
  Speaker 1: You shall not deliver the news because the king's son
• 1:42:05
  Speaker 1: is dead, as stated in Chapter eighteen, verse twenty. Instead,
• 1:42:09
  Speaker 1: he ordered a kushite, go tell the king what you
• 1:42:12
  Speaker 1: have seen. The man bowed before Joab and ran off. Still,
• 1:42:17
  Speaker 1: Ahimayas insisted, whatever happens, let me run behind the kushite.
• 1:42:22
  Speaker 1: When Joab asked why he wanted to go, Ahimayas didn't
• 1:42:25
  Speaker 1: give a clear answer. He simply repeated his desire to run.
• 1:42:29
  Speaker 1: At last, Joab relented run, so Ahimas took the plain
• 1:42:34
  Speaker 1: route and out ran the kushite. David was sitting between
• 1:42:38
  Speaker 1: the two city gates. The watchman on the roof above
• 1:42:40
  Speaker 1: the gate looked out and saw a man running alone.
• 1:42:44
  Speaker 1: As verse twenty four recounts, he called out and reported
• 1:42:48
  Speaker 1: it to the king. If he's alone, he must be
• 1:42:51
  Speaker 1: bringing news, David said. As the man came closer, the
• 1:42:55
  Speaker 1: watchman saw another runner and called out to the gate keeper. Look,
• 1:42:59
  Speaker 1: another man runs alone. The king said, he too, must
• 1:43:03
  Speaker 1: be bringing news. The watchman recognized the first runner. It
• 1:43:08
  Speaker 1: seems to me that the running of the first one
• 1:43:11
  Speaker 1: is like that of ahimah AA's son of Zadok. David replied,
• 1:43:15
  Speaker 1: he is a good man and comes with good news.
• 1:43:18
  Speaker 1: As we read in verse twenty seven, ahimah Aaz arrived
• 1:43:21
  Speaker 1: first and greeted the king peace. He bowed with his
• 1:43:25
  Speaker 1: face to the ground, and said, blessed be the Lord,
• 1:43:28
  Speaker 1: your God, who has delivered up the men who raised
• 1:43:31
  Speaker 1: their hand against my lord the king. As it says
• 1:43:34
  Speaker 1: in verse twenty eight, David asked anxiously, is the young
• 1:43:39
  Speaker 1: man Absalom safe? Ahimas answered evasively. I saw a great
• 1:43:44
  Speaker 1: commotion when Joab sent the King's servant and me your servant,
• 1:43:48
  Speaker 1: but I do not know what it was about. As
• 1:43:51
  Speaker 1: we read in verse twenty nine, it seems that Ahimas
• 1:43:55
  Speaker 1: knew of Absalom's death, but did not want to be
• 1:43:58
  Speaker 1: the one to bring the news to the king. David
• 1:44:00
  Speaker 1: told ay Mars to stand aside, and just then the
• 1:44:03
  Speaker 1: Kushite arrived and said, good news for my lord the King.
• 1:44:07
  Speaker 1: The Lord has avenged you to day of all who
• 1:44:10
  Speaker 1: rose up against you, As it says in verse thirty one,
• 1:44:14
  Speaker 1: Once again David asked, is the young man Absalom safe?
• 1:44:18
  Speaker 1: This time the Kushite answered directly. May the enemies of
• 1:44:22
  Speaker 1: my lord, the King, and all who rise up against
• 1:44:26
  Speaker 1: you to do harm be like that young man. As
• 1:44:28
  Speaker 1: it says in verse thirty two, this indirect response confirmed
• 1:44:33
  Speaker 1: Absalom's death. David's reaction was one of deep anguish. The
• 1:44:38
  Speaker 1: king was deeply moved and went up to the chamber
• 1:44:41
  Speaker 1: over the gate and wept. And as he walked he cried, O,
• 1:44:45
  Speaker 1: my son, Absalom, my son, my son, Absalom. If only
• 1:44:49
  Speaker 1: I had died in your place, O Absalom, my son,
• 1:44:52
  Speaker 1: my son. As verse thirty three recounts, news of the
• 1:44:57
  Speaker 1: king's griefs spread through the troops, Joab was told the
• 1:45:02
  Speaker 1: king is weeping and mourning for Absalom. As we read
• 1:45:06
  Speaker 1: in chapter nineteen, verse one, what should have been a
• 1:45:09
  Speaker 1: day of victory for David's army turned into a day
• 1:45:12
  Speaker 1: of mourning. The victory that day was turned into mourning
• 1:45:15
  Speaker 1: for all the people because on that day they were
• 1:45:18
  Speaker 1: told the king is grieving for his son. As verse
• 1:45:22
  Speaker 1: two says, the people entered the city stealthily, as people
• 1:45:27
  Speaker 1: who are ashamed steal away when they flee in battle.
• 1:45:31
  Speaker 1: As we read in verse three, meanwhile, the king covered
• 1:45:34
  Speaker 1: his face and cried out with a loud voice, Oh,
• 1:45:37
  Speaker 1: my son, Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son, Joab,
• 1:45:42
  Speaker 1: seeing how the king's reaction was affecting troop Moral, went
• 1:45:46
  Speaker 1: to confront him. To day, you have shamed all your servants,
• 1:45:51
  Speaker 1: those who saved your life, and the lives of your
• 1:45:54
  Speaker 1: sons and daughters, your wives and concubines. By loving those
• 1:45:58
  Speaker 1: who hate you and hating those who love you. You have
• 1:46:02
  Speaker 1: made it clear today that commanders and soldiers mean nothing
• 1:46:06
  Speaker 1: to you. As verses five and six state, Joeab continued
• 1:46:11
  Speaker 1: with a harsh warning. I see that if Absalom were
• 1:46:15
  Speaker 1: alive today and all of us were dead, it would
• 1:46:18
  Speaker 1: have pleased you. Well, now go out and speak encouragingly
• 1:46:21
  Speaker 1: to your men. I swear by the Lord that if
• 1:46:24
  Speaker 1: you don't go out, not a man will remain with
• 1:46:27
  Speaker 1: you tonight. This will be worse for you than all
• 1:46:30
  Speaker 1: the calamities that have come on you from your youth
• 1:46:32
  Speaker 1: till now. As we read in verses seven and eight,
• 1:46:36
  Speaker 1: Faced with this reality, David rose and sat in the gate.
• 1:46:41
  Speaker 1: When the people were told the king was sitting at
• 1:46:43
  Speaker 1: the gate, they all came before him. As verse eight says,
• 1:46:48
  Speaker 1: the immediate crisis was resolved, but David's sorrow over the
• 1:46:51
  Speaker 1: loss of his son would never fade. Absalom's death and
• 1:46:55
  Speaker 1: David's reaction reveal the personal and familial depth of the tragedy.
• 1:47:00
  Speaker 1: Beyond the political rebellion and the military battle. This was
• 1:47:04
  Speaker 1: the story of a father who lost a son he
• 1:47:07
  Speaker 1: loved despite all his son's faults. David's lament, if only
• 1:47:13
  Speaker 1: I had died in your place, Absalom, my son, my son,
• 1:47:18
  Speaker 1: expresses not just sorrow, but also guilt and regret. David
• 1:47:23
  Speaker 1: likely reflected on how his own failures as a father
• 1:47:26
  Speaker 1: and a man contributed to the tragedy. His sin with Bathsheba,
• 1:47:30
  Speaker 1: his failure to discipline Amnon after the rape of Tamar,
• 1:47:34
  Speaker 1: and his prolonged estrangement from Absalom after his exile. All
• 1:47:38
  Speaker 1: these events paved the way to this devastating outcome. Absalom's
• 1:47:43
  Speaker 1: death marked the end of the rebellion, but not the
• 1:47:47
  Speaker 1: end of the consequences of David's sin. As Nathan had prophesied,
• 1:47:52
  Speaker 1: the sword would never depart from his house, and more
• 1:47:55
  Speaker 1: conflicts would arise throughout his reign. Absalom'st Sori remains a
• 1:48:01
  Speaker 1: powerful reminder of how a chain of unresolved sins and
• 1:48:05
  Speaker 1: resentments can lead to devastating consequences for families and entire nations.
• 1:48:11
  Speaker 1: Though Absalom's death ended the rebellion, it created a new crisis.
• 1:48:16
  Speaker 1: The people of Israel were divided and uncertain. In chapter nineteen,
• 1:48:21
  Speaker 1: we see David beginning to take steps to restore his
• 1:48:24
  Speaker 1: reign and return to the capital. All the people throughout
• 1:48:28
  Speaker 1: the tribes of Israel were arguing among themselves, saying, the
• 1:48:32
  Speaker 1: king rescued us from the hand of our enemies and
• 1:48:35
  Speaker 1: saved us from the hand of the Philistines. But now
• 1:48:38
  Speaker 1: he has fled the land because of Absalom. Absalom, whom
• 1:48:42
  Speaker 1: we anointed to rule over us, has died in battle.
• 1:48:46
  Speaker 1: So why are we not talking about bringing the king back?
• 1:48:49
  Speaker 1: Would be as we read in verses nine and ten.
• 1:48:52
  Speaker 1: Noticing the people's hesitation, David sent a message to the
• 1:48:56
  Speaker 1: priests Zadok and Abiathar. Say, to the elders of Judah,
• 1:49:02
  Speaker 1: why should you be the last to bring the king
• 1:49:05
  Speaker 1: back to his house? The word of all Israel has
• 1:49:10
  Speaker 1: reached the king. You are my relatives, my own flesh
• 1:49:13
  Speaker 1: and blood, So why should you be the last to
• 1:49:16
  Speaker 1: bring back the king. As verses eleven and twelve say,
• 1:49:20
  Speaker 1: David also made a special gesture toward a Masa, who
• 1:49:24
  Speaker 1: had been the commander of Absalom's army. Say to a Massa,
• 1:49:28
  Speaker 1: are you not my flesh and blood? May God deal
• 1:49:30
  Speaker 1: with me, be it ever so severely if you are
• 1:49:33
  Speaker 1: not the commander of my army for life in place
• 1:49:36
  Speaker 1: of Joab. As we read in verse thirteen, this was
• 1:49:40
  Speaker 1: a strategic move to win over Absalom's former supporters and
• 1:49:44
  Speaker 1: also to sideline Joab, who had killed Absalom against David's orders.
• 1:49:50
  Speaker 1: The plan worked. He won over the hearts of all
• 1:49:53
  Speaker 1: the men of Judah, as though they were one man.
• 1:49:55
  Speaker 1: They sent word to the king, return you and all
• 1:49:59
  Speaker 1: your men. As verse fourteen says, the king began his
• 1:50:03
  Speaker 1: journey back, reaching the Jordan River. The men of Judah
• 1:50:07
  Speaker 1: went to Gilgal to meet him and help him cross. Shimeh,
• 1:50:12
  Speaker 1: son of Ghera, the Benjaminight, who had cursed David as
• 1:50:15
  Speaker 1: he fled Jerusalem, hurried down with the men of Judah
• 1:50:18
  Speaker 1: to meet the king. He brought with him a thousand
• 1:50:22
  Speaker 1: men from Benjamin, along with Zebra, the steward of Saul's
• 1:50:26
  Speaker 1: house and Zebra's fifteen sons and twenty servants. They all
• 1:50:30
  Speaker 1: crossed the Jordan ahead of the king to assist in
• 1:50:33
  Speaker 1: bringing the royal household over. As David was crossing over,
• 1:50:37
  Speaker 1: Shimeh fell before him and pleaded, May my Lord not
• 1:50:41
  Speaker 1: hold me guilty or remember the wrong your servant did
• 1:50:45
  Speaker 1: on the day my Lord the King left Jerusalem. May
• 1:50:49
  Speaker 1: the King not take it to heart, for your servant
• 1:50:51
  Speaker 1: knows that he sinned. That is why I have come
• 1:50:55
  Speaker 1: to day the first from the whole house of Joseph
• 1:50:58
  Speaker 1: to meet my Lord the King. As we read in
• 1:51:00
  Speaker 1: verses nineteen and twenty, Abeshi, son of Zerwiah and brother
• 1:51:05
  Speaker 1: of Joab wanted to kill Shaimh. Shouldn't she may be
• 1:51:09
  Speaker 1: put to death for cursing the lords anointed? He asked,
• 1:51:12
  Speaker 1: But David replied, what do you and I have in common,
• 1:51:15
  Speaker 1: you sons of Zeruiah, that you should become my adversaries
• 1:51:19
  Speaker 1: to day? Should any one be put to death in
• 1:51:21
  Speaker 1: Israel to day? Don't I know that to day I
• 1:51:24
  Speaker 1: am king over Israel, as seen in verses twenty one
• 1:51:27
  Speaker 1: and twenty two, and David swore to Shimah that he
• 1:51:31
  Speaker 1: would not kill him. Mephibusheth, Saul's grandson, also came down
• 1:51:36
  Speaker 1: to meet the king. He had not taken care of
• 1:51:39
  Speaker 1: his feet, trimmed his beard, or washed his clothes from
• 1:51:43
  Speaker 1: the day the king left until the day he returned
• 1:51:46
  Speaker 1: in peace. When David asked why he hadn't come with him,
• 1:51:49
  Speaker 1: Mephibashev replied, my Lord the King, my servant deceived me.
• 1:51:53
  Speaker 1: I said, I will saddle a donkey so I can
• 1:51:56
  Speaker 1: ride it and go with the king, for your servant
• 1:51:58
  Speaker 1: is lame. But he has slandered your servant to my
• 1:52:02
  Speaker 1: lord the king. As stated in verses twenty six and
• 1:52:06
  Speaker 1: twenty seven, Mephiboshev was referring to Zebra, who had told
• 1:52:10
  Speaker 1: David that Mephiboshev hoped to reclaim his grandfather's kingdom amid
• 1:52:14
  Speaker 1: the turmoil. In haste and without thorough investigation, David had
• 1:52:18
  Speaker 1: given Zebra all of Mephiboshef's possessions. Now realizing he may
• 1:52:22
  Speaker 1: have been misled, David said, you and Zebra are to
• 1:52:26
  Speaker 1: divide the land as in verse twenty nine. But Mephibushev,
• 1:52:30
  Speaker 1: proving his loyalty, replied, let him take it all. Now
• 1:52:34
  Speaker 1: that my lord the King has returned safely to his palace.
• 1:52:37
  Speaker 1: But Zili the Gileadite, an elderly man who had supported
• 1:52:41
  Speaker 1: David with supplies during his flight, also came to escort
• 1:52:45
  Speaker 1: the king across the Jordan. Out of gratitude, David invited
• 1:52:49
  Speaker 1: him come over with me and stay in Jerusalem, and
• 1:52:53
  Speaker 1: I will take care of you. But Barzilai, now eighty
• 1:52:57
  Speaker 1: years old, declined, how many more years will I live
• 1:53:01
  Speaker 1: that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem?
• 1:53:04
  Speaker 1: I am now eighty Can I tell the difference between
• 1:53:07
  Speaker 1: good and bad? Can your servant enjoy food and drink?
• 1:53:12
  Speaker 1: Can I still hear the voices of male and female singers?
• 1:53:16
  Speaker 1: Why should your servant be a burden to my lord
• 1:53:18
  Speaker 1: the King, as we read in verses thirty four and
• 1:53:21
  Speaker 1: thirty five. Instead, he suggested, let your servant return, that
• 1:53:26
  Speaker 1: I may die in my own town, near the tomb
• 1:53:29
  Speaker 1: of my father and mother. But here is your servant, Kimham.
• 1:53:34
  Speaker 1: Let him cross over with my lord the King. Do
• 1:53:38
  Speaker 1: for him whatever you wish, as verse thirty seven says,
• 1:53:41
  Speaker 1: David agreed and took Kimum with him, promising to do
• 1:53:45
  Speaker 1: for him whatever Basili desired. When the king crossed the Jordan,
• 1:53:49
  Speaker 1: He kissed Basili and blessed him, and the old man
• 1:53:52
  Speaker 1: returned to his home. Then a dispute arose. The men
• 1:53:57
  Speaker 1: of Israel asked the men of Judah, why did our brothers,
• 1:54:01
  Speaker 1: the men of Judah, secretly take the king and his
• 1:54:04
  Speaker 1: household across the Jordan along with all his men as
• 1:54:08
  Speaker 1: in verse forty one. The men of Judah replied, because
• 1:54:11
  Speaker 1: the king is closely related to us, Why are you angry?
• 1:54:15
  Speaker 1: Have we eaten at the king's expense? Has he given
• 1:54:18
  Speaker 1: us any gifts? But the men of Israel responded, we
• 1:54:22
  Speaker 1: have ten shares in the king, so we have more
• 1:54:26
  Speaker 1: claim on David than you. Why did you treat us
• 1:54:29
  Speaker 1: with contempt? Were we not the first to speak of
• 1:54:32
  Speaker 1: bringing back our king? As in verse forty three. The
• 1:54:36
  Speaker 1: heated exchange showed that though David was returning to the throne,
• 1:54:40
  Speaker 1: the divisions among Israel's tribes remained deeply rooted. Despite these tensions,
• 1:54:46
  Speaker 1: David managed to return to Jerusalem and reclaim his throne.
• 1:54:50
  Speaker 1: On this journey, he showed both strength and mercy, pardoning
• 1:54:54
  Speaker 1: enemies like Shimee, resolving disputes such as the one between
• 1:54:58
  Speaker 1: Mephibosheth and Zebra, and honoring loyal friends like Barzilai. These
• 1:55:03
  Speaker 1: qualities helped restore his authority, but the rift between the
• 1:55:07
  Speaker 1: northern tribes and Judah would remain a persistent challenge. Hardly
• 1:55:11
  Speaker 1: had David returned to his throne when a new threat emerged.
• 1:55:15
  Speaker 1: The ongoing tensions between Israel's northern tribes and the tribe
• 1:55:20
  Speaker 1: of Judah created fertile ground for yet another rebellion. In
• 1:55:25
  Speaker 1: chapter twenty now, a trouble maker named Sheba, son of Bikri,
• 1:55:31
  Speaker 1: a Benjamite, happened to be there. He sounded the trumpet
• 1:55:35
  Speaker 1: and shouted, we have no share in David, no part
• 1:55:38
  Speaker 1: in Jesse's son. Every man to his tent Israel. As
• 1:55:42
  Speaker 1: it says in verse one, the reaction was swift and troubling.
• 1:55:46
  Speaker 1: So all the men of Israel deserted David to follow
• 1:55:50
  Speaker 1: Sheba son of Bikri, But the men of Judah stayed
• 1:55:53
  Speaker 1: by their king all the way from the Jordan to Jerusalem,
• 1:55:58
  Speaker 1: a scene in verse two. Back in his palace, David
• 1:56:02
  Speaker 1: addressed a sensitive domestic matter, the ten concubines he had
• 1:56:06
  Speaker 1: left to care for, the house whom Absalom had publicly taken.
• 1:56:10
  Speaker 1: He confined them in a guarded house, providing for them,
• 1:56:14
  Speaker 1: but no longer going into them. They lived in seclusion
• 1:56:18
  Speaker 1: till the day of their death, as if widows, according
• 1:56:21
  Speaker 1: to verse three. With that settled, David turned his attention
• 1:56:26
  Speaker 1: to Sheba's revolt. He instructed a Massa, his new army commander,
• 1:56:31
  Speaker 1: summon the men of Judah to come to me within
• 1:56:33
  Speaker 1: three days and be here yourself. As verse four recounts,
• 1:56:38
  Speaker 1: David was fulfilling his promised to appoint a massa in
• 1:56:42
  Speaker 1: Joab's place. But Amasa went to summon Judah, but he
• 1:56:47
  Speaker 1: took longer than the time the king had set for him,
• 1:56:50
  Speaker 1: as we read in verse five. Concerned by the delay,
• 1:56:54
  Speaker 1: David told ABESHI, now Sheba, son of Vickri, will do
• 1:56:57
  Speaker 1: us more harm than Absla. Take your master's men and
• 1:57:02
  Speaker 1: pursue him, or he will find fortified cities and escape
• 1:57:06
  Speaker 1: from us. As in verse six, so Joab's men, though
• 1:57:10
  Speaker 1: officially under Abishiz's command, along with the Kerathites, Peleethites, and
• 1:57:15
  Speaker 1: all the Mighty warriors, left Jerusalem to pursue Sheba. When
• 1:57:19
  Speaker 1: they reached the Great Stone in Gibeon, a Massa came
• 1:57:23
  Speaker 1: out to meet them. Joab was wearing his military tunic
• 1:57:26
  Speaker 1: and strapped over it. At his waist was a sword
• 1:57:29
  Speaker 1: in its sheath. As he stepped forward, it dropped out.
• 1:57:33
  Speaker 1: As in verse eight, This seemingly minor detail would prove critical.
• 1:57:38
  Speaker 1: Joab greeted a Massa, how are you, my brother, and
• 1:57:42
  Speaker 1: took hold of a Massa's beard with his right hand
• 1:57:45
  Speaker 1: to kiss him, as in verse nine, But this friendly
• 1:57:50
  Speaker 1: gesture concealed deadly intent. A Marsa was not on guard
• 1:57:56
  Speaker 1: against the dagger in Joab's hand, and Joab plunged it
• 1:58:00
  Speaker 1: into his belly, spilling his intestines to the ground without
• 1:58:04
  Speaker 1: striking him again, a Massa died, as verse ten tells us,
• 1:58:09
  Speaker 1: Joab had murdered his cousin a Massa, just as he
• 1:58:12
  Speaker 1: had previously killed Abner years earlier, eliminating yet another rival
• 1:58:17
  Speaker 1: for command of the army. Without wasting time, Joab and Abishai,
• 1:58:23
  Speaker 1: his brother, pursued Sheba, the son of Bitri. As we
• 1:58:26
  Speaker 1: read in verse ten, one of Joab's men stood by
• 1:58:29
  Speaker 1: a Massa's body and proclaimed, whoever favors Joab and is
• 1:58:33
  Speaker 1: for David follow Joab, As stated in verse eleven, Seeing
• 1:58:38
  Speaker 1: that everyone who passed by stopped to look at the corpse,
• 1:58:41
  Speaker 1: the man removed a massa from the road to the
• 1:58:44
  Speaker 1: field and threw a garment over him because he saw
• 1:58:47
  Speaker 1: that everyone who came upon the body stopped. As verse
• 1:58:51
  Speaker 1: twelve recounts, Joab and his men pursued Sheba throughout the
• 1:58:56
  Speaker 1: territory of Israel until they reached the city of Abel
• 1:58:59
  Speaker 1: Beth Maaka in the far north. There they besieged Sheba
• 1:59:04
  Speaker 1: built a siege ramp against the city so that it
• 1:59:07
  Speaker 1: stood against the outer wall, and all the troops with
• 1:59:11
  Speaker 1: Joab battered the wall to bring it down. According to
• 1:59:14
  Speaker 1: verse fifteen, at this critical moment, a wise woman from
• 1:59:19
  Speaker 1: the city cried out, listen, tell Joab to come here
• 1:59:23
  Speaker 1: so I can speak to him. As we read in
• 1:59:25
  Speaker 1: verse sixteen, When Joab approached, she asked, are you Joab.
• 1:59:31
  Speaker 1: He answered, I am. Then she said, listen to the
• 1:59:35
  Speaker 1: words of your servant. Joab replied, I'm listening. The woman
• 1:59:39
  Speaker 1: then said, in the past people used to say, let
• 1:59:42
  Speaker 1: them ask advice at Abel, and that's how disputes were settled.
• 1:59:47
  Speaker 1: I am one of the peaceful and faithful in Israel.
• 1:59:51
  Speaker 1: You are trying to destroy a city that is a
• 1:59:54
  Speaker 1: mother in Israel. Why would you swallow up the lord's inheritance?
• 1:59:58
  Speaker 1: As recorded in verse eighteen and nineteen, Joab answered, far
• 2:00:03
  Speaker 1: be it from me to devour or destroy. That's not
• 2:00:07
  Speaker 1: the case. But a man named Sheba, son of Bitri,
• 2:00:10
  Speaker 1: from the hill country of Ephraim, has lifted his hand
• 2:00:13
  Speaker 1: against King David. Hand over this one man, and I
• 2:00:17
  Speaker 1: will withdraw from the city. As we read in verses
• 2:00:20
  Speaker 1: twenty and twenty one, showing great wisdom and diplomatic skill,
• 2:00:24
  Speaker 1: the woman said to Joab, his head will be thrown
• 2:00:27
  Speaker 1: to you over the wall. She went to the people
• 2:00:31
  Speaker 1: with her wise counsel, and they cut off the head
• 2:00:33
  Speaker 1: of Sheba, son of Bikri, and threw it to Joab,
• 2:00:37
  Speaker 1: as verse twenty two tells us, with the threat eliminated,
• 2:00:41
  Speaker 1: Joab sounded the trumpet, and all the troops dispersed from
• 2:00:44
  Speaker 1: the city, each to his own home, and Joab returned
• 2:00:48
  Speaker 1: to the king in Jerusalem. As verse twenty two continues,
• 2:00:52
  Speaker 1: The chapter ends with the list of David's officials showing
• 2:00:55
  Speaker 1: that order had been restored. Joab was over the entire
• 2:01:00
  Speaker 1: army of Israel. Benaiah, son of Jehoyada was over the
• 2:01:05
  Speaker 1: Karathites and Pelethites. Adoniram was in charge of forced labor. Jehoshafat,
• 2:01:11
  Speaker 1: son of Ahilud, was the recorder, Shava was the secretary,
• 2:01:15
  Speaker 1: Zadok and Abiathar were priests, and Ira the Jyrite was
• 2:01:19
  Speaker 1: also a priest of David. According to verses twenty three
• 2:01:22
  Speaker 1: through twenty six, Sheba's revolt, though less significant than Absalom's,
• 2:01:28
  Speaker 1: highlighted how tribal tensions were still very much alive in Israel.
• 2:01:33
  Speaker 1: The speed with which the northern tribes abandoned David revealed
• 2:01:38
  Speaker 1: that many Israelites didn't feel fully represented by his government.
• 2:01:42
  Speaker 1: The episode also revealed the darker side of Joab, who
• 2:01:46
  Speaker 1: didn't hesitate to kill Amasa to regain control of the army.
• 2:01:50
  Speaker 1: At the same time, it highlighted the wisdom of an
• 2:01:53
  Speaker 1: anonymous woman who, with carefully chosen words, saved her city
• 2:01:58
  Speaker 1: from destruction and end a conflict that could have sparked
• 2:02:02
  Speaker 1: another civil war. Some time later, Israel faced a severe crisis.
• 2:02:08
  Speaker 1: In chapter twenty one, we read that there was a
• 2:02:11
  Speaker 1: famine during the days of David for three consecutive years,
• 2:02:15
  Speaker 1: so David sought the Lord. As verse one states, the
• 2:02:18
  Speaker 1: persistence of the famine suggested that it wasn't merely a
• 2:02:21
  Speaker 1: natural problem, but one that required a spiritual response. When
• 2:02:27
  Speaker 1: David inquired of the Lord, he received a surprising answer.
• 2:02:31
  Speaker 1: It is because of Saul and his blood stained house,
• 2:02:34
  Speaker 1: because he put the Gibionites to death. As verse one continues,
• 2:02:39
  Speaker 1: this incident isn't recorded elsewhere in the Bible, but evidently
• 2:02:43
  Speaker 1: Saul had broken the ancient covenant Joshua had made with
• 2:02:47
  Speaker 1: the Gibionites. The Gibionites were a people who had lived
• 2:02:51
  Speaker 1: in the land before Israel's conquest. They had deceived Joshua
• 2:02:58
  Speaker 1: by pretending to come from a distant land and thereby
• 2:03:01
  Speaker 1: securing a peace treaty. Even after the truth was revealed,
• 2:03:05
  Speaker 1: Joshua honored the oath not to attack them, though he
• 2:03:08
  Speaker 1: assigned them to be woodcutters and water carriers for the Israelites.
• 2:03:13
  Speaker 1: The king summoned the Gibionites and spoke to them. As
• 2:03:16
  Speaker 1: verse two says, David explained that he was seeking a
• 2:03:20
  Speaker 1: way to make atonement for the wrong Saul had committed,
• 2:03:24
  Speaker 1: so that they might bless the Lord's inheritance, that is,
• 2:03:28
  Speaker 1: the people of Israel. The Gibeonites replied, it's not a
• 2:03:33
  Speaker 1: matter of silver or gold between us and Saul or
• 2:03:37
  Speaker 1: his house, nor is it for us to put anyone
• 2:03:39
  Speaker 1: to death in Israel, as we read in verse four.
• 2:03:43
  Speaker 1: But David insisted, whatever you say, I will do for you.
• 2:03:47
  Speaker 1: Then they requested, from the man who tried to destroy
• 2:03:51
  Speaker 1: us and who schemed to eliminate us so we would
• 2:03:54
  Speaker 1: have no place anywhere in Israel, let seven of his
• 2:03:58
  Speaker 1: descendants be given to us to be executed before the
• 2:04:01
  Speaker 1: Lord at Gibeah of Saul, the Lord's chosen one. As
• 2:04:06
  Speaker 1: verses five and six state, David said, I will give them,
• 2:04:12
  Speaker 1: But the king spared Mephibusheth, son of Jonathan, the son
• 2:04:15
  Speaker 1: of Saul, because of the Lord's oath that was between
• 2:04:19
  Speaker 1: David and Jonathan's son of Saul, as verse seven recounts, Instead,
• 2:04:24
  Speaker 1: the king took the two sons of Rispa, whom she
• 2:04:28
  Speaker 1: bought a Saul, along with the five sons of Merab,
• 2:04:32
  Speaker 1: Saul's daughter, whom she bore to Adriel, and handed them
• 2:04:35
  Speaker 1: over to the Gibeonites. As stated in verse eight, the
• 2:04:39
  Speaker 1: Gibeonites executed them on the mountain before the Lord, as
• 2:04:44
  Speaker 1: we read in verse nine it was the beginning of
• 2:04:47
  Speaker 1: the barley harvest, indicating this happened in the spring. Rispa,
• 2:04:52
  Speaker 1: the mother of two of the executed men, performed an
• 2:04:56
  Speaker 1: extraordinary act of devotion. She took sackcloth and spread it
• 2:05:00
  Speaker 1: out for herself on a rock from the beginning of
• 2:05:03
  Speaker 1: the harvest until the rain poured down from the heavens.
• 2:05:06
  Speaker 1: She did not allow the birds of the heir to
• 2:05:09
  Speaker 1: touch them by day, nor the wild animals by night.
• 2:05:12
  Speaker 1: As verse ten says, for months she protected the bodies
• 2:05:16
  Speaker 1: of the dead from scavengers in a poignant act of
• 2:05:19
  Speaker 1: mourning and maternal love. When David learned what Rispa had done,
• 2:05:25
  Speaker 1: he went and retrieved the bones of Saul and Jonathan,
• 2:05:29
  Speaker 1: his son, from the citizens of Jabesh Giliad, who had
• 2:05:32
  Speaker 1: stolen them from the public square at beth Shan, where
• 2:05:35
  Speaker 1: the Philistines had hung them after killing Saul in Gilboa.
• 2:05:40
  Speaker 1: As verse twelve recounts, David brought back the bones of
• 2:05:43
  Speaker 1: Saul and Jonathan, along with the bones of those who
• 2:05:46
  Speaker 1: had been hanged. They buried the bones of Saul and
• 2:05:50
  Speaker 1: his son Jonathan in the land of Benjamin at Zalah,
• 2:05:54
  Speaker 1: in the tomb of Kish his father, as Verse fourteen
• 2:05:57
  Speaker 1: recounts the text ads they did everything the king commanded.
• 2:06:02
  Speaker 1: After that, God responded favorably to the land. The famine
• 2:06:06
  Speaker 1: in Israel ended after this act of atonement, which restored
• 2:06:10
  Speaker 1: the justice that had been broken by Saul's actions against
• 2:06:13
  Speaker 1: the Gibeonites. This episode highlights an important biblical principle, the
• 2:06:19
  Speaker 1: sins of previous generations, especially those involving broken covenants, can
• 2:06:25
  Speaker 1: effect an entire nation until they are properly addressed. It
• 2:06:29
  Speaker 1: also reflects David's deep respect for oaths. He honored his
• 2:06:34
  Speaker 1: promise to Jonathan by sparing Mephibosheth, while also acknowledging the
• 2:06:38
  Speaker 1: legitimacy of the older oath Israel had sworn to the Gibeonites.
• 2:06:44
  Speaker 1: Risper's maternal devotion moved David deeply, prompting him to insure
• 2:06:49
  Speaker 1: a proper burial not only for the executed men, but
• 2:06:52
  Speaker 1: also for Saul and Jonathan, whose remains had not yet
• 2:06:57
  Speaker 1: received a dignified interment in their homeland. This compassionate act
• 2:07:02
  Speaker 1: marked the formal end of Saul's era and symbolized David's
• 2:07:07
  Speaker 1: reconciliation with that painful chapter in Israel's history. Although David's
• 2:07:12
  Speaker 1: reign was nearing its end, the old warrior still had
• 2:07:15
  Speaker 1: to confront Israel's traditional enemies. In chapter twenty one, we
• 2:07:20
  Speaker 1: read of four battles against the Philistines, with a focus
• 2:07:24
  Speaker 1: on confrontations involving the Giants of Gath. The Philistines again
• 2:07:29
  Speaker 1: made war against Israel. David went down with his men
• 2:07:33
  Speaker 1: and fought the Philistines. As verse fifteen says, the text
• 2:07:37
  Speaker 1: notes that David grew weary during the battle, a clear
• 2:07:40
  Speaker 1: indication that the king was now advanced in age and
• 2:07:44
  Speaker 1: no longer had the vigor of his youth. At this
• 2:07:47
  Speaker 1: vulnerable moment, Ishbi Benob, one of the descendants of the giants,
• 2:07:51
  Speaker 1: whose spear had weighed three hundred shekels of bronze and
• 2:07:55
  Speaker 1: who was armed with a new sword, sought to kill David.
• 2:07:59
  Speaker 1: As verse sixteen tells us, the king was in grave danger,
• 2:08:03
  Speaker 1: but Abeshi, son of Zioya, came to David's aid, struck
• 2:08:06
  Speaker 1: the Philistine, and killed him. According to verse seventeen, this
• 2:08:11
  Speaker 1: incident prompted David's men to make a solemn vow, never
• 2:08:15
  Speaker 1: again will you go out with us to battle, So
• 2:08:19
  Speaker 1: that the lamp of Israel will not be extinguished. They
• 2:08:22
  Speaker 1: understood that David's life was too precious to risk on
• 2:08:25
  Speaker 1: the battlefield. Still, the war with the Philistines went on.
• 2:08:30
  Speaker 1: After this, there was another battle with the Philistines at
• 2:08:34
  Speaker 1: gob Zibekai the Hushathite killed saf who was one of
• 2:08:38
  Speaker 1: the descendants of the Giants, says verse eighteen. Verse nineteen continues,
• 2:08:44
  Speaker 1: there was another battle with the Philistines at gob and
• 2:08:47
  Speaker 1: Elenan son of Jarre Oregim the Bethlehemite, struck down Goliath,
• 2:08:52
  Speaker 1: the Gittite, whose spear shaft was like a weaver's beam.
• 2:08:56
  Speaker 1: This verse has sparked debate among scholars as its seems
• 2:09:00
  Speaker 1: to mention another giant named Goliath, or possibly a relative
• 2:09:04
  Speaker 1: of the famous Goliath whom David had killed in his youth.
• 2:09:08
  Speaker 1: Then verse twenty recounts there was yet another battle at Gath,
• 2:09:14
  Speaker 1: where there was a man of great stature who had
• 2:09:17
  Speaker 1: six fingers on each hand and six toes on each
• 2:09:20
  Speaker 1: foot twenty four in all. He too was descended from
• 2:09:24
  Speaker 1: the Giants. When this warrior challenged Israel, Jonathan's son of Shimea,
• 2:09:29
  Speaker 1: David's brother, killed him. As Verse twenty one states, the
• 2:09:33
  Speaker 1: passage concludes with verse twenty two. These four were descendants
• 2:09:37
  Speaker 1: of Ruffa in Gath, and they fell at the hands
• 2:09:40
  Speaker 1: of David and his men. Ruffa appears to refer to
• 2:09:43
  Speaker 1: a lineage of giants from Gath known for producing exceptionally
• 2:09:47
  Speaker 1: large and powerful Philistine warriors. These battles demonstrate that even
• 2:09:53
  Speaker 1: toward the end of his reign, David and his men
• 2:09:56
  Speaker 1: continued to defeat Israel's enemies. The victory over the giants
• 2:10:00
  Speaker 1: of Gath was especially meaningful, echoing David's first great triumph
• 2:10:05
  Speaker 1: over Goliath when he was just a young shepherd. We
• 2:10:09
  Speaker 1: also see a clear transition in military leadership. David, the
• 2:10:14
  Speaker 1: great Champion of Israel, was now stepping aside for a
• 2:10:18
  Speaker 1: new generation of warriors, Abishi, Sibiki, El Hannan, and Jonathan.
• 2:10:23
  Speaker 1: These men had been formed and trained under David, and
• 2:10:26
  Speaker 1: they would continue to defend Israel even after he could
• 2:10:30
  Speaker 1: no longer lead them into battle. The moment when David
• 2:10:33
  Speaker 1: is rescued by Abishai shows both the vulnerability and the
• 2:10:37
  Speaker 1: irreplaceable value of the king. He was no longer the
• 2:10:41
  Speaker 1: invincible warrior of his youth, but his importance to the
• 2:10:44
  Speaker 1: nation was so great that his men could not allow
• 2:10:47
  Speaker 1: him to risk his life again, as they said he
• 2:10:50
  Speaker 1: was the lamp of Israel, a guiding light that must
• 2:10:53
  Speaker 1: not be extinguished. The specific mention of the defeated giants
• 2:10:58
  Speaker 1: underscores a powerful message even Israel's greatest fears, symbolized by
• 2:11:03
  Speaker 1: these massive, formidable warriors, could be overcome with courage, skill
• 2:11:08
  Speaker 1: and faith. The same God who gave young David victory
• 2:11:11
  Speaker 1: over Goliath continued to empower Israel against its most terrifying foes.
• 2:11:18
  Speaker 1: After so many battles, dangers, and trials throughout his life,
• 2:11:22
  Speaker 1: David expressed his gratitude to God in a beautiful song
• 2:11:26
  Speaker 1: preserved in Chapter twenty two. This psalm also appears with
• 2:11:31
  Speaker 1: slight variations as Psalm eighteen in the Book of Psalms.
• 2:11:36
  Speaker 1: David sang to the Lord the words of this song
• 2:11:38
  Speaker 1: when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all
• 2:11:40
  Speaker 1: his enemies and from the hand of Saul. As Verse
• 2:11:44
  Speaker 1: one says, the song begins with a powerful declaration of
• 2:11:48
  Speaker 1: love and trust in God. The Lord is my Rock,
• 2:11:52
  Speaker 1: my fortress, and my deliverer. My God is my rock
• 2:11:56
  Speaker 1: in whom I take refuge, my shield, the horn of
• 2:12:00
  Speaker 1: my salvation, my stronghold, my refuge and my savior from
• 2:12:05
  Speaker 1: violent people. You save me a scene in verses two
• 2:12:08
  Speaker 1: and three, David goes on to describe how he called
• 2:12:11
  Speaker 1: on God in moments of danger. I called to the Lord,
• 2:12:16
  Speaker 1: who is worthy of praise, and have been saved from
• 2:12:19
  Speaker 1: my enemies, says verse four. He uses poetic language to
• 2:12:24
  Speaker 1: depict the peril he faced. The waves of death swirled
• 2:12:28
  Speaker 1: about me. The torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords
• 2:12:32
  Speaker 1: of the grave coiled around me. The snares of death
• 2:12:35
  Speaker 1: confronted me. As we read in verses five and six,
• 2:12:39
  Speaker 1: in his distress, David cried out to the Lord. In
• 2:12:42
  Speaker 1: my distress, I called to the Lord. I called out
• 2:12:45
  Speaker 1: to my God. From his temple, he heard my voice.
• 2:12:49
  Speaker 1: My cry came to his ears. As verse seven proclaims,
• 2:12:53
  Speaker 1: he described God's response as a theophony, a majestic and
• 2:12:57
  Speaker 1: terrifying divine manifestation. Then the earth shook and trembled. The
• 2:13:02
  Speaker 1: foundations of the heavens quaked and were shaken. Because he
• 2:13:05
  Speaker 1: was angry. As we read in verse eight, smoke went
• 2:13:09
  Speaker 1: up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth.
• 2:13:13
  Speaker 1: Coals were kindled by it. He bowed the heavens and
• 2:13:17
  Speaker 1: came down, and darkness was under his feet, as verses
• 2:13:21
  Speaker 1: nine and ten say. In the following verses, David portrayed
• 2:13:26
  Speaker 1: the Lord as a divine warrior coming to his aid,
• 2:13:29
  Speaker 1: riding on a cherub, thundering his voice from the heavens,
• 2:13:33
  Speaker 1: shooting arrows of lightning to scatter the enemies, laying bare
• 2:13:37
  Speaker 1: the depths of the sea and the foundations of the
• 2:13:40
  Speaker 1: earth with his mighty breath. Then David described his own rescue.
• 2:13:45
  Speaker 1: He reached down from on high and took hold of me.
• 2:13:49
  Speaker 1: He drew me out of many waters. He rescued me
• 2:13:52
  Speaker 1: from my powerful enemy, from those who hated me, for
• 2:13:55
  Speaker 1: they were too strong for me. As verses seventeen and
• 2:13:58
  Speaker 1: eighteen say, the king attributed his deliverance entirely to God's goodness.
• 2:14:04
  Speaker 1: For you are my lamp o Lord, the Lord turns
• 2:14:08
  Speaker 1: my darkness into light. With your help, I can advance
• 2:14:11
  Speaker 1: against a troop. With my God, I can scale a wall.
• 2:14:15
  Speaker 1: As we read in verses twenty nine and thirty, David
• 2:14:18
  Speaker 1: exalted the perfection of God's ways. As for God, his
• 2:14:23
  Speaker 1: way is perfect. The word of the Lord is proven.
• 2:14:26
  Speaker 1: He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
• 2:14:29
  Speaker 1: For who is God except the Lord, And who is
• 2:14:34
  Speaker 1: a rock except our God. As verses thirty one and
• 2:14:37
  Speaker 1: thirty two state, the king acknowledged that his strength came
• 2:14:42
  Speaker 1: from God. It is God who arms me with strength
• 2:14:46
  Speaker 1: and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like
• 2:14:49
  Speaker 1: the feet of a deer, and sets me securely on
• 2:14:52
  Speaker 1: the heights. As we read in verses thirty three and
• 2:14:55
  Speaker 1: thirty four, he trains my hands for battle. My arms
• 2:14:59
  Speaker 1: can bend a bow of bronze. As verse thirty five says,
• 2:15:04
  Speaker 1: David recalled his victories over his enemies, always giving credit
• 2:15:08
  Speaker 1: to God. I pursued my enemies and destroyed them. I
• 2:15:11
  Speaker 1: did not turn back until they were consumed. I crushed them,
• 2:15:15
  Speaker 1: and they could not rise. They fell beneath my feet,
• 2:15:18
  Speaker 1: as verses thirty eight and thirty nine tell us, The
• 2:15:22
  Speaker 1: song continues with David recognizing that God delivered him from
• 2:15:27
  Speaker 1: disputes among the people and preserved him as the head
• 2:15:31
  Speaker 1: of nations. Foreigners submit to me. As soon as they
• 2:15:36
  Speaker 1: hear me, they obey, as verses forty four and forty
• 2:15:40
  Speaker 1: five say, David concluded his psalm with the final praise
• 2:15:44
  Speaker 1: the Lord lives blessed. Be my rock. May God, the
• 2:15:48
  Speaker 1: rock of my salvation, be exalted. It is God who
• 2:15:51
  Speaker 1: avenges me and brings nations under me, as we read
• 2:15:55
  Speaker 1: in verses forty seven and forty eight, Therefore I will
• 2:15:58
  Speaker 1: praise you, O Lord, aung the nations. I will sing
• 2:16:01
  Speaker 1: praises to your name. He gives great victories to his
• 2:16:05
  Speaker 1: king and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David
• 2:16:09
  Speaker 1: and his descendants forever, as verses fifty and fifty one affirm,
• 2:16:14
  Speaker 1: this song of gratitude reveals David's heart as a worshiper
• 2:16:18
  Speaker 1: after a life full of highs and lows. He did
• 2:16:20
  Speaker 1: not boast in his own achievements, but recognize God as
• 2:16:24
  Speaker 1: the source of all his victories. The Psalm blends personal
• 2:16:29
  Speaker 1: memories with poetic imagery to express David's experience of God
• 2:16:34
  Speaker 1: as his protector and deliverer. The military imagery and the
• 2:16:38
  Speaker 1: psalm shield Fortress Bronze Beaux Defeated Enemies reflects David's life
• 2:16:44
  Speaker 1: as a warrior, but he transformed these experiences into spiritual metaphors,
• 2:16:50
  Speaker 1: showing that his physical battles had a spiritual dimension. In
• 2:16:55
  Speaker 1: every conflict, he saw the hand of God working to
• 2:16:58
  Speaker 1: protect him and give him victory. The song also reveals
• 2:17:04
  Speaker 1: David's view of his own role in history. As Israel's
• 2:17:08
  Speaker 1: anointed king. He saw himself as an instrument of God
• 2:17:12
  Speaker 1: fulfilling a divine purpose that would extend through his descendants forever,
• 2:17:18
  Speaker 1: a reference to God's promise of an eternal dynasty. As
• 2:17:21
  Speaker 1: he he approached the end of his life, David left
• 2:17:24
  Speaker 1: a spiritual legacy not only through his psalms, but also
• 2:17:29
  Speaker 1: in his final recorded words. In chapter twenty three, we
• 2:17:33
  Speaker 1: find what the text calls the last words of David,
• 2:17:36
  Speaker 1: a kind of poetic testament from the King. These are
• 2:17:40
  Speaker 1: the last words of David, the declaration of David son
• 2:17:45
  Speaker 1: of Jesse, the declaration of the man exalted by the
• 2:17:48
  Speaker 1: Most High, the man anointed by the God of Jacob,
• 2:17:52
  Speaker 1: Israel's Sweet Psalmist, as verse one says, this verse establishes
• 2:17:56
  Speaker 1: David's authority as God's chosen king and as the beloved
• 2:18:01
  Speaker 1: author of israel psalms. David acknowledged the divine source of
• 2:18:05
  Speaker 1: his words. The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me.
• 2:18:09
  Speaker 1: His word was on my tongue. The God of Israel spoke.
• 2:18:12
  Speaker 1: The Rock of Israel, said to me. As we read
• 2:18:15
  Speaker 1: in verses two and three, he was not merely sharing
• 2:18:19
  Speaker 1: human wisdom, but divine revelation. The heart of his message
• 2:18:24
  Speaker 1: concerned the nature of righteous leadership. He who rules over
• 2:18:28
  Speaker 1: people justly, who rules in the fear of God, is
• 2:18:31
  Speaker 1: like the morning light when the sun rises, a morning
• 2:18:34
  Speaker 1: without clouds, like the brightness after rain that brings grass
• 2:18:39
  Speaker 1: from the earth. As verses three and four express, David
• 2:18:43
  Speaker 1: set the ideal standard for leadership, a rule marked by
• 2:18:47
  Speaker 1: justice and reverence for God, bringing light and life like
• 2:18:51
  Speaker 1: sunshine after the rain. He then reflected on his own
• 2:18:54
  Speaker 1: household and the covenant God had made with him. Though
• 2:18:58
  Speaker 1: my house is not such with God, yet He has
• 2:19:01
  Speaker 1: made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered and secured in
• 2:19:05
  Speaker 1: every part. Will He not bring to fruition my salvation
• 2:19:09
  Speaker 1: and grant me every desire? As we read in verse five.
• 2:19:13
  Speaker 1: Even acknowledging the imperfections in his family, David clung to
• 2:19:17
  Speaker 1: God's promise of an eternal dynasty in contrast to righteous rulers.
• 2:19:23
  Speaker 1: David described the fate of the wicked. But the worthless
• 2:19:27
  Speaker 1: are all like thorns that are thrown away, for they
• 2:19:29
  Speaker 1: cannot be picked up with the hand. Whoever touches them
• 2:19:33
  Speaker 1: must be armed with iron and the shaft of a spear.
• 2:19:36
  Speaker 1: They are completely burned where they lie, As verses six
• 2:19:40
  Speaker 1: and seven declare, this vivid image reveals the judgment awaiting
• 2:19:45
  Speaker 1: those who reject God's just rule. After these poetic words,
• 2:19:50
  Speaker 1: chapter twenty three continues with a list of David's Mighty Men,
• 2:19:54
  Speaker 1: a record of the king's most distinguished warriors. This list
• 2:19:58
  Speaker 1: begins with the three, namely Joshe, Bashebeth Eliazar, and Shama,
• 2:20:03
  Speaker 1: whose extraordinary deeds are described in detail. One particularly touching
• 2:20:09
  Speaker 1: episode involves a simple longing expressed by David that turned
• 2:20:13
  Speaker 1: into an act of remarkable bravery. David was in the stronghold,
• 2:20:18
  Speaker 1: and he longed for water. He said, oh, that some
• 2:20:21
  Speaker 1: one would get me a drink of water from the
• 2:20:22
  Speaker 1: well near the gate of Bethlehem. Done as we read
• 2:20:26
  Speaker 1: in verse fifteen, it was nothing more than a nostalgic sigh,
• 2:20:30
  Speaker 1: not a command. Yet the three Mighty warriors broke through
• 2:20:34
  Speaker 1: the Philistine lines, drew water from the well near the
• 2:20:37
  Speaker 1: gate of Bethlehem, and brought it back to David. As
• 2:20:41
  Speaker 1: verse sixteen tells us, they risked their lives just to
• 2:20:44
  Speaker 1: satisfy the king's wistful desire. David's response revealed his character,
• 2:20:50
  Speaker 1: but he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it
• 2:20:54
  Speaker 1: out before the Lord. Far be it from me, Lord
• 2:20:57
  Speaker 1: to do this, he said, is it not the blood
• 2:21:00
  Speaker 1: of men who went at the risk of their lives?
• 2:21:03
  Speaker 1: And David would not drink it, as recorded in verses
• 2:21:07
  Speaker 1: sixteen and seventeen. To David, the water was too precious
• 2:21:11
  Speaker 1: to consume. It symbolized the blood of those who had
• 2:21:14
  Speaker 1: risked their lives, and so he offered it as a
• 2:21:18
  Speaker 1: libation to the Lord. The chapter goes on to describe
• 2:21:25
  Speaker 1: the exploits of other mighty warriors, including Abishai, Joab's brother,
• 2:21:30
  Speaker 1: who raised his spear against three hundred men, whom he
• 2:21:33
  Speaker 1: killed and so he became as famous as the three
• 2:21:37
  Speaker 1: as noted in verse eighteen, and Beniah, son of Jehoiada,
• 2:21:42
  Speaker 1: who struck down two of Moab's best men. He also
• 2:21:45
  Speaker 1: went down into a pit on a snowy day and
• 2:21:48
  Speaker 1: killed a lion. According to verse twenty, he also struck
• 2:21:52
  Speaker 1: down a huge Egyptian. Although the Egyptian had a spear
• 2:21:56
  Speaker 1: in his hand, Beniah went against him with a club.
• 2:21:59
  Speaker 1: He snapped the spear from the Egyptian's hand and killed
• 2:22:03
  Speaker 1: him with his own spear, as we read in verse
• 2:22:06
  Speaker 1: twenty one. In total, the list includes thirty seven mighty men,
• 2:22:11
  Speaker 1: concluding with Uriah the Hittite. There were thirty seven in all.
• 2:22:16
  Speaker 1: As verse thirty nine records. The inclusion of Uriah, the
• 2:22:20
  Speaker 1: husband of Bathsheba, whom David had killed, is a solemn
• 2:22:23
  Speaker 1: reminder of David's moral failures amidst his great achievements. David's
• 2:22:29
  Speaker 1: final words, along with the list of his mighty Men,
• 2:22:33
  Speaker 1: serve as a kind of testament to his life as king.
• 2:22:36
  Speaker 1: His words reflect his vision of just leadership, his faith
• 2:22:40
  Speaker 1: in the Divine Covenant, and his certainty about judgment upon evil.
• 2:22:45
  Speaker 1: The list of mighty Men demonstrates how he inspired fierce
• 2:22:49
  Speaker 1: loyalty in extraordinary individuals who performed heroic deeds on his
• 2:22:55
  Speaker 1: behalf and for Israel. The end of David's reign was
• 2:22:58
  Speaker 1: marked by one last tragic episode, a mistake with devastating consequences.
• 2:23:04
  Speaker 1: In chapter twenty four, the anger of the Lord burned
• 2:23:07
  Speaker 1: against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, go
• 2:23:12
  Speaker 1: and take a census of Israel and Judah as we
• 2:23:15
  Speaker 1: read in verse one. This verse is striking as it
• 2:23:19
  Speaker 1: suggests that God incited David to do something that would
• 2:23:22
  Speaker 1: later be considered sinful. In verse Chronicles twenty one one,
• 2:23:27
  Speaker 1: the same event is attributed to Satan. One way to
• 2:23:30
  Speaker 1: reconcile this is to see that God allowed Satan to
• 2:23:34
  Speaker 1: tempt David, or that God used the pride already in
• 2:23:37
  Speaker 1: David's heart to bring about an action that would expose
• 2:23:41
  Speaker 1: that sin. The king said to Joab, the army commander
• 2:23:45
  Speaker 1: with him, go throughout the tribes of Israel, from Dan
• 2:23:48
  Speaker 1: to Beersheba, and enroll the fighting men, so that I
• 2:23:52
  Speaker 1: may know how many there are. As verse two tells us,
• 2:23:56
  Speaker 1: this desire to count the people seemed to stem from
• 2:23:59
  Speaker 1: pride or a reliance on numbers rather than on God.
• 2:24:03
  Speaker 1: Joab questioned the decision, May the Lord your God multiply
• 2:24:07
  Speaker 1: the troops a hundred times over, and may the eyes
• 2:24:10
  Speaker 1: of my lord the king see it. But why does
• 2:24:12
  Speaker 1: my lord the King want to do such a thing.
• 2:24:15
  Speaker 1: As we read in verse three, even Joab, not known
• 2:24:19
  Speaker 1: for spiritual insight, recognized something was wrong. But the King's word, however,
• 2:24:24
  Speaker 1: overruled Joab and the army, commanders. As verse four says,
• 2:24:29
  Speaker 1: so Joab and the army officers left the king's presence
• 2:24:33
  Speaker 1: to enroll the fighting men of Israel. The operation was extensive,
• 2:24:38
  Speaker 1: spanning all of Israel. They crossed the Jordan and camp
• 2:24:42
  Speaker 1: near Aroa, south of the town in the Gorge, and
• 2:24:46
  Speaker 1: then went through Gad and on too Jaza as in
• 2:24:49
  Speaker 1: verse five. From there they moved through Gilead, the land
• 2:24:54
  Speaker 1: of Tatim Hodshi, to Dan and the region around saidon
• 2:24:59
  Speaker 1: they passed through the fortress of Tire and all the
• 2:25:03
  Speaker 1: towns of the Highvites and Canaanites, and eventually reached the
• 2:25:07
  Speaker 1: southernmost part of Judah at Beersheba. After they had gone
• 2:25:11
  Speaker 1: through the entire land, they came back to Jerusalem at
• 2:25:14
  Speaker 1: the end of nine months and twenty days. According to
• 2:25:18
  Speaker 1: verse eight, Joab then reported the results to the king.
• 2:25:22
  Speaker 1: In Israel, there were eight hundred thousand able bodied men
• 2:25:26
  Speaker 1: who could handle a sword, and in Judah five hundred thousand,
• 2:25:30
  Speaker 1: as verse nine says. But after receiving the report, David
• 2:25:35
  Speaker 1: was conscience stricken. After he had counted the fighting men,
• 2:25:38
  Speaker 1: as we read in verse ten, he admitted his guilt.
• 2:25:42
  Speaker 1: I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, Lord,
• 2:25:45
  Speaker 1: I beg you take away the guilt of your servant.
• 2:25:48
  Speaker 1: I have done a very foolish thing. The next morning,
• 2:25:52
  Speaker 1: the word of the Lord came to Gad, the prophet
• 2:25:54
  Speaker 1: David seer. As in verse eleven, God instructed Goad to
• 2:25:58
  Speaker 1: offer David three of punishment. I am giving you three options.
• 2:26:04
  Speaker 1: Choose one of them for me to carry out against you.
• 2:26:08
  Speaker 1: As verse twelve states, God came to David and laid
• 2:26:11
  Speaker 1: out the options. Shall there come on you three years
• 2:26:15
  Speaker 1: of famine in your land, or three months of fleeing
• 2:26:18
  Speaker 1: from your enemies while they pursue you, or three days
• 2:26:21
  Speaker 1: of plague in your land. Now, then think it over
• 2:26:24
  Speaker 1: and decide how I should answer the one who sent me.
• 2:26:28
  Speaker 1: As recorded in verse thirteen, David chose to fall into
• 2:26:32
  Speaker 1: the hands of God rather than man. I am in
• 2:26:36
  Speaker 1: deep distress. Let us fall into the hands of the Lord,
• 2:26:40
  Speaker 1: for his mercy is great. But do not let me
• 2:26:43
  Speaker 1: fall into human hands. As we see in verse fourteen.
• 2:26:47
  Speaker 1: So the Lord sent a plague on Israel from that
• 2:26:49
  Speaker 1: morning until the end of the time, designated and seventy
• 2:26:53
  Speaker 1: thousand of the people from Dan to Beersheba died. As
• 2:26:57
  Speaker 1: verse fifteen says, the plague was whole. It only when
• 2:27:01
  Speaker 1: the Angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem. But
• 2:27:05
  Speaker 1: the Lord relented concerning the disaster and said to the angel,
• 2:27:10
  Speaker 1: who was afflicting the people, enough, withdraw your hand. As
• 2:27:15
  Speaker 1: we read in verse sixteen, At that moment, the Angel
• 2:27:19
  Speaker 1: was standing at the threshing floor of Arauna the Jebusite.
• 2:27:24
  Speaker 1: David saw the angel and prayed, I have sinned, Ey,
• 2:27:27
  Speaker 1: the Shepherd, have done wrong these sheep, What have they done?
• 2:27:31
  Speaker 1: Let your hand fall on me and my family. As
• 2:27:34
  Speaker 1: we read in verse seventeen, he personally took responsibility for
• 2:27:38
  Speaker 1: the suffering of the people. That same day, Gad came
• 2:27:41
  Speaker 1: to David and said, go up and build an altar
• 2:27:44
  Speaker 1: to the Lord on the threshing floor of Arona the Jebusite. And,
• 2:27:49
  Speaker 1: as it says in verse eighteen, this divine command would
• 2:27:53
  Speaker 1: pave the way for the atonement of sin and the
• 2:27:56
  Speaker 1: end of the plague. David's census illustrates how even a
• 2:28:00
  Speaker 1: man after God's own heart could fall into the sin
• 2:28:04
  Speaker 1: of pride and self reliance. His desire to know the
• 2:28:07
  Speaker 1: exact number of his troops suggests that David was putting
• 2:28:11
  Speaker 1: his trust in human strength rather than in divine power.
• 2:28:16
  Speaker 1: God's response through the plague was severe, but it had
• 2:28:21
  Speaker 1: a disciplinary purpose. He wanted to show David and Israel
• 2:28:25
  Speaker 1: that the nation's security did not lie in the size
• 2:28:28
  Speaker 1: of its army, but in the Lord's faithfulness and protection.
• 2:28:33
  Speaker 1: David's intercession for the people, asking that the punishment fall
• 2:28:37
  Speaker 1: on him and his family, reveals his shepherd king heart.
• 2:28:42
  Speaker 1: Like the good shepherd he had been in his youth,
• 2:28:44
  Speaker 1: he was willing to sacrifice himself for the sheep of
• 2:28:47
  Speaker 1: his flock. Following God's command, David went up as the
• 2:28:51
  Speaker 1: Lord had commanded through God. As we read in Second
• 2:28:54
  Speaker 1: Samuel twenty four nineteen, when a Rauna looked and saw
• 2:28:58
  Speaker 1: the king and his officials roaching, he went out and
• 2:29:02
  Speaker 1: bowed down before the king with his face to the ground.
• 2:29:05
  Speaker 1: As it says in verse twenty, Arauna asked, why has
• 2:29:09
  Speaker 1: my lord the king come to his servant. David replied,
• 2:29:13
  Speaker 1: to buy your threshing floor so I can build an
• 2:29:16
  Speaker 1: altar to the Lord that the plague on the people
• 2:29:19
  Speaker 1: may be stopped, as recorded in verse twenty one. Generously,
• 2:29:23
  Speaker 1: Aroona offered to give it all, let my lord the king,
• 2:29:27
  Speaker 1: take whatever he wishes and offer it up. Here are
• 2:29:31
  Speaker 1: oxen for the burnt offering, and here are the threshing
• 2:29:34
  Speaker 1: sledges and ox yokes for the wood. As we read
• 2:29:37
  Speaker 1: in verse twenty two, he added, your majesty Rouna gives
• 2:29:42
  Speaker 1: all this to the king. Then he said, may the
• 2:29:46
  Speaker 1: Lord your God accept you, showing respect for the God
• 2:29:49
  Speaker 1: of Israel, even as a Jebucite. But David insisted on paying. No,
• 2:29:54
  Speaker 1: I insist on paying you for it. I will not
• 2:29:57
  Speaker 1: sacrifice to the Lord my God burn offerings that cost
• 2:30:01
  Speaker 1: me nothing. As stated in verse twenty four, This principle
• 2:30:06
  Speaker 1: that true worship involves sacrifice and personal cost is one
• 2:30:10
  Speaker 1: of the key lessons from this story. So David bought
• 2:30:14
  Speaker 1: the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
• 2:30:19
  Speaker 1: As we read in verse twenty four, David built an
• 2:30:22
  Speaker 1: altar to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and
• 2:30:25
  Speaker 1: fellowship offerings. Then the Lord answered his prayer on behalf
• 2:30:29
  Speaker 1: of the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped.
• 2:30:33
  Speaker 1: As verse twenty five concludes, what seems like a simple
• 2:30:36
  Speaker 1: event carries profound historical significance. The threshing floor of Aruna
• 2:30:43
  Speaker 1: was located on Mount Mariah, the same place where sentries
• 2:30:47
  Speaker 1: earlier Abraham had taken Isaac to be sacrificed, and where
• 2:30:51
  Speaker 1: God provided a substitute. Now this same location became a
• 2:30:55
  Speaker 1: meeting point between God and his people through sacrifice, ending
• 2:30:59
  Speaker 1: the place that threatened Israel. Even more significant, this very
• 2:31:04
  Speaker 1: threshing floor would become the site where Solomon, David's son,
• 2:31:09
  Speaker 1: would build the temple in Jerusalem. As we read in
• 2:31:12
  Speaker 1: Second Chronicles three one, then Solomon began to build the
• 2:31:17
  Speaker 1: Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where
• 2:31:20
  Speaker 1: the Lord had appeared to his father David. It was
• 2:31:23
  Speaker 1: on the threshing floor of Arauna Ornun the Jebisite, the
• 2:31:28
  Speaker 1: place provided by David. Thus, David's final major official act
• 2:31:32
  Speaker 1: was acquiring the very location that would become the heart
• 2:31:36
  Speaker 1: of Israelite worship for generations. The place where the plague
• 2:31:40
  Speaker 1: was halted would be transformed into the site where daily
• 2:31:43
  Speaker 1: sacrifices would be made to atone for the sins of
• 2:31:48
  Speaker 1: the people. David's insistence on paying for the threshing floor,
• 2:31:52
  Speaker 1: even when it was offered for free, reveals much about
• 2:31:55
  Speaker 1: his understanding of genuine worship. He knew that a sacrifice
• 2:31:59
  Speaker 1: the costs nothing isn't truly a sacrifice. Authentic worship involves
• 2:32:05
  Speaker 1: more than external rituals. It requires personal surrender and real cost.
• 2:32:11
  Speaker 1: It's fitting that the book of Second Samuel ends with
• 2:32:15
  Speaker 1: this act of worship and sacrifice. Throughout his life, David
• 2:32:19
  Speaker 1: experienced both great triumphs and devastating failures, but his story
• 2:32:25
  Speaker 1: closes with him in the right posture before God, humble, repentant,
• 2:32:30
  Speaker 1: and worshipful. The altar at Aaruna's threshing floor marked the
• 2:32:35
  Speaker 1: end of the plague that threatened Israel, but it also
• 2:32:39
  Speaker 1: pointed toward the future. The place David purchased would become
• 2:32:44
  Speaker 1: the center of Israel's worship, and in a broader sense,
• 2:32:47
  Speaker 1: it foreshadowed a greater sacrifice that would one day remove
• 2:32:51
  Speaker 1: the barrier between God and humanity once and for all.
• 2:32:57
  Speaker 1: David's acquisition of Arouna's threshing flow provides a fitting conclusion
• 2:33:02
  Speaker 1: to the story of Second Samuel. The shepherd, warrior, fugitive, king, sinner,
• 2:33:07
  Speaker 1: and worshiper ended his journey by preparing the way for
• 2:33:11
  Speaker 1: his son and for the future of Israel. His final
• 2:33:14
  Speaker 1: official act was establishing the location where future generations would
• 2:33:19
  Speaker 1: worship the same God who had been his rock, fortress
• 2:33:23
  Speaker 1: and deliverer throughout his life. If you were encouraged by
• 2:33:28
  Speaker 1: this journey through Second Samuel, don't keep the blessing to yourself.
• 2:33:33
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• 2:33:37
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• 2:33:42
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• 2:33:46
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• 2:33:49
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• 2:33:56
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  Speaker 1: which part of David's story impacted you the most. Thank
• 2:34:12
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• 2:34:14
  Speaker 1: Two Samuel like you've never seen before. May the lessons
• 2:34:18
  Speaker 1: from David's life continue to inspire your walk with God.
• 2:34:22
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