Latest / Teachings On This Day On FerventWord / On May 09, 2018: 2 Samuel 10 Pursue Gods Heart Into Battle Again
Transcript
- You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2018. Well, this evening we're going to be here in 2 Samuel chapter 10 as we continue to work our way through the books of Samuel and following the life of David and the example that he is for us as a man who pursued the heart of God. And so we've been learning much watch from him about pursuing God's heart. And tonight we're going to continue to look at that and see him and the way that he pursues the heart of the Lord in his interaction with a nation nearby called Ammon. And so let's begin by looking at verses 1 through 5, and then we'll jump into the message that the Lord has for us this evening. 2 Samuel chapter 10 verses 1 through 5, starting in verse 1, here's what it says. It happened after this that the king of the people of Ammon died, and Hanun his son reigned in his place. Then David said, I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father showed kindness to me. So David sent by the hand of his servants to comfort him concerning his father. And David's servants came into the land of the people of Ammon. And the princes of the people of Ammon said to Hanun their lord, do you think that David really honors your father because he has sent comforters to you? Has David not rather sent his servants to you to search the city, to spy it out and to overthrow it? Therefore Hanun took David's servants, shaved off half of their beards, cut off their garments in the middle at their buttocks and sent them away. When they told David, he sent to meet them because the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, wait at Jericho until your beards have grown and then return. Here in this passage, in this portion of the book of Samuel that we're looking at, David has finally become king after many years of, you know, being oppressed by King Saul, and the Lord had promised him the throne. He's finally on the throne, and as we've been looking at over the past several weeks now, we're we've been looking at these chapters here in 2 Samuel that are kind of a summary of David's reign. And so not necessarily all in sequence of every event happening one after the other, but just kind of getting an overview of the reign of David as he reigned in Jerusalem for 33 years and in Hebron for seven years. And so we're getting a glimpse of some of the things that took place in his 40-year reign as king over Israel. And we continue to see David in this time as an example of one who pursues God's heart, even though he was not a perfect man, and even though he had some issues, but God highlights him as a man, as an example of one who sought after the heart of God. It's not that he had God's heart perfectly, but he continued to seek after God, to seek to please God. He sought to do the will of God and to do things that were pleasing to him, and so David We're going to see that this evening in probably a little bit of a different context than we are used to, unless you are here with us. It was about two weeks ago or three weeks ago now that we were in chapter 8 of 2 Samuel, and we saw the battles of David, the battles that David fought. And this is kind of a part two to 2 Samuel chapter 8, as there are these battles that take place here in chapter 10. And I've titled the message for this evening, pursue God's heart into battle again. Now back in chapter 8, the title of the message was Pursue God's Heart into Battle. And we talked about the importance of battle and the fact that there are times that when you are pursuing the heart of God and desiring to please God, desiring to do God's will, desiring to have God's heart and mind on things that you are involved with, that there are times where it is appropriate to battle. Just to kind of refresh your memory, or in case you weren't with us back in chapter 8, here's a quick glimpse at the points that we looked at back in chapter 8 of 2 Samuel. The first point was to take the territory that God wants to give you. And sometimes there are things in our lives, and we talked about these battles, not so much as, and maybe I should point this out now, I'm not talking about, you know, pulling out physical weapons and, you know, starting to jump on people and pull their hair out and stuff like that. But Although there is time for that, and there is appropriate, you know, instances where that is, you know, necessary. But as we look at life, there are battles, real battles that we face. Battles that we face in our schedules, in our finances, in our heart to keep our heart in pursuit of God. There is real division and arguments and disagreements that needs to happen today. between husbands and wives and within families and within workplaces and within communities that there are issues that are worth fighting over. And sometimes there is territory that God wants to give you. There is an area, there is an aspect of society, an aspect of your life, an aspect of your schedule, an aspect of your heart. And God says, I want to give that to you. And sometimes we mistake and we think that Well, if God wants to give it to me, then, you know, all I got to do is just kind of lay here like a slug and then, you know, everything will just work out. And if God tells you to lay there like a slug, well, that's one thing. But many times God says, I have stuff for you and I want you to go and fight for it. And I'm going to give it to you, but you got to go take it. And that's how God gave the children of Israel the promised land. Remember, he said, I'm going to take you into the promised land, but you're going to fight. I'm going to give it to you and I'm going to go before you and I'm going to fight for you, but you're going to fight. You're going to have to battle. There's going to be some efforts and some energy and some risk that is involved for you. And in a similar way in our lives, there's opportunity. There's times for us that God wants us to battle. And we need to go forward and march on and take territory. And then when we've taken that territory, then point number two was to defend the territory that God wants you to keep. You know, you worked out that piece of your schedule to be able to have time with the Lord, and then there's going to be some competition there, and that, that the enemy is going to want to take that territory back, and not let you have that consistent and diligent walk with the Lord. You're, you, you have this victory. You have this battle that, that you fought hard to win, and The enemy would love to sabotage, to undermine, and there's going to be need for us to defend and to stand our ground in those areas. The third point back in chapter 8 was your battles can bless others and the Lord. That there's battles and they're not, you know, there is risk, there is, you know, difficulty, there is casualties of war and battles that take place, but But there's also blessing and there's reason. And when you're pursuing a battle in the pursuit of God's heart, there's blessings that come from that for you, for the Lord, and for those around you. The fourth point was to be present in the territory that God has given you. Similar to defending it, but to be there, to be present, to not neglect those things that God has entrusted to you, and make sure that you're being diligent and faithful to show up in those places, in those areas, and to hold on to those things that God has accomplished for you. And going along with that is to steward the territory that God has given you. That you would maintain that oversight, that you would maintain those things that God has entrusted to you in the battles that he has called you to fight. And as we continue that line of thinking tonight, we're continuing this idea of pursuing God's heart into battle and continuing this idea and this understanding that peace at all costs is not what God wants. I mean, if you ask if God wants peace, he Generally speaking, we can easily answer yes. He wants people to have peace between one another. He wants there to be peace within the family. Jesus said, I came to give you peace. Not like the world gives, but I came to give you peace. And so there is the peace of God that passes all understanding and God wants peace. But not at all cost. And there are occasions and there are times and there are situations where God wants you not. to fight, where it is the will of God for there to be disagreement, where it is the will of God that you would stand and not just go with the flow for the sake of peace, but that you would stand and cause a disruption, that there is room in the will of God and in the plan of God to disagree, to divide, for there to be serious and severe conflict and disagreement and separation and between people and as there are battles that are being fought. Now, again, this is not the rule of thumb and that we should, you know, all of our lives should be filled with battle all day long. That's, you know, that's taking it too far the other way. But there is the need for us to stop and reflect the reality that sometimes God wants you to fight. And when is it that time that God wants you to fight? Well, that's where it comes back to pursuing God's heart. And I'm going to encourage you to take those situations before the Lord. And really, each one needs to be evaluated. God, is this a battle that you want me to fight? Is this a disagreement that you want me to engage in? Or is there something else that God wants to do? Some fights, God wants you to start a And we might think automatically, right? Now, God never wants you to start a fight. You know what? Sometimes God wants you to start a fight and to stand up and say, look, this is wrong, or we got to go this way, or that's not right, or whatever the case may be in the situations that are unfolding in our lives around us. Sometimes God wants us to stand up and make a wave and cause there to be a disruption, a disagreement, a division, an insisting fight. of his ways. Some fights are more defensive, where we're under attack, and there are things of the Lord under attack, and he's calling us to stand and defend those things. Again, the point is, peace at all costs is not what God wants, but there are some times where he wants us to fight. There are some things that are worth fighting for. Not every fight is right, and not every fight is what God calls us to, and there's a lot of good fights even that God perhaps is not going to call you to engage in, but then don't go far too far the other way and say avoiding a fight is, you know, always the route to go. You know, avoiding a fight is not always right. Sometimes God wants you to battle, and if you're going to be pursuing God's heart, If you're going to be seeking after the will of God and seeking to please God, that means that you're going to be fighting when he wants you to, not fighting when he doesn't want you to. And that is pretty challenging, but it is what God calls us to. Again, as we looked at this back in chapter 8, I asked the question, do you think that God ever wants married couples to fight? And it would be easy for us to say, no, of course, you know, he never wants married couples to fight. And that in an ideal world where we are all seeking after and pursuing the heart of God, for sure, you know, then there is no fight. But the reality of life is, even within the marriage, there are times, there are occasions, there are days, sometimes there's weeks and months, you know, there's different seasons where one of us is not pursuing the heart of God. And there's naturally going to be conflict, right? There's naturally going to be disagreement. And as I mentioned then, I'll mention again, I'm not talking about physical altercations between husband and wife or between family members. That is not appropriate. That's not part of the will of God in that sense or the pursuit of God's heart. But to have a disagreement, a strong disagreement, to have differences of opinion, to insist on certain things and, you know, have emotions run high, that Sometimes it's going to be necessary for us to pursue God's heart. Sometimes that's going to happen not just in the home, but sometimes in the workplace, that there's going to be those types of disagreements and contentions that God wants us to fight for. And you could look at society. You could look at, you know, the world around us. You could look at a variety of situations and understand sometimes, like David, God's going to call us into battle. Consider what Jesus said in Luke chapter 12, verse 51. He challenged his disciples. He says, do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? And we say, well, yeah, I think there's like Christmas songs about that. And it's like, you know, peace on earth and mercy mild. You know, it's all, that's what, that's what God wants, right? Peace on earth. Jesus says, is that what you think I came for, to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. Not that God loves division, not that God wants division, but that division is necessary because not everyone pursues God's heart. And for you and I to pursue the heart of God, you need to understand that means that the context here of Luke chapter 12, Jesus is saying even houses are going to be divided. Children are going to be divided against their parents and parents are going to be divided against one another. And there's going to be this opposition, this contention as there are some within the family who pursue Jesus and become his followers and some who don't. And that is a reality of life that there is sometimes necessary division, necessary disagreement, necessary contention, necessary battle. And along with that, I would remind you of what Paul says in Ephesians chapter 6. We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. As we talk about battle, please remember, please remind yourself, the battle is not actually with the person. Even if it's, you know, that's who you're dialoguing with, that's, you know, who you're having the interaction with, the person themselves are not the enemy. The enemy is not that person in front of you, but there are spiritual hosts of wickedness that are going on. The people are the mission, right? as we're in the midst of this battle. And so we need to keep that in mind, but also to understand that there are times to fight. Now, there are a huge variety of ways to consider these things as far as application. And I'm leaving it kind of general and broad to allow you to search your heart and to seek the Lord as far as what he wants to speak to you about as far as the battles that need to be fought. There might be battles in your personal life, in your schedule, in your finances, in your struggles with sin. There might be some battles that God is calling you to engage in. Within your family, there might be some battles with your priorities as a family, with your practices as a family, with the decisions that you're making, with the way that you're relating to one another. There might be the need and the occasion for you to, like Joshua says, for me and my house, we will serve the Lord and to stand up and defend territory and fight a battle. There might be areas within the workplace, practices, boundaries, balance, and so on and so forth that there are battles that need to be fought. There might be some social issues. There might be some political things. There might be some things around us in society that need to be fought for, that need to be, you know, We need to engage in a battle. And so those are things that the Lord might stir up within you and prompt your heart in as we consider these things. But there's one other area I would ask you to consider. Those other ones we talked a lot about back in 2 Samuel 8. And so tonight as we look at these things, I think there's some interesting parallels also with these battles that we'll see that take place here in chapter 10 with what Jesus talks about in regard to conflict between people in Matthew chapter 18. In Matthew chapter 18, Jesus lays out the scenario where your brother, your sister, your fellow Christian sins against you, and how you handle that, how you respond to that, he lays out some instruction. Oh man, there's some incredible parallels of what Jesus instructs to what we see unfold here in 2 Samuel chapter 10. And so I would encourage you, Maybe this is in regards to some interpersonal personality issues, some conflicts like that, some hurts and some wounds that someone has done against you, that there's some things that the Lord would speak to you about as well here in 2 Samuel 10. Pursue God's heart into battle. Again, it's time for us to think about these things and consider these things. Now, we're going to start in verses 1 through 2 with point number 1, and that is look for opportunity to offer peace. As we're talking about specifically, you know, this idea of battling with the people around us, that there is, first of all, the need for us to look for opportunity to offer peace. Check out verse 1 and 2 again. It says, it happened after this. that the king of the people of Ammon died, and Hanun, his son, reigned in his place. Then David said, I will show kindness to Hanun, the son of Nahash, as his father showed kindness to me. So David sent by the hand of his servants to comfort him concerning his father. And David's servants came into the land of the people of Ammon. As we talk about this situation, David is king of Israel. He's established his kingdom. He's fought some battles. He's still got some time left in his reign. We don't know exactly the time of when this takes place, but Here we're going to see this interaction between David and Israel with the nation of Ammon. Now just a quick look at the map here. Ammon was an area that was just across the Jordan from Jerusalem. And it was populated by the Ammonites, the people of Ammon. They were closely related to the people of Moab who were south of them. And so they were camped out. They've been in this area for a long time. and they've had some conflict with Israel for a long time. In fact, you might remember when Saul, the first king of Israel, when he first became king, remember how he was anointed king, but then nothing really happened. He just went home, and then all of a sudden, there was this attack on a city, and it prompted Saul to rise up and say, hey, all of Israel, let's get together. Let's go defend our brothers and sisters in this city over here, and they all came and they fought and they had victory over that enemy at that time. That enemy was Nahash. So the guy's dad, that's talking about this guy's dad died, that was the guy Saul fought many years before and defended this city. And so Ammon has been an enemy to Israel for a long time. But what's interesting here, now Nahash, the previous king, has died. And He's brought conflict to Israel. He's been an enemy of Israel. They've had their battles in the past, but now the dad has died. And so David says, I'm going to reach out to his son and just offer him some comfort. David looks for an opportunity to make peace, to offer peace. He just, it's a gesture of kindness. It wasn't a huge deal that he did. It was just sending a message of comfort to someone who has just lost their father. David said, his father showed kindness to me. Now, we don't know what that was. That's not recorded for us in the scriptures, how Nahash showed kindness to David. But David says, somehow he showed kindness to me. And I just want to extend that to his son. And see, maybe there's a relationship that can be established here. It's an opportunity to offer peace. In verse 2 again, he says, I will show kindness to Hanun. And he sends the hands of his servants to comfort him. And here David sets a really good example for us of the heart of God. And that is to show kindness. Especially to people at a time of hurt and mourning. To people who need comfort. And even when that happens, person is or previously was an enemy to us. You know, Jesus taught us to love our enemies, right? Do good to those who fight against you. Do good to those who hurt you and spitefully use you. Jesus taught us to love our enemies. And how do we do that? It's with The Apostle Paul reminds us in Romans 2, verse 4, that it's the kindness of God or the goodness of God that leads us to repentance. And it's not... Oftentimes, the judgment that helps people to shape up and to get right with God, a lot of times it's the kindness of God. And sometimes we can get real caught up in the judgment side of things and the scolding and disapproval kind of things. And sometimes we need to just look for opportunities to make peace with an act of kindness, with an expression of compassion and sympathy. And look for an opportunity to make peace. And that's what David attempts to do here. Later on in Romans chapter 12, Paul says this. He says, It's not always possible. And again, sometimes in the pursuit of God's heart, there is going to be battle that's required. But if it's possible, and as much as you can control it, and sometimes you can't control it, but there are a lot of times where you have a say on whether or not there's peace. Sometimes, you know, the temptation is there. It's just so hard to resist, like, stirring the pot, you know, like, just, like, mixing things up and, like, getting, you know, watching people, like, their face turns red and steam starts coming. It's entertaining. I understand. It can be quite pleasurable to, like, kind of poke and prod, and I understand, but But if we're going to be pursuing God's heart, that can't be the pursuit. That can't be what we're desiring. We need to be looking to please God first. And that's going to involve looking for opportunities to make peace with those who have hurt us, with those who have harmed us, with those who have attacked us, with those who have come against us, showing kindness to those who have not been kind to us. But when that is not received, well, then we move on in the chapter now to verses three through seven. Here we get point number two. The second point is to start with a measured response to threats. Sometimes the peace offer is not received. Check out verse three. The princes of the people of Ammon said to Hanan their lord, do you think that David really honors your father because he sent comforters to you? So here's David. He's just wanting to do something kind. Hanan receives it, kind of implies, you know, he's like, wow, that's nice of David. But then his advisors come in and say, hey, David's motives are questionable. He's putting on a good show here. Hanun, you're falling for his scheme. He's not really trying to comfort you. He's really trying to take over your city and your nation. And it's these voices in his counsel that are leading him to a misunderstanding of what David is intending. You know, kindness is not always received well. Sometimes, well, An act of kindness, an act of compassion, an act of love will be viewed with the worst of motives. And knowing that, sometimes we can talk ourselves out of acts of kindness, thinking that, well, it's not going to be received. They're not going to accept it. It's just not. Last time I did this, you know, it didn't go well. And they thought I was trying to hurt them and harm them. And so, you know, I'm just not going to do that again. And well, there's important value in learning lessons from things that have happened before, but don't Don't let what has happened before keep you from doing what God wants you to do now. And perhaps the Lord wants you to show kindness now, even though it didn't go so well last time. Sometimes we talk ourselves out of showing kindness or offering peace because we don't expect it to be received well. Sometimes it's, I didn't go well last time. I'm not going to do that again. Sometimes it's, look, I already, I've known this guy for 30 years. I'm not going to do that. I know exactly what he's going to say if I offer this kindness, this comfort. I know exactly. And we talk ourselves out of it when perhaps the Lord is placing that upon our hearts. And we need to be pursuing God's heart. offering that kindness even if it's not going to be received or we don't expect it to be received well. And so here's Hanun. He's like, yeah, you know what? That scoundrel David, he's just trying to spy on us. And he takes it in a bad way in verse four. Therefore Hanun took David's servants, shaved off half their beards, cut off their garments in the middle at their buttocks and sent them away. Hanun really like takes some serious steps here. Now, he could have responded in a variety of ways. He could have just said, okay guys, you know, thanks for coming. I don't really trust you, so I'm just gonna ask you to leave, right? I mean, that would have been a reasonable response. But instead, he goes on and he does like the ultimate prank, the ultimate, you know, shaming and humiliating of these guys who David sent. This Act that he does. It's a massive insult. And in fact, could be understood as a declaration of war, which indeed it was. For them, their beards were something to be cherished and revered. They prized their beards. This was so humiliating for them to have half of their face shaved. It was something that was Not just, you know, like, hey, if I came in today and half my beard was shaved off, you guys would get a good chuckle. You'd have a good laugh, right? And I thought about doing it just, you know, for the sake of the illustration, but I decided it wasn't worth it. But, you know, we'd get a good laugh. And then next week, you know, I'd kind of grow back or I'd just shave off the rest. Like, okay, no big deal. But for them, this would be like a humiliating thing. Socially, it would be a humiliating thing for themselves. It would be this horrendous thing for them. It was something that they treasured greatly. But then cutting their garments that way. I mean, you know, again, it's like... Was Hanun in junior high or what? This is something that a cruel, unchecked junior higher would do to someone that he was bullying. And that is the kind of act that goes on here. It was designed to humiliate. And again, that's why it's really a declaration of war that is going on here as he treats David's ambassadors this way. In verse 5, when they told David, he sent to meet them because the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, wait at Jericho until your beards have grown and then return. And so David intercepts and he says, look, I'm going to save you from humiliation here in your hometown. You just stay there in Jericho. Wait there for a few months until your beards kind of grow out again and That way you don't have to come back in that full shame that you're experiencing right now. Well, verse six now, when the people of Ammon saw that they had made themselves repulsive to David, the people of Ammon sent and hired the Syrians of Beth Rehob, the Syrians of Zobah, 20,000 foot soldiers, and from the king of Maaka, 1,000 men, and from Ishtob, 12,000 men. Now when David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the army of the mighty men. After he sent these guys away, they realized, oh man, we just made a serious enemy for ourselves. David is going to be upset when they see this declaration of war, when he sees this humiliation and the way that we treated his messengers. And so they start hiring these soldiers from farther north, the Syrians. They come down and fight with us. They pay them to help them fight against David. But verse 7 is interesting. It says, So what we find here is that they realize they've made a mistake. They start bringing in reinforcements. David does not immediately mount up, gather all of his forces, and go attempt to wipe out Ammon from the face of the earth. He doesn't overreact in that sense. His first response is, okay, hey, these guys, boy, that was humiliating. Let's take care of them. He's making sure these guys who were humiliated are, first of all, taken care of. And then as he hears back the news about these, you know, amassing armies that are being gathered, then, well, then David sends out some military force to meet this army that is gathering. But if you'll notice in verse 7, it's not... all of the nation of Israel. It says all the army, but it says all the army of the mighty men. You could think about it this way. This is kind of like sending in the special forces. It's sending in a military team, a unit, you know, whatever division or how many people were in this mighty man army. We don't know exactly, but later on in 2 Samuel chapter 23, you'll see the listing of the mighty men of David. But The mighty men of David, they were captains over hundreds, captains over fifties, captains. And so they had their men. It was kind of like the special forces of the bigger, the larger army of all of the nation of Israel. And so what David does here is not mass every single fighting person he can get and put them together and let's go and let's wipe them out and, you know, make sure they never see the light of day again. That David's response is, Well, I worded the point this way. It's measured. He is sending a response. He's sending men to meet this threat because it is time to battle. There is a battle that needs to be fought now. They were an enemy. They've made it clear. We're going to continue to be your enemy and we're getting soldiers ready to fight because we're your enemy. And so David says, okay, it's time to fight. He sends men to fight. But later on in verse 17, as this begins to escalate later on, we'll see that David gathers all Israel together. And then the real army, the rest of the army gets involved. But first he starts with the special forces. He sends in the Marines. He sends in, you know, that troop. He sends in the mighty men to address the situation and to fight the battle. This provides a really good example for us. When it is time to fight, when there is that kind of need, sometimes we need to start with a measured response. Think about it this way. God doesn't overreact. Do you ever overreact? Do you ever overreact when you're insulted, when you're attacked, when you're humiliated? You know, someone cuts you off on the freeway and you want God to strike them dead, right? That's a little bit of an overreaction, right? That God is not one to overreact. In the pursuit of God's heart, as you're seeking the Lord, what does God want in this situation? There might be a measured response, but we need to be careful not to just let go. And sometimes I think we could be so sensitive as a whole, generally speaking for us as Christians, we can be so sensitive and we just like flip out and overreact and to insults, to offenses, to things that are going on around us. And maybe there does need to be some type of response, but is it a measured response that we're providing, that we are experiencing or that we're offering? Maybe that insult does need to be dealt with. Maybe that threat does need to be answered. Maybe that attack does need to be defended against, but maybe it needs to be defended in a way that Well, it's appropriate to what God wants to do in the situation and not just with everything that we have. You hurt my feelings and so I'm going to cut off your head. To pursue God's heart. Sometimes it's going to involve battle, but that battle is controlled. It's measured. It's restrained so that it's appropriate to the situation at hand. Think about it in the way that God deals with us, right? We sin against God. He doesn't just like wipe us out instantly. He will bring correction. And the more we resist the correction, the more correction he will bring and the more firm that correction will bring, right? God is measured in his response so that to bring us to repentance, God uses the least amount of force possible. The least amount of discipline that can be used, that's what God uses on you. That's the way that God desires for us to relate to the world around us as well. That we would use the least amount of force, the least amount of battle, the least amount of pressure, the least amount of conflict, the least amount possible. The conflict, the battle, the pressure, it might be unavoidable. It might be part of God's will, but that doesn't give us license then to just, you know, go full throttle and unleash everything that we got against that situation. No, we need to be measured, calculated. What's an appropriate response to this threat, to this insult, to this hurt? Continuing to consider now the example of David, we look at verses 8 through 14. And here actually we're going to be looking at the example of Joab and his response to the armies that are there. In verses 8 through 14, I have point number three, do your best and trust God with the rest. Perhaps you've heard that before, but we see it exemplified here in Joab as they fight this battle. In verse 8, it goes on to say this, Then the people of Ammon came out and put themselves in battle array at the entrance of the gate. And the Syrians of Zobah, Beth Rehob, Ishtob, and Maaka were by themselves in the field. Verse 9. When Joab saw that the battle line was against him before and behind, he chose some of Israel's best and put them in battle array against the Syrians. And the rest of the people he put under the command of Abishai, his brother, that he might set them in battle array against the people of And so what we see happening here is the Ammonites hire the Syrians. And now the Ammonites and the Syrians are joining forces in battle, but they're taking separate positions on the battlefield. And so as Joab brings the mighty men to fight against Ammon, here comes Ammon out of the gate, right? So they're in the city. They come out the gate. They line up outside of the gate preparing for battle. Joab lines up against them. But now the Syrians come up from behind and they form a line and they're getting ready to battle as well. And all of a sudden, Joab's looking like, oh, I just like walked right into a trap. Here's the people of Ammon right in front of me. Here's the people of Syria right behind me. And so what does Joab do? Well, when he recognizes this, it tells us in verse nine, he chose some of Israel's best and put them in battle array against the Syrians. So here's Joab and his special forces. They're stuck in the middle between these two armies. And so what Joab does is, okay, we have to face both. We have to fight both armies at the same time. Sometimes when we are called to battle, when we are called to fight, there will be two battle lines, two forces, two things that we have to fight at the same time. And so what Joab does is he splits battle. these two armies. Half of them are now going to fight against Syria. Half of them are going to fight against Ammon. He comes up with the best strategy possible to face both sides at the same time. And he tells his brother Abishai in verse 11, if the Syrians are too strong for me, then I'll let you know and you can come help me. So I'm fighting this side, and if I can't hold this line, if we can't fight against them, then you've got to jump in and you've got to help me. But on your side, if they're too strong for you, we don't know how this battle is going to go. We don't know which one is going to be stronger, who's going to fight harder. So you let me know if that side gets taken, you know, it's too hard to fight over there, and then I'll come and help you. And he's coming up with the best strategy possible to try to face both sides and fight both sides at the same time. And then he gives this great speech, this great, you know, pep talk. In verse 12, he says, be of good courage. Let us be strong for our people and for the cities of our God. And may the Lord do what is good in his sight. Here you can see the encouragement that would come as he says, look, let's be of good courage. Let's be encouraged. Let's be strong for our people, for our cities, for God. We're going to fight the best we can. We're going to do the best we can in the midst of this difficult situation. And we're going to leave the rest to God. May the Lord do what is good in his sight. In pursuing the heart of God, sometimes we will face difficult situations, impossible odds. Sometimes we're going to have to face situations that are extremely difficult. There's great pressures on both sides. And you can look all around you at the different things that are coming against you. And well, the enemy would use great intimidation to try to get you to surrender and give up. And look, you have an enemy on both sides. Not only do you have, you know, these schedule issues, you have these financial issues, you also have these family issues and these work issues and these church issues and these social issues. You have all these things attacking you and the enemy wants to use those things as intimidation to convince you, I should just give up. Why even fight? This is a losing battle. I'm not going to fight this battle. But in the pursuit of God's heart, there are many times where he's going to call you to fight against God. Very difficult situations and impossible odds. And our job is to not give up based on what we think the outcome is going to be. Our job is to do our best, to be strong, to fight, to go forward where God calls us to go forward. And then may the Lord do what is good in his sight. That's what we need to be focused on. Sometimes, again, we're too smart for our own good. We kind of do the calculations. I did the math. That doesn't work. So I'm just not going to do it. But if God calls you to do what's impossible to do, do what God's called you to do, even though it's impossible to do it. God wants us to do our best. Again, as I shared earlier, sometimes we think, well, God wants to do this for me. God wants this in my life, so I can just lay here like a slug and it's going to happen. But that's not how God works. Sometimes he tells you to do that. Don't do anything. That's salvation, right? You don't do anything. I'm going to provide salvation for you. But there are many other aspects and times in our lives where God says, I want to give this to you. I want to give you a blessed marriage, but you're going to have to fight for it. It's not just going to happen automatically while you sleep and then you're just going to wake up and then all of a sudden it's just like, wow, I have the career that I've always, you know, wanted and dreamed of and knew that God wanted to give me. You wake up one morning and it's like, wow, I have, you know, all of the ministry opportunities that I've always prayed for and asked for. Like they're just all right here. It's just all lined up for me. Yeah, there's things that God wants to do in your life, but God attaches your obedience to those things. And he says, you go to battle, you fight. Some things I'm just going to do for you, but some things I'm going to call you. I'm going to lead you in like into the promised land and I'm going to fight with you. But man, you're going to have to be engaged in these battles. You're going to have to experience conflict. You're going to have to experience opposition and severe contention and division and separation. There's going to have to be some battle lines drawn. But as you pursue God's heart, you don't have to do the math and work out what's going to happen. You don't have to figure all that out and don't let those things intimidate you so that you talk yourself out of it. You focus on, this is what God's called me to do. This is what God's spoken to me. This is what God is leading me in. And then like Joab, you say, may the Lord do what's good in his sight. That's my job. My job is to hear from God and to do what he says, regardless of how it looks or what I think the outcome is going to be or what I anticipate or what I want. My job is to do what is it that God has said. Be of good courage. Be strong and fight for the people that God has entrusted to you. Fight for the glory of God. Fight and battle and face those things and trust God to do the rest. Paul said something similar in Colossians chapter 3. He says, whatever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not to men. He's speaking to specifically bond servants who are enslaved to their masters. And it's not a good situation. It's a difficult situation. Some have good masters. Some don't have good masters. But Paul says, don't worry about all that. Here's what you need to be worried about. Whatever you're doing, do it heartily as to the Lord and not to men. And he goes on to say why, knowing that from the Lord, you will receive the reward of the inheritance for you serve the Lord Christ. This is the bottom line, the reality. You're serving God. So give your best. And when God calls you to battle, if it's impossible odds, if you're David and there's a Goliath facing you, you go to battle because it's the Lord's battle because you're pursuing his heart. We have to give our best and we have to trust the rest of God. And that's what they do here in this situation. Verse 13, so Joab and the people who are with him drew near for the battle against the Syrians and they fled before him. When the people of Ammon saw that the Syrians were fleeing, they also fled before Abishai and entered the city. So Joab returned from the people of Ammon and went to Jerusalem. The battle begins. The Syrians right away, they're overpowered by Joab's men. And they begin to flee. They begin to run. And when the people of Ammon on the other side, they've got the city at their backs, right? So they're like looking over this battle line. They're seeing all the conflict. And then all of a sudden, they're seeing the Syrians like run off. And so they just kind of like duck back in the gate. Quick, get back in the city where there's protection. And now they're within the city. They've retreated into the city and they're protected. They're safe there. And so Joab packs up his men and they come back to Jerusalem. Sometimes we're going to need to battle. It's going to be impossible odds, but we need to do our best. It's for the Lord. And so follow what the Lord says, even if it's difficult, even if it's challenging, even if it looks impossible. Moving on to verses 15 through 18, we get point number four this evening, and that is use full force when necessary. Sometimes God wants you to respond, and you need to use a measured response, not just, you know, everything you got at first. But then there are other times where God says, okay, now it's time. Gather everything you can and let's enter this battle completely and totally. Verse 15, when the Syrians saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they gathered together. Then Hadadezer sent and brought out the Syrians who were beyond the river and they came to Helam. And Shobak, the commander of Hadadezer's army, went before them. When it was told David, he gathered all Israel, crossed over the Jordan and came to Helam. Here, round two of the battle unfolds. Joab and his mighty men, the special forces, they win that battle. The war is not over. The Syrians are defeated, and when they see that, well... The Syrians decide we need to gather together again. And they brought together now more of the Syrians. This is like speaking of a whole region north of Ammon, north of Israel. And so they start gathering in as many men as they can from that region, from beyond the river, talking about the Euphrates River. So, you know, kind of reaching as far as they can, getting as many as they can. And they gather this army that comes down to fight against David. And David is told about this in verse 17. When it's told David, David, the Syrians have gathered together. They've brought together a mass, an even bigger army now to come and fight against us. So then in verse 17, he gathered all Israel. David now is going to respond to this threat and he's going to respond with all of his forces. with the whole army, not just with the special forces, not just with, you know, a limited response, but now it's time to face it head on with the full power of the nation of Israel, with the full army that is there in Israel. And so they set themselves in battle array against David and are defeated. There's a massive defeat here. 700 charioteers, 40,000 horsemen, The Chronicles version of this account actually says 7,000 charioteers. And so there's some discussion that could be had about the size of this army. But regardless of that specific detail, we get the picture. There's a massive defeat here as David gathers together all of Israel to face this threat. It's the full force of the army. And sometimes that is necessary. Again, sometimes God wants you to fight. Sometimes in the home, in the workplace, in society, in our own hearts, in our own schedule, in our own things that we face, that there is some fighting that needs to take place or some battling that needs to go on, that there's an argument, perhaps a disagreement. There's some division. There's some insisting on a particular way as we pursue God's heart. Sometimes it's a fight that God wants us to start. Sometimes it's a defensive move, but sometimes there is that battle. Peace at all costs is not what God wants. God did not want David here to just, you know, run up the white flag and say, you know, we surrender. No, God sent David into battle. There are some things that are worth fighting for and sometimes that God wants you to fight. And our first response probably is not supposed to be a full force type of response. It's But as things escalate, again, as God uses the least amount of judgment necessary to bring us to repentance, we kind of follow a similar model. We offer some resistance, you know, we offer some battle, but when there is no response to that, then, well, there is an escalation. of the battle that takes place. And sometimes we need to use full force. And that could mean a lot of different things depending on the context of what we're talking about and the context of what the Lord is calling us to fight in. Sometimes that might mean enlisting all the Christians and we need to all pray. We need to all seek the Lord. We need to all gather together. And perhaps there is that kind of battle that needs to go on. Sometimes it is gather all the soldiers. get the weapons and fight. Sometimes it's hire all the lawyers. Sometimes it's use physical force. There are times where each of those might be appropriate in the pursuit of God's heart. It's not about what we want or what we desire or what we, it's about what does the Lord want? And when he calls us to, when it's necessary, we may need to use physical all of the resources that we have in the battle that he's called us to fight. Now, how can you tell when it's necessary? Again, it keeps coming back to this concept of pursuing God's heart. This is not about, you know, just taking up my favorite, you know, thing that I like to argue about. This is not about taking up, you know, the favorite thing that I like to defend or attack. This is about what is the Lord's speaking? What is the Lord saying? What would please the Lord and honor the Lord in this context? And when using full force would please the Lord and honor the Lord, it's necessary and appropriate. Sometimes God wants you to fight. Sometimes it's going to come at great cost. Sometimes victory is going to be accomplished with casualties, with difficulties, with expense, with cost, with sacrifice. And That is part of the reality that we face in this life and in the pursuit of God's heart. But in the midst of all of that understanding that God sometimes calls us to battle and sometimes, probably not the first response, but there's a measured response first, and then sometimes full force is necessary. Then finally, point number five is found in verse 19. Remember that peace is the goal. Not peace at all cost, But peace is the goal. Verse 19 says, The battle is over. Syria is defeated. And so David mounts up his army and invades Syria and burns down all of their cities and kills all the people. No, that's not what happened. They ran up the white flag. And David invited them to a peace talk and then just bombed them right there. No, that's not what happened either. What happened? They surrendered. They offered peace. And David accepted. The battle's over. That is the objective. That is the goal. Sometimes full force is necessary in order to accomplish that goal. But then sometimes we get so caught up in the battle that That when it comes time to offer peace, that's hard for us to, like, I'm still in battle mode, you know, I still want to fight. No, no, sometimes we need to stop fighting and remember that peace is the goal. And so at each step in the battle, it's not just whether or not God wants us to fight a battle, but sometimes we can take a battle that originally God called us to and take it beyond what God has called us to be involved in. And it's no longer in pursuit of God's heart now. It's no longer in pursuit of God's will and honoring him and pleasing him. Now something different is going on because we've forgotten what the desired goal is and what it is that the Lord wanted out of that situation. Syria makes peace. And God says, that's it. That's all we needed. Good job. But Ammon doesn't make peace. It says the Syrians were afraid to help the people of Ammon anymore. The Syrians stopped fighting David. They made peace, but Ammon doesn't make peace. And so in the next couple of chapters, Israel and Ammon are going to continue to fight. And this really sets the stage for one of the most famous parts of David's life. Anybody remember the name of that girl? That's Sheba, right? Everybody knows that account. That whole situation is going to take place in the context of this conflict between Israel and Ammon. Started here, Ammon now has not given up. We haven't, you know, surrendered. We're going to still fight. And so they're going to go to the battle again in the spring of the year. David's going to stay behind and send Joab. There's going to be some issues that result. And again, we see David is a man after God's own heart, not because he was perfect, not because he was flawless. but because he kept coming back to the pursuit of knowing God and pleasing God and responding as God was speaking to him. And that's where we need to be as well. Understanding that peace is the goal, that as we get caught up in the moment, in the battle, you know, and we get caught up in the things that are going on and the clash that is happening, we need to stop and go back to what is the Lord saying and what would please God? And there's many times when where we get to the end of the battle and we need to stop battling because now is an opportunity to make peace. Now I mentioned Matthew chapter 18 at the beginning of the service, and I would encourage you just to go back there in your mind for a second. As the Lord laid us a pattern, a model to show like, hey, here's how to handle a conflict between people. If your brother sins against you, Jesus says, go tell him his fault between you and him alone. First of all, Make an offer of peace. Someone sins against you, look for an opportunity to make peace. Have a conversation personally. And if he doesn't receive you, well, then you'll deal with that. But if he receives you, then you've gained your brother. Then you've won the conflict. The objective has been completed. Peace has been established. You have peace. But if he doesn't receive you and he continues to sin, he persists in that sin, well, then a measured response. Take two or three with you. And go have a conversation. That by the word of two or three, that thing would be established. And so there's this measured response. It's not blow up, tell the world, crucify them in front of everybody, shame them and humiliate them. That's not at all. He says, just take it up a notch and have a bigger conversation now with two or three people witnesses. He goes on to, okay, you know, then we need to tell it to the congregation. If there is this insistence on continuing in sin, then it escalates. Then full force becomes necessary at some point, but not for the sake of destruction. Paul picks up this concept in 1 Corinthians chapter 5 and 2 Corinthians chapter 2 in dealing with the man who is in sin in the city of Corinth and the church is celebrating it. And Paul says, you need to deal with that. Use full force so that this guy can come to repentance. And we see that take place in second Corinthians too. He's now, the Corinthians have been like, you know, They've disciplined him so hard. They've kept him away so long. They're still in that mode. And Paul says, look, you need to remember that the peace is the goal. This guy's repented. Now it's time to accept him back. You're still fighting the battle. It's not time to fight the battle anymore. He's repented. The battle's over. He's already surrendered. He's given his life back to the Lord. Now it's time for you to restore. And so again, it gives us really good parallel, that picture of that, the way to handle that kind of conflict is, That what is pleasing to God and what is honoring to God all throughout the process is what needs to be the focus of our hearts. And some things are worth fighting for and sometimes we need to go into battle. And sometimes there needs to be that personal conflict. Sometimes there needs to be that real fight within our own hearts and with our own families, within our own workplaces. There needs to be those kinds of battles from time to time. But the most important thing in the midst of all of that is what is God's heart in this? And don't automatically think that God doesn't want you to fight because sometimes God wants you to fight. Don't automatically think that, well, it's just peace at all costs, no matter what it takes. That's not always what God wants. But that is the objective. That is the desired end result. But sometimes to get there, it requires that there be a battle. And again, this could be applied in a variety of contexts. And so I would encourage you to be taking these things before the Lord and give God an opportunity to show you, is there battle that he wants you to fight? Is there a battle that he wants you to stop fighting? What does the Lord want? What would bring honor and glory to him? What would accomplish his will in the situations that you face? Noah's going to come up and close us out in a time of worship. And I would encourage you during this time to just present your heart, present your life in these situations that you're facing to the Lord and invite him to show you what does he want to do? Is it time to bring peace? Is it time to offer peace? Is it time to provide a measured response? Is it time to just do your best because the odds are impossible, but you have to go forward and battle the way that God's called you to battle and just trust the rest with him? Is it time to use all force, get everything you got, and go into this battle that the Lord has set before you? And is it time to remember that peace is the goal? It's time to stop fighting and bring reconciliation. Rest, peace to the situation at hand. Let's worship the Lord and seek him and invite him to speak to our hearts about these things. As we always do during the midst of this time, if you desire to pray for someone, if you want to minister to someone, encourage someone, something's on your heart, feel free to move about, minister to one another as we worship the Lord and allow him to minister to us. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.