August 27, 2023 - From David to Christ
Notes
Transcript
Today we come to our final sermon in this series walking through the book of Samuels.
As I looked back through the sermons for this book of 2 Samuel...
It took me some time staring at the content...
But I feel like what I saw was a purposeful flow of information...
…that - ON IT’S OWN - builds the story of God’s redemption...
AND HOW God would go about TEACHING MANKIND...
ABOUT the coming King - Jesus.
If you think about it -
In relation to TIME ITSELF -
At THIS time of David - about 1000 B.C...
God was in the process of teaching mankind about the coming King - Jesus Christ!
if you remember what we talked about at the end of FIRST Samuel...
We discussed - TYPES of Christ...
Christological Typology
There are men in the OT that - REPRESENTED Jesus...
they were - SHADOWS - of the real thing...
They are LIKE Jesus - in certain ways...
And would have helped people to understand what the COMING KING - Jesus - would have been like.... IN A SENSE.
They end up being a - FORESHADOWING of the real thing - to come.
And so - today - as we look back at 2 Samuel...
Let’s revisit the storyline in regards to DAVID - and then view it IN LIGHT of Christ… the coming - Better King.
So we started 2 Samuel by looking at the Authority of God’s Word!
David had just learned of Saul’s death...
AND Jonathan’s death...
Jonathan of course - was David’s close friend...
But SAUL?
Saul had become, HOSTILE toward David - to the point where he tried to KILL David many times.
YET - what did we see?
THROUGHOUT this entire story - what we continue to see OVER and OVER AGAIN...
Was David’s unwavering loyalty to Saul.
And it seemed kind of SHOCKING - since David was so USED TO KILLING men in battle...
Yet he would NOT touch Saul.
And we end up finding out that David was LOYAL to Saul...
Because David was - LOYAL to God and His word!
SLIDE: Under God’s Authority: Loyalty to God’s Purposes and Timing
Under God’s Authority
Under God’s Authority
What was the basis of David’s loyalty to Saul?
5 And afterward David’s heart struck him, because he had cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.
6 He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the Lord’s anointed.”
7 So David persuaded his men with these words and did not permit them to attack Saul. And Saul rose up and left the cave and went on his way.
10 Behold, this day your eyes have seen how the Lord gave you today into my hand in the cave. And some told me to kill you, but I spared you. I said, ‘I will not put out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord’s anointed.’
SO - the BASIS for David’s loyalty to Saul - was that he was ANOINTED by the Lord!
David knew that Saul was PUT in that position by the Lord - and BASED on THAT reason alone - David would NOT strike him…(take him out)
EVEN as Saul tried to PIN him to the wall - with a spear.
See - David OFTEN - heard from the Lord!
77 Verses - in the OT - give us dialogue of God speaking to David.
And YET - not once did God tell David to kill Saul…so he would not do it!!
For David - it was all about - God’s Authority!
Under God’s Authority: He was surrendered to God’s purposes
NOW - That was DAVID...
That was clear in David’s life - he was going to STICK to God’s plan!
And if David was a TYPE of Christ...
Then question is - Do we see this same characteristic IN Christ?
Let’s see...
34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.
49 For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak.
And so we see HERE - from Jesus - He was COMPLETELY SURRENDERED to the Authority of the Father...
In WORD and DEED!
I am HERE - to do what HE has told me to do...
And to SAY what HE has told me to SAY!
Jesus was completely SURRENDERED to God’s PURPOSES...
But that’s NOT ALL!
We had ALSO seen that David had SURRENDERED himself to NOT ONLY - God’s Purposes…but also - God’s TIMING!!
If you remember - the DEATH of Saul... came about - IN BATTLE against the Philistines…!
His death - DID NOT come - by the hands of - David!
But if you remember - given the “CIRCUMSTANCE” - - we probably WOULDN’T have been surprised if DAVID DID - Kill Saul...
WHY? - Because Saul was constantly trying to kill David...
But David - - was CONTENT to live - in God’s Timing!
Let’s look back at a scenario here....let’s read verses 7 and 8 of chapter 26
7 So David and Abishai went to the army by night. And there lay Saul sleeping within the encampment, with his spear stuck in the ground at his head, and Abner and the army lay around him.
8 Then Abishai said to David, “God has given your enemy into your hand this day. Now please let me pin him to the earth with one stroke of the spear, and I will not strike him twice.”
ALRIGHT! The guy that had been TRYING to KILL David - was RIGHT THERE..... asleep!
David KNEW that God had ANOINTED HIMSELF (David) to be KING…
Sooooo - why not get this thing GOING!
How does David respond?
9 But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him, for who can put out his hand against the Lord’s anointed and be guiltless?”
10 And David said, “As the Lord lives, the Lord will strike him, or his day will come to die, or he will go down into battle and perish.
11 The Lord forbid that I should put out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. But take now the spear that is at his head and the jar of water, and let us go.”
David was NOT going to be PERSUADED - by the circumstance!!
David was STANDING FIRM on the authority of God!!
And he was SURRENDERED to - - God’s timing!!
That’s pretty amazing isn’t it?
David had ben told by God NOT to TOUCH Saul...So he decided - God will TAKE CARE OF IT!!
I won’t go there…I’m not gonna touch it!
My hands are OFF!!
David lived in a way that said - TO THE WORLD - Whatever ends up happening to Saul, the world WILL NOT be able to say - I did it!
That was David’s approach here. He TRUSTED God’s TIMING!!
And wasn’t going to take the wheel - from God!
And that’s what disobedience is… it’s taking the wheel from God.
But THAT’s DAVID - How about Christ?
Did Christ also trust the Father’s timing?
Jesus - taking His first steps INTO ministry....said this...
14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God,
15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
6 Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here.
8 You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come.”
Jesus then said...
18 He said, “Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, My time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.’ ”
Jesus was ALL ABOUT - the Authority of the Father’s TIMING!
Which means - EVERY EVENT....
in HUMAN HISTORY...
PRIOR to the crucifixion of Christ...
was Fore-Ordained to take place...
ALL leading - in PERFECT TIMING - to the execution of Jesus!
His death - was not a SECOND - EARLY - OR LATE!
Jesus lived on earth - Under the Authority of God’s timing...
LIKE David - but a BETTER King!
So David - LIKE Jesus - Loyal to the Authority of God’s Purposes and Timing!
David had ALREADY been anointed as the next KING of Israel...
Yet - when Saul died, David only became king over Judah.
But because of David’s LOYALTY to God’s timing.... he waited.
He WAITED - YET - Kingship was coming!
David KNEW IT!
SLIDE: Under God’s Authority: Kings (Leaders) Shepherd Those Under Them
Under God’s Authority
Under God’s Authority
What we saw was that David was called to be KING - as a SHEPHERD!
2 In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was you who led out and brought in Israel. And the Lord said to you, ‘You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over Israel.’ ”
The call of SHEPHERD!
What did that MEAN?
Now - David would have known what that entailed...
Growing up - he was the keeper of the SHEEP!
He would have known that the SHEPHERD...
was called to FEED the flock. Feed the People of Israel.
Did David do that?
YES...
God had told David - NOT to kill Saul...But that INFO didn’t STAY with David...
David TOOK that command of the Lord - and PASSED it onto the people…!
Would David’s REFUSAL to kill Saul have been POPULAR with the people?
NO - they all ASSUMED HE WOULD kill him!!
But David OBEYED the Lord - STUCK to his guns...And WOULD NOT go against the Lord!
But not only did David SIMPLY TELL the people about God’s command...
Next verse...
7 So David persuaded his men with these words and did not permit them to attack Saul. And Saul rose up and left the cave and went on his way.
David FED the people of Israel!
He fed them - SPIRITUAL food!
And THEY - IN TURN - obeyed God!
THAT’s a shepherd!
And AS a King-Shepherd - David was called to CARE for the flock…the people of Israel!
Did David do this?
Of course - we just talked about it!
He SPARED Saul’s life - when Saul was King...
He taught the people to OBEY God -
That’s CARING for the people!!
He was also called - as a King-Shepherd to Guard the Flock from Wolves (false teachers)!
Or - Another way to say it - to GUARD the TRUTH!
Did David guard the truth?
37 And David said, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!”
45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,
David guarded the truth of the ONE TRUE and LIVING GOD…that there WAS ONLY ONE true and living God!
And he was willing to DIE for it
THAT’S a shepherd!
He was also called to LEAD by EXAMPLE...
Did David do this?
16 But all Israel and Judah loved David, for he went out and came in before them.
Where Saul was OFTEN - HIDING in the baggage...Or HIDING in the caves...
DAVID - was OUT - FIGHTING!! - LEADING in the battle!
He was an EXAMPLE…to his people...
He was also called to Be Accountable!
One of the more popular stories in the Bible has to do with when Nathan the prophet comes to David...
And confronts him in his sin with Bathsheba...
What does David do?
He OWNED it!
He repented of the details - and he clung to the BIG PICTURE hope that was his in God!
David asked God for the REMEDY to his ultimate problem!
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.
David pursued JOY in God…as the remedy.
And finally - the call of the shepherd is to RISK Life Itself...
for the sake of the flock!
David clearly did this EVERY TIME he went out to the battle field to fight for the nation!
He was willing to fight for the sheep he watched over as a child...
And he was willing to fight for the flock of Israel that God entrusted to him as King.
SO DAVID - was the Shepherd of Israel - as King.
But as we talked about earlier - David was a TYPE of Christ!
he was a SHADOW of a greater REALITY to come!
Jesus Christ was known as the SELF-PROCLAIMED...
11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
Jesus was the GOOD Shepherd!
When it came to...
Feeding the Flock
Caring for the Flock
Guarding the Flock from False Teachers
Leading by Example
Being Accountable
Risking Death
Did David fail in any of these?
OF COURSE he did!
Did David ALWAYS lead by example....
No… (Bathsheba - Uriah)
But Christ? - He accomplished all of these things - PERFECTLY!
…EVEN unto death!
Jesus...
Fed His followers with God’s truth...
He...
Cared for them in healing their physical pains - but more importantly their souls
He...
Guarded them from error by BEING the Truth…Defending the TRUTH…and upholding it!
He...
Lead them by example…displaying what humility, love, and sacrifice looked like!
He...
Remained accountable for every word He spoke, NEVER backing down
And of course He....
Risked His life - IN FACT - laid it down for His followers!!
While David was [a] Shepherd...
Jesus IS = the GOOD Shepherd!
Jesus is the REALITY that David’s reign as King - pointed to.
And then SPEAKING of David’s reign…his THRONE...
We saw how God established an EVERLASTING covenant with David...
Saying that THRU the line of David, his THRONE would be an EVERLASTING throne!!
12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.
13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
Now if you remember = this text continues - and some have questioned whether it’s referring to Jesus or not...
14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men,
This verse says - When this son COMMITS iniquity…commits sin...
And so - we wonder what that means...
The verse is actually about Solomon (the sinner) - AND it’s about Jesus…the righteous one!
How do we know...
1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets,
2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.
3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
5 For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”? Or again, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”?
The author of Hebrews QUOTES 2 Samuel 7:14....
APPLYING that text to the Messiah - Jesus Christ!
And so think through that!
Jesus Christ - was UNDERSTOOD by early Christians - as in DIRECT connection to the Davidic Covenant!
So God SAID - in 2 Samuel 7 - A coming Offspring of David will come - and He will be a SON to God the Father...
WELL - Fast forward to Jesus’ ministry…and what do we read?
16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him;
17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
NOW - this phrase by God here - in the INTRODUCTION of Jesus to Israel…at His baptism...
Finds it’s CONTEXT in the Davidic Covenant!
And so God is EMPHATICALLY saying - Jesus Christ is THE ONE - ON WHOM my Covenantal promise - IN the Davidic Covenant - RESTS!!
David was a king...
Jesus is the BETTER King...
The ETERNAL King!!
David however - we find at times - REFLECTING on ALL that God had done for him...
And we saw that GRATEFULNESS to God was something that David rested in!
With Humility of Heart - David contemplated....
And THINKING back to God’s PAST faithfulness in his life - DAVID was EMPOWERED with BOLDNESS of faith!
He did some mighty things in the strength of the Lord!!
AS DID his men!
In 2 Samuel chapter 10 - we read this...
12 Be strong! We must prove ourselves strong for our people and for the cities of our God. May the Lord’s will be done.”
And from this we saw that YES - there are RISKS to this thing called Christianity!
That’s it’s not about preservation of self...
But perseverance thru trial!
That the call for us is to go....
All In Without Fear
All In for the Sake of Others
All In for the Sake of His Name
All In On God’s Will and Not My Own
And it’s pretty cool - that if you look at the Sermon Titles that we walked through in this book...
They seem to highlight for us - the point of this sermon...
That while David was a king - Jesus was the BETTER King.
SLIDE:
The Authority of God's Word
The How of God's Ways
King As Shepherd
The People of God
The Davidic Covenant
Gratefulness Under God
Generational Blessing
The Risk of Christianity
Restoring the Ruin
The Chastening Love of God
The God on Our Side
Raised on High
If you follow these titles DOWN - and you think through what’s being TAUGHT as you make your way through...
You see...
It starts with the Authority of God...
Surrendering yourself to HIM, His purpose and His timing...
We then see HOW God works...
And that HIS RULE - is like that of a SHEPHERD!
He’s saying - a HUMAN King is here now...
But MY RULE OVER YOU will continue FOREVER!
“Davidic Covenant”
And BECAUSE of God’s STEADFAST LOVE - in KEEPING this covenant...
We should be - - Grateful to God!!
And as we live under a FAITHFUL - Covenantal God - in OBEDIENCE to Him.... Generational Blessings FLOW to us.
BUT - There are RISKS involved in this RELATIONSHIP with God...
RISKS in the sense of - the human perspective of Risk.
It can be RISKY to follow Jesus in Obedience!
Just ask PAUL!
It’s also HARD - in this fallen world - to OBEY at time!
ASK PAUL!!
Paul says - I keep doing what I HATE doing…!
It can be hard!
And SOMETIMES - our flesh - WILL WIN the battle.
And it’s HERE - right before this next SERMON TITLE...
That we can SEE and REALIZE - With David - we’re dealing with A MAN...
A fallen man.
We’re dealing with a - LESSER King.
David stumbles in sin.
....with Bathsheba and Uriah...
But EVEN SO -
Was he lost?
Was his story DONE??
NO! - Why?
Because with our Covenantal God - we can restore any RUIN that comes!!
David - repented of the DETAILS - and looked to the BIG PICTURE blessing of God’s Steadfast love!
God CHASTENED David - but NEVER let him go!
Never forsook David!
AND - still USED David to lead His people!
It proved that = GOD was ON HIS SIDE...
As God is on OUR side!
And God will RAISE US UP to carry out the ministry of reconciliation to the lost WORLD!!
And so - you can - in a sense - TASTE the message of HOW GOD would have taught humanity about HIMSELF - and His plan of redemption - through the REIGN of David - which pointed to the COMING KING JESUS!
And so - BECAUSE David was a man - He not only was a TYPE of Christ - but he was FULLY - FALLEN - MAN.
David - even AS KING - stumbled!
And once he stumbled - How would God have TAUGHT mankind of the FAITHFULNESS of God - in displaying the EVERLASTING Reign of Jesus??
What would TEACH that?
Keeping David as KING - would teach that!
SLIDE: Under God’s Authority: Promise Proclaims Peace
Under God’s Authority
Under God’s Authority
What do I mean?
We all know - even though the Bible says:
SLIDE:
David was a man after God’s own heart
Even though the Bible says this - we KNOW this...
SLIDE:
David was not a perfect man
AND - even though we KNOW this...
We ALSO KNOW...
SLIDE:
David was a man after God’s own heart
The reason David could REMAIN king - even after STUMBLING...
Was because of God’s PROMISE!
His COVENANT with David’s THRONE and ISRAEL - that would last - FOREVER!
NOW - when David was first anointed King by Samuel...
He could have made 1000 promises that he would ALWAYS pursue righteousness and ALWAYS pursue obedience to God’s law...
But would those promises have MEANT much?
NO - why?
Because David’s a man!
A fallen man!
And so the PROMISE here that PROCLAIMS peace....
It’s a CERTAIN KIND of PROMISE...
It’s not a MAN-MADE promise!
It’s a DIVINE promise!!
And THAT’S WHY - the promise HERE - PROCLAIMS peace!!
David’s SIN didn’t take God by surprise!!
SLIDE:
God’s promise proclaims peace to our problems
David’s sin didn’t AT ALL change God’s plan and purpose for David.
God’s PROMISE wasn’t AT ALL impacted by David’s shortcomings!
Which means...
The valleys in your life...
Even the ones that come due to our own failings...
They don’t - AT ALL - change God’s heart toward you!
We will REAP what we SOW...
But - The PROMISE of GOD - and HIS promise alone...
Assures us - that we are HIS - and WILL be HIS - tomorrow
Your valleys are not too deep for God and His love!
Who do we have to THANK for this?
David?
No -
The BETTER King - Jesus Christ!
SUMMARY!
Under God’s Authority
Loyalty to God’s Purposes and Timing
Kings (Leaders) Shepherd Those Under Them
Promise Proclaims Peace
I hope = that what we’ve seen in 2 Samuel...
Is that the Reign of David highlights the heart of God...
And the NEED for mankind for a PERFECT KING...
King Jesus!
Let’s pray