Journey to the Throne

Twists and Turns

What makes a good movie or show? Personally, plots twists, unpredictability, and action.

When characters do something no one is expecting or a main character dies and you can’t figure out how the story can move on without them, or there are regular segments of crazy action that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

Add all those together and you have my attention and probably some Oscars too.

Well if there were Oscars for bible stories, this section of David’s story might just sweep the field.

We are at the beginning of 2 Samuel, David has just found out Saul, the first king in Israel, and his son Jonathan, his rightful heir and David’s best friend, are dead.

15 years before, God had chosen David as the next King in Israel, but the road to this point had been crooked and bumpy for David.

And things don’t really get all that easier following Saul’s death.

Today we are going to walk through 2 Samuel chapters 2-5 and examine David’s journey to the throne in Israel.

I want to spend a few minutes telling the story and then close with a few brief points of application.

Brief Survey of 2-5

Some time after Saul dies, David, still in Ziklag, inquires of the Lord where he should go now that Saul has died.

God sends him to Hebron, which is in the land of Judah and David is quickly anointed as the King of Judah, the southernmost tribe of Israel.

Meanwhile in the rest of Israel, Abner, Saul’s army commander, has made Saul’s living son, Ish-bosheth king in the other tribes of Israel.

So in the middle of chapter 2, the two sides face off in a battle between 12 champions of David’s army, led by Joab his general, and 12 champions from Saul’s army led by Abner.

Though it reads as if the battle was short and uneventful, it is likely that it was a brutal and intense fight ending with Saul’s army losing and David’s army chasing them from the battle field.

One of Joab’s brother’s, Asahel, whom we are told is a really fast runner, goes after Abner and refuses to stop chasing him.

After several warnings, Abner stops and sticks our the butt of his spear to try and ward off Asahel, but the spear pierces him and he dies.

This will end up being an important part of the story as we keep going.

There seems to be a reason Ish-bosheth wasn’t on the battlefield the day his dad and brother’s died, he was a weak and fearful man and it seems Abner was using him only to gain power of his own.

So in 3:8 Ish-bosheth accuses Abner of taking one of his concubines which is an accusation that Abner is seeking also to take his throne.

Abner is outraged to the point that he decides Saul’s family is no longer the one he wants to hitch his pony to, so he heads to Hebron to meet with David and to offer him his help in becoming King in all of Israel.

The meeting with David goes well, but when Joab hears that David is making a deal with Abner, he is outraged.

working behind David’s back, Joab organizes a meeting with Abner and murders him to avenge the death of his brother.

David is shocked and infuriated by Joab’s actions and curses him and his family because of it.

At Abner’s funeral, David weeps over him and commands Joab and the army to do the same.

David’s honor and grace pleases the people of Israel and David’s popularity begins to grow with them.

The death of Abner is really the death blow to Ish-bosheth, who really had no power without Abner.

We are told “he gave up”, threw in the towel and all of Israel was dismayed.

Two brothers who were part of Saul’s army, seeing the writing on the wall, decided it would be to their benefit to take out Ish-bosheth and bring his head to David to show their loyalty to the new king.

But just like the Amalikite in chapter 1, David has them executed for taking a life they had no right to take.

Now with the throne in Israel free, the tribes of Israel come to Hebron to David and anoint him as King in all of Israel.

For 15 years David had waited to become King in Saul’s place, then for 7 years he reigned just over the tribe of Judah, but finally the road to the throne has come to an end.

Wouldn’t that make a great movie or a TV series?

But what is it that God intends for us to see in this crazy, chaotic story?

What do we see in this story?

1) GLIMPSES of GODLINESS

We can all point to things in our lives that prove we are decent human beings.

We take care of our families, work hard, don’t cause much trouble.

We help our neighbors, try to be generous to people, support our country and our community.

And all those things are true and good.

In every one of us there are attitudes, actions, thoughts, emotions, and intentions that are good and even can be labeled Godly (meaning they are things that God values).

For those of us who are Christians, one of the marks of being a follower of Christ is that we display characteristics that ought to be increasing like Jesus as the Holy Spirit teaches us, corrects us, directs us, and empowers us to live, think, and act more and more like Jesus.

The very first line of this section and the very last line of the section say a lot about who David was and his relationship with the Lord.

2 Samuel 2:1 CSB

1 Some time later, David inquired of the Lord: “Should I go to one of the towns of Judah?” The Lord answered him, “Go.” Then David asked, “Where should I go?” “To Hebron,” the Lord replied.

2 Samuel 5:25 CSB

25 So David did exactly as the Lord commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Geba to Gezer.

David intentionally sought the Lord’s direction 2 times in this section that covers 7 years of his life.

There is a lot of untold story in this section, but I think it is safe to assume that this was a regular part of David’s life that we catch glimpses of here.

David depended upon the Lord’s direction in order to know whether to act or not in regards to leading God’s people into war.

And when the Lord gave him direction, David did what He said.

We see this throughout David’s life, and coupled with his dependence on the Lord, was a patience to wait on the Lord as well.

At no point in David’s journey to the throne does there seem to be a pushing on his part to make things happen.

Others seem to become impatient and pushy, but David seems to stay calm and content in waiting on the Lord.

David showed a patient dependence and obedience.

Another glimpse of Godliness comes in chapter 3 after Abner is killed by Joab.

David scolds Joab and speaks judgement over his household, showing David’s propensity toward justice and fairness.

Abner didn’t deserve to die in David’s eyes, so even though Joab was his loyal general, David calls out his sin.

And then David mourns the death of Abner and commands Joab and all of Israel to do the same, showing David’s commitment to honor and dignity.

Later we see David’s heart for justice show when Rechab and Baanah kills Ish-bosheth and come to David expecting a reward.

David is repulsed by there lack of honor and evil intentions and so he has them executed.

David promoted justice, fairness, and honor, and was a man of mercy and grace.

Throughout David’s life we see these glimpses of goodness and Godliness, qualities we should desire to have, to pursue, and to cultivate in our own lives.

But these really are just glimpses in the story, not the whole story.

2) MARKS of BROKENNESS

Those glimpses of Godliness clouded by the marks of brokenness that seem to dominate the story.

Abner

We see in Abner a man who seems to be a strong, confident, and able leader and warrior.

But he also seemed to be power-hungry, self-centered, and manipulative.

In 2:8 we are told that Abner is the one who makes Ish-bosheth king over all of Israel (the Northern tribes).

And it seems his agenda is to use the weak and fearful Ish-bosheth to move himself into power in Israel.

So when Ish-bosheth accuses him of sleeping with his concubine, Abner is exposed (since this was a way used to steal power from kings).

So when Abner comes to David, he is likely just shifting his allegiance to the one who he thinks can better position him for power and prestige.

Like Abner, we are all prone to make ourselves the center of our focus.

Our wellbeing, our acceptance, our power and recognition, and our comfort often dominate our attention to the point that we live to serve our own needs rather than seeking to love and serve the needs of others.

Abner had some great qualities, but he was broken and sinful.

Joab

Much like Abner, Joab was a strong, gifted leader and warrior, who was David’s loyal general.

But Joab was a angry, impulsive, and aggressive person, driven by bitterness and vengeance.

After Abner accidentally killed Asahel, Joab’s brother, in chapter 2, Joab was overcome with anger, bitterness, and an overwhelming desire to avenge his brother’s death.

So when the time came, Joab doesn’t seem to hesitate.

There were qualities in Joab that were good and even Godly, but Joab ultimately was broken and sinful.

David

Before we leave this point though we have to mention David.

Directly following David seeking out the Lord’s guidance in 2:1, we are told that David take his two wives with him to Hebron.

If you are wandering how it is okay for David to have 2 wives, then you are asking the right questions.

Deuteronomy 17:17 CSB

17 He must not acquire many wives for himself so that his heart won’t go astray. He must not acquire very large amounts of silver and gold for himself.

Matthew 18:4–6 CSB

4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child—this one is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever welcomes one child like this in my name welcomes me. 6 “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to fall away—it would be better for him if a heavy millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the depths of the sea.

It is clear throughout scripture that God designed marriage to be between ONE man and ONE woman.

Don’t read these passages as if God is affirming or even condoning polygamy.

While David is seeking out God’s wisdom in regards to where to go and what to do, he is ignoring God’s guidance and standards in another area.

David is a compromised leader.

In 3:12-16, David uses his ex-wife Michal as a bargaining chip to gain Abner’s allegiance, tearing her away from her loving and devoted husband.

Then, after David is anointed King over all of Israel, we are told he “took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem.”

David had a besetting sin, a sin that stuck with him, that he either didn’t notice or refused to deal with.

Everyone of us have those same besetting sin, and if we are not vigilant, we will have our own Bathsheba moment.

David was a good, Godly king, but he was broken and sinful.

3) EVIDENCES of SOVEREIGNTY

It is easy to read sections of scripture like this one and think “why doesn’t God step in a fix all this chaos and mess?”

But what we see instead is God working in, through, and in-spite of the chaos and brokenness.

He uses Abner to put the weak and ineffective Ish-bosheth on the throne in Israel.

He uses Ish-bosheth’s cowardice to make Abner mad and drive him to David.

He uses Joab’s bitterness led to the people of Israel to grow in allegiance to David because of the way he handled Abner’s death.

He used the sinful, murderous hearts of Rechab and Baanah to open the throne in Israel for David to become King in all of Israel.

And He used David, the broken and sinful adulterer, to establish, grow, and lead His mighty and glorious Kingdom in Israel that shows us a small glimpse of the Kingdom that is yet to come.

The bible is an honest book and its honesty can often be off-putting if we don’t understand the purpose of its honesty.

God’s desire in honestly recording the history of His people is to put on display His sovereign hand that is working in the midst of the chaos and brokenness of our world to bring about His plans and purposes for us and for His larger story.

And He intends for us to see ourselves in the stories as well.

They might be 2000, 3000, or even 4000 years ago, but we are not much different today.

Which leads us to our last point.

4) Our DESPERATE need for a SAVIOR

Regardless of how good we think we are...

Regardless of how hard we work, how much we serve, how great a parent we are, how successful in business we are, how good a neighbor we are, how great a community member we are, or even how religious we are...

We are in desperate need of a Savior.

David was the greatest King in Israel, chosen specifically by God, a man after God’s own heart.

But David became king of a divided Kingdom, a broken and sinful people, and he himself was a broken and sinful man.

This era of Old Testament history is the pinnacle, the greatest season of Israel’s history, that is continually pointed back to even to the time of Jesus.

And yet it is marred by sin, stained by murder, and muddied by scandal and strife.

You can’t help but walk away from reading this feeling like there must be more than this, surely this isn’t the best we have to look forward to...

MrBeast

I listened to an interview this week with the youtube superstar MrBeast.

His real name is Jimmy Donaldson, and at 25 years old he has over 165 million subscribers on YouTube and makes somewhere around $50 million a year creating videos.

At 13 years old, he has been obsessed with making bigger and better Youtube videos and drawing more and more people to his channel.

Today his average video cost $2-$4 million dollars to make.

In addition to making videos, Jimmy give a lot to feeding people across the country and used his popularity to influence others to give as well.

In the interview he is asked about how much he works, to which he responds:

“I am crazy. I don’t have a life. My personality, my soul, my being is making the best videos possible, entertaining my fans the best I can. That is why I exist on this planet.”

MrBeast is a good guy in a lot of ways and he does a lot of really good things.

But regardless of how big his Youtube channel gets, how much money he makes, how many people he feeds, or whatever else he can accomplish in his life, he cannot fix the brokenness of our world or the brokenness of his own heart.

No one here is a prolific YouTube creator and likely none of us ever will be, but just like MrBeast, whatever it is we have hitched out wagon to the we are believing and trusting might fix the problems of our lives, may the Lord show us right now the emptiness of our endeavors and reveal to us our desperate need for a Savior.

You can’t “Good” your way into heaven.

You can’t earn your way into heaven.

You can’t work you way to heaven.

Yours and my only hope is in the true King, great shepherd, and the one and only Savior, Jesus.