2nd Samuel 5:17-25

Recap Last Sunday

So last Sunday we went through the first 16 verses of chapter 5

where David officially took over the throne over all of Israel

David was the anointed one that waited 22 years to actually take over

David was a Godly , humble man that grew and became great because of His obedience to the Lord

2 Samuel 5:10 “10 So David went on and became great, and the Lord God of hosts was with him.”

now one thing id like to point out from last week is that when God is involved in anything in this life like we see here with David ( READ THE NEXT LINE)

He is a unifier, God alone works through people

and when he works through people he unifies them

that was Davids Life

2 Samuel 5:2 “2 Also, in time past, when Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them in; and the Lord said to you, ‘You shall shepherd My people Israel, and be ruler over Israel.’ ””

David brought peace to Israel because his life was submitted to the Lord

He didn’t bring Division amongst the people like the Last two Kings over all Of Israel (SAUL, , ISHBOSHETH)

it is important that any kind of leader wether its the King of a nation, the president of a nation, or the Pastor of the church or a leader of a church, is submitted to none other than Jesus christ

when we don’t have true submission to the Lord it creates division and dissension

TALK ABOUT 1st Corinthians

If we go back to 1st Corinthians like we have been going through on Wednesday we see so much evidence of a church that Got this wrong

they were a gifted church

they were a church that did well financially

they were a church that had many members

but they all had one thing in common and it wasn’t Jesus

it was Divisions

they all had their own leaders they worshiped and followed

they all had worldly wisdom ,

they were not Good stewards of the mysteries of God

they were a church defiled with sexual immorality

and they were a church that didn’t truly love one another to call out sin and to work out issues they had with one another

They were not a church that was submitted to the Lord , they were a church that was divided because their focus was on everything but the lord

they were not United but divided

their leadership was not submitted to the Lord

So back to Second Samuel

David was a great Leader, a great man that was living out the will of God in his life

He was a man that was submitted to the Lord which is why God used him. Other people around him saw what God was doing in His life

if it wasn’t for that, the people around him would not have eventually submitted to Him !

God uses anyone of us who is willing to submit to Him , it doesn’t matter the kind of person, he uses anyone of any walk of Life

Lets Pick Up where we left off in Vs 17

2 Samuel 5:17 “17 Now when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. And David heard of it and went down to the stronghold.”

2 Samuel 5:18 “18 The Philistines also went and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim.”

Okay so David back in 1st Samuel during his years of turmoil ran from Saul

at one point he was so tired and scared for his life that he actually ran and Made a home for himself in the enemies back yard

His way of dealing with Saul had finally came to a head so he goes to the enemy

so in 1 Samuel 27:1 “1 And David said in his heart, “Now I shall perish someday by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape to the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me, to seek me anymore in any part of Israel. So I shall escape out of his hand.””

so David was actually somewhat of a friend of these guys at one point and now they hear that He has become king over all of Israel

now they have real motif to kill David

so now David instead of being the warrior that he is instead of fighting, goes to the stronghold to Enquire of the Lord, ( we will talk more about this )

Point 1: The Enemy attacks when you step out in Faith

David is a man of faith and David is usually doing what the Lord asks of Him regardless of what the outcome is or what it looks like

now David has just been handed the keys to the Kingdom and he’s just come off of a W(dub) from cooking the Jebusites and taking over Zion (Jerusalem)

and now the enemy is after him to kill him

but this is just a great example of what life is like for anybody who choses to follow after the Lord

its not easy to follow God

especially when you are doing it right

the enemy wants to stinkin destroy anything good thats going on

he’s always going to try and attack when something good is happening

Just when you have found victory in something , the enemy is lying and waiting to throw another thing at you to set you back

we see many examples of this in Gods word and i’m going to share two of them

In Genesis Abraham built an altar to the Lord giving them the ability to enjoy the presence of the Lord and a place to call on the Lord

and then right after that Abraham finds himself in a bind with Lots Herdsmen

Genesis 12:8 “8 And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai(EYE) on the east; there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.”

so here Abraham is finding a victory by giving a way to worship the lord a way to communicate with the Lord

now go to ch 13

Genesis 13:7 “7 And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. The Canaanites and the Perizzites then dwelt in the land.”

Genesis 13:8 “8 So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren.”

In 1st Kings chapter 18 we can look at another example of the enemy trying to crush a victory.

Elijah sacrifices to the Lord and the Lord shoots fire down to consume the sacrifice allowing all the people to see that God is real and that he is far superior than BAAL (Ball)

soon after this victory in realigning the people with God Jezebel seeks out Elijahs life to Kill Him

1 Kings 18:37–39 NKJV

37 Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.” 38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!”

1 Kings 19:1–3 NKJV

1 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.” 3 And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.

with anything Good and pleasing to the Lord, the enemy will be waiting to strike right after

the enemy will always try and thwart what God is doing

what ever victory we have, we should always expect an attack from the enemy

when ever we step out in faith like David,

when we take over Jerusalem Like David

when ever we capture new territory Like David

the enemy will hear about it and show up to try and destroy it

Now the Same is true when ever we do anything for the Lord

I have an example for you guys, so yesterday How many of you enjoyed the turkey ?

ya that thing was difficult to finish

1st I started it in my Traeger

then i put it in the oven and set off all my alarms

then i get it ready to leave

then Ed invites me to come over to His house to smoke it

SO again when ever we do anything for the Lord , when ever we find victory in the Lord , we can learn to expect an attack from the enemy

when we learn to expect an attack from the enemy God gives us the ability to see it for what it is

its a-lot more spiritual than we really understand

Ephesians 6:12 “12 For 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.”

David expected this kind of attack from the enemy and as we read on we see how he handles the problem

Enquiring of the Lord/ Inquiring of the Lord

2 Samuel 5:19 “19 So David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?” And the Lord said to David, “Go up, for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into your hand.”

so David, when he went to the Stronghold went to pray and enquire of the Lord on how to handle this attack

and the lord responds telling him that they will certainly win

David has developed a good habit when it comes to inquiring of the Lord

he’s a man that has made it His top priority to seek the Lord in every matter of His Life

we can look back at 1st Samuel when God really started to use David, and we see the same thing

Davids fear of the Lord was His best attribute , his ability to seek him at the right time never failed Him

1 Samuel 23:2 “2 Therefore David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?” And the Lord said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines, and save Keilah.””

1 Samuel 23:9–12 “9 When David knew that Saul plotted evil against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod here.” 10 Then David said, “O Lord God of Israel, Your servant has certainly heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah to destroy the city for my sake. 11 Will the men of Keilah deliver me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as Your servant has heard? O Lord God of Israel, I pray, tell Your servant.” And the Lord said, “He will come down.” 12 Then David said, “Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul?” And the Lord said, “They will deliver you.””

1 Samuel 30:7–8 “7 Then David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, “Please bring the ephod here to me.” And Abiathar brought the ephod to David. 8 So David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?” And He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all.””

Davids heart for the lord lead to this moment and gave him Wisdom beyond his years

He developed good habits running to the Lord not only in times of trouble, but in Life in general

Every-time David went to the Lord, He was never disappointed

2 Samuel 5:20 “20 So David went to Baal Perazim, and David defeated them there; and he said, “The Lord has broken through my enemies before me, like a breakthrough of water.” Therefore he called the name of that place Baal Perazim.”

2 Samuel 5:21 “21 And they left their images there, and David and his men carried them away.”

Not only did David humbly submit the problem to the Lord, but he also gave Him credit for the outcome

David was able to brake through because the Lord did it for him

How often do we run to the lord in desperate need of an answer or in desperate need of his intervention and forget to give the Lord the credit

How often do we take credit for something that God did ?

David din’t forget to give credit where it was due

He knew that without running to the Lord and without giving him the Glory , that he was nothing

James 1:17 “17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”

its important that we give God all the glory he deserves, its a form of worship to acknowledge his sovereignty, through not only victories but tragedies as well

David did this consistently , and consistently the Lord rewarded him with success

2 Samuel 5:22 “22 Then the Philistines went up once again and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim.”

now these dudes after taking one L want to try there shot again and go after David

the enemy likes to try and brake our will and likes to press forward until we submit to him

but David does not do that

remember he is wise and he has a very healthy relationship with the Lord!

2 Samuel 5:23 “23 Therefore David inquired of the Lord, and He said, “You shall not go up; circle around behind them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees.”

So again David inquires the Lord

He doesn’t allow the enemies relentless attacks take over who God has called him to be

so this time he inquires the Lord , the Lord tells him something more specific, something different

David already went to the Lord once for pretty much the same thing

and it would have been easy for David to assume that God would want him to handle it the same way

but he doesn’t assume, he goes to the Lord seeking direction, New direction

and this time that direction is very different from the first time

David fought this battle before and he knew how to win but he sought the lord

So the first time, God commands David to hit them Head on, and this time he tells David to circle behind the enemy and come up from the mulberry trees

now this gives us a cool picture of what its like to get a fresh word from the Lord

David was a man that sought out a fresh word from the Lord regardless of it being the same thing

sometimes God uses the same battles to teach us new ways to triumph

each time you open your bible wether you’ve read it front to back , you should learn something new

you can read a passage 10 times and get 10 different things out of it

its the process of knowing the lord , and seeking Him, thats how we learn new things

2 Samuel 5:24 “24 And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly. For then the Lord will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.”

2 Samuel 5:25 “25 And David did so, as the Lord commanded him; and he drove back the Philistines from Geba as far as Gezer.”

of course David obeys the Lord and finds victory again

He finds victory in His relationship with the Lord and in his role as a King

So this brings me to the Main Point and I already Talked about it but id Like to Go deeper but that is

Inquiring the Lord

you see David developed a healthy relationship with the Lord By going to Him for a number of different reasons,

Throughout His time as a servant of the Lord, David Inquired the Lord 9 times in 1st & second Samuel and praised Him 7 times a day

Psalm 119:164 “164 Seven times a day I praise You, Because of Your righteous judgments.”

so Davids connection to the Lord was very very solid

but i want to point out different reasons we can inquire of the Lord

as people running to the Lord and asking Him for something is part of life

James 1:5 “5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”

Like David , we can go to the lord for the same things over and over again and sometimes Like David we might learn something new

I want to give you guys some examples of what we can inquire of the Lord in our walk

its not just trials and good things , we can literally go to the Lord for anything

but i want to point out some things specifically that we can inquire of the lord that we see in scripture

1) Inquiring the Lord for Knowledge

the first example is the birth of Esau and Jacob

Genesis 25:22–23 “22 But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If all is well, why am I like this?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. 23 And the Lord said to her: “Two nations are in your womb, Two peoples shall be separated from your body; One people shall be stronger than the other, And the older shall serve the younger.””

So Rebekah Isaacs wife was having twins , Esau and Jacob and while she’s pregnant with them they are crazy inside the womb

they were literally fighting each other inside

so Rebekah it says Inquired the Lord, she wanted to know why they were fighting in the womb even before they were born

and it was because there were two nations that would come out of the twins that hated each-other

now the same is true today , when we need knowledge , we have the ability to pray to God and ask Him to bless us with knowledge to know something we don’t already know

and knowledge from God is a virtue that only comes from God

Genesis 1:1 “1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

John 1:3 “3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.”

Isaiah 40:28 “28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable.”

John 1:1–5 “1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shined in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”

you want true knowledge about anything in this life, about anything spiritual in this life , seek God and you will find knowledge

David sought God and David found knowledge that Helped him in his time leading to His Kingship

2) inquiring God for Guidance:

When we inquire the Lord , we can ask for guidance

2 Samuel 2:1 “1 It happened after this that David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go up to any of the cities of Judah?” And the Lord said to him, “Go up.” David said, “Where shall I go up?” And He said, “To Hebron.””

1 Samuel 23:2 “2 Therefore David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?” And the Lord said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines, and save Keilah.”

Judges 20:18 “18 Then the children of Israel arose and went up to the house of God to inquire of God. They said, “Which of us shall go up first to battle against the children of Benjamin?” The Lord said, “Judah first!”

Now guidance is a form of direction wether its spiritual or not spiritual

but seeking God for Guidance is the best GPS we have , especially when we need help deciding which direction to go

Proverbs 20:24 “24 A man’s steps are of the Lord; How then can a man understand his own way?”

Proverbs 19:21 “21 There are many plans in a man’s heart, Nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand.”

Like David when we need guidance for what ever life throws at us, its important we ask God for that Guidance

Gods guidance will it not lead us in the wrong direction

if you need true Guidance seek the Lord

A) Wether its relationship Guidance , Boyfriend or girlfriend

thats a big one , I know when I was dating Kelci I was constantly praying to the Lord making sure I didn’t leave one question in my mind about anything regarding our relationship

B) God can give you guidance through illness and health issues. How can you heal me? will you heal me ?

God is a physician . If he can create us , he can heal us !

Mark 2:17 “17 When Jesus heard it, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

Luke 5:31–32 “31 Jesus answered and said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.””

C) God can give us guidance regarding our spiritual growth

2 Peter 1:5–9 “5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.”

if you don’t know what God has for you in general, step out in faith try new things see what he has for you who knows maybe you’ll be a king like David

if there are areas in your life that need repentance , he can guide you through that , he can bring it to the light and show you

D) God can guide you through decisions in life, you guys are all high schoolers obviously but one day you will find your self trying to figure out wether to go to school or work

Philippians 4:6 “6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;”

either way a simple prayer or reading of a passage out of the bible can reveal that to you

big decisions in life should not be made without inquiring of the lord for guidance

if David was willing to do it for war, you can do it for your math Homework

seeking Guidance / direction from the Lord is something we should be doing daily

David Praised the Lord 7 times a day and inquired of Him 9 times in first and second Samuel

Inquiring of the Lord is not limited to that , inquiring the lord is something we do everyday through Prayer and Gods word

You don’t know unless you ask

you don’t know unless you step out in faith

The God we serve is waiting for us to seek Him out

Matthew 6:33 “33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

you want knowledge for life seek the kingdom of God Like David

you want Guidance for Life , seek the Kingdom of God Like David

God is faithful and just and we will fin the victory in Him !