The Conquering King
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Everyone loves a good story about a good king. We love the story to contain some drama and fighting with the good guys coming out on top.
One of these stories that has been handed down through time is the story of Robin Hood and the Sheriff of Nottingham.
King Richard the Lionheart
Prince John and Sheriff of Nottingham
Robin of Locksley
1 After this David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and David took Metheg-ammah out of the hand of the Philistines.
2 And he defeated Moab and he measured them with a line, making them lie down on the ground. Two lines he measured to be put to death, and one full line to be spared. And the Moabites became servants to David and brought tribute.
3 David also defeated Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to restore his power at the river Euphrates.
4 And David took from him 1,700 horsemen, and 20,000 foot soldiers. And David hamstrung all the chariot horses but left enough for 100 chariots.
5 And when the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David struck down 22,000 men of the Syrians.
6 Then David put garrisons in Aram of Damascus, and the Syrians became servants to David and brought tribute. And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went.
7 And David took the shields of gold that were carried by the servants of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem.
8 And from Betah and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, King David took very much bronze.
9 When Toi king of Hamath heard that David had defeated the whole army of Hadadezer,
10 Toi sent his son Joram to King David, to ask about his health and to bless him because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him, for Hadadezer had often been at war with Toi. And Joram brought with him articles of silver, of gold, and of bronze.
11 These also King David dedicated to the Lord, together with the silver and gold that he dedicated from all the nations he subdued,
12 from Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, Amalek, and from the spoil of Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah.
13 And David made a name for himself when he returned from striking down 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt.
14 Then he put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom he put garrisons, and all the Edomites became David’s servants. And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went.
15 So David reigned over all Israel. And David administered justice and equity to all his people.
16 Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army, and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder,
17 and Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were priests, and Seraiah was secretary,
18 and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites, and David’s sons were priests.
Pray
1. The Reason for the Conquest
1. The Reason for the Conquest
The story of David’s reign is a foreshadowing of a more perfect Kingdom that is coming
This is not a story about David and his enemies, but about God and those who oppose His kingdom
God will not tolerate any challengers to His reign
There are two sides in this battle we are engaged in. You are either with God’s people or against them.
In these conquests we have many kings who rebel and one who submits himself to David (Toi - v. 9)
David is victorious because God is giving him the victory
2. The Foreshadowing of the Conquest
2. The Foreshadowing of the Conquest
How does it make you feel when we read these verses
2 And he defeated Moab and he measured them with a line, making them lie down on the ground. Two lines he measured to be put to death, and one full line to be spared. And the Moabites became servants to David and brought tribute.
Hopefully your soul is a little disturbed by this! We should never be comfortable with death, violence, and war. These things were a part of life in the Old Testament, just like they are a part of life in our world today.
So, how do we explain this? Was David just in sparing one line of men, while killing the other two? Is God just in punishing the unrighteous while granting grace to the elect?
The truth is these men were all enemy combatants. They willingly took up arms against the Lord’s anointed. Every one of them deserved the sentence of death.
We must remember that there is a reason that God commands the annihilation of these people of Canaan, while giving regulations to Israel on how to handle non-Canaanite combatants.
The reason that God commanded the destruction of these people was because of the extreme wickedness of these peoples. Let me show you for a moment.
16 And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
God is making a promise to Abraham and telling him that his descendants will possess the land but not until the sins of the Amorites had reached it’s fullness.
God was patiently waiting. During this time, the people of Israel would serve as God’s witness to the surrounding nations, but these nations would not turn to God. No one ever will unless God in His grace draws the sinner to Himself.
However note the kindness and the severity of God.
22 Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.
God used David and the people of Israel as His agent of judgment against these pagan peoples. He made a distinction between them and others that Israel would fight against.
Perhaps many people would be more comfortable if God himself came down from heaven and drew His sword. He did that against Israel when David numbered the people.
In this case, it is no different than a judge passing a death sentence on a guilty convict and delivering them over to the executioner. God uses the magistrates as His agent of justice.
However, there is coming a day when God himself will deliver the wicked over to death and destruction in Hell before the final judgement before His throne.
Remember that this account is a picture and a foreshadowing of what is to come. David is not God’s final King. That title is reserved for the King of kings and Lord of lords. Jesus is the one that every knee will bow before.
However, not everyone bows the knee voluntarily. They will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and they will proclaim His majesty and lordship; however, many will be made to do so.
The real question is not why did God save one line of these Moabites, or why did God allow David to defeat Hadadezer and the Syrians, or the Edomites, or the Moabites, or the Philistines.
The real question is why did God spare anyone.
9 What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin,
10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;
11 no one understands; no one seeks for God.
12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”
13 “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.”
14 “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 in their paths are ruin and misery,
17 and the way of peace they have not known.”
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
The wonder is not why some are vessels of God’s wrath and some are vessels of His mercy. The real question is why any of us would be saved.
Yet the Bible says this,
1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
This is a lot of New Testament Scripture to help us understand these Old Testament passages, but they are important for us to see how David’s kingdom is a near and present reminder to us that God will act.
Just like the flood reminds us God will judge the whole world and just like Sodom and Gomorrah reminds us there are no righteous men to be found to save the cities of earth, God is going to judge the whole world one day and only those who belong to His kingdom through their faith in Christ will be saved.
3. The Response to the Conquest
3. The Response to the Conquest
15 So David reigned over all Israel. And David administered justice and equity to all his people.
16 Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army, and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder,
17 and Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were priests, and Seraiah was secretary,
18 and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites, and David’s sons were priests.
David administered justice and ruled with equity to all his people. There is another King coming who will do the same.
1 Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the royal son!
2 May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice!
4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
5 Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins.
This leads us to the last thing we need to take away from the passage tonight.
What is our response going to be?
Would we dare to say that we are more holy and moral and righteous than God? Would the clay say to the potter, why did you make me this way?
How can we presume to be more fair than God. But remember, we do not ask for God to be fair.
To be fair would require our death instead of the death of Jesus for our sins. It was not fair that Christ died, but it was God’s grace towards us.
We need to put our faith in the King. We need to respond to His invitation that whosoever would call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.
As a believer, we also must remember to continuously submit to the reign and rule of Christ. We are not ourselves, but have been bought with a price.
Conclusion
Desert Storm and Coalition forces rolling in
Iraqi forces were surrendering to camera men
Jesus is going to come riding on a white horse with simply the sword of His mouth as His weapon.
He will bring down the wicked in one fail swoop and the grapes of wrath will fill up the cup of the wrath of God.
For those who have drank the cup of the blood of Christ and who have received His body that was broken for us, we will be saved.
He has suffered outside on a tree and become a curse for us that we might not have to go through what He endured. Our conquering king has crushed the final enemy.
