From Chaos to Christ

HBI -Sin defiles every Human heart, we do not have the ability to save ourselves, all may seem lost and we may not know what to do but we can trust in God through it for what He has purposed will come to plan.

"In times of chaos and human sinfulness, when kingdoms (or lives) seem to crumble, trust that God's sovereign plan will prevail without compromise."

Some have said the Old Testament exists merely to record the “quaint notions of man” — as though it were a religious scrapbook of ancient struggles, interesting but not authoritative. You’ll hear that kind of tone in the broader theological world shaped by voices like Rudolf Bultmann or later popularizers such as John Shelby Spong, where the emphasis falls heavily on human religious development rather than divine orchestration.

But walk with David for a moment.

Many of us, like David, have been waiting for many things for a long time. Like David, we pray year after year for things that, as of yet, we see no obvious answer to. When we follow in the path of God’s Anointed, we follow someone whose path was filled with many obstacles. We may wonder why, as followers of Jesus, so many things do not seem to fall in line like we think they should — like a dreadful jigsaw puzzle with pieces missing.

David is on that kind of journey. He has been anointed king, yet Saul still sits on the throne. He has the promise, but not the palace. He has the calling, but not the crown. And the obstacles? They are not abstract problems. They are people who must be removed in God’s timing, not his.

Now ask yourself: If this were merely the “quaint notion of a primitive shepherd-king,” why does it read like your prayer journal?

Why does David’s waiting feel so painfully contemporary?

Because this is not ancient amusement. It is divine revelation. It is the Spirit of God giving language to the ache of waiting saints in every generation.

David’s story teaches us something critical: Being anointed does not mean being accelerated.

The oil was poured in 1 Samuel 16. The throne came much later. In between? Years of caves, betrayal, restraint, and funerals. The obstacle of Saul was not removed when David wanted it removed. And David refused to remove it himself.

That is not quaint. That is sanctifying.

The Old Testament does not record primitive religion; it records the school of patience. It shows us that God often fulfills promises slowly, painfully, and providentially. The missing puzzle pieces are not missing to God — they are simply not yet placed where we can see them.

So when you pray year after year and nothing seems to move, remember David.

The anointing was real. The promise was real. The delay was real. And God was just as present in the delay as in the coronation.

That is not amusement. That is formation.

And in following David’s greater Son, Jesus, we discover the same pattern: cross before crown, waiting before reigning, obstacles before glory.

The Old Testament is not the record of man reaching for God. It is the record of God shaping His people through waiting — and that is exactly what He is still doing with us.

about 30 years after the annointing of David in 1 Samuel till this time, but it still is not going to go all that easy.

1-4 disintegrtaion of the house of saul

the house of David was becoming stronger and the hosue of saul becoming weaker. Israel began to be dismayed seeing David grwo stronger. Ish-bosheth can reasonably be considered a puppet (or figurehead) of Abner, based on the clear biblical narrative and how most interpreters and commentaries describe their relationship in 2 Samuel 2–4.

After Saul's death, Abner (Saul's cousin and longtime army commander) took the initiative: "Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saul’s army, had taken Ish-bosheth son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim. He made him king over Gilead, Ashuri and Jezreel, and also over Ephraim, Benjamin and all Israel" (2 Samuel 2:8–9). The text emphasizes Abner's action—he "made him king"—rather than any popular or divine selection of Ish-bosheth.Abner installed him as king

So when Abner was killed things started going downhill for Ish-bosheth. all Israel had been convinced by Abner they would do far better if they switched to the side of David. but Abner never made it back as he was killed, so likely there would have been a lot of uncertanty.

Dismayed - Impending doom awaits us

2 Samuel 4:1 CSB

When Saul’s son Ish-bosheth heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he gave up, and all Israel was dismayed.

it would appear to them that all the structures that support them where getting weaker. Likely they would have been meeting in the marketplace with a sense of uncetanty wondering what is going to happen. Abener is gone, Saul’s son is getting weaker.

why in verse 4 do we get introduced to the grandson?

2 Samuel 4:4 CSB

Saul’s son Jonathan had a son whose feet were crippled. He was five years old when the report about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nanny picked him up and fled, but as she was hurrying to flee, he fell and became lame. His name was Mephibosheth.

can anybody step into the gap? is there anyone to take the place of Ish-bosheth? the grandson cant, all of israel is terrified there is no one else can save them it seems like. If only they would put their trust in God

We deal with the same thing now, a sense of uncertanty of what is going on in the world. we dont know what is really going on, what is going to come of the world, is God even listening?

But we can trust that God will bring about that for which he has purposed from the beginning of eternity. It should lead us to a spirit of dependance on God instead of independance. The Israelites likely where uncertain but we can certanley trust in the divine plan of God and rejoice in the God of our salvation. God's sovereignty: Even amid political chaos, moral failure, and despair, God remains in control and works out His purposes. God is at work to bring about his plan to His desired end.

we may not know what to do but we look to the Lord for what He has done. “I lift my eyes up, into the heavens”

5-8 - the assassination

Next we meet two men. Saul’s son had two men in charge of raiding parties, not very good men. The Beerothites, the original pre-Israelite inhabitants, probably fled to Gittaim (gittāymāh), according to Neh. 11:33 a city in Benjamin, at the time Saul put the Gibeonites to death

Saul's surviving son and rival king to David, loses heart and his support crumbles. The kingdom is divided: David rules Judah from Hebron, while Ish-Bosheth (a weaker figure) rules the rest of Israel . Rekab and Baanah are two of Ish-Bosheth's own captains (from his raiding bands). They see an opportunity in the chaos. though they where loyal to Saul’s son, now they are loyal only to themselves.

The king was taking a nap and the two men lied their way into his house. They claimed to be doing it on behalf of God and brought the dead king back to David.

2 Samuel 4:7–8 CSB

They had entered the house while Ish-bosheth was lying on his bed in his bedroom and stabbed and killed him. They removed his head, took it, and traveled by way of the Arabah all night. They brought Ish-bosheth’s head to David at Hebron and said to the king, “Here’s the head of Ish-bosheth son of Saul, your enemy who intended to take your life. Today the Lord has granted vengeance to my lord the king against Saul and his offspring.”

The ironic thing, if you could think of it this way, is that this is Exactly what happened to his father. and David treated them just like he did the others who claimed to be acting on behalf of God. This is not heroic or God-ordained. The assassins are opportunists committing cold-blooded murder and betrayal (even against their own side and tribesman). They misuse God's name to justify personal gain, a classic case of false piety covering selfish ambition.

there will be people who these are quaint notions for our amusement - these two characters where bad. this is where we see the chaos and sin of Human hearts.

peoples hearts are evil, the bible says that we have all sinned. Human sinfulness: Wickedness, betrayal, and violence are not just Old Testament problems — sin defiles every human heart.

Jeremiah 17:9 CSB

The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable—who can understand it?

evil comes from within our hearts and defile a person. we all need a heart transplant, we need a new heart and a new spirit,

Ezekiel 36:26 CSB

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

But then sometimes we think that we are not all that bad, two bad characters. we are bad and in our badness we compare ourselves to other people and think I am not as bad as this person or that person. so we need to pray for mercy. We are just as bad as they where in need of the mercy of God. But the great thing is that Jesus shows us Mercy even in our sin by giving us a way out of our sin and intoi the family of God.

Have you ever gone to God and said, God be merciful to me, a sinner. We need mercy. even as children of God we need to often lean on the mercy of God.

9-11 the conversation

2 Samuel 4:9–11 CSB

But David answered Rechab and his brother Baanah, sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “As the Lord lives, the one who has redeemed my life from every distress, when the person told me, ‘Look, Saul is dead,’ he thought he was a bearer of good news, but I seized him and put him to death at Ziklag. That was my reward to him for his news! How much more when wicked men kill a righteous man in his own house on his own bed! So now, should I not require his blood from you and purge you from the earth?”

the two wicked men who had taken matters into their own hands, who had sinful hearts. because of their sinful hearts, they likely thought htat David would have been overjoyed with their news. They thought that they where picking the winning side.

Again and again Saul had “tried to take” David’s life; now David is in a position to “demand” the blood of Saul’s son Ish-Bosheth from the hands of his assassins. He could have taken the his future into his own hands, but isntead he trusted in the plans of the Lord.

David is essentially declaring that he does not need these men to have his back, He trusts the Lord to lead and to guid e him. David knew the Lord had promised David the throne one day, and if the Lord promised it, David didn’t need to force it Moreover, David trusted that the Lord had good purpose in holding the throne back from David for a time

This was a man after God’sown heart, someone who saw the importance of Faithfulness Over Worldly Success - This goes back to trusting in the plans of the Lord and relying on Him instead of our own prideful hearts. If David had been relying on human success he would have taken the assassins at their plan and rewarded them.

The idea of being the “last man standing” in Christian life isn’t about winning human conflicts or triumphing by force, but enduring in faithfulness to Christ through trials, temptations, and moral ambiguity. This seems easy enough to say standing here today but what about when life is like a puzzle with pieces missing. but then it goes back to trusting in the plans of the Lord that have been laid out since the beginning of time.

with that hindsight, David realizes it’s more important for him to keep his word and wait for God than to force his own outcomes 

verse 12 - the retribution

2 Samuel 4:12 CSB

So David gave orders to the young men, and they killed Rechab and Baanah. They cut off their hands and feet and hung their bodies by the pool in Hebron, but they took Ish-bosheth’s head and buried it in Abner’s tomb in Hebron.

There are consequences for sin and going against God. These men faced the consequences for what they had done wrong, and so will we one day if we do not turn our lives over to God.

What is needed then is. Christ-Centred Endurance - Believers are reminded that true endurance comes not from personal might but from abiding in Jesus, who Himself endured suffering and remains faithful. The imagery of standing firm points to remaining steadfast in faith amid opposition.

Relevance for Today

The message encourages listeners to reflect on their own walk with God: Are they standing firm on Scripture in challenging circumstances? Are they aligned with God’s will or merely trying to advance their own agendas?

"In times of chaos and human sinfulness, when kingdoms (or lives) seem to crumble, trust that God's sovereign plan will prevail without compromise."

God remains in control and works out His purposes.

God's sovereignty: Even amid political chaos, moral failure, and despair, This means again that we need Faithfulness Over Worldly Success - This goes back to trusting in the plans of the Lord and relying on Him instead of our own prideful hearts. If David had been relying on human success he would have taken the assassins at their plan and rewarded them.

because God remains in control, we can trust in His plan for the world. The Lord does not break His proimises but rather keeps his word from generation to generation. The Lord is not in the buysiness of pleasing men but rather He acts for His own name and His own glory. with this in mind we can rejoice in the God of our salvation

sin defiles every human heart.

but the problem in our lives is that we deal with Human sinfulness: Wickedness, betrayal, and violence are not just Old Testament problems — they are problems for today as well. The bible promises that none is worthy, no not one.

We look back to the past and mock and scoff at the evil of people and think we are not that bad, but we all styrggle with sin that seperates us from God, no one is innocent. of breaking the law of God. But the beautiful thing of the mercy of God is that we do not deserve it yet God has shown it to us anyways.

SIn may defile every human heart but we have the oportunity to be washed clean from our sin. it is not on our own that we can do this, but rather through the saving work of Jesus.

we can see this in the life of David, trusting in the Lord God in all things. He trusts the Lord to lead and to guide him. David knew the Lord had promised David the throne one day, and if the Lord promised it, David didn’t need to force it . So we too need to trust in the Lord for all things, understanding that we are here for the glory of God.

we need the Holy Spirit.

This means that we need a heart change. but the thing is that We Can not change ourselves "Cleaning ourselves up" or adding "a little religion" cannot fix the root issue. Just going to church, or starting to do good things is not good enough, we must allow ourselves to be changed by the Holy Spirit.

Need for radical change: We require a "heart transplant" — God shows us mercy and calls us to come to him in repentence of our sin. This is more then just going to church and doing good but on our knees and inviting the Holy Spirit to work in our lives and regenerate us.

We go throught the process of sanctification, which is becoming more and more like Jesus the more we live for Him. This is what we are called to do, to be transformed by the work of God in our lives.

So that in times of chaos and human sinfulness, when all else seems to crumble away we will be found faithful to God and will be able to trust in His sovereign plan. It does not mean that everything will always be okay then, but that we wont be concerned for what will happen to us because we will be more concerned about living our lives for God.