In the Wilderness

Intro: We’re back in our journey through the life of David and last week we saw David after many years return to the wilderness

I had a friend asked me where where is the wilderness?

Geographically - The Forrest of Ephraim was where he was heading

But the truth is the “Wilderness” is more of experience than it is a location …and for a christian is anywhere were your stability is threatened

David’s sense of stability was shattered, His own son had betrayed him, his people betrayed him, His kingdom seemed like it was fallen apart…Everything was unstable again

(FCF) We’ve been through things like that right?

Maybe your there today

A time when nothing seems easy, and people arn’t helping, everything seems like it’s coming in at the same time

What do we do?

(Prop) This passage tells us, that even-though the wilderness can be over whelming at times…theres water to be found…go to the water

We’re look at David’s wilderness experience…and than we’re talk about what we can do when we are in the midst of ours...

Outline: For David…This wilderness experience would be defined by 3 different groups of people

Ziba - A former servant of Saul bent towards deception

Shimei - An abusive distant relative of Saul

Absalom and Ahithaphol - People that David once loved but have since gone against him

And the represent the types of adversity we experience…Lies…Abuse…Betrayal

2 Samuel 16:1–2 ESV

1 When David had passed a little beyond the summit, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him, with a couple of donkeys saddled, bearing two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred bunches of raisins, a hundred of summer fruits, and a skin of wine. 2 And the king said to Ziba, “Why have you brought these?” Ziba answered, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride on, the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat, and the wine for those who faint in the wilderness to drink.”

2 Samuel 16:1–3 ESV

1 When David had passed a little beyond the summit, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him, with a couple of donkeys saddled, bearing two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred bunches of raisins, a hundred of summer fruits, and a skin of wine. 2 And the king said to Ziba, “Why have you brought these?” Ziba answered, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride on, the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat, and the wine for those who faint in the wilderness to drink.” 3 And the king said, “And where is your master’s son?” Ziba said to the king, “Behold, he remains in Jerusalem, for he said, ‘Today the house of Israel will give me back the kingdom of my father.’ ”

David has just been betrayed by his son, By his best counselor, by his people, and sent packing into the wilderness…

2 SAM 16:

Remember this was abrupt and out of the blue - they didn’t have time to gather supplies

David has just been betrayed by his son, By his best counselor, by his people, and sent packing into the wilderness…and remember this was abrupt and out of the blue

So verse 1 gives us the context for those who might not

App: One thing about these types of seasons, sometimes your not really given notice …they just happen

Then this man Ziba comes David - We first met Ziba In Chapter 9

2 Samuel 9:2 ESV

2 Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and they called him to David. And the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” And he said, “I am your servant.”

Ziba would be instrumental in David reaching out to and showing kindness to Johnathans son Mephibosheth…David would commission Ziba to be Mephibosheth’s Lead servant and He gave Mephibosheth all that belonged to Saul...Including all of Ziba’s 15 sones and 20 servants became Mephioosth’s servants

Including all of Ziba’s 15 sones and 20 servants became Mephioosth’s servants

But Ziba wanted it for himself

So look what he does

2 Samuel 16:1 ESV

1 When David had passed a little beyond the summit, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him, with a couple of donkeys saddled, bearing two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred bunches of raisins, a hundred of summer fruits, and a skin of wine.

2 sam

He mets David somewhere not to far away from Jeruselem

He mets David at his lowest point, not too far away from Jerusalem (We’ll see that in a minute) fresh of the the betrayal of his son, and he brings him and all these two valuable gifts:

Animals for transportation and food to sustain the group for at least a short while.

The “string of donkeys saddled” (v. 1) were “for the king’s household to ride on” (v. 2); no doubt they would have been used by the women, children, and elderly in the group.

Food to nourish and “refresh those who become exhausted in the desert” (v. 2). The absence of meat in the gift was deliberate, since prepared flesh would quickly have spoiled, and live animals would have greatly impeded the group’s flight.

Here’s the picture: He went to great length’s to do this?

He went to great length’s to do this…why?...It was all a plan to get on David’s good side

2 Samuel 16:3–4 ESV

3 And the king said, “And where is your master’s son?” Ziba said to the king, “Behold, he remains in Jerusalem, for he said, ‘Today the house of Israel will give me back the kingdom of my father.’ ” 4 Then the king said to Ziba, “Behold, all that belonged to Mephibosheth is now yours.” And Ziba said, “I pay homage; let me ever find favor in your sight, my lord the king.”

2 Samuel 16:3 ESV

3 And the king said, “And where is your master’s son?” Ziba said to the king, “Behold, he remains in Jerusalem, for he said, ‘Today the house of Israel will give me back the kingdom of my father.’ ”

2 sam 16:

So here we see the true motive of Ziba…it wasn’t care, it was deception and self seeking

David reacted to Ziba presumed act of generosity with two responses—suspicion and gratitude. David’s suspicion was expressed in the form of two questions: “Why have you brought these?” and “Where is your master’s grandson?”

David reacted to Ziba with two responses—suspicion and gratitude. David’s suspicion was expressed in the form of two questions: “Why have you brought these?” and “Where is your master’s grandson?”

And look at Ziba’s response - Ziba said to the king, “Behold, he remains in Jerusalem, for he said, ‘Today the house of Israel will give me back the kingdom of my father.

Whats Ziba doing here? - Ziba is betting on the fact that David is still stewing over over his Son’s betrayal

And turns out he was....look at this response...

2 Samuel 16:4 ESV

4 Then the king said to Ziba, “Behold, all that belonged to Mephibosheth is now yours.” And Ziba said, “I pay homage; let me ever find favor in your sight, my lord the king.”

Here we see David make a rash decision about Mephibosheth that was birthed out of the betrayal of his Son...

This was a lie about Mephibosheth - In chapter 19 we read that Mephibosheth was so heart broken over David’s departure from the throne that he would go into a state of mourning over it…and leave himself unkept...But David was so wounded from Absalom betrayal that he makes this snap decision about Mephibosheth

This was a lie about Mephibosheth…In chapter 19 we read that Mephibosheth was so heart broken over David’s departure from the throne that he would go into a state of mourning over it…and leave himself unkept

But David was so wounded from Absalom betrayal that he makes this snap decision about Mephibosheth

App1: Don’t make big decisions when your emotionally wounded...

App2: How often we let one bad experience taint the way you see others...

App3:Hurt people…will always hurt people...

David was actively hurting Mephibosheth…but it was because he had been so hurt by Absalom and Ahitophel

If someone is hurting you....there is a good chance someone has hurt them…not to say you have bare the abuse…but it’s important to remember that everyone has a story and for some it’s not a good one and all know is how to lash out

So instead of retaliation what they might need is prayer

So we have Ziba…This poser, this deceiver, who sought David out while he was at his lowest, not to help him, but to take advantage of him…Look who we have next...

2 sam 16:5-

2 Samuel 16:5–8 ESV

5 When King David came to Bahurim, there came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera, and as he came he cursed continually. 6 And he threw stones at David and at all the servants of King David, and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left. 7 And Shimei said as he cursed, “Get out, get out, you man of blood, you worthless man! 8 The Lord has avenged on you all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned, and the Lord has given the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom. See, your evil is on you, for you are a man of blood.”

So here’s the next encounter David has, and this one is with a distant relative of Saul’s a man named Shimei and as this royal procession approached a place called Bahurim which wasn’t really that far from Jerusalem (About 4 miles)...Shimei begins to assault David’s group both verbally and physically.

The New American Commentary: 1, 2 Samuel (9) David Goes into Exile beyond the Jordan River (15:13–17:29)

There Shimei, a relative of Saul, assaulted David’s group both verbally and physically. The throwing of stones involved symbolically carrying out a Torah-style execution (cf. Lev 20:2, 27; 24:14, 16; Num 15:35; Deut 13:10; 21:21; 22:21, 24) of them. Shimei did this in spite of the fact that David could have responded instantly with deadly force to eliminate this threat to his life.

There Shimei assaulted David’s group both verbally and physically. The throwing of stones involved symbolically carrying out a Torah-style execution (cf. , ; , ; ; ; ; , ) of them. Shimei did this in spite of the fact that David could have responded instantly with deadly force to eliminate this threat to his life.

He was calling him a man of blood - which means murderer

He curses him continually - Think about this, it’s not just a one time thing…He is looking for a fight

The throwing of stones involved symbolically carrying out a Torah-style execution (cf. , ; , ; ; ; ; , ) of them.

Think about this - Shimei did this in spite that this was David and his mighty men, and they could have easily killed him

This guys crazy

He’s a little misguided - According to Shimei, David’s present troubles were actually from the Lord, brought as judgment for sins David committed against Shimei’s relatives.

Either the assumption that David had fought with the Philistines against Israel on the day Saul and three of his sons died - Which he didn’t

Or perhaps the belief that David had commissioned Ish-Bosheth’s death was Saul’s remaining son…which he didn’t

Here’s the picture: Shemei is angry but his anger is misguided

He has zeal without knowledge

App: Some of us are like this…you have a hatred toward a certain person or certain people groups, but it’s based on misguided truth or false assumption

So here’s this guy, he’s abusive, he’s violent, he’s misguided, and he’s looking to get into a fight here....and look what happens

2 Samuel 16:9–10 ESV

9 Then Abishai the son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and take off his head.” 10 But the king said, “What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the Lord has said to him, ‘Curse David,’ who then shall say, ‘Why have you done so?’ ”

2 Samuel 16:9 ESV

9 Then Abishai the son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and take off his head.”

2 sam 16:9-.

2 sam 16:

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So this guy Abishai who had been with David for a long time, hear’s these words being spewed out by Shemei and says “Hey David, can I go and Kill him?…because I hate him already…I’ll just cut off his head”

You know whats interesting thing about Abishai…He loved killing people

He was brother to Joab

He wanted to kill Saul - 21:5-9

He killed Saul’s general Abner 2 sam 3:30

Possibly killed 180000 edomites all by himself -

App: Let this be a warning for any of you out there have have tempers and like to throw your weight around…

For every “Likes to fight guy”…there’s a “lives to fight guy”

So Abishai wanted to kill Shimei…but look at David’s response

2 Samuel 16:10–13 ESV

10 But the king said, “What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the Lord has said to him, ‘Curse David,’ who then shall say, ‘Why have you done so?’ ” 11 And David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “Behold, my own son seeks my life; how much more now may this Benjaminite! Leave him alone, and let him curse, for the Lord has told him to. 12 It may be that the Lord will look on the wrong done to me, and that the Lord will repay me with good for his cursing today.” 13 So David and his men went on the road, while Shimei went along on the hillside opposite him and cursed as he went and threw stones at him and flung dust.

2 Samuel 16:10–13 ESV

10 But the king said, “What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the Lord has said to him, ‘Curse David,’ who then shall say, ‘Why have you done so?’ ” 11 And David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “Behold, my own son seeks my life; how much more now may this Benjaminite! Leave him alone, and let him curse, for the Lord has told him to. 12 It may be that the Lord will look on the wrong done to me, and that the Lord will repay me with good for his cursing today.” 13 So David and his men went on the road, while Shimei went along on the hillside opposite him and cursed as he went and threw stones at him and flung dust.

2 Samuel 16:10 ESV

10 But the king said, “What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the Lord has said to him, ‘Curse David,’ who then shall say, ‘Why have you done so?’ ”

2 sam 16:10-

The human response here would have been to to retaliate against this guy, But thats Not David response, his response required even more strentgh

So the first thing that David does is He distances himself from Abishai’s violent way

v.10 “What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah?

He’s saying “Your family has always been marked by Violence, but thats not gonna be my legacy”

2 Samuel 16:11 ESV

11 And David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “Behold, my own son seeks my life; how much more now may this Benjaminite! Leave him alone, and let him curse, for the Lord has told him to.

So the first thing that David does is He distances himself from Abishai’s violent way, and then look what he says...

This reminds me of Jesus in the Garden - Peter cutting Manchus’s ear in

So the first thing that David does is He distances himself from Abishai’s violent way, and then

Matthew 26:52 ESV

52 Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword.

App: Peace is the way of Jesus’ even in the midst of Adversity and Violence

Secondly He highlights the fact that their are more important battles then this one

“11 And David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “Behold, my own son seeks my life; how much more now may this Benjaminite! Leave him alone, and let him curse“

David’s essentally saying “This fight is not our concern, we have other more pressing matters with Absalom”

“This fight is not our concern, we have other more pressing matters with Absalom”

David knew that he couldn’t fight every battle…you only have so many bullets in the chamber and so you need to pick you battles wisely

Lastly He acknowledges the hand of God in this situation

David let Shimei speak because he saw the hand of God in every circumstance (the LORD has said to him). He knew that God was more than able to shut Shimei up; David didn’t need to give the order.

Illustration: Often times we pray that God would make us more gracious, and what he usually does is send you someone who you will have to be gracious with

iii. David let Shimei speak because he put the “Shimei problem” in perspective. (See how my son who came from my own body seeks my life. How much more now may this Benjamite?) David knew that his real problem was Absalom not Shimei, and he did not lose this perspective.

iv. David let Shimei speak because he knew that God’s hand was on the future as well as the present. (It may be that the LORD will look on my affliction, and that the LORD will repay me with good for his cursing this day) David knew that if he did what was right in the present moment, God would take care of the future.

2 Samuel 16:14 ESV

14 And the king, and all the people who were with him, arrived weary at the Jordan. And there he refreshed himself.

iv. David let Shimei speak because he knew that God’s hand was on the future as well as the present. (It may be that the LORD will look on my affliction, and that the LORD will repay me with good for his cursing this day) David knew that if he did what was right in the present moment, God would take care of the future.

2 SAM 16:

I’m gonna ask you to jump over verse 14 and we’ll come back to it at the end…but now i wanna look at One more of antagonists for David

We’l

Now we’ll cover the portion again next week, but for right now i just want us to look at Absalom and Ahithophel…remember Absalom was David’s son…and Ahithophel was David’s counselor…Both once incredibly close to David, But they stole the hearts of the people and staged a revolt against David causing him and all who were with him to flea to the wilderness…In other words these men betrayed David

2 Samuel 15:16 ESV

16 So the king went out, and all his household after him. And the king left ten concubines to keep the house.

2 sam 15

And then we read this...

2 Samuel 16:20–21 ESV

20 Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give your counsel. What shall we do?” 21 Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Go in to your father’s concubines, whom he has left to keep the house, and all Israel will hear that you have made yourself a stench to your father, and the hands of all who are with you will be strengthened.”

2 sam

Whats happening here? Well If you were with us last week you know that when David fled his house, he left 10 of his concubines to watch over his house (Why did David have them? thats a great question)

But a Ahithophel has plan to really drive the nail into David’s reign and that was for His son to have sex with these concubines with was a symbolic way to announce to the world that you are making a play for the throne

2 sam

2 Samuel 16:22–23 ESV

22 So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof. And Absalom went in to his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel. 23 Now in those days the counsel that Ahithophel gave was as if one consulted the word of God; so was all the counsel of Ahithophel esteemed, both by David and by Absalom.

Notice it’s On David’s roof....that roof has been a place of great trouble...It’s a heavy thing that on the same roof David that would commit see Ahithophel’s granddaughter bathing and give himself over to the act of adultery…would be the place where Ahithophel would exact his ultimate revenge by counseling Absalom to commit treason against his Father

Here’s the point: Though David had wronged Ahithophel, David had paid for that sin dearly and made peace with the Lord and was still the Lord’s anointed…so this was the ultimate act of Betrayal commited Absalom and Ahithophel

He had been deceived

He had been abused

He had been betrayed

You ever been there?

Some of it happened to him…and some of it happened because of him

Some things were handled well…and some he had brought upon himself

He didn’t ask for the Ziba and Shimei

He asked for Absalom and Ahithophel

Have you ever been there?

David hadn’t even left the general area…according v.5 He was only in Bahurim…so all of this is happening pretty much at the same time

Ziba was waiting outside the city

Shimei was about 4 miles from there

Absalom and Ahithophel was happening at the same time in the city

Have you ever felt like that? - when it rans it pours

We should do what David did…Find the Water

In the middle of this wilderness, amidst all of these hurtful things happening we read this...

2 S

2 Samuel 16:14 ESV

14 And the king, and all the people who were with him, arrived weary at the Jordan. And there he refreshed himself.

Now obviously for David and his people, this was a practical act, but I think it provides a spiritual solution for followers of Jesus today

When we go though our “wilderness experience” there will be a lot of things that are out of our control…but one thing you can chose every single day…is to find the water

I think this picture “finding the water” means 3 things to us as christians

David makes his to the Jordan…this was the place where God kept his promise bring the nation of Israel over that Jordan into the land that He promised…and that same God had promised that David’s kingdom wouldn’t be stopped…this would be the very river that God’s promised one Jesus would come and be commissioned for his world changing work.

It’s easy when your in the wilderness, to become overwhelmed by the wilderness and lose sight of God

In those times…go back to the Jordan…remind yourself of God’s faithfulness so far…because that will strengthen your faith in the now

God’s word in scripture is frequently described as water...

Psalm 1

Psalm 1:1–3 ESV

1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.

Trees go through all seasons and without water won’t survive, How do you get God’s promises in your heart?, wash ourselves in the water Of God’s word everyday

Be rooted in it

The wilderness is a season, and you will need to be rooted in God’s word to survive that season

Jesus while speaking a women at a well said this in reference to the holy Spirit

John 4:10 ESV

10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”

and then He later said this

John 7:38 ESV

38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ”

The power of the Wilderness is real but the Power of God’s Spirit is greater…and on the wilderness could never take that away from you the choice to ask God to fill you once again with the power of his Spirit

To lead you into all truth

To testify of Jesus

To empower you to be his witness

Conclusion:

Here’s the point: If your in the wilderness today…there’s refreshment to be found…run to the water

In the Wilderness

Ziba (Lies) - V.1-4

Shimei (Abuse) v.5-8

Absalom and Ahithophel (Betrayal) v20-23

So what does chapter 16 teach us about David’s wilderness experience?

The Wilderness can be a painful place

The Wilderness can be both God induced and self induced

The Wilderness experience can happen quickly and without warning

What should we do when we’re in the Wilderness?

Find the Water

Remember God’s faithfulness in the past

Root yourself in God’s word

Receive the Holy Spirit