Sermon: Enemies Abound

You take a copy of God's word this morning and we'll turn open to the book of second Samuel as we continue our way through that book. And if you wanna grab a pew Bible, you can do that and turn right to page 2, 6 7 in the Pew Bible this morning, second Samuel chapter 16, that entire chapter this morning verses one through 23, again 2 6 7 in the Pew Bible. If you wanna turn right there this morning,

let's go ahead and let's pray for God's blessing upon His word before we read it and hear it preach this morning.

Father, we come in humility before you this morning and we pray that as this word is read and as it is preached, we would truly sit under it, not above it in any kind of authoritative way, seeking to dissect it like scientists would a specimen before him, but rather sitting under it recognizing that we are the ones that are to be dissected by it. Pray that you would speak in such a way that it reveals our hearts and that as our hearts are revealed, that we seek you

with the eyes of faith and we look up to you having heard your voice and we pray all of this in the strong name of Christ, our Lord and our savior. Amen. This morning, second Samuel chapter 16 verses one through 23. This is the holy iner, sufficient word of God. When David had passed a little beyond the summit, Zeba the servant of Mephibosheth met him with a couple of donkeys, saddle bearing 200 loaves of bread, a hundred bunches of raisins, a hundred

of summer fruits in a skin of wine. And the king said to Zeba, why have you brought these? Zeba 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. And the king said, and where is your master son? Zeba 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.

And the king said to Zeba, behold all that belonged to Mephibosheth is now yours. Zeba said, I pay homage. Let me ever find favor in your sight. My Lord the king. When King, David King to Baharim, there came out a man of the family of the house of Saul whose name was Shiai, the son of Gira. And as he came, he cursed continually 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. And Shiai said as he curse, get out, get out, you man of blood, you worthless man. The Lord has avenged on you, all the blood of the house of Saul and whose placed 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. The abishai, the son of Zeriah said to the king, why should this dead dog curse? My Lord the king? Let me go over and take off his head.

But the king said, what have I to do with you? You sons of zeriah, if he is cursing him because the Lord has said to him, curse to David, who then shall say, why have you done so? David said to Abishai and to all the servants, behold my own sons six my life. How much more now may this be your mind. Leave him alone. Let him curse for the Lord has told him to. It may be that the Lord will look on the wrong D to me and the Lord will repay me with good for his cursing today.

So David and his men went on the road while shimmy. I went along on the hillside opposite him and cursed as he went and threw stones at him and flung dust and the king and all the people who were with him arrived weary at the Jordan and there he refreshed himself. Now Absalom and all the people, the men of Israel came to Jerusalem and a hitha was with them. And when Huia the archive, David's friend came to Absalom who shy said to Absalom,

long live the king, long live the king. And Absalom said To who? Shy. Who is this your loyal? Is this your loyalty to your friend? Why did you not go with your friend who shy said to Absalom, no for whom the Lord and this people and all the men of Israel have chosen his I will be and with him I will remain and again whom should I serve? Should it not be his son as I have served your father so I will serve you. Then Absalom said to, hi uh, Hitha fill,

give your counsel, what shall we do? Oph said to Absalom, go into your father's concubines whom he is left to keep the house and all Israel will hear that you have made yourself a stench to your father in the hands of all who are with you will be strengthened. So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof and Absalom went into his father's concubines and the sight of all Israel. Now in those days the council that Ahi Ethel gave was

as if one consulted the word of God. So was all the council of Ahi Ethel esteem both by David, by Absalom though the grass withers and the flower fades, the word of God is forever thanks speed to God. Amen.

I think the more that you live in this world as a Christian, the more that you realize that this is not your home. The thing that makes it abundantly clear more and more as you live the Christian life is the more and more you are afflicted by enemies on every side. It's a world that's filled with enemies. You have sin, you have our flesh, you have our adversary and his dominion. You have sickness and death. Even as was prayed about in our congregational prayer this

morning, you have enemies of Christ and of Christ's people. It seems like there are enemies on every side. The more you go through this life, it just feels like they abound more and more and more and you become more and more sensitive to them in Christ. David is experiencing that in our passage this morning. As we saw last week, David had been driven from the city of Jerusalem by his rebellious son Absalom and he has left the city

and as I said last week, as he has left the city, it appears that a number of psalms written by David in response to having been driven outta the city by Absalom. And we know that at least one was written by David at this time because in the pre script to the psalm it tells us that and that is Psalm three and that psalm begins with this where David says, oh Lord, how many are my foes? Many are rising against me. That's his reality.

And if you are Christian, you sense that reality and I think you sense that more and more just as you grow in the Christian life and walk through it. Text this morning highlights three of those enemies. I'm going to label them as the deceiver, the belligerent and the traitor. They are sample enemies of all that David faced and that had risen against him and he is of course but a type of Christ who can cry out even more.

So when he comes into the world, there are enemies all around me on every side. All of these enemies have risen up against me. The first that we see in our text is the deceiver. Zeba comes out as a friend to David and all of his fleeing companions and and we've met him before. You'll remember that Zebo was the servant of Saul and he became the caretaker of Mephibosheth Saul's son. You remember Meeth was that crippled son of soul

that David had shown such incredible grace and mercy to and now Zeba. This caretaker comes to David and his followers as they emerge from the city of Jerusalem. They've had to flee in a rush and in a hurry. And as they fled in a rush and in a hurry, the question becomes is how are they going to provide for themselves? What are they going to eat? Ah, there is zeba. Zeba shows up with donkeys and these donkeys and carts

or heavy laden with supplies and bread and with wine and produce and David recognizes Zeba and he asks him Where is Mephibosheth? And having ingratiated himself to David with all of these gifts, Zeba says in verse three, miss remained in Jerusalem quote for, he said Today the house of Israel will give me back the kingdom of my father. And David can't believe his ears and he shouldn't have believed his ears because Zebra is playing the friend.

He's a deceiver, he's lying, he he's an enemy that is sowing seeds of division and disunity and discord. And David, if he just simply paused for a second and applied a little bit of logic, he, he probably could have figured this out because Zeba doesn't go with David, he doesn't leave with David and with all of David's followers he stays right there when all of those that are following David are going with him. But not only that but what sense does it make?

Really Mephibosheth who is the son of soul thinks that Absalom rebelling against his father David, the son of David, is going to give the son of soul the kingdom,

but David doesn't stop, he doesn't think his anger stirred and he immediately gives all that is mephibosheth's to Zeba. Now he was in a hurry. He is under extreme stress.

You gotta be careful, be careful accepting judgments of one person about another, especially when it benefits the one speaking. It's that old sin in the garden. When the deceiver, the deceiver comes to Adam and Eve, what is he doing? He's he's trying to sow seeds of doubt about the very character of God. Is he actually good and does he actually intend good towards you? It's the same thing that when the son of God comes into the world and is incarnated in flesh

and when he walks through this world, what is it that is often attacked? It is his character. He's not actually good. He's a blasphemer, he's a rebel. He's a drunker

to the enemy's old plan. We have a true responsibility to not only refrain from bearing false witness against others but not giving an ear, let alone accept testimonies of false witness about others. And I dare say that this is maybe the sin that is most widely accepted and practice within the church among God's people willingness to accept gossip and slander and the pedaling of tales about others.

The Westminster larger catechism questions 1 43 through 1 45 are so good on this on the ninth commandment and so very helpful thinking about this that thou shall not bear false witness. It says quote, we are to preserve and promote the good name of our neighbor. That's a duty en listed among what is forbidden. Among other things is quote, unnecessary discovering of infirmities, raising false rumors, receiving and count evil reports.

Don't even give a listening ear. This is a false report David. He didn't corroborate it, he didn't take time just to think and pray about it. He just accepted it And in chapter 19 we will see that Mephibosheth was not betrayed. David rather zebra was deceiving David.

And yet in his hot headedness David gives all to zebra. The deceiver has had his way.

In verses five through 14 we meet the belligerent enemy. And here though David responds with a cool head Shiia comes to meet David and all of his fleeing companions, he was of the house of soul and had nurtured what we've seen destroy other people. In previous weeks he had this root of bitterness in him and so he looks at David and he says, instead of blaming soul and soul's sin for soul's destruction, he looks at David

and blames David for soul's destruction. So that when David approaches Shiia walked on the other side of the ravine from David and all of his followers and he is hurling insults and he is hurling curses and even hurling stones at them, he scorns him. He heaps disdain upon him. He yells in verse eight, the Lord has veed on you all the blood of the house of soul 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 a blood. Now was David a man of blood? Yes, I'm parch Shimmy I is is correct. As Dale Ralph Davis said, he said Shimmy, I was both theological and pless a combination. Others have duplicated. David is a man of blood. That's absolutely true but he has not been cursed by God as Shiia wants to proclaim as Shiia is seeking to do. He's only partially right and yet as David

and his troop continue to march along and as they are going away from the city of Jerusalem and leaving all behind all that they have had taken from them, it must have been incredibly difficult to continue to march along and just receive these insults and receive these curses of shiia across the ravine. Just heaping. S scoring upon David for his failures.

My family. I call this the the rowboat syndrome.

Imagine a ship like the Titanic when it goes down and ship sinks and imagine getting to that lifeboat, that rowboat and you're in the lifeboat, the rowboat with these other beleaguered passengers that had been in that icy frozen water and the the captain of the Titanic is now in that boat with you and one of these water drenched passengers looks at the captain and says, you know, would've been better if you hadn't hit

the iceberg just piling on my family. When someone is piling on in our home after someone has made a mistake, we just stop. Usually I say rowboat just stops it. You either stop it or we're throwing you overboard.

Oh Abhi one of the mighty men, he has greater plans than than throwing shimmy eye overboard. He says, let's go over and take off his head. That's one way to stop somebody from piling on.

David. However this time has a cooler head. He restrains abishai and he says in verses 1112, for the Lord has told him to, 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. Now David's not saying that the Lord instructed shimmy to curse David. He didn't put these words in shimmy eye's mouth. He wasn't telling shim eye to curse. David. The cursing isn't right.

David says as much in our text rather, the point that David is making is that this is his humiliation. This he is suffering at the hands of shiia and it is the sound sovereign discipline of a loving heavenly father that has been brought into his life and he is patiently bearing it and he wants to learn the lesson in the midst of it.

He's not cursed, he's being disciplined. He confessed in two Samuel 1213, I have sinned against the Lord and Nathan responds, the Lord also has put away your sin. When we come to God in faith in Christ Jesus confessing our sins we're never cursed.

David's not cursed. He looked forward to that greater son of his that was to come. The Christ he trusted and he confessed to sins. He's not cursed.

This is an enemy but an enemy. Despite his intention shiai, he's actually working this out for David's good

times of trial, especially with enemies, a calm patient. Levelheadedness is right. It's especially good in leadership. You see that David responds with this cool levelheaded calmness and it benefits him and it benefits all the people that are following him. He doesn't jump to action as he did with zebra. He's calm, he's cool, he's collected now it cost him.

Told that shimmy. I kept going along with them verse 13 and as they went he continued to throw curses at David and throw curses at all of his men. It's not easy to keep receiving insults. The author sums it up in verse 14 when they arrived at the Jordan they were weary, no doubt not only because of the journey but because of the mental and emotional anguish of hearing all of these insults and all of these curses for as long

as they were pilgrim through the land. But David remains cool, remains calm, remains collected and he marches on.

We often don't, we act quickly in response to the insults of others

'cause we are so easily offended.

How dare they come to that judgment about me?

How dare they accuse me? How dare they say that about me?

And it's often true, but here's what David knew, two things he knew first. One of the greatest things that all of us in Christ have to reckon with we're much worse than anyone knows, we're much worse than anyone can say

If just what you did this morning,

if this morning just from this morning if, if we put up on the screen every thought you've had this morning for everybody in the room to see and then on this screen over here, we didn't just put up your thoughts, but we put up every desire that you've had a arise in your heart this morning on this screen for everyone to see.

We would all run out of this room

for much worse than anyone knows, surely much worse than anyone can say,

but David knows that about himself. He he knows this. But secondly, he knows far worse than anyone can say, he equally knows he's far more loved in Christ than anyone can believe.

He knows he's forgiven.

I love the quote from Martin Luther, the the great reformer who said this. He said, when the devil throws our sin up to us and declares we deserve D and hell and we could say any enemy Luther says, we quote ought to say, I admit that I deserve death and hell, what of it does this mean that I shall be sentenced to eternal damnation by no means for I know one who suffered and made a satisfaction in my behalf. His name is Jesus Christ, the son of God where he is

there I shall be Also, David knew who he was. Shimmy I throw as much as you want towards me. I'm actually worse than that. But here's what I know. I'm even more loved than that. I'm even forgiven for more than that.

He doesn't need dancer shimmy, let alone cower before him. He's calm and he applauds on that doesn't mean that you have to accept every insult or every slander or every judgment enemy throw at you. No, but it can grant you humility in the midst. It can give you patience in the midst. It can halt reacting with retribution and anger, let alone taking off somebody's head.

In fact, I'm pretty convinced that most personal insults that we receive as Christians, that we are to receive and endure silently.

And we're not to be silent if abuse or if the gospel is at stake, but I think more often than we actually think we are to endure silently for the sake of Christ. Peter says that you and I for this to this you have been called because Christ also suffer for you, leaving you examples so that you might follow in his steps. And how did he suffer? What were the steps that he walked? In Isaiah 53, he was oppressed and he was afflicted,

yet he opened not his mouth like a lamb that is sled to the slaughter and like a sheep that before it shears his silent. So he opened not his mouth. Why?

'cause it speaks of utter dependence upon God.

It speaks of having what is most important before your eyes, your reputation before God, your concern with your reputation before God and not primarily concerned with your reputation before men.

David's ultimate concern is his reputation before God. In Psalm 51, he confesses what he now understands on this side of Bathsheba and Uriah that God is concerned with what David calls a broken and contrite heart, A broken and contrite heart. Oh God, you will not despise. He says in our passage verse 12, it may be that the Lord will look on the wrong done to me and the Lord will repay me with good for this cursing. Today He looks up the God rather than seeking

to justify himself before men

insults that we endure for the sake of Christ by God's grace only accrue to our favor either here or there.

David understands us, may maybe the Lord will repay me good for this evil that has been done to me for this insult today

for the Christian, there's a calculus that extends beyond the immediate.

It's eternal. Truly the belligerent can take nothing from you. You only benefit either here or there.

The final scene is of the traitor.

The passage begins with the HiTA fill and it ends with the HiTA fill who shy? That little ppe little story about who shy in the middle is just there to to remind you that God is in the work, is in is at work. In the midst of all of this, that the passage is focused on the otho. And since we have limited time, we're going to focus on him and his counsel. He counsels Absalom to go into his father's concubines. And this is a, a momentous charge

that he is giving to Absalom. And he gives it for two reasons. This council, the first is it was to be a sign of domination. This is not unheard of in the ancient world when one king is replaced by another king, that second king would often take the wives and or concubines of the first king. And by doing so, he would show that he had dominance over the previous king. That king couldn't even keep the women in his own house safe.

And so it's to show dominance. The second is that it was to create a point of no return. And you see that clearly in the text. It's meant to signal to all of Israel that Absalom is going on. This is do or die. This rebellion is not turning back. There will be no peace between Absalom and David. The son is taking his father's women. You're either with him or you're with me.

And he did this in broad daylight pitching a tent on the roof. Verse 22, quote in the sight of all of Israel. And then we had those momentous words in verse 23. Now in those days, the council that Athal gave was as if one consulted the word of God. So was all the council of Aath esteem and this treasure, he has dealt one of the most severe blows to David. When a hitha fell, says something, it's like the, the very word of God, it just becomes a, a kind

of commandment. But you see though his counsel was as if one com consulted the word of God. It was not the word of God.

It doesn't actually procure anything. It doesn't stand.

No enemy of God ultimately stands

yet on the face of it, we, we get to the end of this chapter and you think, oh my goodness of your David surrounded on every side by enemies. They're coming in every shape, size and form. You're beleaguered in every way.

And you, you think with David, he's on the ropes.

We understand why David says in Psalm three, how many are my foes? And one can understand why. He says in other psalms that he's surrounded by enemies. People mock him. He says in verse two of Psalm three saying, there is no salvation for him in God. Jesus heard the same kind of thing in Matthew 27 as he's on the cross and the scribes and the priests are going by and they call out, he trusts in God, let God deliver him.

Now if he desires him, enemies abound on every side and they seem to have won.

Seems like God has left him.

And maybe you're there this morning.

Truly think the more you go through this life, the more it just feels like, oh my goodness, I'm so wore out by this. Look here, here you turn this corner and there's yet another enemy to your life in Christ. And you turn this one and there is another and then there's another. And it just, it just keeps heping on

and it's easy to hear the, the jurying of the enemies think, you know what is God really for me? Does he really care? Is he really of help?

Verse three of Psalm three, David responds,

if you're a Christian, it's a word that needs to be in your mouth because it's flowing from your heart.

He says, but you oh Lord, are a shield about me. My glory and the lifter of my head enemies on every side. That hasn't changed, but they can only go so far. Why? Because he is a shield about me.

They can only encroach so far and they can only beat me down so low because he is the lifter of my head.

That's the answer. We're beleaguered by enemies.

It's God.

He does not fail. David simply trusts God and it grants him calm and it grants him peace and it grants him hope. In the midst of being surrounded by these enemies and all of their shapes and sizes and form, they don't win.

Our enemies never have the upper hand, never because he is our salvation.

Wrote a reminder myself years ago about this, that no enemy can ultimately thwart Christ unless Christianity wrote. This riches may seduce but cannot outlast Christianity. Lies may confuse but cannot unravel. Christianity. News outlets may ignore but cannot dismiss. Christianity, more or less may mislead, but cannot replace Christianity. Philosophers may pontificate but cannot out truth. Christianity. Professors may misinform

but cannot unravel Christianity. The powerful may scheme but cannot crush Christianity. Politicians may legislate but cannot reduce Christianity. Empires may spread but cannot subjugate Christianity. Persecution may destroy, but cannot annihilate Christianity. Rulers may outlaw but cannot vanquish Christianity. World religions may spread but cannot overcome Christianity. Fear may disquiet but cannot mask Christianity.

Heresy may darken but cannot bury Christianity. Sin may assault but cannot overpower Christianity. Satan may rail but cannot unseat Christianity. Nothing. And no one can overcome Christianity. Every enemy falls. Every foe falls. Why? Because he's the risen savior. He's triumphed all, even that last enemy death. None ultimately stand against him and his people. None. No matter what your eyes see, no matter what you feel, no matter what you sense, no matter

what you're experiencing, he triumphs over all his and your enemies that are being laid as a footstool beneath his feet. He's one.

So you can rest in faith at peace, which is such a savior when you're surrounded by enemies on every side. David concludes in Psalm three.

He says, salvation belongs to the Lord. Your blessing be upon your people. And it is. It is now and forever upon his people 'cause he's our salvation.

Pray with me,

father, give you praise this morning that you are a God of salvation, that you save us from our enemies, you save us from ourselves and from the wrath that is our right dessert,

the glorious God you are. And who has grabbed us from the clutches of our adversaries, who has made us very children of yours, praise you deserve. Give us the eyes of faith that look to you independence day after day and not be confused by the eyes in the front of our heads gazing at the world. We pray all of this in the strong name of Christ, our Lord and our savior. That king savior of men. Amen.