Sermon: None Too Big

If you take a copy of God's word this morning, we will turn open to the book of 2 Samuel as we continue our way through that book. This morning, 2 Samuel chapter 21. If you want to use a pew Bible, you can turn right there, page 274 in the pew Bible.

This morning, 2 Samuel, chapter 21, and we're looking at verses 15 through 22 this morning. 15 through 22.

And let's pray and ask for God's blessing of His word read and preached before we open it this morning.

Our Father, we do thank you for your eternal word.

May you incline our finite souls, our finite minds, our finite hearts, our very finite bodies,

which you have made eternal according to your will, to receive this infinitely true word. That we might treasure it all of our days, even into eternity to come, as you shape and mold us according to your truth this morning. And we pray all this in the strong name of your Savior, of our Savior and your Son, Jesus. Amen. 2 Samuel chapter 21, verses 15 through 22. This is the holy, inerrant, sufficient word of God. "There was war again between the

Philistines and Israel, and David went down together with his servants and they fought against the Philistines. And David grew weary. And Ishbi-Benob, one of the descendants of the giants, whose spear weighed 300 shekels of bronze, and who was armed with a new sword, thought to kill David. But Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, came to his aid and attacked the Philistine and killed him. Then David's men swore to him, 'You shall no longer go out with us

to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel.' After this there was again war with the Philistines at Gob. Then Sibbecai the Hushathite struck down Saph, who was one of the descendants of the giants. And there was again war with the Philistines at Gob. And Elhanan the son of Jair, heir Regim, the Bethlehemite, struck down Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver's beam. And there was again war at Gath,

where there was a man of great stature who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, 24 in number, and he also was descended from the giants. And when he taunted Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimeah, David's brother, struck him down. These four were descended from the giants in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants." Though the grass withers and the flower fades, the word of God is

forever. Thanks be to God. Amen.

My overall thesis for this text is this: in a world of unrelenting conflict and growing weariness, God sustains his people through his promises and his provision. Again, in a world of unrelenting conflict and growing weariness, God sustains his people through his promises and his provision. First, what I want you to observe, what I want us to observe from the text is that weariness is part of being in this world. Verse 15, "There was war again between the

Philistines and Israel." It came again, and again, and again, and seemingly again.

In American history, at the start of World War I, the entire American population was very excited about entering the war. The entire populace seemed to be gung ho about entering World War I. And after the war, after 50,000 American soldiers had been killed in combat or had died from wounds received in combat, and over 204,000 had been wounded as a result of World War I, there was a lot less zeal to go to war again. So that in 1939, when Hitler's

Germany invaded Poland in September of 1939, and the United Kingdom and France immediately declared war upon Germany, the United States did not enter the war in September of 1939. And didn't until December of 1941, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Japan an ally of Germany. Why waiting two years? Because America was war weary. David is war weary. He grew weary, we're told in verse 15Indeed, life has taken a toll on David. You think about his entire life

seems to be a battle of sorts, a war of sorts. We first meet him as he goes on the field as a ruddy little boy to strike down Goliath in the middle of that valley. And almost immediately, Saul, the first king of Israel, is seeking him all over the land to put him to death. And then after that, he combats the Philistines, the Arameans, the Moabites, the Ammonites, the Edomites, the Malachites, the Jebusites, the Geshurites, the Gerizites. If there was an "ite," he was at war with

them. Let alone his own fight with internal sin and the outward consequences of those sins, battling his nephew Amasa, his son Absalom, Sheba the son of Bichri. It's exhausting to think about, let alone to experience.

David cries in Psalm three. He says, "O Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me. Many are saying of my soul, 'There is no salvation for him in God.'" So many foes around him. So many opposed him. They're saying, "Listen, God can't be your salvation. Look at how many enemies you have." He says in Psalm 17, "My deadly enemies surround me." In Psalm 22, he says, "Many bulls encompass me." David is weary.

And he's not alone. The Apostle Paul reminds the Galatians, "Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." Why the reminder? Because there's need. Weariness is part of living in this world. The writer of Hebrews says to the Hebrew Christians in chapter 12, "Consider him," meaning Jesus, "Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted." Why the

encouragement? Because there's need.

Weariness is part of being in this world. Our Savior, the Lord Jesus, says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Why the call? Because there's need.

Weariness is part of being in this world. Are you weary of me saying that yet? I keep saying it because I want you to hear it.

Because some of you feel like, "Oh, I'm very alone." No, it's part of being in the world. David was weary. Maybe you are weary.

But here's what I'd have us think about this morning, is that we have a Savior in the Lord Jesus Christ, who not just looks upon that weariness, who not is just has knowledge of that weariness from afar, but who entered into that weariness himself. John 4:6, we're told that Jesus sat beside the well because he was weary. He takes a nap in Matthew eight because he was weary. He tells the disciples to cross over to the other side of the sea in

Mark six because he's concerned that they are weary. And some of you are there. David was there. Christ was there.

And this Christ entered into this weariness. He not only experienced this weariness, but even now, this Christ who has been tempted in every way as we have been tempted, who has suffered the true trials of this life, who has gone through weariness like you and I have never experienced. You and I often get relief from our weariness. For example, with sin. Sin just continues to attack, and this worldly temptation just keeps coming.

And what we will do is we will get relief because sometimes we will give in to that temptation. But his entire life, he's assaulted and never gives in.

And it's that Christ

who has entered into our weariness, surpassed our weariness, that walks with us in our weariness, who says to you, "Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Weariness is part of being in this world. Why? Because of our second point. Enemies are unrelenting in this world. They're unrelenting. You'll notice that the enemies are not simply numerous here, but they keep at it. They're unrelenting in this world.

There is a second again in verse 18, and then a third again in verse 19, and then a fourth again in verse 20. He's trying to tell you again, again, again, they keep coming.

There's nothing small about these enemies, pun intended. These giants keep coming. They're like waves crashing upon the beachhead. They just keep coming. Just the next wave keeps coming, one after another. The battle continues to rage. The attacks keep coming.And God's people are constantly in that fight. But we're never out of it. There's always enemies.

United States, during that September 1939 all the way to December 1941, was in a state of what American historians will call isolationism. We believed, you know what? Those Europeans, those crazy Europeans who always seem to go to war against each other, let them figure out their own wars. We'll live on this island of a continent to ourselves, and we'll stay out of it. They want to fight their wars, let them fight their wars.

But it was silly. We couldn't avoid it. There's no escaping it. No, the Christian understands we're never isolated on an island and able to live a life of tranquility. We're engaged in spiritual warfare. We're in conflict with the world, and with the devil, and with sin, and with our flesh, and we are on the front lines. There's no escaping it. The enemies come again and again and again.

Now, there are advantages to this. William Blakey, a commentator, noted about David, he said this: "This was, in truth, the healthiest period of his spiritual life. It was amid these perilous but bracing experiences that his soul prospered most. The north wind of danger and difficulty braced him to spiritual self-denial and endurance. The south wind of prosperity and luxurious enjoyment was what nearly destroyed him."

And you know that. You know that by experience. You've experienced that. You've seen that in the lives of others. There's this unrelenting enemy. When David remembered that he was engaged in a fight with this unrelenting enemy, he was, if we can say it this way, on his spiritual toes.

But when things became easy, he wasn't so much. It's often when things are hardest, when we are in the heat of the fight, that we are nearest God. And often when we are at our lowest, we are primed for our best. And it's often when we are soaring that we're in the greatest possible trouble. There's something about being in the pit that your eyes direct towards the light.

Weariness tends to lead one to seek God, who has all strength. Danger strips away all self-reliance. And David is experiencing this again and again and again. As the enemies come again and again and again, he turns to God again and again and again. In Psalm 60:2, he asks, "How long will all of you attack a man to batter him like a leaning wall, a tottering fence?" He's had enough. He feels like he's a tottering fence that as his

enemies come, it would only take just one more push, just one more attack, just one more little nudge, and over he would go.

But he turns to God again.

But he's weary. So third, notice this. In the midst of a weary world, when we're weary, you desperately need friends. Friends are necessary in this weary world. We're given details about Ishbi-Benob in verse so that we know the size of the enemies that confronted David. We're told that he was, quote, "one of the descendants of the giants." He had a spearhead that weighed 300 shekels. That was somewhere between seven and eight pounds.

A regular spearhead was between one and two pounds, so this was anywhere from three to seven times heavier than any spear that any man was throwing. Because also the shaft had to be incredibly long to help balance out that heavy spearhead. And so most likely that spear was somewhere around 15 pounds. Imagine throwing something 15 pounds a long distance with accuracy. It takes incredible strength. Such was the giant. And then we're told that he had a new sword.

Don't know what that means, but new is better than old. And he has a plan, this giant. He wants to kill David. But in steps a friend. Abishai comes to David's rescue on the battlefield. He offers service, and he strikes down this giant Philistine. And then David's men swore, quote, "You shall no longer go out with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel." You're the lamp of Israel, David. You're our leader. We can't risk you anymore.

His friends provide service and they provide counsel. You need friends who provide service and who provide counsel in this wearying worldIt's part of God's provision for you.

You're not meant to walk through this wearying world by yourself, working out your faith by yourself. You're not even meant to do it just with your spouse.

You're meant to do it surrounded by a group of friends who serve and who counsel. Abishai comes to David's side and he helps him with the enemy before him. It's in trials more than anywhere else that your friends prove their mettle. They show themselves or they don't, because friendship costs. And Abishai willingly entered the fray to serve David. His life was in jeopardy to serve David. Now, it may not be life, it may be reputation, it may be finances,

it may be time, it may be position. It may be the friendship itself because that friend is willing to say a hard word that's being sacrificed. But friends serve one another.

There are more friends that serve David here. Verse 18, we see that Sibbecai strikes down Saph, a giant. In verse 19, Elhanan strikes down Goliath the Gittite, who had a spear with a shaft like a weaver's beam. There's a little bit of a textual problem here. You know that's the same name of the giant that David would slay, or already slayed, in 1 Samuel chapter 17, and there are different explanations of this. It could be that it's a scribal error because we're told in 1

Chronicles 20 that Elhanan killed Lahmi, the brother of Goliath, and so it could have been they just eluded over those words, "Lahmi, the brother of," that's possible, or that Elhanan was another name for David, or it could be that it's just a repeat of the same name because it would've been a famous name, much like Abimelech is used over again, or Pharaoh is used over again in the scriptures. I think most likely it was a copying error based upon 1 Chronicles

20, but regardless, he's struck down.

David's friend served him in this way. And that name, Goliath, it's meant to shake you as you're reading it, like Goliath would've shaken the ground. Because it's foreshadowing the next great enemy. We're told in verses 20 and 21 of Jonathan, the son of Shimeah, most likely David's nephew, striking down the giant of Gath who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot. And just in case you can't do the math, the

author tells you that's 24.

He's a monster. He's not winning any beauty pageants. But on a field of battle, he's scary. He's a great opponent.

He's meant to remind us of Goliath, as we're told, that he taunted Israel in verse 21, and that again should be ringing in your ears. And it seems like

David should go out there. It's a Goliath-type being. It's a monstrous man. David is the giant slayer.

But in steps David's friends and they stop him. Why? Because David could not be that man anymore. He's wearied. He's not the same young man he used to be. He's an old man. And so Jonathan fills that role on David's behalf. He strikes down this six-fingered and six-toed monstrous man. And we're told in verse 24, these four giants in Gath, they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants. Friendship serves.

You need such friends.

Don't just find friends that are at the same stage of life, or you just have the same interests. Find ones that truly have their eyes set upon Christ, where they truly are willing to serve you in Christ and allow you to serve them in Christ. Find those kind of friends. You need them.

But also notice David doesn't just receive service from them, he receives counsel. Friendship counsels. David's men will have no part of him putting himself in jeopardy, and so they provide counsel, but the kind of counsel that is not leave it or take it kind of counsel, but the kind of counsel that insists. They are such good friends, his men, that they're willing to insist for his good. Now, you have to understand how hard this must have been for David.

They're saying, "You can't go out and do battle anymore." But going through David's mind must have been

chapter 11. It was in the spring, in the time of kings, when kings go out to battle, that David stayed home in the palace, and he was up on his rooftop, and it was there that he looked upon Bathsheba and there committed sin with her, and there all the fallout happened.So surely he should go out to battle now.

Imagine the wrestling that David is having in his mind. No longer shall you go out with us.

Here's what I know, is that when we are weary, especially when we are weary, we need to listen to the counsel of friends.

And so they insist.

Now why is it okay not to go out and fight now, but before it was not? Because the circumstances have changed. The David of now could not function as the David of then. The old man is no longer the young man. He's been through great battles, he's weary, he's tired, and it took some trusted friends to counsel him. "David, you cannot go out and do this anymore."

And he yielded himself to their advice. You need such friends. I can say this, one of the hardest things about friendship is that when you most need an honest word, you least want it.

It's often when we're weary, it's often when we're wore out, it's often when we're frustrated and angry and bitter or steeped in sin. Whatever it is that stupefies us, makes us stupid, where you're just not thinking clearly. That's especially when you need the words of friends. Sometimes those words are hard.

It's especially when we need to listen.

There's never a great time to do this, but let me do it here because I think the text lends itself to this. Can I remind you that some of the friends that the Lord provided for you as members of University Reformed Church are the elders. They're your friends.

David's men come to him as a whole and say, "David, no more." And he yields himself to that advice. Now, elders can be wrong, but when they come to me as a whole and they say, "Jason,"

I want to listen because my heart is deceitful above all else and desperately sick.

I want to listen. It's part of the way that He provides for us and that He cares for us in this wearying world.

Find such friends who will serve and counsel, but you also be such a friend. It's one of the great ways that the Lord provides for us in the world, that He gives us purpose in this world. He provides through friends and reminds us that we are necessary through being a friend. Friends can sustain you unlike few other things in a wearying world. Be one, find one.

Finally, know that the victory is already secured in this wearying world. The victory is already secured. The passage is meant to remind us that God has made covenant promises to David, and no matter the number nor the ferocity of David's enemies, no matter how big they are, David's kingdom would not come to an end. Even giants in the land are slain. Even monsters with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each feet come

down. They are all brought to an end. Even men who could throw spears that seemingly no man should be able to throw. They come tumbling down in the face of God's covenant promises. They can't stand.

David was God's man. God promised him, so victory was David's. Now he may lose a battle here or there, and he does in the history of redemption. He loses battles here or there, but he always knows that ultimately the victory is his. Why? Because God promised it. And so it's true for the Christian. We live knowing the victory is ours.

We're in the middle of March Madness. So let's say that you are a coach of a basketball team in March Madness, and you knew, not just kind of knew like hoped, but not just kind of knew like a Pollyannaish kind of wishful thinking, but you knew, a kind of crystal ball knowing, though we don't believe in crystal balls. But a crystal ball kind of knowing. You knew that your team was going to win, and you could communicate that to your team, and every member of that team just

knew you were going to win. Who wouldn't come charging out of that locker room and up the tunnel and jump onto that court? Who wouldn't, even if they were down 20 points, fight with all that they had on that court and do so with joy because they know they're going to win?We know he's won.

Tim Keller told a story of an older woman in the first congregation he served. When he would talk to her, he would say things to her. She'd lived a hard life and was experiencing a hard end to life, and he would make comments to her. He would say, "I know these people have said hard things about you." And she would say, "Oh, that may be true, but God is ultimately judge, and when we get to the end, he will mete out to each person what is right and what is good.

And I know he's a just judge." And Keller would say, "Oh, you're going through so many trials right now, and your body is in so much pain." And she would say, "Oh, yeah. But he's making a new heavens and a new Earth, and in it, I have a glorified body.

And so the things that await me are much greater than the things that I'm experiencing now."

And he said it was like whatever he said to her, she would just say, "Oh, God has done this," or, "God is doing that." He said the illustration that came to his mind was like being in a fort, and the enemies have come into the fort, and there's all kinds of battle within the fort, and it appears as though you're losing within the fort as the battle rages. But then you climb up into the tower of the fort, and you can see the horizon. On the horizon is a whole army of

reinforcements, and you just know you've won.

She lived in the tower.

Do you live in the tower, dear Christian, or do you live in the morass of the fort? You know that when you're up in the tower and you look down, the giants don't seem so big.

They're very small. It's a matter of perspective.

And our tower reaches up into the heavens.

Paul says in Ephesians 2, "God has seated us with him in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." We already have the victory. We're already seated with him above. Not you will be seated with him, not you might be seated with him. You're already seated with him above. When he was on the cross, he said, "It is finished." The victory is secured. You sit above in the strong tower of Christ, and he has victory over sin, and over death, and over hell, and over your flesh, and

over death. Victory. It's done. It's secure.

Jesus entered Jerusalem, what we call Palm Sunday. It was to secure this victory. Not in the way that you and I would think about it, not how we would plan it, but in the way of a friend. He came to serve, not to be served. He came to serve, not to be served, to give his life as a ransom for many. It cost him.

And then he provides the counsel, "Trust my promise. It's finished."

In

a world of unrelenting conflict and growing weariness, God sustains his people through his promises and his provision. We are reigning with him. And what promises he has given us in that friend above all friends, and what provision. He says to you, "Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

There's no friend like the friend Jesus. Let's pray.

Our Father, we are thankful that you are a God who is active in this world, that you sent your Son into this wearying world to live for sinners such as us, worn out by the ravages of sin and the effects of sin and our own sin. And oh, would you sustain us in this wearying world with our eyes fixed upon your Son. How good it is to know that we have a faithful, merciful High Priest above, who reigns and who we reign with.

And we pray, Lord Jesus, that you would come quickly, that which you have secured, we would see manifest in all of its splendor. For truly you are reigning on Earth in all of your might and all of your power, where it is all abundantly clear, where there is no enemy left, and all are thrown into that bottomless pit, and your will is done on Earth as it is in heaven. And we pray all of this in the strong name of Christ. Amen.