Bringing the King Back 2 Sam. 19
Just to bring a little light of history to this passage…
Absalom, David’s son had done his best to destroy his father, securing the Kingdom and killing all those who were on David’s side.
And so David had to fight against his own flesh and blood, his very own son…
And when word finally came of Absalom’s death, instead of victory, there was mourning.
And this brings us to Ch. 19
9 And all the people were at strife throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, The king saved us out of the hand of our enemies, and he delivered us out of the hand of the Philistines; and now he is fled out of the land for Absalom.
10 And Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle. Now therefore why speak ye not a word of bringing the king back?
11 And king David sent to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, saying, Speak unto the elders of Judah, saying, Why are ye the last to bring the king back to his house? seeing the speech of all Israel is come to the king, even to his house.
12 Ye are my brethren, ye are my bones and my flesh: wherefore then are ye the last to bring back the king?
13 And say ye to Amasa, Art thou not of my bone, and of my flesh? God do so to me, and more also, if thou be not captain of the host before me continually in the room of Joab.
14 And he bowed the heart of all the men of Judah, even as the heart of one man; so that they sent this word unto the king, Return thou, and all thy servants.
15 So the king returned, and came to Jordan. And Judah came to Gilgal, to go to meet the king, to conduct the king over Jordan.
What a great disappointment it was to them to find the king in tears for Absalom’s death, which they construed as a token of displeasure against them for what they had done, whereas they expected him to have met them with joy and thanks for their good services:
It was told to Joab, and also the report of it ran through the army how the king was grieved for his son.
-People will take particular notice what their leaders say and do. The more eyes we have upon us, and the greater our influence is, the more need we have to speak and act wisely and to govern our passions strictly.
But David behaved unwisely here in venting his passion for such the likes of the very one that tried to kill him…
AND David’s people saw this, and they loathed David for it.
Their victory was turned into mourning, and they stole into the city as men that were ashamed.
And so Joab rebukes David… "Thou hast shamed their faces; for, while they have shown such a value for thy life, thou hast shown no value for theirs, but preferrest a spoiled wicked youth, a false traitor to his king and country, whom we are happily rid of, before all thy wise counsellors, brave commanders, and loyal subjects. What can be more absurd than to love thy enemies and hate thy friends?"
Then Joab instructs David on what he needs to do…
He advises him to present himself immediately at the head of his troops, to smile upon them, welcome them home, congratulate their success, and return them thanks for their services.
And so he does. And begins to win Israel’s heart back.
But in our text here, there is a question that is asked that not only demands an answer, but also demands action to that question.
11 And king David sent to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, saying, Speak unto the elders of Judah, saying, Why are ye the last to bring the king back to his house?
There are 3 things I want you to notice this morning about this setting:
1. the King had been absent for some time
Now listen… he was not absent because he had left
voluntarily
He was absent because HE HAD BEEN FORCED TO LEAVE.
Loyalty to this King had been lost to another leader, Absolom.
Adoration for this King had been changed to another
Faithfulness to this King had now become faithlessness.
Understand, It was not David’s desire and choosing to leave… he left because he was forced to leave.
His subjects had rebelled against him.
They changed their love for another
They thought the grass was greener on the other side.
They thought they were getting a better deal with Absalom… more attention, more caring
They would get to sing more at Absalom’s church
They would get to be used more at Ab’s church
They would finally get that position they were wanting at Ab’s church
They would finally get the recognition they thought they deserved at Ab’s church.
They had a new leader now…
They were sure to get their way now….
Surely Absalom would be much better for them…
They wanted something new… something different, something to make them feel better….
Listen church… we live in a church world today where the King of Kings and Lord of Lords has been absent for some time in our church services….
And not because HE chose to leave
Not because HE wanted to go somewhere else….
But because people’s loyalty has changed.
God is no longer welcome in many services.
He no longer has a place in people’s hearts.
Oh they still talk about him, sing about him, do things in his name…
But just like Jesus said in Matt. 7: 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
You know why it’s become this way church?
Because the devil has painted a greener pasture just on the other side of the cross…
And the church for the most part has laid down the cross of Christ, has climbed the fence of compromise and been grazing in the cow-fields of carnality for many years!
Hey, I don’t care how you slice it to me… the true church of Jesus Christ is nowhere where she used to be full of power, full of the Holy Ghost, full of victory…
Because the KING has been absent for so long!!!!
WE’VE replaced the KING with celebrities!
And now instead of praying ourselves and trying to get ahold of God ourselves, we pay the pastor to do that for us…
We’ve become “grant it” Christians… and grant everyone else’s prayers, but hardly pray ourselves!
And so the MAN OF GOD is now the focus instead of the King… He has the faith He has the power He has the formula to unlock our faith.
And we’ve become more dependent on the man of God than we have the King of Kings.
-no different than the Catholics who relied on the
priests for the interpretation of scripture.
We rely on the preacher to READ God’s word for us and tell us what it means….
And 2Tim. 2:15 has been shoved right out our church doors… Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
And these clowns on television that are “preaching another gospel” are destroying the true church of Jesus Christ with their damnable doctrines and erroneous teachings
And the church is eating it up!!!! Because they are too lazy to get serious with God themselves and deny themselves, take up their cross and follow Christ!!!!
2. The King is ABSENT because of Compromise
The church has become more worldly and the world has become more churchy and there no longer remains a distinction between the two.
Since Sept. 11th, America for the most part, has become more churchy than ever before.
Some say that is good… and I do believe there has been some that have received the wake up call and are acting upon it….
But I also believe there are many who are now acting religious but HAVE NOT CHANGED from what they were before Sept. 11th.
Yet they think that they are now “Christians” and on their way to heaven because of a small religious experience.
And so compromise has not just crept into our churches, but has waltzed right down the aisles and hugged our pews with lewdness!!!!
The Messages of Sanctification and Consecration, and Holiness and Being Set apart from this world have been almost lost forever!!!!
We’ve just about tore 2 Corinthians 6:17 right out of the Bible…
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you
1 Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
The church has compromised God’s eternal standards of Holiness right out the door along with God himself… for God declared…
Be ye holy as I am holy!
Oh yes… I’m not just talking about external standards of holiness, but internal as well, purity of heart and purity of mind….
And the lack of these Biblical Godly standards in our moms and dads has produced a generation of children who do not know where the boundary lines are anymore……
And churches are failing… marriages are falling apart
Because the CHURCH is falling apart. She is not what she used to be! For the KING has been absent far too long.
3. Lastly… The King has been absent because of Lack of Commitment
I know that word is hard to be found any more
We couldn’t even vote in a president 9 years ago who would stay committed to his marriage, let alone his office.
And why is commitment missing? Because it takes work, and we’re living in a lazy generation of people who would rather take the short cuts than to pay the price and do things right!!!
God used to be the center of people’s lives.
Church used to be the main focus of families activities.
Now if we have time, we go to church.
If we have time, we think about God
If we have a little extra money, we give our little offering.
If we think about it, we pay our tithes.
Now we’re focused on our children’s extra curricular activities…. And our own personal interests and hobbies.
AND if the pastor did call for a week’s revival, he would be hardpressed to find enough people to come every night to support the revival to make it worth while.
You know why… Because our PRIORITIES have changed. God is no longer that important to us.
Church is an OPTION and no longer a MUST.
Very difficult to get good church workers, because it is hard to find those who will be committed.
Several years ago, had a young preacher in my church who finally left and did not return. I went to visit him and he unloaded on me saying that I wouldn’t preach him enough.
I told him… the reason I don’t preach you is because you can’t be faithful in coming to church… and not because of job but because often, he just didn’t feel like coming.
Preaching to you… the King is Absent because of Lack of Commitment amongst the people.
YOU know why Absalom got as far as he did and David had to leave????
The people were not committed to David like they should have been in the first place, and it was easy for Absalom to steal their hearts away from their KING.
Listen, if you’re really committed to God, you will not allow the devil to come in here and steal your Commitment… your worship, your praise, your testimony, your praying….your faithfulness in attendance, your tithe paying, and your loyalty to your pastor!!!
And after DAVID had won the victory, and Absalom was destroyed… it was time for David to return to his rightful place as King.
BUT notice: David did not return right away to Jerusalem.
He was not going back as a Conquerer, forcing his way back in to his throne…
BUT rather, he would go back upon invitation by the people.
He wanted to make sure that they really did want him back.
And that is why in VS. 11 And king David sent to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, saying, Speak unto the elders of Judah, saying, Why are ye the last to bring the king back to his house? seeing the speech of all Israel is come to the king, even to his house.
You see Vs. 9 alerts us to the fact that there was STRIFE among the people…
Perhaps this was all the strife among them, not a dispute whether the king should be brought back or not (all agreed it was to be done), but whose fault it was that it was not done.
As is usual in such cases, every one justified himself and blamed his neighbour. The people laid the fault on the elders, and the elders on the people, and one tribe upon another.
Isn’t that just like many Christians??
Well, the reason God isn’t moving is because the
Song leader doesn’t sing the right songs.
-the pastor doesn’t preach long enough
-he preaches too long
-Sis. Sizemore blocks the view
-Bro. Tootall’s head just gets in the way
But finally, the people got together and decided they had to have the King back.
14 And he bowed the heart of all the men of Judah, even as the heart of one man; so that they sent this word unto the king, Return thou, and all thy servants.
I feel like there are several here who need to invite the King back to HIS rightful place of Lordship in your lives…
He’s been absent for so long….
You’ve strayed and tried the world…. Only to find discontentment, unhappiness, heartaches…
You just come to church and go through the motion… but you really don’t have the joy unspeakable and full of Glory.
You are aching to have the touch of God once more upon your life…
You are hungry for the real and the genuine, and not just an imitation….
2 Chron. 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Rev. 3:20 20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
We need to bring the King back to HIS house in our
1. Commitment
2. Prayer
3. Praise
4. Worship
