2 Samuel 8

Thank you.

What does your name mean?

I'm not asking for some pseudo-etymology that you may have come across in a Hallmark card or some obscure corner of the internet.

No. I'm asking, when people hear your name, what do they think?

When you hear your name, what do you think?

Perhaps the better question is, what do you stand for?

What does your name represent?

How much of your life is taken up with the task of making a name for yourself?

This is sort of a distinctively American thing.

I actually think it's a human thing that Americans have perfected really well, making a name for ourselves.

Many come to New Haven on precisely that quest.

To spend a few of their years, usually in their youth, striving to make something of themselves.

Maybe that's you.

Or maybe you're in the second half of your life, looking back on a youth that has passed you by.

And even my mention of making something of your life ignites a deep bitterness in you.

A bitterness of regrets.

Lost or misspent opportunities.

Disappointed youthful ambitions.

We call this the midlife crisis.

The time is tragically past, so you think, for making a name for yourself.

Or perhaps you're in a third category.

Life, you think, has dealt harshly with you.

And has given you no real opportunity to make anything of yourself.

And you're far too busy simply squeezing out an existence of finding food and adequate shelter.

To be at all concerned with the grand task of making something for yourself.

There are plenty of people like that in New Haven as well.

Men and women have a natural craving for making a name for themselves.

For glory.

To behold something larger, grander, and greater than they are now.

And indeed, to become precisely that thing that they want to behold.

We read in the history books and watch on the movies the lives of great men and women.

And our soul longs to be like them.

We identify with the protagonist, the hero of the story.

However, we're chastened by the fact that the Bible has no lack of examples of those who desire to make something of themselves.

And instead made of themselves a ruin.

Think of the Tower of Babel in Genesis.

Scripture identifies the motivation that underlies their desire to build a tower to be,

Let us make a name for ourselves.

Or think in the New Testament of Herod.

Who gave a speech.

And the people responded to it by saying,

The voice of a God and not of a man.

Scripture picks up the story and says,

Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down because he did not give God the glory.

And he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.

Amidst all these stories, one might be surprised, however, to learn that the Bible never categorically rejects the impulse for us to make a name for ourselves.

To seek after glory.

Never once has the Bible said the longing for glory is itself a sin.

Instead, Scripture depicts the gospel of Jesus coming into our lives and transforming that desire.

Whoever would be great among you, Jesus says, presuming that we desire to be great, must be your servant.

And whoever would be first, must be last.

These are the ways that Jesus transforms, but does not destroy, our desire for glory.

So I pose to you then a question.

How shall we make a name for ourselves without making a ruin of ourselves?

This is the question answered in our text tonight.

Our text for this evening is 2 Samuel chapter 8.

2 Samuel 8 · chapter mention

2 Samuel chapter 8.

2 Samuel 8 · chapter mention

Before we read that together, I want to briefly return to a section in the previous chapter.

So, probably the same page.

Turn with me briefly to 2 Samuel chapter 7, verse 8 through 9.

2 Samuel 7:8–9

For a fuller discussion of this chapter, go ahead and go online into the archives of Trinity.

We've been preaching some sermons straight through 2 Samuel, and you'll find sermon on this passage there.

Just a brief reminder on this context.

The context here is that David is now comfortable in his palace, having defeated a lot of his enemies.

And he desires to make a temple for the Lord, a house for the Lord.

God, however, does not allow him to do this.

But instead, God honors David for having a concern for his house.

Let's read together 2 Samuel chapter 7, verse 8 through 10.

2 Samuel 7:8–10

Now, therefore, you shall say to my servant David, thus says the Lord of hosts,

I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel.

And I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all of your enemies from before you.

And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth.

And I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them,

so that they may dwell in their own place, and be disturbed no more.

And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly.

Now, skip ahead to 2 Samuel 8.

After this, David defeated the Philistines, and subdued them.

And David took Mepheg Amah out of the hand of the Philistines.

He defeated Moab, and he measured them with a line, making them lie down on the ground.

Two lines he measured to be put to death, and one full line to be spared.

And the Moabites became servants to David, and brought tribute.

David also defeated Hadadezar, the son of Rehob, king of Zobah,

as he went to restore his power at the river Euphrates.

David took from him 1,700 horsemen, and 20,000 foot soldiers.

And David hamstrung all the chariot horses, but left enough for 100 chariots.

And when the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezar, the king of Zobah,

David struck down 22,000 men of the Syrians.

Then David put garrisons in Aram of Damascus,

and the Syrians became servants to David, and brought tribute.

And the Lord gave David victory wherever he went.

And David took the shields of gold that were carried by the servants of Hadadezar,

and brought them to Jerusalem.

And from Betah and from Berotai, cities of Hadadezar,

King David took very much bronze.

When Toi, king of Hamath, heard that David had defeated the whole army of Hadadezar,

Toi sent his son Joram to King David to ask about his health,

and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezar and defeated him.

For Hadadezar had often been at war with Toi.

And Joram brought with him articles of silver, of gold, and of bronze.

These also, king David, dedicated to the Lord,

together with the silver and gold that he dedicated from all the nations he subdued,

from Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, Amalek,

and from the spoil of Hadadezar, the son of Rehob, the king of Zobah.

And David made a name for himself,

when he returned from striking down 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt.

Then he put garrisons in Edom.

Throughout all Edom he put garrisons,

and all the Edomites became David's servants.

And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went.

So David reigned over all Israel,

and David administered justice and equity to all the people.

Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was over the army.

And Jehoshaphat, the son of Ahilud, was recorder.

And Zadok, the son of Ahitub,

and Ahimelech, the son of Abiathar, were priests.

And Saraiah was secretary.

And Benaniah, the son of Jehoiadaia,

was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites.

And David's son were priests.

What we have here is God making a promise to David,

I will make a great name for you like the great men of the world.

And in this text we see that David has made the name for himself.

And I think upon closer reflection,

my prayer is that we will find a way from this text

to make a name for ourselves without making a ruin of ourselves.

My sermon tonight has one point.

David made a name for himself

by providing for his followers the means to worship God.

Our text opens in a familiar way.

David at war with Philistines.

We've seen this over and over again in our text.

So it might escape your notice

that this is actually a climactic moment.

The city that he captures,

Methed Amah, is difficult to translate.

But that second word, Amah,

is probably related to the Hebrew word for mother.

In essence, David here is capturing

the mother city of the Philistines.

This is the last time we will see the Philistines mentioned

until chapter 21.

13 chapters in advance.

Which occurs toward the end of David's reign.

The blow he deals here to the Philistines is decisive.

And it's the culmination of all the previous battles

that went before him.

But notice, the conquests of David do not end here.

The text says he also destroyed the Moabites,

the Syrians, the Edomites,

the king of Zobah,

who reigned near the Euphrates River,

which is in modern day Iraq.

Perhaps these places mean very little to you.

The important thing about them

is that these are not lands

that God promised to Abraham

for his descendants to inhabit.

What David's doing here

is creating a buffer around the land of Israel

so that there are no enemies around him

to plague him,

or more importantly,

his descendants.

He hamstrings all the horses,

that is,

he doesn't kill them,

so they're still useful for farm work

and other types of labor,

but they're no longer strong enough

and fast enough to be used for military purposes.

He's destroying rival armies all around him

while leaving the people intact.

He's neutralizing the threats in the area

so they will not crop up again

in the lifetimes of him

or of his descendants.

In many ways,

this chapter represents

the height of David's strength

with his enemies defeated all around him.

But look a bit closer.

I think we can observe

that this is not simply

a chronicle of military conquests.

David has just been told

that his son,

not he,

will build a house for the Lord.

That happened in the previous chapter.

In the parallel text

in 1 Chronicles 22,

we learn that David

was disqualified

from building the Lord's house,

a great honor,

because David

had shed much blood

and waged great wars.

Therefore,

David knows that his son

will not be able

to be a warfaring man

if he is to build

the house of the Lord.

Therefore,

it falls to David

to create the conditions of peace

in which his son

will be able to build

the Lord's house.

David is preparing the way

for his followers

to worship God

in relative peace

and tranquility.

tranquility.

Notice another theme

that we have in this passage.

Frequently throughout

2 Samuel,

and again here in verses

8, 10, and 11,

we see David

amassing wealth

through spoils

taken in war

and through tribute.

Here he wins gold,

silver, and bronze.

On one level,

this is another indication

of David's military prestige.

rich.

But fascinatingly,

we're not told much

about what David does

with all this riches.

We're told only that

he dedicates them

to the Lord,

verse 11,

but we don't see

these war spoils again

for plenty of time

to come.

But then,

a generation later,

we see Solomon

building the temple

of the Lord

with gold

and silver

and bronze

and wood

from all over.

All of these

massive resources.

And I think

it's not too far

a jump to think

that some of the resources

that Solomon used

to adorn

the temple

of the God

were captured

by David

in precisely

these raids.

David himself

was not able

to build

for himself

a temple,

but David

made for himself

a name

by providing

the resources

for his son

to worship God

by building

the temple.

So David

makes a name

for himself

by defeating

the enemies

around them

and by

having enough

resources

for his son

and those

who follow him

to worship God

in the temple.

So let me ask you,

who will follow you

for whom

are you preparing

a certain type

of world?

Who is watching you

to see what

faithfulness

to God

looks like?

Are you making it

easier

or harder

for those

who come behind you

to worship

God?

God?

When you think

of making

a name

for yourself,

do you think

of creating

a world

in which

those who

follow you

can more

closely worship

him?

Are you using

the influence

and power

you have

to create

a world

where it's

easier

for those

who follow

you

to worship

God

rightly?

This is why

David made

a name

for himself.

Not just

because he

defeated

one army

in one battle.

No,

it's broader

than this.

He was

committed

to the

worship

of the

true

God

and he

would not

build his

own house

without also

striving to

build the

house of

the Lord.

Is this

your conviction

as well?

Do you

desire not

to have

fame and

glory in

this world

unless the

Lord has

fame and

glory in

this world?

This was

David's

conviction

in the

previous

chapter

and that

is why

God

blessed

him.

David,

you see,

didn't even

seek his

own glory.

If you

go back

and look

in 1 Samuel

in the

war with

David and

Saul,

David is

frequently

reacting,

not acting,

not scheming

for his

own glory.

He's letting

God work

in history

to bring

about his

vindication.

Is that

your scheme

as well?

Make no

mistake about

it.

You can

make a

name for

yourself

in this

world and

go straight

to hell.

You can

make something

of yourself,

have biographies

written about

you,

have a

grand and

glorious

tombstone,

have your

name on

t-shirts,

then burn

in hell and

bring many

who follow

you with

you.

It's

possible.

Dare I

say it

may even

be

frequent.

Parents,

what name

are you

making in

the eyes

of your

children?

Do they

know you

as one

who is

desperate to

climb a

career ladder

or a

social ladder

and apathetic

about leading

your family

in God's

way?

Future

parents,

what will

you do?

What habits

are you

making now

to make it

easy for

your children

and the

children of

Christians around

you to

follow the

Lord?

My father

is a

pastor in

Pennsylvania.

I've listened

to him give

hundreds of

sermons.

I don't

remember almost

any of them.

But there's

nothing that he

has said from

behind a pulpit

that has ever

struck me more

profoundly than

this one

sentence.

He says,

if this

church grows

to be a

thousand people

and you

all in these

pews think I'm

the greatest

preacher you've

ever heard

and a rousing

success,

but that

woman,

my wife,

in the front

row and

those children

who sit next

to her,

my children,

think that I'm

a phony,

then I am an

abject failure.

Irrespective of

what you all

think of me.

I'll never

forget my dad

saying those

words.

parents,

can you say

that about

your career?

That if

employer and

employee,

if the bottom

line for the

company all

says that you

are a rousing

success and

your family,

those who come

after you say

you are a

phony,

then you are

indeed a

failure.

Can you say

that?

Can you say

that in the

hearing of your

children?

I think

your children

want to hear

you say

that.

I think

they want

to know

that your

foremost

concern is

that you

will follow

the Lord

and will

help them

in following

the Lord.

This is how

you can make

a name for

yourself.

This month,

the Steve Jobs

movie came

out in

theaters.

Steve Jobs

is renowned

for his part

in making

Apple into

the technology

behemoth it

is today.

No one can

deny that

Steve Jobs

has made

a name for

himself.

He's almost

as equally

renowned for

being an

utter failure

at his

relationships.

At one point

in the trailer

for the movie,

someone close

to him says,

Steve,

what you make

isn't supposed

to be the

best part of

you.

When you're

a father,

that's supposed

to be the

best part of

you.

And you can

tell,

if you've read

the biography,

if you've heard

stories about him,

that it seems

like he was

very willing

to sacrifice

his children

and those

who came

after him

for his

own name.

So parents,

are you like

Steve Jobs?

Are you like

the ones

building Babel

to reach

for heavens

yourself?

Or are you

giving your

children the

resources to

build God's

temple in

their midst?

God's

you can

make a name

for yourself

by helping

those who

come after

you serve

the Lord.

So there's

parents.

Perhaps you're

single.

I want to

ask you,

what does

your family

name mean?

Your last

name?

Where do you

fall, if at

all, in a

lineage of

faithfulness?

How many

generations back

in your family

can you trace

the hand of

the Lord?

mine doesn't

carry that

sort of weight.

I'm a second

generation Christian.

Both of my

parents were

miraculously

converted out

of very

nominal,

mostly apathetic,

perhaps pretty

dysfunctional

families.

And it's

amazing, in my

family tree, you

can trace, there's

a one-to-one

correlation between

love of Jesus and

degree of

functionality.

And it's a

pretty precipitous

decline, man.

But this means

that God has

placed me

providentially in

this moment in

history, in my

family tree with

a decision.

What will it

mean to be of

the Hawkins

family?

Will our

name be

associated with

a generations-long

effort to

strain every

nerve for our

own kingdom?

Think

Rockefeller.

Think

Vanderbilt.

Or will the

family name be

known as one

that has a

consistent and

persistent lineage

of striving to

realize the

kingdom of God?

If you do not

come from a

lineage and a

heritage of

faithfulness, it

can start with

your generation.

You can make a

name for yourself

and your family by

helping those who

come after you

serve the Lord.

another way David

helped provide for

his followers to

worship God.

In verse 15, we

see that he

administered justice

and equity to all

of his people.

Afterwards, it's

going to become much

more problematic and

you're going to see

that kings don't do

this to Israel and

that people fall.

The true worship of

God declines with the

decline in justice and

equity.

David helped those

who followed him

follow the Lord by

ruling, by exercising

his authority with

righteousness and

justice.

What authority do you

have?

Are you an employer?

Are you anywhere other

than the bottom in a

hierarchy?

Do you use your

authority in such a

way that those who

follow that authority,

those who see that

authority, are quickened

in their path of

following the Lord?

Or stopped?

If you're an employee

and you're providing

services to people, do

you have a reputation

for both good service

and care for your

clients that befits

Christ and one who

bears his name?

Do you make it easier

for the people around

you to worship the

Lord or not?

So we have parents,

we have singles, and

we have employers, those

with authority.

But in my introduction, I

mentioned also that there

is something in this

passage for those for

whom life has been

hard.

And at every turn, they

have been barred from the

opportunity of making a

name for themselves.

Perhaps you don't have

any influence, any

authority, any family, and

it seems as though you

can never have a name

for yourself.

The Bible, I think, has

glorious news for you.

Whereas in the Old

Testament, one's name was

quite intimately connected

with how well established

their family was and how

many children it had to

carry on the name, in the

prophets.

They foresee a day when

all of this will be

changed.

Isaiah, speaking of

outsiders, says this,

Let not the foreigner who

has joined himself to the

Lord say, the Lord will

surely separate me from

his people.

And let not the eunuch

say, behold, I am a dry

tree.

For thus says the Lord to

the eunuchs who keep my

Sabbaths, who choose the

things that please me and

hold fast my covenant, I

will give in my house and

within my wall a monument

and a name better than

sons and daughters.

I will give them an

everlasting name that

shall not be cut off.

An everlasting name that

shall not be cut off,

promised to those who are

foreigners, who are poor,

who have no family to speak

of.

How is this possible?

Because in God's economy,

in God's organization of

the world, greatness does

not have to do with earthly

prestige.

Sometimes the two come

together and we ought to be

both thankful and somewhat

worrisome, worried when that

happens.

We ought to be very careful

when advancement in the

kingdom and advancement in the

world seems so closely tied

together.

It's always difficult.

It's always dangerous.

It's always possible for us to

slip over from seeking the

kingdom of God to seeking our

own kingdom.

But to those for whom there is

no possibility of realizing

their own kingdom, making their

own name on earth, rejoice that

the Lord has not organized the

kingdom of heaven the way he

has organized our sinful, our

sinful natures have organized

the kingdom of man.

An eternal name that will never

be blotted out.

An everlasting name better than

sons and daughters.

How can this be true?

How can this be true?

It's true because God has

intervened in history in such a

way as to disrupt and upset it.

He has seen the brokenness and

the sinfulness of the world and he

has come to make all things new to

turn it on its head.

He does this in Christ.

Christ who comes into the world and

takes away the sins of the world.

And in replacement for those sins he

gives us his righteousness but not

only his righteousness he gives us

his name.

Christians are those who bear the

name of Christ.

And this was promised in the Old

Testament over and over.

After the Lord gives the blessing

that Aaron is supposed to give over

the people he says so they shall put

my name upon the people of Israel

and I will bless them.

When Isaiah is looking forward to

the bringing in of all the nations

the Lord says I will say to the

north give up and to the south do not

withhold bring my sons from afar and

my daughters from the ends of the

earth.

Everyone who is called by my name

whom I created for my glory.

whom I formed and made.

The Lord gives us a glorious name by

giving us his glorious name.

Just as David was concerned first to

build the Lord's house and then the

Lord established his house.

This is the way of making a name for

ourselves as Christians.

This pattern is frequent in the Bible.

Humiliation and exaltation.

Think of Philippians 2.

The son, the identical copy of the

father, does not esteem equality with

God for him to be grasped onto.

But instead he empties himself, makes

himself like a servant.

Therefore the Lord has highly exalted

him.

Over and over those who exalt

themselves will be humbled and those

who humble themselves will be

exalted.

So I urge you to seek for yourself a

name.

A great name.

By helping those around you

worship the Lord rightly.

By humbling yourself.

Saying not to us, O Lord, but to your

name give glory.

And do you know what the Lord does to

those who say not to us, O Lord, but to

your name give glory?

He gives them a name.

He gives them glory.

Corinthians says that when we behold the

glory, we are transformed into that image

of glory.

Think of all the promises of reward that

are held out in the New Testament for

those who would humble themselves, take

up crosses, and follow him.

Jesus says you will be given crowns and

robes and authority over angels forever.

But the cross comes first.

And bearing the name of Christ comes

first.

Bearing witness to him comes first.

Christ.

This is the lesson to take from David.

David did not seek his own glory first,

but rather sought the glory of God.

And as Jesus says, all these things were

added unto him.

May it be so with us as well.

May we make a name for ourselves without

making a ruin of ourselves by helping those

around us worship God rightly.

Let's pray.

Lord, I thank you for this example of David.

And I thank you for your Holy Spirit,

without whom all of this would be impossible.

We thank you that you have given us a

promise of glory that has been held out for

us.

And we pray that you would give us the

grace to attain that glory.

Give us the assurance that when we say,

not to us, O Lord, but to your name,

give glory.

We are placing our good into your hands,

and there is no better, safer hands to put

that into than yours.

Lord, we do pray that your people in New

Haven and beyond who are called by your name

would be glorious in heaven because of the

great works that you've done in and through us on

this earth.

In the name of Jesus, I pray.

Amen.

In our evening services, we have the, oh, you

may be seated.

We have the opportunity in the evening services

to stump the preacher.

So if you have any questions on the text, the

application, anything of that nature, feel free

to ask and I'll do my best to answer.

Any questions on this?

Yeah, Darcy.

Darcy.

The last verse.

Chapter 18 of what?

Chapter 18.

Yeah.

18 verse.

Verse 18.

It says, and David's sons were priests.

So who and how did they become priests if they were not in the line of Aaron?

Or, how did David's sons become priests if they were not in the line of Aaron?

I have no idea.

Good question.

Yeah.

The priestly, kingly system is confusing to me, to be entirely honest with you.

Any of the pastors have a better answer than that?

Nope.

Okay.

I'm getting the nod.

I'm getting the no.

All right.

Great question.

So the first question, the first stump.

Great job, guys.

All right.

One for one.

Any other questions?

Any other questions?

Yeah, you first.

Yeah, great question.

Yeah, great question.

So the question was, how do I connect the idea of David making a name for himself by helping others worship him with Jesus' idea that if you want to be first, be last?

The way I do it is this.

First of all, if this is a pressing question for you, or even if it's not, go read an essay by C.S. Lewis called The Weight of Glory.

It's in a book conveniently called The Weight of Glory.

You can find the PDF online.

The general argument is this.

Human beings are given this desire for glory.

And that desire connects up with the glory that we will behold and will become in heaven.

Our temporal desires for glory, the desire is there, but now it's attached to a different object.

So we still want to have and behold glory, but we are connecting that now to our own ambition, to career advancement, to other things.

So the desire is there, but it's now aimed at the wrong object.

So what Jesus comes along and does, he says, what he comes along and says, look, the answer is not to cease being great or desiring to be great.

The answer is to be great in the way the kingdom of God operates.

And the way the kingdom of God operates is that greatness is marked by self-emptying.

And on earth, my argument here from this passage is that one major way that self-emptying works is that you use your life so that those around you can worship the Lord more fully and more adequately.

There is a Trinitarian analogy here where what the members of the Trinity do is they exist in a perfect self-emptying love for each other.

And the amazing thing is that they're continuing to give love, give love, give love, and they never run out.

Why? Because they're being filled with love from the other members of the Trinity.

And I think you can run this analogy down through a number of human relationships.

If you're in a marriage, one way that you can try to be happy is to seek your own happiness.

And then you have two people who happen to have wedding rings and share a house seeking their own happiness.

Or you can seek your happiness in the happiness of the other.

And you empty yourself to try to love the other person.

And if it's working correctly the way it works in the Trinity, both members of the marriage are doing this for each other.

Such that they never run out of energy.

What you have is the husband loving his wife self-sacrificially and the wife loving her husband self-sacrificially.

And now what you have is they're not only having their own happiness, they're also intimately connected.

Like this.

And I think the answer is, the way this dynamic works is it's similar to the Philippians 2 passage that I mentioned.

Where the pattern in the Christian life is humiliation and exaltation.

So Jesus, the son did not consider equality with God's men to be grasped.

He emptied himself.

Therefore the father highly exalted him.

I think this is the way the greatness thing works in the Christian life.

You become great by emptying yourself.

And that's what's meant by the first shall be last and the last shall be first.

First, those who are first by the standards of this world, which is in fact upside down, turn out to be last.

And those who are last, those who seek the good of others and those who do not care for their own standing, end up, when the universe is flipped right again, being on top.

Does that answer your question?

Excellent.

Thank you.

Great question.

Back of the soundboard.

Great question.

How should we view the examples in the Old Testament where worldly things like the wisdom of Solomon and all of his riches that accompany him are held forth as a reward?

There are two parts to this answer, I think.

The first one is when it comes to the kings in the Old Testament, they particularly and strangely represent the people of God in a way we don't have an analogy for in the New Covenant.

So the earthly success of Israel is in some ways a marker of the Lord's favor upon them, but interestingly, not always.

And I would contend that even like all the riches that Solomon had were deeply ambiguous.

So in Deuteronomy, interestingly, before they have a king, there are rules given for a king.

And some of the rules say he should not do three things.

He should not amass much wealth.

He should not amass for himself many horses.

And he should not have for himself lots of wives.

What three things does this represent?

High taxation, high standing army that could become tyrannical, and high foreign entanglement.

When Solomon is introduced, it says, and he got for himself much gold, many horses, and lots and lots of wives.

And if you know the story, all those things become his downfall at the end.

So I think there is this implicit warning, actually it's an explicit warning in the Old Testament about those earthly riches.

There's a way of stewarding those things well, but it's deeply difficult.

So does that answer your question?

All right.

Okay.

Good?

I'm sure we could go on.

These are great questions.

Thank you, Justin, for bringing that.

Friends, our worship evening comes to its conclusion, but our worship of God does not as we go out.

So I pray that as you go, you will do that.

Let me briefly point you to your bulletin for a few announcements.