The Return of the King

If you don't know me, my name is Niels. I'm one of the leaders here. I'll be preaching.

Because of the baptisms, we'll have a lot of people here today who have not been in the rest of the service, in the series.

We're in the book of 2 Samuel, in the Old Testament, in the Bible.

So I thought, let me, you know, start with the introduction so that, yeah, we can bring you a bit up to speed.

But also, actually, before all that, let's pray because we want God to speak to us.

So let's pray together.

Our Father, thank you that you speak.

That you speak to us in your love, in your grace.

We pray that we would listen.

Pray that we would hear, each of us, what we need to hear.

Thank you that you are a God of grace.

God who gave your son, Jesus.

And pray that we would look to him today.

In Jesus' name. Amen.

Amen.

Great.

But, yeah, we're in 2 Samuel, and it's nearly the end of the series.

Now, our youngest daughter turned 12 a couple of months ago.

So she's finally old enough to watch Marvel.

And so we've been going movie by movie through the MCU, which has been really great.

Now, there's one movie in there that I'm not going to say its name because I know of some people who haven't seen it all yet.

But there's one that I think is outstanding because it's very different from all the others.

Because it doesn't have a happy ending.

Now, most movies have a happy ending, right?

All those movies, you know, yes, the heroes, they are struggling.

They're having a tough time.

But ultimately, they win.

And that's what you want, right?

You want to have a movie.

You want to relax and be encouraged.

And so you want a movie with a happy ending.

I mean, we all want happy endings, right?

In all our life, maybe your marriage is going through a difficult time.

But, you know, with counseling and prayer, you hope that you will work through it.

And then, you know, our marriage is restored.

Maybe work at the moment is really tough.

The hours, the pressure.

But when this project is over, then we go back to the good old days, right?

That's what we're waiting for.

Maybe you remember the COVID days.

We were just waiting for it all to finish.

And now, actually, Hong Kong is really nice again, right?

Without all the restrictions.

The economy, you know, if we just wait long enough, it will start growing again.

That's what we want.

We want, is everything okay?

Okay.

Yeah, we just want things to be restored.

We want a happy ending.

Now, the Bible is all about ultimately happy endings, right?

It's all about hope.

It's all about restoration.

It all, I mean, it starts with everything going wrong in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve.

But it ends with restoration.

And so many along the way.

And so, this is 2 Samuel.

It's the story of David.

David, who we all know from David and Goliath.

God's chosen king.

And he was a wonderful king.

And under him, God built this beautiful kingdom that we saw a few weeks ago.

And, yeah, it looked great.

The only thing is, it was all under threat because of what David had done, right?

He had committed adultery and murder.

There were terrible consequences.

It affected him.

It affected everyone else around him.

And, yeah, two weeks ago, he had to flee for his life because his son tried to take over the kingdom, made himself king.

But the past two weeks, then, some good news.

First of all, everything that happened really changed him, brought him back to God.

And then, last week, yeah, David was saved.

He was delivered from certain death.

Basically, because his great enemy, his son, yeah, died.

The war was over.

And so, now everything is set for him to come back, right?

It was a great cost.

But today, David is going to come back and sit on the throne again.

And this is basically the end of the story.

Next week is just an epilogue.

But, yeah, we called it The Return of the King, right?

So, you know that movie.

We want a happy ending.

So, why don't we go and look at that?

So, Anastasia is going to come up and read a few parts of this passage.

And then, we'll look at it together.

The scripture reading today comes from the book of 2 Samuel, chapter 19 to 20.

2 Samuel 19 · chapter mention

Please follow along on your bulletin, on the screen, or on your own Bibles.

Starting in chapter 19, verse 8, we read,

Now, Israel had fled every man to his own home.

And all the people were arguing throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying,

The king delivered us from the hand of our enemies and saved us from the hand of the Philistines.

And now he has fled out of the land from Absalom.

But Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle.

Now, therefore, why do you say nothing about bringing the king back?

And King David sent this message to Zadok and Abiathar, the priests.

Say to the elders of Judah,

Why should you be the last to bring the king back to his house,

when the word of our Israel has come to the king?

You are my brothers.

You are my bone and my flesh.

Why then should you be the last to bring back the king?

And say to Amsa,

Are you not my bone and my flesh?

God do so to me and more also,

if you are not commander of my army from now on in place of Joab.

And he swayed the heart of all the men of Judah as one man,

so that they sent word to the king,

Return, both you and all your servants.

So the king came back to the Jordan,

and Judah came to Gilgal to meet the king,

and to bring the king over the Jordan.

And Shemai, the son of Jerah, the Benjamite from Baharim,

hurried to come down with the men of Judah to meet King David.

And with him were a thousand men from Benjamin.

And Ziba, the servant of the house of Saul,

with his fifteen sons and his twenty servants,

rushed down to the Jordan before the king,

and they crossed the fort to bring over the king's household,

and to do his pleasure.

And Shemai, the son of Jerah,

fell down before the king,

as he was about to cross the Jordan,

and said to the king,

Let not let my lord hold me guilty,

or remember how your servant did wrong on the day my lord the king left Jerusalem.

Do not let the king take it to heart,

for your servant knows that I have sinned.

Therefore, behold, I have come this day,

the first of all the house of Joseph,

to come down to meet my lord the king.

Abishai, the son of Zeriah, answered,

Shall I be put to death for this,

because he cursed the Lord's anointed?

But David said,

What have I to do with you,

you sons of Zeriah,

that you should this day be as an adversary to me?

Shall anyone be put to death in Israel this day?

For do I not know that I am this day king over Israel?

And the king said to Shimei,

You shall not die.

And the king gave him his oath.

And Mephibosheth, the son of Saul,

came down to meet the king.

He had neither taken care of his feet,

nor trimmed his beard,

nor washed his clothes,

from the day the king departed

until the day he came back in safety.

And when he came to Jerusalem to meet the king,

the king said to him,

Why did you not go with me, Mephibosheth?

He answered,

My lord, O king,

my servant deceived me.

For your servant said to him,

I will saddle a donkey for myself,

that I may ride on it and go with the king.

For your servant is lame.

He has slandered your servant to my lord the king.

But my lord, the king is like the angel of God.

Do therefore what seems good to you.

For all my father's house were but men doomed to death

before my lord the king.

But you set your servant among those who eat at your table.

What further right have I then to cry to the king?

And the king said to him,

Why speak any more of your affairs?

I have decided you and Ziba shall divide the land.

And Mephibosheth said to the king,

Oh, let him take it all,

since my lord the king has come safely home.

In chapter 20, verse 23, we read,

Now Joab was in command of all the army of Israel.

And Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada,

was in command of the Kertites and the Pelethites.

And Adoram was in charge of the forced labor.

And Jehoshaphat, the son of Ahilut,

was the recorder.

And Shiva was secretary.

And Zadok and Abithar were priests.

And Ira, the Jairat, was also David's priest.

This is the word of God.

Thanks, Anastasia.

Yeah, we're in the middle of a story.

I'm sure there's some details that, for visitors,

you wonder what that's about.

But let's look at it together.

Now, we couldn't read it all.

And yet, if you look at the big story,

what's the big point?

I think you can see David is back, right?

David is back.

Today, he's crossing the Jordan,

and he's going to come back to Jerusalem

and come on the throne.

He had to flee for his sin,

but now he's back,

and he's going to Jerusalem

with great fanfare.

Everyone's coming to meet him.

And you can really see that

if you look at all the different stories, right?

So in chapter 15, when he had to flee,

what happened?

Well, he left Jerusalem,

and then he met his loyal friends.

Next slide.

He met his loyal friends.

Then he met Tiba.

Then he met Shimi.

And then he crossed the Jordan.

And now, what happens today?

Well, he crosses the Jordan.

He meets Shimi.

He meets Jiba.

He meets his loyal friends.

And he gets back to Jerusalem.

It's really the same thing in reverse, right?

I don't know.

We sometimes go on holiday,

and we take the airport bus.

And it's always the same, right?

Here's the Eagle's Nest Tunnel,

and then the Stonecutters Bridge

and the Tsing Ma Bridge

and under City Gate Outlets,

and we get to the airport.

And then when we come back,

well, the City Gate Outlets

and what's it?

The Tsing Ma Bridge

and the Stonecutters Bridge.

And you really feel,

hey, we're getting back, right?

And that's the point here.

David is back.

It's exactly reversed.

Everything that happened

is like it's reversed,

which is incredible mercy, right?

God's incredible mercy

after what he had done.

He deserved to die,

but God had mercy,

and now he's back,

which is great news for David himself.

And of course, given who David is,

it should be such great news for the people

because here was God's chosen king,

the man after God's heart, right?

He was the one who ruled

with righteousness and justice,

and everything was so great under him.

And when you see this passage,

now we have a Bible reading plan

at this church,

and in the summer,

we went to Samuel,

and people were sharing,

and many of them were struck

by how David is so forgiving, right?

So there was this guy, Shimee,

who, yeah,

when David had to flee,

he stood on some higher ledge,

and he threw stones at David.

Get out, get out,

you man of blood.

He cursed the king,

and yeah,

terrible event.

But then, of course,

he made a miscalculation, right?

Because now David is back.

And you can hear Shimee,

and you can hear him come.

Anastasia read it so well, right?

Oh, please, Lord,

I know I've sinned.

Please don't take it to heart, right?

Because, yeah,

he knows David is back,

and he did real wrong.

And then one of David's officers says,

I mean,

shouldn't we put this guy to death, right?

He cursed the king.

That is,

you shouldn't do that, right?

But then what does David say?

No, right?

Why should you be as an adversary to me,

you sons of Zeruiah,

my officers,

shall anyone,

what is it,

verse 22,

shall anyone be put to death in Israel this day?

For do I not know

that I am this day king over Israel?

And the king said to Shimee,

you shall not die,

and the king gave him his oath, right?

Here is someone who did something so wrong,

and yet David is forgiving, right?

He,

you won't die,

I swear.

Wonderful, right?

So,

yeah,

David is really back.

And that's important

because then in chapter 20,

we get the counterpart.

What is the counterpart?

Well,

you have the king

and you have the kingdom.

In chapter 20,

we didn't read it,

but it's all about how the kingdom is back.

If you're interested,

why is it?

The story isn't that important.

There's a bit of squabbling.

An argument between David's tribe,

Judah,

and some of the other tribes.

And at some point,

there's one guy who says,

well,

we've had enough.

20 verse 1.

Now,

there happened to be there

a worthless man

whose name was Sheba,

the son of Bichri,

a Benjaminite.

And he blew the trumpet

and said,

we have no portion in David

and we have no inheritance

in the son of Jesse.

Every man to his ten,

so Israel.

And,

yeah,

he tries to just split the kingdom.

Now,

in the end,

he doesn't get many followers.

He and his friends

flee to some city

and David's army

comes after him

and in the end,

he gets beheaded.

In the story,

Joab becomes commander again.

It's not that important,

but the interesting thing is,

it's actually a reboot

of chapters 2 to 4.

We never preached on it,

but it seems to,

there's three key events

that are exactly the same

as chapters 2 to 4.

Why does that matter?

Well,

chapters 2 to 4 of the book

was God establishing

David's kingdom.

It's how David became king

over all Israel.

And so,

the fact that we get

a reboot,

but we get the same thing,

David,

here's the kingdom.

God is reestablishing

David's kingdom,

which is what we want,

right?

It's not just about

the guy on the throne,

but his rule,

a rule of victory

and peace

and rest

and blessing.

That is what we want.

And yeah,

that's what we get

in chapter 20.

And at the end of the chapter,

we read that summary.

It's the same as chapter 8,

right?

At the end of chapter 8,

there was this summary,

kind of,

David seems so stable,

the kingdom is here,

and now end of chapter 20.

Again,

we get this summary,

and Joab was over the army,

and Jehoshaphat,

the son of El-Hilut,

was the recorder,

and this guy was a priest,

and right?

Again,

it's not Absalom's kingdom,

it's David's kingdom.

David is back.

The kingdom is back.

That is such a wonderful news.

It really feels like

the good old days,

the happy ending

that we want.

Except,

I know what you're expecting,

right?

Is it really so good?

If you've read it carefully,

if you've maybe read

the rest of the Bible,

is it really so good?

They seem back,

but are they?

Are the king

in the kingdom back?

Because with this guy,

Shimee,

I don't know if you did

the Bible reading plan,

and after 2 Samuel,

you read 1 Kings.

And we meet David

at the end of his life,

when he kind of gives

instructions to his son Solomon,

who will become

the next king.

And what kind of things

does David say?

He gives some instructions.

1 Kings chapter 2,

1 Kings 2:8

verses 8 and 9,

it's here on the screen.

And David says,

And there's also with you

Shimee,

the son of Gerah,

the Benjaminite

from Bacchariim,

who cursed me

with a grievous curse

on the day

when I went to Maganaim.

And when he came down

to meet me at the Jordan,

I swore to him

by the Lord,

saying,

I will not put you

to death with a sword.

Now therefore,

do not hold him guiltless,

for you are a wise man.

You will know

what you ought to do to him,

and you shall bring

his gray head

down with blood

to shale.

That's not very nice, right?

Yeah, this guy cursed me,

but I promised

not to kill him,

so when I'm gone,

you kill him.

Right?

That's what he's saying.

Now,

I don't think it's a grudge.

I mean,

it's justice,

right?

The justice needs to be done

on this guy, maybe,

and it doesn't have to be

so negative.

But you may wonder,

why didn't he do that

in chapter 19?

Right?

Why not do it then?

Well,

if you go back

to 2 Samuel,

I think the answer

is clear, right?

Because

verse 16 and 17

of chapter 19,

and Shimei,

the son of Gerah,

the Benjaminite

from Bacarim,

hurried to come down

with the men of Judah

to meet King David,

and with him

were a thousand men

from Benjamin.

And he had a lot

of friends with him.

And if David just

had him executed

there and then,

those thousand men

wouldn't really like it,

and maybe that wouldn't

really help the stability

of his kingdom.

So it's just politically

that he says,

okay,

I'm not going to deal

with this opponent

because I want to

keep my king together.

So let me not do justice,

let me do what's helpful

for my kingdom.

Right?

That's the problem.

And you see that even more

with the next story,

right?

With Ziba and Mephibosheth.

Now again,

that's something we've seen

over the past few sermons,

right?

Do you remember

Mephibosheth?

He was the grandson

of Saul,

who was kind of

David's great enemy

in the past,

the previous king.

And so,

of course,

you know,

he comes from

his enemy's family,

and yet David

was so wonderfully

kind to him,

right?

He gave Mephibosheth,

the guy was crippled,

he was lame,

such a wretch,

and yet David gave him,

you know,

all the land of Saul,

and Mephibosheth

could always eat

at his table.

It was such grace,

right?

Such steadfast love.

But then a few weeks ago,

when David was fleeing,

Tiba,

who was the servant

of Saul,

and David told him

to serve Mephibosheth now,

he came to David

with a lot of food,

and David asked,

hey,

Tiba,

where's Mephibosheth?

And Tiba said,

well,

he is wringing his hands,

right?

He is saying,

yeah,

now today,

the kingdom is going

to come back to me,

right?

It felt like such a betrayal,

a stab in the back.

He had been so kind

to Mephibosheth,

and now he's

stabbing him in the back.

But now,

Mephibosheth himself

shows up,

right?

Verse 20,

and Mephibosheth,

the son of Saul,

came down to meet

the king at 24.

He had neither

taken care of his feet,

nor trimmed his beard,

nor washed his clothes

from the day

the king departed

until the day

he came back in safety.

Mephibosheth,

you know,

he looks terrible

because,

you know,

all this time

he hadn't taken care

of himself

because he was

clearly so upset

that David had to leave.

And David asked,

hey,

why didn't you

come with me?

Well,

I'm lame,

right?

I can't just go.

I need a donkey.

And I asked my servant,

give me a donkey,

but instead he went off

to you and lied,

right?

Because Siva said,

yeah,

he was just lying

about Mephibosheth.

Everyone can see,

look,

Mephibosheth,

he was so loyal

to David.

And Siva was just a liar

who just thought

this is a good opportunity

to get all the land

for me,

right?

How does David

deal with it?

Well,

what should he do?

It's very obvious,

right?

He should get everything

back to Mephibosheth.

And Siva needs

to be punished.

Instead,

verse 29,

and the king

said to him,

why speak any more

of your affairs?

I have decided

you and Siva

shall divide the land

half and half.

That's not really just,

right?

That's completely unjust.

Clearly,

Siva is a liar.

Mephibosheth is your

loyal servant.

Why would you do that?

Well,

again,

who is Siva,

right?

Verse 17,

19 verse 17,

that detail,

and Siva,

the servant

of the house of Saul

with his 15 sons

and his 20 servants.

I don't know

what you think

when you hear

the servant of Saul.

Do you think

he's a cleaner?

No.

This guy has

20 servants himself,

right?

This guy is

pretty powerful.

He has 15 sons.

That doesn't mean

that,

you know,

he likes large families.

It means he has

like three or four wives,

right?

Which is kind of

the status symbol.

It's like having

three Ferraris,

right?

back then.

So basically,

this guy is just

very powerful.

And David doesn't

want to cross him.

Hey,

here's a crippled guy.

Here's a really

powerful man.

Let me do

half and half,

right?

It's just corruption.

Let me favor

the powerful

so that,

that is what

David's doing.

And so,

the guy of

justice

and righteousness,

well,

he's basically

just the

compromised king.

Right?

We see David

here.

We thought

David's back.

He is back,

but he's a

compromised king.

No more justice,

no more

self-interest

instead of justice.

We thought

he's back,

but he's not.

So sad,

right?

The old

David

is gone.

He's a

compromised king.

And that's

such a

shock,

right?

Because David

was such a

good guy.

He had such

an amazing

track record

for almost

all this book,

right?

For almost

all his life.

And then there

was just one

thing with

Bathsheba,

one adultery

and murder.

And then,

you know,

but then he

went through

so much,

right?

He had to

flee,

all the

discipline,

all the

consequences,

the costs,

and now he's

back.

Surely that's

enough.

Except it's

not.

Right?

He will never

be the same

again.

He's truly

forgiven,

restored,

and yet he

is never

the same

again.

One sin

and it's

all lost.

In a way,

just like

Adam and

Eve,

right?

One rebellion,

one time that

they turned

away from God

and did their

own thing,

and it's

all lost.

Ultimately,

David is just

a sinful

human being.

I think that

challenges us,

right?

It's not how

we usually

think of

people.

You know,

when we think

of bad and

good,

we think of

this kind

of spectrum,

right?

From really

bad to really

good.

And,

you know,

David,

he was pretty

much here.

Maybe he

wasn't all

the way

there,

but he

was pretty

good,

right?

That's what

we think

of people.

We just,

you know,

we need

someone good

or better.

So often

in our life,

right?

Like marriage.

Apparently,

Hong Kong has

the seventh

highest divorce

rate in the

world.

I didn't know

that,

depending on

how you

calculate it.

Now,

why do people

divorce?

Why do people

not get

married?

So that it's

easier to

break up?

Well,

because they

think,

I need a

better spouse,

right?

I need

someone,

well,

who doesn't

have these

annoying habits

with whom I

have less

disagreements,

less conflict.

That's what

people want.

I mean,

there's some

truth in that.

I mean,

there are some

people,

yeah,

some people are

better than

others.

And there's some

people that are

terrible and you

should never

marry them,

right?

You need to be

very careful

who you marry.

But,

don't forget

the universality

of sin.

In the end,

they're all

sinners.

And,

you know,

here's David,

the most wonderful

king,

yet one sin

and it's over,

right?

You don't need a

slightly better

king who's more

to the right.

I think the

Bible's view is

more like this

one,

right?

It's binary.

You have perfect

and you have

sinful.

Now,

some people are

more sinful

than others,

but this is

basically what

the Bible says.

And this passage

shows,

you know,

this one sin.

Clearly,

David's not

perfect and

he's just in

the other

spectrum with

everyone else,

right?

The most

godly spouse

is not

perfect.

They will

sin.

The most

wonderful boss

that you

have will

make your

life difficult

at some

point at

work.

The best

kings will

let you

down.

All people

are sinners.

They're all

compromised.

Such a

sobering

truth,

right?

You know,

that's saying

nobody's

perfect.

It's kind

of encouragement.

Ah,

nobody's

perfect.

It's actually

really depressing.

Nobody's

perfect.

It's really,

yeah,

that's it.

And the

thing is,

that has

consequences.

Because the

king and

the kingdom

are linked.

Right?

If David

is a

compromised

king,

well,

what do

we get

in the

kingdom?

Now,

we don't

see that

much.

We don't

see this

wonderful

description

as we

had in

chapter

8.

But look

at that.

We need

to look

at that

summary.

Now,

do you

know the

game

spot the

difference?

Right?

If you

have kids,

you probably

know that.

There's two

pictures,

and they

look the

same,

but if you

look carefully,

there's a few

differences.

Right?

Well,

let's do that

with the

summary at

the end of

chapter 20,

and the

other one

at the

end of

chapter 8.

I've put

them here

on the

screen.

I've also

in the

bulletin

at the

bottom,

I've printed

it,

so if you're

sitting at

the back,

but you

have a

bulletin.

So just

have a

look.

Read it

through.

I mean,

sometimes things

have been

swapped around,

but there's

three major

differences.

See if

anyone can

find them.

If you

find the

differences,

raise your

hand.

Is the

kingdom

really the

same?

Don't

be shy.

Anyone?

Anything

that's

missing?

Anything

that's

been

added?

No one?

Oscar.

Yeah.

Exactly.

Chapter 8,

it started

with,

and David

reigned

over all

Israel,

and he

did justice

and equity

for all

the people.

David isn't

even mentioned

in the other

one, right?

It's just his

officials.

David is like

a shadow.

He's not

even there.

No justice,

no equity

is not

even mentioned.

Anything

else?

Yeah,

Faith?

Yeah.

Adoram was

over the

forced labor.

Maybe you

see it in

the middle.

So now

we have

a department

of forced

labor,

a department

of slavery

in the

cabinet.

Right?

I don't

know what

you think.

That doesn't

sound very

good.

There's

one more

maybe at

the end.

Chapter 8,

David's

sons were

priests,

and David's

sons are

not mentioned

in the

other one.

Maybe

because between

the two,

three of

David's

sons have

died.

But yeah,

let's put it

here.

But here

we go,

right?

We have a

kingdom of

justice and

equity.

And now

we have a

place with

forced labor.

Right?

It's just not

the same.

If you read

carefully,

man,

in chapter

8,

you saw

that it

was so

wonderful.

I want

to live

there.

But the

opposite is

also true.

Right?

Now you

see David's

kingdom,

and you

think,

man,

I don't

want to

live there.

Well,

forced labor.

What a

terrible place.

The glory

is gone.

Right?

And so

basically,

yeah,

we have here

the broken

kingdom.

And no

longer the

godly king

and the

glorious

kingdom,

we have

the

compromised

king and

the

broken

kingdom.

That is,

if you

look carefully,

it looks

good,

it looks

back,

and yet,

it's gone.

Right?

It's so true of

life,

right?

The king

leads to the

kingdom.

You know,

if you have a

sinful spouse,

you're going to

have problems in

your marriage.

If you have a

boss and

colleagues who

fall short,

you have a

job that falls

short.

And we

often don't

get it.

We keep

changing.

I had this

friend of

mine,

like,

a few years

ago.

Every time I

met him,

he had a

different job.

That was in

the time that

the job market

was better.

But yeah,

why?

Well,

my boss is a

jerk,

next job.

Oh,

my colleagues

are annoying,

next job.

But the

customers are so

frustrating.

Right?

He was never

happy,

and he kept on

changing.

He kept

looking for

the perfect

job,

and he

never got

it,

because,

yeah,

people are

sinful,

and therefore

you will have

a bad

experience,

right?

People fleeing

the country,

so many people

fleeing or

emigrating because

hopefully it's

better somewhere

else.

Sometimes that's

really true.

If you want to

escape the war

in Ukraine,

that's a really

good thing to

do.

And yet,

nowhere is

perfect,

right?

Wherever you

move to,

the people are

sinners,

the people in

charge,

they don't

follow God,

it will never

be perfect.

And so wherever

you look for

your hope,

it's not going

to work.

And those of

reality,

I don't know

what you're

going to face

tomorrow,

but I can

tell you it's

going to be

disappointing,

right?

People will

sin against you

and you will

have a bad

experience.

That's life

in this world,

right?

Because,

yeah,

just like the

king and the

kingdom are

linked,

people lead

to your

experience.

Some days are

better than

others,

but it's never

perfect.

And I'm not

even talking

about your

own sin,

right?

This is about

the people we

hope in,

the people we

look to.

I mean,

so much of

problems in

my life,

I'm part of

the problem,

right?

But we're not

talking about

that.

And,

you know,

it gets even

worse.

Because the

kingdom is not

just broken.

In a way,

having in chapter

20 another

rebellion isn't

that good.

But especially

that cry of

Sheba in verse

1,

right?

we have no

portion in

David.

We have no

inheritance in

the son of

Jesse.

Every man to

his ten

so Israel.

Does it sound

familiar to

anyone?

Probably not.

Well,

come with me to

1 Kings chapter

1 Kings 12 · chapter mention

12.

I mean,

what happens

in,

what happens

to David,

after David

came Solomon,

he had this

glorious kingdom,

although he

then turned

away from the

Lord.

And then we

had,

what's it,

but after him

came Rehoboam.

And God had

said under him

the kingdom

would split.

And Rehoboam,

he was a bit

of an idiot,

right?

So the people

came to him

that, hey,

we had it a bit

tough under

Solomon,

can you make

it lighter?

And he asked

for advice,

and his friend

said to him,

oh, just

tough them.

And so that's

what he said,

right?

Well, you think

my father's tough,

I'm going to be

even tougher.

What did they

say?

1 Kings chapter

1 Kings 12:16

12, verse 16.

And when all

Israel saw that

the king did

not listen to

them, the

people answered

the king,

what portion

do we have

in David?

We have no

inheritance in

the son of

Jesse.

To your

ten, so

Israel.

Look to your

own house,

David.

It's pretty

much exactly

the same

thing as

begging to

Samuel.

Exactly the

same words.

And even

more, what

does Rehoboam

do?

He's not a

very good

diplomat, right?

Verse 18.

Then King

Rehoboam

sent Adoram,

who was

taskmaster

over the

forced labor,

and all

Israel

stoned him

to death

with stones.

It's not

really good,

right?

If people

are complaining

that you're

too tough,

don't send

a chief

slave driver.

But basically,

yeah.

But the

same Adoram.

Which is

interesting,

right?

So back

into Samuel,

it's like we

have a cameo.

We have a

little foreshadowing,

right?

What happens in

chapter 12,

this big event,

the split of the

kingdom,

how the kingdom

fell apart,

we get that

kind of

foreshadowed.

We get a

cameo into

Samuel.

Marvel movies,

you often have

foreshadowing,

you often have

cameos,

because people

expect you to

see all the

movies.

And that's

kind of here.

And you may

think, oh man,

this is quite

complicated.

Just to say,

the only thing I

do for this is

just read my

Bible,

right?

If you read

the Bible

every year,

every two

years,

and you

kind of

remember what

it says,

the writer

wants you to

pick up on

these things.

It has nothing

to do with

knowing Hebrew

or seminary.

You know,

if you notice

a verse,

hey, this is

very similar

to that verse,

go back and

check it.

But that's

what the

writer wants

you to see.

Man,

the kingdom,

you know,

the doom of

the kingdom

is foreshadowed

here.

And so we

have not just

a broken

kingdom,

we have a

doomed kingdom.

A doomed

kingdom.

Right?

The readers

know David's

kingdom didn't

last.

But where

did it go

wrong?

You know,

we've read

through kings.

Was it

Manasseh and

his idolatry?

Was it

Ahaz and

his politics?

Was it

Solomon and

his 700

wives?

Well, the

writer is

hinting,

actually,

already under

David.

Under David,

it was basically

already doomed.

And there's

some truth

that, you

know,

there's great

kings and

bad kings,

and David

was pretty

good, and

in the rest

of kings,

he's always

the standard.

All the

other kings,

well, they're

as good as

David, or

not as good

as David,

or nowhere

like David,

and God

was gracious.

You know,

400 years,

the kingdom

went on and

on and on.

God was

merciful,

yet the writer

is saying,

already under

David,

it was doomed.

Already under

David, not

Manasseh,

not Ahaz,

not Solomon,

as soon as

David sinned,

it was basically

done.

Because,

ultimately,

sin brings

judgment.

Right?

We've seen how

awful sin is,

and as soon as

sin comes in,

it's doomed.

Like we had

with COVID,

right?

As soon as

there was one

Omicron case

in a place,

you know,

everyone's going

to get it.

And that's

basically the

message here.

It's doomed.

Even the best

human kingdoms,

the best

institutions,

the best

marriages,

the best

jobs,

they can run

on a bit,

some better

than others.

Everything in

the ultimately

is doomed.

Right?

Where there's

sin,

God wants a

perfect world.

Everything that's

less than perfect

will go one

day.

It's doomed.

So that is where

we're ending,

right?

The Bible warns

you everything's

broken.

Everywhere there's

sin and everything

is doomed.

It's so depressing,

right?

We thought there

would be a happy

ending here in

2 Samuel.

Actually,

there isn't.

Actually,

David,

once he sinned,

it was over.

Now we need

a better king,

right?

We need to go

back to this

spectrum.

We don't need

someone who is

further along that

little spectrum

on the left.

We need someone

on the right.

We need a king

who is not just

less sinful.

We need someone

who is perfect.

If he is perfect,

if he never sins,

there will never

be judgment.

He can bring the

perfect kingdom

that we all need

that lasts forever.

And it's no

surprise that

that's Jesus,

right?

That is the king

we need because

everything else

will fail.

Everything else

will not work.

He's the only one

who can save,

the only one

who can bring

the kingdom.

So the right

response,

yeah,

is to turn

from him,

to turn to him,

right?

To turn away

from the things

in the world

that we know

are not going

to work,

that we know

we're not going

to satisfy,

and turn to him.

That's what we're

going to do

in a moment

with the baptisms,

right?

All these people,

people who saw

that there was

no hope in the world

and so they've

turned to Jesus

and found life

in him.

But not just

one day,

no,

every day of our lives.

Right?

We need Jesus

so much

because there's

no other hope

in the world.

well,

let's pray

and sing.

Our Father,

thank you for

this reality check.

Father,

there are many

good things in the world

and yet nothing's

perfect.

So much of life,

there's frustrations,

there's disappointments

because ultimately

this is a world

where people sin,

where we sin,

where things go wrong.

Father,

would we see that?

Would we not chase

after other things,

think that we can find

just something better here?

Would we see that

it's only Jesus

who can make things right,

only Jesus who's perfect,

only Jesus who obeyed you

perfectly on the cross

when he died for our sins,

only Jesus who can bring

us back to you?

Lord,

would we look to him?

Lord,

give us faith,

whoever we are here,

wherever we're at,

bring us to Jesus.

In his name we pray.

Amen.