1 and 2 Samuel: The King Who Would Not Grasp | Associate Pastor: Matt Armstrong

Amen.

Thank you, Christy.

Morning, everybody.

Oh, you're on the ball.

I love it.

I love it.

My name's Matt.

I'm one of the pastors here.

It's my pleasure and privilege to bring the scriptures to you.

Earlier this morning, Russ, uh, when we said good morning, he said, Do you remember today's Mother's Day?

I said, Yes.

He said, Does your mother your sermon tie into Mother's Day?

I said, No.

You know, there's a lot to plan in sermons, and sometimes.

But thank you, Christy.

Save the day.

And I think if you listen to my sermon, you'll see how they just dovetail perfectly together.

George R.R.

Martin, he's a fantasy book writer, uh, not to be confused with J.R.R.

Tolkien.

Uh that's just a coincidence that they're names.

Uh his he wrote a book series called The Game of Thrones, and it was turned into uh an HBO series, um, very well received.

And it's a story filled with intrigue, deception, backstabbing, and murder as multiple families uh vie for power, control of the great iron throne, and uh the control of the seven kingdoms of Westeros.

Um and we're gonna watch a clip from one of the early episodes that kind of encapsulates the message and the point of the whole show.

Let's watch.

When the king returns from his hunt, I'll tell him the truth.

You must be gone by then.

You and your children.

I will not have that blood on my hands.

Go as far away as you can.

With as many men as you can.

Because wherever you go, Robert's rot will follow you.

One of my rocks will be dark.

You should have taken the realm of yourself.

Jamie told me about the day King's Landing fell.

He was sitting in the Iron Throne and you made him give it up.

All you needed to do was kind of step yourself.

Such a bad mistake.

I've made many mistakes in my life.

But that wasn't one of them.

Oh, but it was.

When you play the game of thrones, you win.

You die.

There is no middle ground.

When you play the Game of Thrones, you either win or you die.

There is no middle ground.

Now that pretty much sums up the show.

Uh you don't have to watch it.

A lot of scheming, a lot of murdering, uh, a lot of backstabbing, grasping for power, a lot of nudity and gore.

So I don't necessarily endorse the show, but you know, you're a mature adult, you can choose to watch it or not.

I just thought the clip was good.

Um, as dramatic as this show is in the story, uh, I would argue that this is actually how most of us live our lives day to day.

Uh whether we are Christians or not, most of us live as if we are spiritual orphans, that we have to provide for ourselves.

No one is out there looking out for us.

If we don't take what is there before us, we'll be left behind.

Jesus diagnosed our problem well when he said, Why are you anxious about your life?

Wondering what you will eat, what you will drink, and what you will wear.

These are the things the Gentiles chase after.

Um I believe that's what we do.

We lie, we manipulate, we say uh little white lies, we grasp for control.

All the time on the outside, we look like you know, upstanding Christian citizens.

Um else fails, we'll just use all of our energy worrying.

Isn't it amazing that we think worrying actually changes things?

Well, it doesn't.

Well, that's what our sermon passage is about this morning.

Uh, King Saul is dead.

He died at the end of 1 Samuel.

Today we pick up in 1 Samuel.

He took his own life in the midst of a battle.

Three of his four sons were also killed in that battle.

Only the youngest is left.

And the whole nation of Israel has basically been waiting for David to become king eventually.

But nature abhors a vacuum, as they say, and the real Game of Thrones is about to begin.

Let's pick up in 2 Samuel chapter 1.

2 Samuel 1 · chapter mention

After the death of Saul, when David had returned from striking down the Amalekites, David remained two days at Ziklag.

And on the third day, behold, a man came from Saul's camp, with his clothes torn and dirt on his head.

And when he came to David, he fell on the ground and paid homage.

Point one.

The fallen human heart grasps for life.

Over these next four chapters, the first four chapters of 2 Samuel, this Game of Thrones unfolds in earnest.

In chapter 1, we meet an Amalekite.

He arrives at David's camp.

He is just fled from that battle where Saul died.

He comes to David all dirty, clothes torn, straight from the battle, and he is the one who delivers the news to David that Saul and his sons are dead.

And it just so happens, not only did he see Saul die, but he just so happened to pick up Saul's crown and his royal armlet and bring it to David's feet.

Surely this will gain great favor in David's eyes for the Amalekite.

Isn't it convenient?

David can now simply take the crown and step upon the throne that is before him.

This guy is resourceful, a go-getter.

The Game of Thrones provides a ladder for all types of people to climb, the ladder of power.

In chapter two, we learn of a man named Abner.

Now he was the head of Saul's armies, kind of his head general.

After Saul fell in battle, he takes Saul's youngest and only remaining son and flees, and he makes him king over Israel.

But this is not an act of loyalty.

We find out as the story goes on that this was really a power play for Abner.

He wanted to remain in control, and in fact, he is basically the acting king, making uh Ish Bo Shef, uh Saul's son, kind of a puppet king for him.

You see, if David takes the throne, Abner's life would likely be forfeit.

When you play the Game of Thrones, you either win or you die.

By chapter three, the civil war has been raging for some time, and David is gaining the advantage.

And Abner has finally grown tired of little Ishbosheth, and he wants this war to end, so he decides to defect.

He secretly absconds away to David's camp and they cut a deal.

Abner will broker the peace treaty and he will bring Israel under David's rule, and everything can move along.

Finally, a breakthrough.

The civil war can end.

Hurrah! But alas, no.

You see, Joab, he's the leader of David's armies, kind of like Abner's counterpart on the other side.

And during the Civil War, Abner has killed Joab's little brother, Assabel.

And so Joab wants revenge, right?

Drama.

And so he, finding out about this peace treaty, he sends word to Abner, oh, please come back.

David forgot to give you something.

Abner returns, and in cold blood, Joab stabs him through, murdering him, killing the peace treaty, and plunging Israel back into civil war.

Right?

As dramatic as this show is, if you've seen it or read the books, I mean, this real life Game of Thrones is just as bloody, just as cutthroat.

When you play the Game of Thrones, you either win or you die.

Now in chapter four, with Abner dead, the other military leaders are kind of tired of this whole drawn-out conflict.

And so they take matters into their own hands.

Two in particular, a guy named Rehab and a guy named Bana.

They go into the king's house, this young king, into his bedroom in the middle of the day, while the king is taking his nap in the heat of the day, and they run him through.

They murder their own king in cold blood.

They cut off his head, and they bring it to David, lay it at his feet, thinking that they can become the kingmakers of the story.

So where are we so far?

Here's our synopsis.

We've got the Amalekite, Abner, and the young king, Joab, and these other two.

At this point, two are dead as the Game of Thrones continues.

But as we trace those four chapters, we we uh skipped over some things, so we're gonna jump back and ask this question: how is David responding to this ongoing Game of Thrones?

That leads us to point two.

The heart that rests in God's love does not need to grasp.

Back to chapter one.

The Amalekite, who has told David of Saul's death, he thinks things are unfolding beautifully.

David is uh enwrapped in this story.

He wants to know more about Saul and Jonathan's death.

But because David has learned throughout his life to trust in the Lord's timing, he is not overjoyed by this news.

In fact, he rips his clothes in a sign of mourning and he asks the Amalekite to continue the story.

Thinking he's doing well, the Amalekite doubles down.

Not only did he see Saul's death, but he's the one who actually took Saul's life.

Now, this is a lie.

If we went back and read 1 Samuel 31, we would realize that Saul took his own life, but David doesn't know that.

And the Amalekite thinks that this will put him in even higher standing in David's eyes.

Not only is your enemy dead, but I'm the one who took his life.

Well, then David asks this fateful question.

How is it you were not afraid to put your hand to destroy the Lord's anointed?

Then David called one of his men and said, Go, execute him.

And he struck him down so that he died.

Another one bites the dust.

They're dropping like flies.

Rather than celebrate his enemy's death, David laments.

He laments that the king of Israel is dead by the sword.

And even more, his beloved friend Jonathan is dead.

War has brought about much loss.

And not only does David lament himself, but he calls all of Israel to lament this loss with him.

Now we jump back to chapter 4, where Rahab and Bana come to David with Ish Bosheth's head.

Again, David does not celebrate the death of his enemy.

Rather, he upholds God's justice.

David answered Rahab and Banah, As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life out of every adversity?

When one told me, Behold, Saul is dead and thought he was bringing me good news, I seized him and killed him at Ziklag, which was the reward I gave him for his news.

How much more when wicked men have killed a righteous man in his own house on his bed?

Shall I not now require his blood at your hand and destroy you from the earth?

Beloved, this is the Game of Thrones.

There it is.

This is what happens when we cease to trust in God's timing, in God's ways, when we take matters into our own hands, when we think we are so smart.

A rash of dead bodies, those who wanted to play the Game of Thrones.

And when we look back at our own lives, at those moments and opportunities when we have seized control, a slew of dead bodies, a slew of dead promises, a slew of wreckage that we have made in our own lives.

Where do you find yourself grasping these days?

Where is your heart being tempted not to trust in the Lord's way or the Lord's time?

But he needs a little push.

Maybe he's distracted, maybe you know better.

You see, David did not, what these men did not know is that David was not playing the Game of Thrones.

He embodies the child that Jesus talked about in the Sermon on the Mount.

That passage we looked at earlier.

Let me read the full passage.

He said, Therefore do not be anxious, saying, What shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or what shall we wear?

For the Gentiles seek after these things.

But your Father in heaven knows that you need them all.

David understood.

He had learned through the ups and downs of his own life that the Lord would provide.

Give what he had promised, he would uphold his word.

Here's what we see modeled by David through these three chapters.

First, that lament is not a waste of time, nor is it a sign of weakness.

Rather, it deepens time and it prepares our heart for resurrection.

We've talked about this in the past, but when we lament, we cry out to God, we vocalize what's true, that this world is not the way it's supposed to be.

Injustice, loss, sin, and suffering are part of our everyday reality.

And rather than grasping after control, rather than trying to make the world right by our own might, when we lament, we cry out to God as the only one who can actually bring about shalom.

Now, I think it's worth saying, I was struck as I read this passage and meditated on it this week, that David, he did not rejoice in the death of his enemies.

Beloved, we live in a time where our public leaders are publicly celebrating the deaths of their political enemies.

It is despicable.

And God's people should never condone it nor take part in it, but call it what it is, and cry out to our God for mercy.

Second, resting in God's heart means waiting on God's timing and seeking his guidance.

Time and again, David does not take the shortcut that is presented to him.

Even when the path seems clear, he seeks the Lord's guidance and timing in prayer.

Because, number three, he knows that the Lord establishes our future and the future of our loved ones.

David was anointed king as a teenager.

How long did he have to wait to see that promise fulfilled?

How many shortcuts simply fall at his feet?

And he refused to take them.

Wouldn't he have been justified to murder Saul in that cave?

Wouldn't he have been justified to take the crown from the Amalekite?

Yet he understood that the Lord would make him king at the right time and in the right way.

Beloved, this is a great connection for Mother's Day, but it's true for Fathers too.

When you have children, you want what's best for them.

You long for their happiness and their well-being.

And it is easy for us to doubt God's goodness when it refers to our children.

And so we try to take control, we try to take control of our children, we try to control their future.

And the Lord calls us to trust in Him even for their lives.

There's a long arc to God's faithfulness.

And this is exactly how our passage ends in chapter 5.

David is finally anointed king over all of Israel.

And this is what we're told.

David lived in the stronghold and called it the city of David.

And Israel built the city all around from Milo inward.

And David became greater and greater, for the Lord, the God of hosts, was with him.

And David knew that the Lord had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people, Israel.

In the end, David refused to play the game of thrones.

And yet, through his patience, his humility, his love, his forgiveness, and his trust in the Lord, God established him upon the throne.

Cersei Lannister is wrong.

Incredible.

David is an incredible man.

We should all leave here, go home, and work hard to be a man just like David.

Amen?

No, that was a trick.

You didn't fall for it.

Good job.

Good job.

We might be tempted to think that.

That David is this ideal man, but that's only if we haven't read the rest of the story.

If you continue to read David's story, you find out that he is a man with feet of clay, just like the rest of us.

He has the capacity to do great good as well as the capacity to do great evil.

At the end of the day, at the end of David's life, we are waiting for another.

And that leads us to our third and final point this morning: that Jesus is the true king who would not grasp.

Of course, David points us to Jesus.

We know that Jesus is the Son of David, that Israel awaited.

All of Scripture points us to Jesus.

And in one of the most beautiful pictures in the New Testament, the Apostle Paul tells us this that Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, to be held onto at all cost.

Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men, and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross.

Therefore, God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth.

And every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father.

Beloved, David won because he chose not to play the Game of Thrones, and he points us to the one who succeeded where David failed, where Adam failed and where we too fail.

Now, last week Russ referenced my favorite story, The Lord of the Rings, and so not to be outdone, I am also gonna reference it.

The Lord of the Rings is about uh a hobbit, Frodo Baggins, who is given the impossible task of bringing the Ring of Power to Mount Doom, the only place it can be destroyed.

And the reason he is given this task is because he is a hobbit.

In that fantasy world, he is not notable of power, strength, or wisdom.

It is in fact his weakness and lack of power that make him the perfect ring bearer.

You see, Frodo is much like David.

It was in all the ways that he didn't play the Game of Thrones, didn't fit the script, that made him the perfect king, the man after God's own heart.

And yet, like David also, Frodo failed in his mission.

He made it to Mount Doom, to the very cracks of Mount Doom, where it opened up into a fissure of this living volcano, the only place where this ring could be thrown and utterly destroyed.

And yet, as he stood there, the power of the ring itself overcame his heart and he refused.

He would not throw it into the fire.

Spoiler alert for an old movie and book.

Frodo failed in his task.

And it takes evil outwitting itself to finally see this ring of power destroyed falling into the volcano.

But beloved, Jesus is the true and better ring bearer.

He is the true and better king.

He took hold of what we could not let go of: our sin, our grasping, our failure, and he carried it to the cross.

And in doing so, he destroyed its power over us forever.

Beloved, this is why there is no way to play the Game of Thrones.

To play the game is to lose, it is to die.

Jesus said as much when he said, For whoever would save his life will lose it.

But whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.

The only way to win is to refuse to play, to cease grasping for control in your own life, and to entrust yourself to the king who would not grasp, but emptied himself for us.

If you have any questions about this sermon or if you need prayer, I'll be down front right after.

I would love to meet and pray with you.

Let's pray now.

Our Father and our God, we confess that we are sorely tempted day in and day out, moment by moment, to seize control of our own lives.

We continue to struggle with that orphan, sinful heart.

But Lord, by faith we are in Christ, and you provide for all our needs.

Lord, would you strengthen us by your spirit to walk in faith this week?

And more than anything, Jesus, we celebrate you.

The King who would not grasp, who died for us even more, was raised for our eternal life.

We give you thanks and praise in your name.

Amen.