"Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister (serve to bring up) questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith " (1Tim. 1:4)

King David's Values and Contradictions part 3 - May 20, 2023 - Dr. David Antion

King David was a man after God's heart, that's for sure. He did some despicable and terrible things. We know that with the idea we saw about Vascheba and what he did to Bashiba's husband.

However, King David was a leader, a true leader, and a uniter. You realize that after King David and after Solomon, Solomon inherited David's benefits of a united Israel. And after Solomon, his son Riaboham wouldn't listen to anybody.

And Solomon almost destroyed it because a lot of people got sick and tired of paying the high taxes that Solomon imposed for all the building projects. So Solomon, after Solomon Riaboham split the nation. They split.

And you know what? They have never been united again. You have the northern, you have the southern, you have people divided here and divided there. In David's time, it almost became divided when his son went against him.

But David was able to, with the help of Joab and others, quell that rebellion and bring peace and unity once again. No doubt about it, David was a leader and a major person to unite the people, uniting people is very important I want to read you what is called the last words of David. Okay? This is from Psalm.

I mean Psalm. This is from Second Samuel, Second Samuel, chapter 23, beginning in verse one. These are called the last words of David.

I want to read it to you in the new international version and then I'll continue with it in the new American Standard. Now these are the last words of David. David, the son of Jesse declares and now they're talking about David, the man who raised who was raised on high.

David was raised on high, no doubt about it, declares the anointed of the God of Jacob, declares the sweet Psalmist of Israel, declares the Oracle of David, the son of Jesse I'm going to read this from the new international now. The Oracle of David, the son of Jesse, the oracle of the man exalted by the highest, the man anointed by the God of Jacob, Israel singer of songs, the sweet psalmist, says the new American Standard of Israel. Now this man was so wonderful and at first so humble.

You know, when Saul wanted to give him his daughter, David said, who am I and what are my family that we should be the son-in-law to the king? Yet God was going to make him king, but he was very humble. Who am I? What is my family? Now, one of the troubles in life is this absolute power corrupts absolutely. If you have absolute power, total, I can do whatever I want.

There are no restrictions, nobody I don't have to ask anybody's permission for anything. I just do it. I have absolute power.

I don't need any counsel for anybody. I don't need to talk to anybody. This is bad.

David had come to a place of he was the king, in absolute power. He can do whatever he wants. I can have any woman I want.

And he had a bunch of women because Hitherfeld told Absalom, to go into his dad's harem and show people how much you despise him. And God said to him, you have all these wives. Why do you take this wife of Uriah the Hittite? You have all these women to satisfy your need, your sexual desires.

Why do you need to take one woman away from the one man? And there's no sign that she was disappointed with her husband. There's no sign that Bastion didn't like him. He was away at war.

She was taking care of things at home. And I guess they had no children for whatever reason. Maybe they were too young to have children.

He was a fighter. You don't take old men and put them out on the front lines. So he was a fighter and was young.

She was young. So here it comes in two. Samuel, chapter 23.

Now, beginning in verse two, these are David's words. The Spirit of the Eternal spoke through me. His word was on my tongue.

The God of Israel spoke. The rock of Israel said to me, now, listen to this statement. When one rules over men in righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God, he is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning.

Did you ever see a sunrise? You know, people talk about sunsets all the time because it's easier to watch a sunset than it is to get up early enough to watch a sunrise. So most people don't see sunrises. They see sunsets.

They all love sunsets. But a sunrise is spectacular, beautiful, spectacular. You see those early morning rays.

And sometimes when we've gone to Hawaii, you can leave and go up on one of the mountains because Hawaii is surrounded. Each island is surrounded by water, so you don't have a lot of other mountains. Once you're on a mountain in Hawaii, you get to see the sun coming up over the curvature of the Earth.

As the Earth turns here, you see the sun. It looks like the sun is rising, but the truth is, the Earth is turning. So you see that and it comes up and annexing more light and more light, and it is a spectacular view.

Here to what he says. The God of Israel told me, when one rules over men, you're ruling over humans in righteousness. When he rules in the fear of God, he is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning, like the brightness after rain that brings the grass from the Earth.

Is not my house right with God? David is saying, these are the last words. Has he not made with me an everlasting covenant arranged and secured in every part? Will he not bring to fruition my salvation and grant me every desire? But evil men are all to be cast aside like thorns. David knew what was evil, he knew what was right, which is not gathered with the hand.

Whoever touches thorns uses the tool of iron or the shaft of a spear or very thick gloves. They are burned up where they lie. That's from the New International Version, chapter 23 of two, Samuel, one through seven.

Now we're dropping down to verse eight now. Second Samuel, chapter 23, verse eight. Now, that's David's statement.

If you rule in the fear of God if you rule in righteousness. Did he always do it? No. Did he do it most of the time? Yes.

He made his mistakes. Second Samuel, chapter 23, verse eight. These are the names.

Now we're going to hear the names of David's mighty men. It's all in chapter 23 of Second Sample. The mighty men of David, whom David had Joshua.

This at a tech monte, chief of the captains. He was called Adeno, the Israelite because of 800 slain by him at one time. In other words, in one battle.

This man, Joshua Beth, it's long-term. I can't always say I'm going to get it right. He killed 800 people by himself at once, I guess in one battle.

He didn't do it. 800. I don't know how he does it.

Now, whether these are exaggerated numbers, I don't know, but they're talking about these men. Now, notice the kind of world it was back then. These men are great.

They're famous because they killed a lot of people. And after he was Eliezer, the son of Dodo, one of the three mighty men with David. When they defied the Philistines who were gathered there to battle and the men of Israel had withdrawn, he arose and struck the Philistines until his hand was weary and clung to the sword.

And the Eternal brought about a great victory that day, and the people returned after him only to strip the slain. He killed so many people. Just they're all over the place.

They're just going to go out now and strip the people who are dead. Now, after he was Shamana, the son of Aegi. And it says, the Philistines were gathered into a troop where there was a plot of ground full of lentils, and the people fled from the Philistines.

But he took his stand in the midst of the plot, defended it, and struck the Philistines. And the Eternal brought about a great victory. He defended a plot like a fairly large field of lentils.

Then three of the 30 chief men went down and came to David in the harvest time to the cave of Abdullah, while the troop of the Philistines was camping in the valley of Refrim. David was then in the stronghold, while the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem. David was craving and had a craving.

David had a craving and he said, oh, that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate. Okay, that's what he said. Guess what? Verse 19. Verse 1516.

Rather, verse 16. So three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines. They had to go through the camp of the Philistines and drew water you're going right through their enemies.

And drew water from the well of Bethlehem, which was by the gate, took it, and had to fight their way back and brought it to David. Nevertheless, he would not drink it. He poured it out to the eternal.

This is a sacrifice to God, okay? He would not do it. And he said to them now, this is why his men loved him. This is why he was such a leader, okay? In spite of his terrible sins, some of them were terrible.

But despite that, this is why this man was a leader. He said, Be it far from me, O Eternal. He's pouring this out to God.

I'm going to give you, God, this drink of water. This is yours. Far be it from me, O Eternal, that I should do this.

Shall I drink the blood of the men who went in jeopardy of their lives? Therefore, he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did, this is what they did.

Showing their loyalty. Can you imagine? I'd really like to have a drink from that. Boom.

We'll get it for you. They didn't ask him, can we go behind the lines? They just went, they brought it back here's the water from the gate. We got it.

Can't do this. It'd be like drinking your blood. I can't do it.

I'm thanking God for you. There was a Bishai, the brother of Joab, Joe AB's brother. Now, Joab was a powerful fighter himself.

Then this is a bishop brother of Joab, the son of Ziriah. And he says the chief was chief of the 30. And he swung his spirit against 300 and killed them.

Had a name as well as the three. He was just as much as those other three mighty men that went and got David the water. He was most honored of the 30, therefore he became their commander.

However, he did not attain the three. Then Ben and I, the son of Jehoiada, the son of the valiant men of Cabrerzil, who had done mighty deeds, killed the two sons of Ariel of Moab. He also went down and killed a lion in the middle of the pit on a snowy day.

He killed an Egyptian, an impressive man. Now, the Egyptian had a spear in his hand and he went down to him with a club and snatched the spear from the Egyptian's hand, and killed him with his own spear. Now, these men are praised.

These are David's mighty men in every case. It's a mighty man of war. It's a man of blood, of killing another person.

And you know, we do decorations too. We have our flying aces. And believe me, when you're in a war, you want men who can fight.

You do not. When you're in the civilized world, you don't want that, but in the world of war. And one of the things David had against Joab was that Joab didn't know when to stop.

He didn't know when to stop warring. He's still warring. Why are you continuing to war? We're done.

We're done already. So says these things Benaiah, the son of Johia, that did, and he made a name for himself, and he took that spear. He was honored among the 30.

He did not attain the three A shows. The brother of Joeb was also among the 30. So Joeb had a number of his family.

They were real fighters. But Joeb was very loyal to David. They were all loyal, very tremendously loyal.

David had charisma, he had leadership that people just clung to him, clung to him, and he did not get Israel divided. Now you have here in Two Samuel, chapter 24. David makes a wonderful decision here, but then he does a bad thing here.

And so here you have in two Samuel. 24 days now again, notice those phrases I'm reading from the New American Standard Version. Now, again, the anger of the eternal, the Yhwh, burned against Israel, and it incited David against them to say, go number Israel and Judah.

Okay? It burned against Israel because David was incited against Israel. Now, you see, in First Chronicles 21, the Bible says here, then Satan stood up against Israel and moved David to number Israel. Let me read that in the new English translation.

An adversary opposed Israel, inciting David to count how many warriors Israel had. That's what God forbid. He did not want that because he did not want you to depend on your own strength.

He wanted you to look to God. He wanted you to see what God was and how he was. So here it says, now again, the anger of this is now in Samuel.

Now again, the Hebrew sometimes is a little skippy here. Now again, the anger of the eternal burned against Israel, and whether the anger burned against them incited David against them. So it had to be that.

There had to be an opposition because that verse doesn't really make sense. Listen to it. Now again, the anger of the eternal turn burned against Israel, and it what? The anger incited David against them.

There were some people there to say, go number Israel and Judah. So that is not a very clear statement. The king said to Joab, the commander of the army who was with him, go about now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba.

From the top, we were visited. I toured the city of Dan. It was excavated.

Now, I took up at the very end of Beersheba, all the way down to the very bottom of Israel from Dan to Beersheba, and register the people so that I may know the number of the people. I want to know the number of the soldiers and our strength. But listen to what Joab did.

Verse three. But Joab said to the King, now, may the eternal your God add to the people a hundred times as many as they are, while the eyes of my Lord the King still see. But why does my Lord the King delight in this thing? Why are you so intent that you feel you want to number Israel? This is not good.

So Joab was there to kind of caution David, why do you want to delight in this thing? Think it over. But David didn't think it over. Nevertheless, verse four.

Nevertheless, the king's word prevailed. I want to do it. Joan said, well, why do you need it? But God can give us as many people as he wants.

He could do so many things. Why do you want to do this? I want to do it. Okay.

David said I want to do it. The King's word prevailed against Joab and against the commanders of the army. Even.

Now, listen, here's one place where David didn't listen. He did not. I don't know what got into him.

The translators of the First Chronicles are saying, Satan. Now, the new English translation says, an adversary opposed Israel, which incited. Now, whether some other foreign power was saying, we're going to come to Israel.

We're going to do it. Whether some other foreign power was inciting David, we don't know. But all of a sudden, David said, I need to know how many people got it.

I need to know how strong we are. It scared David. You know, when you get very fearful when you feel insecure, you grab on to things that you might not always grab onto.

He felt very insecure. It incited David to count how many warriors he had. Okay, how many the number in Israel, how many warriors, how many people do I have? And I want to number them. And Joab said, Why do you need to? So in First Chronicles, chapter 21, after David decided that you're starting in verse seven, going all the way to the end of First Chronicles 21, god was displeased with this thing.

God was angry with Israel. God was. And he takes it out on the people.

So he struck Israel. David said to God, I have sinned greatly. The people are suffering in that I have done this thing.

But now please take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have done very foolishly. Please forgive me. I have been very foolish.

Have you ever said that? Have you ever said to somebody, I really screwed up. I have been stupid. I've been foolish.

I have sinned greatly. Most people don't. Most people.

Well, okay, I'll try to do better next time. We're not very good at apologizing, and I noticed in America it's even worse. How many politicians really apologize?

We really screwed up. We did a bad thing here. I was a part of that.

I voted for this. I shouldn't have. I did.

I screwed up. But the Eternal spoke to Gad David. Seer, that's like a prophet saying now God's not talking directly to David.

He has talked to David. David said he did. He says, now go and speak to David.

Saying, Thus says the Eternal I offer you these things. Choose for yourself one of them which I will do for you. Which I will do for you.

Choose one. So Gad came to David and he said to David, thus does the eternal take for yourself either three years of famine or three months to be swept away before your foes while the sword of your enemies overtakes you. Or else three days of the sword of the eternal pestilence in the land and the angel the Lord destroying throughout all the territory of Israel.

Now, therefore, consider what answer I shall return to God who sent me. This is a prophet. David said to Gad I am in great distress.

Please let me fall into the hand of the Eternal, whatever one he wants, for his mercies, are great, but I do not. Let me fall into the hand of man. So the Eternal sent the pestilence on Israel.

70,000 people, men of Israel fell and God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it. But as he was about to destroy it, the Eternal saw and was sorry over the Calamity and said to the destroying angel, it is enough. Now they're trying to make God put human feelings and so on to God.

I made a mistake here. I shouldn't have done that. Now relax your hand.

And the angel of the Eternal was standing by the threshing floor of onan the Jebucite. Then David lifted up his eyes and saw the angel of the Eternal standing before between heaven and earth with his drawn sword in his hand okay, stretched over Jerusalem. I'm going to kill more.

Then David. And the elders covered with sackcloth fell on their faces. And David said to God, is it, not I who commanded to count the people? I did it.

I'm the only one guilty these people didn't do it. Isn't it I who commanded to count the people? Indeed, I am the one who has sinned and done very wickedly. Now notice, a lot of people, when they want to apologize, try to minimize it.

They don't say very wickedly. They say I made a mistake here. I mean, I kind of come confused.

We all tend to minimize our David. He didn't minimize it. That's why he was a man after God's own heart.

I didn't do it slightly wickedly. I did very wickedly. Okay, so David said, but these sheep he's looking at the people.

These sheep, what have they done? You're going to forgive me, but you're going to punish them. And what have they done, O Eternal? My God, please let your hand be against me and my father's house.

Okay, but not against your people that they should be plagued. Please. Now, that is leadership.

That's what you call leadership. There's a person taking full responsibility, complete for his actions. He did it.

He was advised by Joab not to do it. He was advised by his commanders not to do it. He did it.

And now God is punishing the people. And David is saying, no, it's me, it's me. I did it.

I did wickedly. I did it very foolishly. I have done this thing.

I've sinned greatly. So David went up, but not against your people that they should be plagued. Then the angel of the Eternal commanded Gad to say to David that David should go up and build an altar to the Eternal on the threshing floor of Ornin, the Jebu site.

So David went up at the word of Gad, which he spoke in the name of the Eternal. Now, Ornan turned back and saw the angel. He sees the angel, and he has four sons who were with him and hid themselves.

They all got scared. And Ornin, he was out there threshing wheat. As David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw David and he went up out from the threshing floor and prostrated himself before David with his face to the ground.

Then David said, Ornan, give me the sight of the threshing floor that I may build it into an altar for the Eternal. Ornan threshing floor, brethren, became the temple of God. That's where he built for the full price.

You shall give it to me. You'll give it to me. But I'm not asking.

Give it to me free that the plague may be restrained from the people. I want this. Ornan said to David, take it for yourself.

Let my lord the King do what is good in his sight. See, I will give the oxen for the burnt offering and the threshing sleds for the wood and the wheat for the grain offering. I will give it all.

Orn, nice guy, very nice guy. I'll give it all to you and you stop the plague. But King David said to Ornan, no, but I will surely buy it for full price.

I'm not asking you to give it. I'm going to pay you what it's worth. For I will listen to this principle.

I will not take what is yours for the Eternal or offer a burnt offering that costs me nothing. There's the leadership this man knew. I'm not going to take your stuff.

Oh, yeah? Give it to me. I'm a politician. Fly me here, fly me there.

Oh, let me have it. Take a bribe here and let me take some money here. Oh, yeah, I'll take it.

Oh, sure, give it to me. No, I will not offer God anything if it costs me nothing. It has to come from me.

That's what an offering is. I am offering it to god, but it has to be mine. So David said, no, I will surely buy it for a price.

So David gave Ornin 500 shekels of gold by weight for the sight. Then David built an altar to the Eternal right there and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. And he called to the Eternal and he answered him with the fire from heaven on the offering of bolt.

Burnt offering. So it was not just that we burned it. God answered it with an offering.

The Eternal commanded the angel and he put his sword back in his sheath. At that time when David saw the Eternal had answered him on the threshing floor of Orn and the Jebusyte, he offered a sacrifice there for the tent of the Eternal which Moses had made in the wilderness. And the altar of burnt offering was in the high place at Gibeon at that time.

They were not here. I went up to Gibion when I was in Israel before and David could not go before it to inquire of God for he was terrified by the sword of the angel. So David eventually wanted his heart was we want to bring the temple here and I want to build a structure for God.

I want to build a place for God. Let me show you how David repented. We saw here I did very wickedly.

You notice how he doesn't say I did bad, I made a mistake, I did very wickedly, I was very foolish. And you'll see it and you'll see one of his great psalms that we've read many times and it's such a beautiful psalm. And I've tried to explain some of the poetic language of it.

And that's Psalm 51. Listen to how he repents. This is the Psalm of David.

When Nathan the Prophet came to him after he had gone in to Bathsheba, Bathsheba didn't come to get him. He went into Bathsheba. Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness, according to the greatness of Your compassion.

Blot out my transgression. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, cleanse me from my sin for I know my transgression and my sin is ever before me against you, you only I have sinned. Now he hurt other people.

But since God makes the laws and God determines what sin David says I've done to you I have done what is evil in your sight. This transgression of taking another man's wife he labeled as evil. Not like people do today.

Oh, well, just an affair or whatever it is. No, it was evil in your sight so that you are justified when you speak, blameless when you judge. I have no retorts.

You're completely right. I am completely wrong. I was brought forth in iniquity.

I was a bad kid. I was sinning from my mother's womb and sinned my mother conceived me. It does not mean that the act of conceiving is a sin.

It means that it's just an exaggerated statement I was bad from the time I was a kid, from my mother's womb. I was so bad, I'm so good, I'm desperately wicked, and so on. Behold, you desire truth in the innermost parts and in the hidden parts.

You will make me know wisdom. Purify me with hyssop, scrub me clean. In other words, wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.

Make me hear the joy of gladness and let the bones which you have broken rejoice. He felt broken, he felt down. He felt punished.

I'm saying you are right, I am wrong. I have done this evil thing. Hide your face from my sin and blot out my iniquities.

Create in me a clean heart. I want a new mind. I want to be a different person.

We are made new in the New Testament. We are made new in Christ. There's the old man with his sins and their stuff, and the new man who is created in Christ Jesus for good works.

Do not cast me away from Your presence. Do not take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit.

Then I will teach transgressors your way. Sinners will be converted to you. You know when you're forgiven and you will love God.

Do you want to go out and serve God? You want more to more. Promote God's word. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation.

Then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness, O Lord. Open, O Ed, and I open my lips, that my mouth may declare Your praise for you. Do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise, I would give it.

In other words, that's not your main delight. Doesn't say that. It's not ever your delight.

This is not the main thing, what you delight in. You are not pleased with burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit and a contrite heart.

That's what you will not despise. Unless I have that broken spirit and a contrite heart. I can offer our offerings all day.

They're not worth anything in your favor. Do good to Zion, build the wrath, build the walls of Jerusalem. Then you will delight in righteous sacrifices in burnt offerings.

Righteous. God delights in righteous sacrifices in righteous burnt offerings. Now, we don't do that because there's no temple and we don't do that kind of thing today.

Then young bulls will be offered on your altar. We'll make sure you get sacrifices that are worth something. That cost me something because I want to do it for you.

This is a man after God's heart. Did he make mistakes? Yeah. Did he do evil? Yes, he said it.

Did he do it foolishly? Yes, he did it. That he admitted it. And he had a heart for God's people.

I did it, not them. Don't punish the people. I was the foolish one.

Where do you get a leader like that? Today. They have just disappeared from the earth. Where can you find it? Everybody makes excuses.

Thank God. David, he repented. He was sorry he made it up to Bathsheba.

He promised her son would sit on the throne. And that's exactly what happened, David. A man after God's own heart.

Join me in prayer that we will have a heart for God. Father in heaven as we give you thanks for the great warriors and the great people that you've had. The people who set an example both in how to repent and how to take responsibility.

And also, Father, your word does not hide the faults, the failings of some of your leaders. Your word does not hide that it's not classified information as we often see in governments. It's right out there in your word for us to see that people have made mistakes and how they repented of them.

Father, we ask that you hear the prayers of your people that you will be sustaining and hearing the prayers for each other as we pray for one another through the spirit of God that we might find help at that wonderful throne of grace in heaven where Jesus sits as high priests help in time of need. We do ask this now, Father with full faith in your ability to do even more than we ask we give you thanks now through all of it. Through Jesus Christ that famous Son of David who sits on your throne will sit and rule righteously and bring the entire world into unity.

We look forward to that day. In Jesus' name, we pray. Me.

Amen.