may be seated. Please take your Bible. Turn with me to 2 Samuel chapter 10. 2 Samuel chapter 10. We are continuing our study of the life of David. We started it quite a while back. We took a break midway through. We looked at the book of Galatians and now we are back in 2 Samuel to complete the study of the life of David. Government policies are basically divided into two broad categories. There is what we call domestic policy, and that deals with how a governing agent will deal with matters within a country's border. And then there is foreign policy, how the national government will deal in matters beyond the border. That is matters which involve other nations and their leaders. And as we are continuing our study in the life of David we are going to see this morning that David exhibited the same basic policy in regard to domestic policy and foreign policy. Or at least we would say the same fundamental characteristic of the life and character that God has brought about in him shines forth both domestically and internationally. You see when David determined to show covenant kindness to Mephibosheth as we saw last time he was exhibiting kindness domestically to a fellow Israelite. And it had to do with relationships within the nation of Israel. And as we turn now the page from chapter 9 to chapter 10 of 2 Samuel we see David showing kindness beyond the border to a foreign king. A rival king whose kindness was in fact repudiated as he showed it. But as always, these elements of David's life not only provide lessons in themselves, they also point us to Christ Jesus and they point us to ourselves as his disciples in a typological way. And I'm going to bring that out as we look through the substance of this chapter but please stand with me for the reading of the Word of God 2 Samuel chapter 10. After this the king of the Ammonites died and Hanun his son reigned in his place. And David said I will deal loyally with Hanun the son of Nahash as his father dealt loyally with me. So David sent by his servants to console him concerning his father. And David's servants came into the land of the Ammonites. But the princes of the Ammonites said to Hanun their lord, do you think because David has sent comforters to you that he is honoring your father? Has not David sent his servants to you to search the city and to spy it out and to overthrow it? So Hanun took David's servants and shaved off half the beard of each and cut off their garments in the middle at their hips and sent them away. When it was told David, he sent to meet them for the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, remain at Jericho until your beards have grown and then return. When the Ammonites saw that they had become a stench to David, the Ammonites sent and hired Syrians of Beth Rehob and Syrians of Zobah, 20,000 foot soldiers and the king of Macha with 1,000 men and the men of Tob, 12,000 men. And when David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the host of the mighty men. And the Ammonites came out and drew up in battle array at the entrance of the gate. And the Syrians of Zobah and of Rehob and the men of Tob and Machah, they were by themselves in the open country. And when Joab saw that the battle was set against him both in front and in the rear, He chose some of the best men of Israel and arrayed them against the Syrians. The rest of his men he put in charge of Abishai his brother and he arrayed them against the Ammonites. And he said, If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me. But if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come and help you. Be of good courage and let us be courageous for our people and for the cities of our God and May the Lord do what seems good to him. So Joab and the people who were with him drew near to battle against the Syrians and they fled before him. And when the Ammonites saw that the Syrians fled, they likewise fled before Abishai and entered the city. Then Joab returned from fighting against the Ammonites and came to Jerusalem. But when the Syrians saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they gathered themselves together. And Hadadezer sent and brought out the Syrians who were beyond the Euphrates. They came to Helam with Shobak, the commander of the army of Hadadezer at their head. And when it was told David, he gathered all Israel together and crossed the Jordan and came to Helam. The Syrians arrayed themselves against David and fought with him. And the Syrians fled before Israel. And David killed the Syrians, the men of 700 chariots and 40,000 horsemen, and wounded Shobak, the commander of their army, so that he died there. And when all the kings who were servants of Hadad Deezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and became subject to them. So the Syrians were afraid to save the Ammonites anymore. Let's pray together. Lord God, this is an action-packed chapter of your holy word, and we are grateful for it. And we're thankful to be able to read it. And we will be thankful to be able to understand what's going on here, but also especially how it applies to the way we think and the way we act and what we do and what's important to us. And so we pray for mercy this morning and for the working of your Holy Spirit to give us eyes to see and ears to hear. Lord, speak clearly to us. And we also pray for ready hearts to hear ready minds to understand and absorb and ready wills to obey what you're showing us here. And we pray it in Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated. Now, as we have read, there are a number of issues and events going on here in this chapter, and yet they all seem to coalesce around a central theme. So I'll put that before you at the beginning here this morning. As a whole, I would assert that this chapter points us to the sovereign working of God on behalf of His King and His people when they are repudiated by the world with hate and hostility. In other words, when the world shows the people of God hate and hostility, the Lord is showing us here a lesson for how we should respond and assurance with which we should respond. Here's a text which provides assurance and instruction for the persecuted church. And that makes it a text which is highly relevant to you and me in this day and time. Signs and signals are everywhere that the biblical church is not particularly welcomed in the eyes of the world beyond the border of the church. And how ought we to respond when the world shames us and foments hatred against us? answers to these questions arise as we take this text point by point. But we could pause for a moment to say one obvious answer is in the verse we're memorizing and that is that we continue to love our enemies and display the kindness of God. That's what we see David doing right here at the beginning of this chapter. Let's start with kindness extended. I want you to see kindness extended. Chapter 10 here is linked to chapter 9. The one we looked at last week, it's linked by its use of the same key word. And the theme or the key word in chapter 9 is the covenant kindness of King David. How he reached to Mephibosheth who was in effect an enemy and an unattractive one at that. And David reached out to him and showed him kindness. The Hebrew word is hesed. Now I tell you that not because I think you're all Hebrew scholars like me, which I'm not either, but I do know a little bit of Hebrew and I know it enough to be able to pronounce or at least try to pronounce chesed. And that same word that's used in chapter 9, it's translated basically kindness or covenant kindness in chapter 9. is the same word in chapter 10 that we find in the ESV being translated that he is going to deal loyally. It's the deal in kindness. Now Mephibosheth offered David the opportunity to show the kindness of God at home, domestically. And now with the death of a rival king, Beyond the borders of Israel, David has the opportunity of showing kindness abroad. And so having received grace, David is alert to opportunities to show others the same kind of grace that he's received. So he learns that a rival king, the king of Ammon, the Ammonite king, that this rival king has died. Nahash king of the Ammonites passed away. Now it would appear from the text that at some point Nahash had apparently done something for David that David considered a measure of kindness. We don't exactly know what that was because all we know about Nahash from the scripture is that he wasn't a very nice guy. And he was not a very nice guy when it came specifically to the nation of Israel. He had once attacked the Israelite village of Jabesh Gilead and he had proposed that he would let them live if he could gouge out their eyeballs. And so that was when they sent to Saul for help. But it was the plan of Nahash to gouge their eyes out and by doing so humiliate the entire nation of Israel. So this gives you an idea of who this is that had died. Nahash the Ammonite king. Now that he was dead his son Hanun reigned in his place and David determined to show kindness to this man by sending an entourage of servants to express his condolences." It's as though he was sending emissaries to attend the funeral or such to say, I'm sorry for your loss and to give to the Ammonites a gesture of goodwill, a message of kindness. And so David sets an example to us of showing kindness to the world beyond our doorstep and in spite of its hostile reputation. Think about the fact that God Himself, now what does God do in reference to the world as a whole? God our Father pours out kindness upon the entire world. God pours out kindness upon people who are Christians and people who are not Christians. God pours out His kindness upon atheists. as well as He does upon His own people. He is kind to all. He makes it rain on the just and the unjust. So, it is in that light that Jesus commands His followers to love even our enemies and pray even for our persecutors. If we are kind only to those who are kind to us, well, what of a big deal is that? I mean, that's what Jesus said. The whole world, you know, if you're kind to them, generally they will be kind back at least to some extent. But the evidence of the Lord's presence and work in our lives as His disciples and as His followers is that we love even the unlovely and that we love even those who are mean and hostile and unruly. I believe that the kindness that David shows Hanun here actually anticipates the great display of the love of God in sending forth His entourage into the world with the gospel. to call for people to be made right with Him. The great commission of Christ is anticipated here in a type as David sends his servants to go and speak a consoling word to this king. So Jesus has commissioned us as disciples to go into the world and speak the consoling message of the gospel of Him. that we could preach to them Christ, that they might find peace with God and be forgiven of their sins and become part of His family. And just think about how the gospel first came. As Paul makes a good deal about this in the book of Romans, the gospel came first to the Jews. And then Christ sent His disciples to the ends of the earth with that gospel. And we are to bring the gospel message to the entire planet. And we're not to stop bringing that gospel to the entire planet so long as there are more people who need to hear. And until Jesus comes there's always going to be more people who need to hear. But in His great mercy to the world, Christ has commissioned us to go with the message of peace through His cross. And He has commissioned us to proclaim forgiveness from God for all who will trust in the Lord, turn to Him in repentance and trust in what Jesus has done in His life, His death, His resurrection from the dead. This is the foreign policy with which God governs His kingdom. He sends out messengers to call the world to repentance and call the world to peace with Him. But how does the world receive this call? Well, not everyone receives warmly the kindness of the Lord, do they? In fact, many respond with hostility and belligerence. And don't bother me with your God stuff. Leave me alone and let me live my life my own way. I'm thinking for one of maybe some of you might not know who I'm talking about. If you're younger you may not know. But when I say the name Jim Elliott hopefully your mind goes to the to the man a missionary who went with some other brothers to a group of Ecuadorian Indians to bring the gospel to them. They had to learn their language. They knew that they were reputed to be cannibals. But they gave them gifts and they spent a long time from a plane above dropping off things. Then they finally got to meet some of them and thought they were going to be friendly. But what happened the next day? Representatives from the tribe came with spears and took their lives. And sometimes the world behaves towards the gospel messengers in just that way. The emissaries of David know what that's like to a certain extent. The emissaries of David reached the land of the Ammonites. Now they were not stabbed and killed, but they were humiliated. Hanun shaved off half of their beards. and cut off their clothes exposing their private parts. And this was absolutely humiliating for those men as it would be for you and me. There they were trying to extend kindness and they were defamed for it. It was an insult so egregious it spoke loudly of absolute rejection and hatred and repudiation of David's extension of kindness. Well, the world often speaks the same way today to those who bear the gospel. It depicts sincere Christians and those who are eager to share the gospel as shameful people who trouble the peace and who are intolerant and who ought to be ashamed because they are crazy. I've seen the looks on the faces of people when you try to even give them a track when they're walking by. Their hearts are hard. They suspect that you are either arrogant and think you're better than they are, or they suspect that you're just stupid and believe that fairytale nonsense about God and Jesus. And sometimes they make you feel, and they want to make you feel, ashamed. That you would trouble them with such irrelevant concerns. This is the world in which we live. But we can't let their disinterest keep us from reaching out. We can't let their disinterest keep us from sharing Christ because, for one thing, Christ is worthy of being shared, but also because their very well-being eternally and their happiness, the well-being of their souls is what is at stake. And so we see kindness extended. And when we see David extending this kindness, let us be encouraged that we would extend kindness the same way to the world in which we live. Even though there's a reputation that the world doesn't want what you've got to give. Let's turn next to shame resolved. Shame resolved. The men whom David sent were obviously embarrassed and humiliated. They came to show kindness on behalf of David and now their beards were half off and they only had half the clothes and that covered only the upper part of their body. And so to have shown up in David's court in that condition would have only increased their humiliation. So David sent, he heard and learned about the situation and he told the men to stay put and he went to where they were. And then mixing and mingling with them he told them to stay there in Jericho until their beards grew back. And, you know, I don't think that that would be such a bother for us today, but for them it was a big deal to have your beard half gone. Of course, you know, I got mine all gone. and a lot of us do that so we could you know okay it's no problem but for them this was this was a sign of their manliness their manhood and their strength as men and so David really showed sensitivity and care and love for them and appreciation for his men by letting them stay in a place where they could remain until as long as it took until their beards returned I'm sure he took a change of clothes with them for each one as well but You know, think about what David could have done. He could have said, how dare, how did you let this happen to you guys? Or he could have disregarded their feelings and just said, you know, I need you in court right now. Just, just get over it. But rather David felt for them and he reached out and he consoled them personally and he gave them time to heal. He covered their shame so that no one else would see it. He was kind and sensitive and merciful. Well, when you think about David as an example in that way, what does that say about you in comparison? God's Word tells us that the fruit of the Spirit includes gentleness and kindness. The shame of others is an opportunity for us to display patience and care and tenderness. To do that, you have to step into their shoes and be mindful of how they feel. And maybe it is that someone comes to you. They've personally offended you. They've harmed you. And they're sorry. And in coming to you to be willing to admit that, they're coming with shame. How are you going to respond? Yeah, right, you really did hurt me. Would be one way you could respond. But if you respond according to David's example, you would rather see that you have the opportunity of covering their shame by forgiving them and telling no one else. Proverbs 10, 12 says, hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses. Peter exhorts his readers, above all, keep loving one another earnestly since love covers a multitude of sins. Well, David's visit to these humiliated servants points us to the compassion and forgiveness and cleansing work preeminently of Jesus. Before sin came into the world, Adam and Eve, they had not a stitch of clothes and they were unashamed. Of course, when sin came, then came shame. They got the fig leaves and started sewing together and found that they suddenly became a seamstress and a seamster and may close the cover because with sin comes the awareness of our nakedness and shame. But what did God do? God replaced the fig leaves with garments made of animal skin. sending the message that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. The lesson finds its point in that Christ Jesus became a curse for sinners and bore our shame so that we might enter His kingdom without shame. Think about when we're going to come back to Jerusalem or for us when we're going to go to the New Jerusalem. We won't go as though having only half a beard and unclothed we will be joining Him clothed in His righteousness with all that God provides for us because Jesus was a merciful priest to take our place, to suffer our curse and bear our shame so that we could enter His kingdom without shame. Listen, Jesus, listen to what Jesus did for us and it's talked about here in Isaiah 50 verse 6 which describes the servant of the Lord Jesus this way as speaking himself and he says, I gave my back to those who strike and I gave my cheeks to those who pull out the beard I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting." They spat on me, they pulled my hair out, they beat me, but I did that. I took it. On the cross our Savior hung bearing the shame and nakedness and scoffing and He did it so that our shame could be covered. So that we could put on glorious robes of His righteousness forever to dwell with Him without any hint of being inadequate to be in the presence of God. He is faithful to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Now, one of the indicators that God is drawing you to Himself is shame. You experience shame when you become acutely aware of your sin against God. As you become aware that you've broken His law over and over and over, you see that it's not just a couple of instances, but you bear a heart that has been at cosmic enmity with God, and you are exposed. Your wickedness has been taken away. I mean, the cover of your wickedness that you wear to think you're not such a bad person is taken away, and you feel exposed when you wonder then where can you find cover is there any place any refuge you can go whereby your shame can be hidden well that's why Christ Jesus died he died to cover and cleanse all who come to him by faith and take refuge in them it says that old hymn says rock of ages by the way you know y'all y'all know that you always love it when I talk about my grandkids And I've mentioned to you before, surely, that Titus' favorite song is Holy, Holy, Holy. But Becca's song, her put-me-to-sleep song is Rock of Ages. And so, Rock of Ages has a great line in it that says this, Nothing in my hands I bring, Simply to thy cross I cling. Naked come to thee for dress. Helpless look to thee for grace. Foul I to the fountain fly. Wash me, Savior, or I die." Or I die is the sense of being ashamed and having no covering. But joy is the sense of this. Foul I fly to the fountain, but I'm washed in the blood of Jesus. And He's cleansed me from all my sin. And I can stand before Him with confidence of being accepted, loved and received into the new Jerusalem and the new heaven and the new earth despite who I was. It's because He has resolved my Shame. We must move on. We've seen kindness extended and shame resolved. Next, we need to observe courage displayed. Courage displayed. It dawned upon the Ammonites that they had behaved in such a way as to have greatly aggravated King David, the king of Israel. And in fact, you do become a stench to a king when you treat his envoys like they treated David's. You provoke that leader. And when the world mistreats the servants of the Lord, it's a stench to him. It provokes him. I don't even want to imagine the judgment that will ultimately fall upon the wicked and especially those who treat the servants of the Lord Jesus Christ with hateful hostility and persecution. The Ammonites surely could have come to their senses realizing that they were a stench and made themselves a stench in David's nostrils. How much better it would have been if they would have sent their own envoys to David in repentance to apologize and to admit that they had made a grave mistake. Would he please forgive them? But instead, in hardness of heart, they just went ahead and began marshalling for war. Now that's what was in their heart already. That's why they had done what they had done and now they're living out their nature as they draw up forces and assemble an army to fight against David who simply sent messengers to say, I'm sorry for your loss. So they hired several groups of Syrians to bolster their force and then David heard of it and he dispatched his mighty men headed by Joab and Abishai as we read in the text here. And when Joab saw that the enemy armies were coming at the armies of David from not just one side but two, it was obvious that this battle was going to be a little more complicated than he might have thought. No doubt his adrenaline took a level of sudden surge. He would have to adjust the battle plan. And so he looked to his brother Abishai Some of the best men he kept for himself and the rest he placed under his brother Abishai, under his command. And then Joab gave Abishai a rousing pre-battle speech. It is marked by a strategy. It is marked by a call for courage. And it's marked by an expression of faith. This is maybe some of the most concentrated theological expressions coming out of this chapter. It's what Joab said to Abishai here. Strategy, courage, faith. Well, what was the strategy? To Abishai, Joab said this, "'If the Syrians are too strong for me, "'then you shall help me. "'And if the Ammonites are too strong for you, "'then I will come and help you.'" That's the strategy. We're in this thing on two fronts, but it's one battle, one war. And we're going to be there for each other. If you need me, I'll come running. And if I need you, you come running. I'll help you. You help me. Essentially, that's what he was saying. I'm going to fight on my front. You lead your men on your front. But we have each other's back. We'll come and help each other. in desperate situations. Here was not two separate and unrelated battles, but one. And each man had his own assignment of responsibility, yet they were in it together and were ready to come to the aid of one another. Now when we look at the Old Testament, and particularly warfare in the Old Testament, I think the Lord is often providing instruction for us about our warfare in the New Testament. The key difference is in the nature of our warfare. Israel had to fight physical battles against enemy combatants with physical weapons. What do New Covenant disciples of Christ do? We fight battles, but not with physical weapons. Paul reminds us a couple of times in the New Testament that new covenant warfare is not fleshly, but spiritual in nature. We should know these well. 2 Corinthians 10 3, for though we walk in the flesh, we're not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but have divine power. also Ephesians 6.12 Paul asserts we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. If we open up our Bible to Revelation 12 we find an image of a dragon and a woman And the dragon is after the woman, and the dragon is after the child she bears, and the dragon is after the descendants to whom she gives birth. It depicts history as a war between this satanic dragon and the descendants of the woman. It's an image of Satan at war with the church. So it's not fleshly, but it is still warfare. Joab provides an important strategy in the context of fleshly warfare that is equally crucial for spiritual warfare as well. What's that strategy? Well, in this world, the church will face attack. We will face attack on all sides. We do face attack. It is constant attack. It comes from both directions or all directions. It may come in different forms however. It may come in the form of persecution, literal physical attack. It may come in the form of our own afflictions. It may come and will come in the form of temptation to sin. It comes in the form of false teaching invading the church. We have to be on the alert on all sides. And the strategy is this. Take your area of assignment and fulfill it and run to the aid of those who are struggling. So each of us in the church has our own area of assignment. We have our gifting, our place in the body. But we all need to be ready to help each other. We must have each other's backs. We're in this together. It's big war, lots of battles, and all of us are fighting them. And the health of the body depends upon all of us fighting where we are. And yet we must have each other's backs and be ready to help one another. This church, the church, is a body of believers a body of believers by Christ's design. And we must draw from one another. He's gifted the body with various gifts and various offices so that the body will be strong when each one is engaged healthily, loving, serving, and following and growing in Christ. So you can't live the Christian life. You can't live the life The disciple of Christ is called to live without the church. That is what it's here for, having each other's backs, having each other's interests together engaged in the battle that satanic influences are bringing against us at all times. So what do you do? Well, you'd be devoted to the church. You be interested in the church. You be committed to the church. Alert and serving in the church. Caring for one another in the church. That's a key element of strategy in spiritual warfare. And it was anticipated all the way back when Joab gave these instructions to Abishai. God knows we need each other. In addition to strategy though, Joab called for courage. His words, find them there. He said, Joab said to Abishai, be of good courage and let us be courageous for our people and for the cities of our God. Here's what courage is in a short word. Courage is that that doesn't flee when there's a threat because it knows that what it stands for is worth dying for. Courage does not flee when there is a threat because it stands for that which is worth dying for. That was a fight for the people of God in this case. The people of God are worth dying for. That's true in fleshly battles then and it's true in spiritual battles now. We need courage. We need to hang in there and not flee when there is a threat because what we've been called to do in the body is so important it is worth dying for. fight for the people of God and the cities of God. And the price of their lives was worth paying if necessary. What was at stake? Demanded courage. It demanded an all-out effort. This idea of courage means, brother, we are going to fight with all our might and we're not going to let up because of what is at stake. This was an all-out effort that was demanded. Well, the warfare in today's church in which today's church is engaged, the warfare that we're engaged in demands the same. We need men of courage leading our families in our church. We need women of courage teaching our children and exhorting one another. We need courageous voices being lifted up in the public square. We need courage for facing challenging illnesses and difficult circumstances in life. Courage is required to do the main thing that Christ has called us to do, which is to make disciples of all the nations. We need courage for that, especially when you know you're marching off into an arena of hostility where people's hearts are already set by nature against the Lord and His Christ. But we need courage. In Deuteronomy 31 verse 6, Moses called upon Joshua to have courage as he was going to be leading in his stead. Moses is about to depart. The Lord has shown him his days are at hand. The end of his days are at hand. And so Moses is commissioning the Israelites to cross the Jordan and to go into Canaan with courage. And he said, Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them for it is the Lord who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you. So not only did Moses tell him be strong and courageous, He gave them the reason why they had to be courageous. It is because the Lord is with you and He will not leave you or forsake you. Didn't Jesus say something much the same as He was about to ascend and go be with the Father? When He commissioned us as His disciples, those present then and us now with this commission to go into all the world and make disciples of all the nations. baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I've commanded you, and then what? And behold, I am with you sometimes. No. I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Our courage... our courage depends upon the realization that what we are called to do has eternal consequences and upon the fact that Christ is with His people and will never leave us. Men and women let us call upon the Lord for courage and let us be mindful that He is ever present with His people and let us live boldly and fight our spiritual battles with confidence and determination and power through the Spirit so that we will not succumb to the desires of the flesh And so that we will glorify the name and fulfill the purpose of our Lord and Savior. So there was a strategy. There was a call for courage. And now Joab's call for courage was complemented by his expression of faith. His final words, Joab's final words to Abishai before the battle began were these. And may the Lord do what seems good to him. Joab recognized that God is sovereign and holy. And while he and the armies would display courage and engage mightily in battle, the outcome was in the hands of Yahweh. The outcome was in the hands of the Lord. Joab is mindful that the Lord is present and involved and that the ultimate outcome of the thing they're engaged in is up to Him. The Lord is there with them. He has not abandoned them. Now I think that what Joab says indicates that he knew that didn't guarantee that the Israelite army would win the battle right then. Nevertheless, he knew what his responsibility was and he was willing to trust God to do what is good and appropriate and right in his own eyes while he did what he knew God called him to do. Joab was relying generally on the promises of God even though he did not have an absolute particular promise or word from God that he would be victorious in this particular battle or even that he would survive it. But what he did have was faith that the Lord would do what seems good to the Lord. And this is an important lesson for all of us. You know, we face circumstances that put us in the same predicament or same kind of predicament as that in which the Israelite army found themselves. We get a threatening disease, for example. We would like the Lord to heal us. We pray for healing. We go to the doctor. We take treatments. We watch our overall health. We take supplements, try to be as healthy as we can to fight this disease. We do what we can, but we lack knowledge of what the Lord's will is in this particular situation. Will He heal us? Generally speaking, we do not know. Most situations in which most of us are in like this, we do not know. But what we do know are the promises generally that God has made. We do have God's general promises, and these assure us that He will do what He deems best, and that is the best. Even if it's perplexing. Even if it's disappointing. Even if it's not what we were hoping for. So we trust Him. We commit our way to Him. We rest in Him because His ways are good. His ways are best for His people. And this is the assurance that bolsters the children of God when the battles are their fiercest. It's stated well by the old hymn written by Fanny Crosby. And I have to say, the way this came to me was meditating upon these truths this week, woke up in the middle of the night, and the words of this hymn were just on my mind. And it suddenly dawned on me and said, that is exactly the message of faith, the faith of Joab. Here's that song, All the Way My Savior Leads Me. What have I to ask beside? Can I doubt His tender mercy, who through life has been my guide? Heavenly peace, divinest comfort, hereby faith in Him to dwell. For I know, whatever befalls me, Jesus doeth all things well. For I know, whatever befalls me, Jesus doeth all things well. all the way my Savior leads me, cheers, each winding path I tread, gives me grace for every trial, feeds me with the living bread. Though my weary steps may falter and my soul a thirst may be, gushing from the rock before me low, a spring of joy I see." Gushing from the rock, that's Jesus by the way if you didn't know that, that's what she's talking about. Gushing from the rock before me low, spring of joy I see. All the way my Savior leads me. Oh, the fullness of His love. Perfect rest to me is promised in my Father's house above. When my spirit, clothed immortal, wings its flight to realms of day, this my song through endless ages, Jesus led me all the way. This my song through endless ages, Jesus led me all the way. Well back to Joab and Abishai, the Lord saw fit to grant victory and a temporary reprieve so they could return to Jerusalem and many times the Lord will in effect do the same for others of His children. However, there will be the day when all battles will be over and we will ascend to the New Jerusalem in our Father's house above Hold fast to that hope when it doesn't look like what's going on the short term is what you wanted. Because what you want is guaranteed in the future. Now finally this morning we need to see dominion asserted. Dominion asserted. The armies of the Syrians and the Ammonites came together against the armies of Israel in a united rejection of King David. However, both armies saw that they were being defeated and they fled. Now to Joab and Abishai it must have seemed too easy. Kind of like me when I went through the equivalent of the TSA in Geneva the other day ready to come home. I took off my belt. I didn't have to take off my shoes. I didn't have to do hardly anything else. I walked through a metal detector and I said, what's next? That's it. We didn't have to stand there like this and, you know, take off your every, you know, everything you can and make sure your clothes are all in the right spot and all that stuff. It was easy. Well, it made that, that just, I had, this has boggled my mind. The battle that Abishai and Joab engaged in was easy, it seems, as well. Like, where is the battle? They started fighting and the two armies fled. They ran away. But the battle wasn't over. And that's just a reminder. You know, sometimes the devil will come at you through the flesh, through the world, attack. And then he runs. And then he waits until you think he's not going to fight you anymore. And he comes back and he blasts you. He'll do that. What happened here was though they quit fighting for a while and went running for their lives, the Syrians were all the more infuriated and determined that they were going to fight some more. And so they got a bigger army. Hades gathered together what would seem a formidable force of many more Syrians even from beyond the river Euphrates. God's anointed king, David, now himself, gathers all Israel together and comes to meet those enemies who have drawn up in the array of battle. And the text says, it's just a powerful picture, these enemy armies, they arrayed themselves against David and fought with him. Now, that may just sound a matter of fact, but when you think who David is, And when you think of who he stands for, you will think, wow, who are these guys that think they can fight against the Lord's anointed? Here was a climactic showdown and a sudden decimation. The Syrians were decimated. As a whole, they fled. Many were killed. The commander who led their enemy army was mortally wounded and died. I'm so thankful that the guy who's leading the enemy army of those who oppose the Lord, Satan himself, is one day going to perish and be forever. His power will be mortally wounded. But as it came here, that was it for the Samaritans, for the Syrians. The remaining ones made peace with Israel and became subject and were afraid to help the Ammonites ever again. It was a final battle. It was a final type of battle. And what we have in this section of the text is the living out of God's Word in Psalm 2. Psalm 2 needs to be one of those Psalms that you go to again and again. I need to read portions of it to you very quickly. It says this, Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain. The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His anointed saying, Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us. He who sits in heaven laughs and the Lord holds them in derision. Then He will speak to them in His wrath and terrify them in His fury saying, As for me, I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill. And to that king, to that king that he has set on his throne, the Lord says, ask of me and I will give you, I will make the nations your heritage and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Now therefore, O kings, be wise. Be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, for His wrath is quickly kindled. But, are all who take refuge in Him. 2 Samuel 10, in this chapter, the nations rage. They despise even the kindest overtures from the Lord's anointed. They array themselves in battle against the Lord's anointed. They display their hatred towards Him, but the Lord of Heaven laughs. It seems from when you have the knowledge, it is preposterous. It's a scoffing laugh. It is a laugh because there are those who can't do a thing to accomplish their objective who've gathered up in such an array as to say, we can do anything we want to, but they can't. And so that's why the Lord laughs. He has set His King in Zion and He will make these people the possession of that King. You either take refuge in Him or you perish in the way. Either become His servant or be crushed by Him. It was a reality that day. And that day anticipates the greater day when the greater David The Lord Jesus Christ comes against the armies of the earth arrayed against him. Reflected in Revelation 19, heaven opens up and the King of kings appears on a white horse. He comes with the armies which are in heaven. He treads the winepress of the fierce wrath of God the Almighty. His enemies are utterly defeated and thrown into the lake of fire. But of course, blessed are those who have taken refuge in Him. I think they are part of the armies that come. This assurance here is why Christ's followers can get up and live with courage and faith in the midst of this chaotic world filled with its lies and hate and misery and deception and the persecution of the people of God. So Christ has commissioned us to show His kindness in the world beyond the borders of the church to a world out there that needs to hear the gospel. And that's mainly how we do it. Live out and share the gospel. And in this way, the Lord Jesus Christ, having commissioned us, offers to the world consolation. Many times that consolation, many times that kindness will be greeted with hostility and animosity. The world will seek to shame you. Many are the enemies we will face. Many are the baddest that must be fought, and the Lord will do as He sees fit. But praise God, the war was won when Jesus died for our sin and rose from the dead. God the Father has set His King on Zion, His holy hill. And the nation's rage and the people's plot, but only in vain. He who sits in heaven laughs. One climactic battle remains to be fought. Jesus will then lead his people to eternal victory and eternal rest. Let that assurance fuel your will to fight and your courage to stand and your faith to persevere with hope. Or, if you know you're not on his side, now would be a good day to change sides and to leave the side of Satan and self and sin. To make a wise choice that was not made by the army and go to the Lord and say, I've sinned against you and I'm unworthy to be yours. But I've heard your gospel. that you call even people who are your enemies to be your friends and your family if they will but trust in your Son. Today is the day of salvation. The day when you should embrace the Lord Jesus Christ and leave the company that will ultimately entirely be doomed. and join in the heavenly throng of those who love and adore Creator God, who loved sinners so to such an extent that He sent His own Son to die, to live, die, and be raised from the dead for them. So they can become welcomed into the border from the outside to the New Jerusalem forever to live in the fellowship and joy of their Creator. Let's pray. Our Lord God, first of all, we thank you so much that you loved us and sent your Son, whom you love, love with a love that we cannot fathom, but that you are willing to sacrifice Him to pay the price, to cleanse us from our shame and sin and misery, to bring us home. And Lord, we do pray for any in this room who have not yet come out of Satan's kingdom, out of the domain of darkness into the kingdom of your beloved Son. We pray that today would be a day in which by your power through the work of the Holy Spirit they are brought forth and set free from the tyranny of wickedness and brought into the freedom of the kingdom of righteousness to be assured that their sin is covered. And their hope is heaven. And their hope is sanctification and living a life of obedience to a glorious and wonderful God. And though for us, Lord, who belong, we are reminded this morning of your kindness that you are exhibiting to sinners. And you've chosen us to be the messengers of that kindness. And we pray that we would be faithful We pray that you would help us with the strategy to do our part and be courageous, keeping our faith in you. And you would do great and mighty things through us. And when the world turns against us, to bear in mind the hope that we have of all eternity and to keep on serving you because it's worth it. It's more than worth it. And we pray it all in Christ Jesus' name.