Devotion To Your King

Introduction

You might wish to go ahead and turn your Bibles to the book of 2 Samuel. Our main text is going to be from the passage that Brother Folk read for us this morning. We’re going to start in chapter 5 here in just a minute. So 2 Samuel chapter 5. It is good to be with you this morning. It’s been a wonderful weekend for me. Certainly enjoy spending all the time with the teenagers yesterday. And as Mark said, or no, it was Walcott that said, sorry, how he thought it was odd that I say that I feel old. Well, I feel old because Chloe Barfield was in Teen Weekend. And Chloe Barfield had just been born whenever we moved here. And then there were even some in the teen weekend who had not even yet been born whenever we moved here.

Now you’ll also note I did not say that Janna is old. I said I am getting old. Did not say anything about her. She still looks like a million bucks. So it’s good to be with you. Yesterday we talked about the idea of faith with our teens. That’s been the theme and the focus throughout our time together this weekend. And talking about faith in three aspects, and I’ll quiz the teens on that here in our Bible class hour. But we’re talking about how faith is a matter of our being convinced of something. You believe something because there’s evidence behind it. And we talked about a little bit, just a little bit about the evidence behind the faith and the hope that we have.

That God has proven himself over and over and over again to be trustworthy. Hebrews 10, 23, let us hold fast the assurance of our hope without wavering. For he who promised is faithful. Our God has made many promises throughout the scriptures. And our God has kept his promises when man has been faithful to him. We trust our God. We trust our Lord because they are imminently trustworthy. And in our Bible class this hour, we’re going to conclude the matter of faith by talking about how faith, because it is convinced in God, because it trusts God implicitly, faith ultimately surrenders completely to the will of God. And I hope even our time together this morning, as we’re looking here at 2 Samuel, will help us in that last aspect if we look at the men of David and what they did for David.

Let’s just talk a little bit about the context, though, of 2 Samuel 23. You may remember in your Old Testament history, and I know some of you have been studying Old Testament history in your Bible classes. At the end of Saul’s reign, at his death in 1 Samuel chapter 31, the Philistines have again reasserted their power throughout Palestine. And so even though David is the next king, David does not rule over much of Palestine initially. In fact, for the first seven years of David’s reign, David is only reigning over the tribe of Judah. He’s reigning there in Hebron over the tribe of Judah. The Philistines are the dominant power, and there’s civil war going on in Israel. David is king of Judah, and then one of the sons of Saul, Ishbosheth, being the king of Israel.

And there’s a war going on for those seven years. But ultimately, and we’re just skimming through the story here, of course. Ishbosheth is murdered, and David becomes king over all the tribes of Israel. And that’s how 2 Samuel chapter 5 begins. That all the tribes come to Hebron and they proclaim David as their king. And David’s reign has an initial start to it that seems promising. He and his forces, they go and they take Jerusalem, and that is going to be his capital city. And so that becomes the city of David. And it may be this action that because Jerusalem, the city of the Jebusites, had remained unconquered ever since the days of Joshua. The Philistines see this as a threat to them. David has grown powerful.

David and his forces have taken the stronghold of the Jebusites. And so now in 2 Samuel chapter 5, the Philistines are going to seek to reassert their power and their dominance in Palestine. I’m going to start reading in 2 Samuel chapter 5 and in verse 17. When the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to seek out David. And when David heard of it, he went down to the strongholds. Now the Philistines came and spread themselves out in the valley of Rephaim. Just to give you a little bit of idea of what we’re talking about here. Bethlehem, of course, is the home town. Oh, that doesn’t work anymore. Well, you see it there on the right hand side of the map.

And you see the cave of Adulum, which is going to be of significance in our story. The valley of Rephaim was one of the main valleys going through the heartland of Palestine. It was one of those very fruitful areas. And it’s also very important. It allowed access to the various parts of the country. Well, the Philistines have made their camp right there in the valley of Rephaim, a strategic location, making them commanders over all of that region. And the text in 2 Samuel chapter 5 says that David goes down to his stronghold. Now, if you will, we’ll come back to 2 Samuel chapter 5 toward the end of our study. Moving over to 2 Samuel 23. The passage that Mark read for us this morning in verse 13.

When it says that three of the 30 chief men went down and came to David in the harvest time to the cave of Adulum while the troop of the Philistines was camping in the valley of Rephaim. Here is David. David has been, he is now here in the valley, I’m sorry, in the cave of Adulum. He is in his stronghold. This is one of the locations that David had used when he was hiding from Saul all those years. He knows this area. He knows it’s a safe, a secure, fortified area. David now goes there with his forces, and these three men they come there. David had been on the run or fighting for the last 20 years. When you think about the life of David, we’re right in our estimated chronology here.

David is a very young man when he fights Goliath and slays the giant. And then it’s not long after that that David spends the next several years running from Saul, hiding from Saul. And then Saul dies. And what is David in? He’s in a civil war for seven years. And then he goes to battle with Jerusalem. And maybe he initially begins to think, okay, everything’s going to be established now. Everything’s going to go the way it’s supposed to now. He knows the Lord’s on his side. And now the kingdom’s going to become secure. And the next thing that happens makes it seem that no, the kingdom’s not secure at all. Here are the Philistines reasserting their power, reasserting their dominance in the land. And it may be for that reason.

That it says in our text in verse 15, that David had a craving and said, Oh, that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate. That is an ancient well in Palestine. It is not in Bethlehem, but you get the idea of what David’s longing for. I think most of us can relate to David a little bit here. Most of us have had a time, a trying time in life when, oh, if we could just go back home to Mom’s table. Oh, if we could just get back home for some kind of comfort that we know that that was such an importance to us, then we would just feel a little bit better. And I think that’s what is going on in David’s mind here.

He has his men, he knows the Lord loves him, he knows the Lord’s on his side, and yet he thinks about everything that he’s going through. He thinks about everything that’s going on in his kingdom, and now it seems another threat has come. And oh, if I could just have some water. If I could just have some water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem.

And that brings us to the action of the three. So the three men broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water from the well of Bethlehem, which was by the gate, and took it and brought it to David. And nevertheless he would not drink it but poured it out to the Lord. We’ll speak about that here in just a moment. The distance from the cave of Adulam to Bethlehem was about twelve miles one way. It says they had to break through the camp. There’s also another interesting tidbit. The well at Bethlehem is by the gate. So guess what? It’s not in some kind of private, off the way location. No, it’s right there where the Philistines would have been watching all the time. This is one of those verses in the Bible where just so much is consolidated into so few words.

I mean, Hollywood can make a blockbuster film out of this. You’ve got these three men, they’re going, it’s not a covert action by night. They’re going and they’re fighting, they’re making their way through, and all the heroic things they do, all to make their way to Bethlehem, and they get the water, and guess what they got to do on the way back? They got to fight their way back. All the way through, slaying people left and right, all because they wanted their king to have this.

They loved David. And they were devoted to him in whatever ways they could be. And even though David had just uttered a wish, not a command, he had just uttered a wish, oh, that I could have a drink from the water of the well of Bethlehem. They said, okay. His wish is our command. We will go and we will risk our lives. We will sacrifice all to bring him back this water. We’ve already noted part of David’s response when he would not drink it. He poured it out to the Lord in verse 17. He said, Be it far from me, O Lord, 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 three, these things, the three mighty men did. This was not meant as a disrespect to these men in any way, but rather as an honor to them. The water was far too valuable. What they had done was far too valuable for David to say, I will drink of it. Rather, I’ll pour it out to my Lord. That’s how valuable this water is. This is how valuable what these men have done. Now, if we might also make an assumption from our text, going back to 2 Samuel chapter 5, it seems clear, based on 2 Samuel chapter 23, that we’re talking about the same set of events. David’s in his stronghold, the Philistines are in the valley of Rephaam. And that is when David has uttered this wish that he can have this drink of water.

That is when these three men go and risk their lives all to bring this water to David. And it may be, and I would like to think anyway, that that happens between verses 18 and 19 of 2 Samuel chapter 5. Again, David’s been in a state, you might almost call it depression. A state of mourning almost, a state of longing. He is distraught. He has distress in his life. But because of the action of these three men, then verse 19, David inquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you give them into my hand? And the Lord said to David, Go up, for I will certainly give the Philistines into your hand. So David came to Baal Berazim and defeated them there.

And he said, The Lord has broken through my enemies before me, like the breakthrough of waters. Therefore he named that place Baal Perazim. They abandoned their idols there, so David and his men carried them away. Now the Philistines came up once again and spread themselves out in the valley of Rephaim. And when David inquired of the Lord, he said, You shall not go directly up, circle around behind them and come at them in front of the Basalm trees. And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the Balsam trees, that you shall act promptly. For then the Lord will have gone out before you to strike the army of the Philistines. Then David did so just as the Lord had commanded him, and struck down the Philistines from Giba as far as Gazer.

That is not the David you read about in 2 Samuel 23. The David in 2 Samuel 23 is just wanting some comfort from home. But now, and again, because of the action of his three men, David’s thoughts are back on the Lord. Oh, what is possible when the Lord is on my side? Oh, what is possible, just as these three men have broken through the camp, and they’ve taken this water and they brought it back. Oh, what is possible? Now I’ll ask of the Lord, Lord, shall we go up? Yes, you shall go up, and you shall defeat them. And again, I can’t be dogmatic that that’s exactly how it goes. But in my mind, anyway, that’s how those two texts fit together. Well, that’s not just a wonderful and awesome story from the Old Testament.

1. What Can Your Devotion Do to Others?

That story has some application to us. I like to think about just for a few minutes with you this morning some things we need to think about in our devotion to our king taken from this story. And the first off, and this is more of a side point, but it’s the one we just left off with. What can your devotion do to others? Why isn’t the Lord made us a part of a church in the first place? Well, it’s because we’re to have an effect on each other. Our worship and our service together is to have an effect. It rubs off on one another. There’s an awesome need in our day and age of good and godly examples, a devotion that inspires others. Because all of us find ourselves in the plight of David from time to time.

Things are rough, things are tough. We are very distraught. We just want a little bit of comfort. And oh, there’s a brother or sister that they too have been through very difficult times. I look out on the audience this morning, and I know. Brother Earl, God bless you, brother. When you came through this morning, I did not think I was seeing you today. I didn’t know. Maybe you’ve been coming every Lord’s day. I wouldn’t doubt it. There’s a brother who’s been through some tough times. Guess what? Brothers Earl is here because he loves his Lord. Because he loves his brethren. There’s so many like that here this morning. You love God. Your devotion can inspire others. Because there are going to come times in life when it’s very difficult to do the right thing.

2. What Had David Done for These Three Men?

You have people that you’ve been thinking about your entire life. Family members, members from churches that you used to attend. You know they went through so much. And they did it all because of love for the Lord and love for each other. And that’s what’s kept you going. And sometimes even just the memory of those things keeps you going as you consider the difficulties that you have in your life. Well, again, that’s a little bit of a side point. Not the main point of our lesson. What had David done for these three men? The shocking answer at our point in the story is not much. What had David done for these three men? Had he delivered them a safe and secure kingdom? Expounded the borders of Israel.

Not at this point. He hadn’t done any of those things. These three men, so long as they’ve been following David, they’ve been fighting war. And all the times it looked like they were losing. Maybe these three men were with David whenever David had the opportunity to kill Saul and to kind of end the madness that David was going through for so many years. And David refused. So what that meant for these three men? Well, that means they’re living in caves in the wilderness for a little while longer. What had David done for these three men by this time? Not much. But they knew his character. They knew his love for them. They believed in him as they must have believed in the Lord as well. They loved their king.

Even though, again, their king by this time had not delivered any great riches or prosperity or peace to them in their lives. They too had known nothing but war in the last few and several years. And yet, even though, even though David had done so very little for them in their lives, they were willing to risk and to give their life completely for him. How much more is our king deserving of true and honest and sincere devotion to him? A king who says in Matthew 20 and verse 28 that I did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give my life as a ransom for many. A king that God has said of him in Colossians chapter 1, going there, just to read that text, a text that’s already familiar to so many.

In Colossians chapter 1, in verse 13, beginning, God rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is also the head of the body of the church, and he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in him, and through him to reconcile all things to himself, having made peace through the blood of his cross, through him I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.

And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet he has now reconciled you in his fleshly body through death, in order to present you before him holy and blameless and beyond reproach, if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul was made a minister. How worthy is your king of full and complete devotion. Again, these three men risked it all for a king who had not delivered much to them yet. Your king has delivered all to you already. Your king has delivered every spiritual blessing that God has to you already.

3. What Should It Take to Motivate Us?

What kind of devotion does that king deserve? Which then brings us to our last point. What should it take to motivate us to serve such a king? I mentioned this already.

David did not say to these three men, go and fetch me some water from the well at the gate of Bethlehem. He did not do that. David uttered a wish. Oh, that I could have a drink of water from the well at Bethlehem. A wish. And these three men were so devoted to their king that all they had to do was hear a wish. And they went and risked all to bring it back to this king they love so much. We get caught up in so many discussions these days about what is really necessary in following God. Show me a command, and I’ll do it.

Well, show us exactly in the scriptures where God said it’s too far to go. Let me tell you, all you ought to need to do is look in the scriptures and saying, God says, flee from sexual immorality. And if God were to say, I only wish that you would remain pure, then what should be our response? Yes, my Lord. Your wish is my command. Yes, my Lord. I’ll do all in my power to stay pure for you. Yes, my Lord. I’ll reject the ways of my culture, which says, hey, great idea, young man, young woman, spend as much time as possible alone while those hormones are raging. Yes, my Lord, I’ll reject that notion. I’ll reject the notions of the things that are so popular in my society and things in which my high school say are the most important things that could possibly be.

The senior prom, oh, so important. No, my Lord. Your wish is my command. I could wish that you would remain pure for me. And our response should be, yes, my Lord. I’ll remain pure. We have so many discussions, and I understand those discussions that need to be made. We need to be fair with the scriptures. About what does the Bible have to say about alcohol? And can we just give a blanket? Yes, the Lord says, do not drink, therefore, you must not drink. Well, that’s not exactly how God gave it. But I’ll tell you what he did. He said in pastures like 1 Peter 4 and verse 3 that the time is already passed is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lust, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries.

And I tell you, even if you want to look at that passage and say, okay, the Lord did not command, you must not do these things that are perverting so much of our world. I’ll tell you what the Lord has done. I wish you’d stay away from these things. I wish. I wish you’d think soberly and hard about giving your body anything that has such a negative effect as we see alcohol affecting our world and our society. I wish you would think hard and long and seriously about what it means to be my child.

And what would we say? Your wish is my command. I’ll fulfill your desires, my Lord. I want to be following you with my heart and my mind and my soul at all times. Because you, my king, are deserving of so much devotion. So many things and so many applications we can make. Not just about moral aspects, we think about the time and the care and concern we’re to show for each other. And we think of passages like Romans 12 and verse 10, to be devoted to one another in brotherly love, give preference to one another in honor. And again, that it may even be in the terms of command language, but it doesn’t have to be that. God could just say, I wish you guys would love each other and care for each other and look out for each other from time to time.

Your wish is my command, O God. My brethren are important to me. The needs of my brethren, spiritual, emotional, physical needs, whatever they may be, they are my concern. Because my God, whom I love so much, my God whom I am devoted to, he made a wish.

Conclusion

Let us be devoted to our king in that manner. Let us be devoted to our king in the way that those three men were devoted to David. Oh, that I could have a drink from the water of the well at Bethlehem. And those men went to any length to serve him. And again, as our teens are going to be discussing here in just a minute. A faith that surrenders completely to the will of God. There’s a reason why faith ought to surrender completely to the will of God. We have a God who has shown himself to be a God who loves, a God who cares for us, and a God who has given us all things. That kind of God is deserving of our following him and surrendering our will to his will.

Would you pray with me at this time? Our God and our Father, we thank you. We thank you for being a God who created all, the Most High, the Almighty. And we thank you, Father, for sending your Son, who redeemed us, and who has offered us and provided for us every gift and every blessing that you have. Father, may that be the motivating factor in our lives all our days. May we love you. May we desire to serve our King because of what you have done for us. And you are deserving of all honor and glory and praise forever. And Father, may that be seen in our lives. As we look at your various commands and examples and precepts found in the Scriptures, that our desires will be to serve you, not simply because you have commanded, but because we long to please you.

We long to make you happy. May that be our focus. May our devotion be pure and true to you always. It’s in your son’s name that we pray. Amen.