Remembering God's Promises

 Remembering the Promise to David

 Book of Psalms: Psalm 132

 This is another Psalm that was sung as the Israelites traveled to Jerusalem for the Feast’s days as commanded by God.

They had begun to remember the promises of God and it brought joy to them just as it does to each of us.

 If we take a look into David's past, we will see all the pains, the trouble, and anxiety he underwent in his lifetime for the cause of God, especially in the establishing a sanctuary in Jerusalem and making preparation for the building of the Temple.

 David was building God's special dwelling place on this Earth, a place where God would meet with His people.

 If you do not have a longing to meet with God, then you cannot be a Christian!

 You cannot be a Christian because the Holy Spirit will not come to live within you!

 Every Christian is a sanctuary for God to dwell in!

 If we look at the very first word of this Psalm, we see the word LORD, this is the Almighty God Himself, Jehovah.

 David had accomplished what no lowly shepherd could accomplish.

David rose from a lowly shepherd to become King of Israel.

 Except we do know of another man who was a shepherd who came to save His people, and His name is Jesus the Christ, the Messiah.

 We know that special days are set aside to honor special people and some of the heroes of our nation.

 In fact, almost every nation has set days to remember their national heroes.

 For the Israelites, David was a hero and in fact, David is still honored as one of the Jews greatest heroes.

 The Star of David is the national flag of Israel today.

 The "Sling of David" is the name of one of the air defense systems of Israel.

 This Psalm was probably written for the dedication of the Temple built by Solomon.

 We know that David had spent many years gathering the wealth to build a magnificent Home for God, when He would come to visit this planet, but we know that God is everywhere, and He even abides in every "Born Again" child of God.

 He lives in every person who has their name written down in the Lamb's Book of Life.

 Rev 21:2  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 

 Rev 21:27  And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. 

 David was now dead and gone, we know He is with the Lord, but the Jews had a great fondness for King David.

 By remembering the hardships David faced before he was made king, it inspired the Jews to face their own hardships!

 It has never been easy to live in this world since the sin of Adam, and it is not always easy to be a Christian.

 We do still live in a cursed world!

 The word cursed is used seventy-two times in the Bible.

 We know that the Serpent who was Satan is cursed:

 Gen_3:14  And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

 Gen_3:17  And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

 If you look up the word cursed in the Bible, you will see that many of our leaders of today are cursed by their actions.

 Deu_27:25  Cursed be he that taketh reward to slay an innocent person. And all the people shall say, Amen.

 We know we have been sold out by our leaders for riches, they will never spend.

 We know that every doctor who is paid to end the life of an innocent baby is also cursed.

 God has also placed a curse on all those who reject any part of the Scriptures:

 Deu_27:26  Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen.

 And to all those so-called churches that have left the truth of the Bible, God says:

 Jer_11:3  And say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel; Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant,

Jer_17:5  Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.

 God is very serious about the words He has given us to live by.

 Let's begin.

 *****Psa 132:1  A Song of degrees. LORD, remember David, and all his afflictions: 

Psa 132:2  How he sware unto the LORD, and vowed unto the mighty God of Jacob; 

Psa 132:3  Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed; 

Psa 132:4  I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids, 

Psa 132:5  Until I find out a place for the LORD, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob.

 The Psalmist who wrote this Psalm reminded the Lord how David was devoted to Him.

 We all say these things such as, “Lord remember me”.

 The truth is that God only forgets when He decides to forget.

His memory is perfect!

 He has forgotten our sins, and it is He that said we are covered by the blood of Jesus that has washed away our sins.

 Rev_1:5  And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,

 We know that King David had made a vow to find a place for the Almighty God to dwell in Jerusalem.

 David was determined that He was going to build a House for God for God to dwell in Jerusalem.

 This was David's vow.

 David had endured much suffering at the hands of Saul.

David had endured much suffering in finding a neutral place to worship God.

David had not yet taken Jerusalem from the Jebusites so, this too had to be done.

David had to transport the "Ark of the Congregation “ to this new House of God, but it was not in his hands at this time.

David had to also defend Jerusalem from the attacks of the Philistines two times, while all these other things were going on.

 These things may have hindered David in completing his vow to God, but it did not stop Him.

 In fact, David said; I'm not going to rest until I build a House for the Lord.

 David said it was not right that he was living in a beautiful palace and worshiping God in a tent.

 We can see that David's devotion to God provides a worthy example for us to follow.

 Many missionaries today have this same vision as David, to build a house for the worship of our God.

 I believe Nathan had this vision and I believe Scott David had this vision.

 These were church planters as David wanted to be.

 *****Psa 132:6  Lo, we heard of it at Ephratah: we found it in the fields of the wood. 

Psa 132:7  We will go into his tabernacles: we will worship at his footstool. 

Psa 132:8  Arise, O LORD, into thy rest; thou, and the ark of thy strength. 

Psa 132:9  Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness; and let thy saints shout for joy. 

Psa 132:10  For thy servant David's sake turn not away the face of thine anointed. 

 Though this Scripture is hard to understand, what we do know is that David found the Ark of the Covenant and moved it to Jerusalem where it would remain until 70 AD when Titus destroyed Jerusalem.

 At this time nobody really knows the whereabouts of the Ark!

 These people recalled the passion of David to obtain the Ark and bring it to Jerusalem where he intended to build a House for God.

 The Ark had been gone so long that many people had forgotten about it.

It was David who had to remind the people:

 1Ch 13:2  And David said unto all the congregation of Israel, If it seem good unto you, and that it be of the LORD our God, let us send abroad unto our brethren every where, that are left in all the land of Israel, and with them also to the priests and Levites which are in their cities and suburbs, that they may gather themselves unto us: 

1Ch 13:3  And let us bring again the ark of our God to us: for we enquired not at it in the days of Saul. 

1Ch 13:4  And all the congregation said that they would do so: for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people. 

 The people thought the Ark was in Ephratah, but Bethlehem and Kirjath-Jearim were both known as Bethlehem at this time.

 There is the city of Bethlehem but there is also the region which was called Bethlehem.

It was Bethlehem Ephratah that provided the sheep for the Temple.

 Rth 4:11  And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said, We are witnesses. The LORD make the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel: and do thou worthily in Ephratah, and be famous in Bethlehem:

 Mic 5:2  But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. 

 Kirjath-Jearim would be the place that was in the woods!

 We know that David failed the in his first attempt to retrieve the Ark, but he succeeded when He retrieved it according to the Word of God.

 We will always fail if we do not do things according to the proven ways of God!

 It is easy to see how this Scripture can be applied to the Lord Jesus Christ.

 If King David did not have the zeal for the Lord that he had, we do not know if anyone would have remembered the Ark of God.

 David challenged the people to get back to the worship of Jehovah God.

 David referred to the Ark as the Lord's footstool.

 1Ch 28:2  Then David the king stood up upon his feet, and said, Hear me, my brethren, and my people: As for me, I had in mine heart to build an house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and for the footstool of our God, and had made ready for the building: 

1Ch 28:3  But God said unto me, Thou shalt not build an house for my name, because thou hast been a man of war, and hast shed blood. 

 Psa 99:5  Exalt ye the LORD our God, and worship at his footstool; for he is holy. 

 The world knows nothing about the Holiness of God and many in the Church have also.

 Rom 6:22  But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 

 David built a tent for the Ark of the Covenant, but he must have also built a place where the people could gather to worship though many of them and the priests still went to the Tabernacle that was in Gibeon, but did not have the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy Place.

 The reality of these things is that God will sit on the throne of David in Jerusalem.

 1) The Ark is not only a symbol of God's presence, but it is also a symbol of God's power!

 2) The priests that serve the Lord will be godly servants and agents of righteousness!

 3) The saints of God will be a happy people.

 4) God would not reject David's anointed successor. Solomon would be the next king, but these things also make reference to God's truly anointed which is the Lord Jesus Christ.

 Today we worship together in a building set up for worship.

 It is the people that are the Church.

 The building or the place that we worship is just that, a building or a place.

 We should never defile our bodies with the sins of the flesh.

We must obey the commands of God which say we are to separate ourselves from all unrighteousness and ungodliness.

 2Co 6:17  Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 

2Co 6:18  And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. 

 Today, God is still searching for people like David who love to worship Him.

 Joh 4:21  Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. 

Joh 4:22  Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. 

Joh 4:23  But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 

Joh 4:24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. 

 We must be wholly devoted to the Lord!

 Next we will see some of the promises made to David.

 *****Psa 132:11  The LORD hath sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne. 

Psa 132:12  If thy children will keep my covenant and my testimony that I shall teach them, their children shall also sit upon thy throne for evermore.

 There is no greater promise of the Lord Jesus Christ than this.

 This verse points to the Messiah and His Kingdom!

 Psa 89:3  I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant, 

Psa 89:4  Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah. 

 Psa 89:35  Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David.

 2Sa 7:28  And now, O Lord GOD, thou art that God, and thy words be true, and thou hast promised this goodness unto thy servant: 

2Sa 7:29  Therefore now let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue for ever before thee: for thou, O Lord GOD, hast spoken it: and with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed for ever. 

 The thing we know is true is, that a descendant of David will occupy the throne in Jerusalem.

 That throne is the government, and that government will be located in Jerusalem and the Messiah will rule the world from Jerusalem.

 There were some conditions to be met for each descendant of David.

 We should clearly understand that our unfaithfulness cannot defeat God's purpose and neither could those sons of David who rejected the truth of God.

 We know that God will keep His oaths, and He expects us to keep ours!

 It is Jehovah God who chose Jerusalem when He could have chosen anywhere.

 King Jesus will rule from Jerusalem.

 *****Psa 132:13  For the LORD hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation. 

Psa 132:14  This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it. 

 We know that some of the descendants of David turned from God and He had to discipline them.

 The Israelites would be singing this Psalm as they traveled toward Jerusalem.

 We know for a time there was no son of David sitting on the throne in Jerusalem, the fulfillment of the promises had been interrupted and it will stay that way until King Jesus takes control of the governments that remain in this world from Jerusalem.

 God's promise will be fulfilled, and the world is moving toward that moment when the Messiah will return.

 The promise will be fulfilled in two stages:

 1) Jesus Christ returns and rules the entire earth from Jerusalem for one thousand years.

 Jer 3:17  At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart. 

 2) When Christ Jesus takes us to New Jerusalem and reigns from there forever and ever.

 Rev 22:3  And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: 

Rev 22:4  And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.

 God promises to provide abundantly for those who are now His people.

 *****Psa 132:15  I will abundantly bless her provision: I will satisfy her poor with bread. 

Psa 132:16  I will also clothe her priests with salvation: and her saints shall shout aloud for joy. 

 I believe this speaks of the point when the Jews will join the Church.

 God will provide any and all needs to His children.

 The poor will not lack food and necessities as they had on Earth. These are material needs.

 Mat 6:33  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 

 Then God will supply their Spiritual needs.

 In verse nine we see that it was a prayer that asked the Lord for the priests be clothed in righteousness.

 Psa 132:9  Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness; and let thy saints shout for joy. 

 We see in verse sixteen that God has answered that prayer.

 I still believe that this is the Jews as they have now joined the Church, and all the saints will shout with joy for the Church is now complete and the Bride of Christ can join with the Bridegroom.

 *****Psa 132:17  There will I make the horn of David to bud: I have ordained a lamp for mine anointed. 

Psa 132:18  His enemies will I clothe with shame: but upon himself shall his crown flourish. 

The Lord promised to make the horn of David to sprout.

To sprout means to bud to spring forth and grow.

The “horn” is a symbol of power.

This phrase means that a powerful ruler will come forth from the line of David and this ruler will fulfill all the promises made to David.

He will be a lamp or a light to all the world!

The “lamp” and that “horn” mean the Messiah.

1) Zec 6:13  Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both. 

2) Jer 33:15  In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land. 

3) Isa 49:6  And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth. 

Zacharias the father of John the Baptist said: 

Luk 1:69  And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David. 

Luk 1:79  To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. 

We know what is going on in Israel today is turbulent times for them.

We need to remember these promises of God to David, and they will be fulfilled.

As far as the Church, we need to pray for the peace of Jerusalem which will take place at the return of Jesus Christ.

We know that the conclusion of God's plan may be nearing its end, and we will live forever in the presence of the Mighty God!

All evilness and wickedness will be gone, and we will finally be at peace on New Earth and the New Jerusalem. 

Amen

Best Advise Keep the Law of Jehovah

 David's Wise Counsel

Book of 1 Chronicles Chapter 22

At the end of our last lesson we know that after David bought the threshing floor of Ornan, turned it into an altar and he sacrificed to the Lord to stop the plague that the Lord had placed on Israel.

2Sa 24:24  And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. 

After buying the threshing floor from Ornan, King David then bought that parcel of land that is now known as the Temple Mount.

1Ch 21:15  And God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it: and as he was destroying, the LORD beheld, and he repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed, It is enough, stay now thine hand. And the angel of the LORD stood by the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite. 

1Ch 21:18  Then the angel of the LORD commanded Gad to say to David, that David should go up, and set up an altar unto the LORD in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite. 

1Ch 21:25  So David gave to Ornan for the place six hundred shekels of gold by weight. 

We can see that there were two separate transactions for the place where Solomon built the Temple that was intended to be a House of Prayer for all of Israel.

We also know that the Muslim have built a false temple that is known as the Dome of the Rock built right upon the threshing floor of Ornan that belongs to the nation of Israel because it was a place given to the Lord by King David.

For all intents and purposes, the Lord has the threshing floor of Ornan safe and secure and protected by a building provided by the Muslims.

These things cannot be denied!

1Ch 22:1  Then David said, This is the house of the LORD God, and this is the altar of the burnt offering for Israel. 

The Lord would not allow David to build this House of Prayer because it would have sent the wrong message, but Solomon David's son, would build this House of God.

*****1Ch 22:6  Then he called for Solomon his son, and charged him to build an house for the LORD God of Israel. 

We should understand that as fathers we do not have the right to dictate the career path of our sons or daughters.

God in His wisdom has given us all the freedom of choice in our lives.

We can, as fathers and mothers, recommend a path we would love for our children to follow.

The best thing that we can do is to be a good example to our children and pray that they learn from the mistakes that we have made in our lives so that they will not make the same mistakes that we made.

If we have been wise fathers, then maybe we can provide the means by which our sons and our daughters may carry out our purpose and some friends to help him in it.

A wise father and mother can largely shape the influences under which our children grow up!

King David could not build a Temple for the worship of the Lord but Solomon could, and King David began assembling most all the materials that would be needed, for the Lord had provided King David with the plans to build such a Temple and the finances to do so.

*****1Ch 22:7  And David said to Solomon, My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build an house unto the name of the LORD my God: 

1Ch 22:8  But the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build an house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight.

As far as meetings go, this is the most important meeting that Solomon would have in all the days of his life!

This was not David trying to tell Solomon how to live his life.

When David was made King of Israel, the nation was weak militarily, and economically and politically.

Solomon would now inherit a kingdom that had a solid foundation.

You see, we live in a land that is becoming weak militarily, and becoming weak economically, and weak politically but as the children of God, we will inherit the things of our King Jesus that is built upon a solid foundation.

Luk_6:48  He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.

In the time of David, he did not have time to build upon the infrastructure of Israel for battling with Israel's enemies, but Solomon would inherit a kingdom that was at peace and the enemies of Israel would not be prone to attack Israel.

He could take on worthy projects and the Temple of God should be first on his lists and David would be gathering the building materials for him and would give him the plans for the building of the Temple, which came from Jehovah.

The Temple would never have been a proper place of worship if it were built by bloody hands!

We could say the same thing about the Muslims places of worship today.

The builder of any place to worship the Living God, must be a man of peace and a saver of life and not a destroyer of life!

Luk 9:56  For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them.

We can see that only the Lord Jesus Christ meets these requirements and it is the Lord Jesus Christ who builds all the Temples of God today!

We will see many times Solomon as a type of Jesus Christ.

Why was King David giving this request to his son Solomon?

*****1Ch 22:8  But the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build an house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight. 

1Ch 22:9  Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about: for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days.

1) David had a burning desire to personally build a Temple to worship Jehovah.

2) Jehovah would not allow David to Him such a Temple due to the way he had lived his life.

3) David shared to his son Solomon that Jehovah had chosen Him to be the next King of Israel and for Solomon to build this Temple.

Remember all of David's sons who were born before Solomon had become worthless human beings who had no cause to change their ways and two of them had died in their wickedness.

God would give him a son who would be a man of peace, a man free from enemies and warfare.

For David, Solomon was this son, but we know that it is the Lord Jesus Christ who is the true fulfillment of this promise made to David!

What had God said?

"I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his day":

*****1Ch 22:10  He shall build an house for my name; and he shall be my son, and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever.

These words were never about Solomon!

These words were about the Lord Jesus Christ and are still in our future. 

The days of Solomon were at peace until he had finished the construction of the Temple, but just as soon as Solomon began to turn his back on God those days of peace ended.

Remember Solomon had over seven hundred wives and he was pulled into false religion by them.

1Ki 11:5  For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 

1Ki 11:6  And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father. 

1Ki 11:7  Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. 

Peace began to fade away and Solomon's enemies began to show up.

1Ki 11:23  And God stirred him up another adversary, Rezon the son of Eliadah, which fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah:

1Ki 11:26  And Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephrathite of Zereda, Solomon's servant, whose mother's name was Zeruah, a widow woman, even he lifted up his hand against the king.

Jehovah does not say things that are not true!

In the days of the Millennial reign of the Lord Jesus Christ, there will be true peace in this world for one thousand years, for the Lord Jesus will rule with a "rod of iron".

Moses was the first man of importance who had a rod, a wooden staff sometimes called the "rod of God".

Exo 4:20  And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his hand. 

The brother of Moses, Aaron, was the one that bloomed. A dry stick came to life, which was a type of the nation of Israel but it could also be said to be a type of the lost come to the new life, that Born Again life by the Lord Jesus Christ.

Num 17:8  And it came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds. 

Aaron's rod was placed inside the Ark of the Covenant to save for future generations.

Heb 9:4  Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; 

But it was another Son of David and not Solomon that would one day rule this world with a rod of iron.

A rod then is the symbol of power and authority!

Psa 2:9  Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. 

Psa 2:10  Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. 

Psa 2:11  Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 

Psa 2:12  Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

Rev_12:5  And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.

Rev_19:15  And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

These things are still in our own future, for the Church must first called out of this world and shortly after this there will be seven years of tribulation with the last three and a half of those years being terrible until the Lord Jesus returns to put down all rebellion.

Then the Lord Jesus will sit on the throne of His Father David and these things written here will come to be true!

And we know that wise King Solomon did not ever build a true house in the name of Jehovah, and the throne of Solomon did not last forever!

These things the Lord Jesus did!

1 Co_6:19  What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

Then the Lord will remove His Church before the Tribulation years begin.

1Co 15:51  Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 

1Co 15:52  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 

1Th 4:15  For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 

1Th 4:16  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 

1Th 4:17  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Then there will be those years of tribulation.

Mat_24:21  For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

The Lord will put down the rebellion upon this earth and then He will sit upon the throne of His father David, and not of the throne of Solomon.

Because David's heart was for the Lord and Solomon's heart was for his wives!

Luk_1:32  He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:

Solomon's job was to build a worldly Temple for the worship of Jehovah that was supposed be a House of Prayer for all the people of Israel.

So, David completes his prayer and his blessing for his son Solomon.

We know that Moses and Jacob gave dying blessings which were prophetical, and so, would be this blessing from King David.

When we have communion, it is said that we are partaking of the "Cup of the Lord's blessing".

*****1Ch 22:11  Now, my son, the LORD be with thee; and prosper thou, and build the house of the LORD thy God, as he hath said of thee. 

1Ch 22:12  Only the LORD give thee wisdom and understanding, and give thee charge concerning Israel, that thou mayest keep the law of the LORD thy God.

The Almighty Living God did give these things to Solomon.

Solomon became the richest most prosperous man in the world.

Solomon became the wisest man in the world, accept for the Lord Jesus Christ.

Solomon became the most understanding man in the world in his days.

But Solomon did not keep the Law of God all his days!

One of the most important things that we can learn from the Word of God is discernment!

It is discernment that enables us to judge what is the correct and proper way to act in our everyday lives!

The Bible says we must guide every decision we make with discretion.

Psa 112:5  A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion. 

And our enemies cannot stand it when the Word of God is always right!

Psa 112:10  The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish. 

Our lives will be so much better if we are obedient to all the Word of God!

In fact, how long we will get to spend time with our families will depend on how well we keep the Word of God!

Pro 3:1  My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: 

Pro 3:2  For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. 

David told his son Solomon that it was his duty to build that first Temple as a place to worship.

David then told his son Solomon that he had already purchased the building materials for this Temple.

David had already assembled a great work force who were already working upon those great marble stones and the timber that would be needed.

Solomon's duty was to supervise the construction of the Temple by following God's plan and put this plan into action.

1Ch 22:16  Of the gold, the silver, and the brass, and the iron, there is no number. Arise therefore, and be doing, and the LORD be with thee. 

The greatest thing we can give back to the Lord after the salvation gifts He has given to us, is obedience to the Word of God!

David had more children than Absalom and Amnon, and David commanded all the princes of Israel to help his son Solomon.

There were also each tribe of the sons of Jacob that had princes.

1Ch 28:1  And David assembled all the princes of Israel, the princes of the tribes, and the captains of the companies that ministered to the king by course, and the captains over the thousands, and captains over the hundreds, and the stewards over all the substance and possession of the king, and of his sons, with the officers, and with the mighty men, and with all the valiant men, unto Jerusalem.

*****1Ch 22:17  David also commanded all the princes of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying, 

1Ch 22:18  Is not the LORD your God with you? and hath he not given you rest on every side? for he hath given the inhabitants of the land into mine hand; and the land is subdued before the LORD, and before his people. 

Before David died, he issued a private charge to his son Solomon, but he also issued a private charge to all the leaders and the princes of the twelve tribes, to help Solomon to build the Temple we know as Solomon's Temple.

God had certainly been with all of Israel the days David was King of Israel.

God had certainly given them peace throughout all the land and had subjected their enemies under the rule of Israel.

In a way, these tribal leaders were heavily obligated because of the blessings down through the years of David's rule.

In comparison, just as David challenged the leaders of his day, we the Church are challenged today.

Of all the blessings that had come to Israel none of them had been given the gift of salvation as we have been given.

We owe far more dedication to our Savior than these who had certainly been blessed but not with eternal blessings.

Every mission that our Church is involved in and the ministry of our own church deserve our wholehearted dedication!

We must be faithful in supporting every project because the Lord is still building Temples at the same time, He is building human lives!

*****1Ch 22:19  Now set your heart and your soul to seek the LORD your God; arise therefore, and build ye the sanctuary of the LORD God, to bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be built to the name of the LORD. 

At this time David gave Solomon the plans for the construction of the Temple and in a lot of ways it followed the plans given to Moses for the Tabernacle of the Congregation.

1Ch 28:11  Then David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch, and of the houses thereof, and of the treasuries thereof, and of the upper chambers thereof, and of the inner parlours thereof, and of the place of the mercy seat, 

1Ch 28:12  And the pattern of all that he had by the spirit, of the courts of the house of the LORD, and of all the chambers round about, of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries of the dedicated things: 

1Ch 28:19  All this, said David, the LORD made me understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern. 

1Ch 28:20  And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD. 

We should understand that when God plans it will be a perfect plan and our job is to "Be Strong And Of Good Courage And Do It".

When God is involved in the planning, then it is God's pledge in the accomplishment because God's plans never fail!

God has never asked but one thing from us and it is "FAITH"!

It is "faith" that gets us saved!

Once we are saved, then that same faith will carry us to the work of God which is building temples, human temples.

Rom_12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

After our salvation God is asking for the use of our bodies.

Our sacrifice is being dead to sin, but living for the work of the Lord.

God just asks for our reasonable service.

God just ask us to continue the work that the Lord Jesus Christ was doing before He gave His life for us!

Amen

The Size of God's Army is Irrelevant

 David Takes a Census

Book of 1 Chronicles Chapter 21

A census is taken in any nation to determine the number of people in that nation. 

When a census is used for any other purpose, then it is not a true census!

In Israel, the number of people would be separated by those people over the age of twenty to determine the amount of men capable of being in the army which was a requirement if they were called upon.

This is still done in Israel today!

Not by census but by law! 

Every man and I believe every woman over the age of eighteen is required to serve a tour in the military of Israel and from then to the age of fifty they would be the reserves if Israel were called into war as they are in now with Hamas.

Every eighteen-year-old man in America is still required to register in America today, but right now we still have a volunteer military.

Another fact is that, in the time of the exit of Israel from Egypt, every man above twenty years was required to pay a half shekel as a ransom for his soul, that there should be no plague whenever a numbering of the people took place.

This numbering by King David was uncalled for! God had not told David to number the people of Israel.

Israel was at peace and David did this thing just so he could boast. It was the sin of pride. 

It seemed that David just wanted to boast about how large his army was, when the size of his army was never important.

Did David require that half-shekel? It does not seem so, and the Scriptures do not say.

We do know that God sent an angel to bring judgment upon Israel for this act of King David.

God showed to David that it was He who determined the size of that nation.

This is what Joab reminded David of, and it was a fact that when a nation is at peace, more children are born but the abortion industry has destroyed this truth.

This is also why during the time of COVID we never heard how our military fared against this man-made disease.

Some nations are still working on plagues that would hinder the military of the United States!

We only heard that demand came for our militaries to be vaccinated and we lost troops from both directions.

Some to this disease and some because they refused the vaccine.

Our government is so foolish!

As God does, He will almost always cause something good to come out of something that is done against Him, if we repent.

The size of the army of Israel was never important when they were close to Jehovah. 

The Lord Jesus Christ was the true Captain of the army of Israel then and now!

Jos_5:15  And the captain of the LORD'S host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.

At this time David was the human captain over the armies of Israel as the Lord explained to King Saul.

1Sa_13:14  But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.

What we can understand is that a census was not to be taken of Israel unless it was directed to be done by Jehovah.

Exo 38:26  A bekah for every man, that is, half a shekel, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for every one that went to be numbered, from twenty years old and upward, for six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty men.

The size of the army of Israel was not relevant when the Lord was leading that nation and I believe this is still true today!

Then, why did King David call for a census of Israel.

*****1Ch 21:1  And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel. 

Why did Satan stand up against Israel? Israel was God's people as the name suggest!

What was the result of this census? “And again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel,” 

We should remember the Book of Job because our God does not ever change!

Job 1:6  Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. 

The Book of Zechariah:

Zec 3:1  And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. 

Satan is in reality an angel of the Lord who rebelled against the Lord and has become the adversary of God's creation, especially all mankind.

But Satan is still a tool that the Lord uses in the fulfillment of Scripture. Satan does not have free reign to hinder God's people but those opposed to the Lord can be used of Satan and there is nothing they can do about it until they repent and come to the Lord.

2Ti_2:26  And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

Those who are caught up in the snares of the Devil do not have the ability to say no to him!

Satan is the very opposite of a guardian angel!

It was to Joab, the General of all the armies of Israel who was to conduct this census, which means David wanted to know how large an army he could raise if he went to war.

Joab knew this was not a good thing and Joab did not get a complete count.

Joab had seen what it means to have the Lord on your side in the many battles of Israel.

We already know that the size of David's army was irrelevant when David obeyed the commands of God!

Rom_8:31  What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

David's pride began to cause him problems!

When we think of ourselves as better than others it is always sinful!

Most of our politicians are like this today and this is the reason they cannot form a government for the people.

The little power we have given to our government has become a monster demanding more and more power when this was never the intention of our Constitution!

It is not the people who are deplorable, it is the politicians themselves!

David was a king, but David was not the best king to rule Israel.

That position is reserved for the Lord, who when He returns, will rule this world with a Rod of IRON which means by His Own Power!

There will be no rebellion against the Lord in those days!

*****1Ch 21:2  And David said to Joab and to the rulers of the people, Go, number Israel from Beersheba even to Dan; and bring the number of them to me, that I may know it. 

The Lord is always displeased with our sin and He should be, but the sin of any national ruler is an even greater sin!

Rom_13:1  Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

We should know by now that even the greatest Christian can slip and fall and bring God's judgment upon them.

We are aware of God's forgiveness, but we must be aware of God's judgment because it will certainly come for disobedience.

We need to be praying for God's mercy, after we have been forgiven because we know He is also full of mercy because He cares for us!

It is easy to say how stupid King David was, but how many of us have sat down and counted our money just to see how much we have after our needs have been met.

It is unimportant after God has provided enough to meet our needs!

The size of David's army was never important! It was the fact that David was a man whose heart was with God.

It is more important that we know our Savior, who is Christ the Lord, than to put our faith in money or in other humans, or in anything else.

Israel was surrounded by its enemies and we would think that it was important for David to know the size of its army, but God's people cannot be defeated by any army if God is on or side.

We must never yield to any temptation by Satan!

We cannot follow the Word of God and yield to the Devil, these are two different paths!

Even Joab had now realized that the strength of David was in His God and not in the number of people of Israel.

2Sa 24:3  And Joab said unto the king, Now the LORD thy God add unto the people, how many soever they be, an hundredfold, and that the eyes of my lord the king may see it: but why doth my lord the king delight in this thing? 

Either we are going to allow the Lord to rule our lives, or we are going to give in to Satan and these are the only choices we have.

It is far better to allow the Lord to rule in our lives!

Joab could not change the mind of the king!

Joab did not do a complete count because he knew this thing was not important and the king was wrong.

We should understand that Satan has never had even one clever idea!

There is not one good thing in the heart of Satan!

*****1Ch 21:7  And God was displeased with this thing; therefore he smote Israel. 

We must understand that Israel has always been surrounded by nations who had greater armies so, there has been nothing greater than the survival of the Jews.

What we have seen throughout history is, that those neighbors of Israel that have been defeated, time after time, and there is only one answer for that and it is that Jehovah has always been on their side.

God did allow for the scattering of the Jews and God has seen fit to bring them back to their land.

In fact, one of the great prophecies of the Bible began May 14, 1948, when Israel again became a nation and were located upon the land that God had given to them.

Now the world can say what they will, but these things cannot be denied!

All those who want war with Jehovah God are foolish and it will only lead to their own death.

King David had forgotten these things himself.

It has never been about the size of Israel's army; it has always been about their faith in Jehovah God.

It is the same today and we should be extremely cautious in finding truth in any public opinion of the nation of Israel.

There is great danger in so-called righteous socialism because we would be in danger of losing our personal convictions in our relationship with our Holy God.

This is what is going on in America today, just as King David was about to fall into this trap in his day.

David had pride in the empire he thought he had built, when it was Jehovah God who had caused it to happen because even God will never go against His own written Word.

The Lord would not stand for it!

Yielding to temptation is never a good thing!

We hear our president tell us every day of the things he has done and his Bidenomics.

If Donald Trump has a fault, it is also in saying the things that he would do.

He needs to be saying the things that God is directing him to do!

It is too late for the demnocrats as they all have left the Word of God for Marxism.

The Republicans are bathing in the Washington Swamp and it will not wash off!

Pride and conceit leads to terrible evil and David realized his sin.

*****1Ch 21:8  And David said unto God, I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing: but now, I beseech thee, do away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly. 

Confession is the first step to a renewed relationship with the Lord!

The sin had been committed so; the chastisement of the Lord would still have to take place.

This is another thing we, as God's people should realize today.

When sin has been committed then a penalty must be paid!

It is foolish to ignore the Word of God and America will find this out just as King David did!

Just as God sent the Prophet Gad to David, God sends His Pastors and Preachers today.

Of course, God has not sent any of those who ignore the Word of God, those are of course Satan's children including the Pope when he goes against the Word of God.

There is no modern Gospel, there is only the Living Word of God that comes from the Living God!

The prophet Gad had been informing David even before David became king so, the Word of God does not change, ever!

God allowed David three choices:

1Ch 21:12  Either three years' famine; or three months to be destroyed before thy foes, while that the sword of thine enemies overtaketh thee; or else three days the sword of the LORD, even the pestilence, in the land, and the angel of the LORD destroying throughout all the coasts of Israel. Now therefore advise thyself what word I shall bring again to him that sent me. 

David knew that he had to depend upon the "Mercy" of God!

This what we have to do today because God's "Mercy" brings God's "Grace".

The Lord sent the plague as King David had chosen.

The Lord allowed David to see something that many who are left behind will see after the Church is called to Heaven.

1Ch 21:16  And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the LORD stand between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders of Israel, who were clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces. 

David begged for "mercy" to be shown to the people for he knew he was at fault and he only.

David knew he needed to make a sacrifice to the Lord and David was on the threshing-floor of Ornan.

In the time of David, the top of a large bare rock was used as a threshing-floor.

The sheaves were carried to this rock floor in carts and spread upon that rock and a yoke of oxen would be driven round over that crop of sheaves.

Sometimes these oxen were yoked to a sort of machine consisting of a heavy board with pieces of steel or rock fasten to the bottom of the board.

*****1Ch 21:21  And as David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw David, and went out of the threshingfloor, and bowed himself to David with his face to the ground. 

1Ch 21:22  Then David said to Ornan, Grant me the place of this threshingfloor, that I may build an altar therein unto the LORD: thou shalt grant it me for the full price: that the plague may be stayed from the people. 

No matter what is going on in our lives, we can ask God for His Mercy!

What did the Lord Jesus say about "mercy"?

Mat 5:7  Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. 

If we show "mercy" then we can obtain the mercy of God!

We find if we read the Scriptures that "mercy" and "truth" are linked together most all the time.

A "mercy" that is constant and "faithful" will not deceive!

All the things we receive from the Lord are because of His "Mercy"!

What is the truth of God?

Pro 14:34  Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people. 

America is under the influence of sin and immorality and it is these things that keep our nation from being a righteous nation and our nation may never be a righteous nation ever again!

One thing we had better do is to mend our divisiveness and get back to trusting in the Lord as we approach these end times.

We must change the leadership in the White House!

Corruption cannot be healed it must be removed!

Regardless of what the Muslim say, this threshing floor of Ornan is the exact same place where the Muslim built the Dome of the Rock, just to keep it from God’s people!

In fact, that whole piece of land that was bought from Ornan is the place called the Temple Mount today

Threshing floors were an integral part of agriculture in biblical times.

A threshing floor was a specially prepared outdoor surface where harvested grain crops were beaten or trampled to separate the grain kernels from the straw and chaff.

Threshing floors in the Bible served both practical and symbolic purposes related to harvesting, purification, judgment, and the covenant with God.

What did the Lord Jesus say?

Mat 9:37  Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; 

Mat 9:38  Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest. 

After crops were harvested in the field, they would be brought to the threshing floor to be threshed. 

Threshing is the process of separating the edible grains of wheat and barley from the inedible chaff that surrounds them.

The laborers of the harvest were to bring the sheaves to the threshing floor.

This is a type of witnessing for the Lord. We can find many things in typology in those sheaves and the threshing floor.

Remember that old Gospel song, “We will come rejoicing bringing in the sheaves”  witnessing for the Lord and bringing those sheaves to God’s threshing floor, where we find that “Rock” threshing floor.

There are many false Churches today because some threshing floors use only hard dirt, or some even use a wooden floor and some modern churches today use a concrete slab, but if you do not go to the “Rock”, the Rock threshing floor you cannot be threshed to reveal that perfect wheat that is usable to God.

Those sheaves are useless unless they go to the threshing floor.

You can get a special blessing by doing a Bible study of the sheaves and the threshing floor!

By spreading the harvested stalks out on the threshing floor and beating them with sticks or having oxen walk over them to crush the stalks, the loosened grains would then be tossed into the air using winnowing fork or a fan, so that the lighter chaff would blow away in the wind, leaving only the heavier grain kernels behind.

Threshing floors needed to be durable enough to withstand the trampling hooves of oxen and the repeated beating of the grain stalks.

These “Rock” floors were often located on hills or other elevated sites that were exposed to more wind. The increased airflow helped blow away the chaff during winnowing.

One common way to thresh grain was simply beating it with a stick, rod, or threshing tool. 

The threshing tool was usually made of wood and was several feet long with one end flattened like a paddle.

We should remember Ruth in the Bible.

Rth 2:17  So she gleaned in the field until even, and beat out that she had gleaned: and it was about an ephah of barley. 

Another threshing method, often done along with beating, was to have oxen walk over the stalks and crush the grain out with their hooves.

Deu 25:4  Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn.

Allowing the animals to eat some of the grain motivated them to crush it out efficiently with their heavy steps. 

Using animals was faster than beating the stalks by hand.

After threshing by beating and/or animal trampling, the farmer still had to separate the crushed kernels of grain from the discarded stalks and husks, known as chaff. 

They would toss the threshed material into the air so that the wind could blow away the lighter chaff while the heavier grain fell back down.

Rth 3:2  And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to night in the threshingfloor. 

We know Boaz as a type of Christ.

This work of winnowing corn was usually ended with a feast just as one day we will sit at the table of the Lord.

Threshing was essential to make grain edible for cooking and baking. 

Without removing the inedible stalks and husks, the grain would have little value as food. 

Any study of the Bible will reveal that God frequently uses imagery of threshing and winnowing to picture God separating the righteous from the wicked, God’s people from their enemies.

Isa 41:15  Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff.

Isa 41:16  Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the LORD, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel. 

This is a picture of the “judgment” of God.

Jer 15:6  Thou hast forsaken me, saith the LORD, thou art gone backward: therefore will I stretch out my hand against thee, and destroy thee; I am weary with repenting.

Jer 15:7  And I will fan them with a fan in the gates of the land; I will bereave them of children, I will destroy my people, since they return not from their ways.

This is a picture of God’s judgment as the Lord’s fan will clean up the threshing floor after He has separated the righteous from the unrighteous.

In Bible times it required intense labor to thresh a harvest on the threshing floor.

We are to be diligent in the work of the Lord!

What was the importance of threshing God’s people. Removing the undesired, those that were not God’s children.

Gen 30:32  I will pass through all thy flock to day, removing from thence all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all the brown cattle among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats: and of such shall be my hire.

Gen 30:33  So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come, when it shall come for my hire before thy face: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the sheep, that shall be counted stolen with me. 

God will only accept those He can make perfect!

Threshing floors were important places!

King Solomon requested grains and oils in Babylon’s threshing floors for his inheritance. 

As key locations that embodied productive harvests, threshing floors also took on wider symbolic meanings around fruitfulness and reward.

Threshing floors also are used to indicate the judgment of God as we have seen. 

Jer 30:23  Behold, the whirlwind of the LORD goeth forth with fury, a continuing whirlwind: it shall fall with pain upon the head of the wicked.

Jer 30:24  The fierce anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have done it, and until he have performed the intents of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it.

In the end God will gather all His enemies to His threshing floor which is Jerusalem!

Mic 4:11  Now also many nations are gathered against thee, that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion.

Mic 4:12  But they know not the thoughts of the LORD, neither understand they his counsel: for he shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor.

Mic 4:13  Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion: for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass: and thou shalt beat in pieces many people: and I will consecrate their gain unto the LORD, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth. 

God expressed commands David to build the altar at Araunah’s threshing floor on Mount Moriah specifically.

2Sa 24:18  And Gad came that day to David, and said unto him, Go up, rear an altar unto the LORD in the threshingfloor of Araunah the Jebusite. 

This transaction solidified the site’s role as location of temples and sacrifices in Jerusalem for years, including the First and Second temples.

Later, David’s son Solomon would build the Lord’s temple on this same threshing floor, establishing this as a very holy site in Jerusalem.

2Ch 3:1  Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the LORD appeared unto David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite. 

This shows us the importance of the threshing floor as a place of meeting between God and His people.

God appeared to Solomon and told him that he had chosen this place for the Temple and the Altar.

When we come to Church, here at Gethsemane, we are coming to the threshing floor God has chosen for us!

Today this world sits on God’s threshing floor and God will thresh this world one day soon.

In fact, God may take the enemies of His people back to the threshing floor of Ornan!

The study of the threshing floor and the separation of the wheat from the chaff is a great study for all of us.

*****1Ch 21:23  And Ornan said unto David, Take it to thee, and let my lord the king do that which is good in his eyes: lo, I give thee the oxen also for burnt offerings, and the threshing instruments for wood, and the wheat for the meat offering; I give it all. 

1Ch 21:24  And king David said to Ornan, Nay; but I will verily buy it for the full price: "for I will not take that which is thine for the LORD, nor offer burnt offerings without cost". 

David, hearing that so many thousands of the people were being fatally stricken by the plague, David humbled himself before the Lord.

David had been given three choices to make concerning the Census he had taken:

1Ch 21:12  Either three years' famine; or three months to be destroyed before thy foes, while that the sword of thine enemies overtaketh thee; or else three days the sword of the LORD, even the pestilence, in the land, and the angel of the LORD destroying throughout all the coasts of Israel. Now therefore advise thyself what word I shall bring again to him that sent me.

The parallel chapter in 2 Samuel says this:

2Sa 24:13  So Gad came to David, and told him, and said unto him, Shall seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land? or wilt thou flee three months before thine enemies, while they pursue thee? or that there be three days' pestilence in thy land? now advise, and see what answer I shall return to him that sent me.

And David's choice was:

2Sa 24:14  And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the LORD; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man. 

Most every Christian would choose the same as David!

“They that fear the Lord will prepare their hearts, and humble their souls in his sight, saying, We will fall into the hands of the Lord, and not into the hands of men: for as is his majesty, so is his mercy.”

The Scriptures say that David actually saw the angel doing all this destruction:

2Sa 24:17  And David spake unto the LORD when he saw the angel that smote the people, and said, Lo, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly: but these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, be against me, and against my father's house. 

David changed his mind, but his greatest need was for him to offer a sacrifice for that sin of pride, and God commanded him to build an altar and to build this altar upon the land where this plague had been stopped.

This is why King David bought this land and this is why the Muslim have no claim to this piece of land.

The place of the Dome of the Rock is a place where God commanded David to build this altar.

Notice David refused for these things to be given to him and he also refused for Ornan to give him a discount for these things, David asked for the full price to be paid for these things!

In reality, this in typology means, we will offer up our sins to the Rock who is the Lord Jesus Christ, all sin not clinging to those pet sins we try to hold on to.

Deu 32:3  Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God. 

Deu 32:4  He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.

2Sa 23:2  The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue. 

2Sa 23:3  The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. 

A Psalm of David:

Psa 18:2  The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. 

Psa 18:3  I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies. 

So David bought all the land from Ornan and built an altar to the Lord and later King Solomon built the Temple, called the Temple of Solomon, but it was a House of Prayer because King David had prayed to God to stop the plague that was killing so many of the Jews.

Satan is that plague that needs to be stopped today!

*****1Ch 21:25  So David gave to Ornan for the place six hundred shekels of gold by weight. 

1Ch 21:26  And David built there an altar unto the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called upon the LORD; and he answered him from heaven by fire upon the altar of burnt offering. 

1Ch 21:27  And the LORD commanded the angel; and he put up his sword again into the sheath thereof. 

God accepted the atoning sacrifice offered by David, the Lord forgave David of his sins and God answered the prayer of David.

The Lord stopped His hand of chastisement at this place of the Rock.

We can see that in typology, we know this Rock floor of Ornan's threshing floor represents the true Rock of Grace, the Lord Jesus Christ.

As the Jews return to know the truth of Jesus Christ, they will find a way to rebuild the House of Prayer that once stood on that site and the Muslim will have no say in the matter.

Another thing we had better remember, we must never offer to God some sacrifice that did cost us nothing.

If there is no cost, there is no real sacrifice!

Remember the Jews had to offer their best animals who had no blemishes at all.

King David used this place as his place of worship the remainder of his days out of his "Fear of God".

1Ch 21:28  At that time when David saw that the LORD had answered him in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite, then he sacrificed there. 

1Ch 21:29  For the tabernacle of the LORD, which Moses made in the wilderness, and the altar of the burnt offering, were at that season in the high place at Gibeon. 

1Ch 21:30  But David could not go before it to enquire of God: for he was afraid because of the sword of the angel of the LORD. 

Amen

When A Government No Longer Serves the People

 David's Great Grief

Book of 2 Samuel Chapters 15-18

Grief is said to be the pain of the mind produced by some loss, or misfortune, or injury, or evils of some kind. It can be sorrow or regret from the things we do ourselves. We can experience grief when one of our family members pass or one of our friends pass or we grieve at the misfortunes of others.

From the beginning of history, insurrection and mutiny have been a problem for most every government.

It happens more often when governments no longer serve the people, they were put in place to do.

Corrupt governments are the leading cause for mutiny by the people.

Many coups or rebellions are justified but there are some that are unjustified.

Whatever means available to correct the evil and unjust acts of governments must be pursued by honorable and just citizens.

We may see this happen in our own nation if corruption persist in our government.

Our own nation is more divided than it ever has been, including the time of the civil war when the North tried to abuse the South over commodities.

Only when a government executes justice and righteousness equally for all its people and protect its borders can it be supported!

When a government supports only its ring leaders it does not deserve the support of the people.

We cannot have a true government when that government is made up of those opposed to the truth of God.

Our lesson today is about a mutiny from within King David's own family.

When we are suffering from grief from those actions of our loved ones we can only find comfort from the "Grace" of God.

King David was temporarily forced to abandon Jerusalem until he could organize his followers against the coup by his own son Absalom.

Absalom did many things to win over the people while King David became lax in his duties as King because of regret for his sin against the Lord.

King David was of little use in following the will of God at this time.

*****2Sa 15:1  And it came to pass after this, that Absalom prepared him chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him. 

Just as soon as Absalom had gained his freedom began seeking every way he could to win over the people.

Absalom still held his father David responsible for what happened to his sister Tamar and David's lack of discipline to Amnon and Absalom took upon himself to bring judgment upon Amnon resulting in his death.

Absalom wanted the people to support his actions.

Absalom prepared a chariot similar to what would be used for state occasions while fifty footmen ran at its side, while Absalom rode.

Much like our president's limousine escorted by men running by its side or twenty vehicles accompanying it if it was traveling.

1Sa 8:11  And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots. 

David had allowed Absalom to be restored to his royal position of crown prince of Israel, and Absalom took advantage of it in an attempt to destroy his father the King.

What else did he do?

*****2Sa 15:2  And Absalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate: and it was so, that when any man that had a controversy came to the king for judgment, then Absalom called unto him, and said, Of what city art thou? And he said, Thy servant is of one of the tribes of Israel.

We should not think of this gate as the gate of the city because the elders and appointed judges would first handle the problems of the people at that gate.

It was the greater matters that were then sent on to the King.

Absalom stood at the gates near the entrance to the royal house of the King, his father.

We should not suppose that King David was neglecting his judicial duties.

It was those who were on their way to see the king after the elders and judges could not solve the issue they had and Absalom would stop and make them believe that he was better suited to be judge of all of Israel.

We can believe that because of his sin King David could not be a fair judge on any matter concerning such things as adultery, murder, conspiracy, and other such matters that he had been guilty of himself.

We have judges and politicians in place today who have committed gross sins and yet they keep their positions so, how could they rule or vote on matters they are guilty of.

This is known as the swamp in Washington or as one man put it this morning the sewer of Washington that leads all the way to the president.

Absalom was doing his very best to stir up a rebellion against the king, his father, who he now hated.

Absalom's wickedness was deliberate and well considered and his grandfather, the King of Gesher, probably had coached him in many of these matters.

*****2Sa 15:3  And Absalom said unto him, See, thy matters are good and right; but there is no man deputed of the king to hear thee. 

2Sa 15:4  Absalom said moreover, Oh that I were made judge in the land, that every man which hath any suit or cause might come unto me, and I would do him justice! 

Absalom would flatter each of those seeking to see the king and would always pronounce a favorable decision in each case and say how differently things would be done if he were in power.

Absalom would say there should be men appointed to investigate the evidence and take it to the king implying that the king's decisions were just hasty and arbitrary.

What does the Bible say of such men as Absalom?

Pro_30:17  The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it.

We do know that the body of Absalom was not buried but was covered with field rocks to keep the animals away from the body.

It was true that at times the king could be overwhelmed with this task which was too heavy for one man.

Absalom did not possess the knowledge of his father and King David was still God's man and a man after God's own heart, but far short from being perfect as we all are.

*****2Sa 15:5  And it was so, that when any man came nigh to him to do him obeisance, he put forth his hand, and took him, and kissed him. 

2Sa 15:6  And on this manner did Absalom to all Israel that came to the king for judgment: so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.

Absalom had set out to build a highly favorable public image of himself and it was working with those younger people who had forgotten the history of Israel before King David when the Philistines had harassed them and made slaves of them.

We may serve ourselves, strengthen our position, advance our interests, when we are serving others, but when we are doing them a disservice, encouraging them, and helping them, to do evil, we are our own enemies as well as theirs!

In the end Absalom caused the death of over twenty thousand men of the nation of Israel and his own death and David was still king because Jehovah had selected David and not Absalom.

We must be on the side of truth and honesty which in the end will always be the winning side because this is the way of the Lord.

This is the Lord's creation and we breathe the Lord's air because He has the Words of TRUTH that can never fail.

We are to be servants of faith in the Lord and only for this will we be recognized!

Mat_25:21  His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

Mat_25:23  His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

Absalom purposely behaved in a deceptive manner, scheming to secure political support.

Sounds just like the modern-day politician.

It is hard to get the real truth out of any of them.

Absalom received permission to go to Hebron on a false vow because he knew if he could win over the people of Hebron then he could raise an army to go against his father, which he did.

*****2Sa 15:13  And there came a messenger to David, saying, The hearts of the men of Israel are after Absalom. 

Ambition had led Absalom until he had started a civil war in Israel.

A loyal messenger of King David brought him news of the actions of his son and King David elected to flee rather than to stand his ground until he could get organized.

All David knew was that the vengeance of God for his sin was taking place but it was not.

Yes, God had warned David of all these things, but God was not the cause of all these things.

God does not do evil, He allows evil to take place!

It was David's sin that had caused these things to happen and the fact that being King of Israel had kept him from being a good parent though that was not a good excuse.

Multiple wives was David' greatest problem with his family!

Multiple children by those wives with each being taught by mothers who worshipped idols instead of being sure his children were taught the ways of Jehovah were the next problem in his family.

David knew what was going on in his family was because he had not been the parent he should have been, and he felt too guilty to deal with it at this time.

David just knew to flee somewhat like he had to flee from King Saul.

David fled until those around him proved that they were still loyal to him.

*****2Sa 15:14  And David said unto all his servants that were with him at Jerusalem, Arise, and let us flee; for we shall not else escape from Absalom: make speed to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly, and bring evil upon us, and smite the city with the edge of the sword. 

2Sa 15:15  And the king's servants said unto the king, Behold, thy servants are ready to do whatsoever my lord the king shall appoint.

King David left himself no choice but to flee and to do so immediately because many in Jerusalem would be killed and God expected there to be peace in Jerusalem which was true in the time of Solomon and only now when the Lord returns to be King of Jerusalem for one thousand years and there will be true peace in Jerusalem.

Jerusalem may have been destroyed had war with Absalom occurred there.

There were many servants at the Palace all devoted to King David, but not enough to hold off an army.

David had his children and his wives to think about and their safety.

David took all his wives and his concubines but ten, which causes us to think back to the things that Nathan had told to David.

2Sa 12:11  Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. 

2Sa 12:12  For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun. 

The court of David did not desert King David.

Absalom had perverted self-assurance and no proper sense of his own weaknesses.

Absalom chose evil advisers who were more like Judas Iscariot than righteous men.

In fleeing David left ten concubines behind to take care of the royal palace.

*****2Sa 15:16  And the king went forth, and all his household after him. And the king left ten women, which were concubines, to keep the house. 

2Sa 15:17  And the king went forth, and all the people after him, and tarried in a place that was far off. 

The king and the officers of his court and his household brought forth a sizable number of people, but not enough to protect them.

All David's wives and his children and all of his concubines but ten went with him, leaving ten concubines behind in charge of the palace, expecting them to be safe from harm.

Most believe that this place described as "a place described as afar off" was actually a pavilion overlooking the Kidron Valley, known as "The Far House".

This was a place where King David stopped until all those with him were assembled to get better organized for the journey to safety. 

This is also where David's bodyguard would gather and they would cross the Kidron Valley only when everything was ready for orderly progress when they could travel at a faster pace.

A confused mob breeds panic and invites attack!

We should also notice that most of the official court officials elected to live or die with King David rather than turn to Absalom.

*****2Sa 15:18  And all his servants passed on beside him; and all the Cherethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, six hundred men which came after him from Gath, passed on before the king. 

The Cherethites and the Pelethites were mercenary soldiers, many of who had been with David when he was fleeing from King Saul and had now become David's personal body guard and a central part of David's army.

Benaiah was their commander and a dedicated soldier to King David.

Many of the Cherethites were of a Philistine clan who left the Philistines to be with David.

The name Pelethite means runner or courier who were also part of David's bodyguards but would sometimes be David's couriers to other nations or otherwise used because of their loyalty.

The Gittites of which Ittai was named were also Philistines who were loyal to King David.

Many of these men were known as mighty men of valor and great warriors who would not abandon David for any reason.

2Sa 15:21  And Ittai answered the king, and said, As the LORD liveth, and as my lord the king liveth, surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be. 

2Sa 15:22  And David said to Ittai, Go and pass over. And Ittai the Gittite passed over, and all his men, and all the little ones that were with him. 

David would not allow the Ark of the Covenant to be removed from Jerusalem and sent it back by Zadok the High Priest.

If the Lord does not travel within us then He is not with us in our actions!

2Sa 15:29  Zadok therefore and Abiathar carried the ark of God again to Jerusalem: and they tarried there.

They could also help David better from Jerusalem and we know that God has chosen Jerusalem.

And David proceeded to cross the Mount of Olives.

*****2Sa 15:30  And David went up by the ascent of mount Olivet, and wept as he went up, and had his head covered, and he went barefoot: and all the people that was with him covered every man his head, and they went up, weeping as they went up.

The covering of the head symbolized the heavy grief that David suffered during this time and David travelled barefoot, which was a sign of deep humiliation.

Most believe that it was upon the Mount of Olives where David composed the Third Psalm.

Psa 3:1  A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son. LORD, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me. 

Psa 3:2  Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah. 

Psa 3:4  I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah. 

Psa 3:5  I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me. 

Psa 3:6  I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about. 

Psa 3:7  Arise, O LORD; save me, O my God: for thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone; thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly. 

Psa 3:8  Salvation belongeth unto the LORD: thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah.

No doubt that even with his faults, King David was still loved of God and a great King of Israel.

We next see Ziba bring the King and his followers some nourishment along with a story of the possible rebellion of Mephibosheth.

2Sa 16:3  And the king said, And where is thy master's son? And Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he abideth at Jerusalem: for he said, To day shall the house of Israel restore me the kingdom of my father. 

2Sa 16:4  Then said the king to Ziba, Behold, thine are all that pertained unto Mephibosheth. And Ziba said, I humbly beseech thee that I may find grace in thy sight, my lord, O king. 

David did not know whether to believe him or not, but he welcomed the nourishment that he brought.

This is probably when King David elected to divide the land of Saul between Mephibosheth and Ziba which was being fair to Ziba according to the laws of Moses.

Another man related to King Saul, Shimei felt David deserved what was happening to him and cursed David with every breath and David just allowed him to do so as he did feel as if he had been cursed when he was just suffering as Jehovah had said he would.

The Word of God is never wrong and this world will soon see the reality of the truth of God!

By this time Absalom had come to Jerusalem with an army of traitors to Israel.

*****2Sa 16:15  And Absalom, and all the people the men of Israel, came to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel with him. 

Ahithophel was a man of the Jews who had been David's private councilor and among the Jews his counsels were regarded as oracles.

In other words though he was not a prophet it was believed that his councils were divinely given or he communicated the divine will of God to men.

Anybody in their right mind would have thought that such a man would never have turned against King David because David was God's choice to be King of Israel but he did.

He also had a son named Eliam who was one of David's bodyguards.

It is this Eliam who was considered to be the father of Bathsheba, making this Ahithophel being her grandfather and it is this thing that possibly made him turn on King David.

The Bible does not say and these things are speculation. He certainly did turn on King David and the king was alarmed that he had done so.

2Sa 15:31  And one told David, saying, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, O LORD, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness. 

David found a way to counteract the council of Ahithophel through another dedicated councilor named Hushai.

Again David wrote another Psalm.

Psa 55:12  For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him: 

Psa 55:13  But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. 

Psa 55:14  We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company. 

King David was better off without this excuse of a man!

He was wrong but Jehovah is always right as told by Nathan to David.

*****2Sa 16:21  And Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Go in unto thy father's concubines, which he hath left to keep the house; and all Israel shall hear that thou art abhorred of thy father: then shall the hands of all that are with thee be strong. 

2Sa 16:22  So they spread Absalom a tent upon the top of the house; and Absalom went in unto his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel. 

We can see the hatred of Ahithophel and Absalom that they had for David and the Word of God holds true again.

2Sa 12:11  Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. 

2Sa 12:12  For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun. 

Wickedness always seems to find its way into many families and it will find its way into our own families if we cannot walk with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Absalom had taken over Jerusalem without a fight because this is what King David wanted.

Over the years the City of Jerusalem has been overrun and destroyed many times but King David saw fit to not be the cause of the destruction of Jerusalem in his days.

Melchizedek was the first godly King of Jerusalem known as Salem on that day as he met with Abraham.

Gen 14:18  And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. 

Notice there were no Muslims in that day so they do not have any legal hold to Jerusalem.

Psa 76:2  In Salem also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling place in Zion. 

Many believe that the place where Abraham was ready to offer Isaac was the place where Solomon built the first Temple and no doubt this thing took place on one of the hills of Moriah but it was King David who bought the land where the Temple was first built.

2Sa_24:22  And Araunah said unto David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what seemeth good unto him: behold, here be oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing instruments and other instruments of the oxen for wood.

1Ch_21:20  And Ornan turned back, and saw the angel; and his four sons with him hid themselves. Now Ornan was threshing wheat.

1Ch_21:23  And Ornan said unto David, Take it to thee, and let my lord the king do that which is good in his eyes: lo, I give thee the oxen also for burnt offerings, and the threshing instruments for wood, and the wheat for the meat offering; I give it all.

King David first bought the place where the Dome of the Rock is now built by trespassers and David later bought all the land now called the Temple Mount.

We see that David bought the land of the where the Dome of the Rock was later built for fifty shekels of silver.

2Sa 24:24  And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. 

2Sa 24:25  And David built there an altar unto the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD was intreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel. 

We next see where David bought all the land where the Temple Mount exists for six hundred shekels of gold by weight.

1Ch 21:24  And king David said to Ornan, Nay; but I will verily buy it for the full price: for I will not take that which is thine for the LORD, nor offer burnt offerings without cost. 

1Ch 21:25  So David gave to Ornan for the place six hundred shekels of gold by weight. 

1Ch 21:26  And David built there an altar unto the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called upon the LORD; and he answered him from heaven by fire upon the altar of burnt offering. 

It was King David who owned all the land of the Temple Mount which he gave to the Lord for a place of worship to be built.

There were no Muslims at this time they did not exist!

Sorry to chase that rabbit but it needs to be said.

The army of King David was about to meet that army of Absalom in a terrible place for war and a place where Absalom lost his life along with many good Israelites that day.

*****2Sa 18:14  Then said Joab, I may not tarry thus with thee. And he took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom, while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak. 

2Sa 18:15  And ten young men that bare Joab's armour compassed about and smote Absalom, and slew him. 

First Joab kills Absalom and it was that long hair he was so proud of that caused him to be the target of Joab's darts.

And David finds out about the death of his son.

*****2Sa 18:32  And the king said unto Cushi, Is the young man Absalom safe? And Cushi answered, The enemies of my lord the king, and all that rise against thee to do thee hurt, be as that young man is. 

2Sa 18:33  And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!

Our children may not always make us happy, but they are still our children!

Amen

When a Ruler Confesses

 David's Confession

Book of 2 Samuel Chapter 12

What is our confession to the Lord? It is an open profession of our faith.

When we confess our love for the Lord Jesus Christ and our faith in Him, we can be saved.

Luk 12:8  Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: 

Luk 12:9  But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God.

After we are saved, we can confess our sins and know that the Lord will hear us and then forgive us, this is repentance.

1Jn_1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

We already know the terrible things King David had done in his sin with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah but up until this point David had not confessed his sin to the Lord and he had not been forgiven of those sins.

Repentance should  consist of four things: 

1) A true sense of our guilt and sinfulness.

Psa 51:10  Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. 

Psa 51:11  Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. 

Psa 51:12  Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

 2) A true knowledge of God's mercy in Jesus Christ. 

Rom 10:9  That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 

Rom 10:10  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 

Rom 10:13  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 

3) Actual hatred of sin

Psa_119:104  Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.

4) Walking with the Lord after salvation.

Jas_2:22  Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?

Jas_2:24  Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.

Who would have thought that David could have done such things as these? 

Adultery, murder, deceit, attempting to hide his sin for fear of the Laws of Moses.

We should clearly understand that our sin will eventually find us out.

Num_32:23  But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.

Our lesson describes to us how miserable David had become just because he refused to confess his sin.

David had spent the time up to this point trying to hide his sin from all of Israel and he had good reason to.

Two years had gone by and David had thought no more of Uriah.

This is also sin!

Our own national leaders show very little concern for that soldier or that serviceman who is willing to defend his nation.

In the laws of Moses, both adultery and murder had the punishment of death.

What would Israel think of him if they found out what he had done?

This is why our own government today tries to hide the things they do as they think they are above the average citizen.

All these things are secondary to what the Lord will do if we do not confess our sins to Him.

He already knows what we have done!

What did God do to David?

Did He remove David? No, David was still the best choice to lead the nation of Israel at that time since he had confessed and repented.

Did God raise up the enemies of Israel to come against David? No.

Did God rain down fire and brimstone upon David? No.

God sent a humble man of God to confront David, God sent the preacher.

We must keep in mind that David was King of all of Israel and David was the law in the land of Israel.

The prophet Nathan simply told a little story that King David could relate to and it, broke David from his stubbornness.

What is worse than sin itself? Being blind and insensible to sin is much worse because this proves just how depraved we really are!

We should also know that chastisement is never a joyful experience and God will never allow it to be because that would send the wrong message!

God will not condone sinful behavior from His children for very long.

Consistent sinful behavior from anyone, is a sign that they do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior, no matter what they claim!

*****2Sa 12:1  And the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. 

2Sa 12:2  The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds: 

2Sa 12:3  But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.

First Nathan tells David a make-believe story of two different men, one rich and one poor.

Riches of that day were determined by how many animals were owned.

David could relate to this story because he had been a shepherd who had kept the flocks of his own father, Jesse.

The rich man had many sheep but the poor man had only one sheep and he had raised it much like we do our pets and would never have killed the animal for any reason. It was a fine animal with no blemishes and kept more as a pet rather than merchandise.

This one ewe sheep was likened to a daughter to this man and was his only companion!

One day the rich man had a guest to entertain in his home.

*****2Sa 12:4  And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him. 

As this story continues, one day the rich man had a guest to entertain in his home.

Instead of slaughtering one of his own animals for the evening meal, the rich man stole the one and only lamb of the poor man.

He slaughtered this animal and served it to his guest having no concern for the property of the poor man.

It was at this point that King David became enraged with anger.

*****2Sa 12:5  And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die: 

2Sa 12:6  And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity. 

David interrupted Nathan at this point and swore to Nathan the Prophet of God that this man should die and also pay for the lamb four times over what was dictated by the Law with animals of the same quality.

Exo 22:1  If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. 

Unknown to David, he had just condemned himself.

It was David who had over three hundred concubines and in reality, he could have had most any single lady in the kingdom of Israel if he had asked.

Uriah had only one wife, Bathsheba.

Nathan interrupted David before he could say another word.

*****2Sa 12:7  And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; 

We can see that our Lord will sometimes use different means than we would even think of to show us our own guilt in sin.

We must also understand that God will never go against His will!

The Lord sent the preacher, Nathan the Prophet of Jehovah, with this little story that once David understood it, he realized it was all about him.

Up until this point King David had no suspicion that he was this rich man and that he had acted, showing no concern for his neighbor Uriah, who was a valiant soldier and one of David's great ones.

Uriah had dedicated his life to King David and David had snuffed that life out as if it meant nothing to him.

David had now condemned himself!

David had been blind to his own sin!

We cause harm to ourselves when we refuse to repent of our sins!

God reminded David of how much he had already given to him and God reminds David that he would have gotten even more blessings if he had not done this thing.

*****2Sa 12:8  And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.

David was horrified at the picture that Nathan had drawn of his conduct and we will see that David finally realized just how much he had sinned against the Lord against Uriah and against Bathsheba.

His greatest sin was against the Lord.

All sin is against the Lord because we are disobedient to what He teaches us in His Word!

We must realize that any sin we become a part of is against the Lord and that person.

When we do such things, we can expect God's judgment and God's chastisement!

We will reap what we sow which is what the Lord tells us!

As terrible as God's judgment may sound, we should also know that no sin is beyond the reach of God's mercy.

This is why God's grace is so prevalent in this the Church Age which could soon be over.

We will also see that in the remainder of David's life, that David learned this lesson well and he was no habitual sinner in such things as these.

David was never perfect while he was alive!

We sometimes forget the awesome power we have given to our rulers but the Lord keeps them in His sights.

A government for the people is far better than a government for themselves, which is what we have today!

Only David and Joab knew of these things and it had gone no further than this, other than a few of King David's dedicated servants who would have never turned against him.

What was God's judgment?

*****2Sa 12:9  Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. 

2Sa 12:10  Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. 

2Sa 12:11  Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.  

Whether it was by his own hands or not, King David had murdered Uriah.

It was a premeditated murder!

David had lusted after a married woman, Bathsheba, this sin David committed before he even took the next step of laying with her.

The sin of adultery is a terrible sin!

David's greatest sin was disobedience to the Word of God as is all our sin!

Psa 51:4  Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. 

David had not only murdered Uriah, but a man also dedicated to the safety of the king, and it was as if David had done this himself, even if he had used the hands of others to do the deed for him.

In fact David had used the hands of his enemies to kill a valiant, dedicated soldier.

David had used the hands of the enemy of God's people!

Our greatest enemy is Satan and if we use the hands of Satan to cause harm to others we have sinned terribly.

The Lord is always ready to pardon once we have repented!

David had been able to get away with this thing in the world, but the Lord God of this world sees everything we do.

David later wrote this Psalm and gave it to the Chief musician, which was probably Asaph at that time.

Psa 139:1  To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. 

Psa 139:2  Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. 

Psa 139:3  Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. 

Psalm 139 is a great Psalm for us to read.

We can see that when David wrote in this Psalm that he clearly understood the power of God to see all our actions in this world.

How would we compare this judgment with the judgment others from God?

Jacob deceived his father, and his sons deceived him. Jacob cheated on his brother, and is cheated by his uncle Laban.

We will see that many similar things of David's sin will play out in the life of David until his death.

David would see most of these things in his own family, his own children included, and yet he would not be able to stop it.

David's son Absalom would do things never imagined by a loving son.

In some ways Absalom was guided by the grandfather of Bathsheba who had cared for Uriah.

For the murder of Uriah there would be a fourfold restitution by King David as he had stated himself.

Bathsheba's baby would die.

Amnon would rape David's daughter Tamar.

Absalom would cause a rebellion.

Adonijah would try to seize the throne David had given to Solomon.

In many ways King David faced open disgrace from his own family.

David had brought shame and dishonor upon the family of his neighbor, so his own family rights were violated by his own son.

We can believe that sins that follow sin are usually much worse than the sins that caused them!

This still holds true today!

God says to David, you tried to hide your sins, but God said, He would do all these things in the open for all of Israel to see.

*****2Sa 12:12  For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun. 

David had committed terrible sin, but God did not cast him away.

We find that when we commit such sin we may be of little use to the plan of God.

David would remain King of Israel but he was king only politically and no longer spiritually useful in the plan of God.

God did not take away his salvation. David still genuinely believed and trusted in the Lord!

On this one occasion he had yielded to the lust of his flesh and it would cost him dearly, but the Lord still loved David.

We must understand that the Lord will chastise us because He loves us!

If He did not love us, He would just send us straight to Hell!

It is a sure thing that no matter who we are, we will reap what we sow!

1Co 11:31  For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. 

1Co 11:32  But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. 

And King David repented.

*****2Sa 12:13  And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die. 

We see that once we repent of our sin, we are forgiven and the Lord puts away that sin and He will never bring it up again!

The world will certainly bring it up, but not the Lord.

There is very little mercy in this world unless you are a child of the Devil and he will use you and toss you into the worldly abyss.

In humility and brokenness David confessed his sin, declaring that he had sinned against the Lord Himself.

David made no attempt to rationalize or to justify his actions or his sin.

David spoke from the depth of his heart because he knew his guilt and he knew he deserved to be punished.

The Lord offered up His mercy and it is His mercy we must respond to!

The Lord set aside the death penalty for David which was called for by the Laws of Moses.

David would not be condemned by the world!

Isa_40:18  To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?

David is in Heaven today along with this child conceived through sin!

*****2Sa 12:14  Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die. 

What is the most awful result when a Christian sins? We give a great occasion for the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme!

When these things happen that lost crowd will broadcast it everywhere!

The child would die but all such children go straight to Heaven.

If that poor baby had been allowed to live, those non-believers of that day would rejoice in the fall of David and ridicule the Name of the Lord, just as they do today for anything, they see a Christian do that is wrong in their eyes.

There would be no respect for the Word of God, if we just continue in our sin, claiming that Grace is our ticket to forgiveness.

Rom 6:1  What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 

Rom 6:2  God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? 

Rom 6:3  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 

Rom 6:4  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 

Rom 6:5  For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: 

Rom 6:6  Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 

We should understand that it was not Bathsheba's fault her son had died.

*****2Sa 12:24  And David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in unto her, and lay with her: and she bare a son, and he called his name Solomon: and the LORD loved him. 

2Sa 12:25  And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and he called his name Jedidiah, because of the LORD. 

David had been comforted by the Lord and he went to Bathsheba to comfort her.

They had both been reconciled to God and it was time for them both to seek reconciliation!

King David took Bathsheba to be his wife and God gave them another son who was Solomon and it is Solomon who would become the third king of Israel.

All the other sons of David were so caught up in sin they would never have made decent kings.

Note: we see immediately see that the Lord loved Solomon, but it does not mean that the Lord did not love the other child for He did.

That child is also in Heaven!

2Sa 12:23  But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? "I shall go to him", but he shall not return to me. 

This assurance lets know that every aborted child and every child that dies before they have the ability to know the Lord and know the penalty of sin, are all in Heaven.

The name Jedidiah means "Beloved of Jehovah".

Amen