King David vs Kingdom of Peace

A King Like David
The tension in this story is palpable. David was a king of violence who was cursed, through his family, with that same violence. We are studying a handful of Israelite kings, contrasting with Jesus.
1. THE STORY: David’s fall—
a. David began well—
i. killed the lion and the bear,
PWPNT 1 Samuel 17:34–37
“But David said to Saul, “Your servant was tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, I went out after him and attacked him, and rescued it from his mouth; and when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and struck him and killed him.
ii. David was willing to risk his life for the reputation of God.

“Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted the armies of the living God.” And David said, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you.””

iii. David was described by God as a “man after God’s own heart”
1. EBC, a man who truly has God’s interests at heart.
2. God knew the intentions of David’s heart and confirmed that David was in pursuit of God’s interests.
3. In contrast to King Saul.
b. Then David’s violence expanded beyond the attacking enemy.
i. Understand God’s hatred of violence:
1. Violence precipitated the Flood Gen 6:11-13
“Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth.
Then God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth.”

2. Violence includes more than spears and swords. Is 58:6-8
PWPNT “Is this not the fast which I choose,
To loosen the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the bands of the yoke,
And to let the oppressed go free,
And break every yoke?
“Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry,
And bring the homeless poor into the house;
When you see the naked, to cover him;
And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
“Then your light will break out like the dawn,
And your recovery will speedily spring forth;
And your righteousness will go before you;
The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.

ii. David became a man given to violence.
1. All the restraint that David showed in his dealings with the threats of Saul disappeared when David became king himself.
2. He took Bathsheba because he saw her and wanted her—classified by God as an act of violence—forcing another to bend to one’s will.
3. By orders to his subordinates, David murdered her husband to cover his deed; working the hierarchy to get what he wanted was VIOLENCE.

PWPNT 2 Samuel 12:9–13 NASB
You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the sons of Ammon.
[You thought you could murder Uriah by the sword of your fighting enemy. Instead…]

‘Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ “Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you from your own household; I will even take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your companion, and he shall lie with your wives in broad daylight. ‘Indeed you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and under the sun.’” Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has taken away your sin; you shall not die.”

Therefore…the JUDGMENT; Just as God intervened in the contagious violence of Noah’s day…
God sent Nathan to David, making public the “secret sin”—you are the man!
c. God intervened through Nathan the prophet.
Expositors Bible Commentary, Ronald F. Youngblood
i. …On the broader horizon it can be affirmed that “David, royal judge, is shown to be a rich oppressor” whose dynasty has “sprung from an adulterously begun union” (Roth, “You Are the Man!” p. 10).
ii. In the shorter term, however, Nathan’s abrupt application “draws a parallel between
1. the rich man’s exploitation of the poor on account of his superior status and
2. the king’s misuses of his own position of authority. Attention is thus focused not on the simple case of theft, but on
3. the exploitation of the weak by one enjoying a superior position” (Jones, p. 100).
It is only due to Yahweh’s direct pardon that David is to be spared (2 Sam. xii 13)“ (Phillips, “The Interpretation of 2 Samuel xii 5-6,” p. 244).

d. David repented of his violent sin, BUT became passive in the face of the violence of his sons!—“fourfold” David had said = four sons
1. David’s son Amnon raped his half-sister, David’s daughter; David did nothing.
2. David’s son Absalom had his servants kill Amnon, the violent brother, matching violence with violence; David did nothing.
3. David’s son Absalom then led a rebellion to overthrow his father, the king.
a. David counseled his general to go easy on Absalom.
b. When Absalom was killed, David deeply mourned the loss, but expressed little regret for the deaths of those who had fought Absalom to preserve David’s rule.
e. David’s violence disqualified him from Building the Temple, where God was to dwell among His people.
PWPNT 1 Chronicles 22:7-8
“And David said to Solomon, “My son, I had intended to build a house to the name of the Lord my God. “But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘You have shed much blood, and have waged great wars; you shall not build a house to My name, because you have shed so much blood on the earth before Me.

It would be easy for us to enjoy the spectacular GOTCHA! story, BUT, Philpott Church, WE HAVE A PROBLEM…many of us just PASSIVELY tolerate our city. We do not love a place with so much poverty, so many children without a dad, extensive patterns of family violence that are hard to break, a place of insecurity and fear. So much brokenness, it’s hard to look at.
Does the city frustrate you?

2. Hamilton is a city full of Davids.
We are living with the consequences of a dozen generations of Davids. We show signs of our own similarity to David.
a. We believe that there is only so much to go around, that God only created wealth enough for a few. Yet, God’s blessing of the earth is POTENT, sufficient to provide for all if we will cultivate the earth…INSTEAD, WE BELIEVE THE LIE…
i. Only so much approval, acclaim.
ii. Only so much friendship, commitment.
iii. Only so much safety and security.
iv. Only so much peace and contentment.
v. We want to gain our own and to keep it.
b. We are reaping the consequences of people fighting over the scraps.
i. I AM DAVID; it’s my selfishness, the “violence” of keeping all I have for fear I might not have enough, rather than trusting God,
ii. I AM DAVID; it’s violence when I take what I want…
Violence is our anger response to perceived denial of our wants.
1. she’s hot, why shouldn’t I have her? Objectifying women.
2. To be with her, I will do whatever I need to do—that is violence; violence comes from desperation. If it’s important enough you will do what you need to do.
3. Violence is visible in our neglect of the poor.
4. Violence is tangible in our hoarding what we have.
iii. I AM DAVID—passivity in the face of violence of others.
We can change this and we can change our city.
WHAT’S TO BE DONE?
c. What would the Kingdom look like in Hamilton?
Can you imagine the lion and the lamb lying down together, swords into plowshares.
People using all their resources to bless others, rather than marginalizing the poor.
Jesus came to break the cycle of violence; he changed everything at the Cross.

3. Jesus has come as the new and Greater David, the son of David.
a. Jesus came and preached about a kingdom—without violence WHERE
i. you don’t have to take all you want,
ii. you are given all you need, it’s a banquet!
iii. You are SAFE and SECURE,
iv. all the weapons of war have been formed into tools for the harvest

b. Inasmuch as WE are bringers of peace, God is building his kingdom through us.
i. Jesus said, “the Kingdom of God is among you.”
ii. Paul said, “all of you, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom,” Acts 20:25
iii. The arrival of the Spirit of King Jesus, who indwells every person of faith, confirms that THE KINGDOM HAS ARRIVED, is manifested every place we are.
iv. Jesus said, ““he who believes in Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to the Father.” John 14:12 NASB
v. Inasmuch as we are bringers of SHALOM, God is building his kingdom through us.
1. WE ARE THE ANSWER TO THE PRAYER, THY KINGDOM COME
2. What is going to be happening for eternity, we are participating in now.
3. Feasting, BANQUETS, LONG LIVES, Direct-connect with God,
4. The nations will stream to Jerusalem, the New City, where God will dwell, to worship Him without inhibition.

CONCLUSION

David had his chance and blew it.
Though he was a man after God’s own heart—he lost his chance to build the Temple, to welcome God to His earthly dwelling place.
Hopefully, God won’t say that to PMC.
We have opportunity to, a chance to participate with God; THE MOMENT IS BEFORE US NOW.

BENEDICTION
Isaiah 2:1–4
Now it will come about that
In the last days,
The mountain of the house of the Lord
Will be established as the chief of the mountains,
And will be raised above the hills;
And all the nations will stream to it.
And many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
That He may teach us concerning His ways,
And that we may walk in His paths.”
For the law will go forth from Zion,
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And He will judge between the nations,
And will render decisions for many peoples;
And they will hammer their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not lift up sword against nation,
And never again will they learn war.”

Isaiah 25:6
And the Lord of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain;

Isaiah 58:5–12 NASB
““Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble himself?
Is it for bowing one’s head like a reed,
And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed?
Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the Lord?
“Is this not the fast which I choose,
To loosen the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the bands of the yoke,
And to let the oppressed go free,
And break every yoke?
“Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry,
And bring the homeless poor into the house;
When you see the naked, to cover him;
And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
“Then your light will break out like the dawn,
And your recovery will speedily spring forth;
And your righteousness will go before you;
The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
“Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
You will cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you remove the yoke from your midst,
The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
And if you give yourself to the hungry,
And satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
Then your light will rise in darkness,
And your gloom will become like midday.
“And the Lord will continually guide you,
And satisfy your desire in scorched places,
And give strength to your bones;
And you will be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.
“And those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins;
You will raise up the age-old foundations;
And you will be called the repairer of the breach,
The restorer of the streets in which to dwell.”