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August 1st, 1958
Received by Dr Samuels
Washington D.C.
I am here, Jesus.
Yes, I am here once more to continue my story of David, the king, as
a man whose innate impulses were good, in that, faith in God, kindness
and generosity were in his heart.
I have tried to show that David, in his conduct towards Saul, Jonathan
and Abigail, Nabal's wife, revealed a heart in which forbearance and restraint
were much in evidence. Through this goodness of action, David gained a
respect and popularity which helped to give him the allegiance of hundreds
and later thousands of men, all leading towards his accession to the throne
of Judah, and ultimately, to kingship of the entire Hebrew nation.
His internal troubles as King resulted from his
sinful conduct towards Bathsheba and her husband, Uriah. Evil conditions
were thereby attracted to David and to those surrounding him; for as David
thus rebelled against the Law of God, so did his sons and officers rebel
against the word of David; and Absalom, his son by a daughter of the royal
family of Geshur, in Aram, that is to say, a neighboring district in Syria,
conceived the plan of ousting his father and becoming king. Because he
pertained to royalty on both sides of his family, he considered himself
superior to the other sons of David, his father; and, in fact, exacted
vengeance himself on Amnon, his half-brother, for
the act of defiling his sister Tamar. He then fled to Geshur and lived
there with an uncle for three years. David,
who loved his children dearly, was very much grieved over this murder
and also because he longed for Absalom, who was winsome and dashing,
and reminded him in some ways of his own youth.
Absalom, who kept informed of David's frame of mind, was able to enlist
his uncle, Joab, in an effort to have him brought back to Jerusalem; and
this was accomplished, but David, with
his sense of justice, refused to see Absalom's face. This went on
for a certain time until the king's son lost patience and by setting fire
to Joab's barley fields, forced him to intercede with David for him; and
David relented, and kissed his son as
a sign of forgiveness.
For David had suffered very much in this strife, and he realized that
Absalom's absence could not bring back Amnon to life. But he did not,
or did not wish to, understand that Absalom sought to return to Judea
in order to foment civil war against his father, and it was another blow
to him when he was told that his son had raised the standard of rebellion
against him from Hebron, and
was marching towards Jerusalem with a host of soldiers.
But David had faith in the Father and acted in that faith. As in the
days of Saul's persecution, he felt that the best policy lay in flight,
and to reach a place from which to gather his faithful servants and have
time to prepare for battle. Yet even in this critical moment, when things
looked bleaker than storm clouds, David did not remain indifferent to
the welfare of his followers. His concern for the six hundred Gittites,
the Philistines of Gath who became his partisans, is an example of his
goodness of heart. For then said David to lttai the leader, "Why
come with us? Return and abide with Absalom, for thou art a foreigner
and an exile from thine own place, and thou should not risk thyself and
thy people in all the perils and wanderings that now confront us. Therefore,
return and take back thy brethren with thee in kindness and truth."
(2 Samuel 15: 19 - 20)
And Ittai, with faith in that God which had made him unwanted in his
own land, and faithful to his new found king, made answer, "As the
Lord liveth, and as the Lord my king liveth, in what place he shall be,
whether for death or for life, there also will thy servant be." And
David said to Ittai: "Go and pass over the brook." (2
Samuel 15: 21 - 23) And Ittai passed over, he and all his men and
all the little ones that were with him. And all the region about Jerusalem
wept as the king and the people passed over the Kidron to the mount of
Olives, on the way north to the land of Israel.
The priests also came, Zadok and the Levites, bearing the ark of the
covenant of God, to take it along in the flight from Jerusalem, so as
to have Jehovah the Lord abide with them, as they thought, but David knew
that he did not need to seek God in any temple, but that God could be
reached with prayer anywhere and had faith that God would answer his prayer,
either to deliver him out of the hand of his enemy or, as he thought,
to reject him, and in either case David would accept the decision of God.
And the king said unto Zadok: "Carry back the Ark of God into the
city; if I shall find favor in the eyes of the Lord, He will bring me
back, and show me both it and His Habitation; but if He say thus, `I have
no delight in thee,' behold, here I am, let Him do to me as seemeth good
unto Him." (2 Samuel
15: 25 - 26)
And so Zadok and the priests brought the Ark of God back into Jerusalem.
And David went up to the mount of Olives, and wept with covered head and
bare feet; and those that were with him went likewise. And he Instructed
Hushai, the Archite, his friend, to remain in JerusaIem and pretend to
serve Absalom, so as to bring to naught the evil counsel of Ahithophel,
who had conspired with his son against him. And David instructed Hushal
to pass all information to the priests, Zadok and Ablathar, who would
relay all news back to him. So
that Hushal greeted Absalom as king, to serve the son as he had the father.
I will stop now and continue with this subject in my next sermon.
Jesus of the Bible
and
Master of the Celestial Heavens
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