If you're a child of God, he does. Does he not? That's right. Dan, I'm gonna go ahead and give you this. Else, I'm on knocking on the floor or something.

Alright. Alright. Second Samuel chapter 15. We're gonna pick up in verse seven here in just a second. So second Samuel chapter 15, and we're gonna start in a minute in verse seven.

So so everything was going really well for David and he seemed to have let down his guard. Gotta be careful if we think we stand, lest we what? Fall. And he forgot just a moment about great is thy faithfulness, oh God, my father, and the contentment and the fulfillment God brings us when we trust in his faithfulness. And he sinned and boy did he sin.

And in chapter 12, I think I have them up here verses ten and eleven, this was the consequences that God laid out via the prophet Nathan for David sinned with Bathsheba and everything that he did revolving around that. The Lord is a merciful and a gracious God. He certainly could have taken David's life. He deserved that for what he had done. He committed crimes worthy of death under the law of Israel, but God showed mercy.

However, he set in motion consequences that continued not only in his life but in the lives of others, and we must never take sin lightly because it it does affect us. Even as Christians, it still affects us and affects others around us. So this is what Nathan had to say. Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from thine house. He had had relative peace within his house, but now that that's gonna change.

Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from thine house because thou hast despised me and has taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. Thus saith the Lord, behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house. So we're gonna talk about that evil this evening or continue to. And I will take thy wives wives before thine eyes and give them unto thy neighbor, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this son. And sadly, we're going to read about that in the story this evening.

The evil prime the primary evil here that God is talking about is his son by the name of Absalom. We read about what Absalom's brother Amnon did to Absalom's sister, which led to Absalom seeking to take out vengeance on his brother Amnon for abusing his sister. And Absalom, slyly, killed his brother, half brother. But that did that fix things? No.

When you take matters into your own hands rather than doing things the way way God had prescribed, and there was a right way to go about this, he didn't do that. There's a way that seems right unto a man, the Bible says, but the end thereof are the ways of what? Death. And we're gonna see that when we conclude this story next week. Sadly, Amnon died.

Also, Absalom will as well, and we'll see that later. But because Absalom killed his brother in vengeance, he then exiled himself. He left from the presence of his father fearing vengeance from the throne. And he stayed exiled in his land of his mother, Gesher, for a while. But eventually, Absalom wanted to return to the kingdom.

And so with the help of does he mind remember? Joab. David's trusted general and adviser who wasn't the most wise or godly person by any means. With the help of Joab, he wormed his way back into the graces of his father, back into the land of Israel, back eventually into the palace. And behind his father's back, Absalom manipulated the people.

When they came to see David, he would take the messiah said, oh, David doesn't care what you think. He hasn't appointed anybody to help you with this matter, but I will take care of you. Often, false prophets the devil himself can appear as an angel of what? Light. So you need to be careful and you need to be discerning.

Not everybody that says I love you is somebody you need to trust. Absalom didn't have the best interest of the people at heart. He had whose interest at heart? He had his own his own interest at heart. A heart that was riddled with something called bitterness.

The vengeance, by the way, you recall, God said, vengeance is mine. I will repay, saith the Lord. He said that in the Old Testament, it was repeated by Paul in the New Testament. And something, you know, it it just didn't work for Absalom. He got vengeance against Amnon and he was still bitter.

And his bitterness only grew. He he only moved from being bitter with Amnon to being bitter with who? To being bitter with his father David. Bible warns us, looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you and thereby many be defiled. If we allow unforgiveness in in our hearts, if we entertain thoughts of getting back at others, we hang on to those, we hang on to grudges, we're likely to become what?

Bitter people. Jesus said, instead, we ought to be tenderhearted, forgiving one another even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven us. But that's not what Absalom did. He allowed the bitterness to take root and it grew and it grew and it grew and it consumed him. Sin does that, by the way.

Yeah. It's just a little sinless sweeping under the rug. Guess what? It's still there and it's gonna what? It's gonna grow and it's gonna get bigger And it's gonna eventually consume us the way it consumed Absalom if we're not careful.

So Absalom is spending all of his time and effort now trying to get back at his father. Could have been helping his father. Could have been doing something good for the people, but instead, this is what bitterness does. And we get to verse seven of chapter 15, and now it blossoms into open rebellion. Goes so if you look in verse seven of chapter 15, came to pass after forty years that Absalom said unto the king, I pray thee let me go and pay my vow which I have vowed unto the Lord in Hebron.

Hebron, by the way, is in Judah. That is the name of the city that Caleb conquered. It was called by another name before Caleb conquered it when they came into the land, but it was changed to Hebron. And a couple of the kings, Saul and David, were originally crowned king, guess where, in Hebron. Okay?

It was sort of the capital in Judah before the capital became what? Jerusalem, where David was now. So Absalom, here he says, I'm I'm gonna go pay a vow to the Lord in Hebron for thy servant, verse eight, vowed a vow while I abode at Geshur in Syria saying, if the Lord shall bring me again indeed to Jerusalem, then I will serve the Lord. And the king said unto him, go in peace. So he arose and went to Hebron.

But Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel saying, as soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then ye shall say, Absalom reigneth in, what? Hebron. Alternate capital. And with Absalom went 200 men out of Jerusalem that were called, and they went in their simplicity, and they knew not anything. The 200 men were not part of his scheme.

And Absalom sent for Ahithophel, the Gilonite, David's counselor from his city, even from Gilo, while he offered sacrifices and the conspiracy was strong for the people increased continually with Absalom. We're gonna come back to Ahithophel in just a minute. So Absalom heads for Hebron. He has it all set up. He has already won the hearts of many in Israel.

He calls them to his side in Hebron, and now the rebellion is in open, open view. In verse 13, it says, and there came a messenger to David saying, the hearts of the men of Israel are after Absalom. And David said unto all his servants that were with him in Jerusalem, arise and let us flee for he shall not 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. So we see the rebellion of Absalom begin after several years, and then David, what is his response?

He flees. He flees across the Kidron Valley and over across the Mount Of Olives. If we keep reading, we'll we'll come to that. And and he and therefore, he leaves behind his throne and the city of and the city of Jerusalem. In verse 24, we we read about the priests and Zadok and Lo Zadok also, and all the Levites were with him bearing the ark of the covenant of God, and they set down the ark of God and Abiathar went up until all the people had done passing out of the city.

So Zadok and Abiathar are both high priests. They're kind of joint high priests. They're both from different houses of Aaron at the time and they were with David. 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 again and show me both it and his habitation.

But if he thus say, I have no delight in thee, behold, here am I, let him do to me as seemeth good unto him. The king said also unto Zadok the priest, art not thou a seer? Return into the city in peace and your two sons with you, Ahimaaz, thy son and Jonathan, the son of Abiathar. See, I will tarry in the plain of the wilderness until there come word from you to certify me. Zadok, therefore, and Abiathar carried the ark of God again to Jerusalem, and he tarried there.

The priests were on whose side? They're on David's side. Why were they on David's side? Well, if they were good priests, they were following whose instructions? God's.

K? And had God thrown David out? The answer to that is no. Absalom was trying, but it is a fruitless plot to throw out the king of Israel if you're fighting against who? If you're fighting against God.

Gamaliel said that in the New Testament about the disciples when the Sanhedrin wanted to wanted to kill them, the disciples. Gamaliel said, well, you know, if this isn't of God, it'll fail. But if it is of God, you better not be found fighting against God because you're gonna what? You're gonna lose. Okay?

But David, rather than keeping the priest with him, rather than keeping the ark with him, as some others had made the mistake of doing things. Hey, if I carry the ark with me, that means God is with me. K? If we we take that cross off the wall up there and carry it around, does that mean God's with us? If you wear a necklace with a cross on it, does that mean God's with you?

K? Is there anything anything necessarily with having a decoration of a cross on the wall or maybe a necklace with a cross on it? I don't think so. But if you think that God is with you because of that cross on the wall or because the necklace around your neck, you're wrong. Okay?

God is with us if we have received Jesus Christ as savior and the holy spirit goes with us wherever we go. Because God says he is with us, not because we wear some adornment on us or we take the ark of the covenant. So David said, the ark doesn't belong with me. The ark belongs where? Back in Jerusalem.

Take the ark back to Jerusalem. If it's the Lord's will for me to come back to Jerusalem, I'll come. If it's not, I won't. That does demonstrate a little bit of faith on whose part? On David's part.

Faith in the will of God. Not faith necessarily that God is going to restore to him the throne because David's not absolutely sure of that. But what David is sure of is that God knows what he's doing. And if God wants him there, God will take care of it. It also demonstrates a little more humility on David's part than we have seen it a couple times in his life.

He has become a humble man. What does God do for the humble? He lifts up the what? Lifts up the humble. But that's we're gonna see a little bit more of that in this story in just in just a moment as well.

So hang on. Hang on to that thought. You know, David could have stayed in Jerusalem. Would he have likely had a better chance of holding on to the throne? Maybe.

But then again, that was in whose hands? It was God's hands. And by leaving Jerusalem, he is actually protecting his people. At the end of verse 14 again, it says one of the reasons David said he was leaving is he said, lest Absalom come, overtake us suddenly, bring evil upon us, and smite the city with the edge of the sword. If he smote the city with the edge of the sword, there have been a lot of innocent people that would have died.

So David got out of Dodge. So the fight would come to who? David where he was and wouldn't come to the city of Jerusalem. I do believe, based on that statement, that David had the concern of his people at heart. Another good good character trait for a king.

Humility, faith, concern and love for his people. Yes. David had messed up, but you know something? God can actually make us better people after we really blow it. He's that kind of God.

David had learned from some of his mess ups. Sadly, in verse thirty and thirty one, we read about we're in chapter 15 still, I think, verses thirty and thirty one. We read about Ahithophel. We're looking at verse 30. David went up the ascent of Mount Olivet, Mount Of Olives, and wept as he went up, had his head covered.

He went barefoot, and all the people was with him covered every man his head, and they went up weeping as they they went up. Before well and then verse let's read verse 31. And one told David saying, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, oh Lord, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into into foolishness. Did Jesus ever have anything to do with the Mount Of Olives?

Yeah. Yeah. He did. He spent a lot of time on the Mount Of Olives around that area. He actually sent it back up to heaven from the Mount Of Olives.

He actually is gonna return again to the Mount Of Olives. This is a hill that is just to the east of the city of Jerusalem. You can stand on the Temple Mount, and you can look down in the Kidron Valley, and then back up the other side is the Mount Of Olives. And at the base of it, as you start up the other side of the Mount Of Olives, is the Garden Of what? Yosemite where Jesus was when the soldiers came to arrest him and to take him before.

David was betrayed here by Ahithophel. Jesus would be betrayed betrayed by who? By Judas. Yeah. In these verses, first of all, we read about his humility that I mentioned earlier, but I also want to see here in verse chapter forty one and forty nine, it says, yea, mine own familiar friend, this is David writing, in whom I trusted which did eat of my bread hath lifted up his heel against me.

Who was that like? Who was he likely talking about? Ahithophel. Yeah. In John thirteen eighteen, John write wrote, I speak not of you all.

I know whom I have chosen, but that the scripture may be fulfilled. He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me. K? Now, that's an allusion back to Psalm forty one nine. David is probably talking about Ahithophel.

Jesus is talking about Judas. Right. And as David was betrayed by Ahithophel, Jesus was betrayed by Judas. And Ahithophel is actually going to face a similar end. If you turn over to chapter 17 and verse 23, we'll see what happens to the traitor Ahithophel.

Now did Ahithophel have a bone to pick with David? He did. Bathsheba was his granddaughter. So Ahithophel had a bone to pick with David. It wasn't just Absalom that had some bitterness.

It was also David's most trusted counselor that sided with Absalom against David and betrayed him. Can you imagine why Ahithophel might have been upset? Mhmm. Yep. He lost his grandson in law because David had Uriah killed and he took Bathsheba for himself.

So did that make it right, what he did? Well, no, I don't think so. And I don't think Ahithophel thought so felt that he was justified either. Look, if you look in 1723, and then when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his ass and arose and got him home to his house, to his city, and put his household in order, hanged himself and died, and was buried in the sepulchre of his father. Does that sound familiar?

Yeah. That sounds familiar too. Who else hung himself? Judas. Do you think both of them were remorseful?

I think so. Is there any indication both of them were repentant? And the answer to that is no. No. Remorse, if that's all it is, is not the same as repentance.

You can be remorseful and not repentant because likely a repentant Judas or a repentant Ahithophel would not have gone and what? Hung themselves because they would have realized that there was hope. Them hanging themselves was an expression that there was what? No hope for what they had done and what they had got themselves into. And yet, David, here he finds himself.

He's on the run from his son, and now he finds out that his most trusted adviser has turned against him and betrayed him. What is David's response in chapter 15 and verse 31? And David said everybody see that? Verse 31 of chapter and David said, oh Lord, I pray thee, turn the council of Ahithophel into into foolishness. So here David has he's had to flee the city, left it all behind, left it open for Absalom to march right into the what?

Right into the palace and take it. Found out his own most trusted adviser has turned against him. And what is David's response? Doesn't seem he got real angry. Didn't fly off the handle.

He simply did what? He turned to the Lord in prayer. He acknowledged again all of this is in whose hands? It's in God's hands. Ahithophel can plan what he want.

Absalom can plan what he want. Our enemies can plan what they want, but it's in whose hands? It's in God's hands. And boy, that'll bring us a lot of peace in life if we'll just learn that no matter what what our our our human enemies or the spiritual enemies that we read about in Ephesians six that are out to get us, God is greater and he has got it in his hands. It doesn't mean everything's gonna go great.

Was it all going great for David? No. One going great for David. And what's worse is David knew that this probably wasn't gonna this probably wouldn't have happened if David hadn't set it all in motion. And yet, oddly enough, he still thought God might hear his what?

Prayer. And he still trusted him. And you know what? God did. God did.

What God did for David, and hearing David's prayer, he'll do for us. So let's look at the answer to David's prayer, chapter 15 and verse 32. So we see David fleeing, bunch of bad things happening, and we see the answer to David's prayer, chapter 15 verse 32, and it came to pass when David was come to the top of the mount, this would be Mount Of Olives where he worshiped God, stopped everything he was doing, prayed, worshiped God. Behold. K.

Right after he prayed, what happened? Behold Hushai, the Arkite, came to meet him with his coat rent and earth upon his head, unto whom David said, if thou passest on with me, then thou shalt be a burden unto me. But if thou return to the city and say unto Absalom, I will be thy servant, o king, as I have been thy father's servant hitherto, so will I now also be thy servant. Then mayest thou for me defeat the council of Ahithophel. And hast thou not there with thee Zadok and Abiathar, the priests.

Verse 35. Behold, they have there with them their two sons, Ahimaaz and Jonathan, and by them ye shall send unto me everything that ye can hear. So Hushai, David's friend, came into the city and Absalom came into Jerusalem. And so David gets up from praying saying, Lord, defeat the the council of Ahithophel because he knows Ahithophel is wise and smart. And he looks up, he gets up, and he turns, and who's there?

Hushai's friend. The right man at the right place at the right what? At the right time. The right man, the right place, the right time. Hushai was a friend, but Hushai was also a counselor and evidently respected by the people.

And so David said, I know. You go back to Jerusalem and you give counsel contrary to whose? To Ahithophel. To Ahithophel. So he gave an assignment to Hushai.

In chapter 16 and verse 15 chapter 16 and verse 15, it says, and Absalom and all the people, the men of Jerusalem, came to Jerusalem and Ahithophel with them. And it came to pass when Hushai the archite, David's friend, was come unto Absalom. Hushai said unto Absalom, God gave God saved the king. God saved the king. And Absalom said to Hushai, is this thy kindness to thy friend?

Why wentest thou not with thy friend? And Hushai said unto Absalom, nay, but whom the Lord and this people and all the men of Israel choose, his will I be, and with him will I abide. And again, whom should I serve? Should I not serve the presence of his son as I have not served in thy father's presence, so will I be in thy presence. So Hushai did David's bidding.

He went back to Jerusalem. And what did he do? Well, he lied. That's what he did. He deceived He deceived Absalom.

What does the Bible say about lying? Yeah. God doesn't like it. It's generally a bad thing. Okay?

But does there seem to be an exception? Okay. Let's consider. The the Egyptian midwives, remember them by any chance? They were tasked by Pharaoh with killing every baby boy born to an Israelite.

And when things weren't going the way Pharaoh thought they ought to go, he went to the the midwives and he said, wait a second. These they're they're not being killed. There's babies being born. What's going on? What did the midwives do?

They lied. First, they disobeyed him and then they lied. Why? Because innocent lives were at what? At stake.

Innocent lives were at stake. Rahab. They came to Rahab in the city of what's that city? Jericho. And they wanted to know where the spies were.

And so Rahab said, oh, they're live they're they're upstairs in my place hiding under the things because I can't lie. No. Again, lives were at what? Lives were at stake. She lied.

She told them the spies were not there, did she not? And God rewarded her with saving her life. Because of her lie? No. Because of her what?

Because of her faith in the God of Israel that God would protect her by protecting the spies that God had sent into the city of Jericho. Battle tactics. Many times when Joshua went in, God said, I want you to send a group around here and I want you to send a group around there. Why are why are they doing that? Why why send one group around the city to the other side and then send a small group up to the front to trick them?

Lives were at stake. Lives were at stake. So somebody runs into your house and said, my husband is coming with a gun to kill me, and the husband comes to the door, are you going to say, oh, yeah, your wife's in the bedroom. I'll I'll vacate and you can no. What's at stake?

Lives are at stake. So there seems to be an exception to deception when lives are at stake. We see that here once again. And it isn't that God is rewarding deception. God is rewarding in these cases, God is rewarding faith.

God is rewarding people who are willing to put their lives on the line for somebody else. But God does allow for the deception to be used. Thought I just thought I'd mention that. See, that that that just caught my attention when I was reading through. Hey, he lied.

That brings us to chapter 16 and verse five. Chapter 16 verse five. I want us to see how David has grown through all of this mess. Chapter 16 verse five. And when king David came to Bahurim, behold, there came out a man of the family of the house of Saul.

Who was Saul? The previous king. The one who had tried to kill David for several years because God had appointed him to be the next king. The king eventually had died, not at David's hand, for David to become the next king. So anyway, this guy, Shimei is his name.

We'll see. A man out of the family of the house of Saul whose name was Shimei, the son of Gerah. He came forth and cursed still as he came. And he cast stones at David and all the servants of king David and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left. That doesn't sound very smart on Shimei's part.

I mean, here's the king David. He's got this big entourage of these these warriors that left with him his private guard and his best soldiers. And Shimei's up there mocking him and throwing stones at everybody. I don't think that's very smart on Shimei's part. But anyway, so he's doing this.

Verse seven, and thus said Shimei, when he cursed, come out come out thou bloody man, thou man of Belial. He's basically calling him a man of evil or a a man of the devil. Okay? The Lord hath returned this is what Shimei said. The Lord hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul whose whose stead thou hast reigned.

And the Lord hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son, and behold, thou art taken in thy mischief because thou art a bloody man. So Shimei comes and says, yeah, look, look. See? It's happening to you. It's happening to you.

Look. You took Saul's throne from him. Now God's taken your throne from you. Verse nine. Then said Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, that is Joab's brother, under the king, why shouldest this dead dog curse my Lord the king?

Let me go over, I pray thee, and take off his head. He didn't didn't pull any punches, did he? No. The king said, what have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? Talking about both Joab and Abishai.

So let him curse because the Lord has said unto me, curse day Lord has said unto him, curse David. Who shall then say wherefore hast thou done so? And David said to Abishai and to all his servants, behold, my son which came forth of my bowels seeketh my life. How much more now may this Benjamin Benjaminite do it? In other words, my son is after me.

I'm not all that concerned about the guy throwing rocks that's running his mouth up there. But he goes on, let him alone and let him curse for the Lord hath bidden him. It may be that the Lord will look on mine affliction and that the Lord will requite me good for his cursing this day. And as David and his men went by the way, Shimei went along on the hillside over against him and cursed as he went and threw stones at him and cast dust. And the king and all the people that were with him came weary and refreshed themselves there.

So how did David respond to the cursing of Shimei? He said what? He said, let him curse. Let him curse. Why do you think David did that?

Well, he kind of explains here why he did that. Number one, David knew in part that he was what? He was guilty. This wouldn't have happened if David hadn't have sinned, lied about it, had Uriah killed. David knew that this was partially his fault.

And rather than getting angry and using the authority he had, he could have shut up that guy in a moment, but he let him he let him curse. He let him curse who? The king. Most kings didn't do that. Esther was afraid when she walked into the presence of the king of Persia, his queen, that the king would have her head cut off just because she hadn't been invited to walk in the room.

But David said, let him curse and open public before everybody. David had changed. He shows a humility that God had taught taught him. Humility, he didn't have in his youth in quite the same way. When you read when David goes out to to face Goliath, he doesn't go out sheepishly.

Now mainly that's because he had confidence in who? In God. But he doesn't show a whole lot of humility. You know, he's pretty confident not just in the Lord, but I think also in himself. When Nabal cursed him remember Nabal?

When he was running from Saul and this wealthy man who who who turned away his servants and wouldn't help him and cursed him, David was on a rant and on his way to kill everybody in the house of Nabal because he dared to curse David. Who stopped him? Abigail. Nabal's wife met David on the way and she said, this this ain't gonna solve anything, Dave. David's grown up a little bit.

I guess it's about time. But he demonstrates a humility and he says, just let him curse. Killing him is not gonna fix the problem. Maybe maybe I deserve a little bit. A little bit.

We're all all so quick to defend ourselves over every little thing and sometimes we just need to let who defend us. God defend us. Let God defend him. That's what David did. He let God defend him.

He trusted God to take care of it. If God intended David to return, David would return and would requite himself of the cursing of Shimei. God was going to take care of it. And as I mentioned earlier, and now I got the verses at the right place in my slide. We're reminded in Luke 18, Jesus said, I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other.

For every one that exalted himself shall be, what? Abased and he that humbles himself shall be exalted. In Job twenty two twenty nine, which was written before David's time, I don't know if David had a copy of Job or but Job said this, when a man when men are cast down, then thou shalt say there is lifting up and he shall save the humble person. Now, who's the humble person in this story and who's the proud one at this point? Well, David's exhibiting humility and Absalom's exhibiting what?

Pride. And David says, maybe I'm better off if I humble myself and let God do what? And let God lift me up. I think that's wisdom. Is it not?

So David said, let him curse. Let him curse. And I'm gonna stop there for this evening, and we will pick up with the story next Sunday night. Let's pray. Dear heavenly father, thank you, Lord, for your mercy and grace in being on our side when we certainly don't deserve it.

Thank you, Lord, for being there even when others betray us, Lord. You've said you have said you'll never leave us nor nor forsake us. Lord, thank you that you are a God that exalts the humble and those who put their faith in you, whether it be the king or the pauper. Lord, thank you that you have made us children of the king and that you have promised to be on our side. Lord, strengthen our faith.

Help us to grow in our faith, in you, in our humility. For without you, we are nothing, but we thank you, that with you, have become the children of God, and we can trust you in the good times and also in the bad. In Jesus' precious name we pray. Amen.