Hebrews 11.end
October 5th 2014
WELCOME
We covered Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jepthah last week from verse 32.
We’ll see how far we get this week with David and Samuel, the last biblical characters mentioned by name.
If we can get far enough we might finish chapter 11 today.
So let’s pray, sing, have some silence, and come back to talk about David.
Hebrews 11:32 And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:
David. Included but like others before him this old boy had some issues that some fearfully wonder why he would be mentioned in the Hall of Fame of faith.
And like we have done with all the others mentioned in scripture, let’s talk now about David.
Like Moses and Abraham there is a lot of information about David in scripture which precludes us from reading everything about him.
So let me hit on the highlights (and by the way, like Joseph and Moses the parallels between David and Jesus are profound.
David (pronounced Daw-Veed in Hebrew) means “beloved.”
He was the eighth and youngest son of Jesse, who was a citizen of Bethlehem. We don’t know David’s mothers name (though some think she is Nahash of 2nd Samuel 17:25). From what I could tell it is believed that his father was a man who lived a humble life.
We don’t know too much about his appearance either except he was red-haired, with beautiful eyes and a fair face (that comes from 1st Samuel 16:12; 17:42).
His early occupation was that of tending his father’s sheep on the uplands of Judah. And it seems that he spent time out among the flock playing a shepherd’s flute.
1t Samuel 17 also tells us that he had some encounters with the wild beasts of the field. David himself says that with his own unaided hand he slew a lion and also a bear, when they came out against his flock, beating them to death in open conflict with a club.
David was what we might consider a man’s man – who loved the Lord and Israel.
While David was out and engaged with his flocks, Samuel the prophet (who we will talk about next) was guided by God to go and pay an unexpected visit to Bethlehem (1st Samuel 16:1-13).
There he offered up sacrifice, and called the elders of Israel and Jesse’s family to the sacrificial meal.
Among all who appeared before him he failed to discover the one he sought. Samuel asked Jesse if there were any other sons and David was sent for and it was then that the prophet immediately recognized him as the chosen of God, the one to succeed Saul (as Saul had departing from the ways of God, on the throne of the kingdom). Samuel, right then and there, in anticipation of David being king, anointed his head with oil and David went back again to his shepherd life, but scripture says that, “the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward,” and “the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul.” (1st Samuel 16:13,14).
Naturally, as we all know, when the Spirit of the Lord either departs (as it did from Saul) or seems to depart (as it seems to do sometimes amidst our lives and walk) Saul became very unsettled and David, known for his skill and playing the harp, was sent for to soothe Saul.
David played before Saul so well that the king was revived in spirit and began to have great affection for the young shepherd David.
After this David went home to Bethlehem. But it was not going to be very long before David came into prominence.
Around that time the armies of the Philistines and of Israel were in battle in the valley of Elah, which was some 16 miles south-west of Bethlehem.
Three of David’s brothers were in the army of Saul and Jesse sent David to take them.
When David arrived in the camp of Israel (he was now probably an adult though scripture refers to him as a “youth.” It is believed he was a young adult however because of two factors:
First, he was made an armor bearer by Saul because of his ability to soothe him with music and children or teens would probably not have been made armor bearers.
Additionally, prior to taking Goliath on
1st Samael 16:18 has describes David as
“a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the LORD is with him.”
Doesn’t sound like a youth but more like a young man. Absalom is also described using the Hebrew word translated youth when he led a military coup against his dad. Young? Yes. A child or youth, very, very doubtful.
In any case David was made aware of the state of affairs out in the valley of Elah.
The account is told in 1st Samuel 17 and in my opinion presents one of the most awe inspiring accounts in all of the Old Testament. So let’s read it to appreciate the faith of David – present even from a youth.
1st Samuel 17:1 Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle, and were gathered together at Shochoh, which belongeth to Judah, and pitched between Shochoh and Azekah, in Ephesdammim.
2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and pitched by the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines.
3 And the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them.
4 And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.
5 And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass.
6 And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders.
7 And the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam; and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him.
8 And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me.
9 If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us.
10 And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.
11 When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.
12 Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehemjudah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons: and the man went among men for an old man in the days of Saul.
13 And the three eldest sons of Jesse went and followed Saul to the battle: and the names of his three sons that went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next unto him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.
14 And David was the youngest: and the three eldest followed Saul.
15 But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.
16 And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days.
17 And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to thy brethren;
18 And carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge.
19 Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.
20 And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the trench, as the host was going forth to the fight, and shouted for the battle.
21 For Israel and the Philistines had put the battle in array, army against army.
22 And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage, and ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren.
23 And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them.
24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid.
25 And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father’s house free in Israel.
26 And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?
27 And the people answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it be done to the man that killeth him.
28 And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle.
29 And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause?
30 And he turned from him toward another, and spake after the same manner: and the people answered him again after the former manner.
31 And when the words were heard which David spake, they rehearsed them before Saul: and he sent for him.
32 And David said to Saul, Let no man’s heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.
33 And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.
34 And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock:
35 And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.
36 Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.
37 David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee.
38 And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail.
39 And David girded his sword upon his armor, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him.
40 And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.
41 And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him.
42 And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance.
43 And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
44 And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field.
45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.
46 This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.
47 And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’S, and he will give you into our hands.
48 And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.
49 And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth.
50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.
51 Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled.
52 And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou come to the valley, and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even unto Gath, and unto Ekron.
53 And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they spoiled their tents.
54 And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armor in his tent.
The popularity David experienced as a result of this heroic event piqued Saul’s jealousy (1st Samuel 18:6-16), and in time this jealousy rooted deep in Saul’s heart.
In time Saul tried over and over again to kill David, but in the hand of the Lord David continued to prosper – a fact that did not escape Saul.
The people really loved David – even Saul’s own son Jonathan and David and Jonathan established a deeply felt and life-long bond of friendship.
But Saul’s hatred increased so much that David escaped to Ramah (1Sa 19:12-18) where Samuel lived.
Samuel was training “the sons of the prophets” and David dwelled among them. Some scholars think that the sixth, seventh, and eleventh Psalms were composed by David at this time.
Interestingly enough Ramah was only about 3 miles from the home of Saul who soon discovered David’s location and tried ineffectually to bring him back.
After an attempted intervention by Jonathan (Saul’s son) to quell the hatred in his father’s heart for David, the future king knew he had to get far away, and first went to nob, then Gath, which was a chief city of the Philistines.
But the king of the Philistines would not allow David into the area so David then went to Adullam (1st Samuel 22:1-4).
It was here, on the run, hated by the powers that be, that 400 men gathered around him and acknowledged David as their leader.
It was during this time that David, amid the harassment and perils of his position, said (apparently off-handedly),
“Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem.”
It is here where we gain more insight into the heart and mind of the King and the respect he had among those who loved him.
I say this because having heard David make this exclamation three men secretly decided to break through the lines of the Philistines and got the water for which David yearned.
But David would not drink it – instead he “poured it out to the Lord,” scripture says.
We see the hearts desire for God, and we see the selflessness of David in the face of such desires – when they were present.
In the meanwhile Saul heard that David was treated kindly by the priests at Nob and so he gave orders to massacre the entire priestly family there – which totaled eighty-five. They were all put to death by a man named Doeg the Edomite.
Later David heard that at Keilah, a town on the western frontier, the Philistines were attacking.
With his men David went to help them and then, out of fear of Saul, he fled to the strongholds in the “hill country” of Judah.
While encamped there (in the forest in the district of Ziph) David was visited by Jonathan, who spoke to him words of encouragement (1Sa 23:16-18) and the two parted ways, never to meet again.
Saul continued his pursue David, who narrowly escaped from him and then fled to the crags and caves of Engedi, on the western shore of the Dead Sea (1Sa 23:29).
This time, however, while in Engedi, Saul, who was still in hot pursuit of David with his army, narrowly escaped death at the hand of David – but it was David who had mercy on Saul, and this mercy greatly affected Saul e for him. He returned home and left David alone.
David then went to Maon, where, with his 600 men, he maintained himself by contributions gathered from the people in the district.
It was here that David met Nabal, a churlish with evil intentions who had a wife of a beautiful countenance named Abigail. Once Nabal died David took Abigail to be one of his wives.
Well Saul got all hateful again and went forth to pursuit David who had hid himself “in the hill Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon,” in the wilderness of Ziph.
Again, David has a chance to kill Saul but spares him and once again Saul returns home professing shame for the way in which he had treated David. At this time Saul predicts that David would be elevated to the throne.
At this point in David’s story he becomes fatigued from running from Saul and from constantly being on the run and he again seeks refuge among the Philistines (1Sa 27:1-12).
This time he is welcomed by the king, who sent him to a place called Ziklag to live.
In Ziklag David and his followers lived for some time with David as an independent chief.
During this time he and his men engaged in frequent war with the Amalekites and other tribes on the south of Judah.
When a man named Achish summoned David and his men to join his army against Saul the lords of the Philistines were suspicious of David’s loyalty and he was not allowed to fight and went back to Ziklag.
When he got there he discovered that their town had been pillaged and burnt.
David pursued after the raiders (who were the dreaded Amalekites) and completely routed them.
It was on his return to Ziklag that he learned of Saul’s death (2nd Samuel 1:1-27).
An Amalekite brought Saul’s crown and bracelet and laid them at his feet. David and his men rent their clothes and mourned for Saul, who had been defeated in battle near Mount Gilboa.
It is here that we get another insight into David – one I have always found quite intriguing. Hearing the news of Saul and Jonathans death we read:
2nd Samuel 1:11 Then David took hold on his clothes, and rent them; and likewise all the men that were with him:
12 And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the LORD, and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword.
13 And David said unto the young man that told him, Whence art thou? And he answered, I am the son of a stranger, an Amalekite.
14 And David said unto him, How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the LORD’S anointed?
15 And David called one of the young men, and said, Go near, and fall upon him. And he smote him that he died.
16 And David said unto him, Thy blood be upon thy head; for thy mouth hath testified against thee, saying, I have slain the LORD’S anointed.
David composed a beautiful elegy, the most beautiful of all extant Hebrew odes, a “lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son” and we can read it in 2nd Samuel 1:18-27.
Apparently it bears the title of “The Bow,” and was to be taught to the children in memory of Saul and Jonathan so they would never be forgotten and it is contained in “the book of Jasher.”
Quickly, the Book of Jasher is thought to be a collection of Hebrew stories and poems that speak of Nation of Israel heroes.
We do NOT have it today. It was not a book lost but a reference that biblical writers referred to at times.
There are two books out there presently that are counterfeits or forgeries but that assume the same name.
The fact that the book is mentioned does not necessarily mean that it should be included in the Bible.
With Saul now dead David and his men set out for Hebron under the direction of God. (2nd Samuel 2:1-4 clearly shows God told David to go).
After all of these trials, and heart-breaks, and difficulties, and invasions, and rejections, and being treated badly but responding with good, David was made king.
It is believed that he was now about 30 years of age. But his trials were not over.
Saul had a disabled son named Ishibosheth. And a man named Abner took him over the Jordan and crowned him as king. This launched a civil war in Israel.
The first battle occurred with Abner on one side and Joab (representing David) on the other.
Abner was defeated and then joined David but Joab’s brother was killed by Abner in that battle and later we will learn of Joab killing Abner in revenge.
We are talking high drama surrounding David most of his life.
For the space of 7 and a half years David reigned in Hebron, and after other confrontations (where David always came out on top).
When Ishibosheth, Saul’s crippled son was put to death by some Canaanites, there was no rival left and David was anointed king over all of Israel.
At this point all the “elders of Israel” came to Hebron and offered their allegiance to David.
Great enthusiasm was in the air. And now that David was King over all of Israel he decided that he needed to reign from a more suitable location – or what would become the capital of the nation of Israel.
At this time there was a Jebusite fortress, called “the stronghold” in scripture.
It is first mentioned in scripture by the name Salem (Genesis 14:18) and this is where Abraham met Melchizedek, King of Salem and paid his tithes of all he captured in warfare.
Interestingly enough, the first time it is called Jerusalem was in Joshua and it was run by a king named Adonzidek who fought against Israel but lost. Later it was named among the cities of Benjamin but in the time of David it was divided between Benjamin and Judah.
After the death of Joshua the city was taken and set on fire by the men of Judah (Jg 1:1-8); but the Jebusites, the people over whom Adonzidek reigned, were not completely driven out of it.
We don’t hear of the city again until David takes Goliaths head to the place.
When David decided to make Jerusalem his own he led his forces against the Jebusites and after driving them out, named the place, “the city of David” (2nd Samuel 5:5-9.
Here he built an altar to the Lord on the threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite (who David insisted on paying for the site and would not take it as a gift) and then he brought the ark of the covenant to this purchase place and placed it in a new tabernacle which he had prepared for it.
Jerusalem now became the capital of the kingdom.
Just as an aside, it was after the death of David that his son Solomon built the temple, a house for the name of the Lord, on Mount Moriah (B.C. 1010).
Solomon also strengthened and adorned the city, and it became the great centre of all the civil and religious affairs of the nation
It is known in scripture as Salem, Ariel, Jebus, the “city of God,” “the City of David, and “the city of Judah.”
Jeru-salem means, “possession of peace,” or “foundation of peace.”
So David made Jerusalem his home and later had a palace built for himself by the aid of Tyrian tradesmen.
After a period of peace the Philistines tried twice to make war against David but were beaten each time.
Once David got the Ark in Jerusalem (which entails a whole series of dramatic events) David, according to 1st Chronicles 16, set up an order of divine worship at Jerusalem with Abiathar being the high priest.
A new religious era began!
And it was here, under the hand of David the musician and poet that service of praise was first introduced into public worship. And Jerusalem became known as, “God’s holy hill.”
At this point David entered into many wars where he conquered land that greatly enhanced his kingdom.
It was at this point, having set up a tremendous kingdom that David fell into adultery with Bathsheba.
It is interesting that all of the military conquests take up little area of scripture but the story of his fall take up a tremendous amount of space (relatively speaking).
The problem was not only the original crime but the fact that he committed more (including the murder of Bathsheba’s husband Uriah) to cover the first crime up.
Nathan the prophet (2Sa 7:1-17; 12:1-23) was sent by God to bring David’s crimes to light his otherwise acute conscience and David became truly penitent and repentant.
I mean David bitterly bewailed his sins before God and the thirty-second and fifty-first Psalms reveal the deep struggles of his soul, and his spiritual recovery.
Bathsheba became his wife after Uriah’s death. Her first-born son died, according to the word of the prophet Nathan.
She then gave birth to a second son, whom David called Solomon, and who ultimately succeeded him on the throne, and was the Son through whom Christ came.
After putting all the wars behind him David got the idea of building a temple for the ark of God. But God said no – you are a man of blood.
But God did send him an additional message of great peace through Nathan the prophet (2Sa 7:1-16) and on getting it David went into the sanctuary (the tent where the ark was) and sat before the Lord and poured out his heart in words of devout thanksgiving.
This says SOO much about our Lord and His heart for us, doesn’t it?
The building of the temple was reserved for his son Solomon, who would be a man of peace (1st Chronicles 22:9).
After an amazing career with the Lord cloudy days were on the horizon for David.
To set it up, amidst other things, was the fact that David’s eldest son Amnon, whose mother was Ahinoam of Jezreel, did a terrible thing to Tamar, the sister of Absalom. (You can read about it in 2nd Samuel 13:1-39).
This was the beginning of the disasters of David’s later years. Two years later his son Absalom killed Amnon to death for what he did to his sister Tamar.
Absalom, afraid of the consequences of his guilt, fled to Geshur beyond Jordan, where he remained for three years, when he was brought back through the intrigue of Joab (2Sa 14:1-33).
After this there fell upon the land the calamity of three years’ famine (2Sa 21:1-14) which was then followed by a pestilence, brought upon the land as a punishment for David’s sinful pride in numbering the people (2Sa 24:1-25), another failure of the King.
For it 70,000 COI perished in the space of three days.
Due to the failure with Bathsheba, the death of the 70,000 it seems that popular support for David waned and trouble and division became to crop up in the Kingdom.
It was here and in the face of this that Absalom took advantage of the division and gradually gained some popularity among the people – which culminated in an attempt to usurp his dad’s reign.
Hebron was the capital of Judah and it was here that Absalom was proclaimed King.
The division put David in jeopardy and he left Jerusalem and was once again a fugitive on the run.
This was such an event, such a day, that the record of it gets more detail any other day in Old Testament history.
Long story short there was a war – or battle and Joab killed Absalom. And from the heart of the poetic David came the immortal words of pain:
“Would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!”
Peace was then restored, and David returned to Jerusalem to resume the direction of affairs.
There was one more revolt between Judah and Israel where a man named Sheba was put to death and David experienced ten years of external peace (but presumably internal grief over the loss of his son Absalom, and Amnon, and the defilement of Tamar.
During these years of peace he seems to have been engaged in accumulating treasures of every kind for the great temple at Jerusalem, which it was reserved to his successor to build.
His life appears to have left David prematurely old and feeble. This caused a new fight to break out over who would be David’s successor.
In the end Solomon was anointed King in Jerusalem.
It is thought that David contributed at least 80 of the Psalms and after a reign of forty years and six months David died (one thousand fifteen years before the birth of Jesus) at the age of seventy and “was buried in the city of David.” Apparently the location of his tomb is still known on Mount Zion.
His last recorded words reveal an unfailing faith in God, and his joyful confidence in his gracious covenant promises. This is what is recorded as the last words of David
2nd Samuel 23:1 Now these be the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said,
2 The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue.
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.
4 And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain.
5 Although my house be not so with God; yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure: for this is all my salvation, and all my desire, although he make it not to grow.
6 But the sons of Belial shall be all of them as thorns thrust away, because they cannot be taken with hands:
7 But the man that shall touch them must be fenced with iron and the staff of a spear; and they shall be utterly burned with fire in the same place.
It is of tremendous interest, to me at least, that one Bible commentator who I greatly respect, and after writing volumes about Abraham and Noah and Moses relative to this chapter, only wrote regarding David:
“Commended justly as an eminent example of a man who had faith in God, though it cannot be supposed that all that he did was approved.”
We’ll open up next week, before going on to talk about Samuel and the rest of the chapter, with the parallels between David and the Messiah who came through his loins.
Q and A
