First Judgment Then Restoration

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King James Bible Study[Mark 8:34  And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.]

Date: Sunday, May 16, 2021
Chapters: II Samuel 15-17
Message: First Judgment Then Restoration

Hello My Friend,

Bear with me once again, there is a lot to cover in these chapters. Now, I am a firm believer that while we will all stand before Jesus and give an account before everyone, (and I can only imagine what kind of line that will be), that since the saved do not face condemnation, their judgment comes before they even face Jesus, [I Peter 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?].

Let me tell you, a faithful, born again Christian who has sinned against God has a mountain of guilt, even after they confessed their sins, repented, and were forgiven by God. They feel as though they have failed God and are no longer worthy of His protections and provisions, and it can take a while before they even talk to God again. Then something happens, God Himself tells them to get up, move forward, and even though they are being chastened right now, He is with them and will see them through, [Revelation 3:19-21  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.  20  Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.  21  To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.]

To repent means to change our thinking, when we come to Christ, we change our thinking from the fact that our own righteous cannot save us, but Christ can. It also means to turn away from the sin, and in some cases the sin is the fact that we do not listen to God when He tells us that we are forgiven and dwell on what we have done to the point that we shut down. And yes, there are times when we do need to repent of our self guilt, we for forgiven, God has forgotten what we have done, we just keep rehashing it and making Him angry by not forgiving ourselves. When David sinned and tried to cover it all up by having Bathsheba’s husband get killed in a battle, not once did he confer with God, so, when it all over and David married Bathsheba, it was Nathan who came to David to tell him of the judgment he would receive for the way he handled everything.

[II Samuel 12:7-12  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;  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.  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.  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.  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.  12  For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.]

[I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.] God gives us everything we need that there is no need to fall into sin, and we would receive so much more if it were not for those foolish things we do. Nevertheless, we do fall, more times that we care to admit, but the key is to get back up, only in the strength of Christ. Yes, God did tell David the judgment he will receive, [I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house,] Now, all of this is coming to pass, which began with Amnon, Tamar, and Absalom, and for while David wallowed in his guilt, Absalom was conspiring to take the throne for himself. And he did it subtly by getting the people to trust him over his father, incredibly it took forty years.

[II Samuel 15:1-4,7,10,12  And it came to pass after this, that Absalom prepared him chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him.  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.  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.  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! 7  And it 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. 10  But Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, As soon as ye hear the sound of the trumpet, then ye shall say, Absalom reigneth in Hebron. 12  And Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counsellor, from his city, even from Giloh, while he offered sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong; for the people increased continually with Absalom.]

[Oh that I were made judge in the land,] Is that not the biggest tactic of the politicians? Our country did not fall into all the corruption that it is under right now overnight, it took decades of sly politicians bribing the people. Absalom cunningly got the people to trust him over his father and most of Israel actually sided with him, even David’s trusted advisers were walking away from him to join Absalom. Now, with Absalom attempting to take over the nation, David saw no other solution than to leave Jerusalem for the time being, but he was not alone.

[II Samuel 15:14-16,24-26  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.  15  And the king’s servants said unto the king, Behold, thy servants are ready to do whatsoever my lord the king shall appoint.  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.  24  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.  25  And the king said unto Zadok, Carry back the ark of God into the city: if I shall find favour in the eyes of the LORD, he will bring me again, and shew me both it, and his habitation:  26  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.]

[let him do to me as seemeth good unto him.] We have to get to a point in our lives where we accept that God’s will will be done, and whatever befalls us that is what we have to endure. You see, God will never leave nor forsake His people, that does not mean we will not face judgment for what we have done, but it does mean that He will be with us. And let me tell you, the chastening we get from God right now is light compared to what we would be receiving had we not accepted Christ as our Saviour. And on top of the chastening, God does something else, He renews our spirit, our fear, and then teaches us how to teach others who are struggling, [II Corinthians 7:9-11  Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.  10  For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.  11  For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.]

As a great soldier himself he was certainly capable of stopping all this, but he did not want bloodshed in Jerusalem. Absalom had time to carry out this plan because David was wrong in how he handled the entire situation. Had he addressed it properly, first by going to God and understanding the law, and enforcing it, then perhaps the outcome would have been different. However, David did have a plan, and this time it was the right plan. And for the first time since the whole thing started, David cries out to God.

[II Samuel 15:30-35  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.  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.  32  And it came to pass, that when David was come to the top of the mount, where he worshipped God, behold, Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coat rent, and earth upon his head:  33  Unto whom David said, If thou passest on with me, then thou shalt be a burden unto me:  34  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 counsel of Ahithophel.  35  And hast thou not there with thee Zadok and Abiathar the priests? therefore it shall be, that what thing soever thou shalt hear out of the king’s house, thou shalt tell it to Zadok and Abiathar the priests.]

[O LORD, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.] It was only when David started praying and worshiping God that God sent someone to help him out of the entire situation. I can give you countless times that I did not go to God about something because I thought I was being punished only to finally cry out to Him and He reveal to me that He Himself has repented of the evil that He would have had I not repented of my self pity of myself. And yes, apart from the judgment that no one will escape, God can change His mind of the evil that He would have allowed had we not come to Him about it, [Joel 2:13  And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.]

There is one thing that we must understand as saved, born again Christians, we are anointed by the blood of Christ, we cannot lose our salvation, and because of that we can expect that God is going to chasten us right now, even sometimes for things we have not done. However, we must trust God, the judgment will not last, one it comes to pass, the blessings, the protections, the interventions, and the provisions will return. Now, the final judgment that God had placed on David was about to come to pass, just as God had warned him.

[II Samuel 16:15-18,20-23  And Absalom, and all the people the men of Israel, came to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel with him.  16  And it came to pass, when Hushai the Archite, David’s friend, was come unto Absalom, that Hushai said unto Absalom, God save the king, God save the king.  17  And Absalom said to Hushai, Is this thy kindness to thy friend? why wentest thou not with thy friend?  18  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.  20  Then said Absalom to Ahithophel, Give counsel among you what we shall do.  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.  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.  23  And the counsel of Ahithophel, which he counselled in those days, was as if a man had enquired at the oracle of God: so was all the counsel of Ahithophel both with David and with Absalom.]

[and all Israel shall hear that thou art abhorred of thy father:] This is exactly what Nathan had told David that God would do, if you sin in secret, you can expect that your sin will be exposed, even if it does take decades. Again, we all stand before Jesus to give an account, those who are saved will stand before Him to give an account to what they did after they were saved, and whether or not they believed in Him, this is where many who thought they were saved by their works will discover that Jesus never knew them. And this judgment will be made public for all the entire world to see, [Revelation 20:4-5  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.  5  But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.]

God made His point, He executed the judgment He placed upon David, now it was time for all of this to end. It all started when Absalom sought advice from his trusted adviser Ahithophel and Hushai, who was there secretly on behalf of David. Ahithophel, who had his own wicked plan for seeing Absalom become king, thought that since Absalom took his first advise that he would listen to him when he told him to just capture his father.

[II Samuel 17:1-5,7,11,14  Moreover Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Let me now choose out twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue after David this night:  2  And I will come upon him while he is weary and weak handed, and will make him afraid: and all the people that are with him shall flee; and I will smite the king only:  3  And I will bring back all the people unto thee: the man whom thou seekest is as if all returned: so all the people shall be in peace.  4  And the saying pleased Absalom well, and all the elders of Israel.  5  Then said Absalom, Call now Hushai the Archite also, and let us hear likewise what he saith. 7  And Hushai said unto Absalom, The counsel that Ahithophel hath given is not good at this time. 11  Therefore I counsel that all Israel be generally gathered unto thee, from Dan even to Beersheba, as the sand that is by the sea for multitude; and that thou go to battle in thine own person. 14  And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel. For the LORD had appointed to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that the LORD might bring evil upon Absalom.]

[For the LORD had appointed to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel,] Yes, it was very good advice to just capture David, but David was God’s anointed, He knew his heart and that he greatly repented and suffered enough for what he had done. It was not for Absalom to kill God’s anointed and take the throne from his own father, not to mention, He was a sly fox anyway, and would not have made it too far as king. Hushai suggested that all the forces of Israel be gathered and that Absalom, the commander-in-chief himself, be at the head of his great army. Doing it this way, gave him a sense that he would gain the recognition of being the rightful king of all Israel while it gave David and his army time to prepare for the battle. Now, something incredible happened as David and all the people crossed over the Jordan to keep bloodshed out of Israel, and all the while Ahithophel did not take it too well that Absalom did not take his advice.

[II Samuel 17:22-24,27-29  Then David arose, and all the people that were with him, and they passed over Jordan: by the morning light there lacked not one of them that was not gone over Jordan.  23  And when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his ass, and arose, and gat him home to his house, to his city, and put his household in order, and hanged himself, and died, and was buried in the sepulchre of his father.  24  Then David came to Mahanaim. And Absalom passed over Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him. 27  And it came to pass, when David was come to Mahanaim, that Shobi the son of Nahash of Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and Machir the son of Ammiel of Lodebar, and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim,  28  Brought beds, and basons, and earthen vessels, and wheat, and barley, and flour, and parched corn, and beans, and lentiles, and parched pulse,  29  And honey, and butter, and sheep, and cheese of kine, for David, and for the people that were with him, to eat: for they said, The people is hungry, and weary, and thirsty, in the wilderness.]

[and hanged himself,] If you recall something similar happened, after Judas Iscariot turned Jesus in, it was then that he realized he turned in an innocent man, in which he oddly hanged himself from a tree around the same time that Jesus was on the cross, [Matthew 27:3-10]. [for David, and for the people that were with him,] Do you see how God took care of and provided for David after he came to his senses? God does not want us to suffer more than He appoints, we bring on more suffering when we do not let go of our own guilt. We must understand that God is our Father, He will not leave nor forsake us, and yes, He will chasten us just as our earthly parents do, but He will turn in all into a purpose and for good. Besides, the worse thing we will ever endure in this life is death, that is unless we never truly accepted Christ as our Saviour. And He does know our heart, there will come a day when we wall stand before Jesus, only those who have truly accepted Him as their Saviour until they day they died in their flesh will survive.

[John 5:24-29  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.  25  Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.  26  For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;  27  And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.  28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,  29  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.]

Jesus Christ Magnified: [II Samuel 17:27  And it came to pass, when David was come to Mahanaim, that Shobi the son of Nahash of Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and Machir the son of Ammiel of Lodebar, and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim,]

Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You for Your gift of eternal life, no law is required to be saved from my sins, but that I admit I am a sinner, believe in the Gospel of Your Son, and accept Him as my Saviour. Not only am I saved, I am one of You anointed. I know that You want me to live the best life I can possibly live until you bring me home, and that includes any chastening in order to keep me repentant and completely dependent upon you through every step I take. I know Your chastening does not last, and through it You teach me, grow me, and turn me into a reflection of Your Son. Lord, Try me, prove me, reveal to me anything that I have not acknowledged that You want me to confess, and if there be anything wicked in me, lead me in the way everylasting. Fill me with Your mercy, grace, and the power to endure any chastening, whether it be of my own doing or in well doing. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus, Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

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