David's Wars

Please take a seat and turn to 2 Samuel 21.15-22. Now you might be thinking why a sermon on this bit of 2 Samuel 21? Aren't these verses just snippets from a military report? How can Ishbi-benob be of interest or apply to me? Have we not landed in dullsville? Should we have stayed in to watch England v Lithuania? Have those of us here tonight drawn the short straw? No.

All Scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, correcting and training in righteousness." (2 Timothy 3.16)

These sections, rather like some passages in the New Testament which just seem to be tagged on to the end of Paul's letters, contain nuggets from which we can learn, nuggets which we might miss otherwise. These verses from 2 Samuel refer to scary and suspenseful moments in David's wars from which we can learn as we face scary times both individually and in a wider way; and certainly as we face battles personally and as a church against sin, the world and the devil. If you hadn't realised, we're in a spiritual battle. The Christian life is referred to as a fight – yes a good fight – but sometimes the going can get tough even though we're on the victory side (because Christ has died and is risen). And you and I need encouragement and hope, don't we? Do you remember what Paul said in Romans about the Old Testament? Romans 15.4:

For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

Yes, we need encouragement and hope in the daily fight to keep going, to keep on keeping on with Christ in the power of his Spirit and as we seek, under God, to play our part in the growth of the Lord's church and kingdom. This passage reminds us of some basic but important truths about God's promises and purposes which should assure us, strengthen us and fill us with hope. Yes, God really is in control. He really is working his purpose out. He really does keep his promises. We can trust him. We are to hang on in there and not give up, even though at times we can be exhausted like David here in this account and so susceptible to being picked off by the enemy. But as we learn here, if we're trusting in Christ, God is with us. His grace and mercy pursue us. The spiritual armour he gives us protects us and helps us back on to the front foot with the support of others.

Only the other week two American friends of mine were in Newcastle briefly working with Agapé and they were greatly encouraged by what God is doing in this city. They emailed all their supporters back in the US with the headline 'Great things are happening in Newcastle' as they met with students and saw how God has been at work at St Joseph's. That was their outsider perspective, so let's not be disheartened! Yes there are problems and we're in a fight but God is at work, the Lord Jesus has conquered sin, death and the devil and ultimately his enemies will all be silenced as this passage tells us.

1. The Preserving of God's King

Verse 15: Again there was war between the Philistines and Israel. Ishbi-benob with his mighty spear sees that King David is exhausted and moves in for the kill (v16). But (v17) Abishai reads the action rather like a decent central defender and literally cuts down the danger from the opposition. Ishbi-benob for all his size, heavy armoury and weaponry is now no more. But that close shave woke Israel up to a change of policy regarding their precious king. Look at verse 17:

Then David's men swore to him, "You shall no longer go out with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel."

The stakes were just too high. If David's life was snubbed out in battle Israel would flounder in darkness and confusion. His life, despite some big mistakes, meant light for Israel; his death would be disastrous. In one sense he is Israel.

And so much can seem to hang on one person can't it? I remember a friend of mine being involved in a major car crash. With him in the car was a recent convert and potential evangelist/church leader from an atheistic country. The car had skidded at speed through the central reservation and smashed into several oncoming vehicles. Humanly speaking there seemed to be no hope for the two of them. The folks who ran across to the car and those in the now stationary traffic waited anxiously for any signs of life from the upturned vehicle. Miraculously eventually both driver and passenger crawled out totally unscathed. The potential evangelist was able to return to his home country and bring the good news of Christ to his city. And I've often been prayerful when David Holloway's been driving to places! Not that JPC Staff are absolutely indispensable to salvation history of course, but have you noticed that through Scripture the lot of God's people seems to rest on the precarious situation of one person?

There never would've been a covenant seed if Abraham's son Isaac had been a sacrificial offering (Genesis 22). Israel never would've been liberated if an Egyptian princess had dropped Moses into the bottom of the river (Exodus 2.1-10). Israel would've plummeted into disaster if Ishbi-benob had been allowed to run David through with his massive spear. And none of God's flock would've had salvation had he not rescued the baby Jesus, the only Saviour, from the clutches of antichrist Herod (Matthew 2.13-23). The God of heaven has always been up to the challenge: he always preserves the seed or the deliverer or the king for the mission and purpose he has for them.

2. The Honouring of God's Servants

Whatever their true spiritual condition, Abishai, Sibbecai, Elhanan and Jonathan fought for the covenant people under God's king. It's interesting to note that they're referred to by their full name here which is only right as they contributed heroically at great personal risk against those large genetic wonders that were the Philistines! Now all praise belongs to God but it's good when his people receive honourable mention, rather like the hero of the recent Hacksaw Ridge movie, Desmond T Doss, a Seventh Day Adventist, and the first conscientious objector to win the Medal of Honour (the US's most prestigious military award). During battles in the Pacific island of Guam and, most famously, in Okinawa, the then-26-year-old risked his life again and again as a medical officer, exposing himself to gunfire to carry his injured companions to safety, while refusing to carry any form of weapon.

I wonder what you make of the New Year's and Queen's Birthday Honours Lists in this country? I'm encouraged when Christians are deservingly honoured. John Burn in this congregation was awarded an OBE for his services to education. My friend and mission partner of this church, Christine Edwards, was awarded the CBE for her services to LAMB Hospital in Bangladesh where she worked tirelessly as an obstetrician and gynaecologist with the poor without any modern equipment. It encouraged me, especially after witnessing her work first-hand and that of the hospital generally, that her work was recognised. And at St Joseph's I would love to see a particular member of the congregation honoured for his work in the community and for seemingly being on every school governing body in that area. It is and would be a witness and testimony to Christ. God rescued that person and now he's making a difference for Christ quietly and significantly in an area often forgotten.

A similar principle exists in the New Testament at the end of Paul's letters. Paul, for example, mentions Prisca and Aquila, who once "risked their very necks for my life" (Romans 16.4). Who would be written about or honoured in such a way in this country today? Yet we need Christians to be willing to put their neck on the block / above the parapet for Christ. Jesus honoured his erratic disciples in Luke 22.28 by saying, "You… have stayed with me in my trials." Will you, by God's grace, stay with and follow Christ whatever the cost?

I'm very grateful to God for many of you who have ministered with me over the years. I'm sorry if I haven't said that to you personally. My previous vicar and boss in another part of the country didn't believe in thanking people, but that attitude can be so discouraging when encouragement is so important. Now sure the emphasis in Scripture is on thanking God for folks who are faithful and fruitful, but here in 2 Samuel there is the honouring of God's servants. It's why David Holloway and those giving reports at the AGM last Monday said thank you to those they have served with in the past year. It's only proper to honour Christ's servants. Not that we should go around looking to be honoured by other human beings, which from my experience at theological college often becomes grovelling by those wanting to be bishops. And, of course, we as Christ's servants should care less about what other human beings think of us but care more about what pleases God, walking in his ways by his grace and power. Psalm 84.11 says:

For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favour and honour; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.

The Lord God is the one who truly knows our hearts. Psalm 44.20-21:

If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god, would not God have discovered it, since he knows the secrets of the heart?

And as John the Baptist said (John 3.30):

Jesus must become greater; I must become less.

It's humble servants whom God lifts up.

3. The Fulfilling of God's Promises

Ishbi-benob, Saph, and the one with 24 fingers and toes and Elhanan's victim (v19) were all of the Raphah family and therefore the Rephaim tribe; and being the last of their lineage their elimination by David's men reinforces the reliablility of God's promise back in Genesis 15.18-20:

On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim…

God's promises have been, are being and will be fulfilled. Do you believe that? Their elimination also meant victory over the Philistines (verses 15, 17, 18 and 19). Again the Lord has done what he promised. Back in 2 Samuel 3.18 God promised that:

By the hand of my servant David I will save my people Israel from the hand of the Philistines, and from the hand of all their enemies.

David's regime, by God's power, succeeded where Saul's had failed. What the Lord promises at the first he brings about at the last. For example, in Matthew 16.18 Jesus said,

…I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Many of you have witnessed that locally with the growth of JPC over the last 40 years and the further growth by planting in the form of HTG and in going multi-site, so far with St Joseph's, not to mention helping with the start of Christchurch Durham – all by the power of God. And in this 500th anniversary year of the Reformation we need to pray for reform in the worldwide church. David's often encouraging us to pray for reformation in the Roman Catholic Church, a work which, if you like, is unfinished business. But not just there – in the Church of England and other Protestant churches too. We need to continue to pray and work for the growth of the church at a time when some are predicting that the number of Muslims in the world will be bigger than the number of Christians by 2070. Jesus says he is building his church and it will prevail. Jesus will have his bride and heaven will be full. What the Lord promises at the first, he brings about at the last.

But it also applies in our individual lives, if we're trusting in Christ. God's promises prove firm even to the end. And some of us need that assurance, don't we, as we knowingly approach that end. Revelation 21.3-4:

Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away.

4. The Silencing of God's Enemies

So what of the unnamed but huge hunk of a man with six digits on each hand and foot? Well his size and numbers weren't the main issue. It was his big mouth. Verse 21:

…he taunted Israel… [and thereby the Lord]

Goliath had done the same to both Israel and to the Lord in 1 Samuel 17. And what happened to him? He lost his head – literally. This hunk met the same end and the point is this: those who trash talk the Lord (to use American slang) will ultimately be silenced. You see Mr Six Digits' demise is another instalment of what's to come, another assurance of what will be, of how it will be at the end. His lifeless tongue says to us: 'Here's how it will be at the end – all your enemies will be silenced'. Isaiah 54.17:

No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgement. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.

Psalm 110.1:

The Lord says to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool."

And Revelation 20.9-10:

…fire came down from heaven and consumed them, and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulphur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Pray on for those who don't yet know Christ. Invite them to our Jesmond Festival events and be asking them for their big questions. But also be encouraged. Believe the silence of this less than incredible hulk. Believe it and live in the light of it – courageously for the sake of Jesus Christ.