A number of years ago my nephew (who at that time was 2-3) went to push open my parent’s door from the outside just as I went to open it from the inside. Therefore, as he gathered all his momentum to force the door open, instead of meeting resistance, he barely touched the door and came flying into the house. What was funniest, however, was his reaction. Thinking that he had easily thrown open this door that had been too hard to open for him in the past, he turned back to the door and heartily closed it before running on. He never realized what had really happened.

As much as that story made me laugh at the time and still brings a smile as I think about it now, it is also a reminder to me of how I myself can be. Simply put as humans living in a world overseen and guided by a sovereign God, it is often easy for us to misjudge how things are being accomplished around us. We are often given to the same kind of pride that overtook my nephew as he really thought he had shown that door – a pride that has no ground. And on the other end of the spectrum, we are also gripped with the anxiety that may have overcome my nephew before pushing the door, worrying that he might not be able to get in and would have to scream for someone. It is an anxiety that forgets someone more powerful than us is in control.

Over the past two weeks, as we’ve watched David’s life as he is heading toward the throne, we have been seen how God has worked. Because David does not become king over all of Israel until 2 Samuel 5, these first four chapters we will look at this morning point us to more of the same. This text reminds us lest we be overcome with pride on the one hand or anxiety on the other, that someone greater than us is working out his purposes and plans in this world and in our lives.

Thus, I want us to see the lessons I think the author wants us to see in these four chapters as we turn to the text this morning. I will point out the lesson in terms of relating to those individuals in the story itself (e.g. David, Abner, etc.) but then I want to seek to apply these lessons to us as well.

God’s purposes and plans are not dependent on David’s ability to make them happen (1:1-27; 3:28-39; 4:1-12)

We basically see this throughout the four chapters. In fact, I think this is the primary lesson of the text. We are to see that God’s purposes and plans (specifically to make David king) are not dependent on David forcing it to happen. At three different points in the text the author makes clear that David is not interested in forcing himself to the throne by taking out any who might stand against him, but is content to honor, obey, and trust God.

First, the author shows us this in chapter 1. 2 Samuel begins with David just returning from striking down the Amalekites, and after remaining in Ziklag for two days, David sees a man running toward him. As he gets to David, he bows and pays homage while bearing all the signs of grief. His clothes are torn. Dirt is one his head. Thus, David asks him where he has come from, and he says from the battle between Israel and the Philistines. Therefore, David naturally asks him how things went.

The man then goes on to recount that the Israelites had been defeated, and that he happened to come upon Saul in the final moments of his life, that Saul had asked him to kill him, and that he had gladly obliged. He then points out to David that he has brought him Saul’s crown and armlet, symbolizing who is the king.

Knowing what we have just read in 2 Samuel 31, we know the man is lying. It appears he is simply trying to get a good standing before the new king. But he has drastically miscalculated. For David’s first reaction is to tear his clothes, mourn, weep, and fast until evening. If you’re trying to get rewarded by the king for killing someone, this isn’t the reaction you would hope for.

Then David asks him where he has come from. He answers that he is an Amalekite (i.e. those who had burned David’s homes and taken his wives). Strike two. Finally, David asks him how it is that he was not afraid to strike down the Lord’s anointed. There is silence – strike three. Therefore, we read in verses 15-16, “Then David called one of the young men and said, ‘Go, execute him.’ And he struck him down so that he died. And David said to him, ‘Your blood be on your head, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have killed the Lord’s anointed.’”

And if that isn’t enough to show that David was not in favor of killing the king and his sons, verses 17-27 are a lament that David composes for Saul and Jonathan. In fact, he commands it to be taught to the people of Judah. He grieves Saul and Jonathan’s death. Again, all would know that David had not forced himself to the throne by killing Saul. He distanced himself from any thought.

Skipping over a bit, we pick up in 3:26-39 after the death of Abner. We’ll discuss more of the details of Abner’s life in a bit, but right now let’s simply note that Joab, commander of David’s army kills Abner, who had been the commander and supporter of Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son and a rival for the throne.

Yet, how does David respond? Does he celebrate that he who had supported a rival king had died? Does he delight that the rival king’s greater weapon had now died? Does he reward Joab for this wise move in killing one who could have been a threat to the throne? No. Rather, we read that David proclaims his innocence concerning Abner’s death, pronounces curses on Joab, tears his clothes, mourns, walked in Abner’s funeral procession, wept aloud there, wrote another lamentation, and fasted.

Thus, we read in 3:37-39, “So all the people and all Israel understood that day that it had not been the king's will to put to death Abner the son of Ner. And the king said to his servants, \"Do you not know that a prince and a great man has fallen this day in Israel? And I was gentle today, though anointed king. These men, the sons of Zeruiah, are more severe than I. The Lord repay the evildoer according to his wickedness!\"

It’s as if the author is bending over backwards to show us that David was not in support of the murder of Abner. Even though it might have seemed a safe move to kill one who had been the biggest supporter of Ish-bosheth, David was doing nothing to force his hand to the throne.

Finally, after Abner’s death (and even before that, his departure from Ish-bosheth to side with David), Ish-bosheth is left completely helpless and hopeless. Therefore, as he is murdered by two men, thus leaving no rival for the throne, do we find David rewarding these men or celebrating that he will now clearly be king? No, rather, as these men bring David the head of Ish-bosheth, David responds, “As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life out of every adversity, who one told me, ‘Behold Saul is dead, and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and killed him at Ziklag, which was the reward I gave him for his news. How much more, when wicked men have killed a righteous man in his own house on his bed, shall I not now require his blood at your hand and destroy you from the earth?” (4:9-11). So, David kills them, cuts off their hands and feet, and hangs them beside a pool for all to see that he had not been in favor of the murder of Ish-bosheth.

Now, from simply a political perspective, if David wanted to make sure he would be king, he should kill the present king (Saul), kill the commander of Saul’s army (Abner), and kill any sons of Saul who might stand as a rival to the throne (Ish-bosheth). And our story tells us that David has the luxury of all of these people being killed. Yet we also clearly see that David was not in support of this work. Again, the author wants us to see that David is not going to force himself to the throne, especially through sinful means. Rather, he will wait upon the Lord and trust God to work.

I believe this should remind us of how our God works. Namely, God does not rely upon us to force his purposes and plans to come about. That is, God was not sitting in the heavens and saying, “C’mon David, I really need you to take care of all these enemies if we’re going to have a chance at you being king.” That is a blasphemous thought that pictures God as some weak little boy. No, rather, God is not dependent on David’s forceful hand.

And so with us. God is not sitting in the heavens worrying that you or I will not do what needs to be done in our lives for God to work out his purposes and plans with us. God is not so weak that his purposes and plans are absolutely contingent on us. He does not rely on us to force things to happen.

So, what then does this mean? Does it mean we sit and do nothing, saying, “Well, if God wants to do something he’ll do it”? No. It means that we refuse sin, even if it looks like it might aid us (e.g. David being tempted to kill Saul), and we obey in everything we know to do, trusting God to take care of what he wants. Again, simply obey God step by step throughout your life, and trust him, knowing that he will take care of accomplishing his purposes and plans.

God gives David all he needs to fulfill his purposes and plans (2:1-7)

Picking up our story before we started skipping around, after chapter 1 we have a short seven verses that tell us that David goes to Hebron and is anointed king over Judah. But two things happen here that are easy to miss. The first is that David asks God what to do, and God tells him. We read in 2:1-4a, “After this David inquired of the Lord, \"Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah?\" And the Lord said to him, \"Go up.\" David said, \"To which shall I go up?\" And he said, \"To Hebron.\" So David went up there, and his two wives also, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. And David brought up his men who were with him, everyone with his household, and they lived in the towns of Hebron. And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah.”

By this point this has become so common that we might miss this as some unimportant detail, but God tells David exactly what he is to do in order to fulfill God’s purpose of David becoming king, and it is as simple as going to Hebron.

From there, David receives news from his men that Jabesh-gilead were those who had shown honor to Saul, removing his dead body after the Philistines had hanged it on a wall. Therefore, David goes to bless them, but he also uses the opportunity to exhort them follow him as their king, just as they had Saul. He tells them in 2:7, “Now therefore let your hands be strong, and be valiant, for Saul your lord is dead, and the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.”

At this point, everything seems to be falling into place. God has given David direction to go to Hebron and information so that he might bless the people of Jabesh-gilead and exhort them to allegiance. God is giving David everything he needs to become the king, which is God’s purpose and plan for David.

We need to realize that God has not changed in the 3,000 years from that day to this one. God is one who gives his people everything we need to see his purposes and plans accomplished in our lives.

Imagine Lili and I wanted to have a couple come over to our house, and we were really excited about it. We talk about all we could do, call them, and invite them. However, when the couple says, “Alright, tell us how to get there” we say, “What? C’mon, I don’t have time to do that. I hate giving directions. Surely you can just figure it out” and we hang up the phone. Anyone who is sensible knows that’s ridiculous. After all, Lili and I are the ones wanting them to come over. Why would we do anything less than give them everything they need to get to our house?

However, now suppose the couple says, “Alright, tell us how to get there” and we give them perfect directions. We tell them to turn on this road, them go the stop sign where they will turn right, etc. Then, however, right before the couple decides to go one says to the other, “I know they told us to turn on that road and go all the way to the stop sign. But did they tell us how many trees we would pass on that road? Did they tell us what cars would be in the driveways of the houses we might pass on that road?” And then, realizing that we said nothing about how many trees of what type of cars they might pass along the way they complain about not having sufficient directions and grow anxious about making the trip at all. Again, that’s ridiculous as well. They have all they need.

However, even though both examples are ridiculous, I think we think this way toward God. First of all, we make the mistake of thinking that God somehow wants to hold out on us, as if he really wants to use us and to conform us to the image of his Son so that he is glorified in our lives, and yet he’s unwilling to give us what we need to get there. God is not some sinister being who delights in teasing and playing around with us. We being evil know how to give good gifts; how much more our heavenly Father?

On the other hand, even as God has given us his Word, that which reveals himself, his ways, his plans of redemption, and his commands to us, it is quite popular for us to complain about all we think the Bible does not address. Any time we speak of God’s will it seems the statement that never fails to be primary in our conversation is, “But the Bible doesn’t give us many specifics. It doesn’t tell us whom to marry, what job to take, or when we should do a hundred different things.

No, it doesn’t. But it has given us what we need. Just as we see God giving David everything he needs to be king because it is God’s plan for David to be king, so we need to realize that God has given us and will give us everything we need to see his plans for us fulfilled. Therefore, don’t mistake God to be like one withholding directions or don’t ignore his Word like a couple ignoring directions because they don’t know how many trees they will encounter on their journey. Rather, realize that God gives us what is necessary to fulfill his purposes and plans in our lives. After all, they are his plans, and any desire we have to obey God was put in us by him.

Even Abner’s direct opposition cannot stop God’s purposes and plans (2:8-3:39)

In 2:8-3:39 we have the story of Abner. He had been the commander of Saul’s army. He was the one David had addressed after he had stolen Saul’s spear while he was sleeping (1 Samuel 26). In 2:8-11 we read that Abner is one a campaign to make Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, king instead of David. Therefore, even as David is appointed king in Judah, Abner makes Ish-bosheth king over the northern tribes.

Then, Abner decides to start a battle with the army supporting David. Therefore, he comes to Gibeon, where Joab and the servants of David meet him. Then, twelve men from each side attack each other, all fall dead, and fighting breaks out. In the course of the fighting, Joab’s brother Asahel is killed by Abner, though Abner had warned him to stop chasing him. When Asahel refused Abner stabbed him with his spear and killed him. Then, Joab called off the troops, and the fighting was over. When all was said and done, however, nineteen of David’s servants were missing while 360 of Abner’s men had been struck down. Abner’s fight had ended in defeat.

With the passing of time, the author points out in 3:1-5 that David is growing stronger and stronger while Saul’s house is becoming weaker and weaker. However, the author also reminds us that Abner is growing in strength. Therefore, it is somewhat surprising when we read that Ish-bosheth accuses him of sleeping with one of Saul’s concubines. To sleep with a concubine of the king would have been a move to try to gain the throne for oneself.

We don’t know if the accusation was of something true or not, but what we do know is Abner’s response. We read in 3:8-11, “Then Abner was very angry over the words of Ish-bosheth and said, \"Am I a dog's head of Judah? To this day I keep showing steadfast love to the house of Saul your father, to his brothers, and to his friends, and have not given you into the hand of David. And yet you charge me today with a fault concerning a woman. God do so to Abner and more also, if I do not accomplish for David what the Lord has sworn to him, to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan to Beersheba.\" And Ish-bosheth could not answer Abner another word, because he feared him.”

Therefore, Abner leaves Ish-bosheth and comes to David, telling him that with his strength and respect he can make the northern tribes pledge allegiance to David as their king. David is delighted and they make a covenant together. Also, David bids Abner go in peace, which probably means that he granted Abner the promises of security as there would be no threat to his life. All seems in line for David to reign over the entire land.

Then, however, Joab comes into the picture. He hears that Abner has been there and is upset. He tells David that Abner is just coming in to learn of David’s moves. Therefore, Joab calls Abner to come back, and Abner does, no doubt without fear as David had bid him to go in peace. But when he comes back, Joab meets him and stabs him in the stomach, killing him. And the text tells us in 3:30 their motivation, “So Joab and Abishai his brother killed Abner, because he had put their brother Asahel to death in the battle at Gibeon.” From there we know David’s reaction as we looked at it earlier.

What is striking in this account of Abner is his understanding that God had declared David to be king and yet his actions in light of this knowledge. We remember his response to Ish-bosheth after because accused of sleeping with Saul’s concubine. He had declared to him, “Then Abner was very angry over the words of Ish-bosheth and said, \"Am I a dog's head of Judah? To this day I keep showing steadfast love to the house of Saul your father, to his brothers, and to his friends, and have not given you into the hand of David. And yet you charge me today with a fault concerning a woman. God do so to Abner and more also, if I do not accomplish for David what the Lord has sworn to him, to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan to Beersheba” (3:8-10).

Abner knew what God had sworn to do, and yet in the meanwhile he had appointed Ish-bosheth as king, fought against the servants of David, and (possibly) had tried to move toward the throne himself (if indeed he slept with Saul’s concubine). But even if the accusation was false, Abner clearly had labored directly against what he knew God had sworn to do.

This is a lesson for all about God’s purposes and plans. Not even direct rebellion and opposition to God’s purposes and plans can thwart them. Whether Abner had been stopped by being won over to David or stopped because of his murder, however it happened, Abner wasn’t going to succeed in opposing God’s purposes and plans.

In Psalm 2, the psalmist asks why the nations rage and plot things against the Lord and his Anointed One, since God is in the heavens laughing at them and reigning over them. This is the Psalm prayed by the apostles when they are being persecuted in their attempt to spread the gospel. It was persecution that actually led to the furtherance of God’s cause as the disciples spread out to Samaria and eventually the uttermost parts of the earth.

Just as we see Psalm 2 lived out in this text and applied to themselves by the apostles, so we can apply this lesson to ourselves. Not even direct opposition by God’s enemies can thwart his purposes and plans in the lives of his people. Therefore, again, do we not see how our anxiety is in vain?

In June of 1530, Philip Melanchthon read Eck’s Four Hundred and Four Theses in which Eck grouped Luther, Melanchthon, and others with previous heresies which had already been condemned, and it threw Melanchthon into a deep struggle with depression and anxiety. Luther wrote to him:

“With all my heart I hate those cares by which you state that you are consumed. They rule your heart, not on account of the greatness of the cause but by reason of the greatness of your unbelief. The same cause existed in the time of John Hus and many others, and they had a harder time of it than we do. Great though our cause is, its Author and Champion is also great, for the cause is not ours. Why then, are you constantly tormenting yourself? If our cause is false, let us recant. But if it is true, why should we make Him a liar who has given us such great promises and who commands us to be confident and undismayed? … I too am sometimes downcast, but not all the time. It is your philosophy that is tormenting you, not your theology … What good do you expect to accomplish by these vain worries of yours? What can the devil do more than slay us? Yes, what? I beg you, who are so pugnacious in everything else, fight against yourself, your own worst enemy, for you furnish Satan with too many weapons against yourself … I pray for you very earnestly, and I am deeply pained that you keep sucking up cares like a leech and thus rendering my prayers vain. Christ knows whether it comes from stupidity or the Spirit, but I for my part am not very much troubled about our cause. Indeed, I am more hopeful than I expected to be. God, who is able to raise the dead, is also able to uphold his cause when it is falling, or to raise it up again when it has fallen, or to move it forward when it is standing. If we are not worthy instruments to accomplish his purpose, he will find others. If we are not strengthened by his promises, where in all the world are the people to whom these promises apply? But more of this another time. After all, my writing this is like pouring water into the sea.”¹

May we hear the same things about our own anxieties today.

Finally, even sin in David’s camp cannot stop God’s purposes and plans (4:1-12)

Finally, in chapter 4 we read of more sin among David’s people. Seeing that Ish-bosheth is vulnerable and that Jonathan’s son, Mishbosheth is not fit for the throne (as he is crippled – 4:4), Rechab and Baanah decide they will kill Ish-bosheth. Therefore, they sneak into his room, catch him on his bed, and murder him there. In doing so, they think they’ve just delivered the kingdom to David.

But, as we read before David is not pleased with their actions. He has them executed and hangs their hands and feet out for all to see as a clear sign that he did not approve of their actions.

Joab had committed sin, and now two more had committed sin. Great, we might think, now what will become of David. All was going so well before Joab and these two men had got in the way.

So what’s going to happen? David is going to be king, because that’s God’s plan, and not even sin among David’s people will stop it.

This too is instructive for us. Maybe even this morning, as we think of our own sin we had given ourselves over to a feeling of despair, feeling that we can no longer be used of God. And we’re wondering if we should just quit trying and give up. This text reminds us that not even sin will stop God’s plans.

Now, this doesn’t mean that we should therefore treat sin lightly. It is not a light thing, and God disciplines his children. However, it does mean that we should not sink into despair but rather confess our sins, begin obeying, and trust God to use you for his glory. For indeed he will. That’s why he made and redeemed you.

Therefore, we’ve seen this morning that God is not dependent on us forcing things to happen, he gives us all he needs to fulfill his purposes and plans, and neither opposition nor our sin can thwart God’s plans. May we then trust God, obey him, and walk in faith. And along the way, may we remind ourselves of God’s greatness, faithfulness, and love as we look to the greatest Son of David who came to redeem us and will come again to take us home. Amen.

¹Martin Luther, Luther: Letters of Spiritual Counsel, Vol. 18 of Library of Christian Classics, ed. Theodore G. Trappert (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1955), 146-7.

PURPOSES, PLANS, AND THE POWER OF GOD