2 Samuel 18:1-8

2 Samuel 18 verses 1 through 8. In God, or excuse me, David numbered the people that were with him and said captains of thousands and captains of hundreds over them. David sent forth a third part of the people under the hand of Joab and a third part under the hand of Abishai, the son of Zariah, Joab’s brother, and a third part under the hand of Ittai the Gittite. And the king said under the people, I will surely go forth with you myself also. But the people answered, thou shalt not go forth, for if we flee away, they will not care for us, neither if half of us die, will they care for us. But now thou art worth ten thousand of us, therefore now is not. It is better that thou succor or help us out of the city. And the king said unto them, what seemeth you best I will do? And the king stood by the gate side, and all the people came out by hundreds and by thousands. And the king commanded Joab and Abishai and Yidthai, saying, deal gently, for my sake, with the young man, even with Absalom. and all the people heard when the king gave all the captains charged concerning Apsalon. So the people went out into the field against Israel, and the battle was in the wood of Ephraim, where the people of Israel were slain before the servants of David. There was a great slaughter that day of 20,000 men. For the battle was there scattered over the face of all the country, and the wood devired more people that day than the sword devoured. May God bless to us the reading of his holy and sacred word. This morning, or this evening, Nisop’s fable, there is the story of the lion, the fox, and the ass, went hunting together, and they soon had this large collection of dead animals. And the lion requested that the ass divide the animals. up between them, the spoils. So the ass divided them all into three equal parts, and modestly begged the others to take their choice first, at which the lion, bursting with fury, sprang upon the acid, tore him the pieces. And glaring at the fox, he bade the fox to make a fresh division of the spoils. The fox gathered almost a hole in one great heap for the lion’s shell, chair, leaving only the smallest possible morsel for himself. And the lion said, my dear friend, how did you get the knack of it so well? The witch, the fox replied, me? Oh, I took a lesson from the ass. That’s where the phrase the lion’s share comes into play. Absalon, the son of David, owed his prominence to his privileged birth, and to his beautiful countenance. He squandered all his earthly advantages. He discarded God’s law, and his pride and his arrogance became his downfall. His position and ambition placed him where he would bring misery, not merely to himself, but unto untold thousands, even to the whole nation. This chapter reveals the final. result of the rebellion of Absalom, defeat and death. Now, these first eight verses of this chapter give us a very brief account of the battle between the forces of David and those of Absalom. But it was a devastating defeat for Absalom and his men. Now, like the fox in the fable, you should learn from the disasters which befall others. God would have you understand that if you follow in Absalom’s footsteps, then, of course, you’re going to have a similar end as he has in this text of Scripture. I want to speak tonight on the destruction of the enemies of the kingdom of God. Now, you find God has determined the destruction of the enemies of the kingdom of God. I will again remind you that phrase in verse 14, the last sentence of the previous chapter, The Lord had appointed to defeat the good counsel of Ahifahel to the intent that the Lord might bring evil upon Absalom. And now we see the ultimate effect of that purpose of God. Chapter 18 deals with the end. of the life of one of the Bible’s most despicable characters here, Absalom. His death is especially worthy of careful thought because it provides a very solemn and, I think, instructive picture. David was not the ruler of Israel merely because it just happened that way. God willed it. God placed David on the throne. Absalom did not care for God, nor did he care for his father, David. He ignored the consequences here of opposing God’s revealed will. David represents the will and the rule here of God. Absalon represents the will. wicked rebellion against that rule. This is a miniature picture of a larger reality that we need to realize. For David indeed here is to foreshadow the far greater kingdom of God under the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the true son of David. Christ reign as king over all. put squarely before every one of us the inescapable question, will I bow and submission to God’s appointed king or be like Absalon and rebel against him? This is the point of contact that I think our text provides with regard to you and I and I today. This connection between the ancient text and our personal situation. Absalom and his followers end forecast the tragic end of all those who are enemies of God’s king, the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice carefully that Absalom’s death was irreversibly determined by God. It’s clearly stated as we saw in the previous chapter. It wasn’t bad luck. It wasn’t a poor, roll of fate’s dice, which brought disaster upon Absalon, but God determined Absalom’s downfall and destruction. It was inescapable. It was inevitable. This is decreed the same thing for everyone who rejects Jesus Christ and opposes him as God’s true king. Not merely physical death. indeed eternal death in the lake of fire as the book of second Thessalonians chapter one and verses eight and nine makes very clear to us. People don’t like to talk about divine reprobation. They don’t like to talk about God, you know, as the sovereign potter making vessels of wrath and people being fitted for destruction by God. And yet apart from God’s electing grace, You’re going to remain in a state of rebellion against Jesus Christ and in the end you will perish because if you don’t kiss the sun, as Psalm 212 tells us, you’re going to perish in the way. Destruction will fall upon you. I want you to look at 2 Peter chapter 2 and verse 12. Hold your place here, but 2.12 is an interesting phrase here that Peter 2.12 is an interesting phrase here that Peter uses. But these, as natural brute beast, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of things that they understand not, and they shall utterly perish in their own corruption. Now, Peter here seems to be speaking about the false teachers, as verse one would indicate to us, which like Absalom are in the front ranks of those who are opposing Christ’s kingdom. He describes those who oppose Christ’s kingdom here as natural brute beasts. Now that’s an interesting phrase. As brute beasts, they’re incapable of human reasons, so they are the enemies of the kingdom of God. They are lacking in heavenly wisdom. Just like a beast does not have the knowledge of a man. We see. We see, a beast does not have the knowledge of a man. that those who are enemies of the kingdom of God do not have any heavenly wisdom at all. As brute beast readily trample underfoot the most precious things, not even aware of the value of them. And so we find with regard to the enemies of the kingdom of God, the spiritual things which are held out before them they trample underfoot the pearls of God’s truth in the gospel. They don’t appreciate them. As brute beasts are dangerous and harmful to man, so the enemies of the kingdom of God are harmful to God’s people. As brute beasts are designated for destruction, so the enemies of Christ’s kingdom are also appointed by God’s decree for utter destruction. to perish in the rogue corruption. If you act like a brute beast in your disposition and carriage, it’s evidence of a disastrous end. You shall inevitably reap what you sow in this life. It’s a fixed end we find for the reprobate. Esop’s fable will also have another story about the farmer. We set some traps in his field because he had recently he sown it with corn, and he did this in order to catch the cranes, which would come up and gobble up his seed. And when he returned to look at his traps, he found several cranes, but he also found a stork among the cranes. And the stork begged him to let him go, and he argued in this manner, he ought not to kill me, I’m not a crane, but a stork. As you can see easily by my feathers. I am the most honest and heart. harmless of birds. But the farmer replied, it’s nothing to me what you are. I find you among these cranes who ruin my crops and like them, you shall suffer. You know, people may try to argue, why I’m not as bad as Absalom. I don’t engage in open rebellion against Christ in his kingdom. I’m a good person overall, even religious. What our text indicates is that all of those on Absalon’s side suffered. Even those that were not on the same level as Absalom, 20,000 men in his army were put to death because they sided with him. And the same will be true of all those who are followers of those who are openly opposed the kingdom of God. They’re on the wrong side, if they’re not submitting to Christ. So you find God has determined the destruction of the enemies of his kingdom. Secondly, tonight, you find God prepares the instrument to bring about the destruction of the enemies of the kingdom of God. Our text says, and David numbered the people that were with him and set captains of thousands and captains of hundreds over them. God sent forth a third part of the people under the hand of Joav. and the third part under the hand of Abishai, the third part under Ittai, the Gittai. Absalom has raised a massive army, and he’s pretty confident of victory. What he doesn’t realize fully, but he will, is that God has raised up an army for David. Thousands of people came out of different tribes, joined in with David. and therefore he has this huge army also. And they are going to oppose Absalom. So God moved hearts of people to be with his king. And from all Israel, people came to assist David. Now, David divides his troops into three different columns, probably left, right, and center, puts them under these three men, Joe Abubishai. they were signed to head up the army. Just as God prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah, God prepares a great army to swallow up Absalom and all his followers. God doesn’t always work miraculously, but he often uses human instruments to carry out his will and purpose on this earth. Now, turn with me to Isaiah chapter 10, if you would. And I want to look at verses 5 and 6, and then also verse 15. Book of Isaiah chapter 10, verses 5 and 6. We read, Osserian, the rod of mine anger and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. I will send him. against the hypocritical nation and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge to take the spoil, to take the prey, to tread them down like the mire of the streets. And then, if you would, verse 15, shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith, or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it, as if the rod should shake itself against him, them that lifted up or as if the staff should lift up itself as if it were no wood. When God was ready to punish the hypocritical nation of Israel, what did he do? Well, he used the Assyrians, didn’t he? He raised up an army against his own people. Now, God makes it clear that the correcting that he is doing by the Assyrians is his correction. He is wielding the rod, if you would, or the axe, as the case may be in this case. Therefore, the Assyrians are not the bolst of look what we’ve done. God is the one who is the woodsman. They’re just the axe or the saw. And Israel is the forest that God is going to cut down. God’s power is. is what moves the acts of the saw. So these are tools, they’re instruments that God uses. And so it is in our text. God is wielding this army to bring about the defeat and destruction of Absalom and his forces, to chop them down, so to speak. The enemies of God’s kingdom don’t realize that the secret hand of God is working to thwart them. He is countering all their moves. He is preparing the instrument to bring about their downfall. This is why we may confidently expect God to defeat, bring utter disaster upon the enemies of God’s kingdom. You find God prepares the instrument to bring about the destruction of the enemies of his kingdom. He always has a way to bring about. their defeat. The third thing we see in our text here is you find that God reserves his people while the destruction of the enemies of his kingdom takes place. In the latter part of verse 2 and also in verse 3, we see the king saying, I will surely go forth with you myself also. But the people answer, thou shalt not go forth. if we flee away, they will not care for us, neither if half of them. us die will they care for us? But now thou art worth 10,000 of us, therefore now it is better that thou succor us out of the city. David was willing as the king to lead forth his army on the battlefield, which was the typical manner in which battles were fought. However, remember, Ahithafel had counseled just killed David, and his whole army will be able to be. be defeated. Just smite the king. And so he wanted to target David specifically. The people were afraid that that might happen, and so they’re saying, no, you’re not going to go out to battle. In this case, God doesn’t want David leading the army in battle. He prudently would have David stay behind. So the Lord moves David’s friends here to say, to say, and persuade him not to risk his life. Don’t go out there in that battlefield. You’ll be targeted. And as they say here, you’re worth 10,000 of us. You know, if half our army dies, it’s not going to make any difference to them. They want you. If you survive, then your kingdom survives. So David, as God’s anointed king, was irreplaceable here. He must be kept in a safe place. So he remains behind at Mahanayim. providence wisely here opposes David going forth. He is to be kept in a safe place out of harm’s way. May 6, 1864, the battle of the wilderness in the Civil War took place. The federal troops had broken through the line of the Confederates, but their success was momentarily. stopped by point-blank cannon fire from the Confederates. General Lee himself was there with the cannoneers as they poured double-shot grape and canister into the lines of the federal troops. Soon, however, Lee knew that the guns were going to get overrun. And unless he got reinforcements, it wasn’t going to, they weren’t going to survive. And just in the nick of time, some Texas, troops arrived on the scene and Lee was ecstatic. As he prepared a counterattack, Lee spurred traveler his horse forward among them, and he was prepared to lead the countercharge himself. However, the troops stopped moving, refused to go forward and began chanting, Lee to the rear, lead to the rear. His men had such a warm affection for the general. They considered his life too valuable. to lead the charge. And so they say, you get back there behind the lines and stay safe. And so it is with David’s troops here in our text. You know, there are times where God hides his people to spare their lives. And when God wanted to destroy all the world, he hid Noah and his family in the ark and shut the door. When the Passover plague, passed through Egypt. Israelites were hidden in their homes with the blood smeared upon the mantle and the post of the door as the death angel passed through the land to kill the firstborn. During the ruthless reign of King Ahab, God hid 100 prophets in a cave that they might, actually it was two caves, that they might be kept safe from. the wrath of Jezebel. In the New Testament, you remember that the Christians were bidden by Jesus Christ to flee Jerusalem and go out into the wilderness to escape the Roman invasion and destruction of the city of Jerusalem. There was a huge ride at one point at Ephesus. And Paul, who was, in a sense, the cause of it all, because he came preaching the gospel and the Jews got upset and stirred up the people. He thought, I’ll go forth and talk to this crowd, and I’ll perhaps be able to speak to them about the gospel some more. And he was prepared to go forth and speak to the riding masses, but his friend said, no way are you going out there and risk your life here. It’s too dangerous. The Bible says the disciples suffered him not. He was irreplaceable in their eyes. Sometimes God deems it best to preserve you by keeping you out of harm’s way, and sometimes God would have you hide and even flee, then allow you to be killed by the enemies of his kingdom. So we shouldn’t recklessly place ourselves in danger unless you deem it necessary to the further the kingdom of God. So you find God preserves his people while the destruction of the enemies of his people takes place. fourthly tonight, you find God will not be deterred from carrying out the destruction of the enemies of his kingdom. In verses four and five, the king here gives a warning to the people, he especially gives it to the three captains. Go easy, go gently with Absalom. Don’t kill my son is basically what he’s saying here. Now, We see that there’s a sense in which David appears to be working at cross purposes with God’s plan. Because he desires Absalom to be spared while God’s planning to bring about his destruction. David orders his commanders, be gentle. This was not a wise command. It would certainly undermine the morale of the army. David knew Absalom was an excuseless rebel. unusually cruel, a murderer, and completely godless. And yet, he wants to spare him. God’s law called for such an evil person to be put to death. And David as king should have realized that. But David has this natural affection for his son. It isn’t want anything to happen to him. He’s unwilling to do what is necessary in this case. Clearly, There are occasions when misplaced affections cause you to actually oppose God’s purposes. And that’s shockingly true. We can become so emotionally involved. Because of the situation affects maybe a family member, a child, a relative, a friend, that we don’t carry through with God’s word as we’re directed. You know, when it comes to church discipline, the idea of shunning and even excommunication. Sometimes it’s not done. Because people, you know, they’re by my friend, that’s my family members. The discipline of children. Well, I love my son or my daughter. I don’t want to punish them. I don’t want to minister some type of discipline to them, even though they’re unruly. I love them too much for that. Well, you’re going against what God has said in his word. When it comes to sexual sense, Well, that’s a private matter. It’s not none of my business. Rebuking sinful behavior may not happen because people allow for sin to continue without addressing that sin. In the book of Amos chapter 7, the prophet Amos attempts to spare Israel from destruction despite the wickedness of their ways. there are two visions that come up actually there are three but the first two visions are the vision of the grasshoppers and the vision of the fire in both cases the land is destroyed either by the grasshoppers or by the fire and the prophet pleads with the Lord to relent to let Israel escape don’t bring this judgment upon them but in the God spares Israel the first two times The third vision he has there is the vision of the plum line. And this time, God says, I will not again pass by them anymore. It’s useless to keep pleading for God to spare the wayward nation because the plum line is measuring Israel and they’re out of kilter. They’re going to have to be torn down and rebuilt. And that’s exactly what happens. Sometimes God calls for them. for you to sacrifice what’s precious to you, to test your love for him. And you need to be willing to submit to the Lord’s revealed will. Not allow your affections for people to override God’s commands or God’s purpose. So you find God will not be deterred from carrying out the destruction of the enemies of his kingdom. Despite what David pleads with his commanders about, we’re going to find Absalom is going to meet his demise. and he will not escape here. Fifthly tonight, you find God brings about the destruction of the enemies of his kingdom despite their best efforts to escape it. In verses 6 through 8, when the battle goes against the people of Israel, Absalom’s forces, they flee and they seem to want to escape through the war. woods here and get back to the Jordan River, cross the Jordan, and get back to their home. For a short while, the battle was certainly furious, but the issue wasn’t left long in doubt here. And it’s most evident on which side the Lord was. Those who sided with Absalon suffer a tremendous defeat here. So they’re routed. They seek the cover. of the woods nearby to escape death. Now the wood of Ephraim, it’s mentioned here in verse 6, appears to be a mistake. If you think about it a moment, where did Ephraim have their land? It was on the west side of the Jordan. The battle is taking place here on the east side of the Jordan. So why is it called the wood of Ephraim? Well, did the narrator? error here? Is there an error in scripture in this situation? Of course not. But you have to read Judges Chapter 12 to understand the situation. You find there is a battle between Ephraimites and the judge Jephta in his forces in the land of Gilead. Very similar situation. It was near the forts of the Jordan where the defeated Ephraimites attempted to recross and return. home, but they couldn’t get across because Jephta’s forces were protecting the fords. And Jephta’s people seized the fords and slaughtered those attempting to escape. The woods nearby, due to the massive casualties, suffered by Ephraim, 42,000 people died from that tribe, became known as the wood of Yveshrae. Ephraim because it was a graveyard for many of the Ephraimites. And thus, the wood of Ephraim is on the east side. That’s why that is the case. So there’s nothing wrong here with the geography or what is being said. You just have to understand the past. You have to know the history of the situation. It’s a very similar situation because now these people are defeated by David and they’re trying to flee and get to the Jordan, go, cross the fords and get back home, and the same thing happens again. Only this time, we find that there’s a massive slaughter, and the wood here, devoured more people that day than the sword. Now, that’s an interesting statement, isn’t it? It shows us again how God’s hand is so powerfully affected in this, affects this situation. No, we don’t have any details that are given about how that took place. But we see here either the pits and bogs of the wood or the wild beasts of the woods caused the death of a great many of the enemy. Somehow or other, that’s what happened. God used it to destroy them. And even more people died in this situation than got killed by the sword. Sufficient to say God fought against these rebels. He would not let them. them escape. And by his destructive providence, God strikes down his enemies. It’s terrifying when you find God’s hand is upon you. Even when you think you might escape, you’re not able to, because God won’t let you. In Jeremiah 1120, we read, Thus saith the Lord, behold, I will bring evil upon them, the wicked among Judah, which they shall not be able to escape. That’s what God says. about the week. You know, when Israel was conquering the land of Canaan, there was a large army of the enemy under Adonai Bizek, the Lord of Bizaic, excuse me, Adonai Zedek, who was the king of Jerusalem. And he threatened to attack the Israelites, and the Lord told Joshua, fear them not, for he would deliver the Israelites. And the Lord discomforted them before Israel, and slew them with the great slaughter at Gibian. And the Lord’s hand was clearly seen in this battle because God sent great hailstones down to kill off the enemy army of the Canaanites. And the Bible says something very similar that we find here in our text. More people died of the hailstone than they did by the sword of the Israelites. God slaughtered them using the hailstones. And then if that wasn’t bad enough, is they’re trying to escape. They’re thinking, well, soon it’ll be dark. Soon they won’t know where we are, we’ll be able to escape. God causes the sun to stand still in the sky and it doesn’t go down, and so the light’s there. And Israel has more time to slaughter them and finish the route. You talk about having a bad day. Nothing’s going to go right, and you’re just not going to escape. And so we see the enemy destroy. When Israel was being brought out of Egypt, Pharaoh and his army decided to pursue them and reinstate them as slaves. They had second thoughts. We shouldn’t let them go. So if Pharaoh and his military are hotly chasing after the Israelites right through the divided Red Sea, when the Israelites are going through the Red Sea, they see the Sea party and they head through the sea themselves. And just when it appeared, if the Egyptians were going to catch up with the Israelites, because the Egyptians had chariots, as well as foot soldiers. And so the chariots were, you know, gaining ground on the Israelites. Something strange happened. All of a sudden the wheels came off to chariots. And so they’re dragging on the ground. And God slowed them down so they couldn’t catch up with the Israelites. How does one explain this? What do you think the Egyptians said about this? Here’s what they said. The Lord fighteth for them, the Israelites, against the Israelites. Egyptians. That was their explanation. It’s God. It’s doing this to us. When God fights against you, there’s no hope of escaping his hand of judgment. Destruction is inevitable. And so we see here in the end, you can, that God brings about the destruction of the enemies of his kingdom despite their best efforts to escape it. The fox learned quickly from the ass how to divide the spoils. The destruction of the ass was quite. The destruction of the ass was quite educational. When we read about God’s destruction of the enemy in scripture, it ought to be educational. It ought to be edifying to us. It ought to be something that gives us an understanding of how God works. It should be a lesson to all those who oppose God’s anointed king, the Lord Jesus Christ, there is going to be a day when you’re going to be brought low and God’s hand is going to be heavy upon you and destroy you. this is the lesson I think we can learn from this passage of scripture. And may we, as the people of God, take heart from this, that God is always working ultimately for the good of his kingdom, the honor of his king, the Lord Jesus Christ, and for destruction of the enemies of his kingdom. Let’s close with the word of God. and prayer.