In this sermon, the preacher discusses the story of David's return to Jerusalem and the response of the people of Judah. He emphasizes the importance of using our resources for the glory of God, using the example of Barzelli who generously helped David in his time of need. The preacher encourages the listeners to turn their hearts towards God and welcome Him into their lives. He also highlights the unity and obedience of the people of Judah, who responded as one man to David's return. The sermon concludes with a prayer for wavering hearts to be moved by the Holy Spirit.

Second Samuel chapter 19. We're going to begin this morning at verse nine. We've been making our way through the book of Second Samuel and enjoying it immensely, seeing God's hand in the life of David. It teaches us so much about the way that God deals with us. And we understand in Second Samuel, chapter 19, that David has just come through a very significant crisis in his life. When you're the king and your son, the crown prince, determines to take the kingdom over from you by force and to try to murder you, that's a crisis. And God saw David through this crisis. All the odds were against him. There was no reason why it should have worked out for David, humanly speaking. But God's hand was upon him and God answered David's prayer and God preserved him in the midst of this great conflict he had with his own son, Absalom. Absalom's armies were defeated. Absalom himself was killed in battle. And now you would think that David would just come back with a great big show of force, have a great big conquering general kind of procession into Jerusalem. That's not how it's going to happen. Quite to our surprise, I might say, look at verse nine. Now, all the people were in a dispute throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying the king has saved us from the hand of our enemies. He delivered us from the hand of the Philistines, and now he has fled from the land because of Absalom. But Absalom, whom we anointed over us, has died in battle. Now, therefore, why do you say nothing about bringing back the king? David survived Absalom's attempted overthrow. But he was not yet restored to the kingdom. Let's sort of remind ourself of the course of events. David's the king. Absalom raises up a rebellion against him and the people embraced the rebellion. David got booted out of the throne, Absalom came in. There was a war between the forces loyal to Absalom and the forces loyal to David. David's forces won, but the people have not said to David, you come back and be king over us. Now, we would think that David would have every right to simply impose his rule over Israel again. That's what conquering generals do. But David's not going to do that. And the people here in a quandary, they say, listen, we remember David, all the great victories he won for us over the Philistines. Yes, yes, we remember that. Remember what a great king he was. But we also remember that we rejected him. We kicked him out. And this guy that we rejected him for Absalom, now he's dead. So now what do we do? I guess we have to bring back King David and we need to have everybody agree to do that. That's where we are at the end of verse 10, where it says now, therefore, why do you say nothing about bringing back the king? And let me make a couple of preliminary observations about this. Isn't it interesting as you transfer this same principle to your own walk with God? Have there been times in your walk with God where you sort of pushed away the king and put your heart on a false king? I mean, honestly, in my walk with the Lord over the twenty five, thirty years that I've walked with the Lord, it's been like that sometimes for me. I sort of pushed away the king like Israel pushed away David and I set my heart on an Absalom, so to speak, a false king, a counterfeit king. Well, what I think is interesting about this is that oftentimes we will only return to the true king once our false king has been struck down. I mean, they're only coming back to David because Absalom was dead as long as Absalom was around. Well, maybe we'll take him. And you see, now God has a purpose in striking down your Absalom. Now God has a purpose in striking down that thing that you set your heart upon, that you embrace the sort of a false king. He's done it so that you'll turn your heart towards the true king. Maybe that's how it was for you, you, you young in your life, maybe in high school or college. Oh, man, you burned for Jesus, you just man, there was just something about your people looked at you and thought that that man, he's going to be a pastor. He's going to be in full time ministry. And you didn't think too much about it. You just knew that you really loved Jesus and your heart was on fire for him. And, you know, as the years went on, things came along and you got the you know, you got the three M's in your life. You got the the marriage, the mortgage and the minivan. And and you're all into the career and everything. And your career starts taking off. And we'll praise God for that. You know, who wants to go and be in your career and be a failure? You're not aiming for that. But, you know, subtly, because Satan knows how to do it subtly. Jesus isn't king the same way he once was. Now, career is maybe that Absalom in your life. Well, now you're disillusioned with Absalom, right? It's not the same as it once was for you. And, you know, you can't give up. You know, you have to put bread on the table. That's OK. But but you're undergoing a shift right now from Absalom over to David. And that's an exciting thing. But don't make it where God has to kill Absalom before you'll come back to David. Is this a Lord? I want you to be number one in my life. And yes, I know I need to work. I know I need to have a career. I know you want me to be blessed in it and all that. Yes, God. But but Jesus is going to have that special place in my life once more. That's what Israel had to come back to. So how is this going to happen? How is Israel going to bring back the king? Well, look at verse 11. David's going to take the initiative. Then King David sent to Zadok and Abiathar, the priest, saying, Speak to the elders of Judah, saying, Why are you the last to bring the king back to his house? Since the words of all Israel have come to the king, even to his house. You are my brethren. You are my bone and my flesh. Why then are you the last to bring back the king and say to Amasa, Are you not my bone and my flesh? God, do so to me and more also if you are not commander of the army before me continually in the place of Joab. So he swayed the hearts of all the men of Judah, just as the heart of one man, so that they sent this word to the king, Return you and all your servants. David looks at Israel and they have not embraced him to come back as king. And so what does he do? He says, I need to persuade them. I'm not going to do it with force. He would not force his reign on Israel. Look at verse 14 again. It doesn't say that he forced the hearts of all the men of Judah. It says he swayed the hearts of all the men. He was only going to come back if the tribes who rejected him for Absalom agreed to bring him back as king. Alan Redpath said this, David didn't lift a finger to reestablish his authority. His return to sovereignty was decided by the voluntary submission of his kinsmen and by their loving obedience to his will. You get the picture here, right? He's not going to force it, but he will seek to persuade them. He persuades them with an appeal. Hey, guys, why not bring me back? Secondly, he seeks to appease them and to persuade them with a note of appeasement. He says, look, I'll kick Joab out as leader of my armies and I'll bring in Amasa and make him the general over all my armies. Now, what was significant about this? Amasa was Absalom's chief general. He's taking the commander of all of Absalom's armies and saying, I'm going to bring this guy in. See, I'm open to reconciliation. I don't hate you guys who used to be aligned with Absalom. I want to bring you in. Let's have fellowship one with another again. And the people responded. You saw it there in verse 14. So he swayed the hearts of all the men of Judah, just as the heart of one man. David sent these two emissaries. Verse 11 speaks of them, Zadok and Abiathar. He had them speak on his behalf and he swayed the hearts of Israel to bring him back. I think that's just how the Lord works. God, the father in heaven, sends forth two emissaries, the word of God and the spirit of God, Zadok and Abiathar, and he sends them to us to sway our hearts to come back to him. Some of you, you've been waiting for God to force you to come back to him. It doesn't work like that. He's not going to force you. No, I'm not saying that he won't allow some persuasive circumstances to come into your life. But those may be as much as anything, just the results of your own pushing the king away. Friends, he's not going to force you. God does not want your manipulated love. He does not want your forced affection. He wants you to open your heart wide to him. He wants you to allow yourself, look at verse 14, to be swayed. He swayed the hearts of all the men of Judah. Think about it, when you and your spouse got together, I don't know who chased who. You know, you probably argue about it now, which one was after the other. But, you know, you knew that you couldn't force that other person to love you. Well, you thought about it, of course. You tried to think of how that might work, but then you realize that's not going to work. So you said, I'm going to sway them. I'm going to woo them. I'm going to show them how much I love them. I'm going to try to reach out to them and awaken a response in them so that we can come together in a relationship where our hearts are swayed towards one another. That's how God wants to touch you. Allow me to make one more point before I go on to verse 15. Verse 14 says he swayed the hearts of all the men of Judah just as the heart of one man, so that they sent this word to the king, return you and all your servants. They were unified just as the heart of one man. It wasn't as if the people of Judah got together and they said, OK, let's take a vote. Who wants David back? And two thirds raised their hand. Who doesn't want David back? And one third raised their hand. And they said, well, the eyes have it. I guess the eyes carry the day. It wasn't like that at all. He swayed their hearts and they responded as one man listening to the testimony of Zadok and Abiathar, they responded to that. I hope I didn't step out too much on a limb for service, but I'll say it again. I think this speaks to where we're at right now as a group of men seeking the Lord's will for who will succeed me as pastor here at Calvary Chapel. I think God wants it to be unanimous. I really do. I don't see why it shouldn't be with the word of God speaking to us, with the Holy Spirit of God speaking to us, if we'll listen to him, it'll be unanimous. I mean, that's just how I think it should be. It should be as one heart, as one mind coming together. I feel persuaded of that. And it's again, maybe stepping out a limb to say it, but I'll say it. I think it's good and important for us to have a passion to say, let's be unanimous. Let's let's bring our new pastor in with a unanimous vote of confidence, saying we know this is the man that God has chosen for us. I would say anything less than coming together and saying it unanimously. It's those 10 men admitting we can't listen to the Holy Spirit, or at least not all of us can, but collectively as a group, we can. I don't think the Holy Spirit is going to say to some of them one thing and some of them another thing. I know it's a bold thing for me to say, but I like to shoot high. I like to aim for lofty goals and I want to see that kind of heart. I want to see that kind of unanimous vote, just as it says in verse 14, just as the heart of one man. As it is in the leadership, that's how it should be in the congregation. All right, now, verse 15, how are they going to bring the king back? Well, let's take a look here. Then the king returned and came to the Jordan and Judah came to Gilgal to meet the king, to escort the king across the Jordan and Shimei, the son of Gera, a Benjaminite who was from Bahram, hastened and came down with the men of Judah to meet King David. There were a thousand men of Benjamin with him and Zeba, the servants of the house of Saul and his 15 sons and his 20 servants with him. And they went over the Jordan before the king. Then a ferry boat went across to carry over the king's household and to do what he thought good. Friends, look at the first few words of verse 15. Then the king returned. What will then mean something happened before that? What happened before the king returned? The people welcomed him back. I hope I'm not beating a dead horse here, but I just want to get the point across. The king isn't coming back until you welcome him. Until you invite him. David wasn't going to bust down the door, so to speak, coming into Israel, he wasn't going to ride in as a conquering general saying, I won the battle, that's all there is to it. No, he says, I'm I'm going to come back as I'm welcomed, as I'm received, because I just don't want to reign over you. I want your love. And so they got this huge contingent of people there at the River Jordan to escort David across the river. And there they go carrying across in ferry boats. And you can see the big procession of men. There's thousands of people there. There's an electric charge about the whole event. David's coming back. The king is coming back. But there's some unresolved issues here, there's some loose ends that need to be tied up. First of all, there's a critic that needs to be spoken to the middle of verse 18. Take a look now. Shimei, the son of Gera, fell down before the king when he had crossed the Jordan. And if you remember, Shimei, we saw him a few weeks ago when David was leaving Jerusalem, disgraced, depressed, down and out this close from being killed and having the whole kingdom taken away. Shimei looked at David when he was down and he said, I'm going to kick him a few times just when he's down. And boy, did Shimei kick. He stood off at a distance and he screamed, he yelled, he cursed, he threw up dust, he threw rocks and pebbles at David and his men. And he swore like a sailor at David saying, David, you deserve everything that's come upon you. David, you're getting your just desserts. David, you're a wicked man. You're a man with blood on his hands. God doesn't have his favor on you anymore. Ladies, that's the PG version. Like I say, he swore like a sailor at David. And David patiently endured it for a while until one of his men came up to him and whispered in his ear and said, David, may I please kill that man who's shouting at us? And David said, no, no, we won't kill him. David said, you know, maybe I need to hear what he has to say. And he also said, David, in his big heart and submission to God, he said, you know what? I got a lot of worse problems. I got a son who's trying to kill me. That's a lot worse than a man screaming at me from a distance. So David let the man live. Well, now that David has won, now that he's back coming to the throne, Jimmy, I'm scared. Oh, yeah, I'm the guy who yelled and cursed and screamed at David. I better set things right. So he comes and verse 18 tells us that he bows down to David. Then look at verse 19. Then he said to the king, do not let my lord impute iniquity to me. Or remember what wrong your servant did on the day that my lord, the king left Jerusalem, that the king should take it to heart. For I, your servant, know that I've sinned. Therefore, here I am the first to come today of all the house of Joseph to go down and meet my lord, the king. You sense the note of desperation in Jimmy's voice, he says, I'm a goner. You don't talk to the king like I talk to the king and expect to live. So he comes and he's one of the first ones to meet David as soon as he crosses the Jordan. He bows down before him and he gives one of the best examples of repentance that I've seen in the Bible. First of all, his repentance was humble. Verse 18 says that he fell down before the king. Can you picture that in your mind? There's Jimmy, I bowing down before David. What he's saying can't be heard all that clearly because his voice is directed towards the ground. But he's saying it loud enough so that David can hear, David, I'm so sorry. Secondly, Jimmy's repentance was honoring to David. He said there in verse 19, do not let my lord impute iniquity to me or remember what wrong your servant did. In other words, he's saying, I know that I deserve to have the iniquity imputed to me. I know that I did the wrong. David, I'm not here to make any excuses. I'm asking you not to give to me what I deserve. I'm asking for mercy. Third, Jimmy's repentance was honest. Do you see what he said in verse 20? For I, your servant, know that I have sinned. Oh, those are great words in the mouth of anybody who comes to God. I know that I've sinned. God, I'm not here to make excuses. I'm not here to talk about my mistakes, my weaknesses, all those things. Well, what else could I do? Look at how they were bugging me. No, God, I have sinned before you. That's how I came to David, that's how we should come to the Lord. But fourth, I want you to see that repentance was put into action. Did you see what he did in verse 20? He said, therefore, I am here. I am the first to come today of all the house of Joseph to go down and meet my lord, the king. David, I'm not just telling you how I feel sorry. That's why I'm here first. As soon as you cross the Jordan, because I really am sorry. Please receive my request for forgiveness. Well, what's David going to do? Verse 21. But Abishai, the son of Zariah, answered and said, shall not Shimei be put to death for this because he cursed the Lord's anointed? They're still itching to take the sword to Shimei's head. But David responded, verse 22, and David said, what have I to do with you, you sons of Zariah, that you should be adversaries to me today? Should any man be put to death today in Israel? For do I not know that today I am king over Israel? Therefore, the king said to Shimei, you shall not die. And the king swore to him. What great forgiveness in the heart of David. You know, are we that forgiving towards others who insult us and criticize us, who speak to us behind our back or tear us down? We should be as forgiving as David was. Look at this great forgiveness. He says, listen, this isn't the day to put anybody to death. He's going to live. Matter of fact, he swore to Shimei that he would not kill him. And I love the ground of confidence that David had in granting this forgiveness. But look at it there at the end of verse 22. He says, for do I not know that today I am king over Israel? Listen, Abishai, I'm secure in my throne. I know that the Lord has given it to me. I didn't have to fight for this throne. I was willing to yield it up, but God gave it back to me. Do I not know that today I am king in Israel? David could readily forgive a man who deserved to die because David was secure in where God had put him. You know what one of the great motivators for revenge is one of the great motivators for hanging on to bitterness? It's insecurity. If you were really secure and confident in who you were in Jesus Christ, you'd say, listen, man, I'm a son. I'm a daughter of a great king. I'm seated with Jesus in heavenly places. He's given me all the blessings in the heavenly realms. He's promised to live with me and abide with me. Why am I holding on to this petty bitterness or hurt? And you just give it up because you're secure in knowing who you are in Jesus Christ. David knew that God had given him the throne and therefore he was very secure in granting forgiveness to Shimei. I would suggest that perhaps that lack of forgiveness in your life is symptom of other spiritual problems. You're really not rooted in who you are in Jesus. Let God do that great work and you'll see great things flow from that. So David settled the business with Shimei. Shimei, you're forgiven. Let's move on. Well, who next comes to David? A fellow named Mephibosheth, verse 24. Now, Mephibosheth, the son of Saul, came down to meet the king and he had not cared for his feet, nor trimmed his mustache, nor washed his clothes from the day that the king departed until the day that he came back in peace. So do you remember who Mephibosheth was? Mephibosheth was the son of Jonathan, David's great friend. He was the grandson of King Saul, the king who preceded David. Mephibosheth was the surviving heir to the dynasty of Saul. By all ancient custom and practice, David should regard Mephibosheth as a dangerous rival. But he didn't. David opened his heart big to Mephibosheth. And we saw way back in Second Samuel, chapter nine, how David opened his heart to Mephibosheth. He helped him. And even though Mephibosheth was rejected, he was in hiding, he was lame because of a childhood accident. He took this crippled man and he brought him into his household and he let him eat at the king's table. And he showed great kindness and generosity to Mephibosheth. Now, when David was fleeing Jerusalem under the threat of murder and overthrow from his son, Absalom, David was met by Mephibosheth's servant, a man named Ziba. Does this seem complicated to you? Do you know why it's complicated? Because it's real life. Look, if we were making up stories like Hansel and Gretel or Goldilocks and the Three Bears, those are pretty simple. Real life gets complicated. And so you have Mephibosheth and he's crippled. He should be an enemy of David, but he's not. David received him. He's got a servant, a servant, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. It's a little complicated, but you stick with it. You can grab a hold of this. Ziba met David when David was escaping from Jerusalem and Mephibosheth wasn't with him. And David said, well, Ziba, nice to see you. But where's Mephibosheth? Ziba told David, Mephibosheth isn't with me because he's stabbing you in the back, David. He's hoping that you and Absalom war with each other and neither one of you can get up off of the carpet, that you just destroy each other. And then Mephibosheth wants to come in and pick up the pieces as the surviving heir of the dynasty of Saul. That man has stabbed you in the back. That's what Ziba told David. So Mephibosheth comes to David as soon as David comes back into the kingdom. And did you see the description of him? He had not cared for his feet. Now, again, he was lame and crippled. He might have had sores and such like that on his feet. He had not cared for his feet, nor trimmed his mustache, nor washed his clothes from the day the king departed until the day he came back in peace. In other words, he was a mess. And when David met him, David said, Mephibosheth, go take a shower and then come back. No, no, no, he didn't say that. Verse twenty five. And so it was when he had come to Jerusalem to meet the king that the king said to him, why did you not go with me, Mephibosheth, why did you stab me in the back? Just like Ziba told me you did. Look at what Mephibosheth answers in verse twenty six. He answered, My lord, O king, my servant deceived me, but your servant said, I'll saddle a donkey for myself that I may ride on it and go to the king because your servant is lame and he has slandered your servant to my lord, the king. But my lord, the king is like the angel of God. Therefore, do whatever is good in your eyes. For all of my father's house were but dead men before my lord, the king. Yet you set your servant among those who eat at your own table. Therefore, what right have I still to cry out any more to the king? When David heard the story from Ziba, the servant of Mephibosheth, he was so disappointed at hearing that Mephibosheth had stabbed him in the back that he said, Ziba, I tell you what, you've been a faithful servant. Everything that Mephibosheth owns is now transferred unto you. I'm writing Mephibosheth out and you're in. Now, when Mephibosheth came back to see David, what do you think he would be asking for? David, give me back my stuff. You gave it all over to Ziba. Ziba lied about me. He slandered me. All what he said wasn't true. Listen, David, give me back my stuff. But you saw what we just read there. Is Mephibosheth care about his stuff at all? Not one bit. David, my only concern is that you're back and that you're safe. You have already showed me such kindness. I don't expect anything more from you. Now, I think that's how we should feel towards the Lord sometimes. Sometimes you get almost embarrassed to ask the Lord for more blessing. Not that you shouldn't ask, but it's like, oh, Lord, you've already given me so much. It's enough, God. Even if you never did anything for me the rest of my life, what you've already done is enough. Now, not that God doesn't want us to come to him. And as we saw earlier this morning, boldly come to him. He does. But there should be that deep sense of gratitude in us that we see reflected in Mephibosheth. Now, verse twenty nine. So the king said to him, why do you speak any more of your matters? I have said you and Ziba divide the land. In other words, David said, I'll change my ruling. No longer is it all transferred over to Ziba. Now you guys split it that way. You don't have to work together anymore after you've stabbed after he stabbed you in the back. But look at what Mephibosheth says in verse thirty. Then Mephibosheth said to the king, rather let him take it all in as much as my Lord, the king has come back in peace to his own house. Friends, I am absolutely. Impressed and blessed by the heart of Mephibosheth here. He doesn't care about his stuff. He cares about the glory and safety and blessing of his king. We're ready to transfer this over into our lives right now. Are you like Mephibosheth or are you like Ziba? Ziba was willing to increase the pain of his king, David, if he could just have more stuff. Mephibosheth, he said, David, the stuff doesn't matter. To me, I want to see you reign. I want to see you rule over Israel. That's the only thing that's important to me. You know, Mephibosheth was content to let Ziba have it all if he could only know that David reigned, I should say, you know, that's the heart God wants us to have. Oh, we get so caught up with the stuff. We get so caught up with the material things we have or we want or we wish we had or the rest of it. You know, when's the last time you had a real passion for the reign of your king to see his kingdom, to see his glory, to see his rule advance in our own community, in our own congregation, all over the earth. So that's my passion. All right. He's dealt with Shimei, he's dealt with Mephibosheth, now Barzele, verse thirty one. And Barzele, the Gileadite, came down from Rogelim and went across the Jordan with the king to escort him across the Jordan. Now, Barzele was a very aged man, 80 years old, and he had provided the king with supplies while he stayed at Mahanaim, for he was a very rich man. And the king said to Barzele, come across with me and I'll provide for you while you're with me in Jerusalem. Now, that was quite an offer. Barzele came and being a rich man, he saw David in a time of need and he said, I can help the king at this critical moment. And so he gave abundantly to meet the king's need at this critical time. And David was so appreciative that when he comes back into power, he says, Barzele, I tell you what, you come and live with me in the palace. Now, how about that for an offer? That's a high honor, isn't it? Barzele, I'm so grateful for the way you met my need in that great moment of urgency. You come and live with me in the palace. Look at Barzele's response here in verse thirty four. But Barzele, I said to the king, how long have I to live that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem? I'm today 80 years old. Can I discern between the good and the bad? Can your servant taste what I eat or what I drink? Can I hear any longer the voice of the singing men and the singing women? Why then should your servant be a further burden to my lord, the king? Your servant will go a little way across the Jordan with the king. But why should the king repay me with such a reward? Please let your servant turn back again that I may die in my own city and be buried by the grave of my father and mother. But here's your servant, Chimham. Let him cross over with my lord, the king, and let him do what seems good to you. And the king answered, Chimham shall cross over with me and will do for me what seems good to you. Now, whatever you requested me, I will do for you. Then the people went over the Jordan and the king had when the king had crossed over. The king kissed Barzele and blessed him and he returned to his own place. Barzele says, listen, king, thanks for the offer. I'm blessed by your appreciation. But man, I'm old. You know, those great dinners you throw at the palace? Man, I can hardly taste that food anymore. You know, the great concerts you have there at the palace? I can hardly hear that anymore. I can't enjoy it. King, just take my son. Most people agree that Chimham was Barzele's son. Let him live in the palace. I'll just receive your appreciation. Now, again, before we leave this and conclude the chapter, aren't you blessed by the way Barzele met David's need at this critical moment? He was a man of great resources and he wisely used those resources to support the servant of God and the cause of God. You see there in verse 32 that it says that he was a very rich man. And of course, that's what rich people should do with the resources. They should use them to glorify God, to further God's kingdom, to help the king, so to speak, in his moment of need. In Luke chapter 12, Jesus spoke of a foolish man who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich towards God. Well, Barzele wasn't like this at all. Barzele was of the heart where he said, I'm a wealthy man, but I'm going to lay up treasure in heaven and I'm going to be rich towards God. And God blessed him for it. Now, I know what you're saying. Probably every one of us is saying this. We're saying, well, thank heavens, David. I know there's some people who need to hear that, but I'm not rich. You know what? You're probably not. Maybe not compared to the people on your street. You know, you look around and you see the cars they drive and you see the car you drive and say, man, I'm not rich. You know, you look around the neighborhood there. How's it go? Look, I'm just, you know, I'm just average and you probably are, but that's comparing you with you on your street. Oh, go down to Mexico, compare yourself with the people down there and some of the poor sections of Ensenada. Go down, compare yourself with people in third world countries. We have a lot more resources at our disposal. Even the poorest of us here this morning, we have a lot more resources at our disposal than we often think. And we should be like Barzele and use them for the glory of our king. Well, let's wrap up the chapter and then I'll make a few final remarks. Verse 40. Now, the king went on to Gilgal and Chimham went with him and all the people of Judah escorted the king and also half the people of Israel. So you get the picture here of this great procession welcoming David, walking with them back towards Jerusalem. Verse 41. But now there's fussing and fighting. He says, then all the men of Israel came to the king and said to the king, why have our brethren, the men of Judah, stolen you away and brought the king, his household and all the David's men with him across the Jordan? So all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel. Well, because the king is a close relative of ours. Why are you angry with us over this matter? Have we ever eaten at the king's expense or has he ever given us any gift? And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah and said that we have 10 shares in the king. Therefore, we also have more right to David than you. Why then do you despise us? Were we not the first to advise to bring back our king? Yet the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel. You get the big picture here that here they are welcome back and they start fighting amongst themselves, and here's the 10 tribes of Israel on this side and here's the tribe of Judah on this side, and they're like pulling David in between them. Well, we've honored him more. No, we've honored him more. Well, he loves us more. No, he loves us more. Well, we should get more honor in this. No, we should get more honor in this. Now, part of this. Part of this is just the way God likes to write good literature. You know, in a good story. The plot development that will come in later in the story, the seeds are sown for it early and later on in 2 Samuel, we're going to see real fighting between the tribe of Judah and the other 10 tribes. Well, for right now, we're just seeing the beginning of it. God is a good writer, and so he's giving us a little bit of the story ahead of time. But it just goes to show you that even though David is back, all is not lost. All is not well. But friends, don't we have a great pattern for us? And I'll just conclude with this, how Israel had to receive the king back. David wasn't going to force himself upon them. You know, it's the same way in your relationship with the Lord. Maybe in some way you've been pushing Jesus, but you've been putting some distance between you and him. Well, you need to welcome him back. He is not going to force himself upon you. David didn't force himself upon Israel and our King Jesus will not force himself upon us. I remember very vividly in my mind here that this famous painting that somebody painted about what Jesus said in the book of Revelation, chapter three, where he spoke to his people and he said, behold, I stand at the door and knock. And if anyone opens and comes in with me, then I will dine with him and I'll have great fellowship is essentially what Jesus said in paraphrase. And can you picture that famous painting of Jesus standing at the door and knocking there? I remember hearing the story of how somebody came up to that painter after he'd finished the painting and they were critical of the painting. They said, look, here's Jesus standing at this door and he's knocking. But you've made a mistake. There's no latch on the door there. And the guy said, oh, no, very deliberately. I didn't put a latch because the latch is on the inside. It has to be open from the inside because Jesus is standing at the door and knocking. Some of us are waiting for Jesus to come like the SWAT team and bust down the door and take all of Jesus, whenever you want to bust down the door, you come right on in. Friends, he's not like the SWAT team. David is the example put before us here. He's waiting for you to just come and say, yes, yes, receive me in. And so to whatever extent you've pushed him away, once you turn your heart towards the king, once you welcome him back and after the pattern of Shimei, you can repent after the pattern of Phibosheth, you can say your kingdom comes first. And after the pattern of Barzillai, you can say all my resources belong to you. And embrace the king. Father, that's our prayer this morning. Once you move now, Lord, by your Holy Spirit. Upon wavering hearts this morning. Lord, I I trust that your word has already persuaded some hearts, but Lord, there may be wavering hearts this morning. Won't you touch them by your power? And by your word. We want to receive the king. And receive him just the way Israel embraced David. Lord, we want our hearts to be wooed back to you. Thank you for your gentleness towards us, Lord. It's just another emblem of your love. We pray this, God, in Jesus name. Amen.