Sermon on 2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33. This is the seventh sermon in the series A Royal Life.
We are called to live as a holy nation, a royal priesthood, God's special possession. So what does a royal life look like? How can we, as children of the King, live a royal life? Each sermon will explore habits and decisions that drive us closer to God or further away from God.
In the sermon, we explore how David models unconditional love for Absalom, and God loves us in the same way, not desiring our deaths.
We had some technical difficulties with the audio for this. Below is a copy of Pastor Joel's sermon manuscript from the lost portion:
"There were jokers, of course. People who shared that having grandchildren is God’s reward for not killing your children. People who shared that we would never take a solid night’s sleep for granted again. But one person shared with us that having children is like watching your heart walking around outside of your body—this stuck with me.
"David has not experienced an easy life. In this way, many of us can relate to David. We’ve been looking at David’s life this summer to see what it means to live a royal life, to live as children of the King, studying the ways he succeeded and the ways he failed in his calling. David has been put through the ringer in a variety of ways—he was called from shepherding in the fields, thrust into a position of leadership, seen countless friends die, buried at least one child, and is fighting against another for the throne. I would imagine this is not the life David had in mind for himself when the prophet Samuel anointed him all those years ago.
"During the military battle in today’s text, David’s political and paternal instincts were at war. It’s cleaner politically if Absalom dies in battle—no more need to worry about an uprising, plus David can show any other would-be usurpers that the King doesn’t show mercy even to his son. But paternally, David doesn’t want to bury Absalom like he had to bury Amnon. No parent should have to bury their child.
"We see this struggle embodied in the text. Absalom is caught hanging between heaven and earth; David is sitting between the inner and outer gates of the city. Caught between two imperfect solutions, David yearns for his generals to deal gently with Absalom. Despite David’s shrewd political mind, his ruthlessness in having Uriah executed to possess Bathsheba, when it comes to his son, the political takes a backseat to the personal.
"But Joab, David’s primary general, who has been David’s strongman and enforcer throughout David’s reign, doesn’t care to deal gently with anyone, especially not the usurper Absalom. What matters to Joab is David’s office, not David’s feelings. The morality Joab shows here is an 'ends justify the means' type of ethic. It’s not personal, it’s just business.
"Each and every day, we have the opportunity to make decisions governed by expediency or by love. Maybe it would be difficult or awkward to call a family member you haven’t talked with in a while. Perhaps you’ve noticed a friend treating their spouse more angrily than they used to. Or you might have the opportunity to get a laugh from friends by throwing a mutual friend—or your spouse—under the bus. Expedience sacrifices relationships for convenience, putting personal comfort ahead of love. Expedience is the path of Joab, ruthlessly calculating, prioritizing number one, allowing the ends to justify the means."
