The Heart of God

Today I want to talk about something that we celebrated a couple of weeks ago. This year, because we traditionally do in the church on the second Sabbath after the Feast of Tabernacles, we have the busing of little children. We had, I think, three little boys we had in front when we were there two weeks ago. That was October 21st. Of course, Mr. Armstrong, many years ago, he just made that addition for the church and sucked the second Sabbath after the Feast. Just following Christ's example, busing little children to have a busing of little children once a year after the Feast of Tabernacles, which most everybody would be back by that time. Anyway, that particular incident that Christ is doing at Busing Children is recording three of the four Gospels. I want to drive a lesson for all of us from that today. Out of those three Gospels recorded in, which is recorded in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, all but John, I want to look at the two of those three accounts to begin with here this afternoon. Let's begin by turning to Matthew's account, which is recorded for us in Matthew chapter 19. It begins in verse 13 of Matthew 19 here, where it says, Then little children are brought to him, they are brought to Christ. He knew I'd put his hands on them and prayed, but the disciples rebuked him.

So, they're probably brought to him by their mothers. You've got to think of a situation. This is the Roman world at that time, and the Roman world was a very, very dangerous place, especially if you were not a Roman. You're a Jew or an Israelite, very dangerous for non-Romans. These mothers obviously would have known there was something special about Christ.

They may not have understood that he was the Son of God, but they undoubtedly either saw or heard of his many miracles, many miraculous healings, and events that took place during his ministry there for three and a half years. So, they knew there was something very special about him. They thought he'd do those in the Son of God, or just a special problem of God, I don't know, but they knew it was very special, and they knew their children needed protection in the world they were living in.

It was very dangerous. And so, these mothers, probably mothers, maybe some fathers as well, but they brought their children. They wanted special. This was God's prophet here, at least, they knew that. Somebody special had special powers from God, and they wanted him to place a blessing on their children, not only because of the dangerous, dangerous world they lived in at that time. But you look at this, you read this, and you're a little bit astonished. Christ is training, you know, these disciples. And yet, when mothers or fathers or parents brought the children to Christ, these disciples, Christ's disciples rebuked them.

And can you imagine? Why would they do that? Well, they probably didn't feel children were all that important. Children were not all that important back in that world at that time. They were kind of second-class citizens, so to speak. And they probably thought he shouldn't be wasting his time on them. I'm just assuming. It doesn't tell us that, but that's probably the way they felt. But most of them thought not all the disciples, also, if you think about it, most if not all the disciples or nearly all the disciples at that time probably did not have any children of their own.

Most were probably not married yet. There were young men. Peter might have been married, as we know he was married later on, at least. But most of them probably didn't have children of their own. You could just kind of assume that from their dream very young and the situation they were in at that time. It's going on in verse 14. But Jesus said, Let the children come to me, and do not forbid them, for of such is the kingdom of heaven. So he laid his hands on them and departed from there. He laid his hands on them and he blessed them. But then he did even more than that. He said, There's a lesson you need to learn from this.

That's also very lesson for all of us. He said, Of such is the kingdom of heaven, or the kingdom of God. In other words, he said, If you want to be in God's kingdom, you better learn something from these little children. They teach a lesson that we all need to learn if we want to be in God's kingdom. Let's not go to Mark's account, which is in Mark chapter 10.

Mark chapter 10, beginning in verse 13. I'll just read verses 13 through 15, which gives the account in Mark. Then they brought little children to him, beginning in verse 13, and he that he might touch them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was greatly displeased. And he said to them, Let the little children come to me, and do not forbid them, for of such is the kingdom of God.

So Mark puts it in even stronger terms than Matthew did. But notice two things from both of these accounts. There's two things to take note of. One, both say that Christ disciples rebuked those who brought the little children to Christ. And the Greek word translated, rebuked, literally means to censor or to forbid. As indicated by Christ's response, do not forbid them. Don't censor them. Don't forbid them. But Christ's own disciples are trying to censor or forbid those mothers or parents from bringing their children to Christ. So you have to think, well, no wonder Christ was greatly displeased.

He said, greatly displeased. But if that leads me to just have a little divert from my sermon here for just a moment and ask this question. You look at all of God's people today. What are we, spiritually speaking? We're all little children, aren't we, spiritually speaking? We're all little children of God. We're God's children. And so then I have to spend on that. And he said, well, look at God's churches today. Do any of God's churches discourage or even forbid their members from having close contact with other Church of God members?

And you say, no, don't let those little children come. They're exclusive. Do any have closed-door policies regarding the people of the world even? Saying, no, they can't come in here with us. I mean, you have to be careful. I understand that today. But, fortunately, that's one more policy I lack about the United Church of God is we don't have those kind of policies. It forbids people to come in here to meet with us, as long as we know a little bit about them at least. Or we don't forbid people going to other churches and fellowship them. We don't censor people.

But a second thing that we note from these two accounts, or the stands out here is this. It appears Christ accepted each and every child that was brought to Him. And you might not think of that too much, but it didn't have any qualifications. We know that Christ could perceive all things, as He did in the case of the Samaritan woman in John 4. He could perceive all things. He perceived that she'd been married, had her previous husband, and so on. But He didn't say, for instance, in this case, well, I can't bless this little child because, you know, he or she doesn't have a father. Or this little child was born out of wedlock. Don't bring this child to me. He didn't have any quality. He probably could have received that if that was the case. We don't know, it doesn't say. But we don't have any of the circumstances by these little children, what they've been born into. But regardless of that, we do know that Christ blessed them, no questions asked.

He just said, let those children come to Me, and do not forbid them for us such as the kingdom of God. And whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, will by no means enter it.

Now, but I want to diverge from there a little bit and go another direction of this and ask another question. How great is God's love for us as His little children? How great is God's love for us?

Does God want all of us to be blessed as His little children today? Today, I'd like to give all of us a lesson from this, from a little different perspective. Many of us can easily get discouraged at times. This is not just real encouraging role we live in. A lot of things can happen that can be discouraging.

And as you get discouraged, Satan can try to get discouraged. We can then also get discouraged ourselves by just looking and analyzing ourselves too harshly at times and saying, you know, I look at myself and wow, I fall so far short. How can I ever make it in the kingdom of God? I go, I have fallen so far short of the perfection of Christ. How can I make it? We can discourage ourselves sometimes. Some people do. They get discouraged that way because they're too harsh on themselves sometimes. I want to look at King David. You know, we all know the many faults and sins and shortcomings of King David. Amazingly, they're recorded in God's Word. They're part of God's Word forever. You can sit there. How would you like to have that of you? Say, well, here's, Mr. Shab, you look like a pretty good guy, but I want to show you the other side here. I don't think I'd want to record it in God's Word forever for the whole world to look at. But that happened in the case of David.

All of his faults and sins and shortcomings are documented. But we do know this, though. Here's the other side, the bright side of the story. We know that David is going to be in God's kingdom, don't we? He's going to be there, and he's going to have a high position in God's kingdom.

So, David, I would like to bring all this into perspective by relating a story. One story. I'm going to write one story down later on in the sermon about David's life. A story we can all learn from. A story that reveals the real heart of David and why God is going to have him, and he's going to be in God's kingdom. It kind of overrides everything else in shortcomings. Of course, he repented of those. He had a repentant attitude. But there was another thing here that really made God love David. It reveals the heart of David, and it also reveals God's grace and mercy in favor of the extent to all of us as his little children today. The title of my sermon here this afternoon is, The Heart of God. The heart of God. That's what I'm going to reveal to you, the heart of God. I thought of different titles when I put this together, like maybe David, A Man After God's Own Heart, or possibly How the Heart of David Reveals the Heart of God. But instead, I said, let's just focus on what really the bottom line, and that is the heart of God. That's the one I'll show you today, because God's heart is amazing. So, the first question, and we're going to talk about the heart of God as his little children today, and how he looks towards us as his little children.

How can we know the heart of God? How can anybody really know God's heart?

Well, we can get a small glimpse into the heart of God, I think, through King David, because it says, David was a man after God's heart. So, if you want to know God's heart, you know a little bit about David's heart. You can know a little bit about the heart of God. Let's start off by going to Acts 13.

Acts 13, verse 16. Just look at a couple verses here. Acts 13, verse 16. It says, Then Paul stood up, and he motioned with his hand, and said, Men of Israel, and you, fear God, listen. And then Paul began reiterating on the history of Israel, beginning in the next verse, verse 17. He said, The God of this people, Israel, they chose our fathers and exalted the people when they dwelled as strangers in the land of Egypt. And with an uplift of their arm, he brought them out of Egypt. Now, for the time of about 40 years, we know a bit of history of that. He says he put up with their ways in the wilderness, and he didn't obey God, like he brought out in the sermon there. You know, they didn't. They had 40 years, and they didn't obey God. But God put up with that whole generation until that generation died out, and it was just Joshua and Caleb left and entered the Promised Land. He put up with that for 40 years. And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, with Joshua and Caleb going into the Promised Land, and when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he distributed their land to them by allotment. He went to the allotment to each tribe, the twelve tribes. And after he gave them judges for about 450 years, a very brief history of Israel here, and then he gave them a judges for about 450 years until Samuel the prophet, and afterward they asked for a king. So God gave them Saul, the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, and he reigned as king for 40 years. Verse 22, And when he had removed him, Saul, he raised up for them David as king, to whom also he gave testimony and said, I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, who will do all my will. And then he goes on to verse 23 and says, And from this man's seed, from David's seed, according to the promise, God raised up for Israel a Savior, Jesus, Christ came through the line of David. So David here is called a man after God's own heart, from whom Jesus, our Savior, descended. Now, why did God consider David to be a man after his own heart?

Well, there are several things that reveal that, but for today, I just want to look at one particular incident in the life of David, I should say. One incident in David's life that showed why he was a man after God's own heart. This particular incident shows where this particular situation, this particular incident reveals how, at the time this happened, God's heart and David's heart were one. They were united. This story also reveals God's heart toward all of us as His children of the day. When we think about it and analyze it, and it reveals a tremendous grace, favor, and mercy that God has extended on all of us as His children. So then, how can we know the heart of God? In this story, by knowing the heart of David. Before I get to the story, I need to give you a bit of an historical setting. See, have a little background. So let's go into the historical setting of our story. The story is this takes place when Saul is the king. Saul had just become the first king of Israel, but Saul does not turn out to be a man after God's own heart. Let's pick the story up in 1 Samuel. Let's go back to 1 Samuel chapter 13. We'll begin the story there. I've spent quite a bit of time here in 1 Samuel and then a little bit in 2 Samuel. 1 Samuel chapter 13, beginning in verse 13. So 1 Samuel 13 verse 13 records, Samuel said to Saul, he says, Saul, you saw God's Samuel, God is speaking to Saul through Samuel. Samuel, God's prophet, he's called, we just read. He's also a judge. You have done foolishly, Samuel tells Saul. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which he commanded you. For now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for himself a man after his own heart. So here's your story. Look for a man after his own heart to be king. That's what he's looking for today, isn't it? Looking for man after his own heart to rule with with Christ.

And the Lord has commanded him to be commanded over his people because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you, Samuel tells Saul. God then chose David, the eighth and youngest son of Jesse. 1 Samuel 16, let's go forward just a little bit here to 1 Samuel 16 verse 1. 1 Samuel 16, 1 The Lord said to Samuel, How long will you mourn for Saul? Seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and go. I'm sending you to Jesse the Bethite, for I have provided myself a king among his sons. It's very interesting. I want to emphasize something here just a little bit. The word translated provided is the same word is translated to see up in verse 35, verse ahead of it. 1 Samuel 15 verse 35 says, Samuel went no more to see Saul. That word translated to see is the same word translated provided at the end of verse 1 in chapter 16. I want to point that out because I think when you look at it to see, it tells us something. God saw something in David. He didn't just provide himself a king by David. He saw something in David. He said, this man is a king of material. I've seen myself a king. It could be translated. I've seen myself a king among his sons. But here's the fascinating aspect here of 1 Samuel 16 verse 1. He looks at David and says, I've seen myself. He came from the sons of Jesse. And we're always talking about David. We'll find out later on. But David here at this particular moment, he's only 17 years old. He's a teenager. And he is the youngest of Jesse's eight sons. Jesse had eight sons and David is the youngest. He is the least one you would suspect who would be chosen to be a king.

Because the line of kingly rulership normally was passed down to the oldest son first and the second oldest and then so on. So he would be eighth in line. According to that way, the world doesn't for the most part. Also, David is only a teenager. And what has he done? What has he done to qualify being a king? He tends sheep. He sits out there in the field and he tends his sheep. That's all he does. So that's his experience. And he's only 17. And the latter thing you think about here, he analyzes it. David is out there in the field tending his sheep. He is totally unaware that God sees him. God is looking at him. God is analyzing him. He's looking at how is he tending his sheep. How is he caring for him? What kind of heart does David have? God sees everything that David doesn't think. They even think out there on one of God's washing me. He doesn't know that. But God is looking at him. He's seeing him. He's evaluating his heart. And after observing David, God tells Samuel, I've seen myself. It came among his sons. Among the sons of Jesse. So then the question, because what did God see as he observed David? If you look at the whole story and analyze it, God saw two things. One, he saw that David deep down inside his heart had integrity in the way he cared for his sheep. I know he had faults. He had sins. But he had integrity in the way he cared for his sheep. He really did care for those sheep. He really took care of them. He washed after them. He didn't want to lose a single one of them. And he was willing to fight for them. He was going to kill a lion. You know, whatever. But as he came to those sheep, he had no idea of course God was washing them. But a good definition of integrity is this. Integrity is what you do and how you behave when no one is watching. David didn't think everybody was watching, but God was. He was watching the way he was taking care of those sheep.

Number two, God saw that David was a man after his own heart. And oh, he cared for his sheep. He saw that what was really important to God was also important to David deep down inside his heart, in spite of his faults and shortcomings. Thus, David was anointed to become the next king of Israel. But it was going to be 13 more years before he actually assumes the king. He was 17. It was another 13 years. He was aged 30 before he becomes the king. So, during what happened during those 13 years, David is now waiting to become the king. Saul pursues David during his entire 13 years, seeking to take his life. And during those 13 years, David makes two promises to relate to the story. One is to Saul's son, and one of the others to Saul. The first promise is made to Saul's son, Jonathan. Let's read that in 1st Samuel. Begin reading that in 1st Samuel 20. 1st Samuel 20, verse 1.

I want to pass it. 1st Samuel 20, verse 1. Then David fled from Nyoth in Rama. He's fleeing from Saul, trying to hide, because he knows Saul seeking to take his life. For 13 years, he's fleeing to try to get away from Saul. Then David fled from Nyoth and Rama and went and said to Jonathan, Jonathan being Saul's son, he said, What have I done? What's my iniquity? And what is my sin? Because your father, your father Saul, he's seeking my life. What have I done the way he wants to take my life? He tells Jonathan Saul's son. Well, Saul had just tried to kill David with a spear in the king's palace. 1st Samuel 19, verse 10, previous chapter. Then when he missed, he sought to kill him again the next morning. 1st Samuel 19, verse 11. But Jonathan, Saul's son, he had a hard time believing what David was telling him. He said, No, that can't be true. My father wouldn't be seeking to kill you. What was he going to have against you? 2nd Samuel 19, verse 2. So Jonathan said to David, he said, By no means, that can't be true. You shall not die. Indeed, my father will do nothing either great or small about telling me first. I'm his son. And why should my father hide this thing from me? He can't be so David. He can't be seeking to take care of us. But then David took a note and said, Your father certainly knows that I have found favor in your eyes. And he has said, Do not let Jonathan know, know this, lest he be grieved. But truly, as the Lord lives, David tells Jonathan, truly, the Lord lives. And as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death because of your father. Dropping down to verse 12. Then, Jonathan said to David, The Lord God of Israel is witness. When I have sounded out or my margins have searched out, when I have searched out my father sometime tomorrow or the third day, and indeed there is good toward David, and I do not sin to tell you that, may the Lord do so much more to Jonathan. But if it pleases my father to do you evil, that's what he has. He has evil in Jensen's heart to try to take your life. Then I will report it to you and send you away that you may go in safety. And the Lord be with you as he has been with my father. And you shall not only show me the kindness of the Lord, then, while I still live, that I may not die. But you shall not cut off your kindness from my house forever, though not when the Lord has cut off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.

Now, the Hebrew word translated kindness in verses 14 and 15, is also, it also means grace, mercy, and unmerited favor. At that time, you see, when a new king came to the throne, he would sometimes kill all the descendants of the previous king to make sure there were no one else that could be there, that those left of the sons of the previous king that could maybe try to claim a right to the throne, to ensure that there would be no further revolt trying to overthrow the king. So, Jonathan is really asking David this. He says, David, when you become the king of Israel, show my family grace, favor, and mercy. Unlike the custom of some other kings, will you preserve our lives? That's what Jonathan is asking David. Will you care for us and provide for us and protect us that we may not be forgotten? He's asking David, when you become king, I want you to remember this, Jonathan is asking David. And will you protect and preserve the life of my son?

Jonathan is asking David, who might feel he has a right to the throne.

And without any hesitation whatsoever, David agrees.

David's love for Jonathan prompted him to enter into a binding covenant with Jonathan and Jonathan with David. Verse 16.

So, Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, Let the Lord require it at the hand of David's enemies. Now, Jonathan again caused David to vow because he loved him. For he loved him as he loved his own soul. So, the first promise David made was to Jonathan that after he became king, Davis is after he became king, that he would continue to extend kindness and grace and mercy in favor to any who remained of Jonathan's descendants.

Second promise David made was to Saul. Let's go forward to chapter 24, 1 Samuel 24, beginning in verse 1. 1 Samuel 24.1, it happened when Saul had returned from following the Philistines. They were told him, saying, Take note! Hey, we know where David is! You've been trying to kill him and find him? Well, we can help you. We know where he is. David is in the wilderness of Ngedi. So, then what did Saul do? He took three thousand chosen men. David just got small bands. He took three thousand chosen men from all Israel, and he went to seek David to find him and kill him. And his men, he went to seek David and his men on the rocks of the wild ghost. So, he came to the sheep-polds by the row where there was a cave, and Saul went into it and to his knees. But David and his men, he didn't know it, but David and his men were hiding in the back of the cave in the dark. Saul had no idea that David and men were there. They were staying in the recesses of the cave. Then the men of David said to him, Oh, look! Well, look what just happened! Saul just came in here. Look, boy, God has delivered him into your hands, David! He's been trying to take your life all these years. Now's your chance! You can go and kill him right now, and you can become the king now. So, the men of David said to him, This is the day which the Lord said to you, Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand that you may do to him, and it seems good to you. He told David, David's men did. And David rose and secretly cut off. What did he do? He cut off the corner of Saul's robe. That's interesting. David here could easily have taken matters into his own hands. He could have killed Saul, and he'd come to the king to visit right then and there. But David was not like the men of his day. He was a man after God's own heart.

So, instead of taking matters into his own hands, David said, No, I'm not going to do that. I'm going to put my trust in God. I'm going to let God take things out. I'm not going to do that. If I see something wrong, I'll let God take care of it. I know God can take care of it in his own way, his own time. So, David chose to trust God. Why? Because he's a man after his own heart. So, instead of taking matters into his own hand, David put his trust in God by waiting for God to work things out. Instead of taking Saul's life, instead of cutting off the life of Saul, he cut off a corner of Saul's robe instead. But here's something about David. Even that, even that bothered David. It bothered David. He even went up there and cut off a part of his robe without him knowing it. 1st Samuel 24 verse 5, it happened afterward that David's heart troubled him because he cut Saul's robe. Why would that bother him?

I had to bother in verse 6. He said to his men, The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master. He still looked on Saul's master. He said, He's the king. God put him in that position, far be it from me to take matters into my own hands and try to remove him. He's the Lord's unwinded to stretch out my hand against him. Seeing he is the owner of the Lord, I can stretch out my hand against him. God put him there. He's been known to be king by God.

So David restrained his servants with these words and did not allow them to rise against Saul. And Saul got up in the cave and he went on his way. Verse 7.

So David in essence promised here that he would not go after Saul to take his life, even though Saul had tried to kill David on a number of previous occasions. Verse 8. David also then arose afterward and he went out of the cave. And he called out to Saul. Saul was leaving, but he called out to Saul. Let Saul know he had been there in the back of the cave. He said, My Lord the king. He calls him My Lord the king, respecting his office. And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth and he bowed down to him, respecting his position, his office, showing deep respect toward that office, even though Saul had greatly abused it. Wow! What an attitude! Verse 9. And David said to Saul, Why do you listen to the words of men who say, Indeed, David seeks your harm?

Look, this day your eyes have seen the Lord deliver you to day into my hand in the cave. And someone, my men, urged me to kill you. This is a chance, David. How does deliver your enemy into your hand? And they urged me to kill you. But my eyes spared you. And I said, I will not stretch out my hand against my Lord, for he is the Lord's anointed. God put him there. God's going to have to fix this situation. I'm going to trust in God to work it out his way. So here, David makes a direct promise to Saul that he would not stretch out his hand against him, regardless of what happened. Going on to verse 11. Moreover, my father, C, calls him my father, having again deep respect for his office. Yes, see, the corner of your robe is in my hand. For when that I cut off the corner of your robe and did not kill you, then no one see there as neither evil nor rebellion in my hand, and I have not sinned against you. And yet you hunt my life to take it.

Then verse 12, David says, Let the Lord judge between you and me, and let the Lord avenge me on you. But my hand shall not be against you.

Going on verse 16. So it was when David had finished speaking these words to Saul, what Saul said is, Is that you, David? Is that your voice?

Well, the Saul reaction, he lifted up his voice and wept and said, Wow, this is a man who had been trying to kill all these times, and here he had a chance to kill me. He didn't. He lifted up his hand and he wept.

And then he said to David, You are more righteous than I, for you have rewarded me with good, whereas I have rewarded you with evil. Now, hold your place here, or just stay here. I'm just going to turn with me. I'm going to turn to the Gospel just for a moment. Because this is an example of why David was a man after God's own heart, because God gives us instruction in his sermon on the Mount. He gives all his disciples and all of us his followers instruction on the sermon on the Mount. It's a very difficult one. It's one we have a hard time with.

It was recorded in Matthew 5, verses 43 to 45. And David here is fulfilling this way before Christ gave it in the sermon on the Mount. Here's what Christ says in Matthew 5, beginning in verse 43. He said, You have heard of what said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.

But I say to you, love your enemies. Bless those who curse you. Do good to those who hate you. And pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you. Why? Verse 45. That you may be sons of your Father in heaven, for he makes his son rise on the evil and on the good. And he sins right on the just and on the unjust. So back there, we just read in 1st Samuel, that was David's attitude towards Saul. He was doing good to his enemy. He was trying to take his life.

Going back to 1st Samuel, picking it up again in 1st Samuel 24, verse 18.

Saul goes on and says to David, And you have shown this day how you have dealt well with me. For when the Lord delivered me into your hand, you did not kill me.

If a man finds his enemy, Saul, Saul's saying to David, and he's thinking to himself, he says, If a man finds his enemy, will he let him get away safely? Not normally. I said, don't worry, I do. He thinks.

Therefore, may the Lord reward you with good for what you have done to me this day. And now I know indeed that you shall surely be the king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand. Therefore, swear now to me by the Lord. Now he's asking David to make an oath to him, make a promise to Saul, that you will not cut off my descendants after me, and that you will not destroy my name from my father's house. So what did David do? Verse 22, David swore to Saul, and Saul went home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold. So here's another aspect of the second promise that David made to Saul. David promised not to cut off all of Saul's descendants, and he also promised that Saul's name would not be destroyed from his father's house.

Not long after that, tragedy struck Saul and Saul's house and his entire family and his three sons. First Samuel, go forward to First Samuel chapter 31.

First Samuel 31, beginning in verse 1. First Samuel 31, verse 1, now the Philistine fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and they fell slain on Mount Gilboa. Then the Philistines followed hard after Saul and his sons, and the Philistines killed Jonathan of Benadab, and Mokishua, Saul's sons. And the battle became fierce against Saul and the archers hit him, and he was severely wounded by the archers. Then Saul said to his armor bearer, Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised men come and thrust me through and abuse me. But his armor bearer would not, for he was afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword and fell on it, took his own life. And when his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword, and he died with him. So Saul and his three sons and his armor bearer and all his men died together on that very same day. Tragedy struck Saul and his three sons.

But that was not the only tragedy that occurred on that day. There was another tragedy.

When one particular lady heard of Saul and Jonathan's death, it caused her to panic. It caused her to flee with a five-year-old little boy.

And when she fled, Tragedy struck that little five-year-old child, but no one knew at the time that tragedy, not even David. But with that background then, and that historical setting, we can now continue our story of how the heart of David reveals the heart of God. In time, David's throne becomes severe, becomes king, and his throne becomes secure, I should say. As God blesses David and gives him victory over all of his enemies, let's pick it up in 2 Samuel now. Let's go to 2 Samuel chapter 8. Pick up the story there. 2 Samuel 8 beginning in verse 13. So this is now after David was kind of king for a while. He's came to become secure, having a little bit of peace after feeding his enemies. So David made himself a name when he had returned from killing 18,000 Syrians in the Valley of Salt. He also put garrisons in Edom. Throughout all Edom, he put garrisons. And all the Edomites became David's servants. And the Lord preserved David wherever he went. And David reigned over all of Israel. And David administered judgment and justice to all his people. So after this time then, now down, David's kind of settled in his kingdom. He's established it. And as one afternoon, he's thinking about things. David's kind of thinking about things. And he sits back and begins to reflect on his wife, on his love for Saul's son, Jonathan, on the life of Saul, and on the tragic day of their deaths we just read about. And he also starts reflecting on the promises he made to both Jonathan and to Saul. His promise not to cut off their descendants, and his promise to show kindness and mercy and favor to any received, humane descendants of King Saul.

Pick it up in 2 Samuel 9, verse 1. Now David said, as he's meditating and thinking about these things, he said, is there still anyone who has left of the house of Saul? You know, I promise to show kindness to them. Who's there left? Is there anyone left that I may show him kindness, for Jonathan's sake? I didn't want to do that because he promised to do that. To both Jonathan and to Saul. And David was a man of his word. He kept his promises. He was a man after God's own heart. God keeps his promises, doesn't he? So David gives him to keep that promise. But notice in verse 1 that David simply asks, is there anyone left of the house of Saul that I may show him kindness? In other words, he doesn't ask for any qualifications, regardless of who they are, regardless of what condition they might be in, regardless of whether or not they might be considered to be worthy, and regardless of what anybody might think. He didn't care about anybody's thoughts. He was going to want to see if there was anybody left. He simply asks, is there still anyone left? There was someone left. Let's pick it up in verse 2. 1 Samuel 9 verse 2, There was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and when they had called him to David, the king said to him, Are you Ziba? He said, At your service. Then the king said, Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, to whom they may show the kindness of God?

He might say, To whom I might show the heart of God?

How did Ziba reply to that? And Ziba said to the king, There is still a son of Jonathan who is lame in his feet. I mean, Ziba, you're trying to read between the lines, and Ziba seems to be telling David, Well, yes, there is someone, but, and I'm not sure you want to show him kindness, all that much. He's lame in his feet. You'd better think twice before showing him kindness in favor, or if he's not going to look very good in your presence as a king.

He's handicapped. He won't look that sitting at your table. What are people going to think? He's not going to fit in up there with you as a king. They're going to think, well, what's he doing here? The king's palace, eating at the king's table.

Notice David's beautiful response. It's response of a man after God's own heart. 2 Samuel 9, verse 4. So the king said to him, Where is he? He said to him, Where is he? What did he say? He said, Where is he? So he said, Where is he? He doesn't ask how badly is he handicapped?

Or how long has he been that way? Or how did he come that way? How did he come lame in his feet? What happened? Why, he can't walk on his own. He simply says, Where is he? Where can I find him?

That's the response of a man after God's own heart.

Didn't matter to David what condition his life was in or how he got that way.

He simply wanted to keep his promise. He gave his heart, reveals the heart of God. God's kingdom, a kindness, I should say, and grace and mercy and favor, perdition every one of us, is like that of David. God favors those whom he chooses to favor, regardless of what condition their life might be in, the time he calls in, or how they got there. He says, Hey, I see something in that person. I want that person. I'm sure what his life is in now, what mistakes he's made.

See, God saw something aside, aside each and every one of us, it goes beyond outward appearance of the circumstances as David did here. So all he says, Where is this son of Jonathan?

This is the Senate of the House of Saul. Verse 4, the king said to him, Where is he? And Zivah said to the king, Indeed, he is in the house of Makr, the son of Amiel. He said, He's in low debar. You're fighting. He's in low debar. Low debar? He says, He's in low debar. Anybody watching know what that is? Anybody know? What land was that name? Where is it located? What's the name about that city? How many people live there? Where was it? I don't think most of us heard too much about it. It's not a place enemies are really probably very familiar with, but the name itself tells us a lot. Low debar in Hebrew means no, and debar in Hebrew means pasture or pasture land. So low debar literally means no pasture or no pasture land, which indicates what? Indicates it was a barren and desolate place that not very many people travel to. Why was this son of Jonathan who was laying in both of his feet, what was he doing out in some place like that? Why was he out in low debar in a place that was desolate and barren?

He was there because he was one of the former kings of sons.

He was a potential heir to the throne. He's in hiding. He's been taken there by his guardian to live out his life as an obscure bear in an obscure bare and desolate place where people seldom travel, where he was unlikely to be discovered. That's that's what I read into that.

By this time, of course, he's no longer a child. He is now a young man, and he has probably been told that why he's out there, why he's in hiding in low debar. He doesn't know David. He doesn't know what kind of king David is. Never met him.

He doesn't know that David is not like other kings.

He doesn't know that David is a man after God's own heart. How long has he been in hiding? How long has he been in low debar?

He has been hiding since the day his father, Jonathan, and his grandfather Saul have been killed in battle. He had been in hiding from the time he was about a little child of only five years of age. Who was he? Second Samuel 9 verse 5. Then the king sinned and brought him out of the house of Macar, the son of Emiles from low debar. Now, when Mephibos said, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, had come to David, he fell on his face, and he prostered himself. And David said, Mephibos said, and the answer is, here's your sermon. His name was Mephibos. I want to ask something.

People's names, the reason they have a name, the name depicts something.

Anybody know what Mephibos means in Hebrew? It means dispeller of shame.

It means one who was driven away because his condition would have brought shame on the house of Saul, even though his condition was no fault of his own, as we'll see. He was a child who grew up having to live with shame and who now needed to be blessed. We're talking about blessing of little children. He'd been living in shame, but he needed a blessing, and he'd be blessed. As he appeared before the king, he must have been trembling because he realized what the decision was. If you find the living descendant of a previous king, you take his life to make sure he would not try to cause revolt to assume the throne that you now held. After all these years in hiding, he had finally been discovered by the new king. How had Mephibos said, become lame in his feet? Let's go back just a few chapters and find out. 2 Samuel chapter 4. 2 Samuel is recorded for us. What happened? 2 Samuel chapter 4 and verse 4. Jonathan, Saul's son, had a son who was lame in his feet. He was only five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan's death came from Jezreel, and his nurse took him up and fled. She thought because she realized, well, I'm going to have to go into hiding. If they discover this son, they'll kill him. So the nurse took him up and fled, and it happened that she made haste to flee, that he fell and became lame. His name was Mephibos.

Well, more probably, his name became Mephibos, to fetch his condition after he had become lame. His garden either tripped and fell with him in her arms, or she dropped him, and became lame in both feet for the rest of his life. And at the time, he couldn't walk. He had to be carried by somebody wherever he went. Let's go back here in 2 Samuel 9 again.

2 Samuel 9, picking it up in verse 6. Now, Mephibos says, the son of Soneth and the son of Saul had come to David. He fell on his face, and he propped himself. And David said, Mephibos said, and he probably answered kind of trembling, thinking, maybe this is the end. This is the end. He's going to take my wife. He answered and said, well, here is your servant. What did David do? Verse 7. So David said to him, don't fear, don't be afraid. I'm not going to take your wife. I'm not like other kings. I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan, your father's sake. I'm going to restore to you all the land of Saul, your grandfather. And I'm going to have you eat bread at my table continually. I'm going to treat you like a king's son. Wow! What a shock that must have been to Mephibos. He was probably expecting death. Instead, he is offered a place at the king's table. Instead of death, David chose an honor. David honors him.

How did Mephibos respond to that? Notice his response in verse 8. Then he bowed himself, and he said, what is your servant that you should look upon such a dead dog as I? Why? What humility. And yes, he says, hey, I'm just a worthless cripple.

Why would you want something like me to eat bread at your table continually? I can't even walk on my own. People are going to have to carry me into the table and sit me in a chair. And if I need to get up, they're going to have to pick me up and carry me wherever I need to go. How's that going to make you look, David? Why would you want something like me to eat at your table?

Why? Because David was a man after God's own heart. And God's heart loves all of his children regardless of what the condition might be. And God says to his children, as Christ said to the old children who were brought to him, forbid them not for all such as the kingdom of God. 2 Samuel 9 verse 9. And the king called to Zippah, saw a servant, and he said to him, I have given to your master's son all that belonged to Solomon to all his sons. I'm going to treat him like a king's son. I'm going to give him everything he needs to belong to that he deserved. He would have had if he'd actually become the king. You therefore, he tells Zippah, and your sons and your servants, you shall work the land for him, and you shall bring him in the harvest for him, that your master's son may have food to eat. And then Zippah said to the king, according to all the my lord, the king has commanded his servants so well your servant do. That's where Maseebah said, the king, he's going to eat at my table like one of the king's son. I'm going to treat him like a son of a king. I'm going to treat him like a king. He's going to eat at my table continually. And Maseebah said, had a young son whose name was Micah, and all who joined the house of Zippah were servants of Maseebah said, so Maseebah said, dwell in Jerusalem, for he ate continually at the king's table. And then it ends by saying, and he was lying in both feet. So that's how the heart of David reveals the heart of God. I want to end with this, because this story is also our story. It's my story. It's your story.

We, like Maseebah said, had death hanging over our heads, didn't we?

In an early age, we all stumbled and fell and became spiritually crippled by sin, or handicapped. However you want to word it.

Crippled or handicapped, or lame as it were, in both feet. By walking contrary to God, our feet to pick walking, either with God or contrary to God. Both our feet were kind of lame, because we walked contrary to God, before God opened our minds and called us. The zone our lives became barren or desolate, by walking contrary to God. And all of us, in one way or another, then hid from God in our own low debar, we could say. Then, when the king revealed himself to us, he didn't give us what we really would have expected when Christ revealed himself to us. He didn't give us what we expected. We should have expected and observed death, but instead of death, he gave us honor. He honored us by giving us an invitation to sit at his table and to dine with him at the marriage supper of the Lamb. So I want you to be special honored to guess that my marriage supper is coming up.

The king being, of course, Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. But why has God given us that invitation? Because that is the heart of God.

And that is how God's kindness, mercy, grace, and favor works toward all of us as his children today.

In some conclusion, God revealed himself to us and has invited us to be a part of his family. He continued at his table and to live in the King's palace in the future, Kingdom of God in the King City of New Jerusalem, as a part of his own family. I want to end with a couple scriptures here. The verses go to John 14.

John 14, just the first three verses. Let your heart not be troubled, or let not your heart be troubled. Do you believe in God and God's promises? Christ said, believe also in me. Because in my father's house, there are many mansions, many positions, many wonderful seats at my table. For not so, I would have told you, I'd go and I'd prepare a special place for you, a place of honor.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, the where I am there you may be also. And finally, let's go to Psalm 23. I'm also married to Psalm 23, but I think it's a good place to end.

Psalm 23, verse 1, Psalm with David. The Lord is my shepherd. I don't have to worry. I shall not want anything else. That's all I need. Because he makes me to lay down in green pastures. He leaves me beside the still waters. He restores my soul. He restores my life. He leaves me in the paths of righteousness for his namesake. And though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil because you can always be with me. And your rod and your staff, they're going to guide me and comfort me. You're going to guide my life.

So it can be in your kingdom. And you're going to give me comfort through all the things I face in life that are discouraging. And you prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies. You know my head with oil. My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. So when we look at ourselves and our own lives, we can say, as Mephibos said, dead to David, what is your servant that you should look upon such a dead dog as I? I can all say that. I've said that many times. In Christ, will I answer, let those who are like little children come to me, and forbid them not, for out such is the kingdom of God. So that then is the story of King David and Mephibos' death, and the story of how David was a man after God's own heart. And how David's heart reveals the heart of God.