After mourning for Saul and enquiring of God as to what he should do, David said, "And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah." II Samuel 2:4. But David was not accepted in Israel, only by Judah, his tribe. Yet he did not force himself upon the other tribes of Israel for seven and a half years. II Samuel 2:8-11. According to II Samuel 2:12, it was Ishbosheth, Saul's relative, who initiated some sort of confrontation with David's army: "And Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ishbosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon." II Samuel 2:12.
War ensued. "Now there was long war between the house of Saul and the house of David: but David waxed stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul waxed weaker and weaker." II Samuel 3:1. All knew that David was promised the kingship, for after Abner, Ishbosheth's general, was accused by Ishbosheth of sleeping with one of Saul's concubines, he said to Ishbosheth: "So do God to Abner, and more also, except, as the LORD hath sworn to David, even so I do to him; To translate the kingdom from the house of Saul, and to set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan even to Beersheba." II Samuel 3:9-10. Abner was good on his word to Ishbosheth.
"And Abner had communication with the elders of Israel, saying, Ye sought for David in times past to be king over you: Now then do it: for the LORD hath spoken of David, saying, By the hand of my servant David I will save my people Israel out of the hand of the Philistines, and out of the hand of all their enemies. And Abner also spake in the ears of Benjamin: and Abner went also to speak in the ears of David in Hebron all that seemed good to Israel, and that seemed good to the whole house of Benjamin."
II Samuel 3:17-19. So, for over seven years, Abner, Ishbosheth, and the rest of the nation outside Judah were all in rebellion against God's choice of king. Unlike Abraham Lincoln and the American disunion of 1861, David did not instigate a war to "unite" the nation in order to enforce acceptance of his rule by the entire country. He waited, and the time eventually came when the other tribes of Israel accepted him.
"Then came all the tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron, and spake, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh. Also in time past, when Saul was king over us, thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and the LORD said to thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be a captain over Israel. So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and king David made a league with them in Hebron before the LORD: and they anointed David king over Israel. David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months: and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years over all Israel and Judah."
II Samuel 5:1-5. The chronology of the bible indicates the year in which David was accepted by the rest of the tribes would have occurred approximately 1000 B.C.
David's rise to power after his anointing by the prophet Samuel took at least a decade, probably close to twenty years, if you add the seven and a half years it took the other tribes to accept him after Judah installed him in office. He fought many battles for the sole reason that God intended him to be king, but he instigated none of those battles. They started because of those who refused to accept God's choice.
Saturday, March 19, 2016
The Connections Between Forsaking God & Higher Taxes
Through Moses, God commanded limits upon the king.
"When thou art come unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me; Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother. But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the LORD hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way. Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold."
Deuteronomy 17:14-17. In the ancient world, these were astounding words, for kings of the East were supposed to be wealthy, powerful, and have many wives.
"The Mosaic law did not forbid other men from accumulating gold and silver. They did not possess civil power. Their wealth was not a threat to the nation. A king’s wealth was, for it persuaded him that he was doing all the right things. The Mosaic law established a unique, historically unprecedented set of restrictions on kings. The Mosaic law warned kings not to accumulate what in private life would not be prohibited. A citizen is surrounded by restraints. A king is not. A successful
king accumulates wealth as a sign of his success. “If you’ve got it, flaunt it!” The centralization of power is a threat to the nation, both internally and internationally."
Gary North, "Disobedience and Defeat: An Economic Commentary on the Historical Books" (Dallas, GA: Point Five Press, 2012), p. 136 (footnotes omitted).
I heard a sermon once on the three G's that are the Christian's greatest temptation and that lead to failure: Girls, Gold, Glory. In the context of the limitations on the king of Israel, horses stand for glory, and the rest speak for themselves. These are also the great temptations for the public official. These violations of God's law by Solomon caused a more severe sin: His foreign wives lead him to the worship of many gods. Solomon became a polytheist. The true religion was broken into pieces; therefore, God caused Israel to be broken to pieces
Not during Solomon's reign for the sake of David, but later in his son's reign, God ensured the division of the northern tribes from Judah in the south. See I Kings 11:7-13. And what was the earthly instrument that God used to accomplish this division? Rehoboam, Solomon's son, listened to his young advisors and decided to raise taxes. That's right; a tax revolt caused the division of the kingdom.
"And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the old men's counsel that they gave him; And spake to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke: my father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. Wherefore the king hearkened not unto the people; for the cause was from the LORD, that he might perform his saying, which the LORD spake by Ahijah the Shilonite unto Jeroboam the son of Nebat. So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents."
I Kings 12:13-16. One can make a political statement about this state of affairs. The forsaking of the one true God creates higher taxes and division in the unfaithful society. The choice of a king in itself was bad enough, a sign that they had turned from God to man. God had warned that the people's children and property would be expropriated by their king.
"And Samuel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of him a king. And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots. And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots. And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers. And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants. And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants. And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work. He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants. And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day."
I Samuel 8:10-18. At the time that Rehoboam caused a tax revolt, the people were already suffering under that prophetic word. Higher taxes just ramped the misery to a new level. What would be the sign that a society had forsaken polytheism and trusting in man and had returned to the true God? Could it be local and limited government?
But such a theory not so big a stretch, is it? If you turn to the civil government for support, then you'll have to pay for it. You must sacrifice to the god you choose. If you think the civil government can solve all your problems and provide your needs, then you will have to pay for it.
"Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD." Jeremiah 17:5.
"When thou art come unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me; Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother. But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the LORD hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way. Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold."
Deuteronomy 17:14-17. In the ancient world, these were astounding words, for kings of the East were supposed to be wealthy, powerful, and have many wives.
"The Mosaic law did not forbid other men from accumulating gold and silver. They did not possess civil power. Their wealth was not a threat to the nation. A king’s wealth was, for it persuaded him that he was doing all the right things. The Mosaic law established a unique, historically unprecedented set of restrictions on kings. The Mosaic law warned kings not to accumulate what in private life would not be prohibited. A citizen is surrounded by restraints. A king is not. A successful
king accumulates wealth as a sign of his success. “If you’ve got it, flaunt it!” The centralization of power is a threat to the nation, both internally and internationally."
Gary North, "Disobedience and Defeat: An Economic Commentary on the Historical Books" (Dallas, GA: Point Five Press, 2012), p. 136 (footnotes omitted).
I heard a sermon once on the three G's that are the Christian's greatest temptation and that lead to failure: Girls, Gold, Glory. In the context of the limitations on the king of Israel, horses stand for glory, and the rest speak for themselves. These are also the great temptations for the public official. These violations of God's law by Solomon caused a more severe sin: His foreign wives lead him to the worship of many gods. Solomon became a polytheist. The true religion was broken into pieces; therefore, God caused Israel to be broken to pieces
Not during Solomon's reign for the sake of David, but later in his son's reign, God ensured the division of the northern tribes from Judah in the south. See I Kings 11:7-13. And what was the earthly instrument that God used to accomplish this division? Rehoboam, Solomon's son, listened to his young advisors and decided to raise taxes. That's right; a tax revolt caused the division of the kingdom.
"And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the old men's counsel that they gave him; And spake to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke: my father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. Wherefore the king hearkened not unto the people; for the cause was from the LORD, that he might perform his saying, which the LORD spake by Ahijah the Shilonite unto Jeroboam the son of Nebat. So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents."
I Kings 12:13-16. One can make a political statement about this state of affairs. The forsaking of the one true God creates higher taxes and division in the unfaithful society. The choice of a king in itself was bad enough, a sign that they had turned from God to man. God had warned that the people's children and property would be expropriated by their king.
"And Samuel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of him a king. And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots. And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots. And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers. And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants. And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants. And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work. He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants. And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day."
I Samuel 8:10-18. At the time that Rehoboam caused a tax revolt, the people were already suffering under that prophetic word. Higher taxes just ramped the misery to a new level. What would be the sign that a society had forsaken polytheism and trusting in man and had returned to the true God? Could it be local and limited government?
But such a theory not so big a stretch, is it? If you turn to the civil government for support, then you'll have to pay for it. You must sacrifice to the god you choose. If you think the civil government can solve all your problems and provide your needs, then you will have to pay for it.
"Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD." Jeremiah 17:5.
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