When He Sits on the Throne of His Glory 22nd August, 2009       That their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.  (Colossians 2:2-3)     Shadows of Jesus within the Lives of David and Solomon     “‘Moreover you know also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner and Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed. And he shed the blood of war in peacetime, and put the blood of war on his belt that was around his waist, and on his sandals that were on his feet. Therefore do according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray hair go down to the grave in peace. But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who eat at your table, for so they came to me when I fled from Absalom your brother. And see, you have with you Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite from Bahurim, who cursed me with a malicious curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim. But he came down to meet me at the Jordan, and I swore to him by the LORD, saying, “I will not put you to death with the sword.” Now therefore, do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man and know what you ought to do to him; but bring his gray hair down to the grave with blood.’ So David rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David. The period that David reigned over Israel was forty years; seven years he reigned in Hebron, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years. Then Solomon sat on the throne of his father David; and his kingdom was firmly established.”  (1 Kings 2:5-12)       We have already discussed an event that occurred when David was old and approaching his death, and we have seen how we need to consider this event through the Bible as a whole and within the long path of history. We have also thought about how we need to consider ourselves in light of such matters while we are living on this earth. And we have taken a close look at Abner, and discussed the end that was met by Adonijah and his followers when he aspired to become king. Now we will turn to events that occurred not during the time of First Kings chapters 1 and 2, but a long time before that, when David was active, and we will examine the actions of Amasa, Barzillai, and Shimei in regard to David.     When we read passages like this, we need to remember first and foremost that the Bible was recorded in order to testify of Jesus Christ. We must never forget this. If we do not read this passage carefully, we may mistakenly think it to be talking about a particular person or special group of people. Individuals may, of course, find a lesson to be learned from this passage, but first we need to consider the connection between these people and Jesus.     Jesus was born into this world, He was crucified and He died. Then, He rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, where He is now seated at the right hand of God. This is where we must first put our faith. This is, of course, what we have to do. Jesus suffered and died on the cross. Through His death, I, too, was buried, and through faith of His resurrection and ascension into heaven where He is seated at the right hand of God, my spirit is also restored with Him; it is made alive and rests in the bosom of Jesus. We can know through passages in Ephesians and Galatians that our spirits are with Jesus as He sits at the right hand of God.     But let’s take a slightly wider view of this. Some day, when the time for Jesus to sit at the right hand of God’s throne comes to an end, He will come again to this earth and establish a kingdom here, as it says in the book of Revelation: “Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him” (Revelation 1:7). Jesus’ kingdom, referred to as the kingdom of heaven, will be established.     When we think about how Jesus will appear in this way when history has run its course, we can see that His image will be very different from the way it was when the image of Him who comes back came to this earth. When Jesus appeared within the history of the Jews and lived amongst the people of that nation, viewed through the eyes of men He came across as a young man without much going for Him. We can find this image of the suffering Jesus in David. Then, in the image we have of Solomon, we can see a shadow of Jesus Christ when He comes in His glory as King of kings.     This is not simply saying that Jesus came to this world, suffered and died, and some day He will come again. In history, hidden away within the many experiences that David encountered in the course of his life, we find references to the kind of suffering that Jesus would endure, the events that the Jews who had Jesus crucified would themselves have to endure, and the things that the Jews, as a nation, will have to go through during the seven years of tribulation, right before Jesus comes again. Then, in Solomon as he became king of Israel, having received the sovereign power from David his father, in the way he dealt with people like Abner, Amasa, Barzillai and Shimei, and the way Solomon asked God for wisdom and received it as a gift from God, we have a shadow of Jesus when He returns as the Lord of the judgment.     God’s Great Plan that No Individual Can Thwart     Let’s think about what Joab did to Abner and Amasa. I have already talked about how Joab can be seen as presenting us with an image of ourselves as we live our lives participating in fellowship within the age of the Church. Now, I would like to discuss these matters from a historical standpoint, taking a look at various people and historical events as shown through Joab.     When we think about the history of the Church, we need to consider the verse in the Bible that says, “certain men have crept in unnoticed” (Jude 1:4), and  the passage in Luke chapter 19 that tells of a nobleman who gave his servants one mina each and when he later returned having received his kingdom, asked the servants how much each of them had gained. Through passages such as these, we come to understand that fellowship must continue to be maintained in accordance with Jesus’ command to “Love one another” (John 13:34), and in accordance with the word of God that says, “to create in Himself one new man” (Ephesians 2:15), “holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God” (Colossians 2:19). Nevertheless, we tend to get caught up in our own thoughts, and, unable to control ourselves, we are too impetuous in expressing our complaints and doing things that hinder the progress of fellowship. I am not talking about any one particular individual; this applies to all of us.      The conscience of each one of us has been alive within our hearts ever since we first realized the truth in the words of the Bible. You are probably well aware that a person who can boast a definite experience of being born again through the words of the Bible, will have a conscience that is sharp as a knife and that is more sensitive to sin than it was before salvation, and he will feel frustrated if he does not read the Bible in the course of his life. Even though he may be stubborn and his nature may still incline towards the flesh, a born-again person will still have the desire to follow the Bible’s commandment to spread the gospel. In our hearts, we have both the desire to obey and the desire to disobey. As a result, we identify with the words of the apostle Paul when he said, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24).     We can find something similar to this in the life of Joab. It is not our task to interpret Joab’s actions by linking them with those around us and saying things like, “Joab is just like a certain brother,” or “He is just like my boss.” We could, of course, see him as presenting an image of ourselves. When we consider Joab as he stood before David and Solomon, we need to think first about how we are as we stand before Jesus. This is the most important reason and purpose for reading the Bible. Otherwise, the Bible becomes the standard by which we judge and criticize others, and as we attempt to conceal ourselves, our understanding of ourselves as we approach the Bible may even be harmful to us. Therefore, when we read the Bible, we need first to remember the words of Jesus when He said, “These are they which testify of Me” (John 5:39).     Now let’s take a look at the things Joab did while he was with David. First we saw how Joab murdered Abner mercilessly. The sovereign power that was first established in the house of Saul passed over to the tribe of Judah. As it was written in the Scriptures and in accordance with the prophecies, David was anointed and became king. This event did not occur just because God’s Word had been given. Even if the plans have already been set, the individuals living within the events must be responsible for carrying out the work. So, when Abner proposed peace, David accepted it because it was his responsibility to unite the twelve tribes of Israel. This was not a matter that was related in any way to David’s compassion for Abner. Whether he liked it or not, David accepted Abner for the sake of the unification of Israel, God’s chosen people.      In the middle of all this, however, Joab murdered Abner mercilessly because Abner had killed Joab’s brother. What kind of thoughts cross our minds when we consider Joab’s action here? How do you react to this? Even though Jesus prayed that we might be united and this is being accomplished in the course of the fellowship we have together, have you ever allowed your own temperament and stubbornness to take over and disrupted this fellowship just because something you see is not quite to your liking? In the course of your life, aren’t you allowing your own sense of justice to supersede and trample on the command of obedience we have received from God and from Jesus?     This is also true from a historical point of view. Each tribe of Israel was given their own land. The Israelites also had kings and priests. Prophets also appeared amongst them, told them what sins they were committing in front of God and revealed to them what was to occur in the future. Through the Bible, however, we can see how the Israelites ignored and continually persecuted the prophets. This kind of behavior lies concealed throughout the history of Israel. The problem does not end with knowing the kind of person Joab was among the people of Israel.     The nation of Israel, as seen through the Bible, is very much similar with ourselves as a personal being. The desire to follow the flesh and the desire to obey the gospel co-exist within each one of us. In a similar way, the Israelites also had the Law, they had a king, priests and prophets, but historically, we find them constantly breaking away from this unified form and disrupting the balance of the twelve tribes.     This can also be seen in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The Pharisees, the Sadducees, the scribes and the elders of the Jews acted with the same attitude of contempt towards Jesus as had been their attitude in the past in regard to God’s word. And then they had Jesus crucified. But Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to the apostles, and then He sent the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. This incident marks the beginning of the formation of the Church. A record of this historical event is to be found in the book of Acts. Here, too, we can see how the Jews persecuted and attacked the apostles. Their reason for persecuting the apostles was not that they themselves did not serve God; it was rather because they believed that they were serving God in doing this. This was also the case with the apostle Paul. Because of his zeal for serving God, before he became an apostle, Paul took a leading role in wrecking and persecuting the Church. So, when we look, through the Bible, at the many historical facts and events in relation to Jesus’ words and the work that He accomplished, we come to think about how we appear when we stand in front of Jesus once again.     If Joab is intended to be an image of a brother or sister who is giving you some grief, why is it necessary for the Bible to include verses like, “Let each esteem others better than himself” (Philippians 2:3)? Naturally, in the course of our lives we see this kind of behavior within the fellowship. We may also encounter many hardships, and, in order to overcome them, there must be many discussions and many arguments may occur. Nevertheless, this happens because of the greed that lurks within each individual.     When Abner came to establish peace David, even though he had made Ishbosheth king, Joab took own anger out on him and killed him. However, when the servants of Ishbosheth killed their master, and then went to David to inform him of this, David had them executed. Thereupon, the elders of Israel went before David, knelt down and honored him as king (see 2 Samuel chapters 4 and 5). In this way, the twelve

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