DAVID STUDY #19----"PARTIAL SUBMISSION TO THE KING!"
(2 Samuel 5:1-5)
Intro: The nation of Israel is in a time of severe crisis. Saul, the old king was killed by the Philistines in battle. The three eldest sons of Saul were also killed with him. This leaves the kingdom in disarray. After Saul’s death, David returns from exile and goes to the city of Hebron. When he arrives there, he is crowned King by the people of Judah, 2 Sam. 2:1-4a. It appears that a change in dynasty is about to take place.
However, a little farther north, one of Saul’s sons, a man by the name of Ishbosheth has survived. Abner, who was the head of Saul’s army, quickly proclaims Ishbosheth as the King of Israel, 2 Sam. 2:8-10. This sets the stage for a brutal civil war in Israel. It also prevents David from seeing the immediate fulfillment of God’s promise to make him king over Israel.  David had been scorned and hated; he had been hunted, hounded and harassed. But, eventually, David ended up right where the Lord had promised him he would: he ended up on the throne as the King of all Israel.
As I read and study the events that surrounded David’s rise to power, I can see some parallels with your life and mine. You see, from the moment David was crowned King in Judah, until he was crowned King over all the land, there were problems and trials that fell across his path. 
(1)-(2:1-11)- THE PLACE OF PARTIAL SUBMISSION
A. 2:1-4a The New King Is Crowned – David’s big day has come. The moment he had waited for since he was a teenager had finally arrived. He is accepted, adored and anointed by his people. Surely, he must have thought that it would only be a few more days until the entire nation was bowing at the feet of their new king.
B. 2:8-11 The New King Is Challenged – No sooner is David crowned king in Judah, than some unexpected events begin to unfold up north. Abner, in an effort to prop up the old kingdom of Saul, elevated Saul’s youngest son Ishbosheth to the throne of Israel. All of the people, except the tribe of Judah, bow to Ishbosheth and proclaim him to be the king. *(What does this have to do with us?   You see, when we are saved, we get a new King. You cannot accept Him as Savior today and then make Him Lord later. He is the Lord Jesus. Now, that having been said, it is possible for a believer to offer Jesus Christ partial submission. . We want to be saved and we want to go all the way for the Lord, but somewhere along the way, we begin to pull back.  It may be some habit that we refuse to lay down. It may be some person that we refuse to separate from. It may be some activity that we refuse to give up. It may some command that we refuse to obey. It may be some old grudge that we will not forgive.  The possibilities are endless, but the results are the same. When we do this, we are guilty of partial submission to the Lord. 
(2)-(2:12-4:12)- THE PLACE OF PAINFUL STRUGGLES
Because of this division in the land of Israel, a high price was paid by the people on both sides. Their partial submission to God’s choice as their king cost them plenty in the form of the painful struggles they were forced to endure.
A. A Time of Terrible Warfare – 2 Sam. 3:1 tells the tale. “There was long warfare between the house of Saul and the house of David.” But, in the end, the outcome was inevitable. We are told that “David waxed stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul waxed weaker and weaker.” It was a foregone conclusion that David and his army would win. (Note: When a believer’s life is only partially submitted to the Lord, an un-winable warfare is always the result!).  When the flesh rules, there will always be conflict in the soul .....but when the Spirit of God rules, there will be peace and joy!

B. A Time Of Tragic Waste – (*In any war there are casualties. A quick look at 2 Samuel 2-4 reveals that the casualties in this war were severe. Let me list a few of them.)
1. 2:16-17 – Many men died in the first conflict of this war
2. 2:18-29, 32 – A young soldier named Asahel was slain by a seasoned warrior named Abner.
3. 2:30-31 – 20 of David’s men are dead and 360 of Abner’s men die.
4. 3:27-29 – Abner is murdered by Joab
5. 4:1-12 – Ishbosheth is beheaded while he sleeps by two assassins, and they are executed by David when they take the head of Ishbosheth to David.
Sadly, none of this ever had to be! If Israel had only bowed to the will of the Lord and accepted David as their King, they could have been all that grief and bloodshed. Their partial submission cost them plenty!   (People have lost months and years of their lives and service to God because they refused to bow in total submission to the King. Testimonies have been wasted. Opportunities have died before our very eyes while we wandered through the quagmire of partial submission to King Jesus. (Marriages have wound up in divorce courts, finances have nearly bankrupted us, years have passed that can never be retrieved!)
C. A Time Of Troubled Waiting – While all of t his warfare and waste is going on, what is David doing? If you read these chapters, he is not doing much at all. He is mostly passive as the battles are being fought around him. He is merely waiting on that moment when everything God has promised him will be delivered into his hands. For David it was a time of patient, but troubled waiting.  While we waste our time with partial surrender; He patiently waits for the day when we will finally yield ourselves totally to Him and to His will for our lives.
(3)-(5:1-5)  THE PLACE OF PROFOUND SURRENDER
After two years of struggle and civil war, all the people of Israel come to David and anoint him to be king over the entire land. This is the third time David is anointed for this office. The first was by Samuel in 1 Sam. 16. The second was by the people of Judah. The third is by the entire nation. They are finished with partial submission. They crown David King of Israel. As they do, they acknowledge three great truths.
A. v. 1 They Acknowledge A Relationship – They come to David acknowledging the fact that there is a family relationship between them. They are saying, “David we are connected by blood.” 
B. v. 2a They Acknowledge A Responsibility – Israel remembers the heroic deeds of David. They remember His power and the victories God gave Israel when he was leading the armies. They remember all that David has done for the nation and they realize they have a responsibility to bow before him.
C. v. 2b They Acknowledge A Revelation – They verbalize their understanding of the fact that David was King of Israel by the will of God. They seem to grasp the truth that to bow to David as their king is to bow to the will of God for their lives and for their nation.
Conc: The road to the throne was long and hard for David; but he finally arrived there and was crowned king of all Israel. Imagine the hardships the nation would have been spared if they had bowed before David as soon as Saul died!