(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

We're going to be in Judges 19 a little later. I just kind of wanted to read that to lay a little bit of a background, but we're really going to be looking at 2 Samuel chapter 20. So keep something there, but the text this morning is actually going to come from 2 Samuel chapter 20. 2 Samuel chapter 20. And the title of this morning's sermon is this, Sheba's Trumpet. Sheba's Trumpet. And I get that from 2 Samuel chapter 20 if you look there in verse 1. And there happened to be there a man of Belial, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bikrai, a Benjamite, and he blew a trumpet. So Sheba was there and he had a trumpet. And he blew that trumpet and he said, We have no part in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse. Every man to his tents, O Israel. So every man of Israel went up after David and followed Sheba, the son of Bikrai, but the men of Judah clave unto their king from Jordan even to Jerusalem. And what I want to kind of preach to you about tonight is the fact that whenever there's strife, whenever there's, you know, strife among God's people, there's going to be people there that are going to take advantage of that. There's going to be people like this Sheba, son of Bikrai, who are going to blow a trumpet and cause division and do all manner of things to bring harm to God's people. And I kind of want to just look at some things about this man, Sheba, the son of Bikrai, and see what we can learn about him this morning. So if you look there, because if you recall, it's 2 Samuel 19, that's when David is coming back into the kingdom after the rebellion of Absalom. And Judah receives him and then Israel gets upset that they weren't there to take part in it. We'll go over that a little bit later. And then in 1 Samuel 20, this is when that Sheba, the son of Bikrai, he's there ready to just blow his trumpet and pipe up. He's ready to jump on the opportunity when there's strife and division and there's conflict amongst God's people. He's ready to just blow a trumpet, draw attention to himself, deliver his message, and try to cause division, which is actually what he accomplished. Now, the first thing I want to point out, you're saying, why did you read Judges chapter 19? Well, because of the fact that it mentions that those men that did that vile thing were what? They were sons of Belial. And what that means is that they were reprobates. They did horrible things to this concubine. They wanted to know the man. Of course, that's a euphemism in the Bible, which really means that they wanted to have physical relations with that man. These men were homos, they were sodomites. But they were also called in that passage, if you noticed, sons of Belial. And that's exactly what this Sheba, the son of Bikrai is. It says there happened to be there a man of Belial, you'll notice in verse 1. So the first thing I want to point out about Sheba, the son of Bikrai, is that he's a reprobate. And like all reprobates, you know, he's a man of Belial, meaning he's a son of the devil. That's what that means. Belial is just another word in the Bible, another name for Baal or Beelzebub or the devil, basically. So when someone is a man of Belial, what it's saying is he is a child of the devil. He is a reprobate. Now, this is kind of a, we'll just go over to 2 Timothy chapter 3. Let's look at what a reprobate is. And what are some of the attributes of a reprobate? Now in Jeremiah chapter 6 verse 30, the word reprobate is defined. It says reprobate silver shall men call them because the Lord hath rejected them. So why are they being called by men reprobate silver? Because the Lord hath rejected them. Not just that they're rejected, but that the Lord hath rejected them. That's why there are certain men that will be called by other men reprobate silver or reprobates because God is the one that has rejected them. Not just man, but God himself has rejected some people. And this is a teaching that has fallen out of fashion, even amongst independent fundamental Baptist churches. And I'm not going to let, you know, pride month, the month of July slip by without reminding us, lest we become brainwashed by our society, lest we go soft on these sodomites, that there are people in this world that God rejects. That God says, I want nothing to do with them. They're sons of Belier, the reprobates, and that they're wicked. And they're given over, they're beyond the hope of salvation. The Bible is very clear about this. When God's rejecting somebody, meaning he's not going to receive them. Okay. You say, well, God loves everybody. Yeah. For God so loved, past tense, the world. Yes. God loved everybody at some point. And we'll get into Romans one in a minute, but there comes a point where people continually reject God, reject God, don't want to retain God in their knowledge, where it gets to the point where God just gives them over. I'm getting ahead of myself. You're there in second Timothy chapter three, look at verse one. It says this in verse one, this know also that in the last days, perilous times shall come for men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent fears. Look, they're all these things. It's not that some of them are this and some of that. These people are all of these things. These are attributes that they have. Every last one of these things is a characteristic of these people. And it says there that they are despisers of those that are good, and that they're traitors. Now that is Sheba, the son of Bikrai. He is a despiser of those that are good. King David, for all his faults, was a good man. But God says multiple times that he followed God with all of his heart, save in the sin that he committed with Bathsheba, that he kept the commandments of the Lord, that he was anointed by God, that God was pleased with him. Now, of course, he suffered for his sin. But you would say of David that he is a good man, that he is a godly man. And Sheba, the son of Bikrai, despises him. These people are despisers of those that are good. What else are they? They're traitors, meaning their loyalty means nothing, that they'll turn their back on a dime on people. They're their friend one day, and then they'll stab them in the back the next day. They're traitors. They're heady, they're high-minded, they're lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses and lead captives still to women, related with sins, led away with diverse lusts, ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. It doesn't matter how much scripture you show or reprobate. It doesn't matter how many times you preach the gospel to them. They're not going to understand it. Even if they understood it, they're not going to believe it. They're going to reject it. God's not going to give them that understanding. They will be ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth of the word of God. That's the attributes of these people. Go over to Romans chapter one. Of course, the quintessential chapter on reprobates and becoming a reprobate. The Bible says in Titus chapter 1 verse 16, they profess that they know God, but in works they deny him, being abominable and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate. Second Corinthians chapter 13, Paul said to the Corinthians, examine yourselves whether ye be in the faith. Prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates. Look, if someone's a reprobate, the spirit of Christ is not in them, and it never will be, and it can't be. Go over to Romans chapter one. Look at verse 13. He said, I know I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purpose to come unto you, but I was let hitherto that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles. I am a debtor both to the Greeks and the barbarians, both of the wise and the unwise, for in so much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, the just shall live by faith. You recall, well, we'll just move on here in verse 18. It says, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth and unrighteousness, because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God hath showed it unto them. Look, nobody's without excuse in this world. It doesn't matter if they've heard the Bible or had a Baptist preacher or grew up in a godly home. Everybody has the word of God written, the law of God written in their heart, and it says in verse 19, that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God hath showed it unto them. It says in verse 20, for the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even as eternal power and God had it, so that they are without excuse. Say, well, it's not their fault. They never heard the gospel. They are without excuse, the Bible says. You can like it or lump it. Sorry, Mormons who want to boo-hoo about the fact that they think, oh, it's not fair that some guy in Africa didn't get a chance to hear about Jesus. Take it up with God, because he says right here that they are without excuse, that the invisible things of the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made. You could just look at creation and know that there is a God, and Jesus said, knock and it shall be opened to, seek and ye shall find. Ask and it shall be given unto you, for everyone that knocketh, the door shall be opened to him that seeketh findeth. So if someone really wanted to know the truth, there's some heathen out there looked up and saw the stars and all of creation and God's eternal power and glory his God had revealed in nature itself, and he had the witness even in himself that there was a God. If he cried out to God for the truth, the truth would be brought to him. That's the promise of the word of God. They are without excuse. It says in verse 21, because that when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations and their foolish heart was darkened, professing themselves to be wise, they became fools and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made unto like corruptible man and to birds and four footed beasts and creeping things. Wherefore, God also gave them up. Those are important words right there that people need a mark in their Bibles. I don't mean cross out. I mean underline. Wherefore, God also gave them up. God gives people up to what uncleanness through the lust of their own hearts to dishonor their own bodies between themselves. Some are giving them over to the most vile affections that there are that are unnatural to a person. And he says in verse 25, who changed the truth of God into a lie and worship the saved, excuse me, worship and served the creature more than the creator who is blessed forever. Amen. Verse 26 again, for this cause, God gave them up again. I mean the Bible couldn't be clearer. Does God give up on some people? Yes. So I'm not going to waste my time trying to preach to people that God has given up on. And if there's people out there that want to just have a ministry to the homos, go right ahead. But you're wasting your time because God gives people up. He goes on and says, and God gave them up unto vile affections. And then he describes those vile affections and tells you what those vile affections are for even their women to change the natural use into that which is against nature. And likewise, also the men leaving the natural use of the woman, but under lust, one toward another, men with men working that which is unseemly and receiving themselves the recompense of their heir, which was meat. That is the vile affection that God is talking about of being a sodomite, of being a homo. That is something that Bible is clear. It's crystal clear here that they are given over to. God gives these people up to this. And had it not been for God giving them up to vile affections, they never would have done it. Meaning this, that they are doing things which are not convenient. They're not at hand. They don't readily come. Look, normal man struggles with that lust, of lusting after another man. That's something that God, when God gives you over to a reprobate mind, only then are you given over to that. And even then, people that participate in that, they know how filthy and disgusting and vile it is. That's why they have such a high suicide rate. And it says in verse 28, and even as they did not like to retain God and their knowledge, you say, oh, that's not very nice of God to give people over. Look, they don't want anything to do with God either. It's a two-way street. They don't want to think about God any more than God wants to think about them. Just like Pharaoh. Pharaoh, in Moses' day, he hardened his own heart before God hardened his. And he gave him plenty of opportunities to do the right thing. But he hardened his heart and hardened his heart, and then it says that God hardened his heart. People harden their heart against God long enough, God will just go ahead and finish the job for you and give you over to these things. It says in verse 28, and even as they did not like to retain God and their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, a mind that has been rejected, a mind that God will not receive. To do those things which are not convenient, being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity, whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventor of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful. And I want you to pay attention to that word right there, unmerciful. That is an attribute of somebody that's been rejected by God. To be an unmerciful person is an attribute that we should not be named among Christians. Matthew chapter 6, I think, says something about mercy. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. God implores people to practice judgment and mercy. Being an unmerciful person is sinful, it's wrong, it's wicked. And if you're an unmerciful person, at the very least you share an attribute with a full-on reprobate, somebody who's been rejected by God. Those that, you know, those that have been given over to reprobate mine are merciless people. They're implacable. I mean, you hear the horror stories that these people, sometimes, that these people do, and I don't want to repeat all of them. You've heard them, you know what they are? These sodomites that, you know, now they're letting them adopt, and they adopt these kids, and then you just hear the most horrific stories. You say, oh, well, you know, we hear the same thing from heterosexual couples. Well, you know what? Those people were probably reprobate too. You know, they're going after any strange flesh, whether it's their age or not. They're all reprobates. You can just put them all in the same trash can. Now, people that, you know, not everyone that has some of these attributes is a reprobate, okay? You can be proud, of course. You can be a boaster. You can be disobedient to parents. You can be without understanding. You could be any one of these things. You could be multiple of these things and share the attributes of a reprobate, but the Bible's saying here that they are filled with all unrighteousness, meaning they have all of these attributes. There's no, there's nothing good in them. They're reprobate silver. There's nothing worth refining. There's nothing, no good to pull out of it. They're just meant to be cast away and thrown away and burned. They're useless. And let me just say this, those that follow Belial, the sons of Belial, like this man we're talking about this morning, and if you would go over to 2 Samuel chapter 23, 2 Samuel chapter 23, they are wicked people. I mean, we read Judges chapter 19 this morning. I read to you 2 Timothy 3. We looked at that. We read Romans 1 together and read all the unrighteousness that these people are filled with. Look, these are wicked people. They're the worst kinds of people that there are. They're wicked. They're evil. The Bible says, if you recall, in 1 Samuel chapter 2, about the sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, that they were sons of Belial. They had another daddy besides Eli. It was called the devil. They're called the sons of Belial, and it says that they knew not the Lord. They were also rejected. And remember the Bible, if we were going through our study, he said there that God didn't even give them space, that they would not hearken unto their father for God intended to slay them. He'd already marked them for destruction because they were reprobates, because they were sons of Belial. That's what it means to be a son of Belial. Look, if you're marked as a son of Belial, you are a reprobate in the Bible. And it's something that comes up quite a bit. Now, you know, David here, this isn't his first run-in with a son of Belial. These were people that were around. I mean, good night, they'd taken over a whole city back in Judges chapter, you know, the end of Judges 19 and onward. You know, they destroy almost the entire city, or all the tribe of Benjamin rather, because they're, you know, the sons of Belial had just overrun that tribe. So they're still around even in David's day. They're lingering. You know, if you recall, when David, you know, goes to recover all from the Philistines, I believe it was in Ziklag, and some of the men were weary, and they had to stay behind and guard the stuff. They went to go get the women and children and things, and they recovered all. They lost nothing, and they brought it back. That the sons, there were certain sons of Belial there that said, don't give anything to these guys who didn't come to the battle. And David corrected them, said, no, no, they're gonna go. Even in Saul's day, we'll see that here in 1 Samuel coming up in a few weeks, where, you know, there were certain sons of Belial around him, and he held his peace. And it says that they despised him. He was made king. They are despisers of those that are good. So, you know, David has had more than one run-in with these guys. You know, old Sheba, the son of Bikrai, isn't his, you know, his first rodeo with the son of Belial. And, but I will say this, they made, they certainly made a lasting impression on David. I mean, it was something that he didn't forget, because if you look there in 2 Samuel, chapter 23, look at verse 1. Now these be the last words of David. You're about, you know, somebody's parting words in Scripture are pretty important. You know, when you're gonna pass away, probably one of the last few things you say are gonna be really heartfelt and thoughtful. You're gonna think about what you want to say. What are my last words gonna be? You think about your epitaph, I think is what it's called, you know, on a tombstone. You know, what do I want on there? What are my parting words gonna be to this world? If there's just one thing I could say to the world before I pass on, that my children remember, those that hear me will remember, what is it gonna be? You're gonna put thought into that. You're not just gonna recite, you know, you know, I, maybe I would, maybe I'd ask for one last taco or something, I don't know, right? But it says, Now these be the last words of David, David the son of Jesse, the man of God, and the man who was raised up on high, and the anointed of the God of Jacob, the sweet psalmist of Israel said, The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his word was in my tongue. The God of Israel said, The Rock of Israel spake to me. He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. And he shall be as the light of the morning when the sun ariseth, even a morning without clouds, as the tender grass springing up out of the earth by clear shining after rain. Although my house be not so with God, yet he hath made me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure, for this is all my salvation and my desire, although he make it not to grow. Now those are some nice parting words, aren't there? He could have added right there, he said that was a very nice thing to say. But were those his exact last words, or did he go on? What was the last thing he had to say? But the sons of Belial shall be as thorns thrust away. So here are my last words, and he talks about, you know, this nice little passage here about him being, you know, lifted up and set on high, and how God, you know, told them this, and God told them that. But he says, but one last thing before I go, those sons of Belial, let me tell you something about them. They, all of them shall be as thorns thrust away, because they cannot be taken with hands. And that's kind of a warning. That's a warning to us today. You know, all these people, all these Christians that want to reach out to these sons of Belial in the world, why don't you just go grab a bushel of thorns while you're at it? Why don't you just throw yourself into a cactus? Because that's, you're accomplishing basically the same thing, spiritually speaking. It's like spiritually just, you know, running into a, just a mesh of barbed wire. Well, I'm going to save you. It's like, what does he say here? They cannot be taken with hands. They are thorns thrust away. What else do you do with thorns? You thrust them away. You want to have a nice yard. You got a big thorny bush, and that's all, it's all it's good for. I mean, maybe it makes a nice barrier or something, but you know, if you got kids, you get rid of that. You throw it out. And these are his last words. Him just, you know, warning us and just ripping on these sons of Belial before he goes. But the man that shall touch them must be fenced with iron. You know, you got to put on all these gloves. You got to get the heavy leather on. You know, you're going to go out there and clear the thorns out of the yard. You got to have the long, I mean, I used to clear this kind of stuff when I lived down with my dad in the tropics. One of my jobs is taking machete to go out and cut down the bush, and every once in a while you run into thorns. And you have to wear these long sleeve shirts and get some leather gloves on and clear these things out. You know, the man that will touch these people must be fenced with iron. I mean, you don't want to just mishandle these people. You want to be very careful with the way you go about dealing with them. And really the only thing to do, and he says you must be fenced with iron and with the staff of a spear. You know, that's really the only thing, if they were being handled properly, that's what would happen. Keep them at a distance. Get a spear and just like keep them, they're like thorns thrust away. And they shall be utterly burned with fire in the same place. That's what you do with thorns. You gather all the thorns together, all that worthless brush, and you get a good pile going. And if you're like me, you get a big can of gasoline and just, till there's vapors in the air. And then you light that thing up, you know, wake up the neighbors and, you know, hopefully that's the only thing that burns. But that's what's going to happen with these people. And one day that's exactly what's going to happen to these people. God's going to gather them all together and light them on fire and burn them in hell, because that's where they're destined. I mean, that's how wicked these people are. These, Sheba's son of Bichrai, these sons of Belial, they made such a lasting impression on David that before he left this world, he made sure to just one last time let everybody know exactly what he thought about them and said that they're worthless, that they're thorns, that they shouldn't be handled, that if you're going to have anything to do with them, you better keep yourself protected, and that they're all going to be burned one day. Those were his parting words. Those sound like good parting words. You know, maybe if I have the chance to give some parting words, I'll do the same. You know, just have one last thing to say about all these faggots. Just rip them one last time before I pass on. That's what David did. I love it. And say, well, he's pretty hard on those sons of Belial. Good. You know, we don't want to get soft on these sons of Belial ever. You know, there's plenty of people, you know, Jeff Owens, who start out hard on the sons of Belial, and then when they get offended and they attack, you know, when he's on the 11 o'clock news or whatever, it's like, oh, I'm sorry. That was so unloving. I apologize. I was so young back then. You know, I didn't understand, but now I do that, you know, yes, it's a sin. No, it's an abominable, it's abominable iniquity is what it is. It's vile affection that the only way you'll ever even do that is if you're given over by God to do it. It's unnatural. It's because you've been given the heart of a beast like an animal. That's it. We don't ever want to get soft on these people. And look, that's what the world's trying to do today. Just soften you up. Soften you up, David. Well, they didn't get to David. I mean, he stayed, man, he wasn't softened up at all until the very end. He hated them till the, with his last dying breath. You know, he's uttering, you know, this curse upon them. We ought to be the same way. You know, we're all fired up today. You know, we're all about it today, about hating on the sons of Belial, the Sodomites. But what about 10 years from now? What about when we're an old man? What about when the, you know, we've had multiple run-ins with them? You know, David, you know, it's like, how many times did he deal with these people? They could have worn him down and just said, you know what, I'm just going to go along and get along. It's easier if I just, you know, back off and let's just not preach so hard against them. You know, there's other things in the Bible to preach about. You know, they're, but here's the thing, if we do that, people are going to be, you know, just brainwashed. Someone has to get up and like remind people how wicked these people are and shake people and say, don't get brainwashed by the media. Don't get brainwashed by your, you know, your fag cousin or whatever. You know, well, I see him at the party. He seems all right. You know, at the family gathering. Yeah, but you don't see what they do the rest of the time with their life. The filth that they're involved in. Go read some facts about them. Go on the CDC's website and go and read some statistics about that, that death style. They want to call it a lifestyle. It's a death style. So don't get soft on them ever. And I'm here to help. Okay. I will help you with that. Keep coming to church. You know, I won't go soft and don't you go soft either because these children of Belial, they're wicked. You know what they are? They're liars. They're a bunch of liars. Go to first Kings chapter 21 verse one. Look, you don't want to, you don't want to have any of these attributes. You don't want to share an attribute with a son of the devil. You don't want to be an unmerciful liar. And a lot of people out there, even people who are claiming the name of Christ is exactly what they are. They're liars and they're unmerciful. Look at second, first Kings, excuse me, verse 21 verse one. And it came to pass after these things that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. And Ahab spoke unto Naboth saying, give me that vineyard for I have gotten for, for that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house. And I will give it thee a better vineyard than it. Or if it seemed good to thee, I'll give you the work money, the worth of it and money. And Ahab said to Ahab, the Lord forbid it be that I should give the inheritance my father is unto thee. And Ahab came into his own house heavy and displeased. So he's pouting. He didn't get his way. Right. And he says, displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him. For he said, I will not give the inheritance of my father's. And he laid him down upon his bed and turned away his face and would eat no bread. What a sissy. This guy's such a Nancy. Just going home and pouting about it because he didn't get his way. It's pathetic. And then of course, you know, this is, you know, whenever, like I said, weeks ago, whenever there's a void in leadership, you know, there's, you know, it's a vacuum. Something's going to take its place. And enters Jezebel, verse five. But Jezebel, his wife, came unto him and came to him and said unto him, why is thy spirit so so? Oh, poor baby, poor baby. Thou eatest no bread. Oh, you poor thing. You don't get what you want. And he said unto him, and he said unto her, because I spake unto Naboth the Jezreelite and said unto him, give me the vineyard for money, or else I'll, if it pleaseth thee, I'll give thee another vineyard for it. And he answered, and he said, I will not give thee thy vineyard. He's just throwing a hissy fit. In front of his wife. Pathetic. And Jezebel, his wife, said unto him, dost thou not now govern the kingdom of Israel? She's like, be a man. Even she's like, okay, that's enough. Why don't you, why don't you get up off bed and be a man? You're the kingdom, you know, you govern the kingdom of Israel. Rise and eat bread and let thy heart be merry. I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. You poor little baby. I'll go get it for you. So she wrote letters in Ahab's name and sealed them with his seal and sent the letters to unto the elders and the nobles which were in the city dwelling with Naboth. So she's conspiring against Naboth. That's what's going on here. And set two men, and what kind of men were they? They were sons of Belial before him to bear witness against him, saying, thou didst blaspheme God and the king. Now, did he do that? No. All he said was, far be it for me to sell my inheritance. Now, this was, this was my daddy's and my granddaddy's and my great-granddaddy's, and I'm not going to give it to you. So, sorry, go find, like, that was the only plot of land in all of Israel that he had for his garden of herbs. You know, he wanted to have some oregano and he had to go try and take somebody else's inheritance. He's a wicked man. That's all he told him. Did he blaspheme God and the king? No, he just told him no. But here she is setting these sons of Belial to lie about him. And they carry, and they carry, and, excuse me, and it says, and then carry him out and stone him that he may die. I mean, she's plotting murder against this man. So this, so, so he could go grow some, you know, some herbs. It says in verse 12, and they proclaimed a fast and set Naboth on high among the people. Right? The flattery. Oh, set him on high. Naboth, come to dinner. It's in your honor. You should really be there. Yeah, we want you there. We even got a special seat for you on high. Oh, thanks. Wow. And he's just, you know, great. Yeah, I'll go. And it says in the presence of the people saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. And excuse me, it says, excuse me, I'm verse 13. And there came in two men, so then they show up to do their dirty work, children of Belial, and sat before him. And the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city and stoned him with stones that he died. Then they sent to Jezebel saying, Naboth is stoned and is dead. Unmerciful, implacable. That's what these people are. They're full of murder and envy and deceit and wickedness. These sons of Belial, they're liars. They'll even lie if it means taking somebody's life. They'll even lie to kill an innocent man. I'm sure they got paid. But what price are you going to put on somebody's life, on an innocent man? It makes you wonder how much. It was probably like Judas. They got 30 pieces of silver. They are unmerciful people. And because that's the way they are, let me just say it right now. God commands no mercy to be shown to the sons of Belial. God commands it. They're so wicked. They're such deceitful, murderous liars, unmerciful people that God says no mercy shall be shown. You know, bless the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. But if you're unmerciful, you know what? You might not get the mercy you need. Go over to Deuteronomy chapter 13. Deuteronomy chapter 13. God demands that no mercy be shown to the sons of Belial. Look at verse 12. Deuteronomy 13, verse 12. If thou shalt here say in one of thy cities, which the Lord thy God hath given thee to dwell there, saying, Certain men, the children of Belial, are gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their cities, saying, Let us go and serve other gods which you have not known, which is exactly what happened in the latter chapters of Judges. Then thou shalt inquire, and make search, and ask diligently, and behold, if it be truth, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought among you, make safe spaces. Teach tolerance. Get in the public schools and tell people to accept them. Right? Make sure every sitcom has a friendly, you know, homo character in it. Brainwash the people to accept this filth. Is that what God says? Then you just have to put up with them. No, he says, if it be truth, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought among you, then thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of the city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and all that is therein, and the cattle thereof, with the edge of the sword. And thou shalt gather all the spoil of it into the midst of the street thereof, and shall burn the city with fire, and all the spoil thereof, every wit, for the Lord thy God, and it shall be in heap forever. It shall not be built again, and there shall cleave not of the cursed thing to thine hand, that the Lord might turn from his fierceness of his anger, and show thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee. Look, if we as a nation want compassion and mercy from God, that's what you have to do. God holds the nation accountable that would allow this thing to go on in it. So you tell me how blessed America is today, with all the filth and iniquity and abominations that it's harboring and promoting across the world. And you expect me to believe that God's going to show this country mercy, just because of the colors and the flag, or just because of its past? I'm sorry, I'm not buying it for a second. This country is going to get judged. And of course, that should just motivate us to go out and reach the lost, and love the people of the land. But as a whole, this nation is cursed, because they've done the exact opposite here. He said, look, either do this so that I turn my fierceness. And you say, oh, why would God want people to do this? Because why would you want to have this done to people? Because I'd rather have that happen, to have God mad at everybody, and have God just turn the fierceness of his anger. Which he did, by the way, in Sodom and Gomorrah. What he said is set forth as an example to them which should thereafter live ungodly. And that's New Testament. Well, this is all Old Testament. It said in Romans 1 that they that do such things are worthy of death. That's pretty New Testament. And look, God's not asking them to do anything he didn't do. God's not asking them to do anything he didn't do. When he burned Sodom and Gomorrah to the ground with fire and brimstone from the sky, God commands that these people be shown no mercy, because they're unmerciful themselves. And they're just there to wreak havoc and harm people. They do nothing good for society. They harm people. They hurt people in the worst ways. They destroy lives. They bring the wrath of God upon a nation. They should be destroyed. Now, I'm not saying we should do it. I'm saying a righteous government would do it. I'm saying the people there were to counsel together, though the whole nation was to seek and take counsel and search diligently and find out if it was true. And that was how it was to be dealt with. I'm not holding my breath that this is going to happen in America. I'm sure they're not debating this up on Capitol Hill about the Sodomites, because probably they've got their fair share of Sodomites, sons of Belial, up in Capitol Hill. Unfortunately, the people that should be destroyed are actually running this country in many cases. But how was Sheba the son of Bikrai? Because remember, the title of the sermon is Sheba's Trumpet. Okay, Sheba's Trumpet. Sheba the son of Bikrai was a son of Belial, which means this, that he was unmerciful. And he shares a lot of these attributes. You can see some of them here. And what was one way that he was, you know, what's a way that's going to make you a Sheba the son of Bikrai? How about this, bringing up past sins, digging up dirt on people, bringing sins that people have already paid for, repented of, have not been found guilty of again, and throwing it in their face, or broadcasting it to the whole world. That's unmerciful. That's an attribute of a son of Belial. And people that practice it, I'm not saying every single one of them that do those type of things, all these trash YouTube channels that are out there, just trying to put everybody's, you know, past in their face, and see what sticks. I'm not saying, I don't know whether or not they're reprobate, but you know what, it wouldn't surprise me if they were. Because of how unmerciful they are. I mean, that's kind of what Sheba the son of Bikrai is doing here. He's not showing any mercy on David. I mean, don't you think David's been through enough at this point in the story? Go back to 2 Samuel chapter 19. Let's look at it. He just went through literal, you know, civil revolt, lost the kingdom. His own son rises up against him and leads a rebellion, and is then murdered. After he said, don't kill him, they kill him anyway. This other son has been killed. You know, this just, David's been through a lot at this point in his life. Look at verse 8. Then the king arose and sat in the gate, and they told all the people, saying, behold, the king does sit in the gate. So they're coming back, he's coming back after all this, right? This is the backstory to chapter 20. For Israel had fled every man to his tent, and all the people were at strife throughout the tribes of Israel, saying, the king saying to us, out of the hand of our enemies, and delivered us out of the hand of the Philistines. And now he has fled out of the land for Absalom, and Absalom, whom he anointed over us, is dead in battle. So now they're going, well, that didn't turn out the way they expected. Now therefore, why speak ye not a word to bring the king back? And King David said to Zadok and Abiathar, the priest saying, speak unto the elders of Judah, saying, why are you the last to bring the king back to his house? Seeing the speech of Israel's come to the king, even to his house, you're my brethren, you're my bones, my flesh, wherefore then are you the last to bring the king back, bring back the king? So Israel, they're wanting to bring the king back, and he's like, well, where's Judah? Where's my flesh and blood? Where's my own people? Why aren't they bringing me back? And he says in verse 13, and say ye to Amasa, art thou not bone of my bone and of my flesh? God do so to me, and more also, if thou be not captain of the host before me, continue continually in the room of Joab. Which then, you know, motivated Joab to actually kill him, because he wanted the power for himself. That's another story. But it says in verse 14 that when David spoke all these words to Judah, and he bowed the heart of the men, of all the men of Judah, even as the heart of one man, so that they sent unto the word, sent this word unto the king, return thou and all thy servants. Look at verse 15, so the king returned and came to Jordan, and Judah came to Gilgal to meet the king and to conduct him over Jordan. So this is them bringing the king back into the land. Verse 39, and all the people went over Jordan, and when the king was come over, the king kissed Barzillai, and blessed him, and he returned unto his own place. And then the king went on to Gilgal and Chimham, and went on with him. And all the people of Judah conducted the king, and also half the people of Israel. So some of Israel is there, but Judah's there, and they're conducting the king back over the river. It's like an inauguration, so to speak. They're bringing him back in, they're showing that they're on his side, they're reinstating him as king. And look at verse 42, excuse me, verse 41, and behold all the men of Israel came to the king and said to the king, why have our brethren the men of Judah stole thee away? Excuse me, the men of Israel came to the king and said to the king, why have our brethren the men of Judah stolen thee away, and have brought the king and his household and all David's men with him over Jordan? And the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, because the king is near kin to us, where therefore then be angry for this manner, have we eaten at all the king's cost, or have we given us any gift? He's like, look, we didn't make any profit out of it, we weren't doing this for our own good, we're just trying to honor the king. Why are you so upset about who's here and who isn't? And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah and said, we have 10 parts to the king. So they're getting political, that's what's going on, this is politics playing out, right? And we have also more right in David than ye, and why then he despised us, that our vice should not be first and first had to bring it back our king. And the words of the men of Judah are fiercer than the words of the men of Israel. So David's been through a lot, the people have been through a lot, civil war, and you know what, you would think that it would have been enough at this point, everything that David's gone through. Now it's not enough for the men of Israel here that the king is coming back. You know, they feel like they've missed out on something, we saw that in verse 42, they're saying, and the men of Judah are saying, why are you angry? Have we eaten at all the king? Have we received a gift from him? It's like, look, we're just here to do him honor. But Israel, they're thinking, oh, we missed out on something, we should have been there. And the truth is, you know, they really couldn't get their own act together, we saw that in verse eight. But they think that they're entitled to something that they aren't. Look at verse 43, he says, and the men of Israel answered the men of Judah and said, we have 10 parts in the king. Well, so what? What is that? Are you bone of his bone? Are you his flesh? Are you the same house? What does it matter? Well, we're just more, there's more of us, you know, and they're entitled to something that they aren't. But the truth is, is that David called for the people of Judah, you know, he was glad Israel is there. But what really bothered him is when Judah wasn't there. So David's gone through a lot. And, you know, chapter 19, this is the culmination, you know, of all the sin that David had committed with Bathsheba. And that was what got the ball rolling. It was just this snowball effect when he killed, or excuse me, committed adultery with Bathsheba, had her husband Uriah the Hittite killed. And then, you know, Absalom, that whole story with Absalom and his daughter, or his sister Tamar being defiled by his half brother, and then being him being run out of land for killing him later. And then he's brought back into, you know, David, you know, brings him back, you know, what's his name there? I'm forgetting it now. Anyway, he gets brought back into the land. But he doesn't talk to him. He's kind of keeping at a distance. And then it's Joab. And then, you know, he burns, Absalom burns down Joab's field and says, Hey, I need to talk to the king. You keep ignoring me. So it's just been this long drama that's just been played out. And this is kind of the culmination of it, where he finally, there's just this full on revolt. People are being killed. There's civil war. I mean, David's been through a lot. You know, he had a child die. You know, his daughter was defiled. There's civil war. His son gets killed in the process, even after he tells his general, don't kill him. They go ahead and kill him anyway. And he's lamenting all that. And he's been through enough. And then there's all this strife. Even when he's welcomed back, there's just more strife. There's just politics playing out in front of him. We have more parts than you. We're of his bone, blah, blah, blah. It's like, isn't it enough that he's back? I mean, get over yourself. And whenever there's strife, you know, there's an opportunity for divisive people to take advantage. Whenever there's strife among God's people, that's when wicked people see their opportunity to get in there and drive a wedge and try to split people, which is exactly what happens in our story. And that's what Sheba, the son of Bikrai, is. That son of Belial, that wicked reprobate. That's what these people do. They drive a wedge into God's people. Look there in 2 Samuel 20, verse 1. And there happened to be there a man of Belial whose name was Sheba, the son of Bikrai, a Benjamite. And he blew a trumpet. And he said, we have no part in David, neither have we an inheritance. And the son of Jesse, every man to his tent, so Israel. Now, half of Israel had already been there, even before Judah. And he's saying, but he gets even them to come back onto his side. He said, every man to his tents. We're out of here. So every man of Israel went up after David and followed Sheba, the son of Bikrai. But the men of Judah clave under their king from Jordan even to Jerusalem. Again, this is an attribute of a reprobate that this Bikrai, the son of, or excuse me, Sheba, the son of Bikrai has. This child of the devil. He's a false accuser. He's incontinent. He's fierce. He's despiser of those that are good. And he's a traitor. He's all these things. He's full of envy, murder, and deceit. He's willing to start a whole another war. But you know what? I want to point out this morning, because again, the title of the sermon is Sheba's Trumpet. It says there that Sheba took a trumpet and blew it. You know what Sheba is? He's loud. And he wants people to hear him. He wants a platform. And he blows a trumpet. He despises David. He despises those that are good. And he wants to make sure everybody knows how much he despises them. And he wants every, and he wants to get as many people as he can to despise him right along with him. Blows a trumpet. Let me see how much of Israel. He gets all of Israel to follow him because he's unmerciful and he's loud. You know, enter the pride month, right? Like as I've alluded to already. That's their trumpet. That's them blowing their trumpet, marching up down the streets. Look at us. We're out and proud. There's nothing you can do about it. Because we sit in the high places and we've got all the ordinances on our side. And if you don't make our cakes, we'll sue you. That's what they are. We'll get our civil rights and so on and so forth. That's them blowing their trumpet. You know, that's one way you can apply this. But you know this, even in our own church, you know, when these wicked people are kicking out, whether they're sons of Bela or not, they share these attributes of being despisers of those that are good, unmerciful and traitors. And let me emphasize unmerciful again because that's what they are. They blow their trumpet too with their Facebook stream. Let me just drive down the road and run my mouth for a half hour and 45 minutes and just tell you everything that's wrong and just despise on the man of God and just utter lies. Let me just put up some link to some video where somebody's past is just being drug out and just broadcast to the world. A past that somebody's already paid for. And if you know what I'm talking about, you know what I'm talking about. If you don't, you know, just take heed to the sermon anyway and apply it in the future. That when someone's drudging up old stuff on people and trying to just see what sticks, that's them blowing their trumpet. That's them just sounding forth how unmerciful they are and drawing attention themselves with all their stupid YouTube videos. They're loud. They blow a trumpet just like Sheba, the son of Bikrai. And whether they're sons of Bilya or not, they're an awful lot like them. Maybe they're not full on reprobates, but boy, they sure certainly have some of the attributes. Being unmerciful, despising those that are good, being traitors, heady, high minded, proud, boasters. They're all these things. False accusers. Fierce. You know, what's Sheba want here? What does Sheba, the son of Bikrai want? What is it he's going for? He wants power. You think he's really concerned about the welfare of Israel in this story? Like, oh, poor Israel. You know, they got invited second. They weren't there when the king crossed over the river. You know, they want power. They want people to follow them. They want to drive a wedge and split everybody and get them to come over to my side and support me so you can soothe my conscience and make me feel like I'm right. So every man of Israel followed Sheba. And let me just say this, you know, mark it down. When everybody, you know, tells you a lot of times when people say what they don't want, it's exactly what they do want. You know, this whole blow up, Pastor Anderson got this text from one of these guys, just this monolithic wall of just text. And in it, just out of nowhere, unsolicited, he just says, look, I don't want your job. I don't want you to leave. And I don't want the church to fall apart. Well, one, I didn't know the position was open. You know, I didn't realize the church was hiring. But you know what, when people just offer unsolicited advice like that, and in that order, you can just mark it down. That's how they prioritize what they actually do want. They're saying the opposite. They do want the job. And the guy had split a church before. He'd already split a church before, did the exact same thing. Got in there, split a church, and led a house church in his own house. So he says, I don't want this. Just out of nowhere, you know what he wanted? He wanted the position. He wanted him to go away. He wanted the pastor to go away. And he wanted the church to fall apart. And that's why they're still out there just sounding their trumpet on YouTube, on their Instagram, on their Facebook, just blowing the trumpet, unmerciful, despising those that are good, trying to drive that wedge in when there's strife, when there's people that are on the fence. That's what they're doing. But this is the good news, is that Sheba's reign is short-lived. And that these type of things blow over pretty quick. But there's always fallout. But it gets over. And that's exactly what happens with Sheba, the son of Bichra here. If you look there in 2 Samuel 20 verse 15, of course, David sees this happen. Because David, at this point, is just fed up with these sons of Belial. He doesn't just go, well, that's just the way it is, I guess. He gets his army together and sends them after him. And they came and besieged him in Abel of Bethmaica. And they cast up a bank against the city, and it stood in the trench. And all the people that were with Joab battered the wall to throw it down. So they're like, we're going to get this guy. We're not giving up. And that's the message to all the Sheba, the son of Bichrais out there. And they want to just keep sounding their trumpet and running their mouths. It's like, use their little platform. It's like, guess what? We got a platform too. And we can get just as loud and ugly and be just as mean as any of them. Except we have the truth on our side. And he says here, so they're throwing up the bank, they're battering the wall. They're going to get this guy, right? And it says, when he was come near, excuse me, go to verse 16, then cried a wise woman out of the city. A wise woman out of the city said, here, here, say I pray you unto Joab, come near hither that I may speak with thee. And he was come near unto her. The woman said, art thou Joab? And he said, I am he. Then she said unto him, hear the words of thine handmaid. And he answered, I do hear. Then she spake saying, they were wont to speak at old times saying, they shall surely ask counsel at Abel. And so they ended the matter. She's kind of saying, it used to be that people's words were their bond. She's kind of just like, hey, can I give you my word on something? That's basically what she's kind of saying here. You know, handshake used to be good enough. That ended the matter. I am one of them that are peaceable and faithful in Israel. Thou seekest to destroy a city and a mother in Israel. Why will thou swallow up the inheritance of the Lord? And Joab answered and said, far be it, far be it for me that I should swallow up or destroy. The matter is not so, but a man out, a man of Mount Ephraim, Sheba, the son of Bichrai by name. Oh, he's naming names. He has lifted up his hand against the king, even against David and delivered him, deliver him only. And I will depart from the city. And the woman said unto Joab, behold, his head shall be thrown to thee over the wall. So he leads this rebellion. He thinks, oh, I got Israel on my side. And he's off to just go dig in and just wait for him to be the next big shot. But what he doesn't count on is Joab throwing up the trench and there being a wise woman there who sees what's really going on and gets his head removed and thrown over. I mean, it doesn't take long. His reign is short-lived. And that's why it's going to be for all of these sons of Belial. You know, this life is short. And they might have their parades and they may be able to march up and down the streets and flaunt in everybody's faces for a little while. But I'm telling you what, a man's life is but a vapor. He's like the grass that rises up and withers away. And they're going to wither away and vanish like that vapor, like every other man. And their reign is going to be short-lived. And they're going to when they wake up in hell, because that's where they're headed. And he says here, and the woman said unto Joab, behold, his head shall be thrown to thee over the wall. I just love the Bible, man. When I read these stories, I just envision that. His little head coming over. Does anybody else do that when they read these stories? I get into it sometimes. I could just imagine them chasing this guy down, getting held down, and then woo. Anyway, it's a great story. Then the woman went and unto all the people in her wisdom, she's going to talk some sense, and they cut off the head of Sheba, the son of Bichrai, and cast it out to Joab. And he blew a trumpet. I love that. It's two trumpets. It's the tale of two trumpets. When this sermon is preached yet again down the road, that will be the title, the tale of two trumpets. Oh, he had his trumpet and he blew it. It sounded like things were going his way. He was loud. He made a lot of videos. But then God blew his trumpet. The man of God blew his trumpet. And it wasn't David's head that was getting thrown over a wall. It was the son of Belial. And they retired from the city, every man to his tent, and Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king. So let me just point out, let me close by saying this. We see what these sons of Belial are like. At least we should. These Shebas, the son of Bichrais, with their trumpets, and they're just merciless people, and they're just unforgiving, and they're just despisers of good people. They're traitors. Wise people will see them for what they are, like this woman. When a Sheba, the son of Bichrai, comes into your presence and gets in your life, when he's holed up in your city, if you're wise, you'll see them for what they are. And what are they? They're like Sheba. They're loud. They're envious. They're unmerciful. And in a lot of cases, they're reprobate. And I'll just leave it at that. You decide. And a lot of times, that's what they are. They're all these things. And if you're wise, that's what you'll see. And let me just warn everybody. David dealt with a son of Belial more than once in his life. We saw that already. And you know what? As long as this church continues to go on and do great things, and whoever's going to go on and live for the Lord and do great things for God, you're going to run into them. They're not going anywhere. This isn't the last time. And people need to wise up about it and be like this wise woman and recognize a Sheba, the son of Bichrai, for what he is. And the next time they see him, they should just get used to the fact that they're going to be there. And if you're going to serve God to the end like David and have those strong parting words, you're going to have to get used to putting up with these men of Belial, these sons of the devil. But you know what? People always have to go through these things for the first time. But you know what? Next time you hear that trumpet, people are going to hear that same trumpet. I recognize that. That's the sound of someone who is unforgiving and merciless. That's the sound of Sheba's trumpet.