2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
God leads me to continue with the fascinating story of David’s life after his momentous covenant with Saul’s son, Jonathan. One might think that this part of the story would end with the deaths of Saul and Jonathan at Mount Gilboa [1SAM 31], however, because of the nature of the covenant mentioned above, its agreements were still in force and applied to any descendants of both David’s and Jonathan’s families. Throughout this story, we have seen God’s remarkable willingness to keep his covenant promises of protection to David in response to David’s tenacious faithfulness even in the face of enormous temptation. RO 1: 25 gives us some insight into the transformation that comes with His supernatural renewal of one’s mind. “[The unrighteous] exchange the truth about God for a lie; they worship and serve what God has created instead of the Creator Himself, Who is to be praised forever. Amen!” We all know that on the outside, David didn’t look like the picture of a faithful man. He had the blood of war on his hands and was capable of committing murder and adultery. And yet, we see his inner self in the Psalms and in the attitude he had regarding Saul and Jonathan. This spiritual side of David’s personality is what God viewed as the real David. It is with this in mind that we should note David’s attitude toward Saul, not only throughout the time Saul was persecuting and pursuing him, but also after Saul’s death.
2 SAM 1: 17-27 is the Song of the Bow, David’s lament for Saul and Jonathan, written upon hearing of their deaths at Mt. Gilboa and taught to the people of Judah. I hope you will read this, because the words in the Scriptures are so much more beautiful than the paraphrase I have room to present here. Note the following lines which reveal David’s inner self: “The bravest of our soldiers have fallen!; do not announce this in Philistia; no rain or dew should fall on Mt. Gilboa, for the shields of the brave lie there in disgrace; the shield of Saul is no longer polished with oil; Jonathan’s bow was deadly, the sword of Saul was merciless; Saul and Jonathan were wonderful and dear; I grieve for you, brother Jonathan; how dear you were to me…” God had transformed David’s mind to produce the love, respect, and faithfulness to Himself, Saul, and Jonathan that he displayed. The alternative would have fit the profile seen for the unrighteous in RO 1: 25. That, simply wasn’t David. It is interesting to note David’s comment here about Saul’s shield not being polished with oil. Repeatedly, olive oil is used as a symbol for the Holy Spirit in the Scriptures. David understood the significance of God’s Spirit departing from Saul, stripping the latter of his right to rule Israel.
A grieving David didn’t just give into his feelings or look to himself to answer the question of what he should do next. Much in the same way that Christ so often did, he turned to God. 2 SAM 2: 1, “After this, David asked the Lord, ‘Shall I go and take control of one of the towns of Judah?’ ‘Yes,’ the Lord answered. ‘Which one?’ David asked. ‘Hebron,’ the Lord said.” What followed was David’s obedience to God’s direction and with that, God accomplishing the first step of His goal. That was to solidify David’s position as Israel’s king. 2 SAM 2: 4-7, “Then the men of Judah came to Hebron and anointed heard the people of Jabesh in Gilead had buried Saul, he sent some men there with the message: ‘May the Lord bless you for showing your loyalty to you king by burying him. And now may the Lord be kind and faithful to you. I too will treat you well because of what you have done. Be strong and brave! Saul your king is dead, and the people of Judah have anointed me as their king.” Since Judah isn’t all of Israel, God’s goal wasn’t completely accomplished at this point, but it was well on its way.
We don’t waste our time in this examination of David’s life for a number of reasons. Today, as our country faces its worst crisis to date, people are attempting to sort out the chaos of our emotions and the huge task finding the right way to deal with it. Just as David was grieving over Saul and Jonathan, we grieve over the thousands of innocent people who were killed when those planes hijacked by terrorists slammed into the World Trade Center, the Pentigon, and the PA countryside. Just as we have lost our sense of security, so had the people of Israel and Judah. We may take a direction from David’s response. His first move was to turn to God. That is what we personally and the leaders of this country must do. It is my heartfelt belief that God alone has the wisdom and the power to direct us to the path of righteousness in dealing with the evil that has befallen us. Just as the deaths of Saul and Jonathan are personal to David, the situation we are faced with is personal to us as individuals and as citizens of the US. PS 6: 9-10, “The Lord hears my weeping; He listens to my cry for help and will answer my prayer. My enemies will know the bitter shame of defeat; in sudden confusion they will be driven away.” PR 7: 10-11, 14-16: “God is my Protector; He save those who obey Him. God is a righteous Judge and always condemns the wicked…See how wicked people think up evil; they plan trouble and practice deception. But in the traps they set for others, they themselves get caught. So they are punished by their own evil and are hurt by their own violence.” We must meditate upon that and let God be the One to direct our response.
PRAYER: O Lord, You allow us to see the righteousness and faithfulness of David’s attitude toward Saul and Jonathan so that we will see Your ideal for how we should respond to the situation in which we find ourselves. Christ always turned to You first when He was not sure of what to do or how to feel. He is the model that we should follow. While David never knew Christ, he surely knew You, Dearest Abba; and he never had reason to feel abandoned even in his worst time of trouble. You commanded him to take action and keep a loving, respectful attitude toward Saul, even when Saul’s persecution put David’s life in danger. You directed David not to give in to the temptation to kill Saul, even when he repeatedly had the opportunity to do so. In David’s response, You allow us to see Your power to transform a believer by the renewal of his mind. You remind us that we, too, should not give in to our temptations for revenge against the people we perceive are responsible for the horror of 9-11-01. Instead, we are to trust our county’s leaders to make decisions that honor You and should turn our attention to being thankful to the people who put themselves in harm’s way in the recovery process and in answering the call to military service. Through David’s grieving for Saul and Jonathan, we see a model for how we should grieve for those who were lost that terrible day and how we should pray for physical and spiritual healing for the injured and the families of those directly involved. The strongest message of all, Dearest Lord, is that we must put our trust in You and remember that it was You Who sent Your Son to die on the cross for us-the greatest sacrifice of all time. In Christ’s holy name, we pray. Amen.
Tomorrow’s message will deal with the consolidation of David’s power in Israel. We see in it God’s willingness to put His covenant promises into action. We have no reason to believe that God would only do this for David. What I’m trying to express here is my belief that God will do the very same thing for us in our efforts to bring justice to the terrorists and the governments that harbor them. All we must do is to put God first, listen for His direction, and keep His commandments in following it. Our Abba loves us enough to be there for us, just as He was for David. Take comfort in that and know that with trust and obedience, this country shall overcome. Peter and I send our love to you too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn