Goodness (5) - Goodness of David
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March 17, 2013 |
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 "The LORD will repay each man for his righteousness and his faithfulness; for the LORD delivered you into my hand today, but I refused to stretch out my hand against the LORD's anointed" (1 Samuel 26:23).
Senior Pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee
When the Israelites asked Samuel, the last Judge of Israel, to appoint a king for them, he unwillingly appointed Saul. Saul became arrogant over time. God warned Saul many times through the Prophet Samuel, but Saul neglected His warnings and continued to disobey Him. Finally, God decided to abandon Saul.
One day, God said to Samuel who grieved over Saul, "How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have selected a king for Myself among his sons." (1 Samuel 16:1)
God told Samuel to go to Bethlehem and invite Jesse and his sons to the sacrifice. When they came, Samuel looked at the eldest son Eliab, but God said to Samuel, "For God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."
David was the youngest of eight sons of Jesse and he tended sheep in the field at that time. Samuel told Jesse to bring him in and God said to Samuel, "Arise, anoint him; for this is he." Why was then David favored and blessed by God?
1. He took courage without remaining silent when the name of God was misused
In 1 Samuel 17 is a scene where the Israelites were in a confrontation with the Philistines at the Valley of Elah. In the camp of the Philistines was a champion named Goliath. He was three meters—around 9.85ft tall and wore full armor. He had insulted the Israelites in a loud voice day and night for 40 days, but Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.
David happened to see this scene. He said, "For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should taunt the armies of the living God?" and said to King Saul, "Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine." Then with five stones and his sling in his hand he approached the Philistine. He cried to the man, "You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted." He slung a stone and the stone sank into Goliath's forehead. He fell face down on the ground and the Israelites triumphed completely.
Because David feared and loved God from his heart, he could not stand the Philistine defying the name of God. He could courageously take the stand with faith relying on God's name when His holy name was defied. This is deemed as goodness in God's sight.
2. He did good to even his enemy who was trying to kill him and touched his heart
When David and Saul were returning home after that victory, women came out from all the towns of Israel and sang, "Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands." At these words, Saul became jealous. Saul tried to put David to death many times. Jonathan the son of Saul tried to stop his father from sinning but Saul persistently tried to kill David.
One day, David met with a favorable opportunity for revenge as written in 1 Samuel chapter 24. When David was in the Desert En Gedi, Saul happened to come into a cave where David had taken refuge. David arose and without Saul suspecting anything, David cut off the edge of Saul's robe. David did not allow his men to rise up against Saul.
When Saul was far away from them, David cried to Saul with good and humble words and let him know he had no desire to kill him. At these words of David, Saul was moved and wept and withdrew his soldiers.
But Saul went down to the wilderness of Ziph to search for David again, having with him three thousand chosen men of Israel (1 Samuel chapter 26). In the meantime, Saul had camped and slept. David approached Saul who was put into a deep sleep. There Abishai said to David in 1 Samuel 26:8, "Today God has delivered your enemy into your hand; now therefore, please let me strike him with the spear to the ground with one stroke…"
But David said to Abishai, "Do not destroy him…now please take the spear that is at his head and the jug of water, and let us go." And he stood at a distance and said to Saul, "The LORD will repay each man for his righteousness and his faithfulness; for the LORD delivered you into my hand today, but I refused to stretch out my hand against the LORD's anointed."
Then Saul was moved again and said to David, "Blessed are you, my son David; you will both accomplish much and surely prevail," and Saul returned to his place. Suppose you spared the life of your enemy and showed him that you had no intention to kill him, but again the enemy is chasing you to murder you. When you gain a chance again to kill the enemy chasing you, can you treat that enemy with goodness sparing the enemy's life? David was goodhearted and did goodness unchangingly, so he could fulfill the good will of God. He trusted God, so he committed everything into the hands of God to the end.
3. He repented of his sins immediately when rebuked and was grateful for the trials
David had a good inner heart to follow God's good will, but had not cast off the evils hidden in his nature for his time was not the era of the Holy Spirit. When David reigned over Israel peacefully as the king after Saul died, his hidden evils happened to be exposed.
As recorded in 2 Samuel chapters 11 and 12, God allowed David a trial to refine him more perfectly. David took the wife of Uriah, a good man of his and she was founded to be pregnant. To conceal his sin, David sent Uriah to a fierce battlefield to have him killed by the Gentiles. God sent His Prophet Nathan and had him severely reproach David saying "Why have you despised the word of the LORD by doing evil in His sight?"
David immediately admitted his sin and repented of it. Afterwards, David seriously suffered from severe trials. Although he was the king, he immediately repented when he was rebuked, and he received trials with thanksgiving. Christians with long years of faith do not find joy in being rebuked. This is a proof that they have become arrogant in heart. On the other hand, goodhearted people receive rebukes even from children in a humble manner if their words are in accordance with the truth.
2 Samuel Chapter 16 describes David's trials. He had to flee from the royal court because of the rebellion by his son Absalom, and in the middle Shimei cursed David and threw stones at him. Abishai said he would kill Shimei, but David stopped him. David neither complained nor attributed the trial to another person when he was suffering from trials. But he took those trials willingly looking up to God who would make him more perfect through those trials.
Just like David, good-hearted men don't attribute their problems to their circumstances in the face of trials, but they look back upon themselves and try to realize the will of God that allowed the problem to them (Job 23:10). David suffered from severe trials in the providence of God, but he passed through them in goodness and became a man who was proper in God's sight. He could then enjoy glory in Heaven forever as well as on the earth.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, may all of you enjoy seeing and hearing goodness to achieve the beautiful goodness of David, who was a man after God's heart, and give out the fragrance of goodness to people around you in the name of the Lord I pray!
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