Bible Men: King Solomon: Notes On the Meaning of Vanity

The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. Ecc 1:1-2 

Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us. Ecc 1:10 

The LORD knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity. Psa 94:11 

Grief, Sorrow and Happiness

There is a season for everything under the sun, so King Solomon pronounced, and mine was a very angry season.

The election fever was everywhere in the air, at work, at home, at the village market, in the news, at church and practically everywhere. It left me, like Jonah, very angry.

At home I took one camp and mom took the other. In fact I was the only villager who was in the “wrong” camp, and loving my neighbor became sorely trying.

Earlier I had tried getting over the meaning of vanity in our present age but in vain. I read and read Solomon but the more I read him the more I got angrier.

I returned to election fever and I tried to explain my reasons to the other camp, saying things like ethics and hatred of corruption. But I sounded like a fool. I sat down and got angry proper. Then a young lovely friend called. She said, “You sound depressed. What’s the matter?”

I answered like a man: “It’s nothing.”

“But you are always depressed anyway! I should’ve known!” She screamed and hung up.

I paused and considered. Pride. Anger. Bitterness. I had heard those words flying around recently. Was that really me? Vanity!

The first death announcement arrived that night. It was of an old family man I had known since childhood. We buried him. Then a week later a second death announcement arrived at night. It was of a young family woman I grew up with. I shook my head. But we buried her. The night we returned from her burial is when we heard the third death announcement. It was of an old family woman of childhood memories.

Coming to Myself

Suddenly I came to myself. And immediately the meaning for vanity began to sink in. “It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart” (Ecc 7:2).  

Life is big and expansive and good and bad at the same time. There’s only so much we can know here and there’s only so little we can do. Man cannot ‘simply put the whole of life together.’

But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped. Psa 73:2  

Stop worrying! The voice screamed. God is in control. He’s sovereign bringing everything to pass according to his will. Mine – and yours – is only to cast our cares upon him, for he cares.

When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me; Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end. Psa 73:16-17  

I went back to my Bible and my God and whom I had quite forgotten! There was so much good there but which I had quite (in my choler) forgotten!

Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. Php 4:4  

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 1Th 5:18  

Like the prodigal I had travelled to a ‘far country’ from where I couldn’t see God or see his stars. I came to myself at last. Part of the reason I’d missed the meaning of vanity was because I was deeply entangled in it myself!

And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. 1Jn 2:17  

What is Vanity?

It means ‘vapour or breath’, or something futile, or empty. It implies something which does not satisfy. Sketches for this are scattered throughout the Bible.

It is there in the Prophets through Moses exhorting his people not to be vain. He pleads with them to choose life over death, and blessings over curses. “For it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life: and through this thing ye shall prolong your days in the land, whither ye go over Jordan to possess it” (Deu 32:47).  

It is there in the weeping prophet: “For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water” (Jer 2:13).  

It is there in the Wisdom books of Job, the Psalms and Solomon in his Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song. It is properly brought out in Ecclesiastes.  

In the New Testament God gave us himself, he gave us Jesus, the bread from heaven, as contrasted with the vain bread of this world.

Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. Joh 6:27  

Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. Joh 6:32  

For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. Joh 6:33  

And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. Joh 6:35  

Returning Home

Finally it’s only when the prodigal returned home to the father that he knew the meaning of vanity. And it’s instructive that Solomon’s life ended not in gloom but in a song and a wedding. And isn’t that the way of life always? “I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine: he feedeth among the lilies” (Son 6:3).  

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. Our duty is to rejoice in every season God sends our way.

Are you far from the father? Chances are you are living in vanity. You shall never know it until you return home to the father. Do it today because he’s waiting for you.

I called my friend but she didn’t answer. And immediately I started worrying if I had lost a friend!

Bible Men: King David: How He Dealt With Death

The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: how are the mighty fallen! 2Sa 1:19 

And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son! 2Sa 18:33  

Death’s Sacrifices

There was a time death used to inspire fear. But today our encounter with it is more informed. In the old days people couldn’t even be seen anywhere near a morgue, but today people get inside and even spend considerable time there.

Today morgues are funeral homes, and they’re plush affairs, having even air condition, TV and music. In the old days there was only the public hospital mortuary and only the brave could enter there.

Today the burial scene has greatly transformed. In the old days there were no hearses. The dead were carried in an open pick up, or on top of a matatu, or a bicycle. Quite a few died at home and they stayed there (preserved in cold charcoal) until the day of burial.

Today burial scenes are elaborate. In the old time people were lowered using ropes, today it is a machine. Old days burials were short affairs, today burials are long, sometimes lasting (like weddings) the whole day, what with viewing of the dead, taking of pictures, speeches by family representatives, friends, the ubiquitous administration, politicians and lastly the church service and reading of tributes.

In the old days there used to be a single tent, today it is a costly affair with multiple tents, hundreds of seats, and food by a catering firm. In the old days mourners took plain tea and left, today it is a hefty budget exercise.

Christ dignified the human body, but the urge to turn it into an idle is always our undoing. Death used to usher in a somber moment, today it is a feast.

Personally I should vouch for a simple one hour send off, without a coffin (I think they are unsightly), with plain ash and soil (ash to ash and dust to dust). It is not just uncomplicated, it is aesthete.

The Death of His Foe King Saul

The death of King Saul was remarkable. He was David’s sworn enemy throughout his life, and yet when he died, David did not celebrate but he mourned him.

David forgot all that he had suffered at his hands, but only embraced lovely memories about his arch foe. He hated him, but he was his king and God’s anointed. He hated him, but in death king Saul was like all of us, he was human.

The lament of David in his song embellishes his humanity. His is a picture of true biblical love which, “Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things” (1Co 13:7).

And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and the LORD was with him. 1Sa 18:14

And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son: (Also he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow: behold, it is written in the book of Jasher.) The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: how are the mighty fallen! 2Sa 1:17-19  

That wasn’t a sarcastic rejoinder but more like sadness at a broken mirror (of which we all are). The mirror falls, breaks into splinters, and some find their way into the hearts of the living. “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known” (1Co 13:12).  

May God grant us all a heart like David’s. Not that he was a saint, but God alone had pronounced him as one. David had nothing to boast about, for he was God’s as much as Saul was his too. “And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the LORD, and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword” (2Sa 1:12).  

The Death of His Son Absalom

That he forgave the son who wanted to kill him only adds glitter to David’s heart. I don’t think it was power which Absalom was really after, but to get at his father for years of ignoring him. I think it was this anger which enraged the young man.

Yet in life David really loved his son, but rather than show it, he had restrained himself. His death pierced him like a knife. He lost his mind and he forgot he had an army of hundreds of loyal soldiers under his watch.

His own sorrow and bitterness combined to make him almost unrepentant. His army threatened a mutiny unless he repented, which he did. Sorrow, like love, makes one blind. David loved his son, but it came too late. Absalom’s own bitterness destroyed him.

Are you angry with yourself for another’s death? Are you angry with God? Be angry at all costs. But remember the battle is not yours but his… It wasn’t your fault. Parenting is tough. We keep silent in the hope the silence will speak louder than words, only for our hopes to be astonished. Are we to blame? No. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh, praise be the name of the Lord.

What do you see in your enemy? Is there hope? Would you cry for him when he dies or would you rejoice?

Love your enemy and pray for him. Turn the other cheek and do not resist evil, says Christ in his Sermon on the Mount. Because it is when I am weak that I am strong.

The Death of King David

The great king David’s reign also came to an end at last: “So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David” (1Ki 2:10). 

“Thy gentleness hath made me great” he cried, and so too we cry to God every day because it is only through his mercy that we have come this far.  

LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am. Psa 39:4  

Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 1Th 5:16-18 

God bless!

 

Bible Men: King David and Bathsheba: The Evening When It Started To Rain

And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.  And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? 2Sa 11:2-3 

Adultery and Why It is Difficult to Understand

Few scenes reek of treachery as this one. It comes after God had accomplished great victories for David. Saul had died. The warring nations surrounding him had been subdued. He had come to his rest and his cup was running over.

Then David saw a beautiful woman bathing. And instantly the clouds split and it started to rain. But rather than flee David threw himself into the downpour.

And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house.  And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child. 2Sa 11:4-5.  

The duplicity of sin is not hard to unravel, as Moses had warned, “be sure your sin will find you out.” So suddenly David sent for Uriah. And the rain beat hard.

And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed out of the king's house, and there followed him a mess of meat from the king.  But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house. 2Sa 11:8-9  

There are times a man can sweat even while it is raining. “And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah” (2Sa 11:14). The day becomes very dark when a poet turns into a villain, because he makes the devil look like a saint.

As if it wasn’t enough to make Uriah a cuckold, David gave him the letter directing his commander how to get rid of him, and Uriah innocently carried his death sentence in his own hands. Where was David’s heart at this time? Did it not smite him? But outside the rain poured and it did not let. Uriah died. And so the door for David to marry his wife was opened.

And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD. 2Sa 11:27  

But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul. Pro 6:32  

“Thou art the Man.”

Sin brings depression. And the consequences of sin can remain even after we are forgiven. Nathan shone a mirror before David’s face, but David couldn’t recognize himself.

And the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. 2Sa 12:1  

And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die. 2Sa 12:5 

Nevertheless Nathan refused the rain to fall on him. “Thou art the man.” For David the rain outside had built into a flood.

Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. 2Sa 12:10  

That judgment took its toll fast. The child died. One son raped his sister. His favourite son Absalom scandalized him before his death. In total four sons of David perished untimely. The flood devastated him.  

However David repented from his heart. His Psalm 51 is a classic dirge. “For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me” (Psa 51:3). It is instructive that in his old age Abishag, a young Shunammite girl was brought to David to comfort him, but he never touched her. 

Forgiven. Washed. Clothed.

The amazing thing about our God is that he forgives. There is no other God on earth who acts like that. It is no wonder elsewhere the gospel is called “the foolishness of God.” God went out to look for David. God restored him to being a man after his own heart again. God saves to the uttermost even to this day. Remember the self-assurance of Peter?

And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. Luk 22:31-32  

Whither should we be without God’s grace?

Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Rom 8:26  

Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. Isa 1:18  

The grace of God super abounds. He gave David and his wife another son, Solomon, his heir, and by extension, Christ’s…

And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever. 2Sa 7:16  

A study of the lineage of Jesus Christ brings up very sorry wrecks. Who can save like our God?

Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?  If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. Psa 139:7-8  

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Rom 8:1  

According to St. Augustine David’s fall “should put upon their guard those who have not fallen, and save from despair those who have.” For the king the daylight was long in coming, but coming it eventually did. Are you in such a night? Are you in such a flood? The daylight will come. It always does to those who believe. 

Bible Men: King David: Depression, The Scriptural View

Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance. Psa 42:5 

Suffering as a Christian

“Beloved, think it not strange… But rejoice (to be full of cheer).” So the apostle Peter offers in his take on Suffering as a Christian (1Pet 4:12-19).

Jesus’ rendering is even more arresting in his beatitudes on the same subject. According to Christ we are not only to rejoice, but be “exceeding glad (properly jump for joy)” (Mat 5:11-12).

Did the old believers believe this? Yes, every word. They literally lived their faith.

And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. Heb 11:36-38  

And these were historical facts and not myths. But we of the present generation are usually attended by many fears, so our faith lacks power.

Present Suffering Means Nothing Compared To Eternal Glory

Every believer is a sufferer. By virtue of his carrying a “burden” in his chest from the Lord therefore he can’t run away from his calling as Jeremiah found out:

Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.  Jer 20:9  

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. 2Co 4:17 

The hunger for peace is real. Daily we pine for it. For some even the dropping of a needle is enough to rustle their peace. It is like a reed growing beside a stream. So the psalms of David sometimes ring with a haunting loneliness.

And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest. Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. Selah. I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest. Psa 55:6-8  

My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God? Psa 42:2 

And that is every believer’s hunger too. We hunger for a glory which is quite beyond this life. We hunger for it because it is what the Lord himself has promised us.

The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:  And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. Rom 8:16 -17

For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. Rom 8:22-23  

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Rom 8:28  

The palms are a pathos galore. They shake with pain. But (and this is the chief difference between a believer and a non-believer) they also irradiate with joy. No matter what the suffering might entail but in the end they always resound with praise!

When I heard, my belly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice: rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in myself, that I might rest in the day of trouble: when he cometh up unto the people, he will invade them with his troops. Hab 3:16  

Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. Hab 3:17-18  

Reading through the Lamentations of Jeremiah is like weaving a tapestry around a block of pain.

I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath. He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light. Surely against me is he turned; he turneth his hand against me all the day. My flesh and my skin hath he made old; he hath broken my bones. He hath builded against me, and compassed me with gall and travail. Lam 3:1-5  

But in the end this is what Jeremiah sees:

This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. Lam 3:21-23  

So Paul too chooses to see glory (joy not misery) in his own infirmities “for when I am weak, then am I strong.”  Likewise Paul glories (make boast) in tribulations with a view to the graces it would bestow on him.

And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. Rom 5:3-5.  

The exemplary nature of the love of God is that it hides nothing. It doesn’t shy. Rather faith shocks. Do I doubt God? I tell him! (Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him!)

Do I feel a rising repugnance for him? I tell him! (O LORD, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived!)

And so too we can say of depression that it is not anything new. “Brethren, think it not strange.”

 For elsewhere (in prison!) Paul breezes:

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Rom 8:35 

For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. Rom 8:15  

God Gives Songs Even At Night

And at mid night Paul and Silas sang! Are you at a place like that fellow believer? Have you tried singing? Have you tried praise? Think God.

When peace like a river attendeth my way

When sorrows like sea billows roll

Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say

It is well with my soul.

Yes, you too can sing my brother and sister, in any circumstances. Hope thou only in God, and in the night his song shall be with you. Amen.

 

Bible Men: King David: Kingship and Sensitivity

David's heart smote him - 1Sa 24:5 

The Search for the True Man Continues

Sensitive. Men tremble at that word. It is not a beautiful word.  It conjures defeat. It is not a mountain word but a valley one.

But David’s heart smote him.

That is a peculiarly King James Bible word (that book which is alone the word of God and a literary masterpiece). The word roughly means to beat and cause wounds.

One remarkable thing about our forefathers is that they lived the ideal of manhood to the full. They brooked no sensitivity. They fought everything fiercely including the heart. It is only in our age a man can say to his boy, “I love you, son.” My grandpa would’ve spat to the ground for such “nonsense.”

They had no God or hope in the world. So they knew nothing about praise. And without love the heart wilted. They died early because of an overkill of anger and hate.

Nevertheless today’s man is in a different maze. He doesn’t want to become like his fathers. He detests it. But he doesn’t also want to be consumed in the flames of love. It confuses him about his manhood. Fears ravage him. If he speaks his mind he is a chauvinist. If he doesn’t speak he is useless. If he hates he is a bigot and a hater.

But man is human. He feels, he hates and he loves (he judges).  But if he denies the testimony of his own heart he shall never have peace.

He should love to believe God, but he fears for his education. Reason is his refuge but also his jail. He can’t beat or fight because he will be called an abuser. He can’t even beat his own heart or allow it to beat him.

Our fathers took one path and ignorantly died in it. “Wisely” we tread the middle path, but it is a path without convictions. Our fathers paid the price of churlishness; I believe we pay the price of indifference. And to die without a heart usually denotes the beginning of hell.  

David’s heart smote him. We have to feel again. We have to be beaten in the heart without flinching because we are human.

God insisted on the children of Israel to be different in the world. But he also insisted on them learning how to fight. Today’s boy child cannot kill a snake because of mom’s protection. His dad absconded. He also fears his wife. So the boy child lives in a limbo.  

But if we want to be true men I think we have no choice but to be different. God shows how to fight differently. It can be through prayer or his word. Therein is his power.

Have you searched for joy in this life but without success? Try God. His joy will surprise you! “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not” (Jer 33:3).  

I think we err to kill humanities because of love of money. I think it is a fruitless search. Money is good, but without the heart we cannot breath.

David was Sensitive: That is why He was Man after God’s Heart

He may have been a king, but he was also constantly aware of his own poverty. “Have mercy upon me, O LORD; for I am weak.” Today we tell jokes to hide our sensitivity. But that is cowardly. Besides jokes can backfire badly.

But to know that “in me dwelleth no good thing,” to know one’s own proclivity for depravity, that demands deep sensitivity, and it is always to dwell closer to God.

O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. Ps 139:1

O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;  To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.  Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Psa 63:1-3 

As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God? Psa 42:1-2 

Give unto the LORD, O ye mighty, give unto the LORD glory and strength. Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness. Psa 29:1-2  

David’s Strength was His God

David was a well-rounded man. He was a “war machine,” but he was also a lover of men and family. He could dance like mad for his God, but he could also cry like a child without shame. Now that is a free man! “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (Joh 8:36). 

Who is your strength?

In the Bible God has given us the perfect example of manhood. He has given us Christ. He also gave us Solomon (and the prophets) to show us the futility of being in love with anything else in this world apart from him. We came from him, and we shall return to him.

Some men aver that Samson broke one chief rule of manhood. He became sensitive. So Delilah’s “love” killed him.

But it’s not that he became sensitive. Rather it is because he became insensitive to God. That is how he lost his strength.

It is the same fate which met King David. While he was running away from King Saul he was very sensitive towards God. But after Saul died and he became king, things eased off. That is how he met Bathsheba, and how he lost his strength. So too followed one of the most insensitive acts of his life.

And David’s heart smote him.

But always there will be things right and things wrong in this life, and to lose that is to lose sensitivity. God did not abolish the manly attributes. He ennobled them. He gave them the coat of beauty and glory. “What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?” (Psa 8:4).  

God picks the rough diamond from the dust and washes it clean. You are that diamond. Have you been washed? I beg you to ask him! He will do it.

 

Bible Men: King David: The Suffering King

“but truly as the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death”  1Sa 20:3. 

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. Psa 23:1 

David Never Walked Alone

That God was behind him in everything he encountered in life was David’s greatest belief and strength.

God was a real person to him. He was his life. Do you know a God like that? It may take time to come to that sort of acknowledgement, but when it does no one is ever left in doubt that a threshold has been crossed.

He was a shepherd boy watching over his father’s flock but always he knew there was a greater Shepherd watching over him day and night.

The wilderness didn’t just happen to be his favorite haunt, it was sent, the green pastures didn’t just sprout, nor the trickling streams, and the overcast skies, they were sent. So when he lay down at night David knew it was God who sent and God who took. Even the words which flew to his mouth at the touch of his harp were sent by God and not a human being!  

I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me. Psa 3:5   

I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety. Psa 4:8 

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. Psa 23:2 

The Anointing to Hardship

David got anointed to be king at childhood. God gave Abraham a dream. Rise up and leave. Abraham clutched onto that dream day and night. But he arrived in Canaan only to be sent to Egypt! He dreamt of plenty only to find a famine in the land. Had God lied?

No! Abraham believed God. He hoped against hope but the luster of his dream never faded. Why? Because he believed!

So David’s leap from the hinterland to the palace had backfired? No, David believed! Are you a believer? It pays to believe! “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Heb 11:6). 

God Must Be Crazy!

 This loving God. This “crazy” God. Who could give up such a “crazy” love? Moses had begged God to leave him alone once but God refused. Have you ever imagined what might’ve happened to Moses if God had listened to him?

That’s how obsessive our God can be! And who can dare lose such a God? So David knew. His troubles were merely accoutrements for his wilderness song!

Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise. Psa 33:3  

I will sing a new song unto thee, O God: upon a psaltery and an instrument of ten strings will I sing praises unto thee. Psa 144:9  

It is he that giveth salvation unto kings: who delivereth David his servant from the hurtful sword. Psa 144:10 

So David’s entire life was knit around worship. “For in him we live, and move, and have our being.”

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Psa 23:3 

Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's. Psa 103:1-5   

Loneliness is a terrible affliction, but even that was sent. Compounded with life in the wilderness, and forever fleeing his enemies, David knew the pangs of sorrow from childhood. That had to happen so that he might know without doubt that God loved him. Do you see God in your own sorrow? “My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved” (Psa 62:5-6).  

So David learnt quite early that God’s anointing is really anointing to hardship. His anointing was only a precursor to the future anointing of the suffering servant. And Jesus is a descendant of David. Beloved, have you learnt only to expect good and not evil from the Lord?

Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 

But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. 

Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. 1Pe 4:12-13,16  

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Ps 23:4-5 

And so we believe, and so we praise! Because we judge him faithful who hath promised.

Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. Heb 13:5-6  

According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 2Pe 1:3-4 

God is Patient, Gentle and Loving

And when eventually he became king David had no doubt that it was the gentleness of God which had made him thus (Ps 18:35). It is the gentleness of God which is still keeping us this day – and forever!

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. Psa 23:6  

 

I pray you believe that. I pray you feel really crazy about that!

 

Bible Men: King David: Why He was A Man after God’s Heart

But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart - 1Sa 13:14  

for the LORD seeth not as man seeth - 1Sa 16:7  

The Natural versus Spiritual: Why David was Different

In natural life we go by what we see with our own eyes. In the spiritual it is what the heart sees, much like intuition. So we see differently and hear differently because the heart and nature have a voice and speech.

It is why misunderstandings happen. For one will hear “Elias” while another will hear “Jeremiah.” One will hear “thunder” but another will hear “nothing.” But to David (and he was a born poet) not even the wind’s sound was vague, but it had a bearing to his God of the hills. “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.  Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.  There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard” (Psa 19:1-3).  

The Natural Hates to Look Small

Eliab may have worried about how small his young brother David made him look (and that was natural because he was the first to be born).

But that’s also the curse of self-love. For no one likes to think of himself as being small (or playing second). It is why nations go to war. But all these are the ravages of sin. It is the offshoot of our fall. And Jesus said to his disciples: “And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet” (Mat 24:6).  

God sets our eyes on the eternal. But a lot of time we are caught up over who is first. I think that’s why young David and his elder brother Eliab saw things differently. The one cared about the honour of God, the other worried about his own honour.

So at last there’s such a thing as being “born again”. There’s such a thing as dying first. Paul called it “a high calling” and this always has bearing to God of heaven, who is the beginning and end of all things.

God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. Joh 4:24  

But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 1Co 2:10 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  The same was in the beginning with God.  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.  In him was life; and the life was the light of men.  And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. Joh 1:1-5 

That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. Joh 1:9-10 

Faith is a Mystery

So King David could cry in trouble: “Have mercy upon me, O LORD; for I am weak: O LORD, heal me; for my bones are vexed” (Psa 6:2). David could cry like that because he knew his God “personally.” Have you known him like that? Can you cry to him like that? Or does the fear of losing yourself scare you?

And yet we can never quite be free in this life until we die. It is a paradox but true. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal” (Joh 12:24-25).  

So David was a man after God’s heart because he lived not for himself but for his God. His ideals were quite above this world. As Paul put it:

But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory. 1Co 2:7 

Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints. Col 1:26

Faith Punches above the Weight: The Boy who Killed Goliath

For forty days Eliab and his army couldn’t see God. He wasn’t in their minds but only the terror of Goliath. But fear does that. Unbelief can fix one on one spot for “forty days.”

Young David came and saw what Eliab had seen. But David saw God in it and not Goliath. His faith reached to the clouds. “Art thou careful and troubled about many things? One thing is needful. This one thing I do. I fix my eyes on Christ.” David’s life was fixed on God.

What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. Psa 56:3 

From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. Psa 61:2  

My times are in thy hand. Psa 31:15 

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. Psa 23:6  

It is Possible to Know God in the Inward Parts

It is written: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isa 55:8-9).  

But it is possible to know God and know him quite intimately. In David’s psalms we see that every day.

“Thou hast searched me, and known me” cried David in the opening of Psalm 139. May we now end this devotion with David’s closing words in that psalm: “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”