2 Sam 21 - Lesson Learned

"During the reign of David, there was a famine for three successive years; so David sought the face of the LORD. The LORD said, "It is on account of Saul and his blood-stained house; it is because he put the Gibeonites to death." - 2 Samuel 21:1

What do you do with the Gibeonites? They seemed like a fairly insignificant people, but also seemed to be in the middle of everything, for Joshua, for Saul, and now for David. Because of their location… Israel could not avoid them. There are many lessons that we can learn from Israel’s interaction with the Gibeonites:


(1) Negligence is no better than abuse: David made the connection between Saul’s abuse and his own neglect to do anything about it, and the removal of God’s hand of favor.

"The whole people suffered for Saul's sin; either because they approved it, or at least bewailed it not; neither did what they could to hinder it; whereby they became accessory." – Author Unknown

(2) Inquiring of God is not an option: Joshua’s men did not inquire of God in deciding what to do with the Gideonites, neither did Saul (as evidenced by his attempt to annihilate them) but David did. It made all the difference in the world.

“The men of Israel sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the LORD. Then Joshua made a treaty of peace with them... – Joshua 9:14-15

“… so David sought the face of the LORD. The LORD said, "It is on account of Saul and his blood-stained house..." – 2 Samuel 21:1

(3) An oath before God is an oath before God.

(4) Misguided zeal (Such as Saul’s) can quickly become sin and bring much calamity.

(5) The wages of sin is truly death (Rom. 6:23).

(6) God is just: The “injustice” that we may feel for the men who were given over can give us much perspective on how immensely Graceful the cross was. God cannot turn his back on the penalty of sin. While many are hard to understand under the New Covenant, the Old Covenant stories shed immense light on the necessity of the cross in respect to justice.

a. The method of death was important because it fulfilled the promise of Deuteronomy 21:23: “He who is hanged is accursed of God”. These descendants of Saul bore the curse Saul deserved and so delivered Israel from the guilt of their sin against the Gibeonites.

b. This promise from Deuteronomy explains why Jesus died the way He did. Galatians 3: “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us: for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree".

There are many leadership principles that can be learned from this chapter. Most of them come with the hope (and probably agenda) of maintaining God’s hand on our life and our journey. They are very practical and true. But there is more to this story than a list on how to keep God’s favor.

Let’s make it a bit more personal: What do WE do with the Gideonites? From the moment they approached Joshua, to the time they were abused by Saul, to the season they were neglected by David… they were neighbors to the Israelites. Good or bad, and often overlooked, they were there.

And what Joshua, Saul, and David did with or to them mattered to God.

Just like the Gibeonites, there are many people, types of people, and groups of people that are in our “personal space”. Many that, if we’re not careful, can be easily overlooked and considered insignificant to our key pursuits in life. Maybe they are the homeless on the corner, the single mom down the street, the abused wife or neglected kid at the shelter, or the widow next door. Maybe they are our employer or employees. Maybe they are that girl we see every day that hands us a coffee at Starbucks. Maybe the cop who just wrote us a ticket. Maybe they are the “trainee” at HEB, who somehow got stuck working the express lane (while we were running late). Whoever they are, they are all around us.

And they are real people with emotions, struggles, fears, hopes, dreams, and needs.

Today I was thinking about Joshua’s original oath to the Gibeonites in Joshua 9 (Which Saul broke, and now David is reconciling for). While most of us have not made an oath directly with such people groups as was done in biblical times, we certainly have done the same when we step into a covenant with Christ to live as His disciples. By receiving His Grace, we are agreeing to His ways. This includes loving others… no matter the cost. It includes taking the focus off our selves. It includes fighting against injustice and fighting for the oppressed. Paul urged the Church at Ephesus, “to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” Or as Jesus put it, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”

Or as my wife puts it, “Be nice.”

When we wonder where the famine came from, whether it be emotional, spiritual, or physical, maybe we should inquire of God like David did, and see what oath we have broken.

2 Sam 1 - Warrior Culture

After hearing of Saul and Jonathan’s death, David took up a lament and ordered that the men of Judah be taught the lament as well. Here is a significant part of it: “I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother; you were very dear to me. Your love for me was wonderful, more wonderful than that of women.” – 2 Samuel 1:26

David was real. He was authentic and vulnerable (in a good way). So much so that because of his words, some argue David and Jonathan had a homosexual relationship. I think that’s a pretty big stretch and unfounded, but one thing for sure is that they had a special relationship.

What I see is two men who have fought through Hell together. They have the bond of Warrior Culture. It is something that cannot be explained. But it is irreplaceable and cannot be substituted for. It is only experienced in the purest form of a journey together.

The gift of Christ is to be given the right to be called a child of God. With it come many benefits. One is a brotherhood and community that many of us never allow ourselves to fully experience.

I’m struck today by the curtains that exist in our lives. We are so full of insecurity, skepticism, and fear that we fail to be vulnerable with one another and thus lack authenticity in many of our relationships. When this happens, biblical community is hurt. It falls short. With vulnerability comes the fullness that Christ hopes for in His church.

I’ve always felt the Church works best in crisis. When we have to work and fight together. See any moment along the way which reflects crisis, and you will see people working together in ways they never have before. Whether it’s in sharing pain through the death of a loved one, rallying together to help strangers during a hurricane, or going to battle against an enemy probably greater than any of us individually… we see the church rising. It’s in our moments of selfishness and greed that we settle into complacency and lose our passion for one another. I’m starting to see clearly how much it’s really not about the task we accomplish and more about the journey of how we attack it together.

If we saw the battle ground around us, if we recognized the crisis, we would understand that we are in a Warrior Culture as well. We would see and experience the fullness of relationship and community. We would be more vulnerable with one another and we would value honesty above most other things. We would cherish each other and would trust one another. Corporately our concern would grow, our hearts would soften, and our lives would be transformed.

When I think about the church, I bet that was the original plan.

1 Sam 21 - Overreacting

“David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath. So he pretended to be insane in their presence; and while he was in their hands he acted like a madman, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard.” 1 Samuel 21:12-13

What were the words that David took to heart? I guess they were the words of the song that was sung:

“But the servants of Achish said to him, "Isn't this David, the king of the land? Isn't he the one they sing about in their dances:" 'Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands'?" 1 Samuel 21:11

Apparently it wasn’t so much their words as it was what the words were revealing. David had just dealt with the ego of Saul. It was the same song that pushed him over the edge and made him so threatened by David. He feared the same could happen for Achish.

I don’t know if it was wise or cowardly for David to act insane. Either way it worked out for now.

The thing I’m reminded of today is in how we respond to situations or a perceived threat. One comes down to perception and the other comes down to reality. Unfortunately as humans, they are typically one and the same. There was obviously a concern that Achish could have been threatened by David and would responded harshly. He certainly could have quickly jumped into the chase after David’s life as well. Might have even been a good political move for him in the eyes of Saul. But would that be an appropriate response? Certainly not. David did not care for his throne. He was no threat. Yet the reaction would be very real and do much damage.

So here’s my strange connection. I’ve been working on how I “react” to things. It’s no surprise to those who know me well that I get pretty intense too easily. I like to call it “passion”, because it lessons my responsibility to deal with it (wink). But reality is it’s overreacting, maybe a lack of discipline, and probably exposes some areas of personal insecurity. Fortunately, no one has lost life because of it yet. And while it still rears it’s ugly head every now and then, I think I’m getting better at it. I’m glad 1 Samuel 21 is here today. Good stuff for me personally. I know there is other truth found throughout this chapter as well… and that God did not inspire these words to be written to deal with my personal issues, but that’s the thing God put on my heart today. Quite a journey, eh?

Courage

1 Samuel 17 "Courage"

People probably thought David was out of his mind.

Seriously. Scripture tells us Goliath was over 9 feet tall. Think about that for a minute. And of the giants, he was their greatest warrior. And the fight was not over a girl, or pride, a misplaced “mom” joke, or his lunch money it was for an entire nation’s wellbeing. And the fight was to the death.

“He (Goliath) looked David over and saw that he was only a boy… He said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. "Come here," he said, "and I'll give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!" – 1 Samuel 17:42-44

Goliath basically said, “Come here boy. I’m gonna give you a spanking”. Yet David took his life. I know it sounds cliché’ but we all have our giants to slay. Here are some thoughts on what we can learn from this story of David:

1. David waited his turn (and was content playing a harp) but rose to the occasion at the right time.
2. David realized it wasn’t his giant to slay it was God’s.
3. Therefore, David acted as if He represented the Lord not himself.
4. However, David stayed true (authentic) to who he was with stones not Saul’s armor.
5. The result gave David a faith that would help him lead a nation.
6. He often remembered (psalms) God’s faithfulness in this moment.