THE LIFE OF DAVID – A MAN AFTER GOD’S OWN HEART (19)

David said, “let him (god) do to me whatever seems good to him."  2 samuel 15:26; jesus said, nevertheless thy will be done.

 

 “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise.” (David in Psalm 51:17)

See 2 Samuel 15 – As David is reaping the consequences of his sins, we see his broken and contrite spirit before the Lord, “Let him (God) do to me whatever seems good to him."  (2 Samuel 15:26) “You (Lord) are justified in Your sentence and faultless in Your judgment.   (Psalm 51:4)  David never complained about God’s severe discipline for his sins. He never said “my punishment is more than I deserve.”

And recall David’s severe discipline prophesied by Nathan: “Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.” (See 2 Samuel 12) Though this is God’s discipline for David each person is still guilty and accountable for their own sin even as those who carried out Christ’s crucifixion are guilty and accountable even though this was ordained by God. (Isaiah 53:6, 10; Acts 2:23)

1) The death of his child with Bathsheba – 2 Sam. 12:15, 18

2) David’s son Amnon rapes his half-sister Tamar -2 Sam. 13:1-21

3) Absalom hates his half-brother Amnon for raping his sister Tamar and murders him – 2 Sam. 13:22-33

4) Absalom flees (rebels) and runs away and goes to live with his grandfather in Geshur (Gentile territory – the father of another foreign wife of David) for three years. 2 Sam. 13:34-39 – Now David has lost two sons to death (the baby and Amnon) and one to exile.

5) Absalom leads a conspiracy against his father to take over the kingdom – 2 Sam 15-18

6) Absalom shames his father by sleeping with David’s concubines in broad daylight in the sight of all Israel. The consequences of David’s “hidden” adultery are now a public humiliation for him as prophesied by Nathan. (2 Sam. 16:21-22; 2 Sam 12:11)

7) Joab kills Absalom and throws him in a pit and covers it with stones – a disgraceful burial for a king’s son. Now David has lost three sons to death. Thus says the Lord: “The sword will never depart from your house.”

We see David’s humility and yieldedness to the Lord and his mercy to his enemies:

He chose to leave Jerusalem when Absalom rebelled rather than allow destruction of God’s beloved city. 2 Sam. 15:14     He was kind and concerned about Ittai the Gittite and his people even in the midst of his great sorrow. 2 Sam. 15: 16-20   He refused to take the ark of the covenant with him. 2 Sam. 15:25

He did not retaliate and have Shimei killed for cursing him and throwing stones at him and even spared his life after he regained the kingdom.  2 Sam. 16:5-14; 19:18-23

He did not execute his ten concubines that lay with Absalom. 2 Sam. 16.22; 20.3

Though Satan incited him to take the census (1 Chron 20:1- although other census were taken, for some reason God disapproved of this one) David took full blame and asked God not to punish the people but to punish him and his own family. 2 Sam. 24:17

He humbly relinquished his passionate desire to build the temple and enthusiastically supported his son Solomon in the work.  1 Chron 29:1-20

He died as he had lived – writing and singing praise songs to His Lord. "The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior. You are my lamp, O LORD; the LORD turns my darkness into light. The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock!  Exalted be God, the Rock, my Savior.” (See 2 Sam. 22 and Psalm 18)

 

One great lesson we can learn from David on how to walk with the Lord and finish well in spite of his tremendous trials and suffering (from fleeing from Saul to taking God’s severe discipline to the end) is his authentic relationship with God in prayer seen in the many psalms he wrote (e.g., Psalm 55) and in his life story in 1 & 2 Samuel. TO HAVE A Truly PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LORD WE MUST SHARE OUR EMOTIONAL LIFE WITH HIM (AND A FEW CLOSE FRIENDS). AS WE SHARE OUR DEEP EMOTIONS AND ASK GOD TO SPEAK HE CAN BOTH BRING COMFORT AND REVEAL TRUTH ABOUT OUR HEARTS. UNHEALED EMOTIONS TRIGGER WRONG RESPONSES TO LOVED ONES AND FRIENDS AND THEY HAVE A LIE ATTACHED TO THEM that God wants to replace with his truth. (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)  (MY STORY – VA. BEACH 1991) so like david, share your heart with the Lord – your cares (1 Peter 5:7), your sins (1 John 1:5-9; Psalm 139:23-24), and your thanksgiving and praise.  (the psalms).

 

“I believe in Your love O Lord above all things.” (Thomas Merton)   “I will love You, O LORD, my strength.” (David, Psalm 18:1-  which are the same words in 2 Sam. 22 except for this first verse.) As we truly believe in our hearts “above all things”  that God loves us  as the cross so passionately reveals, how can we not resolve in our hearts, as David did, to love and serve our Lord to the end. Make this your resolve:

  …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….      

 “I will love You, O LORD, my strength.”    ______________________________________________

                                                                                                             your name/date

 

 

 Discussion Questions FOR APPLICATION OF GOD’S WORD

“Let him (God) do to me whatever seems good to him."  (2 Samuel 15:26) This is like our Lord’s prayer in Gethsemane – “Not my will but Thine be done O Lord.” It is the prayer of surrender. It shows complete trust in the love and goodness of God. Is this a prayer you can pray? Why or why not?

 

David did not retaliate and have Shimei killed for cursing him and throwing stones at him and even spared his life after he regained the kingdom (2 Sam. 16: 5-14. 19:18-23 ) Do you have or have you had a “Shimei” in your life?    How can you (or did you) follow David’s example, Jesus’ example (1 Peter 2:18-23) the Father’s example (Luke 6: 35-36)?

 

Share your heart with the Lord – your cares (1 Peter 5:7), your sins (1 John 1: 5-9; Psalm 139:23-24), your thanksgiving, and praise. (the Psalms) Of the four of these which one (or ones) is/are the most difficult for you to share with the Lord, or with a few close friends? Discuss your answer/reasons. What can you do about it?

 

From my story at Va. Beach do you see how unhealed emotions and the lies of Satan work together? Has your spouse, children, or close friends noted some disproportionate or unusual/hurtful emotions in your life? Could there be a lie attached to that unhealed emotion? Discuss your answers and ask the Lord (Psalm 139: 23-24)

 

“I believe in Your love O Lord above all things.” (Thomas Merton)   “I will love You, O LORD, my strength.” Read about the love of God below in the e-mail I received this morning as I was typing my talk. Although the Lord commands our love and obedience He also has given us free will to reject Him. Yet the Lord of the universe wants our love in response to His great love. Love is not just a feeling it is an act of the will. Will you like David, resolve to “love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.”(Mark 12:30) He even gives us His strength to love Him if we ask for it.

Loved before all ages! 2 Timothy 1:9 “[God] saved us and called us with a holy calling, not in virtue of our works but in virtue of his own purpose and the grace which he gave us in Christ Jesus ages ago.”  Some passages of Scripture are incredibly rich in their implications. This is one.  The truth that God loves us before we were ever created, and while we were yet sinners, and despite all the ups and downs of our choices to obey or disobey him, and in fulfillment of his purpose rather than our own niceness or ingenuity is more than we can really take in.  But that's the facts.  God had you-you yourself-in mind when the Big Bang happened.  He was, so to speak, already watching you as you sit there at your keyboard reading this when the first fishes swam in the primordial sea.  He held you in his heart while the Himalayas were being formed and as eons of time were rolling slowly past.  It was for you-you yourself-that he called Abraham from Ur and Moses from Egypt and David from the sheepfold and on to the throne.  It was for you that Jesus Christ hung on a cross and all the history of the world since then has unfolded.  All this grace is given "ages ago" by the God who sees the end from the beginning and orders all things to his glory and our good in Christ Jesus. A Word of Encouragement from Mark Shea & Jeff Cavins

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.” (James 1:22-25) It is in doing God’s Word, not in just hearing it, that we are blessed. What action will you take to apply these truths to your life?

 

Scripture memory verse:  “I will love You, O LORD, my strength.” (David, Psalm 18:1) 

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