Day 8
Anyone feel a little bad for Joab?
Here we go! Day 8! Way to go you guys! I hope you enjoyed todays reading and I was impressed by how God continues on the plan of salvation, how David fails to lead at home, and how David models a repentance that is more than just a chang of direction or mind.
Here’s my takeaways:
What did it say about God?
As we are taking in the meta narrative of scripture through the Shred, David is of significance. We see this final covenant initiated by God that not only establishes security of David’s bloodline (you will see that play out over the next few days in Kings and Chronicles) but that this bloodline would usher in THE KING OF KINGS. God’s blessing to David is again unmerited and based solely on grace. David does pursue God in honorable ways throughout the story, but fails in significant ways as well. This leaves the only basis for this gifting to be the grace of God. The overarching story of salvation through scripture is carried along by God initiated acts of grace building to the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
No one else can take the credit for helping along the cause of salvation. It has been God and God alone to carry it from start to finish. Thank you God for your good plans for all of us and the way you have fulfilled every promise!
What did it say about people?
David is such an interesting guy. On the surface someone you and I would really want to be like in so many ways. I want to pursue God like David, lead from a place of dependance on God like David, be aware of God’s voice and leading like David, and be courageous like David. Except David is kind of a coward at home. When its king to his people, a dynamic leader. General to his army, a man of great courage. Father to his kids, avoidant and uninvolved. The reason for many of the problems that David encounters is his lack of willingness to get involved in conflict at home. He sees the army have success and the nation prosper because that is where he leads with courage, but he shrinks back from leading at home and it costs the army and the nation. This highlights some of the ideas in Deuteronomy for me again about discipleship starting first in the home. We can be off doing amazing stuff at work and in ministry, but there is never an excuse to neglect what God has entrusted us with in our home. Failure to engage there will be to the detriment of work and ministry in the long run.
What did it say about the Kingdom of God?
David is one of very few kings of Israel who finishes his life well and faithful to God still. Literally I think over the next few days you can count on one hand the kings who finish faithful. We can easily deduce that this is not because of David’s moral purity. Look no further than the instance with Bathsheba to see that David is just as sinful and corrupt as Saul and all the kings who will follow. So, it makes me ask the question: How is David able to bounce back from that and finish faithful? The simple answer you will find through the rest of the kings as well is repentance. I think that David might be the best repenter in all of scripture and that ability to repent so well might be more of the reason he is labeled ‘a man after God’s own heart.’ I think this needs to be true of us as people of the Kingdom as well. You may have heard of repentance being a change of mind, being like an intellectual agreement with God. This is true of the meaning of the word but falls short of the biblical examples we find of true repentance.
True repentance must include 3 things:
Intellectual understanding that sin is wrong
Emotional approval of the teachings of scripture regarding sin Joel 2:12
Personal decision to turn from sin and seek forgiveness from God.
Just like saving faith is more that intellectual knowledge or approval that the Gospel is true and requires an element of personal trust, so it is with repentance. Intellectual understanding that sin is wrong is great! Emotional approval and even being stirred emotionally with grief and heartbreak is needed too (this is one I am honestly bad at I try to rush into repentance with out allowing it to penetrate my heart). Then a personal decision to release that sin and cling to the forgiveness found in Jesus. David is an example in this space for many of us and repentance is going to be how we last living of the kingdom in this life.
What is your takeaway? Leave it in the comments below!
My takeaway from today’s reading is, when it’s God’s will, God leads.
I like the part where you pointed out that David was a great everything in battle but not so much at home.
We are the same today. Leading well at work but not at home.
Our hearts are so soft for our kids. We give into ours all the time.
Thank you for affirming in me that what our children need is solid leadership over another want/desire.
Shana
I have heard the gospel so many times. I grasp that we need Jesus because we can’t live holy. However, immersing myself in this much scripture really drives home the reality that I will never be holy enough. Seeing men struck down, really Godly men at that, makes it so clear that I will never reach the level of holy needed. It makes me so grateful for Jesus. I wasn’t expecting that take away from this. It has been powerful for me personally.