Today, we begin a series on David.
The man who wrote:
… the LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not want
…
I offer my life to you, LORD. My God I trust you
…
The LORD is my light and my salvation.
Should I fear anyone?
Who can forget David’s defeat of Goliath?
David’s escape from death when Saul hurls a spear at him in a fit of despair?
David and Saul’s son, Jonathan - a friendship extraordinaire!
The moment when David had Saul in his hands, and he refuses to take Saul’s life.
David’s risqué dance before the LORD when the ark is brought to Jerusalem.
The affair with Bathsheba, the murder of her husband, the death of the child, and Psalm 51, Have mercy on me, God, according to your faithful love!
David’s story - huge, complicated, sad and joyful.
As it is for all of us … ups and downs … moments of ecstasy; times of bitter trial … pleasant, happy days … and slow walks through the Valley of the Shadow of Death.
We look before and after,
And pine for what is not:
Our sincerest laughter
With some pain is fraught;
Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought.
David’s story begins long before we met him.
In the Book of Ruth … the story of Elimelech and Naomi who flee to the land of Moab because there’s a famine in the land of Israel. Desperate times require desperate decisions.
There, in Moab, Elimelech dies, leaving Naomi a widow with two sons.
Her sons marry Moabite women, and then, the Moabite husbands die … so there we are, a story of three widows … at the bottom of the social ladder … poor, desperate, frightened.
Naomi says to her daughters-in-law, Go back to your homes … I’m heading back home myself, to Israel; the famine is ended, I hear, and I’ll fare better there than here.
This is more bitter for me than for you, because the LORD’S will has come out against me.
Of the two daughters:
Orpah kisses Naomi goodbye and returns to her home.
Ruth casts her lot with Naomi, declaring her loyalty to Naomi: Wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.
Naomi and Ruth return to Israel … though the famine is ended, hardship and sorrow there because Naomi and Ruth are the bottom of the social ladder - Ruth goes to the fields in harvest time to scavenge for grain. … a kindly man by the name of Boaz helps her.
Ruth comes home with grain and tells Naomi.
Ruth is pleased and surprised, He’s a relative of mine, she says … May he be blessed by the LORD who hasn’t abandoned his faithfulness with the living or the dead.
Naomi tells her daughter-in-law - pretty yourself up, put on some perfume … go meet Boaz at the the threshing floor … when he’s done eating and drinking, pleasantly satisfied, comfortable and relaxed, introduce yourself to him, and we’ll see where it goes.
Naomi loves Ruth, and she’s not above telling Ruth to use her feminine charms to allure Boaz … an old man stunned by Ruth’s beauty and goodness … he falls madly in love with her and proposes marriage … redeems Naomi’s land, and all is well, as no one could have imagined.
But the story doesn’t end here!
From a generous man like Boaz, and a loyal woman like Ruth, a son is born, and they name him Obed … from Obed, a son is born, and he’s named Jesse … from Jesse, a son is born, and they name him David!
David’s story begins long before we meet him … in the “chance” encounter of a desperate woman who loves her mother-in-law, and a kindly old man who flips for her perfume!
Because God is faithful to the living and the dead … at work in all things … even perfume and longing … at work in all things for good.
Though God often be hidden in the fog of history.
As if God’s will has come out against us.
As if all is lost, and hope is gone!
But a promise made is a promise kept.
The primal promise made to Abraham and Sarah, when the covenant story begins, long ago time, in the land of Ur … a promise to be at work in all things … in all things for good.
The great promise behind every story … the promise hidden in every tear … the promise that stands by the bedside of the dying and watches over us in all of our comings and goings.
I will never leave you or forsake you.
I am with you always!
I am your God, and you are my people!
Our story takes a twist with Samuel and his two sons … Samuel is old and has served the people well … but no one lives for ever … Samuel appoints his two sons to take over, but it ends badly for everyone … the two boys are not up to the task; they have their father’s blood, but they have none of his character.
The people put a request to Samuel - You’re old Samuel, and you sons don’t walk in your footsteps. Appoint a king to lead us … in times such as these, we need stable leadership, we need a king who will defend us and promote our cause … we need king, like all the other nations.
Samuel is distressed, and so is God.
But God says to Samuel - Take it easy. They’ve not rejected you; they’ve rejected me as their king.
And then something very interesting.
God says, Listen to the people … but tell them clearly, kings are kings … they’ll take your young men and press them into military service; they’ll take your young women and put them to work in the commissaries … kings will take your best grain and best wine, you best cattle and sheep, and even your best land …
And when that day comes, you’ll complain about it.
No we won’t, the people say in one voice. We know what we want, and we want what we know. Give us a king, so we can be like all the other nations.
God says to Samuel: Give them a king.
And with that, Samuel sends the people home.
In the next few chapters, the stories of King Saul … a king with good intentions, kindly nature, but as the story unfolds, a king with little regard for God.
Woven into Saul’s story, the tale of a young shepherd boy, who fells the giant, Goliath with a sling and a stone, and plays the harp to sooth Saul’s troubled spirit.
One day, this shepherd boy will govern the people with skill, compassion and great faith.
A man after God’s own heart, the Bible says.
But those stories will have to wait until later.
Amen and Amen!
No comments:
Post a Comment