Today we are going to look at an incredible episode in King David’s life. if you recall, he was a man after God’s own heart, but was deeply flawed like all of us. He committed adultery and then had the husband of the wife he had the affair with murdered. Both were capital offenses according to the law of Moses and yet our Lord performed a legal miracle and allowed him to live, though the sword never left his family.
As a part of this series, we will look later to David’s prayer of repentance for the evil he committed against the Lord, Bathsheba, Uriah, his family, the nation of Israel, and his own body.
It is extremely relevant to the abominations our nation has committed before God. Abortion is King David’s solution applied in our day to provide cover for our sexual immorality. We seek a false atonement for our fornication and adulteries by shedding the blood of our innocent children. We callously and vainly believe that murder will remove the consequences of our sexual sins. It didn’t work for David and it will not work for us. God willing, more on that topic later.
At this point in this whole Covid-19 scare, I don’t know how desperate or fearful some of you might be, but it is important to have something to compare to in order to gain a clearer perspective. David’s life (like ours at times) was full of challenges, turmoil, and danger. It got so bad at one point, he had to feign madness and go to Israel’s sworn enemy, the Philistines, just to try and find a little haven to ease his hunted soul.
In 1 Samuel 30, however, there was another incident that rocked David’s world. David and his mighty men received an intense hit that devastated all of them to the core. While they were out, the Amalekites invaded Ziklag where David and his little army kept their families and their supplies. It was burned to the ground and all their families were taken captive.
The Bible records their anguished response, “Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep” (1 Samuel 30:4). Keep in mind, these were not soft, whiny, wimpy, skinny jeaned, hair gelled modern day American males. No,these were men of valor, fierce in battle, brave, strong, and courageous.
Though, I’m sure David was tempted to adopt a “woe is me” self-pity party, he did something we all need to do when the going gets rough, he encouraged himself in the Lord. He followed the advice of the Psalmist, “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance” (Psalms 42:5, 11; 43:5).
Yes, the circumstances were really bad. A lot worse than what we are facing as a people today, but the Biblical solution remains the same. It is time to seek the Lord, cry out to Him, and encourage ourselves in the truth of His Word. We must repent of our many sins and bring forth fruit meet for repentance. We must feed our faith and starve our fears. As the world is being shaken, our duty is to build up ourselves and others in our most holy faith through the power of the Holy Ghost. We need to stabilize our souls in the Lord to provide some sense of security to those who depend on us.
David sought the Lord in his desperate situation. He cried out to God when his whole world fell apart and the Lord answered, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all” (1 Samuel 30:8).
I’m not sure where this Covid-19 virus will lead our nation. It could lead to national revival, national ruin, or somewhere in between. Regardless, God’s word still stands true:
Therefore do not worry, saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or What shall we wear? For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble (Matthew 6:31-34).
