As some of you know, I have been sharing a 7 a.m. Facebook Daily Devotion since the early days of the COVID pandemic. Now, in my seventh year, I am amazed to say that I haven’t missed a day of teaching the Bible each morning for the past 2,200 days and counting.
This week’s devotional thought came to me a few years back as I was attempting to outline the Bible Book-by-Book and Verse-by-Verse. After being led by the Holy Spirit to teach through the Bible in a year (2023), I began studying and teaching in Genesis and finished up in Revelation some 350 days later. This Marathon of Morning Messages taught me much about God’s Word and made me come to the sad and sobering reality of just how much I still had to learn from the 66 books of Inspired Lessons from the Lord.
Like a Miner in the Gold Rush searching for Treasure, I have found that Scriptures contain not only Nuggets of Truth that are right there in plain sight but also seemingly hidden treasures I call “Specs” that we must Diligently Dig into the Soil of Scripture to find.
Paul told Timothy and every other Pupil of the Book to “Study to Show Ourselves Approved of God, a Workman Needing Not to be Ashamed, Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth” (II Timothy 2:15). Today’s challenge is a result, a reward if you will of the careful examination of two similar but drastically different days in the life of David.
Separated by approximately 40 years and 24 chapters in the Old Testament, two days in the life of the “Man After God’s Own Heart” (I Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22) reveal that the Ruddy Kid that Blessed the Heart of God when he was Victor over Goliath would become the Rebellious King that Broke the Heart of God when he Fell Victim to his Lust for Bathsheba.
How could it be? David the Victor became a Victim … Well, here is where I made the discovery when outlining the books of 1st and 2nd Samuel. Notice the Daring Similarities and the Drastic Differences in the following two verses.
• Note: The Shepherd Boy David (Age 15) has just been Anointed to be the next King of Israel (I Samuel 16). Forty Days after the Philistine Goliath began demanding that a Man of Israel fight him … David Shows UP!
“Now, David Rose Up Early in the Morning, and Left the Sheep with a Keeper, and Took, and Went, as Jesse had Commanded Him; and He Came to the Trench, as the Host was Going forth to the Fight, and Shouted for the Battle” — I Samuel 17:20
• Contrast: King David (age 55-ish) has grown Comfortable, Complacent or possibly dealing with PTSD (from killing his 10,000’s) chooses to stay back at the Palace rather than going to the Battlefield. (a temptation for us all)
“And it Came to Pass, After the Year was Expired, at the Time when Kings Go Forth to Battle, that David Sent Joab … but David Tarried Still at Jerusalem.” — II Samuel 17:1
WOW!!! There it is, the undeniable reason for David’s Victory in the Valley of Elah (over Goliath) as well as his Victimization in the Lap of Luxury (his Palace Affair). David was Pure and Passionate as a Teenage Shepherd but became Cold and Calloused as a Middle-Aged King. His Victory over the Giant would have never happened if he would have stayed in the safety of Jesse’s Home and his Affair with Bathsheba and subsequent Cover-up and Murder of Uriah would never have happened if he would have been on the Battlefield where he belonged. (read that again and let it sink in)
This paradox teaches us the importance of being Faithful as we “Fight the Good Fight of Faith” (I Timothy 6:12). As tempting as it is to seek comfort and ease in our walk with the Lord, we must “Endure Hardness as a Good Soldier of the Cross” (II Timothy 2:3).
I have shared this “Tale of Two David’s” all over the country for the past six years, but I have come to realize of late, that it was me who needed to hear it most. Honestly, both in my role as Pastor and Public Servant, I must stay on the Battlefield with the Sword of the Lord (God’s Word) as my Weapon and the Spirit of the Lord as my Strength and Shield.
As tempting as it is to run away from every difficult situation and challenge, God has called us to be Faithful not Fearful. The Costs and the Consequences of Faith versus Fear become obvious with a quick read of Psalm 51. In the first 13 verses, David pours his heart out to God begging Him for forgiveness and asking the Lord to “Restore the Joy of His Salvation” (Psalm 51:12). David’s Humiliating and Heart-breaking Plea for Mercy would have never been necessary if David would have been on the Battlefield where he belonged rather than in the Bedroom where he did not!
May we learn from David’s life lessons — the good, the bad and the ugly. Let’s commit to remain Courageous in the Battle and not Comfortable in the Palace. I appreciate your prayers as I strive to do the same each day!!!
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