| A Boss After God’s Own Heart 5 / ABAGOH >>> |
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A Boss After
God’s Own Heart (ABAGOH)– Part 5 David, God’s anointed king |
Jeremiah 9:23-24 –KJV– Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.
Jeremiah 22:3 Thus saith the LORD; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.
Oppression is a very common subject in the Bible. God hates it, when people, especially leaders, rulers and persons in authority abuse their subjects based on their higher position of power and authority. If God sets us in such a position, it is not to take advantage of those who are of a lower rank, but it is to protect their rights and work for their wellbeing. We can find many examples of tyrannical kings and rulers in the Bible that we could use to illustrate this study. One of the greatest kings whose story can be read in the Bible is King David, the son of Jesse. He was a shepherd when he was younger. He had seven brothers when he was anointed king and he was the youngest. God chose and anointed him to be the king of Israel in replacement of king Saul. But why did God chose David? Because He loved Israel and delighted in David. God needed somebody at the head of His people who would lead them on the path of righteousness and give them direction, counsel, security and protection from the enemy. The role of God’s appointed leaders is to help the people to differentiate between right and wrong and teach them to live in the fear of God. When God calls a person for a particular task, He also gives the provision and equips that person with the necessary tools, talents and abilities to fulfill that task. A leader who has been called and established by God must be a model and live an exemplary life. Though he cannot be perfect, he still must be somebody that people can look unto and be a source of positive inspiration added with a good report (1 Timothy 3:1,13).
God set David on the throne of Israel and Judah to be king for the Lord his God, to do justice and righteousness for His people (2 Chronicles 9:8). God had decided to replace Saul the previous king, because he was more concerned about the approval of men and did not obey God’s commands. The prophet Samuel was sent to the house of Jesse and God directed him to anoint David as the next king. God delighted so much in David that He called him a man after His own heart, who will do everything that He wants him to do (Acts 13:22). David was a valiant soldier. He defeated Goliath, the giant Philistine soldier who challenged and insulted the army of Israel for 40 days. When nobody in Saul’s army was courageous enough to face the Philistines, the young David trusted in the Lord His God and smote Goliath to death with a sling and a rock. David was a bold and courageous warrior. He won many battles and accomplished great things in his life time. He was a man of faith and he was also a worshiper. Of the 150 psalms of the Bible, David is named as the author of 75 psalms. He is known in the Bible as “the hero of Israel's songs” and he used to play the harp in worship to God (2 Samuel 23:1). David’s poetic talent, his influence and his life can be seen throughout the psalms, and equally so in books of the Bible outside the psalms. But like each one of us, David was not perfect. His life was a reflection of successes and failures. One of the major failures of his life is recorded in the story of Bathsheba and her husband Uriah in 2 Samuel Chapter 11 and Chapter 12:1-25. Unfortunately, David misused his royal influence and did a great evil in the sight of God.
This
is a summary of David’s story with Bathsheba: at the time of the year
when kings normally go to war, king David decided to remain in Jerusalem
and stay at home. One evening, while Joab, the commander of David’s
army was at the front against the Amonites, David arose from his bed
and was walking on the roof of his palace. From there, he saw a woman
who was washing herself. He observed the scene and found that the woman
was really good looking. He inquired about the woman and was told that
she is the wife of one of his soldiers called Uriah, who was also with
Joab in the battle against the Amonites at that time. David sent for
the woman whose name was Bathsheba and brought her in his palace. He
slept with her and she became pregnant. When she found out she sent
the news to David to let him know that she was carrying a child from
him. David decided to devise a plan as to hide what he had done with
the wife of his servant. He called Uriah from the front and sent him
home to his wife with food and drink, hoping that Uriah would sleep
with his wife. But Uriah did not go home that day and stayed with his
master’s servants. David heard about it and became more nervous. He
wanted to know why Uriah did not go to his house and Uriah told him
that he cannot be eating, drinking and having fun with his wife, while
the other soldiers are risking their lives on the battle field, fighting
for peace and security in the land. So David thought of something else
to do. He invited Uriah in his palace the next day, gave him some good
food to eat and some good wine to drink and made him drunk. David was
sure that his state of intoxication would cause Uriah to want to go
home to his wife. But that plan also failed. Uriah slept with his master’s
servants that evening again. King David became even more nervous and
uneasy. He decided to get rid of Uriah and wrote a letter that he charged
Uriah to give to Joab. In that letter, David was asking Joab to position
Uriah in a place where the battle was the fiercest, so that he would
die. And that’s what happened. Uriah died and David took Bathseba to
be his wife. This is how King David misused his position and influence
and committed three major sins: adultery, lying and murder. mt