"David the Reformer"

 

"The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

 

            Here is the story of the young David, the one chosen by God to be the king after Saul. He was chosen because the Lord looks at the heart rather than the outward appearance. The Lord instructs Samuel to go to the house of Jesse in Bethlehem to anoint one of his sons as king. In his commentary, Bill Arnold prefers this translation of the instruction: "I am sending you to Jesse in Bethlehem. I have provided for myself a king from among his sons." This is the story of a young man who becomes king because he lives close to God. He is not the king of the Canaanite model that Samuel feared would come into Israel. This is a new kind of king.

            What does the Lord see in David? The author of I Samuel does not describe David's inner life: his thoughts, his prayers, his doubts or fears. This part of the Old Testament reads differently than the narratives of Abraham, Moses or Joshua. There we found much more the external commands of the Lord. The Lord tells Moses to go to Pharaoh, and tells him what to say. The Lord commands Joshua to be strong and very courageous. He gives Joshua specific instructions about how to attack Jericho. But we do not hear the Lord telling David what to do. The Lord does not call David as he called Samuel. He does not send him here and there, as he did to Abraham. The voice of the Lord is not given to us in this narrative. That causes us to believe that the voice of the Lord was internal to David. He was not without the word of the Lord, but he carried it in his heart.

            The story that is told about David is surprising to us, if we can read it as if for the first time. David the great king, the anointed one, does not perform miracles. We would have expected miracles from such a great figure in the Bible. David does not spend his time doing good works, such as feeding the hungry or freeing slaves. He acts outwardly very much like Saul. Most of the time he is fighting battles. He leads the army. He secures the borders. David does what kings did in those days.

            So what is the difference between David and Saul? What is the difference between David and the usual king of his time? The difference is internal, and so we watch to see how his heart gets expressed. We watch his influence on those who are close to him.

            The narrator tells us that David could play the harp, or lyre, so that the evil spirit would leave King Saul. Arnold explains that when the spirit of the Lord departs from Saul, he receives an evil spirit, which is a way of describing his growing alienation from God. The word "evil" here does not necessarily mean "demonic" but can mean injurious, or bad or a gloomy outlook. Saul is disturbed, depressed, troubled in the absence of the Lord. But when David plays his lyre, this evil mood or spirit lifts away from Saul. David is not merely a skillful musician; he is gifted with healing ministry through his art. His heart, which is close to God, ministers powerfully to others, in a way that brings healing. We would say he has a spiritual gift, expressed through his music.

            Then the narrator gives us a long account of his battle with Goliath. The great promise of Israel moving to a monarchy is that a king would deliver Israel from the power of the Philistines. But Saul is powerless to do just that. The struggle is described as one between Tall Saul and the tall champion Goliath. Saul makes no attempt to meet this challenge. But David steps forward with much more than human confidence. David is indignant that this "uncircumcised Philistine" has the audacity to "defy the armies of the living God." This worshipper of dead idols is no match for the Lord. In David's eyes, Goliath is simply not prepared to do battle with a true servant of the Lord. The physical strength of Goliath is no match for the heart of David. David has the faith that moves mountains. That is much more than mere courage or confidence.

            Next we are told of the love for David that comes from Saul's family. Jonathan enters a covenant with David, and expresses a great friendship. This friendship has political overtones. Because of what Jonathan comes to see in David's heart, he abdicates his rights to the throne, and agrees with God that David is the next king. His sister Michal loves David and eventually marries him. The women of Israel write songs about David and follow after him. What is it that all these people see in David? Is his attractiveness in his physical appearance? Or is this a matter of spirit to spirit? The heart for God attracts the admiration and love of others.

            We notice also a freedom in the way David lives. Saul was very preoccupied with the law. He tried to keep it, but often failed and took things into his own hands. His standing before God seemed to be based on sacrifice and not personal relationship. David seems very free in how he lives. He is not disobedient in his younger days, but he is also not worried about the law and how to keep it. Saul is the law keeper. David obeys God internally, in relationship. David sings and stays close to God's heart. He is very free in what he does and how he lives. David seems to walk in God's presence without a lot of rules.

            Jesus lived that way. He loved the Father and lived freely in God's will. There is a quality of heart relationship and obedience to God that we call "freedom in Christ." David and Jesus showed us that freedom. The Pietists talked about it a great deal. Freedom in Christ does not mean that a person is liberal or permissive. It does not mean that one lives by what is called "cheap grace." Indeed, freedom in Christ can be very costly. This is not a disregard for spiritual discipline, prayer, and time in the Word of God. Quite the opposite. But it is a freedom of living in Christ, living close to Christ as friend. It is not insensitivity to one's sin. The Pietists were very aware of their sin. But they were also very aware of grace, and where to find it.

            In 1963, the Covenant Committee on Freedom and Theology wrote, "For the Christian to accept God's will involves acknowledging our finiteness and our dependence on God. On the one hand this implies the importance of constructing a theology which will clarify our faith. On the other hand it gives the Christian freedom from bondage to any man-made theological system by whatever name it may be called. It gives freedom to be open to the correction of our fellows and to the rich possibilities of spiritual growth which accompany this acceptance of our finitude. It gives us freedom to discover our utter dependence on God's revealing work of grace as the only avenue to personal fulfillment. Thus, it gives us freedom to be what God meant for us to be - the dependent, obedient and victorious children of God."

            Wesley Nelson wrote, "The early church was, without doubt, completely unique – both in the freedom it gave to its people and in the way it captured them. To the extent that they were captured by Christ and the church they were free people, and to the extent that they resisted the full captivity of Christ they were enslaved. This is the great paradox of the Christian faith, that the more we are bound to Christ the more we are free, and the more we are free, the more we are bound to Christ."

            I believe we can say that David was a true Reformer, because he had a heart for God. Because of his internal life, his close relationship to God, he was able to live as a true leader, one who attracted the allegiance of his people. In later life he came into some trouble that brought pain to his heart. But in the text we looked at today, he was truly a man after God's own heart.

            This is what we find in Jesus. In his life and ministry Jesus acted out of his close relationship to the Father. He was a man of prayer. The Holy Spirit was upon him. He did not seem to need to be anxious about laws and rules, for he knew the will of his Father, and lived by it. He was not afraid of people or what they thought. He did not fear Pilate or the Pharisees or even his own disciples. He lived out his mission and calling from God. He voluntarily took the way of the cross.

            I realize how often I am afraid of people, or find myself worried about rules and laws, or anxious about what I feel I must get accomplished, and so I am not freed to do Gods will and live by the Spirit. So my prayer today is "Teach me your way, O Lord, Teach me your way." What about you? Do you long for a heart after God?

            If we seek the Lord, and ask for a heart to follow Him, he will give us what we ask for.

            Amen.