In 2
Samuel chapter 16, King David is having a really bad day. He
and his household had to flee for their lives, leaving the comfort of
the palace to travel through the desert. His son Absalom had
betrayed him and all his trusted allies have turned their backs. He
is undoubtedly feeling like a complete failure. The chapter begins,
“There was Ziba… waiting to meet
him. He had a string of donkeys saddled and loaded with two hundred
loaves of bread, a hundred cakes of raisins, a hundred cakes of figs
and a skin of wine“. David
sheepishly asked, “Why have you
brought these?” Ziba answered, “The donkeys are for
the king’s household to ride on, the bread and fruit are for the men
to eat, and the wine is to refresh those who become exhausted in the
desert“. Remember, Ziba was the servant of David’s loyal
friend Jonathan. Back in the good old days (chapter 9), David had
shown kindness to Jonathan’s crippled son Mephibosheth by restoring
all of Saul’s possessions to him and sending Ziba to serve him.
Now, Ziba told David that his master had also turned on the king and
sided with Absalom. David immediately rewarded Ziba’s loyalty,
“All that
belonged to Mephibosheth is now yours.”
Sadly, we will find out later that Ziba deceived David. Be careful,
it is when we are feeling unworthy that we are most easily
manipulated by any act of kindness.
Next
David has an encounter with an accuser. “As
King David approached Bahurim, a man from the same clan as Saul’s
family came out from there. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and he
cursed as he came out… He
pelted David and all the king’s officials with stones… ‘Get out,
get out, you man of blood, you scoundrel! The Lord has repaid you for
all the blood you shed…The Lord has handed the kingdom over to your
son Absalom. You have come to ruin because you are a man of blood’.”
David did not feel like God’s anointed and perhaps thought the man
was right. He did nothing to prevent the abuse. It even got worse!
“David and his men continued along the
road while Shimei was going along
the hillside opposite him, cursing as
he went and throwing stones at him and showering him with dirt. The
king and all the people with him arrived at their destination
exhausted“. Some of us know this
kind of deep to the bone exhaustion. After life has been cursing and
throwing dirt on us, we do not feel like we are worthy of God’s
blessings. David’s problem was that he had stopped putting his
faith in God. Anytime we focus on our own goodness, we will fall
short and get discouraged.
The
chapter ends with Absalom taking over the king’s palace, but this
skilled politician is not relying on God, but the advice of men.
Remember he was motivated by revenge. We can learn a lot from
observing someone’s first act; it often reveals their heart’s
priority. Absalom’s first act is to humiliate the king. “So
they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, and he lay with his
father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel“.
What is your first act when you come home, or wake up, or turn on
your computer, or get frustrated at work? Colossians chapter 3
exhorts us to get our focus off ourselves. “If
then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above,
where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on
things above, not on things on the earth… And let the peace of God
rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and
be thankful.”