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Wednesday, July 22, 2020

The Guy Was a Scoundrel

  
    If I thought I would be the only person to ever tell you this story, there is much I would omit about the man. But I fear you will discover it anyway. First may I say that he was very good-looking, and although that is not a guarantee of character, it certainly makes the character a bit more interesting while we determine what his heart is made of. Suffice to say the ladies found him irresistible. His early life was not picture perfect and he certainly wasn't born to privilege. Just another common lad, outshone by his older, stronger, and even better-looking brothers. He was shaped, as we all are, by his experiences and his culture. Who would have dreamed that one day he would be one who shaped culture, that world leaders would seek him out and history would adore him? 
     In his heart, he plotted and ordered the execution of an innocent man, an honorable man who kept his word. A man who was in fact, committed to a life of service to this very scoundrel .How can this contradiction be?  When I tell you that the innocent man, the murdered man, had a very beautiful wife, perhaps now you understand. That man was Uriah the Hittite and his wife's name was Bathsheba. I would have omitted this chapter from King David's life. I would not have you know that the man God said was a man after His own heart, could be capable of such depravity. I would prefer to make David look better to the world. 
    Doubtless, he was the greatest king of Israel. Millions have been comforted by his prayers in the book of Psalms. From a heart only a grief-stricken parent can understand, he uttered the oft repeated words "My son can't return to me, but I will go to him."  This son was born out of wedlock but David could not have loved him more. David was the epitome of mercy, even to Jesus's day. When Bartimaeus cried out to Jesus, saying "Son of David, have mercy on me," he was reminding Jesus of David's mercy. Scripture records that God had mercy in a matter concerning David's descendants 300 years after David's death. What a legacy!.
   In the days of King Saul, modern psalmists sang the praises of David the victorious warrior as he came home from battle. God Himself whispered songs to David in the night, as he hid like an animal in caves from Saul's army.
   As a young shepherd boy, David composed songs of worship on his harp. These timeless songs not only comforted the restless sheep but have brought hope to millions through the ages.
    Yet how could he stoop to adultery and murder and still be God's man? What good could possibly come from such a life? Rejected and ridiculed by his family, David found refuge in a heavenly Father who would never forsake him.
   In today's critical culture of conformity, David likely would not be remembered for his anointed leadership, his incredible defeat of his nation's enemies and the prosperity of the nation under his rule. His detractors would not have us know that his government commissioned and salaried 24 hour worship leaders. As long as they praised and magnified God, not one enemy touched the nation of Israel. What a non-conventional Department of Defense!
  Why didn't God leave this part out? Wouldn't protecting David's image highlight his accomplishments? Or does God wants us to see the contrast; to see what David did when he followed his own way.
    But the world remembers King David for what he did when he surrendered to God's way. One thing we love about the Psalms David wrote is the heartfelt sincerity they express. David hid nothing; we see his fears, his hatred, his loves and his faith.
   Instead of asking how God would use a man like David, perhaps we should be rejoicing in the plans He has for someone like me and you.
    

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