Humble and Greathearted Leader

GOLDEN TEXT: “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” —Psalm 51:10

II SAMUEL 12:1-7, 13-15

THE Lord said of David that he was a man after his own heart. This was not because David never made mistakes, but because of his humility and repentance when his sins were called to his attention. David was also a tenderhearted, sympathetic man, and willing to extend mercy to the erring.

Our Golden Text expresses the desire of this shepherd king of Israel. He recognized that by nature his heart was not always clean, and that through weakness of the flesh he was prone at times to manifest a wrong spirit. Nevertheless, he was not sympathetic toward his sins, and prayed to God that he might be cleansed and that a “right spirit” might be renewed within him.

The sin of David which is brought to our attention in this lesson was twofold in character—adultery and murder. “But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord,” the record states. (II Sam. 11:27) The Lord’s displeasure was made known to David by the Prophet Nathan. This was done in a parable of touching beauty, applied to the case with a degree of directness and force which at once brought conviction home to the heart of David—a man not hardened by a series of petty unrepented sins, but a man of God who, in a moment of weakness, had plunged headlong into one great and complicated crime.

The straightforward accusation by the prophet, “Thou art the man,” at once brought David to his knees. He confessed his guilt. He deplored it with many tears. He was pardoned by God in the sense that divine favor was not withheld permanently from him. But he did not go unpunished. His sin had “given great occasion for the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme.” It was necessary therefore that the Lord punish David in order to manifest his own righteousness. The sentence, “Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house,” furnishes the key to many of David’s difficult experiences thereafter.

II SAMUEL 18:32, 33

THE story of Absalom’s rebellion against King David, his father, and of how it was quelled, is well known to all Bible students. The great heartedness of David is revealed by his genuine mourning over his son’s death, despite the fact that he had been an unscrupulous traitor to the king.

The final battle between Absalom and his army, and those who remained loyal to David, was fought in the Forest of Ephraim. (II Sam. 18:6) It was not the Lord’s will that this rebellion be permitted to develop any further, so the cause of David triumphed. Absalom, realizing that his cause was lost, fled for his life upon his mule. As he rode in frantic and unguarded haste through the woods, his long hair caught in the low branches of an oak tree, dragging him off the mule as the animal continued in flight.

This left Absalom dangling in the air. When Joab, a commander in David’s army, received news of what had happened he hurried to the spot and made sure that Absalom would never be able to cause further trouble for his father by sending three darts through the body of the rebellious prince. This was contrary to the orders of David who, only that morning, as troops passed in review before him, had strictly commanded the soldiers to respect the life of Absalom.

However, probably Joab was truly concerned for David and the kingdom in making his decision to slay the rebel. He felt that Absalom could not with safety be permitted to live, and that a more opportune time to rid the state of such a culprit would never again be offered. According to the rules of warfare then extant, he had earned the right to slay Absalom, so nothing can be charged against him except his disobedience to David.

When David received word that his son was dead, he wept bitterly. Bewailing him aloud in cries that touch one’s heartstrings, the king said, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!” Hearing this, Joab went to David and chided him for thus making it appear that he did not appreciate what his soldiers had accomplished in putting down the rebellion.

David felt the force of this argument. He was indeed grateful for what his army had accomplished. It was just that temporarily he had permitted his deep love for Absalom to sway his emotions. David quickly recovered his composure, however, and appeared before his soldiers in a cheerful and appreciative mood. Jesus, the great antitypical David will, during the time of his reign, likewise be compassionate toward his enemies, and because of this, many of them will be recovered from the error of their ways.

II SAMUEL 24:24

THE sincerity of David’s devotion to the Lord is revealed beautifully by his insistence that he buy Araunah’s threshing floor for use in offering sacrifice to the Lord, rather than accept it as a gift. He explained that he did not propose to present burnt offerings to the Lord which cost him nothing. There is a good lesson in this for all of God’s people. If we “sacrifice” in the Lord’s service only that which we do not need anyway, and for which we have no other use, we give no evidence of true devotion to him.

David had again sinned before the Lord by disobeying the divine command not to number the people of Israel. Gad, who served as a “seer” for David, revealed that the Lord had given him a choice between three forms of punishment for this transgression. David refused to make a choice, explaining to Gad that he would rather leave the matter in the hands of the Lord, knowing that “his mercies are great.”—II Sam. 24:14

The Lord chose the pestilence method of punishment, and in a very short time seventy thousand men of Israel died. Then Gad instructed David to “go up, rear an altar unto the Lord in the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite,” and offer sacrifice to the Lord. David obeyed, offering “burnt offerings and peace offerings.” Based upon these sacrifices, the Lord was “intreated” “and the plague was stayed from Israel.”

QUESTIONS

In view of David’s many sins, why did the Lord refer to him as a man after his own heart?

What characteristics of David are revealed in his attitude toward his son Absalom?

What lesson can we get from David’s refusal to offer in sacrifice to God that which cost him nothing?

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