After God's Heart
"The King is dead! Long live the King!"
He sat by the gate, straining to believe the news. He thought the King would live forever. Well, we knew that really wasn't possible, but it just seemed that King David would always be around. He had been King for so long and had done so much for the kingdom.
David had been a refreshing change after Saul. Saul had been a good king to begin with, but near the end—well, he went a little crazy. He spent more time trying to find (and some said, kill) David than he did protecting the kingdom. There weren't too many who were sad to see Saul go.
And David—well, if anyone had built up Israel and made them a powerhouse in the region it was David. He was everything they had hoped for in a king. Not that he was perfect. Far from it. He made mistakes like anyone else. And since he was king, he usually made king-sized mistakes. There was the rumor about Bathsheba, that she had been pregnant before they had gotten married (it didn't take much to do that math), that David had her husband killed...and the prophet Nathan seemed to know something, but he never said anything. Then there was the rebellion. Absalom. A name still spoken with hatred. He had tried to take the throne from his father, and David had almost let him. And of course, there were the times he tried to do things other than what God wanted him to do. It must have been hard for David, he thought, trying to live up to everyone's expectations of him.
And yet, David seemed singularly focused on doing what God wanted first and foremost. He didn't always get it right, but he tried to constantly point the people toward God. He so desperately wanted to build the Temple, but the reports were that God had told him no. A man of peace should build the place of worship, not a man of war. And David had been that. He had most definitely been a man of war. But it was through that war that peace had come...the peace that would allow David's son to build a place of worship.
He read the headline again: "The King is dead! Long live the King!" He scanned the article, and saw that before his death, David had anointed Solomon as king. Solomon—the favorite son, the pampered son in many ways...the son of Bathsheba, too. He couldn't help but wonder what changes this next king would bring...and whether or not the nation would be closer to God or further away when his reign was at an end. In his opinion, that's how you measured a king, or any leader. Did they help you get closer to God or further away?
That's why David had been a good king. The nation had seen in him a passion for doing God's will above all else. Even when he didn't get it right, he was still a man after God's own heart. Now he was dead, and the nation would mourn. But they would never forget. They would always remember David.
He sat by the gate, straining to believe the news. He thought the King would live forever. Well, we knew that really wasn't possible, but it just seemed that King David would always be around. He had been King for so long and had done so much for the kingdom.
David had been a refreshing change after Saul. Saul had been a good king to begin with, but near the end—well, he went a little crazy. He spent more time trying to find (and some said, kill) David than he did protecting the kingdom. There weren't too many who were sad to see Saul go.
And David—well, if anyone had built up Israel and made them a powerhouse in the region it was David. He was everything they had hoped for in a king. Not that he was perfect. Far from it. He made mistakes like anyone else. And since he was king, he usually made king-sized mistakes. There was the rumor about Bathsheba, that she had been pregnant before they had gotten married (it didn't take much to do that math), that David had her husband killed...and the prophet Nathan seemed to know something, but he never said anything. Then there was the rebellion. Absalom. A name still spoken with hatred. He had tried to take the throne from his father, and David had almost let him. And of course, there were the times he tried to do things other than what God wanted him to do. It must have been hard for David, he thought, trying to live up to everyone's expectations of him.
And yet, David seemed singularly focused on doing what God wanted first and foremost. He didn't always get it right, but he tried to constantly point the people toward God. He so desperately wanted to build the Temple, but the reports were that God had told him no. A man of peace should build the place of worship, not a man of war. And David had been that. He had most definitely been a man of war. But it was through that war that peace had come...the peace that would allow David's son to build a place of worship.
He read the headline again: "The King is dead! Long live the King!" He scanned the article, and saw that before his death, David had anointed Solomon as king. Solomon—the favorite son, the pampered son in many ways...the son of Bathsheba, too. He couldn't help but wonder what changes this next king would bring...and whether or not the nation would be closer to God or further away when his reign was at an end. In his opinion, that's how you measured a king, or any leader. Did they help you get closer to God or further away?
That's why David had been a good king. The nation had seen in him a passion for doing God's will above all else. Even when he didn't get it right, he was still a man after God's own heart. Now he was dead, and the nation would mourn. But they would never forget. They would always remember David.
Comments
Post a Comment