Ungodliness

THE VERY RELATABLE LIFE OF KING DAVID

UNGODLINESS

2 Samuel 2-3

#kingdavid

INTRODUCTION… Eugene Peterson, ‘Leap Over a Wall’ pages 123-124

“They are wearing me out, these sons of Zeruiah. I know that I’m God’s anointed, I know that I’ve been [reserved against formidable odds – Goliath and Saul, Philistine wars and wilderness danger – to do this work of becoming human, becoming a person capable of representing God as king, of bringing God’s people into lives of worship and love and obedience; but these sons of Zeruiah are wearing me out. Their vendettas, their plots, their jealousies, their anger… they are wearing me out. I know God is the One with Whom I have to do and I know the task before me is glorious, but the sons of Zeruiah are wearing me out. They take so much time, require so much watching. It seems like I am spending all my time putting out the fires they set, straightening out the quarrels they start. They think they are on my side; they think that they’re helping; they think I should be grateful to them. But they don’t understand God among us. They have no idea that we’re here as God’s people – not Saul’s not David’s, but God’s. They don’t understand that our task is not to take over and run things efficiently, but to enter into what God is doing and give witness to that. These sons of Zeruiah are wearing me out; they’re too much for me.”

We can easily imagine such thoughts going through David’s mind or in his prayers or even having this conversation with one of his wives. Zeruiah was David’s half-sister and so the three sons of Zeruiah: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel were his nephews. They were family. They were with him throughout many of his trials in the valleys and victories on the mountaintops.

Let me share with you some examples. The first one happens in 1 Samuel (even though we are in 2 Samuel):

READ 1 SAMUEL 26:6-12 (ESV)

Then David said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Joab's brother Abishai the son of Zeruiah, “Who will go down with me into the camp to Saul?” And Abishai said, “I will go down with you.” 7 So David and Abishai went to the army by night. And there lay Saul sleeping within the encampment, with his spear stuck in the ground at his head, and Abner and the army lay around him. 8 Then Abishai said to David, “God has given your enemy into your hand this day. Now please let me pin him to the earth with one stroke of the spear, and I will not strike him twice.” 9 But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him, for who can put out his hand against the LORD's anointed and be guiltless?” 10 And David said, “As the LORD lives, the LORD will strike him, or his day will come to die, or he will go down into battle and perish. 11 The LORD forbid that I should put out my hand against the LORD's anointed. But take now the spear that is at his head and the jar of water, and let us go.” 12 So David took the spear and the jar of water from Saul's head, and they went away. No man saw it or knew it, nor did any awake, for they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from the LORD had fallen upon them.

In this situation, David sneaks into Saul’s camp and sneaks out again with proof that he is no threat to Saul. Yet, Abishai his nephew is with him, and encourages him to take matters into his own hands and to kill Saul while he slept. It is clear to Abishai that a good poke with a spear will make all this better! David tells Abishai that he should not kill a man God anointed as king. He could not do it. I can imagine the whole time Abishai is making sticking motions telling David to end the chase by murdering Saul. In this situation, you have one person with God on their mind and one person who does not have God on their mind.

There is another example in 2 Samuel 2 soon after David becomes king. There is a bit of a civil war happening as some of Saul’s family did not want to give up the throne to David. They secured a man named Abner the son of Ner to be their commander because he was Saul’s commander and was Saul’s cousin. He was well respected by everyone and probably taught David much about being a soldier.

READ 2 SAMUEL 2:12-17 (ESV)

Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. 13 And Joab the son of Zeruiah and the servants of David went out and met them at the pool of Gibeon. And they sat down, the one on the one side of the pool, and the other on the other side of the pool. 14 And Abner said to Joab, “Let the young men arise and compete before us.” And Joab said, “Let them arise.” 15 Then they arose and passed over by number, twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David. 16 And each caught his opponent by the head and thrust his sword in his opponent's side, so they fell down together. Therefore that place was called Helkath-hazzurim which is at Gibeon. 17 And the battle was very fierce that day. And Abner and the men of Israel were beaten before the servants of David.