This past Sunday, I wrapped up a series on the life of David called "Heart Matters." Our goal over these many weeks was to think about David's victories and failures as originating in his heart.
The toughest talk for me, by far, was the one on 2 Samuel 24. It has so many challenging facts that make today's readers struggle:
- Why was God angry with David for counting potential soldiers?
- How could God be angry about something it appears that He prompted Him to do? Does this make God culpable?
- How could God allow 70,000 people to die from a plague that was the result of one man's sin?
- What's the deal with the death angel and a sword at a threshing floor of some dude named Araunah?
- Why does the writer end the book of 2 Samuel this way? Seems like a weird ending.
I didn't attempt to answer all those questions. Up until a few days before, I had a completely different theme. But finally landed on this big idea: "It's a small step from counting your blessings to counting ON your blessings."
David had a conflict in his heart that we often have. We know when God says, "Don't" or "No." But we doubt His wisdom. We forget what Tim Keller calls, the "wisdom differential”—an infinite gap between God’s wisdom and ours. Then, there’s a choice we come up against: Do I trust God's wisdom on "x" even when I don't understand? Or do I go with what seems right?
David decided against Joab's (his military commander and adviser) advice which was more in line with God's. The narrator doesn't give us the full detail behind how Joab knew this was not a good idea. He just assumes that we will trust that Joab knew.
Timothy Keller is really helpful on this part. He says David's real sin behind the sin was his rejection of a theme of Israel's prophets: 'Woe to the one who trusts in chariots and horses. Trust in God. Not in military might. Don't be like the other nations.' (I'm paraphrasing Keller, but you can hear him talk about this HERE at about 11 minutes in.)
But we like David struggle against God's wisdom when it doesn't make sense. We think if it's bad or if it's sinful, we would understand why. If it doesn't seem like sin to us, then it can't be sin. Even though, we know this kind of thinking didn’t turn out well for Adam and Eve, we can't seem to learn. (The fruit looks great to me. Why would God say such a thing?)
A parent in our church after listening to the message related the message to parenting. I thought it was excellent. (Thanks, Grace, for sharing this!)
LORD, SCOOP ME UP
By Grace Fico
My baby slowly wakes up from a nap,
And immediately begins to cry.
His hunger is confusing and sharp,
He looks as if asking why?
So, I scoop him up and hold him close,
While his bottle is being made.
I try to explain but he doesn’t understand,
That everything is going to be okay.
I hear my toddler cry out in pain,
After a good topple down the stairs.
He had smacked his head against the tile,
And angrily said it wasn’t fair.
So, I scoop him up and hold him close,
As his sobs begin to fade.
I try to explain accidents can happen,
And that his pain will soon go away.
I stroke my daughters silky hair,
As she tells me what happened at school.
Tears slowly roll down her freckled cheek,
As she recalls how the kids were so cruel.
So, I scoop her up and hold her close,
And confirm its hard in 2nd grade.
I try to explain that people can hurt,
But it’s going to be okay.
I pull close to my son as he starts to speak,
His face is low and worn.
Anxiety and stress have smothered his light,
He doesn’t think he can do it anymore.
So, I scoop him up and hold him close,
And know there is nothing I can say.
I try to explain to myself that this won’t last,
And that everything is going to be okay.
I look up to God and ask Him why,
He allows such suffering and pain.
So many people are hurting and scared,
What could we possibly gain?
So He scoops me up and holds me close,
And tells me I was wonderfully made.
He tried to explain He created the world,
But He did not make it this way.
There was no hunger, or accidents, and no disease,
And people were kind and obeyed.
“Stay close to me.” He whispers in my ear,
And everything will be okay.
