We all need to have our hearts broken – David’s heart after God, Part 5

Have you ever had your heart broken? Maybe the other person cheated.  Maybe the other person terminated the relationship.  Maybe they moved away.  Maybe they lied.  There are loads of reasons for a broken heart when you are in love. 

In today’s post, we’re going to learn that we all need our hearts broken. But not romantically.

Let me explain. What we do we do when we don’t live in line with God’s heart?  What do we do when we fail, and sin?  This week on the blog, we’re talking about Israel’s great King David as a man after God’s own heart. David was no stranger to sin. One of his most powerful psalms is about his sin.  Look at Psalm 51’s subtitle: “When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.” 

This is David’s journal entry after he got confronted for adultery, lying, murder.  In verses 1–9, David describes how a man after God’s own heart wrestles with the reality of his sin.  David is begging for forgiveness and mercy.  But in those verses, he doesn’t mention his heart.  He goes their next in verses 10-12,

“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.”

And then again in verses 16 and 17,

“You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.

When you have a dirty heart, if you want a clean heart, you first need a broken heart.  David is not talking about a romantic broken heart.  David broke his own heart when he sinned, and was confronted with the reality, the pain, the consequence, of his sin.  He feels deep pain because of his sinful actions.

When we sin, a broken heart is the right response because it shows that we are aware of what we did and how it affected others.  In my book I talk about the Korean concept of han, which I learned from Andrew Park’s book, The Wounded Heart of God.  It is very hard to translate into English, because it is a very emotional anguished word.  Similar to a broken heart.  But han brings with it an awareness of how our sin affects others.  Our sin is almost never something that only affects us.  We need han or a broken heart that is clearly aware of the pain that we have caused. 

Then David mentions a contrite heart.  In the language David wrote in, Hebrew, this word is actually “crushed”.  In other words, he is not just broken. What is broken can be fixed.  David is crushed.  It is a deeper emotion, much deeper.  A heart after God’s heart is seriously affected by its own sin.

Paul refers to this in 2 Corinthians 7.  He had written a confrontational letter about sin in that Corinthian church family which they had not dealt with.  Paul confronts them in order to get to their heart. 

Here’s what he writes in 2 Corinthians 7, verses 8–11,

“Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it—I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while—yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter.”

They were in the wrong, but his letter crushed them, got them to what he calls godly sorrow that wants to repent and make things right.  That is just what they did.  They made it right, and thus in the end became innocent anew.  Same with David.  He cries out to God to restore him, and God does so. 

To have that kind of renewed heart relationship with God, consider what David writes in Psalm 139:23, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.”  Invite God to search your heart.  This is the passage I often refer to before my church family observes communion, because before we take communion, we are directed to undergo examination (1 Corinthians 11:28).  We invite the Spirit to convict of sin.  We want a heart just like his heart.  And as David experienced, we can be forgiven and restored. 

In the end, David is rightly revered at Israel’s greatest king, because David had a heart after God’s heart.  What is so astounding is that we can have a heart after God’s heart as well.  David was not a special case.  God wants to transform our hearts, and even live in our hearts. 

Let me conclude with Paul’s astounding prayer in Ephesians 3:14–19. Note how he describes what God desires for our hearts.

“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

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What I learned from a Shakespeare class about God’s word – David’s heart after God, Part 4

For my undergraduate studies, I attended a Bible college, so it might surprise you that my top five classes included a class that wasn’t specifically related to Bible, theology, or ministry. One of my top five was Shakespeare. For that class, we read something like five of his plays.  Also, my professor, Dr. Joan Tompkins, divided the class into small groups, and each group performed yet another play. My group did Henry V.  We also saw a professional production of Othello at a local theater. My mind was filled with Shakespeare that semester.

This week we’ve been learning about what it means to have a heart after God’s own heart, like Israel’s great King David. David writes in Psalm 37:31 “The law of their God is in their hearts; their feet do not slip.”  In Psalm 40:8 “I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart.” A heart in line with God’s heart is a heart filled with God’s word. 

Some people think David wrote Psalm 119, the super long psalm.  We don’t know for sure, except that Psalm 119 really sounds like David’s writing when compared to the psalms we know David did write.  When I think about having God’s word fill our hearts, I think about Psalm 119:9–11,

“How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”

A person with a heart for God intentionally strives to read, learn, know, and meditate on God’s Word, so that it is in our hearts.  A person with a heart for God, wants God’s word to be deeply rooted in our conscious and conscience. 

That semester I took the Shakespeare class, I was swimming in Shakespeare.  No surprise, all sorts of things in my life seemed like they related to Shakespeare plays.  Some of my friends were in the class, and when we saw each other, instead of saying, “How are you?” we said, “How art thou?” We were constantly reading plays, watching them, and ourselves performing them.

Likewise, what will it look like to hide God’s word in your heart?  To the point where it is on the forefront of your minds, on the tips of your tongues when you speak?  To the point where, because it is living and active, God’s word helps you follow God’s heart?  It will look just like Jesus!

Remember when Jesus was in the desert and tempted by Satan?  What method did he use to defeat Satan’s three temptations?  Jesus used this method to combat all three temptations.  Call down angels to battle Satan for him?  Use supernatural power to send Satan into hell?  No.  Jesus simply quoted the Bible.  Three times.  Actually, Jesus only quoted from one book of the Bible.  Deuteronomy.  Three times in a row he defeated Satan with Deuteronomy. 

Jesus is a wonderful picture of a heart after God’s heart that is saturated with God’s word, allowing God’s word to guide the person. As Jesus’ brother James writes, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.” (James 1:22-25)

How are you striving to hide God’s word in your heart?

But what about when we don’t live in line with God’s word?  What about when we fail, and sin? We’ll look at what David writes about how a person with a heart after God’s heart responds to its own sin.

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What to do when your heart is filled with fear and pain – David’s heart after God, Part 3

You’re getting old, wrinkly, flabby?  Fear not!  “Just purchase our wonder cream to help your skin, and you’ll be young again in no time.”  You feeling uncertain about finances in the future?  Fear not!  “Just contact our investment firm, and we will get you ready.”  You feeling stressed out by the pressures of life?  Fear not!  “Download our phone game, and it is so fun and relaxing, you’ll be chilled out in no time.” 

Fear is a powerful motivator.  David writes about a heart that responds to fear in Psalm 27. 

In Psalm 27: 3 he says,  “My heart will not fear.” In verse 8, “My heart says…seek his face.” Finally, in verse 14, “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”

A heart after God’s heart responds to fear by turning to seek God’s face, to wait for God.  There are so many reasons we could allow fear to grip us.  Just think about it a moment.  What makes you feel feelings of fear? 

David experienced loads of fearful situations.  Death threats.  Enemies.  Betrayal.  He says that a heart for God faces fear by looking straight at God, and waiting for God.  We do this by carving out time in our lives to be with God, seek his face. Then when fear begins to take hold, we redirect our minds to the truths and promises of his word and his character.

And what will we find in God?  Look over at the next psalm, Psalm 28:7, “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.”

Yet, life is not always like that joyful heart. 

David knew that too. He was often deep in the depths.  In fact, in Psalm 30, David remembers when he was in a very bad way.  The subtitle of Psalm 30 notes that David wrote this for the dedication of the temple. I love that.  Think about that scene.  In our day, it would be like the dedication of a new church building.  Those dedications are totally filled with joy. 

But David’s dedication of the temple includes a memory of deep darkness.  David did not get to see the building of the temple.  He only wrote the song for it.  His son Solomon built the temple.  I wonder if this song made it into the setlist for that day, because this Psalm is not your typical start to finish rah-rah psalm.  Look at what he writes in verses 8–10,

“To you, Lord, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy: ‘What is gained if I am silenced, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your faithfulness? Hear, Lord, and be merciful to me; Lord, be my help.’”

What David writes about is the emotion of anguish that is quite common in the human experience.  I love that a person with a heart after God’s heart is honest, truly crying out to God not just when life is good, but also when life is bad, even ugly. 

Of course in the psalm David is remembering a time when he felt horrible and cried a messy cry to God, trying to reason with God to save his life.  Even the remembrance of that dark time is a striking inclusion in a song for the dedication of the temple. And for that occasion, therefore, we see how appropriate the song is when we read what David says next.

“You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent. Lord my God, I will praise you forever.”

A heart in line with God’s heart honestly cries out to God in pain, and dances with joyful praise when it remembers God’s deliverance.

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The active life choices of a heart like God’s – David’s heart after God, Part 2

David’s psalms are like his personal prayer journal.  When you put them together, we can learn a lot about what David thought.  In the rest of the posts this week, we’re going to look at how David writes about the heart in his psalms. Through David’s comments on the heart, we will learn more about what it means to be a person after God’s own heart.

The first psalm I want us to look at is Psalm 7.  Psalm 7:10, David writes,

“My shield is God Most High, who saves the upright in heart.”  To be upright refers to honesty and piety, which means it is a heart, a conscience, that is aligned with God’s heart, because God is a God of truth and rightness.  So a person after God’s own heart is committed to truthfulness.

Continuing this theme in Psalm 15, David asks two interesting questions.  Look at verse 1,

“Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain?”

While we don’t usually think in terms of God’s tent or mountain, David is referring to the dwelling place of God.  What do Christians call the dwelling place of God?  Heaven.  David is saying, “How do we get to heaven?”  It’s a question we really want to know the answer to. 

Christians talk about Jesus’ life, death and resurrection and believing in and following him, as the way to eternal life in heaven.  But David lived before Jesus.  So David’s answer to the question, “How do we get to heaven,” will sound different from a Christian answer.  David’s answer doesn’t talk about Jesus, but it does talk about heart.  Look at verse 2. Who can go to heaven?

“The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart”

There it is again.  A heart after God’s own heart is committed to being truthful.  But David just keeps going.  Look at how he describes a person who has a heart after God’s own heart in verses three through five,

“…whose tongue utters no slander, who does no wrong to a neighbor, and casts no slur on others; who despises a vile person but honors those who fear the Lord; who keeps an oath even when it hurts, and does not change their mind; who lends money to the poor without interest; who does not accept a bribe against the innocent. Whoever does these things will never be shaken.”

David is describing the active life choices of a person with a heart after God’s heart.  They are truthful, they are generous, they respect the Lord, they do not honor vile people.  The person with a heart after God’s heart is person with a particular way of life.  They make choices that are in line with the kind of choices that God would make. 

Notice how practical some of these illustrations are.  In verse 3, what comes out of their mouth is neither slanderous, nor wrongful, nor slur.  The person who has a heart like God’s does not want to tear people down, and they actually don’t tear people down.  They build people up.  They encourage.  They express kindness. 

In verse 4, they keep an oath, even when it hurts.  They don’t change their mind.  They are locked in to their word, and they keep it.  A man in my church family told me that one of our local volunteer fire companies is getting a new ladder truck.  It’s very expensive, about $1.9 million. For that reason, they chose a manufacturer that guaranteed the price.  It will take 3-4 years to build the truck, and costs could easily rise during that time, but the company locked in their price.  My friend said not all companies lock in their prices.  But the company they chose will kept their oath. Likewise, a heart after God’s heart keeps its word.

Now turn to Psalm 24, verse 3.  What do you notice?  Same questions!  How do you get to heaven?  David’s answer in verse 4 is,

“The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god.”

In this case, it is a pure heart.  Before, we learned about an upright heart.  “Pure” refers to being unstained, unblemished, untainted.  Pure is 100% real.  A heart that is 100% pure, David writes in Psalm 24, is like clean hands, not dirty, because it does not trust in idols and false gods.  A person with with heart like Gods strives to be free from idolatry and give their lives to God and God only.

What, then, are idols in our day?  Jesus named one that was prevalent in his day, and that idol is still prevalent in out day.  It is the idol Mammon or money.  In Matthew 6:19–24, Jesus teaches,

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. … No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

A heart that is in line with God’s heart does not trust in money’s promises of the good life.  A heart that is in line with God’s heart is careful to examine whether that heart has become infatuated with money, with desire for money. 

Another contemporary idol is power. It seems that some Christians across the USA have a thirst for political power, believing that if we get a person in political power who those Christians think sympathizes with some Christian ideas, then things will be okay in our country.  That desire could easily lead to worshiping the politician and the power rather than God. People can begin trusting the words of a politician, instead of testing those words against what the words of Jesus says, and then putting their trust in God.

Do you struggle with these idols? Other idols?

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Why the King David tell-all memoir is a good thing – David’s heart after God, Part 1

A few years ago Prince Harry wrote Spare, a sometime lurid memoir that deeply upset some in the British royal family. It’s not just royals or famous people. Who wants their personal struggles on the headlines? I would venture a guest that hardly anyone wants that kind of negative publicity. Even after a loved one has passed away, their descendants rarely want their loved one’s dark secrets to come to light.

But that is exactly what happened to Israel’s great King David.

What a life David had.  Since April of last year, we have followed the account of his improbable rise to become king of Israel.  David came out of nowhere.  But God picked him for a reason. 

When God sent the prophet Samuel to anoint David to be king, David was young.  Maybe even an older teenager, or young adult.  He was a no name.  His only reputation was within his family and local community in the small town of Bethlehem.  And even that reputation was no big deal. 

David was the youngest sibling, with 7 older brothers.  They were the one’s making a name in the world, serving in the military.  But David?  He tended his dad’s flocks of sheep, while his brothers were in fighting in the army.  David used a sling shot to ward off predators from grabbing sheep, while his brothers wielded swords in battle.  They were men; David was too young to enlist.  So he walked around the fields with sheep, and in his spare time wrote songs and played a harp.  The thought of David becoming king was laughable. 

Yet when Samuel goes to anoint the next king, God tells Samuel to go to David’s father, Jesse’s family, and Jesse brings out his military sons one by one. God says “No…nope…uh-uh,” passing up each brother, until finally there are none left.  So Samuel says, “Are there no more?”  Had this been a mistake?  Did Samuel hear God wrong? 

Their father Jesse speaks up, “Well, there is the youngest, and he’s out tending the sheep.”  It is as if Jesse is saying, “You can’t seriously want to see him, right?  You want to pick the older brothers, as they are men, soldiers.  David is too young, untested, and knows nothing of military life.”  It would have been common to think that a king needed to be a seriously experienced military man.

But God says, “I want David.” Why David?  God had told Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

God picked David because of David’s heart.  David’s lack of age, height, experience, battle, and training did not matter to God.  Why?  Because David had the right kind of heart.

When God says I look at the heart, God is not referring to his physical blood pumper.  This word is being used figuratively to refer to one’s conscience.  It has everything to do with one’s inner desire, will, intention.  David had the right kind of heart.

In Psalm 78:72, we read that “David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.”  That psalm writer is not talking about David’s days as a shepherd of literal sheep.  The psalmist is talking about David’s heart as king, a leader of people.  He led with integrity. 

You might say, “Hold on a minute.  When we studied the life of David, we heard stories describing David as sinning and lying, and not having integrity.”  The story of David in the Bible is often like Prince Harry’s tell-all memoir. That is true.  So how can David be called a man after God’s own heart if he also committed atrocities? 

I personally appreciate that the writer of David’s life includes numerous messy parts.  We learned about David’s women problems.  The worst was David’s terrible sin against Bathsheba, her husband, and God.  Recently we studied David’s census that led to thousands dying.  They are awful episodes, and a writer could easily have thought, “I’m not going to include David’s terrible choices because I don’t want him to look bad.  I don’t want surrounding nations to know about our king’s infidelities.  Further, I don’t want God to look bad, since it was God who chose David.  So I’ll just skip all the bad parts, and make it seem like David was always and only a man after God’s own heart.  I will make David look perfect.” 

Do you see that an author might be motivated to hide David’s sins? The royal family, David’s children and grandchildren, might put pressure on David’s biographer to skip the sordid details.  David’s relatives could be extremely embarrassed to have David’s many foibles in print. When 1st and 2nd Samuel were published, one of David’s relatives was on the throne. They had authority and means to keep that book from ever seeing the light of day.

Except they didn’t.  It’s all there for us to read, and it is horrible, and messy, and I am glad.  Not just because I think it is important to tell the truth, but because the truth about David’s sin gives us hope that being a person with a heart after God’s own heart does not require perfection.  The story of David gives us assurance that even though we sin, and sometimes sin royally, we can confess our sins, repent, and receive God’s forgiveness.  God loves us, no matter how awful our sins.  No one’s actions ever make them unlovable or unforgiveable by God. Praise God, his grace is sufficient.  David was truly a man after God’s heart.  He would look to God, receive forgiveness and make changes even after he sins. David’s sins and God’s grace remind us that we too can be people after God’s heart, though we sin.

What I wondered about this week was what David thought about this idea of being called a man after God’s heart. Did he know that people labeled him that way?  Did Samuel tell him that he was chosen because of his heart?  Did David think about what it mean to have a heart after God’s heart? 

In the account of 1st and 2nd Samuel, we rarely get to hear David’s thoughts about his heart. But there is another place we can turn to learn what David himself has to say about his life.  The psalms. 

David wrote between 73 and 75 of the 150 psalms in the biblical book of Psalms.  David’s psalms are like his personal prayer journal, and through them we can learn much of David’s thinking about the heart.  Check back tomorrow as we begin to study some psalms where David mentions the heart. 

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What phrase best describes Israel’s great king David? (And what did he think about that phrase?)

If you had to describe Israel’s great king David in one phrase, what would it be?  

Since April 2024, as we worked our way through the books of 1st and 2nd Samuel, concluding last week with David’s passing in 1st Kings chapters 1 and 2, we have observed David’s messy, dramatic, and utterly fascinating life.  Numerous times as I was working on posts in the series, I thought, “This needs to be a TV show like The Chosen.”  Consider the near constant drama and surprises in David faced; the down-to-earth humanity of the characters, the good and evil, the heroes and villains. David’s life includes underdog stories, romance, friendship gained, friendship lost, monarchy, betrayal, lust, war, and murder.  

Given all that, maybe it is difficult to summarize David’s life into a short phrase, precisely because there are so many divergent facets of David’s life. Yet there is one phrase that David is most known for: he was a man after God’s own heart. We read about that in 1 Samuel 13:14 and Acts 13:22, but neither of those passages are about events during David’s lifetime.

1 Samuel 13:14 takes place during the story of David’s predecessor, King Saul and his failure.  The prophet Samuel tells Saul, “Because of your sin, God is looking for someone to replace you, someone after his heart.”  So 1 Samuel 13:14 is a forward-looking reference, one that does not mention David by name.  Because David is the man whom God selects (see 1 Samuel 16), we know that what Samuel says to Saul in 1 Samuel 13:14 is describing David.  

Then we fast-forward way past the life of David, traveling one thousand years forward in history to Acts 13:22.  In Acts 13, the Apostle Paul is preaching in the town of Psidian Antioch.  Paul wants the people of the town to hear about Jesus, so Paul steps back in history to talk about the nation of Israel, and how Jesus was the fulfillment of God’s covenant with Israel.  In the middle of that historical account, Paul brings up Israel’s greatest king, David, and Paul depicts God as saying of David, “I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.”  Thus Acts 13:22 is a backward-looking reference, and it does mention David by name. In Paul’s view, the fact that David is a man after God’s own is the defining characteristic of David.

But did David ever talk about his own heart?  In the account of David’s life, as told by 1st and 2nd Samuel and 1st Kings chapters 1 and 2, the author rarely reveals David’s thoughts.  We can describe David’s character based on the quality of his actions.  But what did David himself think about the idea that he was a man after God’s own heart?  Did David see himself that way?

There is a way we can read David’s actual thoughts. David wrote about fifty percent of the psalms collected in the biblical book of Psalms.  In essence, those nearly 75 psalms are like his spiritual journal.  David pours out his thoughts and emotions to God, sometimes in anguish, sometimes with joy. Also in those psalms, David talks about his heart or the concept of the heart (not the blood-pumper, but the seat of our intention, will and desire) frequently.

Over the weekend, I encourage you to skim through the psalms, looking for the psalms written by David. For each psalm, your bible will list the psalm # and directly under that number, it will tell you if the psalm is written by David, by someone else, or if it is unattributed.  When you find one written by David, look for the word heart.  What does David say about the heart?  Then on the blog next week, we’ll talk about the patterns and themes that emerge, and what David can teach us about being people who have hearts that are after God’s own heart.

We get started back here on Monday.

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What should Christians say as their last words? – 1 Kings 1—2, Part 5

If you have the opportunity to say last words, just before you die, what would you say?  Think about the gravity of the moment.  Likely, your family will be around you.  They will remember your last words probably more than anything you ever said to them.  Your last words will be famous to them, locked in their hearts and minds. Your last words can have a profound impact on them. 

In the previous post, we skipped over a section of David’s last words to his son, Solomon. Let’s got back to David’s final words in 1 Kings chapter 2, verses 2–4,

“I am about to go the way of all the earth,” he said. “So be strong, act like a man, and observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go and that the Lord may keep his promise to me: ‘If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’”

When I read those last words of David, I think of Dallas Willard’s last words. Willard was a Christian scholar and writer about spirituality and discipleship.  He passed about ten years ago, and numerous contemporary Christians believe that Willard’s writings will have a significant impact for decades to come.  If you haven’t read any of his works, I highly recommend them. 

His family and estate recently published, posthumously, Willard’s 1980s-era talks on the parables of Jesus in the book The Scandal of the Kingdom: How the Parables of Jesus Revolutionize Life with God.  In the introduction they recall Willard’s last words to a family member, just before he died.

Dallas Willard said, “Give ‘em heaven.” 

I love that.  It is a play on the phrase “Give ‘em hell,” which we hear in our culture in film or sport or battle, usually to encourage people to give their all to the task.  There is a tone of violence associated with phrase, because of the word “hell.”  But Willard removes the violence, fire, and death, replacing the violence with hope of new life.  When we think about our mission as disciples of Jesus, those three words say it all so well, “Give ‘em heaven.”

Just as David told his son Solomon to walk in obedience and keep God’s decrees and commands, we disciples of Jesus live out the principles and mission of the Kingdom of heaven in our daily lives.  That’s how we “give ‘em heaven.”  In other words, when we live in line with God’s heart, with the Jesus way of living, we give the people around us a foretaste of the Kingdom. 

Have you ever viewed your life that way? You can give people a taste of the Kingdom of God.

This is why at Faith Church we feature a Fruit of the Spirit each month.  Our Fruit of the Spirit for the month of January 2025 is love.  Can you imagine the impact Christians would have in the world if we were known primarily for how our love is like Jesus’ love. And when I say “like Jesus’ love,” I’m not suggesting that we have to be perfect, or that if we are not perfect we are failures.  Living like Jesus is the goal, but God’s grace is always for us, knowing that we will not be 100% like Jesus.  But don’t let your imperfection stop you from pursuing the goal of love

Next month we will feature the Fruit of the Spirit of Joy.  Can you imagine the impact Christians would have if we were known for our joy?  We could ask this question about impact for each of the Fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control. 

David’s charge to Solomon, David’s last words, are all about a way of living.  David is saying that a particular way of living leads to prosperity.  David is not teaching what has come to be known in our era as the Prosperity Gospel.  The Prosperity Gospel suggests that if people live with enough faith, trust, and obedience to God, they will prosper in physical ways.  Specifically, they will be healthy and wealthy. Therefore, the Prosperity Gospel is sometimes called the Health and Wealth gospel.  In my theological tradition, we do not agree that biblical teaching aligns with the idea that prosperity is a guarantee for those who are faithfully obedient to God. 

Life has no guarantees. Even a person who is faithfully obedient to and trusting in God can get sick, lose their job, suffer a tragic accident, be misunderstood, mistreated, and will eventually die.  That is humanity 101.  But the principle David shares is still legit.  The best way to live is the way of faithful obedience to God.  The way of faithful obedience to God shows our gratitude and praise to God. The way of faithful obedience to God shows our trust in God.

Let me say it again: the way of faithful obedience to God is not always easy.  As I mentioned in a post last week, David gave us a powerful principle of obedience to God when he said, “I will not sacrifice to God that which cost me nothing.”  When we give our lives to faithful obedience to God, we are giving our lives to him in a costly sacrificial way.  Sacrifice sounds harsh, but when it comes to God, we can trust that his way is a good way.  It is an abundant life (John 10:10).

We give generously to his kingdom through offerings.  We volunteer our time through ministries.  I am convinced that giving our time on Sunday morning to participate in worship services is a good start, but we need to take the next step from there.  We need to serve the mission of the Kingdom. We need to understand, first what the mission is, and then take steps to align our hearts, minds and actions to the way of the mission of Jesus.

Going to church worship services is a very good thing.  I wish more people would go to church worship services. I wish current worshipgoers would increase their frequency.  There are also current worshipgoers who see their worshipgoing as attendance more so than participation. I wish worshipgoers would be more participatory.

More than worship services, though, I want people to increase their participation in the mission of the Kingdom, reaching out in love to the people in our communities.  To “Give ‘em heaven,” loving sacrificially and generously, loving as Jesus loves.

Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash

When do you draw the line with a difficult employee, friend or family member? – 1 Kings 1—2, Part 4

Have you ever faced the difficult, emotional experience of firing an employee? Or perhaps you’ve had to place boundaries on a relationship? In the business world, a boss might want to avoid the pain of firing an employee who needs to be fired. In Christian communities, the theology of love and grace is deeply rooted in our consciences. The shadow side of love and grace, however, can lead us to allow an underperforming or unsuitable employee to remain in a position far too long. We can give abusive or selfish people too many chances before imposing boundaries.

We say, “What would love do?” thinking that love requires us to keep believing in the person, keep trying to help them grow and change. But “What would love do?” must also take into account all those affected by the employee. That employee’s actions and words often make life difficult for other employees. That employee’s performance is often detrimental to the company or church. What should we do?

1st Kings chapter 2 begins with David’s final words for his son, Solomon, who has become the new king, and David’s words to Solomon direct Solomon to place boundaries on some of the most powerful, and yet most difficult, people in the kingdom. 

The most important part of David’s charge to Solomon, in my opinion, is what David says in verses 2–4. Those verses are the heart of the passage, and we will return to them in tomorrow’s post.  For now let’s look at what David says to Solomon about those difficult “employees.” In verses 5–9, David names names. Essentially David says, “Solomon, get rid of the difficult people, and bless the wonderful ones.”

It is interesting that David wants Solomon to do what he himself didn’t do. Yet, David’s lack of confrontation resonates with me. It can be very difficult for some personalities to confront others, especially if the confrontation is a firing or a placing of boundaries on them.

In my role as pastor, there have been numerous situations in which I, believing love required me to give multiple chances to a person, actually enabled their poor performance to linger far too long. I should have applied love in a wider sense, to the rest of the staff or to the whole congregation, and let that employee go.

David, it seems, allowed people to stay too long, perhaps due to a sense of loyalty, when inwardly he knew he should have let them go. Now as he is dying, he urges Solomon to deal with those people. But will Solomon deal with them? We’re about to find out.

Before that, in verses 10–11, we read the account of David’s passing.

“Then David rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. He had reigned forty years over Israel—seven years in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his rule was firmly established.”

The remainder of 1 Kings chapter 2 describes how Solomon established his throne. 

First, Adonijah, the guy who was trying to become the next king (as we learned in the previous posts here and here), visits Solomon’s mother, Bathsheba, urging her to ask Solomon to give the beautiful young woman Abishag to Adonijah to be Adonijah’s wife.  Remember Abishag? Abishag was the young woman who taking care of David in his old age (see this post).  Now Adonijah wants Abishag to be his wife. 

Why didn’t Adonijah just ask Solomon directly?  Clearly Adonijah thinks it is a far better idea if Solomon’s mom, Bathsheba, asks Solomon.  She is the queen mother after all, and has incredibly high standing with Solomon.  If not for her intervention, Solomon might not be king (as we learned here and here).  If anyone has Solomon’s ear, it is Bathsheba. 

Bathsheba agrees, and she asks Solomon if Adonijah can have Abishag as his wife. 

How do you think Solomon should answer his mom?  Solomon as king definitely has the authority to decide this question.  Maybe he should give Abishag to be his older brother’s wife, as a peace offering. 

What do you think Solomon says to his mom?

He says, “Absolutely not, and in fact, I can’t believe you said ‘yes’ to come to with me on Adonijah’s behalf.”

Why is Solomon so upset with his mom, and why is he viewing Adonijah’s request so negatively?   Because Solomon views Adonijah’s request as a subversive act. 

First, Adonijah is older than Solomon, and culturally-speaking, Adonijah has the right to the throne.  Second, since Abishag was in King David’s service, it is essentially the same as saying that Abishag was David’s royal concubine.  If Adonijah marries Abishag, Adonijah would be married to the former king’s concubine.

Put those two idea together: Adonijah’s birth order and marriage to David’s concubine. Solomon believes Adonijah would have a powerful rationale to claim that he, Adonijah, was the rightful king, even though David made Solomon king.

David is dead and gone, and Solomon believes that if he allows Adonijah to marry Abishag, it could lead to a political and perhaps military battle.  Solomon says, “No way.  Never.”  Solomon makes it very clear, “Adonijah is asking to become king, and I told him previously that if he did anything wicked, he would have to die. This is wicked, and he must die.” Solomon has Benaiah, the guy who jumped in the pit the with a lion on a snowy day, go and enact capital punishment on Adonihah.  Benaiah does so.

Solomon then deals with the people David instructed him to deal with.  He removes Abiathar from the priesthood.  He has Benaiah enact capital punishment on Joab and Shimei, people who David struggled with from time to time. With that Solomon has established himself on the throne.

It is a fairly brutal passage. Capital punishment always is. But I believe the lesson is that we should not delay applying loving boundaries. I totally disagree with capital punishment! But I believe that in the workplace, in churches, in Christian communities, we leaders would do well to apply love by quickly placing boundaries where needed, up to and including termination.

Easier said than done, I admit.

Check back tomorrow for the final post in this week’s series, as we’ll take a closer look at David’s last words to Solomon that I skipped over above in verses 2–4. I you see how significantly those words can apply to us as well.

Photo by Aleš Čerin on Unsplash

The messiness of vague succession – 1 Kings 1—2, Part 3

Succession is often messy. The transfer of power from one leader to the next is fraught with emotions of uncertainty and fear, particularly when the outgoing leader has been in charge for a longtime and is beloved. Succession is also difficult when there is only a vague plan for succession.

I am writing this post from the USA on January 22, 2025, a week in which we have just witnessed a transfer of power in our country. A succession occurred in which one President from one party handed over power to the incoming President who is from the opposing party. Our country has a very detailed plan of succession.

Does your company or church or organization have a detailed plan of succession? As we learned in the previous post, in ancient Israel, there was a crisis in Israel’s monarchy because the succession plan was uncertain.

In 1 Kings 1, verses 28–30, the current but aged King David clears up the crisis by choosing his successor.  One option is his eldest son, Adonijah, who has gathered a group of supporters comprised of members of the royal family, priests, and military officials. While Adonijah is having a feast intended to solidify his bid for the throne, David’s wife Bathsheba and his trusted advisor, the prophet Nathan, visit David urging him to select a different option, David and Bathsheba’s son, Solomon. Here’s what David decides,

“Then King David said, ‘Call in Bathsheba.’ So she came into the king’s presence and stood before him. The king then took an oath: ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who has delivered me out of every trouble, I will surely carry out this very day what I swore to you by the Lord, the God of Israel: Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne in my place’.”

In verses 31–37, David sets the details for the transfer of power in motion, wasting no time in keeping his word to Bathsheba.  Then in verses 38–40, Solomon is anointed and takes the throne. The crowd present erupts in cheering.

Suddenly Solomon has become king. 

But what about Adonijah, and his party?  In Jerusalem that day, literally just around the block from each other, there are simultaneous competing parties to celebrate the crowning of a new king.  In verse 41 we learn that the noise of Adonijah’s party is drowned out by the much louder sound of Solomon’s party. 

In verses 42–45, messengers inform Adonijah the news.  Look at what the messengers report to Adonijah in verses 46–48,

“Solomon has taken his seat on the royal throne. Also, the royal officials have come to congratulate our lord King David, saying, ‘May your God make Solomon’s name more famous than yours and his throne greater than yours!’ And the king bowed in worship on his bed and said, ‘Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who has allowed my eyes to see a successor on my throne today.’ ”

Suddenly, Adonijah’s situation has turned 180 degrees to the worst.  Have you ever had a moment when you get found out?  When you get caught? You think you’ve cheated the system, that you’ve gotten away with a lie, a crime, a theft, and you’re feeling the elation of freedom.  Then out of nowhere, somehow your indiscretion is revealed.  In an instant your emotions shift from the thrill of freedom to the total despair of guilt, shame, and punishment. 

And it’s not just Adonijah.  He had invited a whole bunch of people to his party, and they had thrown their support to him.  Those people did not get verification first, verification that Adonijah actually had authority to become king.  Now they realize that they, along with Adonijah, could be construed as traitors, as wicked people who are trying to undermine the authority of both the old and the new king. 

In verse 49, we learn that the guests are very afraid and get out there as fast as they can.  It’s very similar to a party filled with underage teens who are drinking. Suddenly the police arrive, and the partygoers jump out of windows and run through hedges, fleeing arrest.

But what about Adonijah?  In verse 50, we read that Adonijah believes Solomon, who is now in charge of the military, will have Adonijah killed. So Adonijah runs to the tent housing the altar of God, and Adonijah bear hugs the altar, in desperate hopes that Solomon will not kill a person on an altar that is meant for religious purposes. 

In verses 51–52, Solomon agrees, giving Adonijah a stern warning: if he behaves properly, he will live, but if Adonijah behaves wickedly, he will die. With that Solomon sends Adonijah home, and the succession crisis is averted…for now.

That brings us to chapter 2, and now David, still on his deathbed, has final words for Solomon.  What last words does David share with his son? We find out in the next post.

Photo by Mapbox on Unsplash

Asking questions: a helpful model for confronting others – 1 Kings 1—2, Part 2

I hate confrontation. When I have to say something the least bit confrontational to a person, I get shaky and nervous and often say far less than I ought to. Do you know the feeling?

I suspect that the majority of people do not enjoy confrontation, even those who are confident enough to confront.

I have noticed in myself that my level of angst about confrontation is very much affected by how I perceive the power balance in the relationship between myself and the person I’m confronting. If I feel I am in the up position (meaning I believe I have some measure of authority over them), I am slightly more comfortable confronting them. If I feel I am in down position (meaning they have some measure of power over me), I am extremely hesitant about confronting them.

I also wrestle with the question “What will the ramifications of this encounter be for me? Will the person dislike me? Will they respond poorly to me? Will this affect my job?” As pastor, a factor I must always consider when I confront is the real possibility that the person will leave the church if I don’t confront them well. Additionally, if they choose to stay at the church, they and I will now be in a relationship that includes a confrontational moment, which can be very awkward and unpleasant every time we see each other.

As we continue the story of David, in this post we’ll observe some of David’s longtime family and friends confronting him about some family drama that could have serious consequences beyond the family. How will it go when they confront David? He’s very old. Literally dying. Will he care? Notice the method the confronters use with David.

In 1 Kings 1:5, with David on his deathbed, David’s eldest living son Adonijah steps forward to become the next king.  All sorts of people in the royal family and military personnel takes sides.  Some support Adonijah, some do not. 

Adonijah holds a sacrificial feast to gather support for his monarchy, and he invites numerous royal family members and officials.

He also snubs a few people. 

Here are the famous people he doesn’t invite:  the prophet Nathan who was David’s trusted advisor, the powerful soldier Benaiah (the Mighty Man who jumped into a pit with a lion on a snowy day…remember him in this post?), the special guard (which is a reference to the Mighty Men), and finally Solomon (Adonijah’s younger brother). 

The prophet Nathan informs Solomon’s mother Bathsheba that Adonijah is making a move to become king, and Nathan advises Bathsheba to go to David to intervene. Bathsheba does so. Bathsheba goes right to the room where Abishag is attending the king (see previous post for more on Abishag and why she is attending the aged king). 

The once vibrant king is now aged and dying.  The once young and beautiful Bathsheba enters the room.  This is the same Bathsheba, who many years prior David had lusted after and likely raped. The same Bathsheba who eventually became David’s wife after David had her husband killed. The same Bathsheba who bore David sons, including Solomon.  (Read the posts about that story, starting here.)

How must Bathsheba be feeling as she walks in that room? Decades have passed, and now a different beautiful young woman is there in the room with David.

Remember the power dynamics of this society.  David might be old and dying, but he has all the power here.  He also has a new beautiful young maiden attending him.  Bathsheba, in other words, has no power. If David perceives the slightest impropriety in Bathsheba, he can have her thrown out.  David is about to die.  He has nothing to lose.  Bathsheba has everything to lose: her position in the royal household, and the fate of her son, and likely herself. 

Worse yet, if Adonijah truly becomes king, suddenly Bathsheba and Solomon would be in the crosshairs for a purge.  When there is a transfer of leadership, the new team in power will often want to eliminate any contenders to power.  So for Bathsheba, this meeting with David is laden with emotion and consequence. Does Bathsheba have any sliver of political capital left?  Does David respect her?  How will this go down?

In verse 16, we read that David is receptive to Bathsheba.  It also appears that David is not aware of the information Bathsheba divulges to him about Adonijah trying to become king.  Bathsheba reminds David that David promised her that her son Solomon would be king.  How will David react?

Before David can respond, we read in verse 22 that another visitor arrives, “While she was still speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet arrived.”

I wonder if Nathan and Bathsheba coordinated this meeting so that the three of them were together, Nathan, Bathsheba and David?  This story is a total throwback to decades earlier to that other famous story I mentioned above that featured Nathan, Bathsheba and David.  After David sinned by lusting after Bathsheba and having her husband killed, Nathan confronted David about his sin. David confessed and genuinely repented.

I can see Nathan and Bathsheba orchestrating this moment because they wanted, even if subconsciously, to make an emotional link in David’s mind to that other time the three of them had been together. Perhaps that subconscious recall will emotionally urge David to keep his word to Bathsheba, precisely because all those years before he had mistreated her so egregiously.

In the years between David’s sin against Bathsheba and his deathbed, we don’t learn anything about the kind of life that Bathsheba and Solomon had in the royal household. We can make an educated guess, however, that life as a royal is usually pretty cushy. 

We know that Nathan remained a close advisor to David all his life.  David trusts Nathan.  Now in 1 Kings 1, when Nathan entered the room with David, we learn in verse 28, that Bathsheba had left the room.  Then (returning to verse 23) Nathan bows down and confirms everything Bathsheba has said. Nathan’s tactic is to ask questions, “Did my lord the king authorize Adonijah to become the next king? If so, why were none of your servants made aware?”

Nathan demonstrates wisdom by using the method of asking questions, questions that get to the heart of David’s authority.  David is still the king.  Though he is on his deathbed, David has the authority to name his successor. The only way that would change is if David’s passes before making a selection, or if his son Adonijah kills David and takes the throne by force.  But thus far, that is not what Adonijah is attempting.  Instead Adonijah is only attempting to become king by garnering support behind David’s back.  But now Bathsheba and Nathan have informed David of Adonijah’s ploy.

What will David do? In the next post, David makes a decision.

Photo by Resume Genius on Unsplash