The Footsteps of David

Allison:  Well hello!

This week we finished up the back half of 2 Samuel and stepped into 1 Kings.  I really loved the books of 1 and 2 Samuel.  I loved hearing the story of David’s life and taking time to learn about one person in depth, rather than jumping around to several people.  I felt like I got to know David in the same way that I would get to know someone I’ve never met through stories told about them by a friend.  By the end of David’s reign I felt I had learned so much from the life of this one man.  Last week I talked about how David had been a good leader and fallen into temptation with Bathsheba—and yet we couldn’t write him off for his one mistake, because he deserved grace just as much as the next person.  And I feel that even more strongly this week.

David endured a lot of hardship after he met Bathsheba.  Basically, his son Absalom had a sister named Tamar.  Tamar’s half-brother Amnon, another son of David, was in love with her, and raped her in order to claim her as his wife.  Absalom head about this and became extremely angry at Amnon, and two years later Absalom killed Amnon out of revenge.  David heard of Amnon’s death and was distraught.  Absalom escaped and hid away until David sent for Absalom and the two were reconciled.  However, Absalom decided he wanted to take over his father’s kingdom.  He started winning over the people and gaining the support of David’s staff.  Soon, David had to flee Jerusalem with his remaining faithful advisors and engage in the conflict his son had created within the nation of Israel.  In the end, the nation was reunited and David remained king of Israel.

Through all of this, David remained an incredible leader and a loving father.  Often times in the Old Testament you hear of how the opportunity for power turned family against each other, but David remains a loving father through it all. 

Also, there’s a moment as David is leaving Jerusalem where he comes upon a man named Shimei who is cursing David and throwing rocks at him as he passes through a town.  Now David is already burdened with worry for the nation of Israel, for his son, and the last thing he needs is this man shouting at him.  A man traveling with David suggests they kill Shimei, but David’s response is completely different.  He reprimands the man who wanted to kill Shimei and offers that perhaps this man is doing what God told him to do.  The point is, David isn’t quick to judge this man for his actions—he recognizes that he doesn’t know everything about what this man is thinking or what he has experienced, and perhaps he has a legitimate reason to be acting this way.  He knows the despair and hurt he feels from his son’s actions, and if his own son can turn against him, surely it is no surprise this man has too.  That understanding, that willingness to empathize even with someone who is hurting you is what makes David a great man.

And later as David is returning to Jerusalem he sees Shimei again.  Shimei begs for forgiveness for his actions earlier and David forgives him and spares his life.

I just really love David.  I love the leader that he is and the example that he sets for leaders today.  And I identify with him even more because he wasn’t perfect.  He messed up sometimes, and he endured a lot of hardship during his reign.  I could write all day about David but what have I learned from David in a nutshell?

---Don’t be so quick to write someone off when they screw up.  It doesn’t erase the good they’ve done and it only reinforces their humanity.  And this goes for everyone from your best friend to our government leaders.

---Lead with empathy.  Unless you understand your people you can never earn their trust.

---Seek out the will of the Lord in every step, and don’t be afraid to admit that perhaps you’ve got it wrong.

---Love unconditionally.  It can break your heart but it’s what keeps you going.

So let the stories of David challenge you to be a godly leader wherever God places you.  Leading isn’t easy, you won’t be perfect, and leading can be lonely, but know that when you are called to such a place, God will never fail to give you the strength and wisdom you need.  And perhaps your story could be a light and encouragement to someone else--and that makes it all worth it.

Elizabeth:  Hey there! This week, I could not wait to finish 2 Samuel. It was just not my favorite book. I was less than interested in what was happening. The one thing that I continued to appreciate through the remainder of 2 Samuel was David's faithfulness as King. I do think that David did show that he was human, but ultimately he tried to do what was best. He remained loyal to his duty as king and he remained faithful to God. Besides that I wasn't interested, so needless to say, I was super excited to finish the book and make it into 1 Kings. I'm ready to move on and see what happens next. So, I'm writing on a text from the beginning of 1st Kings that we have gotten to.

"When the time drew near for David to die, he gave a charge to Solomon his son, "I am about to go the way of all the earth," he said. "So be strong, show yourself a man, and observe what the LORD your God requires: Walk in his ways, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and requirements, as written in the Law of Moses, 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 man on the throne of Israel.' -1 Kings 2:1-4

Have you ever had to leave something behind? How did you feel about that? Perhaps you ended a job to take a new one. Maybe you finished a set of classes and you're headed into new ones? Maybe you finished a great book and now you're moving onto another one? Or perhaps, like David you had to step out of a leadership role.  Now, yes, David is in his old age and knows that he is near death and cannot continue his leadership as king. I'm not saying we need to be at the point of death to hand off leadership roles, but there are other reasons we step out of things like roles of leadership, jobs, classes, locations, etc. Life continues to change and that is a good thing. People don't stay in the exact same place all their life. They are called to new positions in jobs, new positions in organizations, new schedules, new lifestyles, and such. 

As a part of life, we do transition from one place to the next frequently. Which means when we're in a particular setting we should really make the most of it. If we are leaders we should lead to the best of our ability. We should make the most of our living situations, our classes, our relationships, etc. But, when that time ends, it can be rough to leave those places. 

For me, the end of every school year/semester has always been bittersweet. I always felt a sense of accomplishment that I had just completed an entire year of school and that I learned new things, met new people, and grew a bit personally. However, it was rough knowing I would have a break from the familiar routine and schedule that I had worked so hard at for the past several weeks. I wouldn't see the same friends, same teacher(s), same school, or do the homework that was required each night. Things would be different. I struggled with this a lot in college because the end of the semesters meant the end of hard work and countless hours put into the things I cared about such as my favorite classes and the organizations I was a part of. This of course will probably be hard for me at the beginning of next school year because I have graduated and won't be going back to college. One of the organizations that I dedicated a lot of my time to in college was the Peer Mentor program at TLU that helped new students become acquainted with TLU and college life in general. I put a lot of time into it getting to know my class of students, planning fun activities to do out of class, creating fun lessons to teach in class, and spending time getting to know other Peer Mentor staff members. I wanted to give back to my community at TLU and I was able to do that through the Peer Mentor program. I was able to help new students figure things out the way people did for me during my first year. I peer mentored for 3 years and in my last semester at TLU I realized I would be stepping out of that leadership role and passing it on to new peer mentors. I knew it was time for me to move on, but it was hard to leave behind something I was so passionate about. Want to know something really cool? Allison will be a peer mentor for this next school year and I'm super excited about that. I want her to know that it was something important to me and I want her to take that leadership role seriously and do awesome things in that position. I won't hold her to the same expectations that David did with Solomon, but I do want her to realize what an incredible position she is stepping into. 

I think it can be helpful to hear from others the expectations they have for you when you step into new places. David didn't tell Solomon he needed to do things exactly as he did, but he did tell him to do what was right and to observe the Lord's commands. David gave Solomon his blessing to be the next king, he passed his torch onto Solomon. I think it is admirable the way in which David passed his leadership on to Solomon. He clearly hopes for the best for Solomon and hopes that he has left an easy path for the next king to step into, but I don't hear David spelling out what the next king needs to do specifically. 

So, consider what expectations you have for yourself. What expectations does your job or setting have of you? Were they passed on to you in a good way or a bad way? Is it easy or hard for you to leave one thing and move onto the next? 

If you were Solomon, how would you feel coming in as king after David's blessing to you?

This week, consider these alphabitz:

Judgement  Leadership  Transition

Sisters in Christ,

~Elizabeth & Allison