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David Part 6
Sermons from Commons Church. Intellectually honest. Spiritually passionate. Jesus at the centre. Since 2014.
And if your social circle is full of flashy white teeth and saccharin smiles and no room for staring at your shoes and wondering about what comes next, then maybe that's a problem too. Welcome to the commons cast. We're glad you're here and we hope you find something meaningful in our teaching this week. Hit the commons.church for more information. Hello.
Speaker 1:If we have not had a chance to meet yet, my name is Jeremy. And if you are new to commons this summer, then we probably have not met yet because I have been away taking a bit of a break. Now, I've been doing some writing and also some vacationing, and we did not go anywhere this summer. We just stayed here in the city because Calgary has so much to offer. And also, let's be honest, sometimes an actual vacation just takes more energy than you have to give.
Speaker 1:And so after a busy year three here at Commons, honestly just all I wanted to do was sit in my backyard, hang out with the dog and the kid, maybe listen to some folk music, and that's about it. And that's exactly what I did, and it was awesome. And so I wanna thank everyone who created some space for me to get away, but also especially thank you for allowing me to come back because first of all, I'm excited to jump back into the David story today, but also it's that time of year where I'm really getting pumped for the fall. The new season is coming. The new journals have actually arrived.
Speaker 1:You can't see them yet. But the new movement towards the new parish in Inglewood is underway, and this is gonna be a really exciting year for us at Commons, and I can't wait to jump back into it. That said, I have been away, and so I've been listening on the podcast. And if you aren't subscribed to either our podcast or our YouTube channel, you really should do that. You'll get the weekend delivered to you directly for those times that you're away, but also we post new content directly to those channels, particularly YouTube and you may find that helpful as well.
Speaker 1:And so as I've been following along, I've been enjoying this series, but last week as I walked my dog, I listened to Joel talk about walking through a prayer labyrinth. However, I happen to know that he did not tell you the whole story there because I also know that he was chased out of that prayer labyrinth by a small angry dog. And I believe we have footage of that if we can roll that here. Here is Joel being chased away by some strange dog. But because of that, I wanna offer to Joel, my son, who this summer has been learning to walk our dog, Cedar, and my son has taken to calling himself the quote walker master.
Speaker 1:I believe we have footage of this as well. Here's Eaton walking Cedar. And so Joel, if you ever want to head back to the prayer labyrinth, Eaton would be happy to accompany you and look after any dogs that you may encounter. There we go. Now that said, we are actually going to look back at the same section of David's life that Joel took us through last Sunday, but from a slightly different angle today.
Speaker 1:However, before we look at that, I need to say something about the outbreaks of violence that we've seen in Charlottesville this week. Let me be clear. Racism, white nationalism, violence, nuclear weapons, the glorification of guns that we see spreading across our society, this is antichrist. Now we can have reasonable discussions about immigration policies and we can discuss gun ownership, but anything that opposes the peace of Christ, anything, anyone, any system that works against peace. This stands in opposition to the Prince of Peace.
Speaker 1:And there is no room left for churches pastors and teachers that sit on the sidelines where black and brown and indigenous and LGBTQ lives are not valued as equal before God. The courage to resist evil with the non violence of Christ, this is how the world is healed. But sometimes that courage starts with the willingness to acknowledge that the same evil that erupts in Charlottesville is the same evil that creates systems of white supremacy in the world, is the same evil that lurks inside all of us who benefit from those systems whenever we let them go unnamed in the world. Obviously, there is much work to be done. And for us as followers of Christ that starts within us.
Speaker 1:Let's pray. God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, God of David, God of the distressed and the indebted and the discouraged, would you remind us today that you are just as present to each of us here in this moment of history as you have been all through the long story of your people. As we read the hatred and violence that lives in the hearts of human beings, and as we watch that which destroys your earth appear to take hold of us, would we remember that the single greatest act of change came through the nonviolent self giving of your son? And in that, would you remind us that we are invited to bring our full selves forward before you, To hide nothing, to own our shortcomings, to know and to name the prejudice that lives inside each of us so that it might be transformed in your embrace. For those of us who have at times wondered who we really are, would your spirit be a friend to us now?
Speaker 1:Tell us that we are loved. Tell us that we are welcome. Remind us that we are all, each of us, children of the most high God even when we forget it. Lord, may the people that we gather to us reflect the compassion of your generous heart. In the strong name of the risen Christ, pray.
Speaker 1:Amen. K. Pray for peace this week. But today, we want to continue to examine the story of David in the desert. And in particular, we want to explore the people that are gathered toward David in this season.
Speaker 1:Now one of the things that has come up this summer that helps to give some context to where we find ourselves today is actually the story of David and Jonathan that Scott walked us through two weeks ago. If you remember back, David is anointed to be the new king, but Saul is the actual king in Israel. And that creates this unique dynamic between them and for us as the reader who knows about this hidden dilemma. However, one of the neat little side stories that we see develop in the text is this relationship or this friendship that begins to emerge between David and Saul's son, Jonathan. Now pause and think about that for a second.
Speaker 1:This new kid who is about to usurp the throne becomes best friends with the heir apparent to the throne. And this is an incredibly compelling part of the story that our friendships and our commitments to each other could actually supersede our own ambitions. I'm not sure that I'm always that kind of friend but I want to be. And I I want to have people in my life who are more important to me than my goals and my opportunities. But that's just the beginning here.
Speaker 1:Because as the story unfolds, Saul begins to see David as a threat. And in first Samuel 19, he actually tells Jonathan to kill David if he gets the chance. And so there's this dialogue between Jonathan and his father, and Jonathan convinces Saul not to kill David. Saul actually takes an oath and he says he won't. But then three verses later, and it never be said that Saul was boring.
Speaker 1:He goes ahead and he tries to kill David. David, however, escapes. He goes into hiding, and so David and Jonathan meet up for a little chat on the lamb, and there's this encounter where David asks his friend Jonathan a question. He says, what have I done? What is my crime?
Speaker 1:How have I wronged your father that he is trying to take my life from me? And a lot of people have read this as purely rhetorical. That David is like, listen. I'm the good guy here. We both know your dad is the jerk.
Speaker 1:Am I right? But I think there's more than that to it. This is sometimes I think that when we are in places of distress and confusion and certainly when monarchs are trying to murder us, of course, I'm speculating about that one because I haven't experienced that particular situation in my life. But I think that when we are under pressure, we really do need people to tell us what we already know. David isn't just making his point about Saul here.
Speaker 1:He's asking Jonathan to make his point for him. I know I haven't done anything wrong, but I need to know that someone else sees that too. And so when Jonathan answers and he says, you have done nothing wrong. Go in peace for we have sworn friendship to each other in the name of the lord. This is an important moment.
Speaker 1:Because I think friends remind us of the things we struggle to remember about ourselves. And so in this friendship between David and Jonathan, we have Jonathan who values his friend above his own ambition. We have Jonathan who defends his friend at his own risk, and now we have Jonathan who reminds his friend of who his friend is. And what's important here is that this is actually one of the central ways the text reveals David to us through the people that surround themselves or align themselves with David. In fact, sometimes I actually get the impression that we learn more about David by looking at the people near him than we do looking directly at him.
Speaker 1:And this is one of the most striking elements of the text we're looking at today. Because even as Saul is out to kill David, even as David experiences this aloneness in the desert that Joel talked about last week, what starts to happen is that people start to rally to him. And so there's this growing sense in Israel that Saul is not the king that people expected. That maybe God was right and people who act like kings should not be kings. Maybe there needs to be a change.
Speaker 1:And so in chapter 22 starting in verse one, we read that David left Gath and escaped to the Cave Of Adullam. Now Gath is a place that we actually know. It still exists today. And so there have been lots of attempts because of that to nail down exactly where this cave was located, and we don't know that. Probably somewhere between Gath and Hebron, but it does seem like this designation is meant to suggest that David is still hiding in a pretty dangerous place.
Speaker 1:So likely outside the control of Israelite territory. If it isn't directly in Philistine land, it's probably right near the border making it pretty precarious, and that's important for what follows in the story. In fact, if you back up a couple of verses, you find out how David ended up in this cave. He's on the run-in Gath. Saul's chasing him, but he's afraid of the king Achish who's in charge over there.
Speaker 1:And so when the king hears about David and has him brought in, David pretends to be insane. He acts like a madman and he quote, let saliva run down his beard. It's a good technique if you ever need it. And basically, what he does is he acts like he's no threat to the king. And so in the end, king Akish lets him go.
Speaker 1:He runs to a cave near the border and he hides out in between the powerful king of Gath and the Philistines who still remember him from the encounter with Goliath and Saul who's out to get him. In fact, Adulam actually means closed in space in Hebrew. And so there is a city called Adulam referenced in the book of Joshua, but the phrase cave of closed in space is probably meant to describe the feeling David is having at least as much as the geographic location he's hiding in. And all of this is important to understand the gravity of what comes next. Because this is what the text says.
Speaker 1:When his brothers and his father's household heard about it, they went down to him there. All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him and he became their commander. Now this is what I'm talking about when I talk about the people you gather to yourself saying something about you. And we can start here with his father and brothers in their households. And I don't think we should be surprised that his family supports him.
Speaker 1:We do have an encounter between David and his oldest brother Eliab where Eliab is annoyed that David shows up to fight Goliath. And in chapter 17, it actually says that Eliab burned with anger and he said to David, I know how conceited you are. Now given that David was the youngest and that all of his older brothers had been passed over for king, that response is pretty understandable. David probably was at least a little conceited. I mean, I still tell stories about that one time I was chosen first for t ball in grade three, let alone king.
Speaker 1:Yes. It was only that one time. So back off. It's fine. But it seems like those relationships have been repaired.
Speaker 1:And to be perfectly honest, if David is a target, it's likely that his family was as well. And so when they hear where David is hiding, it's dangerous and it's precarious and perhaps so was staying at home, and so they go to him. But more fascinating is this next group that rallies to David. The text says that all those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him. There are clearly a group of people who have been left out of the story of Israel's rise to prominence.
Speaker 1:The English tech defines them this way, distress, debt, discontent. But there are some interesting observations we can make if we dig into the Hebrew a bit here. First, there are those in distress. And this is the phrase in Hebrew. And literally, it's something like all men in anguish.
Speaker 1:But that word anguish, in Hebrew, comes from the word tzuk, and it helps to give some context to the type of anguish that's meant to be described here. This is not people who are sad. Now for example, this isn't someone who has lost a loved one. Although that is certainly a type of anguish. But, no, this specific word, tzuk in Hebrew means those who have been pressed in or constrained or brought into straits.
Speaker 1:That's what the word means. And so the idea here is that these are people who've been trapped in some way in a situation outside their control. Like things have closed in on them. Now, the the world is watching right now as Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un face off in battle of nuclear brinkmanship. And I like to think there is enough sanity left in the world that mutually assured destruction is not really an option that we're gonna see.
Speaker 1:But these two egos have trapped all kinds of people particularly in North Korea in a situation that is completely outside their control. Imagine being a North Korean father who is distressed over the idea that you might actually go to war with America. I mean, that's insane. Well, Israel has been at war for a really long time now. And, yes, they've won a lot, and they've taken land and they've expanded their kingdom, but soldiers have still died and families have still suffered and a lot of them probably just wanted to go home to their land and raise their kids.
Speaker 1:Sometimes we get caught up in things that are beyond our control. Control. And I have a tough time relating to those Sometimes, examples. Most of the time, the distress I find myself in is my own making. But there are times where we all end up in in spaces we never intended to be.
Speaker 1:In the middle of a family conflict or laid off because of an economic downturn we had nothing to do with. Betrayed or misled or deceived by someone we put our trust in. And it is that sense of being helplessly at the whim of someone else's agenda or mistake or system that's being described here in this phrase. Now the second category are those in debt. And part of what we have to understand here is that debt was not the assumed part of life that it is today.
Speaker 1:In our current economic climate, it's very rare to find anyone who's not in any debt. And that's okay. Debt can be used well and wisely and it can create a lot of opportunity. In fact, one of the things that I'm learning from some of the people in our community here, Randy Thompson and Luke Kruger and the work that they're doing with Seed Global is just how important access to credit is for the alleviation of poverty in the majority world. The ability to go into debt is part of what helps entrepreneurs get started and scale and provide meaningful opportunities for others.
Speaker 1:So debt isn't immediately a bad thing, it's contextual. Although, I also think it's quite fair to say that we have an addiction to living beyond our means in North America and in Canada and Alberta and maybe even particularly in Calgary. Look, I have debt. I have a mortgage. I also have a very clear pan to play that down quicker than I need to because Rachel and I have always lived below our means.
Speaker 1:And that means that we've also been able to be generous with what we do have. And if for no other reason as a culture, we need to get our debt under control so that we can be more generous. Because I promise you, generosity will make you far more satisfied than yet another shiny bobble ever will. But debt in the world of the ancient Israelite was not the tool that it is today. Today.
Speaker 1:In the ancient Near East, debt was exclusively a last resort. Exodus 22 says, that if you lend money to one of my needy people, do not treat it like a business deal, charge no interest at all. That sounds great. Right? Non interest bearing loans for everyone.
Speaker 1:But what if you've got nowhere else to turn and as a last resort you take out this loan, well what happens if you can't repay it on schedule? Schedule? Well, in second Kings four we find an example of what happens. There's this woman who pleads to the prophet Elisha and she says, your servant my husband has died but you know he revered the Lord and now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as slaves. So imagine you are one of these boys and your dad has died and now his creditor is coming to collect and that means you.
Speaker 1:No wonder you're turning to David. No wonder the poor are looking for a new kind of justice. And so we have to understand that the people in debt who rallied to David, these are not just people who ran up their credit cards because they bought more than they needed. These are the poorest of the poor who have no real way to meaningfully dig themselves out of their predicament. Finally, we have one more category, and it is those who have become discontent.
Speaker 1:And if this is in some sense a political coup, that makes sense. Right? Those who are discontent with the status quo are on board, that's to be expected. Except, but the phrase here in Hebrew is, a bitter soul or even translated better this way, a broken spirit. So the image here is not, I'm angry and I'm not gonna take it anymore.
Speaker 1:The image here is not a group of people who are just itching for a fight. The image here in Mar Nefesh is heavy and somber and weighty with all kinds of despair. Maybe even if not right now, you remember when you carried within you a broken spirit. And maybe, just maybe you remember the voices you were drawn to in that season. The kinds of people that you drew strength from when you needed it.
Speaker 1:The kinds of words that healed rather than piled more pain on top of your hurt. Because you see, I think that the people who come to David even when it's dangerous, even on the border with the Philistines while the king of Gath watched on and Saul waited in the shadows, I think that these people tell us something about who David was. You see, we often think of David as this warrior king who waged wars and fought battles and expanded the territory of Israel and he was. But he was also the person who drew to himself those who were hard pressed and in debt and deeply discouraged and that should mean something to us. If my leadership is only compelling to upwardly mobile, well off successful people, then maybe that's a problem.
Speaker 1:And if your social circle is full of flashy white teeth and saccharin smiles and no room for staring at your shoes and wondering about what comes next, then maybe that's a problem too. Now I'm not saying that we wanna be surrounded by tears all the time. Of course, don't. Joy and laughter and dancing are equally as important, but tears and hurt and confusion, these are also part of the human experience. There needs to be room for that in the people that we draw to ourselves.
Speaker 1:The roots of the term Hebrew are actually to pass through or to cross over. And so the word Hebrew carries this sense of constantly being uprooted and wandering just like we talked about last Sunday. Well, the scholar George Mendenhall says that it's in this moment here in this cave that solidifies David as a true Hebrew. As one who has no social standing or no social power to speak of. And so it's from that place in that cave with nothing but hope to drive him that the distressed and the indebted and the discouraged come to David and he becomes their commander.
Speaker 1:And it's a neat moment, But there's one more thing buried in the Hebrew here that I wanna draw our attention to, and it's this word commander. Now the word is sar in Hebrew, and it definitely means commander or chief or leader. Even in a military sense, it's what it's intended for. But the roots of this word actually mean to be tightly knit together, woven together. An etymology of that comes from the ancient context of generals being deeply embedded with their soldiers.
Speaker 1:But separated from the context of war, it's a beautiful image, but notice here it's also a very different image from king. Remember, of kings, God said in first Samuel that they will reign over you and they will claim you as their right. They will take your sons and make them serve with their chariots and horses and they will you will run-in front of them. They will assign to plow their garden and reap their harvest, still others to make weapons for their wars. They will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to their attendance.
Speaker 1:They will take a tenth of your grain and vintage and give it to their officials. Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle and donkeys they will take for their own and you will become their slaves. But here, David is woven together with the depressed and the distressed in this cave of closed in space. It's a very different image from Saul as king. Now, we will see that once David does become king, he too falls prey to the same temptations that God just described.
Speaker 1:And yet, despite all of his mistakes, one of my favorite parts about this David story doesn't actually happen to the end of the story. Because at the end of second Samuel, all the way through David's life when he is just about to die, we get this collection of stories about the quote, mighty men of David who've been with him all through his journey. And there we read about Jocheb Beth Shebeth the Tachamonite who raised his spear against 800 men in one encounter. Not bad. We read about Eleazar son of Dodai, the Ahoite who stood his ground and struck down the Philistines till his hands grew tired.
Speaker 1:It's impressive. We read about Shema son of Agai, the Herorite who when the Philistines tried to burn down his lentils, he stood in the middle of his field and he defended them. And I get it. I'm a vegetarian. Don't mess with my lentils.
Speaker 1:But if you keep reading through to the end of the story in second Samuel twenty three thirteen, you get the background to those exploits. And what we read is that these warriors came down to David at the Cave Of Adjallam where the Philistines were encamped nearby. Now, there's no names mentioned in first Samuel, but it does appear that from this motley crew of depressed and distressed and discouraged people who seek out David, there comes some incredible stories that need to be told. Stories that someone recognized were integral to David's story. And and hear me, this is an anomaly in ancient literature.
Speaker 1:In fact, it's the only example I know of where the death of a king is a recounting of everyone else's victories. But what the writer of Samuel knows is that to eulogize David well means he needs to tell the stories of the distressed and indebted and discouraged who wove their lives into David. See, David misses the mark in all kinds of ways all throughout his life. But here's the thing about whatever it means to be a leader in whatever way that opportunity is presented to us in life. If there is no room around you for the people who don't immediately look like they can help you reach your goals, you likely won't.
Speaker 1:And if at the end of your leadership, all the best stories are all your stories, then they probably weren't all that great to begin with. Because I think we learn as much about who David was from the people that are near him as we do from looking directly at him. And if we don't find ourselves surrounded by the distressed and the indebted and the brokenhearted, then maybe that says something about us as well. And see what I'm coming to learn is that the mirror that I look at myself in will never teach me as much as the people that surround me. And so I need to ask continually.
Speaker 1:Do I trust my wife when she says my motives have gone sideways? Do I listen to our team when they see things differently than I do? Do I intentionally go out of my way to surround myself with people from every part of the social spectrum so that I can learn who I really am through them. Because maybe that is part of what it means to point our hearts after God. Let's pray.
Speaker 1:God, help us to engage deeply with the story of David and to look at ourselves in him, to explore his exploits, and to understand his victories and his failures. And yet God to look one step deeper and begin to learn from those who surrounded David. The people he drew to himself, the people he gave his voice to, sometimes the people he exploited, but certainly the people that he lifted up. And God, in the midst of that, would we then begin to look at our own lives, To recognize who the distressed are, who the indebted are, who the brokenhearted are, to know that we are sometimes those people as well and then to draw them in, to be open to them, to provide a safe and listening space. So that stories might be shared and healing might begin and perhaps even incredible stories could be told because of it.
Speaker 1:God, would you remind us that when we look in the mirror, we see less of ourselves than when we look at the people who surround us. Might we then surround ourselves with people who shape and encourage and point us towards the likeness of your son. Make us aware of our faults, bring to mind our courage, and help us lean into the people you created us to be. In the strong name of the risen Christ, we pray. Amen.