Lessons from David: How to Be a Giant Killer (12 page)

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

Verse 4 of the psalm really shows David’s heart during this time:

Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.

All through Psalm 51, David was saying, “God, it’s my fault! I did this. I’m responsible.” Whenever David sinned, he took responsibility for his actions by saying, “Lord, I’m the one who numbered the people. I’m the one who transgressed against You. But these sheep, what have they done?” (2 Samuel 24:17). David accepted responsibility.

Feeling Justified

Contrast this with Saul in 1 Samuel 15. Twice he said, “It’s the people who did this. They made me do it!” He just wouldn’t admit he was wrong. He refused to accept responsibility and kept pointing the finger at someone else.

Absalom also refused to own up to his sin. He simply would not acknowledge that his problems and his estrangement from his father, David, happened because he murdered his brother, Amnon (2 Samuel 13:20-29). Instead, Absalom contended that it was David’s fault. “Why didn’t my father punish Amnon? If he would have done what he was supposed to do, I wouldn’t have had to bring vengeance upon Amnon for what he did to my sister!” Once Amnon was dead, Absalom went into a self-imposed exile for three years because he was afraid of what would happen to him for the murder of his brother (2 Samuel 13:37-38).

David allowed Absalom to come back to the nation of Israel, but for two whole years he didn’t see him (2 Samuel 14:21-24, 28). Finally, Absalom imposed upon Joab to get him an audience with the king. Although David came in and hugged and kissed Absalom, it doesn’t mention that they reconciled. David didn’t say, “Well, everything’s okay now.”

After David refused to whitewash what had happened, Absalom began his treason and eventually caused a civil war. He tried to kill his own father and then committed adultery with his father’s concubines openly in broad daylight (2 Samuel 15-18).

Absalom was full of hatred and blamed his father for all of his woes, saying, “It’s because David didn’t punish Amnon that I’ve done these things. It’s because David didn’t accept me back. It’s because David allowed this thing to go on that we’re where we are.” Absalom felt justified in doing what he was doing. He felt like he was getting vengeance on his father for ruining his life.

Defying Logic

This is an important difference between David, Saul, and Absalom. David never transposed his problems onto other people. He accepted responsibility for his actions. Saul and Absalom didn’t.

One of the most important issues facing our society today is that people will not accept responsibility for their actions. Nobody will say, “It’s my fault.” We’re probably all heard the story about the woman who purchased boiling hot coffee from the McDonald’s drive thru, put it between her legs, and drove off. Then when the coffee splashed out and burned her, instead of saying, “That was stupid. I burned myself. How could I have done this?”—she sued McDonald’s because the coffee was “too hot.” That’s crazy enough, but then the jury blamed McDonald’s and made them pay for damages that were actually a result of this woman’s own stupid actions.

Today if someone gets killed with a gun, it’s not the fault of the person who pulled the trigger. The company that manufactured the gun is now blamed for this death. Guns don’t kill people any more than forks make people fat! We’re saying cigarette companies are responsible for people smoking cigarettes. We’re saying fast food chains are responsible for our obesity claiming, “They should have put a warning label on their food telling me I shouldn’t eat here every single day, three meals a day.” That’s just stupid! It defies logic! You can’t blame somebody else for the stupid things you do. You have a responsibility over your own life.

No longer is a person responsible for being an alcoholic or a drug addict, it’s because they have a genetic predisposition. People contend that genes control whether someone will become an addicted gambler or not. They say, “Gambling is an addiction. I can’t control it. I just happen to be inferior to other people.” They say the same thing about emotional issues like depression. “It’s not me. It’s not my choices. It’s just a chemical imbalance. Give me a pill and put me into a stupor to control my emotions.”

I know there are people who get very upset with me because I say that it’s not genetics or chemical imbalances that cause depression, alcoholism, gambling, or drug addiction. They say, “Who are you? All of these educated ‘experts’ have done all of these studies.” I don’t care how many degrees someone has after their name or how they became deified in the secular world. If what they say is contrary to the Word, they’re wrong!

Always Rejoice!

Let God be true, but every man a liar.

Romans 3:4

God’s Word is a greater authority in my life than what anybody else has to say. In fact, the Word teaches us that the Lord will hold us accountable for our emotions. My book entitled,
Harnessing Your Emotions,
goes into much more detail on this topic. God made us accountable for our emotions and actually punished people for not rejoicing.

Because thou servedst not the LORD thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things; therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the LORD shall send against thee.

Deuteronomy 28:47-48

As born-again believers, the Lord doesn’t send enemies against us. However, we can open up a door for the devil by grumbling and complaining. That’s why we’re commanded to:

Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.

Philippians 4:4

Emphasizing this word “always,” Psalm 34:1 says:

I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

(emphasis mine)

Not Troubled by Trouble

On the night before His crucifixion, Jesus told His disciples that they would have trouble but they should not be troubled by it.

In the world ye shall have tribulation: but
be of good cheer
; I have overcome the world.

John 16:33; emphasis mine

The Lord acknowledged tribulation. He didn’t just say, “Be of good cheer when everything goes good. I’m going to remove all of your problems so that you’ll never have a reason to be discouraged ever again.” No, He was saying, “There will be tribulation. But in the midst of that negative circumstance, be of good cheer!”

If you or someone you know is facing a crisis situation, I recommend my teaching entitled,
The Christian Survival Kit
. This is an in-depth study of John 14, 15, and 16, which contain Jesus’ last words to His disciples before His arrest and crucifixion. These messages have helped many people overcome.

This mindset of not accepting responsibility has spread like a cancer throughout our society. It has even infected Christians. We say, “It’s because they said this about me; I was born into an underprivileged home; it’s because of the color of my skin; I don’t have an education; or the devil made me do it.” And if you can’t find something else to blame your actions on, just blame it on your dysfunctional family. It’s totally subjective. However, God would be unjust to command us to do something that we are incapable of doing, either because of circumstances or because of genetics.

You can justify murder, rape, adultery—anything—because of the way you were potty trained, because you didn’t get a birthday cake when you were three, or any of a myriad of other things. That’s absurd! It’s unbelievable that people fall for that, yet it’s being said so often in our society that even Christians are being influenced by it. That’s absolutely wrong!

If you want to be a person after God’s own heart, you’re going to have to unplug from the way this world thinks, quit excusing your actions, and accept responsibility. David humbled himself and said, “God, it’s me! I’m the one who sinned.” This is one of the heart attitudes that stand out in stark contrast to both Saul and Absalom. David accepted responsibility for his own actions.

Chapter 13
A Snare

Accepting responsibility is one of the greatest signs of true repentance. David humbled himself, accepted responsibility, and refused to blame anybody else. Saul eventually admitted, “I’ve sinned,” because he was forced to (1 Samuel 15:24). However, he was still pointing the finger saying, “But you don’t understand. The people did this. It’s their fault!” Saul hadn’t truly repented.

The prodigal son truly repented. Notice what he purposed in his heart to tell his father:

I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee. And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.

Luke 15:18-19

He was saying, “Father, I was wrong and I don’t have any justification. I don’t have any claim on your goodness. I have voided everything, but I’m asking for mercy.” He didn’t come to his father and say, “I think I’ve made a mistake, but it’s your fault too. You shouldn’t have given me all that money. You shouldn’t have allowed this to happen. You’re the one who drove me away. You’re the one who gave me my inheritance early!” He didn’t point the finger at his father and say, “You don’t understand what happened when I was in this foreign land. People took advantage of me. I had to eat pig’s food just to survive!” No, the prodigal son truly repented. He didn’t try to blame things on anyone else. He took responsibility for his own actions.

Failure to accept responsibility and pointing the finger while saying, “It’s someone else’s fault!” is a sure sign that a heart hasn’t changed and there isn’t genuine repentance. I’ve seen many people in the Christian community who got in trouble and had their sins exposed, whether moral, ethical, or civil. Perhaps they were going to lose something like their spouse or family or maybe they had to go to court or jail because of what they did. I’ve seen people who were humiliated, who cried, who said they were sorry and they repented, but there was this thread running through everything they said: “Yes, I’m wrong. I can’t believe I did this. But you just don’t understand. I was raised to be this way. My family was always like this. This person drove me to do this. With the way my spouse treated me, I just couldn’t help it.” As long as there remain little threads of blame, genuine heartfelt repentance hasn’t occurred yet. They are only sorry they got caught. In order to be a person after God’s own heart, you’re going to have to move beyond that.

What David Wanted

Unlike Saul and Absalom, David didn’t care about anyone else’s opinion. He was a God pleaser, not a man pleaser. The Lord was foremost in his life. Let that sink in for a moment. God can’t be seen. As far as the physical realm is concerned, He’s intangible. But when David humbled himself before God and repented of his sin with Bathsheba, he said:

I have sinned against the LORD.

Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight.

Psalm 51:4

David confessed, “Against You and You only, Lord, have I sinned!” God’s opinion of him was the only thing he was concerned about. There is no indication in the Scripture that David ever just publicly told everybody everything that had happened, but there is also zero indication that he hid it. He exposed himself and brought his sin out in the open. David didn’t do this in an imprudent way. He didn’t just go around every day asking everyone, “Have you heard yet what I’ve done?” But he didn’t try to conceal it or cover it up, either. David wanted relationship with God more than man’s approval.

“It’s Over!”

Contrast this with Saul. In the second half of 1 Samuel 15:23, Samuel continued his reproof of Saul saying:

Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

Then Saul responded:

I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.

Saul was forced to admit, “Alright, I’m wrong. But it was the people who made me do it!” He was still pointing the finger. There wasn’t genuine repentance. He still refused to take responsibility for his own actions.

Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD. And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.

In our day and age, people are elected president and as long as they have their popularity—or force—they can maintain their position. But this was a theocracy. Saul had been chosen by God to rule, but he only had this power as long as the Lord gave it to him. Here was the messenger of God saying, “It’s over! You’ve lost everything. Not only are you going to cease to be king, but your children will never inherit the kingdom. Your dynasty is over. God is going to raise up another king.” Now that’s a severe judgment!

Man Pleaser

And as Samuel turned about to go away, he [Saul] laid hold upon the skirt of his [Samuel’s] mantle, and it rent. And Samuel said unto him, The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou.