When Kings Go To War, Pt. 2

Insight 93 | Our heroes are human, too, and should learn to love the artist even when we can’t bring ourselves to love their art. King David is a man who fits this description entirely.

In the previous article, we walked through his downfall in the infamous Bathsheba episode, in which ignoring his calling led him to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Enabling him to fall to his lust, steal a man's wife, and then proceed to have that man murdered. Yes, that is indeed all in the Bible.

The good news is that the story doesn't end there. God works with broken people, and there are two remaining principles in it that still require our further exploration:

2) We Are Refined, Not Defined, By Our Mistakes.

3) God Likes To Recycle.

The Lord is not constrained to the boxes we attempt to stuff him into, and when we allow him to work with our scattered pieces, he never fails to bring to fruition a greater good. God always (always!) makes up for our wasted time.

2) We Are Refined, Not Defined, By Our Mistakes. To best understand just how magnificent the long-term events of this episode are, it is helpful to comprehend the immediate aftermath of David's affair. When Uriah, Bathsheba's original husband, is killed, David takes her as his wife, and she bears him a son. Tragically, the child has a malady and dies within the week. Although the king prays, fasts, weeps, and denies himself, ultimately the child still passes away. When informed of the baby's death, he gets up from his hiding place, washes, changes clothes, anoints himself, and once more eats.

At this strange behavior, the servants were confused and questioned why he acted in this way. David responded, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.”

He assumes a humble posture, reckons with his sin, and does all he knows he can do, kneeling before the Lord to submit to his decision. Once David returns, he goes to comfort Bathsheba, now his wife, and they eventually have another son, who is named Solomon, which directly derives from the Hebrew word Shalom, meaning Peace!  This revelation set the narrative into an entirely new frame for me. Through death, grief, and loss, what reigns is peace. 

In the midst of his pain and confusion, he chooses to rise and prepare himself for what's next. He by no means “moves on,” but he somehow manages to “move forward.” He understands that his child is unable to return to him, but while on this side of Heaven, David has a responsibility to live the greatest life he can until the day he is reunited with his son. 

And so he chooses peace. David is refined, not defined, by his mistake.

3) God Likes To Recycle. It is not discussed enough, but King Solomon had another name, one given to him by God himself. We learn in 2 Samuel chapter 12 verse 25 that the Lord looked fondly upon this child, and correspondingly gave him the name Jedidiah, meaning beloved of the Lord. Isn't that beautiful?

Once David corrects his heart's posture, realizing and confessing his sin and need for redemption, God responds in kind and selects this child to be a special instrument in his plan for the Nation. In 1 Chronicles 22:9–10, we see that David entrusts his dream of building the temple to his son Solomon. These verses give us a bit more insight into God's heart throughout the matter:

“Behold, a son shall be born to you who shall be a man of rest. I will give him rest from all his surrounding enemies. For his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. He shall build a house for my name. He shall be my son, and I will be his father, and I will establish his royal throne in Israel forever.”

God had anointed Solomon, chosen him specifically, and then foretold what he would do. Demonstrating the Lord's merciful heart and how capable he was to redeem what was once David's shame and transform it into his trusted vessel for his greatest work. 

Sustainability isn't a new concept; God created this planet, after all. He knows how best to reuse resources so we can flourish, especially when we are those resources. Evidently, God Likes to Recycle. Nothing is wasted in the Lord's Kingdom.

—

When writing this series of articles, a song I haven't listened to in many years wiggled its way back into my mind: Wasted Time by Unspoken. Its opening line never fails to hit me square in the chest, and I found that its message perfectly encapsulates the beauty of how the Lord can work:

At my age, you'd think that I might have it all together

And by this time I thought that I would be a little further

Feels like every morning when I wake

I'm just starting, starting over

I can't go and change the past, what's broken remains broken

I can't see what the future holds until that door is opened

It's too much to understand

So I leave it in Your hands

You're the God who makes up for wasted time

You're the One who makes straight the crooked lines

Every promise broken

Seconds that were stolen

Years that have slipped on by

You're the God who makes up for wasted time

We all have made mistakes and fallen into the traps set by our pride, ego, or sinful nature, but when this happens, we must consider the lessons discussed in the previous article alongside this one.

When kings go to war. Go to war. Do not take your calling lightly; lean into it. Being in the right place at the right time is how God brings blessings into your life. Secondly, remind yourself that you are refined, not defined by your mistake, and that you have no need to be ashamed of your past. In his hands, your “history” becomes “His-Story”, and there's no greater narrative than that. Finally, take time to consider those moments you have labeled “mistakes” from your human perspective. Count how many have somehow found their way into brighter moments and memories that the Lord has leveraged into his greater plans.

 There is no wasted time in God's Kingdom when we loosen our grips and allow Him to lead.

- Making The Most Of Being Curious

Daniel J. Cuesta

Sources:

We Are Refined, Not Defined, By Our Mistakes. “for the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.” - Proverbs 24:16

God Likes To Recycle. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. - Romans 8:28

Bathsheba Narrative: 2 Samuel 11-12

Solomon Charged to Build the Temple: 1 Chronicles 22:6-10

Meaning Of The Name Solomon: Link