OLDT Awards, Part 3

I am finally doing another entry reflecting on my read through the Old Testament. This one’s about King David.

As I’ve said before, David is one of my favorite people in the Bible, like many. I’ve blogged about my admiration for his passionate devotion to God as a characteristic of a real man.

The story of David and Bathsheba, coupled with one of the penitential psalm David wrote in deep remorse after the incident, Psalm 51, make one of my favorite stories in the Bible. Whenever people try to define David solely by the drama with Bathsheba, I’m quick to point out 1 Kings 15:5, which summarizes his life from God’s perspective: “For David had done what was right in the eyes of the LORD and had not failed to keep any of the LORD’s commands all the days of his life—except in the case of Uriah the Hittite” (Uriah being Bathsheba’s husband)(also check out this question answering “How could David be Considered a Man After God’s Own Heart?")

Looking at his life story in First and Second Samuel, and some in The Kings and Chronicles, were highlights of my read. This is the first of at least two award entries highlighting the noteworthy people and events in David’s life. This entry covers some of his sons, who certainly lacked no personality.

BRATTIEST BROTHERS: DAVID’S SONS

David may have been “A Man After God’s Own Heart,” but, truth be told, he had some bad kids. Not all of them – mind you, but at least a few of his wayward offspring were highlighted in the Bible for their dastardly deeds. First Chronicles 3 names close to 20 of David’s sons born to several wives, not including those born by concubines (v. 9). David’s decision to have many wives likely had something to do with his children’s outcome, as is also gleaned from his story. There were alliances and rivalries between and among brothers, mothers, and sometimes sisters that caused serious familial divides and affected David himself. As is often pointed out, while the Bible records the fact that men practiced polygamy, nowhere does it condone the practice. In fact, lives such as David’s show the damning consequences of choosing this lifestyle. On that note, a list of some of the conniving kids:

Absalom: Narcissistic Avenger who also Suffered from Illusions of Grandeur

Absalom was one of David’s most prominently discussed sons, save Solomon. You probably know him as the son who conspired against his father to take the throne but was murdered by David’s army commander in the process. David wrote Psalm 3 while in hiding from Absalom. This son also is known for killing his half brother who raped their sister, although this was perhaps the least heartless action that was portrayed about Absalom’s life.

Absalom got a lot of attention, particularly for his looks. In 2 Samuel 14 it says that “In all Israel there was not a man so highly praised for his appearance as Absalom. From the top of his head to the sole of his foot there as no blemish in him. Whenever he cut the hair off his head – he used to cut his hair from time to time when it became too heavy for him – he would weigh it, and its weight was two hundred shekels by the royal standard,” or five pounds (doesn’t sound like it was subsequently donated to the “Locks of Love” of the day, lol).

When Absalom decided that he wanted to steal the kingship from his father, he used looks and charm to gain public support. In 2 Samuel 15, he got himself a horse-drawn chariot and an entourage of 50, tried to make himself judge among the people over his father the king and “stole the hearts of men” by kissing people who tried to bow down to him (2 Samuel 15:18).

The hair, the crown of his beauty, was actually the thing God used for his demise. When Absalom’s conspiracy against King David reached its height and David fled Jerusalem and the palace, he gathered his men to stand against Absalom and his following. The Bible says in 2 Samuel 18 that as Absalom and some of his men happened upon some of David’s men, Absalom, on a mule, rode under the thick branches of a large oak tree. His hair got caught in the tree, causing him to hang from it by the head (vv. 9-10). As he dangled in mid-air, one of David’s men came by the tree and swiftly gutted him in the heart (v. 14). His remains were thrown into a big pit in the forest, where rocks were piled over it (v. 17).

Despite Absalom’s betrayal, David mourned the loss of his son. He still did not want to see Absalom killed, and specifically asked that, even if his men captured him, he be returned alive. When a messenger from the field came to share about the death of Absalom, David’s first question was, “Is the young man Absalom safe?” (2 Samuel 18:29). When he was told that Absalom was killed, the Bible says he was shaken and wept. He cried, “O my son Absalom! My son, my son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you – O Absalom, my son, my son!” (v. 33).

Amnon: Spoiled, Evil Brat (2 Samuel Chapters 13-14)

Amnon was another troubled son that we read of in 2 Samuel 13 who gets a “Me Me Me” Award. This is the son who fell in love with his beautiful half sister who was an unmarried virgin, lured her into his house on the guise of needing her to care for him in sickness and subsequently raped her (v. 13). She had pleaded for him to just ask his father David for her hand in marriage (which, upon glancing at the nearest trusted online commentary, was illegal even at that time based on the mosaic law, Leviticus 18:9 ), but he refused. In fact, after he raped her his love turned to hate; he then “hated her more than he loved her,” and he cast her out of his sight. At that time, the consequences of no longer being a virgin, even if raped, were undesirability by others and shame (vv. 18-20). After the incident Tamar, weeping, went to stay with her brother Absalom, where she remained a “desolate woman” (v. 20). The Bible also says that the incident infuriated David (v. 21).

As noted, Amnon saw his demise in the form of Absalom avenging Tamar’s rape by taking his life (this occurred before Absalom’s conspiracy against David). The Bible says that once Absalom learned of the rape, he hated Amnon for disgracing his sister, but “never said a word to Amnon, good or bad” (v. 22). Then, two years later, Absalom carried out a plan to murder Amnon that consisted of Absalom inviting all of David’s sons (from many women), to watch some of his sheep being shorn by shearers for entertainment. When Amnon was in “high spirits” from drinking wine, Absalom instructed his men to strike Amnon and kill him (v. 28). And that was Amnon’s end.

But the Bible says that David also mourned the death of Amnon, and he and other sons wept bitterly (v. 36). Afterward Absalom had actually fled Jerusalem, for three years, but then “the spirit of the king [David] longed to go to Absalom, for he was consoled concerning Amnon’s death” (v. 38). From the drama of one son, to another’s…

Adonijah: Brother like Brothers (1 Kings Chapters 1-2)

Absalom wasn’t the only son who tried to steal the throne from the legitimate ruler in the family. This story I was least familiar with. Adonijah, the son born after Absalom, thought he should inherit the throne from David as his father got old. Interestingly enough, like his brother Absalom, he got a horse-drawn chariot and entourage of 50 to support his bid, and declared, “I will be king” (I Kings 1: 5).

But David had made an oath with Bathsheba that Solomon, Adonijah’s younger half brother, would be the next king (I Kings 1: 30). The Bible indicates that Adonijah was aware of this oath, as he gathered all his brothers to celebrate his self-pronouncement except Solomon (v. 10). He also gained support from the priest and David’s army commander, but avoided seeking support from the prophet Nathan (i.e., God’s messenger who had come to David after the incident with Bathsheba) and several more of David’s key officials (v. 10).

We gain some insight into how David may have treated some of his sons that contributed to their bad behavior. In the verse after Adonijah declares “I will be king,” it says in parentheses that Adonijah was handsome, but also that “His father had never interfered with him by asking, ‘Why do you behave as you do?’” (v. 6). I found this verse so fascinating – God’s note that David never confronted his son’s self-centeredness!

Even if you aren’t familiar with this story, judging from the outcomes of the other troubled sons, it’s no surprise that it ends in death. David crowned Solomon king as promised and died shortly after (1 Kings 2). In fear, Adonijah pleaded for Solomon not to kill him (1 Kings 1:51). Solomon replies that, provided he does not act up, “not a hair on his head will fall from the ground; but if evil is found in him, he will die” (1 Kings 1: 52).

But of course Adonijah chooses evil. After a time he starts to jab at overtaking the throne by going to Solomon’s mother, Bathsheba, under the guise of “peace” and smoothly asking that she ask Solomon to give him a wife that would allow him more opportunity to take the throne (1 Kings 2: 22). Seeing right through him, Solomon ordered for his death (v. 25). Another bloody end.

SMARTEST SON (aka Wisest Man to Ever Walk Earth)

Lastly, at least there is one of David’s sons in the Bible highlighted mostly for good rather than evil, his well-known successor Solomon. Here I’m merely frocking him with the title he's already been given as the wisest man that ever lived, which he received after asking God for wisdom in 1 Kings 3 over anything else that he could have requested.

We know much about his life – the wise counsel he gave people from far and wide who came to him for it; his rebuilding of the temple of the Lord, which his father David had longed to do, and that he had admirers the world over, such as the queen of Sheba. The Bible says he spoke 3,000 proverbs and had 1,005 songs (1 Kings 4:32) (one of them may have been the unique, passionate love story, Song of Songs, on which thoughts were shared last year). Some life – would make a proud father of David!

The Bible also shows that Solomon was not treated the same as some of David’s other children. From the time he was born to David and Bathsheba, he was committed to God. The presence of God was with Solomon from birth. The first child David and Bathsheba bore adulterously had died as a punishment for David's sin, but Solomon was conceived after David repented. It was said that the Lord loved him, and sent word through Nathan the prophet that he also be named Jedidiah, which means just that (i.e., “loved by the Lord”) (2 Samuel 12:25).

Furthermore, shortly before Solomon became king of Israel, David gave him this charge in 1 Kings 2:

2 “I am about to go the way of all the earth,” he said. “So be strong, show yourself a man, 3 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, 4 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.'"

For a time – a long time, Solomon followed God’s ways. God even appeared to Solomon twice (1 Kings 11:9). Yet eventually Solomon chose to go after the many foreign women who worshipped other gods and whom God had warned, “You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods” (1 Kings 11: 2). The Bible says that “Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord as his father David’s had been” (1 Kings 11: 2-4).

The result? The colossal split of Israel and the tribe of Judah that later occurred under his son Rehoboam, but began with adversaries under Solomon’s reign (1 Kings 11:23). All of Israel, except for Judah, was torn from David’s line. And Judah only remained with David’s offspring for but one reason: David’s faithfulness, which God predicted when he told Solomon of the demise to come through Solomon’s son: “Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom from him, but will give him one tribe for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen” (1 Kings 11: 13).

THOUGHTS

Wow: what a breath of lessons to learn from the lives of David and his sons! I honestly planned to cover a few more items from David’s life in this entry, but summarizing the boys’ stories took over!

The lesson I want to highlight is the importance of raising our children today to know and follow Jesus. Proverbs 22:6, likely written by Solomon, says, “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” While David provided training to at least Solomon, verses like 1 Kings 1: 6 show that there were problems with the way he raised other children. It is not enough to ourselves follow Jesus and just expect that our kids will also, as I noted in a recent entry - we also have to instruct our children to do the same. If we don’t teach them the value of knowing Christ, other lesser values will take that place in their lives.

Also, parents must set a good example for their children in every area of their lives. While David lived pleasing to God, he set the bad example by following the practice of marrying more than one wife and having concubines, which at least one of them followed, Solomon – and many folds over! It is a testament to the fact that our lives, in addition to our words, are watched by our children.

While we may not be able to guarantee that raising our children to know God will make them warriors for Christ, we give them the very best chance to be so when we immerse them in the ways of the Master. I pray to raise kids totally devoted to Christ!

Epilogue

The life of David is truly a reminder that God sees beyond what we do. As God said to Samuel when he told him to choose David as king above all his older, taller brothers, whom God passed over:

7…“Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

God saw things about David’s heart that the human eye couldn’t.

The life of David also fits squarely in the Story of Redemption that resulted in Jesus, the “Lion of Judah” of David’s line, making the ultimate sacrifice of death – and then resurrecting - to offer us all eternal life. We can never be good enough to earn it, sin enough to lose it once we have it, and experience it in the form of grace every single day. The story of David gives us hope that, despite our sin, we are justified by faith in God, and he transforms us into beings that have his heart. I like to pray what David prayed in Psalm 139: 23-24:

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”