MIGHTY WARRIOR, WIMPY VETERAN! -- Devotional for November 11, from "Good Seeds"

Is not this David, of whom they sang one to another in dances, saying, “Saul slew his thousands, but David his ten thousands?” (I Samuel 29:5). Then it happened, in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and all the Israelite army against Ammon and besieged Rabbah…but David stayed home this time. (II Samuel 11:1)

How common is the name David in the world today? Why, it’s one of the most popular and beloved names of all time! But how common is this name in the Bible? Amazingly, there is no other David in all of biblical history except our David, “The Sweet Psalmist of Israel” (II Samuel 23:1). What is he most known for today? We just said it: his beautiful songs, recorded in the Psalms, the hymnbook of the Bible. When God rejected King Saul He put David in his place, fulfilling God’s search for “a man after His own heart” (I Samuel 13:14). And it was through the kingly line of David that our Savior came to earth, born in Bethlehem, the city of David. We think of him as the gentle, harp-strumming poet-singer, reciting verses in praise of his hero, the God of Israel. And he certainly was that – but he was more, and in his time he was far better known as a mighty warrior than as a worship musician. It started out as he took on the enemies of his sheep, the bears and wolves and lions. As a humble, God-fearing youth, he saw no real distinction between those roaring beasts that threatened his father’s flock and that bragging beast that threatened God’s flock. And so, with no thought that he might fail (or that God might fail him), he put a stone in his sling and slew that Philistine behemoth, Goliath. After that it didn’t take long for David to became Israel’s favorite son, not for his song-singing, but for his sword-wielding. And though he became king after Saul, he never really put away his weapons – not until that fateful spring day when he decided, “enough is enough.” Who could blame him? It was certainly long past time to retire and leave the bloodshed to others. He deserved a little personal peace and space, and quiet rest. Maybe he’d dust off the old harp, tune up the strings, and see was new “Hymn to Him” he could come up with. Yes, the warrior David was now the celebrated war veteran David. But how did he begin his retirement? Sadly, not in the praise of his God, but in the indulgence of his flesh. David had been God’s man all his life. Why couldn’t he end as he began? One reason: sin, which did him in. And from then on it didn’t go so well for him, as even some from own family turned against him. O Lord, let me not live beyond my usefulness to You; take me home before I take myself out of Your hand, and bring shame, instead of praise, to Your name.