Kindness, conquest and consequences

Every day we're reading or listening to part of the Bible together and sharing thoughts with you. Today it’s Greg Nixon:

What did I like about today’s passage?

It’s great how David’s love for Jonathan – and therefore for the house of Saul – wasn’t just words in a gracious speech on hearing of their death, but something to which David is committed. “Is there anyone … to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” This desire to do, and not just to say, results in David’s adoption of Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth into his household: royal birth restored to a seat at the royal table.

I like that David tries to show kindness to a fellow king in a human way, repaying good for good. Here we’re also reminded of the impact of having foolish advisors – the wisdom of Proverbs brought to life with this example.

It’s very clever how God brings up David’s sin with Bathsheba: by telling a story to which David can relate, and which raises his anger at the injustice, only then to turn this back on David. But the phrase “And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more” is very sad, reminding me of Proverbs 27v20: Death [is] never satisfied, and neither are human eyes – and the warnings earlier in Deuteronomy 8: Do not forget the Lord… otherwise, when… all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud.

Although this is a tragic story for Uriah, Bathsheba and David, with far-reaching consequences, the fact that there are consequences to our actions reinforces that our lives matter. We don’t live in a vacuum, and all that we think, say and do has a positive or negative impact on ourselves and others.

What did it show me about Father God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit?

Our actions please or displease God. And because He knows us so well, He knows what we need in order to see our own sin for what it is; and then may we, like David, respond with repentance.

God cares about justice – and here Proverbs 26v27 seems apt: Whoever digs a pit will fall into it; if someone rolls a stone, it will roll back on them – just as David has used the sword to kill Uriah, so now the sword will never depart from his house.

What am I going to do differently as a result?

I need to remember that when I “do what is evil in the Lord’s eyes”, I am “despising the word of the Lord”. Thinking about my bad decisions or my sinful behaviours in this way helps me realise the seriousness of going against God’s ways. To live badly is to despise God, my Father who loves me and has adopted me into His family.

Who am I going to share this with?

With the two others in my coaching triad.