Why, then, have you despised the word of the Lord and done this horrible deed? For you have murdered Uriah the Hittite with the sword of the Ammonites and stolen his wife. From this time on, your family will live by the sword because you have despised me by taking Uriah’s wife to be your own. [2 Samuel 12:9-10 (NLT)]
Psalm 139 is one of my favorites among the psalms. As I read it this morning, however, I got annoyed with David. Near the end of this beautiful song praising God for His omniscience, omnipresence, and intensely personal involvement in his life, David throws in a curse on his enemies. Granted, they’re God’s enemies, too, but sometimes David seems incredibly angry and vengeful. After comparing his enemies to deadly snakes, hungry lions, and vicious dogs, among others things, he wants them to dissolve into slime like snails, be cast into the fire, become palsied and blind, and for their wives to become widows and their children fatherless beggars. One Bible commentary said David had a “particularly vigorous attitude toward the enemy,” but wanting to wash his feet in the blood of the wicked sounds merciless and vindictive to me.
The NLT Bible has 143 occurrences of “enemy” or “enemies” in Psalms and even the beautiful 23rd Psalm mentions enemies! Indeed, David had his share of enemies including Goliath, King Saul, Absalom (the son who tried to overthrow the kingdom), Ahithophel (the counselor who defected to Absalom), and Adonijah (who tried to wrest the crown from Solomon), along with the enemy nations of the Philistines, Moabites, Geshurites, Girzites, Amalekites, and Ammonites. Looking at his history, I understand why he wrote about enemies but what do these angry Psalms mean to me? I’d never think, let alone say, some of the cruel things David does.
When trying to list our enemies, my husband and I agreed that deep in the dark web lurks someone who wants to steal our identities or hold our computers for ransom but we don’t want to wash our feet in his blood. We know that radical Islamic terrorists probably count as enemies and we’re not comfortable with North Korea, Russia, China, Iran, Syria or Iraq, but we certainly don’t want them destroyed. As for individuals, we could think of none who qualify as enemies. We’ve had competitors, rivals, opponents, and some very annoying and exasperating people in our lives, but we’ve never thought of them as enemies. So again, what do these Psalms mean to us?
Looking again at David’s history, I see a far greater enemy than Saul or the Philistines: David himself. Although courageous, he could be afraid and it was fear that made him lie to Ahimelech and pretend to be insane to King Achish. By allying himself with the Philistines, he was both deceitful and a traitor. In spite of seven wives (and numerous concubines), the lustful man took another man’s wife as his own and killed her husband. At best, David was an inattentive father; he failed to punish his son Amnon for raping Tamar and ignored Absalom. A reckless man of pride and ambition, he failed to follow God’s directions concerning the Ark and census. While loyal to his friends, David was ruthless to his enemies. Considered a man after God’s heart, we like to think of David as the ideal man but, like any man or woman, he had his dark side. Nathan’s words in 2 Samuel tell us that most of David’s calamities were the result of his own sins.
My enemies, like David’s real enemies, are not flesh and blood. They are pride, fear, anger, hate, doubt, insecurity, unforgiveness, thoughtlessness, impatience, jealousy, arrogance, materialism, pretense, and lack of faith. Like David, I want God to smash their jaws, break off their fangs, and make them disappear like water into thirsty ground! ”We have met the enemy and he is us!” are the words cartoonist Walt Kelly put in Pogo’s mouth. How right he was!
Is virtue its own reward? An article in Psychology Today reporting the conclusions of seven studies found that virtue actually does bring rewards. The benefits of doing the right thing include less depression, better self-esteem, increased happiness, a “helper’s high,” and a good night’s sleep! That good night’s sleep might well be the result of the clean conscience that accompanies virtue. Given the momentum of the #MeToo movement, I suspect many prominent people are losing sleep nowadays. Unfortunately, it’s not just well-known producers, actors, newsmen, ministers and politicians who abandoned virtue for self-interest. Many everyday folk are losing sleep as people continue to step forward and break their silence about wrongs that have been committed.
In one of our small group sessions earlier this year, we heard the story of a man who spent more than twenty years imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit. The evidence proving his innocence had been suppressed by the police and he was a bitter angry man. Sixteen years into his incarceration, he became a Christian but he still struggled with forgiveness. Knowing Jesus expected him to forgive the men whose lies had stolen his life, he couldn’t find the power to do so. How can we forgive someone who has deliberately hurt us, someone who isn’t even contrite or repentant? Vengeance, anger, retribution, and revenge come much easier than forgiveness and yet forgiveness is what God calls us to do.
Battlefields aren’t found just in war-torn nations. They can be found in some of the nicest homes, work places, neighborhoods (and even churches). Unfortunately, some people delight in controversy and discord. They may be passive-aggressive or simply aggressive. Frequently, they deliberately say something provocative just to get a reaction and start conflict. Rather than discuss, they argue and debate. Their goal has nothing to do with conflict resolution or agreement; it is to be victorious in their battle, no matter what the cost.
A 2013 United Healthcare Group study found that volunteering is linked to better physical, mental and emotional health. Apparently it reduces stress, brings people together, promotes personal growth and self-esteem, strengthens our sense of community, and helps us learn new skills. Something their study did not mention is that volunteering is an act of worship and sacrifice. A sacrifice is an offering to God and every time we sacrifice time, talents, or resources by doing for His Kingdom, we are worshipping Him.
But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. [Galatians 4:4 (NLT)]
Devotions of the Heart 