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Trinket or Treasure

A part of scripture I have never understood is 2 Samuel 15. King David's family is in a dysfunction mess. The king's oldest and heir to the throne has defiled his sister and paid a deadly price. The punishment came not from the king or law but David's other son, Absolom.  


Absolom took murderous vengeance on his brother and is now leading a coup to overthrow his father.


King David decides to leave the city, and when the high priest offers to have the Ark of the Covenant of God carried with him, David declines the offer.


This decision to leave the Ark behind may seem hopeless or at least questionable. The Ark had been credited for winning military victories, and David was about to fight his much beloved and much younger son. 


Verses 25 and 26 give David's response. "If the Lord sees fit, He will bring me back to see the Ark and the Tabernacle again. But if He is through with me, then let Him do what seems best to Him." (NLT)


This section of scripture is reminiscent of another man's conclusion. 


Decades early, the priest and judge, Eli, was faced with some stern words after allowing both of his sons to engage in illicit behaviors.


The boy prophet, Samuel, delivered the austere message from God. Yes, the same Samuel who would later anoint David as King.


The Lord's decree, "I am going to carry out all my threats against Eli and his family, from beginning to end. I have warned him that judgment is coming upon his family forever, because his sons are blaspheming God and he hasn't disciplined them. So I have vowed the sins of Eli and his sons will never be forgiven by sacrifice or offerings." (NLT)


Eli responded with, "It is the Lord's will, let Him do what He thinks best." (NLT)


Sound familiar? David, like Eli, was guilty of taking a passive approach to his parenting and would not rightfully discipline his children, to the point of allowing rape and murder!


I have always considered Eli's response as a continuation of his unholy apathy and thus the reason for such a harsh penalty. 


David was not an unassertive man. Perhaps he spoiled his children because he was treated poorly by his father and brothers. 


David did eventually conquer. Well, that is, as much as vanquishing your son and a part of your own army to regain the throne can be considered a victory. 


David paid the price of the loss of his children, which eventually led to the division of the kingdom. But why did God continue to bless David's bloodline when the similar scenario caused Eli and his children to be removed from God's redemptive storyline?


Andy Stanley's book, The Principles of the Path, offers an explanation. Stanley proposes that David's unwillingness to take the ark with him and his remaining loyalists, was because David had grown past the point of trying to manipulate God.


David knew that God was not confined to a box. He knew that God was omnipotent and omipresent. Truly seeing God's superiority turned the Ark into a trinket compared to who David knew God to be, and he refused to cheapen the symbol of the Ark for those who still needed it. For David, any reliance on an object would have lessened the devine ruling he desperately needed. To lose would be to die. To win would be for his son to die. 


From David's earthly perspective, there was no winning at this point. David and his family had crossed irrevocable lines. Stanley points out that there were dreams that had to die.


David was out of ideas or the power to bring about a perfect solution. All David could do was rely on God's sovereignty. David's stance was not one of indifference but a deeper level of surrender.  Surrender redolent of death.


David's heart and soul may have experienced what being "crucified with Christ" might feel like before Jesus was even born.


Now, when I read David's response, I think of a clear example of presenting myself as a living sacrifice to God, void of persuasion or bargaining. Just utter trust, faith, and devotion to God. 


What dreams do you need to forfeit? Are you still trying to convince God of your plan? Are there consequences to your own actions for which you blame God? Can you lay all aside to be crucified with Christ and present yourself as a living sacrifice? 


Ultimately, our most valuable connection is to God. Such a treasure is costly.








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