SOMETHING TO LEARN FROM DAVID

'If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.' - 1 John 1 vs 8

Greetings dearly beloved of God in Christ. Be blessed and lifted by the words which you now read. Amen.

In this article, we are learning a very important attribute from the man David. Something made David stand out from the rest of the kings of Israel, and that attribute of David brought upon him the great mercies he enjoyed from God.

In our opening Bible Passage, it is clearly stated that if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. In other words, if we are self righteous, living pretentiously as though we can do no wrong, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. - Selah. See this;

'The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.' - Psalms 34 vs 18 {KJV}

• a broken heart
• a contrite spirit

The above words as seen in the above Bible passage speaks of someone who is sincerely displeased about his own actions. The word 'contrite' means to be sincerely remorseful or sorrowful about ones self action; it means to be apologetic about your own action or actions. The Psalmist in another place said it again;

'The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.' - Psalms 51 vs 7 {KJV}

A BROKEN AND A CONTRITE HEART, GOD WILL NOT DESPISE

The Prophet Isaiah spoke about the contrite in heart;

'For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.' - Isaiah 57 vs 15 {KJV}

• to revive the spirit of the humble
• and to revive the heart of the contrite ones

The Prophet Isaiah speaks about the contrite spirit again in another place;

'For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.' - Isaiah 66 vs 2 {KJV}

BUT TO THIS MAN WILL I LOOK, EVEN TO HIM THAT IS POOR AND OF A CONTRITE SPIRIT, AND TREMBLETH AT MY WORD

The word 'poor' as used in the above passage does not depict financial poverty, but it's used as an adjective to describe a person having a contrite heart or a humble heart/spirit. Okay.

Now, from the Bible passages we have read above, we see clearly that God is drawn to men who acknowledge their wrong, God is drawn to men who sincerely accept their sins and errors and look up to Him for help/salvation. - Selah. And this attribute was exceptional in the life of David. David never struggled with his errors, David never argued at the sound of rebuke; he owned up to his sins, and in sincerity looked to God for help. Little wonder he was greatly helped by God and he enjoyed so much mercy which was not the pattern of the Old Testament. Simply because, he was a man with a contrite and broken heart, he was a man whose heart sincerely acknowledged and owned up to his sins and errors. - Think about it

'Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.' - Psalms 51 vs 50 {KJV}

The above statement are David's words. In his lamentation to God for an error he committed at that time, he thus said. He never for once argued with God or His prophet when he was rebuked, rather, at the sound of rebuke, David owned up, David's heart was that sincere.

What about you my friend? Do you always try to see reasons why the sins and errors you have made were not your fault, or you are just like David who owns up to every of his wrong doing? - Think about it

Now, pay good attention to the story you are about to read. God is with you.

'And the Lord sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.

The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds:

But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.

And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.

And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die:

And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.

And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;

And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.

Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.

Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.

Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.

For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.

And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.' - 2 Samuel 12 vs 1 - 13 {KING JAMES VERSION}

Waow! If you read these passages carefully, then indeed, there was so much for you to learn in the passages. Now, did you notice David's response to the prophet? David didn't try to explain to the prophet how it was his weakness that got a hold of him! David didn't try to make the prophet see reasons with him how that it wasn't his fault that he had done what he did, no! David owned up to his error! That is the attitude of a man that will enjoy God's mercy! That's the attitude of one who despite his sins, errors and wrongs, yet will live in the peace of God. The king Saul wasn't like David in this regard. See this; (Read patiently)

'Samuel also said unto Saul, The Lord sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the Lord.

Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt.

Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.

And Saul gathered the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah.

And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley.

And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye shewed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.

And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt.

And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.

But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.

Then came the word of the Lord unto Samuel, saying,

It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the Lord all night.

And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal.

And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the Lord: I have performed the commandment of the Lord.

And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?

And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.

Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the Lord hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on.

And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed thee king over Israel?

And the Lord sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.

Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the Lord, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the Lord?

And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.

But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in Gilgal.

And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.

Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord.

And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.

And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent.

And Samuel said unto him, The Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou.

And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent.

Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord thy God.

So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped the Lord.

Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past.

And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.

Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul.

And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the Lord repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.' - 1 Samuel 15 vs 1 - 35 {KING JAMES VERSION}

You see, Saul argued with the prophet, Saul tried to make the prophet see and understand that that error was not his fault; even when Saul finally acknowledged that he had sinned (verse 24), yet he was full of excuses. He gave an excuse why he sinned. But you see, a contrite spirit doesn't give an excuse why he has committed a sin, a contrite spirit is completely broken and submissive to God in complete acknowledgement of sin committed. So you see, Saul wasn't of a contrite spirit as we see in David. That act of Saul's disobedience led to his death, but though David's atrocity was worse than that which Saul committed, yet he lived and didn't die as a result of his sin. The prophet said to him (David);

'...And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.' - 2 Samuel 12 vs 13 {KJV}

'If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.' - 1 John 1 vs 9 {KJV}

The word 'confess' used there is given in the original greek as 'homologeo', and homologeo means 'to assent, to acknowledge, to admit'. Hence, the above Bible passage states that;

'If we admit our sins, we will experience forgiveness.'

And this was the exact experience of David. And this will become the experience of any man who is of a contrite spirit void of excuses and reasons like we saw in Saul. - Think about it

There's so much to learn in this Article, and as you have learned, go and do likewise!

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

- Jenning U. Angel