David: conflict

April 23, 2022 (Saturday)

The difficult thing with understanding stories from the Old Testament is the deafening silence from God on various actions. For instance, David used another man’s wife (Bathsheba) for his own pleasure. According to the Law, David should have been put to death. David then conspires to murder Bathsheba’s husband. Another thing the Bible is silent on is Bathsheba’s role in what happened. Was she a seductress, as some commentators have suggested? Or was this what the American legal system would call “statutory rape?” (A sexual crime committed when there is a power difference between the parties involved.)

Yet David is call “a man after God’s own heart” (see 1 Samuel 13:14 and Acts 13:22). Why David? How about Joseph, Daniel, or Abraham? I can’t imagine God is telling us it’s okay to be an adulterous murder. The answers are deeper than our understanding or judgment.

In the last study, we saw a conflict between David and his first wife Michal. David thought he was worship the Lord. Michal accused him of putting on a strip show for the women that day. David’s response was an arrogant reminder that God had chosen Him rather than her family to rule Israel. (Read, “I can do whatever I want and you can’t stop me.”) He topped it off by acknowledging the women who witnessed his nakedness would honor him. Don’t believe me, read the text again… carefully.

Who is right? The short answer is, the Bible does not say. God does not condemn Michal, nor does he correct David. This conflict is between two parties with different perspectives. I would submit they were both right and they were both wrong. We are merely historical observers. There is no reason, sitting on a jury, to invalidate Michal perspective because she is a female and believe David (an adulterous murder) because he is male.

For the record, I was trying to get you to think for yourself. Our male-centered cultural understanding needs to be reconsidered to become a biblical God-centered understanding. On the other hand, wouldn’t it be wonderful if God would punish our wives every time they took issue with us? This story is our proof text. (That’s sarcasm people!)

The reality we see is these people are flawed individuals who sinned, who hurt people, and who were misunderstood from someone else’s perspective. Sounds like anyone you know? If you are honest, you see them every time you look in a mirror. You see them every time you look at someone else. When we demand justice, we don’t really want absolute justice. We want relative justice. We want God to judge the other person and leave us alone to continue unabated in our pride and sin.

Here’s the human reality. “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight…” [Romans 3:20a ESV] We cannot earn or deserve our salvation. The inference here is there is also nothing we can do that can change God’s love for us. Paul continues the explanation, “the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” [Romans 3:22 ESV] Arguing against absolute justice, Paul claims, “This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.” [Romans 3:25b]

The fact God does not treat us as our sins deserve (see Psalm 103:10) is mercy. The fact God gives us what we do not deserve (righteousness) is grace.