Sermon Rev. John Young David: (Un)Faithful July 4, 2021

Out of nowhere, God chose David to be King, the youngest in his family, not trained as a soldier, a shepherd of all things! To make the situation much more awkward, David was anointed by the prophet Samuel, before Saul, the reigning King died.

We remember various Biblical occasions where God arrives out of the blue, so to speak … one such example is God’s call to Abram in his old age to have descendants, to view a promised land that he would never occupy, and to be a blessing to all future generations. Another example is God’s arrival in the burning bush and calling Moses to return to Egypt in order to convince the Hebrews slaves that they were finally, after hundreds of years in slavery, going to be freed by God.

And now, here comes God again … Saul is the King that God told the prophet Samuel to anoint. And admittedly Saul had his difficulties doing as God directed. Yet here is God, arriving out of the blue to direct the prophet Samuel to anoint David, while Saul still remains King.

Instead of putting all our focus on the human players, we might have a closer look at God. It is clear, is that God is willing to takes risks … calling an elderly and childless Abram to be a source of widespread blessing to all the families of the earth … calling an exiled Moses to return to Egypt to lead an oppressed and enslaved people to serve the God of life and for that motley crew to become a light to the nations. God risks calling David to be King before the serving King has departed. And surprisingly, God, whom it is claimed, is all powerful, the tamer of chaos and creator of all life - seems to be comfortable not using all that power … seems to be comfortable giving human beings a lot of choice ... seems to be comfortable working the long game, so to speak – from Abram to Moses to David and finally to Jesus!!! God seems to enjoy the mysteriousness of speaking through this person in order to call that person … of blessing this person who then is called to bless others! God seems to be ok with fragile, sinful people who struggle mightily!!

God is mysterious, hard to pin down, and as Walter Brueggemann has said “…meeting with and relating to {God} is never easy, obvious, or predictable.” (Theology of the OT, Fortress, 1997. p. 572)
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The Bible reveals to us that seeking to be faithful to God is the most rigorous, challenging, and ultimately life-giving thing we can work at … and that God is working just as hard from the other side of this to bless us while we struggle and to offer us guidance, quietly and subtly hoping we might listen and take heed.

And so God risks a call to David - through Samuel - to become King and indeed David becomes one of the most celebrated, visible, revered characters in the Bible.

Some of David’s accomplishments include defeating Goliath, uniting the tribes, bringing Israel onto the world stage as an important and powerful nation, making Jerusalem its capital, and purchasing the property upon which the Temple would be built. He is credited with writing a number of Psalms. His lineage is traced from Abraham to Jesus. David brings the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem … where once God traveled in the Ark in the midst of his journeying people, now God is brought to Jerusalem to where the temple will be built to take up permanent residence there.

One key moment in David’s life, and his reign as King, is found in 2 Sam 7:14-17.
(read it)

David had thought to bring the Ark to a permanent place in Jerusalem – a temple, and God now promises David (2Sam7:11) “… the Lord will make you a house”… not meaning a literal house, but a line of Kings, and not just for a time, but permanently. This is a remarkable promise … God’s unending ‘steadfast love’, for all time, allows, encourages messianic hope … said differently, God’s promise of long-term steadfast love through David’s descendants are a way for God to re-affirm that love, in every generation. God’s steadfast love becomes the thread which carries through the ups and downs, the gains and losses, the times of peace and war … the successes of Israel and the exile of Israel … the faithfulness of Israel AND the unfaithfulness of Israel.

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This Covenant with David and his descendants was “… the beginning point for graciousness without qualification …” (Brueggemann p. 605) You’ll notice in the text that there were no conditions attached to God’s promise of steadfast love. It doesn’t say I promise my steadfast love IF you are faithful and serve me and do as I as say.

God’s unending love is the hope, not merely of Israel , but of the world. Hence Christians refer to Christ the King … a continuation and a fulfillment of this covenant.

It is also important to say that David and his successors were invited, expected to be examples of wisdom, faithfulness, integrity, modesty, loyalty, etc … the big word in the Hebrew Scriptures which encompasses all this and more is ‘righteousness’. We know that David failed to be righteous at times … one of the more obvious and significant moments was around the affair with Bathsheba and David’s arrangement to have her husband Uriah killed. Not much needs to be said about this … it’s obvious, public!

And again, at this point, we take notice of God’s reactions. On the one hand God announces that “calamity” will rain down on David and his household, yet as David acknowledges his sin, Nathan the prophet immediately announces, “God has put away your sin; you shall not die.” (2Sam 12:13).

God’s covenant of unqualified grace is still in effect …David’s failings are not simply brushed under the carpet … he and his kingdom experience many direct and indirect consequences of his actions.

The truth at the end of the day is that apart from human failing and the resulting consequences … God’s covenant is sure.

Are we surprised by human failing? Not at all. Are we surprised that God remains steadfast? I think, yes! Considering the history of misery, needless suffering, and massive loss of life which human beings have inflicted upon ourselves … it is amazing even inconceivable that God promises unqualified and unending grace!

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But of course, misery, suffering and loss of life are not the only historical realities … in spite of human failing we also believe that God is quietly and mysteriously at arm’s length behind every human act of kindness and goodness, behind every hurt healed, behind every achievement of reconciliation.

As God’s people, living in the tumultuous times of our own failings, with our roller coaster like faith, with much to repent of and many consequences to experience … we go forward into this day with the assurance of God’s unqualified and unending grace.

Go therefore and love yourselves in healthy ways, practice kindness and reconciliation in all your relationships, and be loyal to the God who is loyalty and love personified. Amen.