Grace and Peace to you from God, who is worthy of our highest praises, and our Savior Jesus, who is our Christ. Amen.
Today’s scripture reading covers the high points of David’s rise to power. Just the high points. But sometimes, I think we need to stop and recognize those moments when everything comes together.
It had been decades since David was the ruddy-faced shepherd boy, the youngest of Jesse’s sons, great-grandson of last week’s heroine, Ruth. David was worlds away from that day in Bethlehem, called in from the pasture, to be anointed by the prophet Samuel as the future king. So many years battling Philistines and other surrounding nations. So many moments of fearing for his life from his former mentor, King Saul, who was jealous of the handsome, successful young man who God had picked to succeed him. One author said David had the longest, roughest internship ever!
But now King Saul was dead, killed in a battle. And certainly wounding David’s heart, Saul’s son Jonathan had died with him. Jonathan, who had loved David fiercely. David may have grieved with the nation the loss of King Saul, who had lost God’s favor, but his personal pain was the loss of Jonathan, who had more than once saved David from his father’s wrath. It was Jonathan who had given up any sights on reigning so that David could assume the throne. Scholars have argued the nuances of the relationship between these men. Suffice it to say, David was broken over Jonathan’s death.
As David grieved, the people of Judah, the southern kingdom, anointed him king. The people of the northern kingdom of Israel, however, had chosen Saul’s son, Ish-Bosheth, as their leader.
Saul’s death set off a bloody civil war between the houses of Saul and David that lasted years. Before it was over, Saul’s son Ish-Bosheth and his general, Abner, were dead, along with so many troops on each side.
Today’s scripture reading covers the high points of David’s rise to power. Just the high points. But sometimes, I think we need to stop and recognize those moments when everything comes together.
It had been decades since David was the ruddy-faced shepherd boy, the youngest of Jesse’s sons, great-grandson of last week’s heroine, Ruth. David was worlds away from that day in Bethlehem, called in from the pasture, to be anointed by the prophet Samuel as the future king. So many years battling Philistines and other surrounding nations. So many moments of fearing for his life from his former mentor, King Saul, who was jealous of the handsome, successful young man who God had picked to succeed him. One author said David had the longest, roughest internship ever!
But now King Saul was dead, killed in a battle. And certainly wounding David’s heart, Saul’s son Jonathan had died with him. Jonathan, who had loved David fiercely. David may have grieved with the nation the loss of King Saul, who had lost God’s favor, but his personal pain was the loss of Jonathan, who had more than once saved David from his father’s wrath. It was Jonathan who had given up any sights on reigning so that David could assume the throne. Scholars have argued the nuances of the relationship between these men. Suffice it to say, David was broken over Jonathan’s death.
As David grieved, the people of Judah, the southern kingdom, anointed him king. The people of the northern kingdom of Israel, however, had chosen Saul’s son, Ish-Bosheth, as their leader.
Saul’s death set off a bloody civil war between the houses of Saul and David that lasted years. Before it was over, Saul’s son Ish-Bosheth and his general, Abner, were dead, along with so many troops on each side.
* * *
It is against this text that I read the horrifying news this week from the Middle East. This ground – sacred ground for Jewish, Christian and Islamic people – has been the site of tribal and national wars for centuries, from the wars fought by the people of Israel to claim the promised land, 1400 years before the birth of Christ, to the attacks and responses by Hamas and Israel today. This “HOLY LAND,” with its economic, historic, and religious significance, has been the place of nearly constant bloodshed throughout much of history. I can’t help but think and pray for peace and unity as I read the lesson today.
* * *
And so, with that reality check, this is where our lesson begins. Seven years after Judah had anointed David as their king, the people of the northern kingdom of Israel now wanted David as their king too. “It was you who led out Israel and brought it in. The Lord said to you: It is you who shall be shepherd of my people Israel, you who shall be ruler over Israel.” David’s forces cleared out the opposing Jebusites who still held Jerusalem. Then he moved the capital of the now unified Israel and Judah north from Hebron to Jerusalem, a better stronghold, but just as importantly, a city in the northernmost part of Judah. Central to the unified kingdom. The message was clear – “I am shepherd over the entire land of Israel. I am your king.”
And, that work complete, David had one more task in mind to unify Israel. He gathered legions to move the Ark of the Covenant – the physical sign of the presence of God restored to the center of Jerusalem. As the Ark was pro-cessed, it was accompanied by jubilant people. There was music: songs, lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets and cymbals. And dancing! Even King David danced before the Lord. Holy dancing – I think about our little ones, un-self-consciously dancing before the Lord and am overjoyed that they are worshiping that way, the way David must have worshiped God, without restraint.
Psalm 150 captures that moment in time, when Israel was unified, when God’s presence was returned to its central place. Help me recite Psalm 150. You don’t need the words – your part is to say Praise God! with lots of gusto each time I point to you! You can even raise your hands if you feel moved! Stand up, in body or spirit, and try it a couple of times:
Praise God!
Praise God!
Psalm 150
Hallelujah!
Praise God in the holy temple;
Praise God in the mighty firmament;
Praise God for mighty acts;
Praise God for exceeding greatness;
Praise God with trumpet sound;
Praise God with lyre and harp;
Praise God with tambourine and dance;
Praise God with strings and pipe;
Praise God with resounding cymbals; Yes,
Praise God with loud-clanging cymbals.
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Hallelujah!
Later in his reign, things went downhill for King David. The story of David’s sin with Bathsheba is a tragic abuse of power, and David was called out for it. David lost sight of the most important thing –that God was in control. David, like every person God chose to lead the people, was flawed. His reign was marred by the times that he put his desires over what God needed him to do.
I think one can look to King David as someone who attempted to be a man after God’s heart, and sometimes succeeded greatly, but sometimes missed the mark. I think we can look at ourselves and realize that we, too, have moments when we shine, and moments when we fail, both as individuals, and as a faith community.
But I think what today’s lessons so clearly show is that David celebrated those moments when things came together. He looked to God for his next steps when Israel asked him to be their king, and he brought the people’s focus on God when he brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. They celebrated that moment with song and dance. Can you picture David, the king over all of Israel, a nearly 40-year-old David, leaping and dancing before the Lord? He didn’t hold back, thinking about what might go wrong in the future. He danced! He praised the Lord with all his might!
There are moments in our life together that we need to be joyous, our delight and praises unrestrained. Those moments when we begin something new, when something for which we’ve pulled together to create finally happens, when our worship and music overwhelm even the most stoic among us. Those moments when our life together must delight our Creator God, and when that happens, we can’t hold back. We can’t suppress our delight, looking ahead at what might be our next pitfall or disappointment. Like David – and whatever that looks like for Trinity – when that happens, we dance, people of God, we dance with all that is within us! We praise the Lord with all our might!
Amen.
