David is one of my favorite Bible characters-maybe my most favorite. There's just something about him that is so refreshing. It's hard to put my finger on, but I love this guy. After giving it some thought I've identified five reasons why I love David:
1. I love that David didn't reward murderous treachery--even when it was in his favor. Okay, I know this seems kind of "obvious." Of course any king (or mob boss) on the rise can't tolerate disloyalty. But David seemed to understand that any one willing to kill (or take credited for killing) to ingratiate himself with the winning side was someone not to be trusted. On more than one occasion men seeking to curry favor with the up and coming king eagerly reported their personal involvement in the destruction of David's enemies. It did not end well for them. We have the Amalekite who rushed to report Saul's death to David and decided to embellish the story by taking credit for Saul's death. David was horrified that this man was willing to kill the Lord's anointed (something David himself had been unwilling to do) and had him executed. And when two brothers, Baanah and Recab murdered Saul's son Ishbosheth while he slept, clearing the way for David to claim the throne, they suffered the same fate.
2. I love that David trusts God to avenge him. David never felt the need to take the kingdom. He believed if it was his to have, God would work it out. Even though Saul was out to kill him, twice David elected not to kill Saul when he had the chance. David's philosophy wasn't "kill or be killed", and it was "Don't kill and trust God to handle my enemies." One of the bonuses to this approach is that prevents a vicious cycle from starting. When we insist on exacting our own vengeance we make ourselves the target for the vengeance of those we have harmed.
3. I love that David isn't perfect and when confronted with his wrong doing, he owns up to it. David definitely did wrong at times (His most famous wrongdoing is still to come in 2 Samuel). But when confronted, David accepted correction and changed course. David's ego wasn't so big that he couldn't see the error of his own ways when they were pointed out. This is evident in the story of Nabal and Abigail, and how she was able to prevent from David from killing Nabal (1 Samuel 25).
4. I love that David is generous and kind. When David and his men had to go recover their families and property from a raiding band of Amalekites (2 Samuel 30), there were 200 of his men that were too tired to keep up the pursuit. When the battle was won the men who did the fighting wanted to keep all the spoils for themselves. It seemed fair--after all they did the fighting, the 200 didn't. But David insisted that the loot be shared equally with those that stayed behind. "No, my brothers! Don't be selfish with what the Lord has given us," David said. "He has kept us safe and helped us defeat the band of raiders that attacked us. Who will listen when you talk like this? We share and share alike--those who go to battle, and those who guard the equipment." David understood that when God gives you the victory you don't get to be greedy about the rewards of that victory.
5. I love that David loves God. One of the things I like about David is he is the first person I've come across in the Bible that seems to really, really love God. Noah was obedient. Abraham was faithful.. Joseph was good. Moses was powerful (albeit also a little cranky). Many people were blessed by God and used by Him in mighty ways. But I never got the sense that any of these Bible heroes really liked God the way David does, really rejoiced just to be around Him. Maybe David was just better at expressing it. I don't know. It's no wonder that David was able to trust God with taking care of his enemies. It's much easier to trust Someone you love, and to love Someone you trust.
The Highlights of 1 Samuel 22-2 Samuel (plus portions of the Psalms and 1 Chronicles)
- David and His Band on the Run
- David Spares Saul's Life More than Once
- The Fall of Saul and The Rise of David
- The Ark Returns (Sort of): The Unfortunate Uzzah's Undoing
Fun Facts
A few more pieces of movie trivia:
Did you know how we showed the development of David's army? 1 Samuel 22:1-2 says that David, on the run from Saul, was initially joined by members of his family. But "then others began coming--men who were in trouble or in debt or who were just discontented--until David was captain of about 400 men." We illustrated this gathering through a music montage, showing petty criminals, people on the run, mistreated on the job and so on, taking off and joining up with David.
Did you know how we showed the passage of time while David was on the run? Our actor Anson was only in the ninth grade and not able to grow a beard of any significance. So to show the time passing, we started by using face paint to color in first scruff, then a short beard. Finally we gave him Goliath's old full beard to show he'd been hiding out for quite some time.
Do you know why I hate that low down dirty Doeg? Doeg is one of the most despicable people I've read about in the Bible. He happened to be around when David came to the priest Ahimelech seeking food and supplies while on the run from Saul. Now David lied to the priest saying that he was on an important top secret mission for Saul, so there was no reason for anyone to think Ahimelech had been disloyal to Saul. But none of that mattered to Doeg. Like a stool pigeon in a Mafia movie, he told it all to Saul when he had the opportunity. Saul, by this time is really coming apart at the seams. He is totally paranoid and unreasonable. And when he hauls in the poor unsuspecting Ahimelech he immediately accuses him of treachery and demands that his soldiers kill him and his family. The soldiers refused to kill the Lord's priests. But you know who has no qualms at all about killing these innocents priests in order to please Saul? That's right, Doeg. He murdered 85 priests that day, then went back to the priests' town of Nob and killed all their families too, including the children and even the animals. A real big man, that Doeg. I hate that guy.
Did you know how we filmed the scene with Saul and the medium? Saul finally hits rock bottom, when desperate for the Lord's guidance (but not for the Lord Himself--big difference between Saul and David), he seeks out a medium who can get him in touch with the now deceased Samuel. Saul was now breaking his own law which had banned mediums in the land of Israel. We filmed this scene in a dark, cramped, junk-filled storage container on campus. Ninth grader Shoko played the part of the medium, complete with a glass fishing buoy to represent a crystal ball. I reprised my role as Samuel one more time. I held up a scary looking demon-like mask in front of my face and then Aaron used a blurring function on the camera while I removed the mask to make it look as if the spirit was transforming into the appearance of Samuel. I delivered the lines as written in the Bible (1 Samuel 28:16-19) but when I came to the line "The Lord will hand you and the army of Israel over to the Philistines tomorrow, and you and your sons will be here with me," I repeated the line "you will be with me " twice more in a crazy, maniacal voice, accompanied by some demonic laughter.
You know when you read the account in the Bible the famed "witch of Endor" doesn't seem such a bad sort. She gives Saul a little food, helps him calm down (as he is understandably freaked out by the message he has received), before sending him on his way. Nothing more is said about her.
Do you know why there wasn't a sequel to our movie Saul and David? Our film ends with the deaths of Saul and Jonathan, with both Danny as Saul and Manny as Jonathan pulling off great death scenes. Saul's is a dramatic suicide and Jonathan's a slow-motion battle scene. We end with a long shot of David receiving news of the battle's outcome amidst swelling music. At first I thought it would be fun to film a sequel based on 2 Samuel. But it quickly became apparent that making a family-friendly film of 2 Samuel would be very difficult. The violence starts early on with the slaying of Amalekite who claimed credit for killing Saul. It gets worse by chapter 2 with Saul's general, Abner's gruesome killing of Abishai, the brother of David's main general Joab. While I'm sure 8th grader Cory would have relished pretending to run someone through with butt end of a spear, I think we would have gotten in trouble for such a gory scene, even if it was strictly Biblical. Likewise with Joab's revenge killing of Abner who had recently defected to David's side.
And one non-movie trivia fun fact:
Did you know about the Strange Love Triangle of Michal, David, and Palti? After David went on the run, Saul married off his daughter Michal (who was already married to David and had helped him escape, the worthless wrench!), to another guy named Palti. Well, when Abner defected to David's side in the war for the throne after Saul's death, part of the deal was that David would get his wife back. In an unusual tale of marital love in the Bible, her husband Palti follows after Abner as he is returning Michal to David, "weeping as he went." This guy was really broken up about losing Michal! Abner finally had to tell him to go home. "Listen man, it's over. Let her go. She ain't gonna be your wife no mo'!" The Bible says "So Palti returned." Poor guy. This would not be the first time David helped himself to another man's wife. However at least in this case, David had been married to her first. Michal is an interesting one, by the way. We'll talk more about her next week.
What Stood Out to Me
Abigail
I always notice the level-headed, strong women of the Bible. There's no shortage of them. For a Book coming out of a patriarchal time when women were supposedly of little value, over and over we see a pattern of smart, independent women stuck with loser guys. Abigail is one of those awesome women. Nabal, Abigail's husband is known to be a jerk. The community knows it, people who work for him know it, his wife knows it. In fact, his name Nabal means "fool". When David politely asks if he'd be willing to share any extra provisions he might have, Nabal responds with a rude and insulting no. David is incensed by this reply and in the heat of anger vows to kill Nabal. Meanwhile one of the servants (who clearly knows who the reasonable person in the family is regardless of who holds the "head of the house" title) runs to tell it all to Abigail. She quickly intervenes, meeting David on the way and humbly taking responsibility for her husband's shenanigans. Essentially she says, "Listen, everyone knows that guy is in idiot. It's my bad. I didn't even see your guys come in. They should have talked to me." Then she goes on to reprimand David for his rush to take revenge, and reminds him of who he is and who God is. David is calmed by her words and decides not to kill anyone. (Nabal ends up stroking out the next day anyway and eventually Abigail becomes David's wife. Well, one of them anyway. Along with Ahinoam and Michal--and more to come. This is still the patriarchy after all!)
Kudos to my students, ninth graders Nei and Jimmy, that played the roles of Abigail and Nabal in our movie. Jimmy is such a nice guy, but also a great actor, so he really played up the baddie Nabal. And for Nei the acting was easy as she's just as smart and kind in real life as Abigail was.
Uzzah
Uzzah's always been a puzzlah. David was in the process of bringing the Ark to Jersualem, and Uzzah was one of the priests tending the cart the Ark was being drawn on. The oxen pulling the ark stumbled and Uzzah reached out to steady the Ark. The Ark was fine. Uzzah was not. He dropped dead on the spot. The Bible says that "Lord's anger was aroused against Uzzah, and He struck him dead." It seems so harsh right? He was only trying to help. Was God really so petty as all that? Does God strike us down, regardless of the intentions of our hearts, just because we did the wrong thing. There are plenty of think pieces out there that will insist that if God wants to be petty, He can because He's God. I suppose that argument is technically true--but it's not very helpful. When we insist that the moral rules God expects us to abide by don't apply to Him because He's God, it makes the whole notion of a "good" God pointless. Good is whatever He says is good.
I take a different approach to the story of Uzzah. As in other stories, I tend to think that was the Biblical writer's understanding of what happened. Uzzah touches the Ark, Uzzah dies, the Lord must have struck Him down. It's notable to that nowhere in this story does God Himself speak on what He purportedly did. There's no reprimand of Uzzah or David or anyone else in the story. The celebration dies as quickly as Uzzah did, and the Ark is left on the property of Obed-Edom while David figures out what to do next. This entire episode as well as what follows (which we'll catch next week) happened without any input or guidance from God. My conclusion is that the Ark still contained some live electrical current of God's Holiness and when Uzzah reached out, he was "electrocuted" so to speak just as if he'd touched a live wire. There's a significant difference between a man being "struck down" arbitrarily by God and a man "struck down" by accidental contact with His Power.
No comments:
Post a Comment