Inspired
by 1 Samuel 16:1-13
Dear and loyal subjects, may peace be upon
you! You may be seated.
We have summoned you here today to offer
our royal thanks for the loyalty, steadfastness, and courage you have shown us
during the recent rebellion. Please know how deeply and sincerely grateful we
are to acknowledge your sacrifices and your efforts to restore Israel to peace
once again. May God hear our prayers and grant us a spirit of forbearance and reconciliation
to mend the divisions which have riven our nation, and may we be united again
as God’s chosen people.
We also wish to express our confidence in
our loyal sons, the Princes Adonijah and Solomon. It is our hope that in years
to come you will all be as loyal to them as you have been to us.
Now. If I may speak candidly. During the
recent civil unrest there have been a lot of things on my mind. It’s hard to
believe, but I have been king over Israel and Judah for almost forty years now.
And some of you have served with me nearly as long. Where does the time go? It
doesn’t seem but a few weeks ago that our great prophet Samuel came to my
father’s home in Bethlehem and announced that God had told him to anoint a son
of Jesse as the next king of our nation. We thought he was crazy. Saul was our
king—and a pretty good one at that.
But Samuel was led by God to christen the
one God had chosen. God, mind you. I didn’t choose kingship. God chose it for
me. And no one thought that I would be the choice, either. I was still a boy.
Just a teenager looking after my father’s sheep. What did I know about leading
a nation?
You’ll remember we were at war with
Philistia at the time. My three oldest brothers were in the army, and my father
sent me to the front to bring them some provisions. The Philistines had this
soldier named Goliath from Gath. Huge man. Big as a mountain. He’d stand behind
their lines and insult our troops, challenging anyone to fight him single-handed.
I suppose you’ve all heard this story.
You know, I wasn’t really such a hero. As
a shepherd I’d had to kill predatory animals with a sling so I knew I could
kill a man with one. I just got off a lucky shot that day, and I’ve been a
soldier ever since.
Saul loved me for that. And I loved him
too—just as if he were a second father. Of course he was my father since I married his daughter, Michal. And during all
the trouble we had together, I don’t think I ever hated him. At least I hope I
didn’t. When I think of him now—four decades later—it’s with great fondness and
pity. When he was killed at the battle of Mt. Gilboa (along with his son,
Jonathan, who was a close friend of mine), I actually cried for him. I don’t
think he was an evil man. I just think the power and the adulation went to his
head.
Power and adulation. It certainly went to
my head, too. I suppose that’s what I’ve really wanted to say to all of you. I
trust that when the time comes for me to sleep with my ancestors that you will
be honest about me. You may say that David defeated our enemies, brought the
Ark of the Covenant to Zion, and established Jerusalem as our capital. You may say his reign was, for the most part,
peaceful and prosperous. But please remember that I have made mistakes and
sinned before the Lord.
You all know about my transgressions, so
we don’t have to bring up the details. You all know them. Perhaps the gravest
consequence of my misdeeds was that they left me without moral authority in my
own home. My sons Amnon and Absalom and my daughter Tamar all suffered because I
failed as a father. Our nation has also suffered, and this current civil
strife, which has caused all of us so much pain, is entirely my fault. For it,
I take full responsibility. Please be sure that this is recorded in the scrolls
of history. I was blinded by my own success, but now I think I see God’s justice
more clearly.
We have been very prosperous these past
forty years as a nation. But, I wonder if we have become rich in the things of
God..? At least I feel that, in spite of all my mistakes, God has been kind and
forgiving to me. The anointing I received at Bethlehem has never been washed
off, and for that I am grateful and humbled.
I believe that’s all I want to share with
you now. Excuse me as I retire to my quarters. I’ve felt very chilly lately,
and I just can’t seem to get warm.
Oh..! I don’t know why I think of this.
Please indulge me just a minute more. You know, in my youth I used to be
something of a songwriter. Lately I’ve been remembering a prayer-song I wrote
some years ago. Part of it went like this:
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right
spirit within me.
Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not thy
Holy Spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and uphold
me with thy free spirit.
I still pray that a lot. Perhaps we all
should.
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