PLEASE READ THIS FIRST: 1 Kings 15-16
What do you sense the Lord saying to you in this passage?
“Except in the case of Uriah the Hittite.” (1 Kings 15:5)
David was such a good man, fully devoted to the Lord his God… except.
The author is raising up the memory of David as a righteous king.
He was for many the ideal king, like the promised messiah to come.
Everyone else was compared to him, as like him or not like him.
The only problem was the one little “except…”
David’s sin was not just one small sin, a momentary slip.
He did not just break one rule, he broke them all.
“For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” (James 2:10)
My purpose is not to shame the memory of David; rather I want to look beyond him.
My focus is not on David (or Moses or Paul); they all had their ‘excepts’.
My focus is on Jesus, who loved God and people like no other.
He is the ideal king, the promised messiah, the one who graciously accepts us.
He shows us that we can all be received by grace, despite all our ‘excepts’.
PRAYER
Lord, my list of ‘excepts’ is much longer. Thank you for accepting me despite my ‘excepts’, and for inviting me to follow you in humility and grace.
Both Judah and Israel had lost their roots. Yes there was some turning to God under Asa – but even he depended on his buying security under Ben-Hadad – king of Aram. Where was the trust in God? Israel had become completely rootless and lost it’s way – as kings are assassinated and their families eliminated one after the other as the prophets predicted. Yet, in Judah, God continues to allow David’s line to continue – for the sake of his promise to David. Lord, help me not to lose my way and stay devoted to you!