Day Twenty-Two -- The (almost) perfect leader
1 Samuel 28:20 to 2 Samuel 12:10
With the close of the 1st Book of Samuel the tragedy of Saul's personal demons are brought to an inglorious end. The aftermath continues, however, as "The war between the house of Saul and the house of David lasted a long time." [2 Samuel 3:1] The unity of the Israelites will not be easily secured as David, God's anointed, becomes king of Judah but other kings and leaders arise for a time among the other tribes. Eventually the tribes are united under David and he chooses Jerusalem as his capital city. He then sends for the Ark of the Covenant and "Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the LORD with all his might, while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the LORD with shouts and the sound of trumpets" [2 Samuel 6:14] much to the disgust of his wife Michal.
I was struck by the drama and the intrigue of the shifting loyalties, but also David's integrity of respecting God's early choice of Saul and in knowing who he was. But just when we think that David couldn't be a more perfect and fair leader we are turned around his lack of integrity in his personal life. Like many powerful leaders he resorts to a cover-up to protect his reputation. What we are reminded of, however, is that God always knows.
Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: cleanse the the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen. [BCP, p. 355]
With the close of the 1st Book of Samuel the tragedy of Saul's personal demons are brought to an inglorious end. The aftermath continues, however, as "The war between the house of Saul and the house of David lasted a long time." [2 Samuel 3:1] The unity of the Israelites will not be easily secured as David, God's anointed, becomes king of Judah but other kings and leaders arise for a time among the other tribes. Eventually the tribes are united under David and he chooses Jerusalem as his capital city. He then sends for the Ark of the Covenant and "Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the LORD with all his might, while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the LORD with shouts and the sound of trumpets" [2 Samuel 6:14] much to the disgust of his wife Michal.
I was struck by the drama and the intrigue of the shifting loyalties, but also David's integrity of respecting God's early choice of Saul and in knowing who he was. But just when we think that David couldn't be a more perfect and fair leader we are turned around his lack of integrity in his personal life. Like many powerful leaders he resorts to a cover-up to protect his reputation. What we are reminded of, however, is that God always knows.
Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: cleanse the the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen. [BCP, p. 355]
I just wanted to give a bit of a testimonial..I was reluctant to sign on for this challenge as I have read the Bible through a number of times. I had my own devotional reading and felt comfortable with what I was doing. Bur, God has a way of getting us out of our comfort zone for our own good. I did sign on and am so glad that I did! The pace at which we are reading is much more rapid a pace than I had ever done and I really enjoy taking big chunks of Scripture and getting a big picture view of the Bible. So far this challenge has been great for me. Thanks, Father Bimbi!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback on your reactions to the Challenge. This approach to reading the Bible is new for me too! I am finding that I am making many more connections of how certain places, practices or people are tied together over the broader scope of the Bible stories. My comfort zone was to think theologically and not allow the stories to just flow over me in a rapid succession of events. Keep reading!
ReplyDelete