.jpg)
When reading this verse some months ago my attention was caught by these words of King David, 'these sons of Zeruiah be too hard for me'.
Although he was the King of Judah and Israel David felt unable to manage a particular family of warriors, 'the sons of Zeruiah'- instead, he looked to God to judge them for their deeds.
We too have people and situations which can seem too hard for us to deal with, so I pray it may be helpful to look a little closer at this relationship of David and his loyal, fiercely protective and yet harsh warriors, the sons of Zeruiah, and see what lessons we may learn to help us in our own Christian lives.
1. Who were these 'sons of Zeruiah'?
We can find out about these sons in the Bible books of Samuel and the first books of Kings and Chronicles. We learn that King David had six brothers and two sisters.
His sisters were called Zeruiah and Abigail.
Zeruiah had 3 sons: Abishai, Joab and Asahel. Abigail had one son, Amasa (who will come into the story later).
The 'sons of Zeruiah' were therefore David's nephews.
2. What do we know about these 'sons of Zeruiah'?
Like their Uncle David, these men were descended from Boaz, a very wealthy landowner in Bethlehem, whose own grandfather, Nahshon was one of the princes and leaders of his tribe.
Although we do not know how much of this wealth remained in the family, David was anointed to be king in his home town of Bethlehem where he was looking after the sheep. We later read of the rich provisions that his father sent to sustain the Israelite soldiers, which suggests that the land and wealth may have stayed in the family.
Abishai is listed first of the brothers, indicating he was the eldest. We can deduce that he was brave, quick to volunteer for dangerous missions and confident in his abilities as a warrior. Strong and determined, he led men into battle, was fiercely loyal to David and once directly saved David's life. Although one of David's chief commanders he was revengeful and quick to kill and somewhat misguided in understanding.
Joab appears to have been the main character in this trio of brothers. A respected warrior of strength and determination he also harboured revenge and anger in his heart, killing without mercy those he considered enemies.
Joab early became the head of David's army commanding successful and skilled battles. He was not afraid to speak his mind to David, sometimes showing sensitivity, sometimes cautioning and advising him, but several times seriously usurped David's authority by following his own agenda or his own judgement of what he thought was best for the king.
Asahel, the youngest of the brothers, was particularly fast at running, brave and listed as one of David's thirty mighty men, a commander, but to my mind was perhaps brave to the point of foolishness or stubbornness, resulting in death whilst a young warrior.
Our first lesson - the test of temptation
The first son of Zeruiah we meet is Abishai.
David, although anointed to be the next king of Israel and Judah by the prophet Samuel, is spending his life fleeing from one hideout to another. Whether in the forests, wilderness, rocks or mountains, his predecessor and father-in-law, King Saul, is determined to kill him and prevent David gaining the throne.
Popular and loved by Israel and Judah alike (1 Samuel 18:16) David has now amassed a following of more than 600 men hiding out with him in 'strongholds'. Word now comes to David from his spies that King Saul has heard of his hiding in the 'Wilderness of Ziph' and has come with 3000 men to pursue him.
David doesn't run from Saul this time. Instead, after secretly surveying the large camp with King Saul in the centre, his head of army and troops pitched all around him he says to two of the men with him,
"Who will go down with me to Saul in the camp?"
"I will go down with thee" volunteers Abishai, the eldest of these sons of Zeruiah.
A brave and dangerous mission, David and Abishai, stealthily came through the night and into the camp to its very centre where King Saul lay sleeping, his spear stuck in the ground by his head.
Not a soul in the camp moved. All around in the dark night were the sounds of deep breathing, God having caused the whole camp to fall into a deep sleep.
As they looked down on Saul, so close they could touch him, Abishai said,
"God hath delivered thine enemy into thine hand this day: now therefore let me smite him, I pray thee, with the spear even to the earth at once, and I will not smite him the second time."
What a temptation!
Abishai's words echo the same temptation to kill Saul on a previous occasion which makes us wonder if this wasn't the first time Abishai had urged David to let him quickly murder his enemy.
On that occasion Saul had come into the very cave in which David and his men were hiding. We are told that when David first escaped from Saul to the cave of Adullam his brethren and all his father's house had joined him, as well as 400 men who joined forces with him.
So when being chased by Saul in the wilderness of Engedi it is likely that these sons of Zeruiah were with him.
We can imagine how they held their breath, pressed to the sides and recesses of the cave as they watched Saul attend to nature. How David's men must have intensely whispered to David,
"Behold the day of which the LORD said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good to thee."
What a temptation to bring about God's purposes for David to be king! And was this the way it was to be done? Murder - and when Saul was defenceless and vulnerable?
Was God really wanting David to take matters into his own hands? Surely God had presented David with the perfect opportunity - He had opened the door for him to go forward.
How subtle the tempter is! We hear the lie in the temptation here - "didn't God tell you this day would come when he would deliver Saul into your hands to do what you will with him?"
How strong the temptation must have been, and on that occasion David gave in enough to cut off part of Saul's clothing to show Saul how near he had come to death, but was immediately struck with guilt for even doing that.
And now, he looks down on the sleeping King Saul and sees the features of this man who was obsessed with killing him, this man who was his father- in-law and his master, one whom he had faithfully and loyally served even after Saul had tried to manipulate his death, even after Saul had viciously twice thrown his javelin at him whilst David was playing his harp to soothe Saul's mood.
How the memory of that javelin whizzing past his body and embedding in the wall behind him could have flashed through David's mind. This man, Saul, had been so unkind to him, so mean, so unfair, when all David had given him was servitude and loyalty.
As we can picture Abishai gripping the handle of his weapon, taut and ready to plunge it into Saul at a word from David, urging David to let him do it - he will be sure not to miss - we see the tempter staring David in the face.
We too have difficult situations - situations in which we may be longing to see the fulfilment of a promise God has made us. A promise which may seem so near and yet so far, one which we have waited for so long, and have been so submissively waiting for the Lord's appointed time to come, perhaps despite trouble after trouble.
And now, the opportunity has presented itself in which you can see perfectly how you could bring the promise to fruition. Your closest family and friends are with you on this - they are telling you it is God's opportunity for you, he is making the way plain and open before you, just take this one step. Perhaps, as with David, it is a repeat of the opportunity which seems to more strongly infer that it is yours to take.
Dear friend, whatever 'son of Zeruiah' may be tempting you today, let us look here at David's response as an example and as a test of whether the temptation is God's providences working or not.
'And David said to Abishai, Destroy him not: for who can stretch forth his hand against the LORD's anointed, and be guiltless?...As the LORD liveth, the LORD shall smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into battle, and perish. The LORD forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the LORD's anointed' (1 Samuel 26: 9-11).
David was remembering that God was in control and God's ways. That it was for God to bring about what He had promised through whichever means He would use, even if it meant David had to wait for Saul to die of 'natural causes'.
David was not going to take matters into his own hand. He was not going to allow the murder of a vulnerable sleeping man, who God had placed in this position as king of Israel.. We read in Deuteronomy 32:35 that God said, 'To me belongeth vengeance and recompence' - no doubt David was aware of this principle.
When we feel that an opportunity has been presented to us to get back at those who have hurt us or treated us unfairly, may we seek to be upright - to treat our enemies with mercy and compassion, to reflect the ways of our Lord and King of kings who we as believers serve, even if they have seemed to stand in the way of God's promises to us.
Are we tempted by our dearest and closest friends to do what seems right?
Is there perhaps a niggle of unease, or a disappointment that it seems God is expecting us to do the work of making something happen?
Let us go back to the Bible and look at the examples and principles there to understand if we are about to take a wrong step - a step which would have consequences for a very long time and plague us with guilt and regret.
.jpg)
Let us look to God for His wisdom and counsel. Maybe God is actually testing us to see whether we will obey Him or not.
And let us too when advising those near to us, not look at all the outward circumstances or the usual philosophies of the world and urge them to take steps which although seem appropriate for bringing about something good, something promised, are not doing so in a God honouring way. Let us pray to be kept from being 'Abishai's', but to be given a spirit of wisdom and discernment.
So today, as we finish this first study of David and the 'sons of Zeruiah' we see the first examples of the difficulties and challenges his brave warrior nephews brought with them - the temptation to fix things quickly in a way which seemed right to them, a way which tested David's faith in God, a way which showed him turning to God's word for guidance to stand strong and resilient to an easy way out.
Have you enjoyed reading the blogs and would like to give something back?
Do you want to receive Precious Thoughts straight into your inbox?
Comments
Post a Comment