Much more than for most of us, the life of David was lived under the shadow of death. For so long he had been a fugitive from the jealous anger of King Saul. Now, himself as king, he faced conspiracy from within his own household.
When reproving David in relation to his sin against Uriah the Hittite, Nathan the prophet had said, "Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house…" (2 Samuel 12.10). Forgiven, David still had to face some of the consequences flowing from his great sin.
One writer has noted, "Absolom's conspiracy was the overt acton of an embittered, arrogant son against his father whom he despised. David had crushed resistance and revolt wherever it appeared throughout his realm and frontiers. Apparently, he little suspected revolt within his own household… David's weakness appeared in his relationships with his own sons. He administered the affairs of his kingdom with remarkable authority, but he erred regrettably in administering his own family."
And now the pressure was on! Word came to David, "The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absolom" (2 Samuel 15.13). The plucky shepherd boy who had gone out with simple boldness to face Goliath had no courage to face the challenge of his own son - "Come! We must flee, or none of us will escape from Absalom" (v. 14a).
Did David recall, perhaps, some deep dark gorge along which he had earlier led his sheep? As shepherd, he was the one who had to face the unknown dangers. The sheep trusted themselves to his presence and were secure as the shepherd used his rod to guide and defend them.
D.L. Moody said, "I believe Psalm 23 is more often misquoted than any other part of the Bible. I have heard many tell of the dark valley, but the word dark isn't there. The psalm says, 'Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.' Did you ever see a shadow in the dark? Go down into your basement tonight without a light and you can't see your shadow. All death can do is to throw a shadow, because Christ, the Light, is present. Shadows never hurt anyone. We have nothing to fear!"
The valley of the shadow of death! Apprehension… uncertainty… fear… grief… remorse… Whether faced with the prospect of personal disappointment and failure - our own or a loved one's death - these emotions so easily crowd in.
In the situation David faced in today's reading, he took to his heels! And isn't that our own initial and natural reaction? Don't we hasten to avoid the difficult, embarrassing, awkward situations? Don't we want to withdraw from the harsh realities of death, the separation from loved ones, the journey into the dark unknown? Isn't it fear that has made the inescapable the unmentionable in our society?
Yet, however natural and practical David's immediate reaction, he comes back to the security of the Lord's presence, no matter what his circumstances might be.
It reminds us of the great affirmation of the apostle Paul - "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8.38-39).
| PRAYER: Too often, Lord, I have forgotten that you are with me – and I have been afraid! Thank you for your unfailing presence and strength – in the midst of life and in the presence of death. When fear and uncertainty creep in, remind me that you are here! In Jesus’ name, Amen. |
Surrounded
by a wall of pain,
deep, intense,
it seemed as if
the Hand of God
reached through
and touched me.
Stricken
by grief’s loss
and loneliness,
I sensed,
I knew
that God was there.
Never
is life’s experience
so dark
that in it
we may not find
that God is there!