Fridays with David

Read 2 Samuel 4:8-11 – And they brought the head of Ishbosheth to David at Hebron, and said to the king, “Here is the head of Ishbosheth, the son of Saul your enemy, who sought your life; and the Lord has avenged my lord the king this day of Saul and his descendants.” But David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said to them, “As theLord lives, who has redeemed my life from all adversity, when someone told me, saying, ‘Look, Saul is dead,’ thinking to have brought good news, I arrested him and had him executed in Ziklag—the one who thought I would give him a reward for his news. How much more, when wicked men have killed a righteous person in his own house on his bed? Therefore, shall I not now require his blood at your hand and remove you from the earth?” (NKJV)

Ishbosheth’s two leaders thought they could spare their own lives as David’s kingdom began to emerge. So they turned on their own king and killed him, bringing his head to David. But these men didn’t know David. Somehow they were unaware of his reverence for Saul’s house so their intended act of presumed loyalty proved fatal to them both. Their error was in the assumption that David was a man like their own king. Instead, they encountered his integrity and his respect for God. Those who have served evil are seldom prepared to work alongside those who act with honor. Unfortunately, many of us can allow our environment to dictate how we think and act. For those who do, their “culture” becomes an excuse to act wrongly toward others. It’s difficult to maintain your integrity in an unrighteous place, but it’s critical that you do so. Don’t let the negative influences that surround you begin to dictate how you live.

– Dr. Mike Clarensau serves as Senior Director of the Healthy Church Network of the Assemblies of God.