Surprised!
I was doing my readings for today when I read this passage from 1 Chronicles 9:29-31:
29 The rest of the events of Solomon’s reign, from beginning to end, are recorded in The Record of Nathan the Prophet, and The Prophecy of Ahijah from Shiloh, and also in The Visions of Iddo the Seer, concerning Jeroboam son of Nebat. 30 Solomon ruled in Jerusalem over all Israel for forty years. 31 When he died, he was buried in the City of David, named for his father. Then his son Rehoboam became the next king.
That’s some scintillating reading there, huh?
Seriously, it got me thinking. Over the last few days, my readings have taken me through the events with David and Bathsheba. If you aren’t familiar, David was king of Israel. His army was out on a military campaign, and for whatever reason, he was not with them. One night he saw Bathsheba bathing on top of her house and desired her, so he sent for her and had sex with her. Functionally, he raped her. She got pregnant, and because she was another man’s wife, he tried to cover it up by having her husband, Uriah, come home from the war. Uriah would not even enter his own house while his troops were in the field, so David sent him back with orders to the commander to make sure he died. Once that happened, David married Bathsheba.
After all this happened, David was confronted by a prophet about his sin. It’s a pretty amazing story, David repents, and from it, we get Psalm 51, one of my favorites. We’re reading it this Sunday. Now, BACK TO THE PASSAGE!
David was 37 when he became king of all Israel. We don’t know exactly how old he is in this passage, but I would guess he’s in his 40s. The prophet who confronts him is Nathan, mentioned in the passage. Notice that he chronicles David’s son, Solomon’s, entire reign. Between the rest of David’s reign and Solomon’s entire reign is about 60 years. That means that Nathan is EXTREMELY young when he confronts David about his sin. He was probably in his late teens or early 20s AT THE LATEST to still be alive 60 years later to record the end of Solomon’s reign. He might have been as young as 10.
Think about that. We have all these positive images of King David, but make no mistake: David was a warlord. He was a battle chieftain. He had killed thousands of men. He is more William Wallace from Braveheart than a political leader from today. We don’t know a lot about Nathan, but now I imagine that the reason David heard him was that he was a shepherd himself. This might be the FIRST TIME that God gave him a message to pass on to someone else!!! Regardless, he was quite young, and he is standing before a man for whom killing is not a problem to confront his sin. That takes some real guts.
I share this for two reasons. First, I’ve been reading the Bible daily for almost 40 years. I’ve read all of it maybe 15 or 20 times. I’ve lost count. This is the first time I’ve ever noticed this. I LOVE the fact that I can read the Bible over and over and over and STILL be stunned into silence by revelations from the Holy Spirit.
Second, when God gives you a mission, do it! God is not concerned about age (young or old), position (mighty or weak), or training (skilled or amateur). God does not see things the way we do. His ways and thoughts are higher than ours. Don't limit God with your lack of imagination or understanding. Nathan changed the course of world history by confronting David. You might not do that, but God may use you to change someone's history. Wherever you are, whatever you are, whoever you are, go do it!
So say we all.
SONGS FOR SUNDAY
Glorious Day
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gklJ2XZwDHc
Overcome
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsuwVT6OW2U
At Your Name
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=il-bJjeiOhY
The Old Rugged Cross