Week Twelve: The Trials of a King

I read a story this week of a young boy who lived many years ago in one of the most rural parts of West Texas- which could've been about anywhere since West Texas is pretty much all rural.  For "facilities" his family used an old outhouse and the boy absolutely hated it because it was hot in the summer, cold in the winter and stunk all the time.  It sat on the bank of a creek and the boy fantasized about pushing it over one day into the water and watching it float away.

One afternoon after a hard spring rain the little creek became so swollen that the boy decided ti was his perfect chance!  He got an old 2 x 4 from the barn and used it as a giant crowbar, prying and pushing until the old outhouse toppled backward into the creek and floated away.  The boy wondered how long it would be before the "outhouse hit the fan," so to speak, and it didn't take long!  That evening, his dad told him they were going to the woodshed!  If you know what that means then you also understand why he was so scared.  Weighing his options, the boy decided to play innocent and asked why.  His father replied, "Someone pushed that old outhouse into the creek today.  Was it you, son?"  Realizing he was in a tough spot he decided to change strategies and go with the truth.  He answered, "Yes," and after a quiet pause, "Dad, I read in school last week that George Washington chopped down a cherry tree and didn't get into trouble because he told the truth."

His father replied, "Well, son, George Washington's father wasn't in that cherry tree!"

Randy Frazee tells that story and suggests that most of us can identify with it in at least three ways.  First, there is something inside of us which wants to do things our own way, regardless of the consequences... things which we know are wrong.  The Bible refers to this as the realm of "the flesh."  Second, our lack of goodness affects other people, not just us.  And many of us have been in some outhouses that were pushed over by others.  We've experienced the awful consequences of somebody else's sin.  Finally, none of us get away with keeping our little sinful acts secret.  We usually end up sinning even more -- lying and deceiving-- to cover up the truth of our bad choices.

I'm so glad we're not finished with the story of David and that this week we come to some of the desperate struggles he faced as king.  Even though David was established as a great and righteous king over all Israel, things were not always easy.  Success and especially power has a way of going to our heads and we let our guard down.  That's what David did, in a number of ways, and he got himself into a fine mess.  His sin affected not only his relationship with God, but also his entire family and the kingdom.  This week as you read through more of David's story pay careful attention to the way in which God continues to work in his story, despite David's failings, and even brings much good from it.