“If I find favor in the eyes of the Lord, He will bring me back.” 2 Sam 15:25

I got an A, Dad! Few things bring a broader smile to a parent than this announcement following the late nights and cram sessions at the close of a semester. For our kids who have been through the Singapore school system, it seems you’ve hardly taken a bow for one job well-done and the pressure is already building for the next jarring series of exams.

Maybe God helped to write the curriculum! If your walk with Him has been anything like mine, you’ve noticed you are either just breathing a sigh over one completed test or you’re staring down the barrel at the next. You also might think you’ve been sitting for your present exam much too long. You look around: the room cleared out long ago, the air conditioning has been shut off and you’re left sitting alone in the dark! We all feel like this at times.

Truth is, without tests growth and results suffer. We fall prey to complacency. Without regular KPI’s, we settle for mediocrity. You’re not likely to keep your job long as a salesman if you only intend to sell your product. And that means even if you have dozens of instagram posts highlighting bright ideas how to do it!

One of the lessons we learn from David’s life is that God loves to test the ones He loves. Nearly any chapter from his life could serve to illustrate this, but I was particularly struck this week by all the hits David took during the period when his own son, Prince Absalom, rebelled.

Talk about rapid fire! As Absalom schemes, the conspiracy grows bigger by the minute: David’s Secretary of State, Chief of Staff, and the head of the Department of Defense all join the opposition. David abdicates, and as he does each person he meets during his flight were huge tests themselves. Would Ittai the Gittite and his six hundred men risk all for this weakened king-turned-fugitive? Would Zadok and Abiathar the priests follow David, precariously bearing the ark of God into the wilderness? What should be done with Ziba of the house of Saul, or rock-throwing, curse-hurling Shimei. Would Mephibosheth and Hushai remain loyal? Would people like Barzillai step up and provide sustenance for the growing number in David’s shelterless and hungry horde?

While it’s tempting to become hardened and defensive at times like this, David chose to humble himself and seek opportunities to grow through it. As we see from this verse, “if I find favor…He will bring me back”, his focus was on the Lord, fully trusting God to guide him through extremely confusing and dangerous predicaments.

I wonder if my first impulse would have been to cast blame—to grow bitter and retaliate. Would I have become obsessed with Absalom or the injustice of it all. Would I have thrown a pity party or fallen into a quagmire of “Why’s?” Not David. He made a beeline for a mountain summit—the first stop on his escape route—where “he worshiped God” (2 Sam 15:32). This choice, the decision to look at and for God in the midst of excruciating loss and threats upon his life, kept David from instinctively drawing his sword against a lowlife like Shimei. David realized God was watching, yes, testing him:
“It may be that the Lord will look on my affliction, and that the Lord will repay me with good for his cursing this day.” 2 Sam 16:12.

We think about repaying our enemies; David thought about being repaid by God. A carnal David would have used his authority to punish Shimei for his insolence. But the spiritual man knows that God is always looking for His likeness to be reflected in the hearts of those who love Him. The ill-prepared reacts in the flesh when trials come. But the wise man responds by the Spirit.

David wasn’t perfect. He got snookered by Ziba. But I am quite confident he earned a broad smile from his Father for passing his Absalom test with flying colors.

“Now the children of Israel heard someone say, ‘Behold, the children of Reuben…Gad…Manasseh have built and altar…’ the whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered together at Shiloh to go to war against them.” Jos 22:11,12

Satan does not need a blatant lie to work his dastardly ways. Often a partial truth is enough. Once we are alerted he has this very effective weapon in his arsenal, we must stay vigilant to guard against the proliferation of “fake news” that can easily snowball into an avalanche of destruction.

Such was the case in the waning days of Joshua. In fact, this should have been a time for celebration. Following a chastising 40-years of wandering in the wilderness, Israel had crossed the Jordan River ready to leave centuries of slavery behind. They were poised to take possession of the territories God had designated by covenantal promise to mighty Abraham and his descendants forever.

Though not perfectly executed, Jos 21:44 declares “the Lord gave them rest all around”. Their enemies had been denuded and silenced. Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh were released from their commitment to help their brethren secure their inheritances which lay on the Western side of the Jordan. As they returned to their allotted territories on the Eastern side, they constructed an altar of thanksgiving and remembrance for all that the Lord had done. Sounds harmless, right?

That is, until someone suggested the altar may be used for sacrifices in violation of the priestly systems and authority established by Moses. Someone was overheard saying something…and before long, an insidious rumor had taken wing. Driven by dark forces, suspicions quickly turned to indignation. Caution, like tumbleweeds, barreled ominously across the landscape to the drumbeats of war in their wake. Only decisive action by tempered leaders averted a bloodbath among brothers.

These words are a timeless admonition—as though blared from the mouth of an ancient trumpet. May we never succumb to the power of a half-truth.