We have been working through the book of 1 Kings on Sunday mornings. I have enjoyed studying this book far more than I thought I would. To be honest, much of the book would make great material for a reality show on VH1. Not too far from Hogan Knows Best or Meet the Kardashians (I promise I have not seen either of those shows, but I don’t expect you to believe me).
Anyway, we started by studying David and his sexual struggles and then moved on to Solomon (the Message says “King Solomon was obsessed with women”) and then Rehoboam. I have really been challenged by a description of Solomon that is also repeated about Rehoboam. The Bible says, “Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the LORD completely, as David his father had done.” This statement has caused some difficulty for me. You see, in my mind David could not have followed the Lord completely if he slept with Bathsheba (not his wife) and then had her husband killed to cover it up. How could someone screw up this badly and still be considered someone who followed the LORD completely?
What I am learning is that my understanding of grace and justice does not line up with the Biblical account. One way to reconcile this is to determine that the writer of the Biblical text has made a mistake or lapse of judgment (of course, I have to believe that this mistake happened twice). However, there is another way to address this problem and that is to consider that my understanding of grace is too small. The difference between Solomon and Rehoboam and David is that David is repentant of his actions (even if he is slow to get there). In Psalm 51 we learn of David’s brokenness and remorse. He confesses his sin to God and cries out to God asking that God would create in him a clean heart.
According to the description of David in the accounts of Solomon and Rehoboam God does just that! Now, I understand that God forgives us when we repent (I John 1:9). But, according to the accounts of David, God doesn’t just forgive us but sees us as righteous!! Of course, I have heard this but for some reason David’s story makes it so much more real to me. Somehow this understanding of grace leads me to believe that I am more than a sinner saved by grace! I might somehow be considered by God to be a person that “followed the LORD completely” despite my screw ups (of course this is because of God’s grace). How freeing that is for me!!!
Look, we all screw up. And most of us have some understanding of grace and what it means to be forgiven but, my guess is, that far too often our understanding of God’s grace falls way short. We are too often blinded by our own sense of justice. I wonder if David considered himself to be someone that followed the LORD completely?
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