Hebrews 11:32 David part III
HEB 11:32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets

Dr Tong was in high spirits today, having completed the whole round of gospel rallies and theological seminars in the USA. He came with Mrs Tong this time around, and after this evening's message, he will fly to Europe for yet another series of gospel rallies and seminars.

This evening saw the conclusion on David; the last of the three segments on David's life. Dr Tong reiterated his belief that not a single human being was like David, whose life was packed with lessons for the Christian. There were many occasions of inspirations, and also many occasions of disappointment for us when we read about the life of David. At his best, the entire nation rejoiced with him. At his worst, he witnessed how his own son violated his concubines. He was persecuted and suffered mainly because of the jealousy of others.

1. A heart without hatred or bitterness
The first major lesson we could learn from David would be that the Bible never recorded any incident where David repaid evil with evil. He was a person with a forgiving heart and had a great character. This is not the case with the world. There are many intelligent people in the world, with lots of academic qualifications. Unhappily, these are used for corrupt purposes. Dr Tong cited the Indonesian example where many talented people in high places use their talents to get more money for themselves. Dr Tong declared that there is really no lack of talented people in the world. The world lacks is people with great character. David was no fool of course. His poetic expressions are still unparallel even today. His intelligence however, was not as remarkable as his greatness in character. He was not a person who harboured hatred in his heart. He never planned to take revenge on his enemies, unlike the world today. Dr Tong said that as Christians, we ought to feel ashamed of ourselves when we read about David, for we often harbours hatred and bitterness in our hearts, and thus are not able to truly love one another. Because of that, we cannot change the spirituality of the church, or our own spirituality.

This was best illustrated with the way David treated Saul. Although Saul wanted to kill David many a times, David was completely forgiving and faithful to Saul. He had many opportunities to kill Saul, but he cut off Saul's garment instead to illustrate that he could have killed Saul. In order for us to change our church and our world today, we need to emulate the example of David, who had a character that did not harbour hatred or bitterness, despite of the many evils that were done to him. We need to let God be the person who would exact judgment and vengeance, and not attempt to take His place, because He is the absolute judge. Whenever we are wronged, we need to understand that God is using our enemies to mould us, and accept God's arrangement. With love in our heart, we can overcome hatred and bitterness.

This does not mean that David was completely muddle-headed about love. We can see this in how David instructed Solomon (1 Kings 2) about the evilness of the people around him. This was not for revenge, or he would have instructed all his sons to deal with his enemies. Solomon was briefed, so that he would have wisdom and be aware of the pitfalls ahead when he was made king. David was certain about the justice of God, as well as His love. The problems with the church today include the inability to harmonize the nature of love and justice of God. We either have cheap grace, or think of God as a tyrant. We must not forget the dire consequences of sin while we practice love among ourselves.

2. Harsh towards this enemies, Gentle towards his own
Secondly, David was a person who were demanding upon God's enemies, but loving towards his own people. He knew when to go into battle, and when to relax. Our failure is in getting the whole thing upside down. We are often soft towards our enemies, but demanding towards our own co-workers. He would fight to the end with his enemies, but was completely gentle and accommodating to his own people.

But who were David's enemies? We often treat those who are good to us as friends, and those who oppose us as enemies. David's principle was very simple. Any enemy of God would be his enemy; and any friend of God would be his friend. We on the other hand, are often confused about issues because we are clouded by profit and loss. In reality, the person who is nice to you could be attempting to cheat you. The person who is stern to you may have been sent by God to chastise you. Once we get clouded by profit and loss, we become blind towards the truth, and create problems in our marriage, our church, our lives. We become completely wrong about how we should proceed with every aspect of our lives.

David was so pure in this that he was determined to defend the honour of God against those who would blaspheme against Him. He displayed this character even as a young boy. David was determined to kill Goliath simply because He defied the army of the living God (1 Sam 17:45); in other words, he was upset because the name of the LORD was blasphemed by Goliath. While he had no hatred for man, David had hatred for whomever was against God.

Dr Tong reiterated that no one was like David in this clarity of thought. His reference point was the glory and honour of God. He was clear that his purpose in life was to glorify God and enjoy His presence (Westminster shorter catechism). So we need to ask ourselves if we are giving the glory to God in every single detail of our lives. When we are, then peace will come to our lives (Luke 2:14) and we will be able to enjoy His presence. This is also the very first thing the LORD taught us to pray, that His kingdom may come. Our prayers are not for ourselves, but for His will and kingdom to come. Moses was not able to go into the promised land simply because he did not honour God first in one incident. When the name of our LORD is being blasphemed among the gentiles, what are we doing? How would we respond?

Dr Tong said that the worse thing would be for the name of the LORD to be blasphemed among His own people. He illustrated an incident some 3 decades ago, when he traveled from Aceh to Medan to preach. Because he was sick, the Christians from Aceh bought a row of 4 seats for him (with him lying on 3 seats, and his wife taking the 4th). The bus traveled a winding journey, and people got up and down, removing their luggage. Because he was ill, Dr Tong asked the person next to him to watch over his green luggage. Dr Tong said that the person's reply was something he has never, ever since forgotten. The person said that Dr Tong need not worry about the safety of his luggage because the bus is now in the Muslim district of Medan, so the luggage is safe. When the bus enters into the Christian district, that would be the time to keep watch, for there are many thieves there. Dr Tong said that he was dumbfounded and dare not tell the person that he is a Christian. The name of the LORD had been blasphemed among his own people. When a Christian bring disgrace to the name of the LORD, the LORD would be greatly saddened. David understood this from a young age, while the apostles took several years to learn it from Jesus Christ. Even as a boy, he did not allow the Philistine to humiliate God. He fought boldly against God's enemies while loving towards God's people.

3. Upwardly loyal, Downwardly loving
There are two types of people whom Dr Tong thinks lightly of. The first type would be those who curry favour from their superior in order to oppress those who report to them. The second type would be those who are hypocritical towards their superior while gathering the subordinates to attempt to overthrow their superior. The entire world is filled with people like these. David was loyal towards His God, while accommodating towards his subordinates. This was why David was considered as a man next to God's heart.

David was completely loyal and faithful to Saul, even till the death of Saul. He understood Saul as the anointed one of God, and would not lay a hand on him. Many young people today would despise people of the older generation after they have completed their studies. Dr Tong said that we need to remember the contributions of the older generations, and even in humility learn from them. David went one step further, and treated those who wanted to take his life with respect and honour. He had no pride or evilness in his heart. He was so loyal to Saul that he killed the soldier who claimed that Saul died under his own sword. He grieved greatly over the death of Saul and Jonathan. The church lacks people of such character today. Many church leaders simply want the power in church, hoping that the older leaders

David also completely loved his subordinates. David's love for his subordinates could be seen in their loyalty towards him. In 2 Sam 23:15, David longed for the water at Bethlehem and remarked casually about it. His subordinates heard it, and risked their lives to get the water for him, because Bethlehem was in the hands of David's enemies. David would not drink of the water because it was brought there at great risks to the lives of the people, and poured it before the LORD. But this episode illustrated that David's relationship with his subordinates was so strong that they were willing to die for him, even to the extent of getting water for his thirst. Dr Tong remarked that the present working relationship for most people is based on money, and not on personal relationship. Employers do not care for their employees, nor would employees be loyal to the boss when there is no money left. Our LORD Jesus Christ was such a great leader that He said that as the Good Shepherd, He was willing to lay down His life for His sheep. We do not have many such leaders in church any more. Instead, we have many people who sits in the offices and deal with things in a 9 to 5 manner.

4. Repentance in humility
When David committed murder and adultery, his sin was completely recorded immediately for the whole world to see. He wrote the psalm of repentance in Psalm 51, confessing his sins immediately without any attempt to hide anything from anyone. He could have covered everything up, since he was after all, king. But he repented in true humility. The LORD was not lenient to him, because God will chastise those whom He loves. We would not want God to punish us, just love us unconditionally. But we cannot hide our sins from God, and whatever we do in secret will be revealed in public (Matthew 10:26). The more we attempt to conceal our sins, the worse it becomes.

The prophet Nathan revealed David's sins, and his punishment. God would not even let David off in seemingly small things. In the matter of David's census of the people, God was furious with David, because God could see that David's motive was wrong.

The motive of man is very important. One can sin even though we preach, or give offering to God, especially when our motives are wrong. Annianas and Sapphira were killed by God because their motives were wrong when they sold their land and gave the money to God. Serving God with the wrong motive is a very dangerous thing. We need to ask the LORD to search our hearts and guide us on the path to righteousness.

David was given three options of punishment (2 Sam 24): 3 years of famine, 3 months of being pursued by the enemies, or 3 days of plague in the land. David's faith was displayed here fully in that he wanted to be in the hands of God, rather than the hands of His enemies. He was not willing to be deserted by God. In humility, he was completely willing to be chastised by God. We, on the other hand, only want the blessings of God without His chastisement. So we hide our sins and go on pretending day by day. But God's chastisement is holy and just, and we should be willing to submit ourselves totally to Him the way David did.

5. Patience and Perseverance
Until the day David died, he was patiently waiting for the timing of the LORD. He was fully aware of the timing of God, and was willing to wait for a long time, suffering greatly along the way. He was willing to do this because he was certain about his calling, that it was God who called him. Dr Tong said that he feels the same way, in that he knows that the LORD has given a great burden to him in his ministry, so he labours without thought to his own well-being. With the calling comes great responsibility and accountability, which is why the pastor is always expected to conduct his life with a higher standard of ethics and morality. This is why the businessman committing adultery would not be headline news, but the pastor committing adultery would be problematic. People even go after the pastor's kids.

It was not that David wanted to be king. He was simply being obedient to God's calling. He loved God so much that he wanted to build the temple for God, but God would not allow him because God wanted the temple to be built by someone in ruling in peace, Solomon. This was ironical because David spent his entire life pleasing God. We often think that so long as we are giving money, time and talent, the LORD must be pleased with us. But David was not even permitted to see the temple in his life time. He prepared all the material, but was not allowed to build the temple. But you would not know that from reading David's psalms, because he wrote as if he was able to live in the temple of God. His son Solomon however, did not share in this. Solomon spent 7 years building the temple, but 13 years building his own palace.

Dr Tong ended his message by reading from Acts 13:22 "After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: `I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.'
and verse 36 "For when David had served God's purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his fathers and his body decayed."; giving thanks to God for a person like David.

Disclaimer: This summary does NOT represent the official position of STEMI (Stephen Tong Evangelistic Ministry International), and is the personal opinion of the author, expressed without prejudice. Expressed opinions are meant for academic discussions only.