Friday, July 23, 2004

[transmission start]

thoughts: lessons... from 3 kings....

Go read a book 'A tale of 3 kings - a study of brokenness' by Gene Edwards. it's about brokenness - through the stories of Saul, David and Absalom. of how 3 different characters can be found in each of us. How the characters of Saul and Absalom are similar, how hard it really is to be like David. Broken. by and for God.

When you come to think about it, David was the kind of king who was well... unorthodox (my impression from the book at least). while under Saul, though always having spears thrown at him, he never ever through them back. i know i would've done that.... but David, he did NOTHING. sometimes, nothing is the hardest thing to do, impossible as it may sound. because sometimes doing things makes things worse. (believe me, i know)

David had the support of some people. but when he left, he took no one with him. he left alone. by himself. every day hiding, on the run, fear of getting caught by Saul's hunters and their dogs. it may seem strange, but Saul was used by God to 'break' David. because like i said earlier, there is a little bit of Saul in each of us... and God used Saul to take that out of David. when David came back, no one recognised him -  not because he had changed outwardly, but inwardly. brokenness does a lot to you.

somewhere in the story, a young man goes in search of one of King David's 'mighty men'. when he finds the old soldier and asks if he is the one the young man seeks, the old veteran replies, 'Mighty Men? you mean thieves and other such people, led by a young man who cried a lot?'  and he went on to tell of how David as a leader taught him the meaning of submission.

right. the story mentioned 3 kings right? the 3rd one was Absalom, David's son. he gave everybody the impression that he was noble and righteous. but deep down, he was like Saul... funnily enough, when David was Absalom's age, he had to face Saul, who was older. And then, at the point when he was Saul's age he had to face Absalom. so things went full circle.

people wondered - he's so powerful, he has to just to say the word and it will happen. why does he not do anything to stop what's happening. David's reply - 'it may be that God is finished with me, and i have no right to hang on if it's not meant to be' (or something like that. i can't exactly remember) 

So... within each of us we have potential... potential to be one of the 3. of course the ideal situation would to be like David, but really, can you? Are you willing to let God break you? or are you too proud? what will you do? (seriously, i have to BUY the book. i finished reading it in the bookshop, and i think it's worth getting...)

till next time...

[transmission end]

-
chr1s0ng put the word on the street at 3:00 AM
|