A Clean Slate

Samuel 12:3

                 We are now closing in on when David, the man after God’s own heart, will be coming into view.  But we still have one more major player to put under our microscope of examination in this matter of false accusations and that is the person of the prophet, Samuel.  Samuel will be the one to recognize David as a young man tending his father’s sheep.  Though his own father discounts his potential, offering other sons to the visiting prophet and leaving David to the chores, it is Samuel who sees God’s hand resting upon him.  Samuel anoints him years before he will even take the throne.  Perhaps it is David’s years of serving older brothers and being overlooked that make him the example he is.  It is David who takes food to the older brothers who are cowering before the giant, Goliath.  So, even with the anointing of the prophet, he remains a gopher.  But first, let’s see what Samuel has been up to with his life: 

SAMUEL – At the end of a long and winding road. 

            The people of Israel had had a hankering to keep up with the Joneses and demanded that Samuel anoint a king to rule over them.  The other nations, the godless ones, had kings, and they wanted to be on the cutting edge of modern society and culture.  God had given them a prophet who spoke the very words of Almighty God to them; yet they had looked to what they perceived to be greener grass and their stubborn resolve had hurt God’s heart. 

            But instead of reasoning with them further, God did what a good parent will sometimes do when a child has been warned and won’t listen:  He lets them have their own way.  Just as the father of the prodigal sorrowfully watched his son go off to a far country (and even financed the journey), God told Samuel to anoint Saul as their first king.  

            I can remember a time when my reasoning and warnings went unheeded.  My girls were fourteen and fifteen and had begged endlessly to go to a rock concert near our home.  Friends from school, also Christians, would be there and it would be so totally uncool not to experience this.  Though I had given all the why’s and wherefore’s that this was a bad idea, I could clearly see that their hearts were at the rock concert, whether I’d let their bodies be there or not. 

            That’s when I heard God’s unmistakable voice whisper to me, “Let them go.”  I was taken aback and wanted to explain to Him that rock concerts today were no place for my innocent and pure babies.  Then I remembered all the times that I’d found out the hard way that He knows more than I do.  Sensing He would be their protector and that further arguments would only lead to animosity between me and my headstrong girls, I drove them there, went home and prayed.  Usually when my girls would leave around that age, I’d have visions of scenes from Cops and America’s Most Wanted dangling in my head.  But this time, I sensed great peace and His presence.  

            It wasn’t very long before the phone rang and two very upset young ladies told me to come and get them immediately.  I was only too happy to do so.  On the short drive home, my oldest, Jenny, kept saying how she wanted to throw up because she’d smelled alcohol — alcohol! (she was outraged) all over the place and it made her nauseous.  My younger, Elizabeth, was in a frenzy because her long, blond hair smelled like cigarette smoke and at the time it took her hours to wash, curl and/or straighten it.  She was yanking off her shoes and socks because someone had spilled their beer on her foot.  “My best shoes!”  She was undone. 

            Old mom sighed.  The Lord had, after all, really known all about the concert.  He’d even positioned people (or were they angels?) close to my daughters, not to protect them so much as to give them a real distaste of the world.  He had taken care of me that evening with peace and rest and dealt with my girls as only a heavenly Father can.  But let’s get back to another father who is very tired too – Samuel. 

            Weary and old, Samuel speaks to them in Chapter 12 of I Samuel outlining an accounting of his ministry thus far.  He will still be used to speak to the kings, and they will still listen.  But he does an interesting thing.  Something not too many of us in our world today do very often.  He pulls everyone together and asks of them all:  Have I done anything wrong?  Does anyone have a complaint against me?  Is there anything I need to pay back?  Step forward and accuse me if there be any sin in me.  Tell me here and now in front of all these witnesses.  Speak now or forever hold your peace (I. Sam. 12:3).  

            Sometimes we are so busy defending ourselves, trying to convince everyone that we are faultless that I am sure it must grieve the heart of God.  The psalmist asked God to search his heart just to see if He could find any fault in him.  This is the kind of heart that is pleasing to our Father. 

            But in Samuel’s case, no one came forward.  The gray-haired prophet had lived his life without provoking any finger pointing.  Everyone was pleased with his selfless life.  He had taken bribes from no one and was able to fairly judge in all the cases brought before him without prejudice.  Let’s look at other accounts in the bible where people were accused, justly or unjustly and see what God’s people have as an example to us. 

            In Genesis 31:37, JACOB is upset.  His father-in-law, Laban, has chased after him after discovering that someone has taken items from his household that he holds dear.  Though Jacob has been known in his life to live up to his name, which means deceiver, this time he is innocent.  (Unknown to him, his wife Rachel has stolen her father’s treasure.)  But notice the reaction, often like our own.  He is outraged.  He demands Laban look throughout his tents to prove his innocence. 

            See the difference between Samuel and Jacob?  Samuel has lived his life serving others and openly and calmly asks if there is anything he has done wrong before the king and everyone assembled.  Jacob has lived a life of deceiving and being deceived.  He has sown to the wind and reaped a whirlwind in working for this man.  Has the Lord ever placed you with someone who really irritated you?  Could you discern that the thing that was such a great irritation was actually something in your own life?  

            Let’s take a further look at the background between Laban and Jacob.  Sometimes, when we find ourselves in the middle of a confrontation, we can often gain insight by seeking the original cause — that is what is really being said here, the true issue.  Many times, what is being addressed is really a leftover from something in the past that was never fully dealt with.  That is probably the case with Jacob.  

            Jacob had come to his uncle Laban’s to live after fleeing from his angry brother, Esau, from whom he had stolen his father, Isaac’s blessing through means of deception.  His mother, Rebekah, had taught him well in the ways of manipulation and favoritism.  (See Genesis 25-31.)  Laban welcomes him in and uses him as a hired hand to work for him tending his many flocks of sheep.  When we are accustomed to deception and manipulation in one area of our lives, it will carry over into all other areas.  So Jacob had a chance for a new start.  But, since there had at this point been no repentance of his sinful nature, he carried himself with him.  It wasn’t long before God put him in a place where he was able to see just how his devious ways were coming back to haunt him.  

            Before long, both Jacob and Laban were in a full-fledged battle of the wills between two strong men, each wanting to get the better of the other, each wanting to outsmart and outlast the other.  You probably have heard the story of how Jacob worked seven years to earn Rachel as his bride only to be tricked into marrying her older sister, Leah.  But because of his love for Rachel, he agreed to work another seven years for her one more time. 

            It is at this point I am convinced that Jacob began to figure out ways in his head to get back at his now father-in-law.  When you trick a professional trickster — WATCH OUT!  They do not take it lying down.  It is an insult to their trade and they consider it a real put-down to be outdone.  They WILL get you back.  Or, if the Lord deals with them, they can repent and leave it behind for God alone to make things right – a much smarter choice!  So we find Jacob for the next six years after his marriage to Rachel scheming for his comeback.  And the game of one-up-manship continues. 

            But no matter how Jacob gets the best of him, Laban is there to change his wages, not two or three times, but ten!  Yet the truth of the matter is that no matter how many times Laban cheats him, Jacob has been successful at bankrupting his uncle.  Laban’s sons are saying that Jacob has taken all that was their father’s wealth (Gen. 31:1).  Fearing Laban’s response, Jacob, true to his nature, sneaks off while he is away.  Now it’s Laban’s turn to respond in kind and he chases after his archrival.  The Lord has to come to him in the night and warn him not to harm Jacob (Gen. 31:24).  God is so merciful to intervene for his children even when they aren’t living in the ways He wants us to.  God uses the circumstances in our lives to show us ourselves.   

            I have a tendency to be negative and look on the gloomy side of life.  My former husband and I owned a small electronics shop and we were in need of hiring an additional person to help us out.  One man worked for us who was very qualified and we were so pleased to acquire someone of his skills and training.  However, where I was a little down in the mouth, this man could say not one positive word!  It really began to annoy me.  

            From the time he’d arrive in the morning, we’d have to listen to how awful the traffic had been coming in (the same traffic we’d been in and were used to).  Then there was the weather–too hot or too cold, too dry or too wet!  And let’s not forget what ALL he’d heard on the news.  We’d have to listen to him downgrade the politicians, newscasters, sports figures, etc.  I really dreaded seeing him!  It came to the point that as soon as he’d mention weather, I’d find something pleasant to say before he could continue.  I’d find something positive about the news, the traffic, sports, etc.  Then it hit me:  the Lord put this man here for me to see how dreary I must be to be around.  God, in His goodness, had me in a position that I was actually finding good things to say eight hours a day in response to all the critical complaints.  The Lord is a great teacher and the world can be his teaching lab.  

            It reminds me of the story of the man whose house was too crowded.  He sought the counsel of a wise man in his village who advised him to bring the cows, then the pigs into the house.  He tries this but still the man complained to his adviser that, no, this was actually making matters much worse!  So his next instruction was to include the horses and chickens within the walls of his tiny home.  Still, the man complained–it’s not working!  Once the man was at a breaking point, the wise man told him to go home immediately and take all the critters out and to come back the next day.  He was amazed at how much room he had and at the great wisdom of his mentor!  Nothing had really changed except his perspective.  

            God is the only one who can fairly judge.  When we complain sometimes he has us live for a while with the turkeys, hens, and pigs!  Once we have learned the lessons He is teaching, then He removes the hindrances and we see how blessed we really are.

             Does this remind you of how God had to leave the children of Israel in the wilderness for forty years?  He had hoped to bring them, not so much to the Promised Land, but to Himself!  He wanted to have a relationship with them first at Mount Sinai.  But they fled before His presence and told Moses–you do the talking with God, hearing from Him, etc. — leave us out of it!  It was only His blessings they were seeking–not Him.  His plan was:  first know Me–then let me bless you with a land flowing with milk and honey.  What a wonderful plan it was.  But it was traded in for:  Just bless me.  Period.  Skip the other stuff. 

            But let’s get back to responding the right way.  When we are accused, do we get defensive?  Do we try to vindicate ourselves?  Do we reply with a list of accusations ourselves?  Or do we, like Samuel, seek to ask others if there be any fault in us?  Many times, even the most bitter complaints thrown our way can have a kernel of truth.  Let’s examine what is said, throw out all we know to be false, and have the grace to thank our accusers for pointing out things we legitimately need to change.  Sometimes God has sent our accusers to warn us.  They don’t always tell us in the kindest of ways, but once warned, let’s not put up our defenses till we are sure of our complete innocence.  They are being used as chisels in God’s hands to perfect our beauty. (Ouch!)

            Another example of how to respond to accusations is in II Samuel 16.  DAVID is fleeing the city because his son Absalom has taken control.  A member of Saul’s family approaches King David, cursing him the entire way.  Next he throws stones, not only at David, but also at all of his companions.  What happens to us when people revile us and also accuse our closest companions?  How do we respond?  The relative, Shimei calls him names and accuses him mercilessly.

            The companions, seeing the king’s condition, ask how on earth he, David, could allow such behavior.  This behavior warranted death and they pleaded with David to allow the mighty men around him to cut off Shimei’s head.  So often this is our automatic response.  We are apt to think of evil consequences we’d like to see come upon our accusers.  In our minds, we can so easily clear ourselves, justify ourselves, and think of ways that God could rightly punish our adversaries. 

            But not David!  How does this man after God’s own heart respond?  He told his friends to let the man curse him.  He went further to say that God had told Shimei to do so.  David said that maybe good could come from his being afflicted and that God could repay him good because of the cursing he was taking without defense.  The man just continued to throw stones and kick dust at them all.  Everywhere they walked, they had this constant reminder that they were not respected, honored or admired, though they had done no wrong in the situation.  They were already at a place of being down and out; now they were scorned by the relative of their previous enemy.  I think this is a good example of kicking someone when they are down.  Sometimes when we are weary, gossip, innuendoes or malice seems to follow right along with us, kicking dust in our faces as we just try to retreat.  Do we seek to attack back?  David didn’t and restrained his dearest friends, the mighty men of valor, from doing so. 

            Let’s pray and ask the Lord to take our hearts of self-defense and self-protection from us and give us a heart like David’s.

Prayer 

            Dearest Lord Jesus, You alone are blameless.  Forgive us, Lord, for seeking to vindicate ourselves at the slightest offense.  Forgive us for responding when we are cut off in traffic or cut off from those we seek to be close to.  Lord, we want a heart like David’s…we want a heart after You.  Help us now to see in every moment that what you seek is a meek and gentle spirit, not one of defense and self-justification.  Help us to know that You are our example and that You didn’t defend Yourself when the accusations came.  You were like a sheep at the slaughter and spoke not a single word.  Lord, we are guilty of so very much.  We ask that You be our only defense.  We give You our trust in these matters that concern us this day.  We pray a blessing on our accusers. Send light and truth into their lives.  In Jesus precious name we pray.  Amen. 

youtube.com/watch?v=OKKiyo48VJI

*Songwriters:  David Porter, Isaac Hayes

Published by:  Lyrics Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.