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39. David's Royal
Deeds.
When the Philistines
found the bodies of Saul and his sons on the battlefield, they took them
back to their homeland and hung them on the outside of one of their city
walls for shame. Then the men of Jabesh remembered the salvation that
their valiant king had once brought to their city when they were
besieged by the Ammonites, and at the risk of their own lives they took
the precious bodies from the walls of the enemy city that night and
buried their bones under a tree in Jabesh.
It is a beautiful burial place under a tree, like when a weary traveller
seeks coolness and refreshment under a shady tree. He sleeps for an hour
or so and then gets up again.
The men burnt the bodies first so that they would never be dishonoured
again. But when David learned of the honourable deed of the men of
Jabesh, he had them come before him and blessed them for it. ‘May God
show you mercy and faithfulness,’ he said to them, ’and I will also do
good to you for what you have done.’ So good men honour the memory of
their dead and still remember their good deeds, but no longer their
faults.
After this David attacked the enemies who were still in the land from
the days of Joshua and defeated them. He went before the city of
Jerusalem and conquered its fortress Zion, the stronghold.
From that time onwards, he and his successors lived in Jerusalem in the
castle of Zion. This is the same city in which Melchisedec was once king
and priest of the Most High God, to whom Abraham gave a tithe of his
spoils. So now a descendant of Abraham reigned there as king over the
beautiful land that God had promised to his descendants. There he also
erected the tabernacle and brought in the holy ark of the covenant so
that the beautiful services could be held under his eyes. But within his
heart he had built a much holier temple to his God, in which he held
beautiful prayers and taught children. For God does not dwell in temples
built by human hands. Nor is his maintained by human hands.
The following are some of David's prayers and children's teachings:
‘O Lord our Sovereign, how glorious is your name in all the earth! From
the mouths of children you have prepared praise for yourself. - When I
see the heavens, the work of your hands, the moon and the stars that you
have prepared, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the child of
man that you take care of him?’
Furthermore:
‘You were my confidence when I was still at my mother's breast. - You
have been my God from my mother's womb.’
Further:
‘Your will, my God, I delight to do, and your law I have in my heart.’
Further:
‘Come, children, listen to me: ‘Your will, my God, I delight to do, and
your law I have in my heart.’
Furthermore:
‘Come, children, listen to me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Who is he that desireth good life, and would fain have good days? Keep
your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking falsely. Depart from
evil, do good, seek peace, and pursue it.’
David also admonishes the children to pray diligently in the morning and
evening:
‘When I go to bed, I think of you; when I awake, I speak of you. For you
are my helper, and under the shadow of your wings I glory. My soul
clings to you; your right hand sustains me.’
In this way, every person can turn their inner self, their heart into a
little church of God if they take such prayers and teachings into
themselves, think about them and live accordingly.
‘Give me, my child, your heart!’
David said, ‘Is there any left of the family of Saul, that I may have
mercy on him for Jonathan's sake?’ There was one son of Jonathan left,
named Mephibosheth. He lived in Lodebar and was lame in both feet. David
gave him back all the land of his grandfather Saul. Mephibosheth went to
Jerusalem and ate at David's table every day like his own children, so
that he might have his friend's son with him and do him a royal honour.
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