For the past few weeks I have been teaching my 5th grade Religious School class about the ancient Israelites asking the prophet Samuel for a king, and the subsequent stories of King Saul and King David.
In the midst of Saul’s kingship, he disappointed God. Saul was selfish, taking from an enemy what was of value to him and destroying the rest. Even the promise of sacrificing some of the spoils in service of God wasn’t enough to appease God. God wanted a king over Israel who would follow God’s laws, for the benefit of the people. God, through Samuel, decreed that Saul would be replaced as king. And so Samuel was sent to find Saul’s replacement.
Samuel came to the house of Jesse and chose from among Jesse’s sons David, the youngest, and kindest. Unlike his warrior brothers, David was a shepherd whose purpose in life was to take care of those in his charge, above all else. David soon became known to Saul and to all of Israel as he, using his brains, calm and wit, not his power, anger, or hatred, managed to defeat the Philistines and their champion, Goliath. David became a national hero with the Israelites proclaiming that while Saul defeated thousands, David defeated tens of thousands.
Saul, naturally, became angry and jealous at David’s success. Knowing that he was to be replaced, Saul began to use every dirty trick in his playbook to get rid of David; to kill him. But that did not work. David fled, hid, and still continued to fight the Philistines for the benefit of Israel.
As this rivalry grew, Israel grew divided as well. The tribe of Judah, the largest in population and physical size, was loyal to David as the new king, but the northern, smaller tribes, remained loyal to Saul. For the last seven years of his life, Saul ruled only over the northern tribes.
This morning we learned about the death of King Saul and David’s rise to the kingship.
In a battle with the Philistines, instead of accepting certain defeat, Saul fell on his own sword. After the death of Saul, David emerged to claim the kingship and lead Israel.
But David faced a very divided Israel. Judah immediately accepted David and anointed him king. Winning over the northern tribes wasn’t as easy. Their loyalty to the House of Saul was strong. Eventually, the northern tribes came to accept David as king over all Israel, but were still weary over the larger territory seemingly ruling over them. In order to gain their acceptance and trust, David made compromises along the way. Part of those compromises included the moving of the capital of Israel to a new, neutral city: Jerusalem.
Even with the history of animosity and rivalry, and the trials and tribulations that come along with that, Israel was able to come together and achieve greater prosperity than it ever had before.
Saul and David were both chosen as king for important, valid reasons. They were both legitimately chosen. But both of them were only human. Neither was the perfect person. Neither was the perfect leader. Saul certainly had some narcissistic tendencies and David certainly had his issues with being a bit too touchy feely around women. They both had loyal followers who all strove for the same goal: the safety and prosperity of Israel and its people.
They just had different views on who was meant to achieve it. Ultimately, Saul fell out of favor and was replaced. Instead of going peacefully, he allowed his jealousy to take over, harming the soul of Israel and hindering its progress for years.
David put in the work and brought Israel together, acknowledging that just because they were opponents, didn’t mean that they were enemies.
The timing of the lesson for this week is a coincidence. The parallels to the moment of history in which we are living are uncanny.
Today I pray:
As we face a transition of power in a similarly divided America, I pray that our departing and incoming leaders can learn from the biblical history that they claim to share.
May one accept his defeat gracefully. Instead of fighting to the bitter end and falling on his sword, may he instead aid in a peaceful transition of power; helping to achieve the “greatness" he claimed to be seeking and furthering the cause of healing the nation he served.
May the other continue to work tirelessly to bring calm, healing, and prosperity to our nation by acknowledging what divides us, embracing what unites us, and making the appropriate compromises to ensure that everyone - regardless of their race, ethnicity, sexuality, religion, sex, or gender - feels as though their voices are being heard and that their health, their safety, their prosperity, their rights, and their lives matter equally.
And may we all work, together, towards becoming a greater, better, kinder nation, filled with possibilities for all.
Because:
"We the people have the power to build a better future.”
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