2 Samuel 16: Making Mistakes
Friday, September 19, 2025
Today we see a part of the story of David that might be difficult to understand if we view life as a series of good decisions. When we view life as it really is, however – as series of decisions we make both bad and good – we have less anxiety and fear, we experience more hope and serenity. I heard a radio preacher recently say: When you live your life in the Spirit, you can’t make a mistake. “This is incorrect,” we might say to ourselves. “How can a good life have bad decisions in it? How can a life of flawed decisions be good?” If this is our thinking, we have forgotten something and it is this: If we are living in the Spirit, we will have arrived at understanding how God operates; we will fully comprehend that God turns all harm to good. So whether we err accidentally or whether we mean to inflict harm in any way, God will use these flawed acts to work in his favor for – God turns all harm to good. And this is part of the story we see today.
David has been a good leader and faithful to God, but he has also sinned and erred. What sets David apart is the way in which he reacts when others urge him to take revenge. When he was younger, his soldiers encouraged him to murder the sleeping Saul when he had the opportunity. David instead makes it obvious that he has breached the enemy’s lines and yet has not taken a life where he could. David lives in the Spirit. David later becomes infatuated with Bathsheba and plots her husband’s death; he confesses this sin when confronted by Nathan and sings a beautiful lament of repentance that we still sing today during the Lenten season (Psalm 51). Even though he has erred, David lives in the Spirit.
David does not use his good standing with God to ignore what he has done; instead he confesses and atones. He lives his life in the Spirit and does not try to avoid culpability for his actions or gain immunity so that he might do whatever he likes. Rather, David praises and obeys God. Living in the Spirit has become part of who he is and what he does.
Today we read of some of the intrigue that mounted as David aged and the time came for one of his sons to rule Israel. The sibling rivalry, the palace intrigue, and the political plotting are fascinating to see but what is most interesting is the way we see David living in the Spirit. In verse 10 he speaks the wisdom we can all use today: What business is it of mine or of yours, sons of Zeruiah, that he curses? Suppose the Lord has told him to curse David; who then will dare to say, “Why are you doing this?”
We can read commentary to sort through who is aligned with whom, who is against whom, but today we have the opportunity to see another way to step away from revenge, anger and violence and move toward hope and serenity. We see another opportunity to step away from fear and anxiety and move toward peace and unity.
When we live our lives in the Spirit, we cannot make a mistake. Do we believe this? If not, we must study, we must seek, we must be patient, and we must be persistent in living lives directed fully for, in, and to God.
When we live our lives in the Spirit, we cannot make a mistake. Do we believe this? If not, we must witness, we must watch, we must wait, and we must insist on living lives governed fully for, in, and to God.
When we live our lives in the Spirit, we cannot make a mistake. When we believe this, the fretfulness and panic drop away – for we have focused our lives on God, we have learned to trust in God, we have begun to love like God – and we know that God will turn all harm to good. We will not worry or fret for we, like David, will reply to a challenge. Suppose the Lord has told him to curse David; who then will dare to say, “Why are you doing this?” We will be truly living in and of the Spirit.
A re-post from August 26, 2011.
Images from: https://www.hipstamp.com/listing/israel-399-mnh-michel-454-king-david-by-marc-chagall-1969/39242596 and https://theflorenceinsider.com/fun-facts-michelangelo-david/
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