WEEK 2 ● Day 2
READ 1 SAMUEL 21
When we find ourselves in a dark season of life, we have a lot of choices to make. We may feel like we’re stuck in the darkness, but really, we’re choosing which direction we want to go by what we say yes to. Will we say yes to our bitterness? Or will we say yes to God and the kind of person He’s calling us to be?
This choice is particularly difficult because in difficult seasons we often find ourselves misunderstood and misjudged, and it can be easier to choose to succumb to that judgment than to stand firm in our integrity. That’s where we find David this week. When he hightailed it to Gath, hoping to hide out in the land of Goliath’s people, he likely thought it was the last place Saul would search for him. Quickly, however, King Achish’s guards recognized the shepherd-turned-warrior. I can just see them wide-eyed as they nudged one another, whispering,
Is not this David the king of the land? Did they not sing to one another of him in dances,
“Saul has struck down his thousands,
and David his ten thousands”?
1. Did you catch the incorrect assessment here? Who did the king’s servants think David was?
David’s reputation in battle was apparently a topic of conversation even outside the borders of Israel, and the neighboring nations’ understanding of who he was had gotten a little out of hand. When I read these verses, I immediately think of the game of Telephone my friends and I used to play when we were little. In fact, it’s still my favorite game to play when I’m trying to get cute family photos because there’s lots of laughing involved (and what’s cuter than a photo of a bunch of kids giggling profusely?). Anyway, as you may remember, things in Telephone get lost in translation pretty quickly —gossip goes from truth to half-truth . . . to not much truth at all. And, in a less fun way, that’s something we’ve all experienced in our lives, isn’t it?
2. Share about a time when someone shared something massively incorrect about you . . . or when you wrongly believed something about someone else:
Half-truths or things lost in translation may not always seem all that bad. In this case, the soldiers think David is the king of Israel (foreshadowing, perhaps?). If this is the kind of gossip spreading in the lands surrounding Israel, it’s no surprise Saul’s jealousy is beginning to run rampant! But that’s the thing about half-truths —even when they may seem good, they always cause problems. Choosing to stand against all forms of half-truths and gossip, though, is the path to integrity and a wholehearted, congruent life. As we see in one of David’s other psalms, he eventually understood this as well.
3. As you read this passage, circle things you struggle with and underline those you feel you do well:
3 They refuse to slander or insult others;
they’ll never listen to gossip or rumors,
nor would they ever harm another with their words.
4 They will speak out passionately against evil and evil workers
while commending the faithful ones who follow after the truth.
They make firm commitments and follow through,
even at great cost.
5 They never crush others with exploitation or abuse
and they would never be bought with a bribe
against the innocent.
They will never be shaken; they will stand firm forever.
4. I would love the words in Psalm 15 to describe how I act. You too? How can we be women who don’t go the drama-gossipy route?
Being known as one who joins into gossip, mistruth, and hearsay makes us untrustworthy and unsafe for people looking for authentic relationship. Psalm 15:3-5 is basically an instruction manual on how not to be that girl!
5. Using the text from Psalm 15:3-5, list the instructions for the life of integrity in this Do and Do Not list:
DO |
|
DO NOT |
6. What happens if we’re able to do these things?
Yes! We’ll stand firm forever! Let’s head to the BLB and dive into this phrase a little bit more. In Psalm 15:5, click on Interlinear, then scroll down to the end of the verse and click on the phrases below, listing their definitions:
7. He who does (‘asah; עָשָׂה, pronounced ah-sah):
8. Be shaken (mowt; מוֹט, pronounced mote):
9. Using these definitions, rewrite that last little bit of verse 15:
He (or she) who _______________________ these things shall never ______________________.
So basically, it takes work to commit to act in this way. We need to be intentional in it. And if we work hard to be a woman of good character (which is basically what the list is helping us do), we will never be moved and fall into gossip, slander, and half-truths.
That’s a tall order, isn’t it? But one that is so very worth it!
Tomorrow we’ll plunge into the actual psalm that corresponds with this chapter in 1 Samuel. As we do, we’ll see that while David may have been the victim of gossip, he was also responsible for how he handled himself within it.
Let’s end our time together in prayer. Ask God to reveal the places in your heart and life where you may be slipping into half-truths or gossip, or lay before Him the ways you’ve been wounded by the gossip of others.
Amen.