Chapter 4 of Ecclesiastes ends with the Teacher pointing out that a poor youth who is wise is better than an old king who is foolish. I immediately thought of David who ascended to the throne from being a shepherd, following Saul, the first king of Israel. The contrast between the two men was obvious in their trajectory of their life stories that we read about in the books of 1&2 Kings and 1&2 Samuel. But then the Teacher laments that the youth who became king was opposed by later followers. I wonder if he is thinking about David’s son Absolum who tried to steal the throne from his father. Political intrigue plagued David’s life. The Teacher summarizes, ”This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”
It is interesting to read this paragraph because we who can look back on the records of Saul, David and Solomon as kings also read about the hand of God working in these mens’ lives. The part I find interesting is that David who was obviously a flawed character, a warrior with blood on his hands, adultery with Bathsheba and then orchestrated her husband’s death, and yes the conflict with his son Absolum is also called and known as “A Man after God’s own Heart.” God obviously did not gauge David by his good and bad deeds but by his love for God and his deep repentance when confronted with his sin.
David is a “rags to riches” story that we love to hear but more important than his social and political accomplishments (and failures) was the integrity with which he handled his spiritual life. I find hope that God is a being who cares about the real me and not just my resume and that he somehow does not give up on me, even in my darkest hours.
Perhaps today you are weighed down by a past stage in your life that you wish you could erase or perhaps you struggle with a habit that just seems to keep defeating you, the Biblical greats had struggles too and God worked with them. Let us pray for people struggling with addictions, people who must live with the results of the foolish choices they made, and those who struggle with mental illness. Lord, have mercy on us in our weakness.
On the Way to Wonder 