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The Political Threats to King David's Reign
by Cate Russell-Cole Kings are more frequently surrounded by those who want power or favours, than genuine friends; and it can hard to find genuine supporters who arent in your camp to reap some benefit. David was no exception. CGP Grey sums up how precarious Davids position was in his video, *The Rules for Rulers. In order for any king to maintain power, he must have loyal supporters who he has adequately rewarded, (e.g. financially, in terms of status and by granting property,) otherwise anyone who can offer them a greater reward can amass enough support to overthrow them. This is why the unrighteous Joab, who had murdered Abner, was allowed to lead Davids army after securing Jerusalem for David. He was a key and had to be rewarded rather than discarded, no matter how unsuitable he was. [Ref. 1 Samuel 3 and 1 Chronicles 11] An underpaid and under-appreciated army general could easily look the other way in an organised revolt, if promised a better deal from someone else. In 1 Kings 1, Joab did jump ship when he thought David was near to death, in order to ingratiate himself to the expected new king, Adonijah, and keep his status safe. That proved how shallow his loyalty really was. There is plenty of evidence of dirty politics going on around Davids palace, even though his court was made up mainly of members of his immediate and extended family in order to quell disputes. Aside from **Absaloms rebellion, here are some of the key issues which Davids reign faced, which are reflected in the Psalms. (This is not an exhaustive list. There is the revolt of Sheba in 2 Samuel 20 which appears to have been prompted by his favouritism towards his own tribe, which is mentioned in 2 Samuel 19:41-43; hatred shown by Shimei in 2 Samuel 16:5-14 and the problems of a new king who didnt trust David which led to a war in 2 Samuel 10.) Usurp Threats The Psalms speak repeatedly of David being in danger as his position is coveted by others wanting power. This never stopped throughout his lifetime and had to be part of the reason why David held an illegal census in 2 Samuel 24. Being deeply fearful of being usurped and murdered was one of Davids greatest fears and it was one which always left him extremely stressed. While David was a very strong, capable man, everyone has their achilles heel and this seems to be Davids, which is understandable. If hed been killed, the perpetrator would also have killed his entire family and many of his supporters, so there was a lot of responsibility on him. From the time that Saul tried to arrest David in his home, to the time when David handed the throne of Israel over to Solomon, the danger never ended. That period covers over fifty years. And now, [Lord] in my old age, dont set me aside. Dont abandon me when my strength is failing. For my enemies are whispering against me. They are plotting together to kill me. They say, God has abandoned him. Lets go and get him, for no one will help him now. Psalm 71:9-11 Bribery Attempts Hear me, Lord, my plea is just; listen to my cry. Hear my prayer it does not rise from deceitful lips. Let my vindication come from You; may Your eyes see what is right. Though You probe my heart, though You examine me at night and test me, You will find that I have planned no evil; my mouth has not transgressed. Though people tried to bribe me, I have kept myself from the ways of the violent through what Your lips have commanded. My steps have held to Your paths; my feet have not stumbled. I call on You, my God, for You will answer me; turn Your ear to me and hear my prayer. Show me the wonders of Your great love, You who save by Your right hand those who take refuge in You from their foes. Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings from the wicked who are out to destroy me, from my mortal enemies who surround me. Psalm 17:1-9 A king who rules under the law of the Lord will fall foul of ungodly men, and this would have been a constant challenge to David. Pulling them into line would put Davids life at risk again, as they would want him removed to save their position and increase their power. There are a number of verses which speak of corruption among Israels leaders. Justice do you rulers know the meaning of the word? Do you judge the people fairly? No! You plot injustice in your hearts. You spread violence throughout the land. Psalm 58:1-2 Theft Allegations Save me, O God, for the floodwaters are up to my neck. Deeper and deeper I sink into the mire; I cant find a foothold. I am in deep water, and the floods overwhelm me. I am exhausted from crying for help; my throat is parched. My eyes are swollen with weeping, waiting for my God to help me. Those who hate me without cause outnumber the hairs on my head. Many enemies try to destroy me with lies, demanding that I give back what I didnt steal. Psalm 69:1-4 I have no idea what incident this referred to, but Davids words speak clearly enough. If you want to replace a king, create a scandal which will discredit him enough to lose his popularity with the people. Think about how much rumour and malice occurs in the short reign of a modern politician. How much more garbage can go down over a forty year reign? There must be far more to Davids story than has been recorded. Davids Reactions: The Census All these factors could have contributed to why David ordered an illegal Census in 1 Chronicles 21, so he knew how many able bodied men could be called into service. The events leading up to the Census arent clear. 2 Samuel 24 talk about a drought, and before that, there was the revolt of Sheba which some scholars attribute Davids decision to take a census to. In 1 Chronicles 21 the preceding event is the war with the Ammonites which had been a very hard won victory, but which had appeared back in 2 Samuel 10. The cause may be something which just isnt mentioned in our Bibles at all. 2 Samuel 24:1 says, Once again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and he caused David to harm them by taking a census. Go and count the people of Israel and Judah, the LORD told him. and 1 Chronicles 21:1 says, Satan rose up against Israel and caused David to take a census of the people of Israel. It seems like God, Satan and David were all unhappy with Israel, but it was Davids choice to resist temptation and do the right thing. This was the only area where he acted like Saul and gave into fear and anger. Davids Reactions: The Psalms As always David turns to his greatest weapon to deal with these problems: prayer and praise. Over time, he seemed to have worked out how to deal with these stresses better. In Psalm 39:1-5 he speaks of learning to hold his tongue and in Psalm 37 he encourages us by saying: Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and He will help you. He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn, and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun. Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for Him to act. Dont worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes. Stop being angry! Turn from your rage! Do not lose your temper it only leads to harm. For the wicked will be destroyed, but those who trust in the Lord will possess the land. Psalm 37:5-9 He also determined to deliberately stay away from bad influences. Psalm 101:2-7 I will be careful to lead a blameless life when will you come to me? I will conduct the affairs of my house with a *blameless heart. (*integrity, perfect) I will not look with approval on anything that is vile. (evil, wicked, base) I hate what *faithless people do; (*those who fall away or turn away from God) I will have no part in it. (won't cleave to) The *perverse of heart shall be far from me; (*devious, perverted, evil, fraudulent) I will have nothing to do with what is evil. Whoever slanders their neighbour in secret, I will put to silence; whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart, I will not tolerate. My eyes will be on the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me; the one whose walk is blameless will minister to me. No one who practices deceit will dwell in my house; no one who speaks falsely will stand in my presence. David has the final word on how to handle the chaos in this Psalm: I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken. Psalm 62:1-2(Cross reference Psalm 131:2) Notes: *The Rules for Rulers https://youtu.be/rStL7niR7gs Based on The Dictators Handbook by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita & Alastair Smith Why Bad Behaviour is Almost Always Good Politics. The second video in the series Death and Dynasties is also helpful for understanding Davids position. https://youtu.be/ig_qpNfXHIU **Absalom: 2 Samuel chapters 13-18 recount Absaloms story. For an explanation of Absaloms mental status (sociopathic), please read this article: http://articles.faithwriters.com/reprint-article-details.php?article=32723 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For more information on King David, please have a meander through the King David Project Facebook page, our web site and our blog, Masada Rain. The blog houses many useful resources on studying, David plus bits and pieces of information which dont neatly fit into article form. Please ignore dates and use the search feature to find what you want. The web site has resources on Davids family tree, life and the Psalms. All content is creative commons and non-profit. Sharing of the projects work would be deeply appreciated. Masada Rain Blog: https://masadarain.wordpress.com The project web site: http://cateartios.wix.com/kingdavidproject Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/fromdespairtodeliverance "From Despair to Deliverance: the King David Project," is a non-profit ministry, that seeks to make the life of King David easy to understand and relevant, so that believers gain inspiration and comfort from the life of King David. The project is run by Cate Russell-Cole, a Christian writer from Brisbane, Australia. This article by Cate Russell-Cole is under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) Written in Australian English. Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |