Episode 89 – Heart Lessons – The Noble Heart

Speaker 1 (00:00):

Life is hard at times. Our hearts often get bruised and battered yet God offers us words that help and heal those hearts when we turn to him. Welcome to the Sweet Selah Moments Podcast, where we study his word and find strength for the day. The Sweet Selah Moments Podcast is a cooperative production of Word Radio and Sweet Selah Ministries.

Nicole (00:29):

Welcome to the Sweet Selah Moments Podcast. This is episode 89, The Noble Heart. Noble is a rich word, Sharon. The online dictionary defines it this way, ‘having or showing fine personal qualities or high moral principles and ideals’. Webster’s Dictionary says it this way, ‘possessing eminence, elevation, dignity above whatever is low, mean, degrading or dishonorable. Magnanimous, (I love that word) as, a noble nature or action, A noble heart.’

Sharon (01:02):

Huh, I love that. A noble person is generous, kind, dignified, wanting to hold to the highest qualities in their personal life. It’s definitely a good character trait, and David truly possessed that kind of heart. We’re gonna turn a corner today and look at the deaths, sadly, of Saul and Jonathan and admire David’s noble heart. Nicole, if your average ‘not-noble’ person were informed that the one who had been hunting them down and telling lies about them was finally dead, what do you think their response would be?

Nicole (01:35):

Oh my goodness. What a huge relief that would be.

Sharon (01:38):

And throw a party, right?

Nicole (01:40):

Yes. I think absolute elation. Definitely a party or two, and just telling everyone how excited you were. Like rejoicing. I’m free, high five. Right? I can go back to life. But some very big display of excitement.

Sharon (01:51):

Yes, I agree. I agree. But that is not David’s response, which is so stunning to me. Not just to Jonathan’s death, which would make sense, of course, he would grieve Jonathan’s death. (Nicole: Absolutely) But his response to Saul’s death is unbelievable. It just is. It’s mind blowing. So let’s read 2 Samuel 1 in two parts. Why don’t you start with verse one, and we’ll start by reading through verse 16 and look at how David responds to the death of an enemy.

Nicole (02:18):

Hmm. So interesting. All right. “David learns of Saul’s death. (verse one) After the death of Saul, David returned from his victory over the Amalekites and spent two days in Ziklag.”

Sharon (02:30):

“On the third day, a man arrived from Saul’s army camp. He had torn his clothes and put dirt on his head to show that he was in mourning. He fell to the ground before David, in deep respect.”

Nicole (02:41):

“Where have you come from, David asked? I escaped from the Israelite camp, the man replied.”

Sharon (02:46):

“What happened? David demanded. Tell me how the battle went. The man replied, Our entire army fled from the battle. Many of the men are dead, and Saul and his son Jonathan, are also dead.”

Nicole (02:58):

“How do you know Saul and Jonathan are dead? David demanded of the young man.”

Sharon (03:02):

“The man answered, Well, I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and there was Saul leaning on his spear with the enemy chariots and charioteers closing in on him.”

Nicole (03:10):

“When he turned and saw me, he cried out for me to come to him. How can I help? I asked him.”

Sharon (03:15):

“He responded, Who are you? I am an Amalekite. I told him.”

Nicole (03:19):

“Then he begged me, Come over here and put me out of my misery, for I am in terrible pain and want to die.”

Sharon (03:25):

“So I killed him, the Amalekite told David, for I knew he couldn’t live. Then I took his crown and his arm band, and I have brought them here to you, my Lord.”

Nicole (03:34):

“David and his men tore their clothes in sorrow when they heard the news.”

Sharon (03:38):

“They mourned and wept and fasted all day for Saul and for his son Jonathan, and for the Lord’s army and the nation of Israel, because they had died by the sword that day.”

Nicole (03:49):

“Then David said to the young man who had brought the news, Where are you from? And he replied, I’m a foreigner and an Amalekite who lives in your land.”

Sharon (03:57):

“Why were you not afraid to kill the Lord’s anointed one? David asked.”

Nicole (04:02):

“Then David said to one of his men, Kill him. So the man thrust his sword into the Amalekite and killed him.

Sharon (04:09):

“You have condemned yourself, David said, for you, yourself confessed that you killed the Lord’s Anointed One.” Wow. What stands out to you most in this passage, Nicole?

Nicole (04:22):

I think at first it kind of made me shocked at how swift David killed that messenger.

Sharon (04:28):

I know!

Nicole (04:28):

It felt a little harsh at first until you kind of look into it more, but it seemed a little like, Oh, my word. Like Saul asked him to kill him, though.

Sharon (04:35):

Right, right, right. Or at least according to the Amalekite.

Nicole (04:37):

Right. Right.

Sharon (04:37):

Yeah. So, weird, huh?

Nicole (04:39):

It was weird.

Sharon (04:40):

But then you look at it and the Amalekite brings the crown and the arm band with him. (Nicole: Mm-hmm) He bows low in respect. He knows who’s gonna be king next, right?

Nicole (04:48):

Ah, yeah.

Sharon (04:49):

And, so David’s big deal was you don’t kill people, even if they’re almost dead. I don’t think David would’ve been for assisted suicide. Right?

Nicole (04:57):

Yeah. Definitely not. And I forget, he was an Amalekite. He wasn’t one of Saul’s soldiers, so it wouldn’t have been an honor thing or a help, you know, It was an enemy. It was a foreign,

Sharon (05:05):

Right, right, right.

Nicole (05:06):

So it’s very interesting.

Sharon (05:07):

Oh, boy, Oh boy.

Nicole (05:07):

But at first you think, Oh, that’s kinda harsh. But you look back and go, Oh, no. Okay. There’s something deeper going on.

Sharon (05:13):

You just killed our king. (Nicole: Right) Yeah. And even though the king was the enemy, David’s like, You just killed our king.

Nicole (05:18):

Wow.

Sharon (05:19):

So, and I’m just really fascinated that David disdained assisted suicide here too. Saul was gonna die anyway, according to the Amalekite, like he’s an expert. This is the other thing, Nicole, you never know who’s going to die and who isn’t gonna die. Excuse me.

Nicole (05:32):

That’s true.

Sharon (05:33):

I remember, and I’ve told this story before, Mom Gamble had been on a respirator for three weeks. (Nicole: Yeah) Her lungs had completely stopped working. The doctor said they’re frozen. And lungs, once they’re stiffened, don’t become fluid again to pump in and out anymore.

Nicole (05:48):

Right, Right.

Sharon (05:49):

So the decision was made, we’d take her off the respirator, and we started planning the funeral. The day they took her off the respirator, her lungs started working again. And she lived three more years.

Nicole (06:03):

Oh my goodness!

Sharon (06:04):

I am not kidding you. The doctor who was absolutely not a Christian, said, I have no word for it, but miracle, this could not happen.

Nicole (06:14):

So we don’t know. We don’t know if God had more for Saul to do.

Sharon (06:17):

We don’t know! Yeah, and what if, what if Saul, in those last painful moments could have had a chance to turn to God and say, God, forgive me. This guy cut it short. (Nicole: Yeah) He cut it short. I do not believe, I think it’s okay not to keep people alive by artificial means. (Nicole: Sure) But I don’t think it’s okay to kill them. God alone holds our life and our death in his hands.

Nicole (06:41):

Yes.

Sharon (06:42):

And until he takes away our last breath, there’s a purpose for it.

Nicole (06:46):

Oh, yes.

Sharon (06:46):

Period.

Nicole (06:46):

Even if we don’t enjoy.

Sharon (06:48):

No. And it’s no fun to see somebody suffering. It’s no fun at all. (Nicole: No) But I don’t think that we have the right to do that, so. Oh, boy, so, anyways,

Nicole (06:57):

You know, Sharon, I’m also amazed at David’s second response to the death of Saul and Jonathan. So after he kills the messenger for daring to take Saul’s life, David writes a song. I mean, of course he does. And it’s beautiful. And it actually praises Saul and gives him the honor due a king. It’s crazy and somewhat unusual, and it’s just noble.

Sharon (07:17):

It is noble. The next step is so noble. He’s grieving, but he doesn’t stop at just grieving. He doesn’t gloat. He doesn’t march in and take right over. Okay. I’m king now. He doesn’t do any of that. (Nicole: Yeah) Instead, he writes a grieving song for the nation, and he stops to honor Saul, who actually never wanted to be king anyway, if you recall, and back in the day was scared to death of it. Saul who suffered mightily for his impetuous decisions, had a tormenting spirit that, that tormented him.

Nicole (07:48):

Right.

Sharon (07:49):

I mean, Saul didn’t have the happiest of lives either. He made some terrible decisions, but back in the day, Saul was just a kid and he was told he had to be king too.

Nicole (07:57):

That’s a lot.

Sharon (07:58):

Yeah. (Nicole: Yeah) And so David, David writes this song, Oh my goodness, Nicole. Let’s read it.

Nicole (08:03):

All right.

Sharon (08:04):

I’ll start this time. It’s 2 Samuel 1:17 to 27, David’s Song for Saul and Jonathan. “Then David composed a funeral song for Saul and Jonathan.”

Nicole (08:16):

“And he commanded that it be taught to the people of Judah. It is known as the Song of the Bow, and it is recorded in the book of Jashar.”

Sharon (08:25):

“Your pride and joy. Oh, Israel, lies dead on the hills. Oh, how the Mighty Heroes have fallen.”

Nicole (08:31):

“Don’t announce the news in Gath and don’t pronounce it in the streets of Ashkelon, or the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice and the pagans will laugh in triumph.”

Sharon (08:41):

“Oh, mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew or rain upon you, nor fruitful fields producing offerings of grain. For there the shield of the mighty heroes was defiled. The shield of Saul will no longer be anointed with oil.”

Nicole (08:54):

“The bow of Jonathan was powerful, and the sword of Saul did its mighty work. They shed the blood of their enemies and pierced the bodies of mighty heroes.”

Sharon (09:03):

“How beloved and gracious were Saul and Jonathan, they were together in life and in death. They were swifter than eagles, stronger than lions.”

Nicole (09:13):

Oh, women of Israel weep for Saul, for he dressed you in luxurious, scarlet clothing and garments decorated with gold.”

Sharon (09:20):

“Oh, how the mighty heroes have fallen in battle. Jonathan lies dead on the hills.”

Nicole (09:26):

“How I weep for you, my brother, Jonathan. Oh, how much I loved you and your love for me was deep, deeper than the love of women.”

Sharon (09:33):

“Oh, how the mighty heroes have fallen. Stripped of their weapons they lie dead.” Oh my goodness, Nicole. It wasn’t all about Jonathan either. I mean, (Nicole: Yeah) he honored Saul (Nicole: He did) in that song, just beautiful.

Nicole (09:49):

He went back and remembered all the things, the good things that Saul did and didn’t just draw on the last couple of rough years with him.

Sharon (09:54):

Yeah. Yeah. Saul was a mighty hero in battle. (Nicole: Mm-hmm) Saul did create a peace of sorts in Israel by being a king and protecting against the enemies. Saul did slay his thousands, even if David slayed his ten thousands in that old song.

Nicole (10:09):

Right. He gave honor where honor was deserved.

Sharon (10:10):

He did the work God had given him in the beginning. Yeah. Yeah.

Nicole (10:13):

And I do love that part about Jonathan. That’s so sweet. Oh my goodness. (Sharon: Yeah) They were so close.

Sharon (10:18):

Yeah. And, and it’s just not a private song. He taught it to Judah to sing.

Nicole (10:22):

Yes.

Sharon (10:22):

He wanted public mourning of his enemy.

Nicole (10:26):

Wow.

Sharon (10:27):

And this is the coolest thing, because on a personal level David was hunted by Saul. David was wounded by Saul. You remember the time when he held up the garment, you know, that he cut off in the cave and he’s like, My father, can’t you believe me now, I didn’t mean you harm. I would never hurt you. You are God’s anointed. You could feel the hurt in David then.

Nicole (10:50):

Yeah. Looking for reconciliation.

Sharon (10:51):

Yeah. I mean, and David comforted Saul. He loved him. And Saul really betrayed him with, with chasing after him and believing lies and telling lies about him.

Nicole (11:00):

Oh yeah.

Sharon (11:00):

That David’s out to kill me, You know, and all this stuff. So on a personal level, he was offended. (Nicole: Mm-hmm) And yet the noble heart doesn’t allow personal offendedness to get in the way of doing what is right. (Nicole: Mm-hmm) And what was right was to mourn the king of Israel. What was right was to defend the honor of the anointed one and to kill the one that killed the king.

Nicole (11:24):

Right. Right.

Sharon (11:25):

So, David’s heart transcended the personal offendedness to still do the right thing. And that’s something that I need to remember. I can let my personal offendedness at someone make me neglect to note what is good about them. Make me neglect to treat them as the human being they still are.

Nicole (11:42):

Right. We can let those immediate strong feelings over cloud what we’re supposed to do, what God is called us to do.

Sharon (11:47):

Yeah. Yeah. The noble heart still treats people nobly. (Nicole: Mm-hmm) Even at personal cost.

Nicole (11:53):

Right. Even if at the end he didn’t deserve it.

Sharon (11:54):

And, yeah, go David.

Nicole (11:57):

Whew, David.

Sharon (11:58):

He did it right.

Nicole (11:58):

He did.

Sharon (11:59):

He did it right.

Nicole (12:00):

He did good.

Sharon (12:00):

Okay. So now there’s two more noble incidents that I chose to highlight that noble heart of his, but actually there’s dozens of them. David was full of this ‘nobleness’. We’re gonna look at the water incident first and then finish with David’s desire to build the temple. So, water incident. Nicole, can you read the passage for us?

Nicole (12:20):

Yeah.

Sharon (12:20):

It’s from the end of 2 Samuel, but it’s kind of reflecting back on something that happened before King Saul died while David was in the caves hiding from his men. So we’re kind of going back in time a little bit.

Nicole (12:30):

Yeah. All right. So 2 Samuel 23:13-17. “Once during the harvest, when David was at the cave of Adullam the Philistine army was camped in the Valley of Rephaim. The three who were among the thirty, an elite group among David’s fighting men, went down to meet him there. David was staying in the stronghold at the time, and a Philistine detachment had occupied the town of Bethlehem. David remarked longingly to his men, Oh, how I would love some of that good water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem. So the three broke through the Philistine lines, drew some water from the well by the gate at Bethlehem and brought it back to David. But he refused to drink it and said he poured it out as an offering to the Lord. The Lord forbid that I should drink this, he exclaimed. This water is as precious as the blood of these men who risked their lives to bring it to me. So David did not drink it. These are the examples of the exploits of the three.”

Sharon (13:23):

Wow, wow, wow. So the Philistines have occupied Bethlehem. (Nicole: Yeah) David remembers that the water from that particular well (Nicole: Was especially good) so good. And that’s his home town, you know?

Nicole (13:35):

Oh, that’s true. Yeah.

Sharon (13:36):

Right? That’s, that’s where I grew up. Oh, man.

Nicole (13:38):

His favorite well.

Sharon (13:39):

Yeah. So he is kind of just reminiscing. I don’t think he was serious.

Nicole (13:42):

Right, Right.

Sharon (13:43):

It’s just like, Oh, what wouldn’t I give to taste that water one more time? (Nicole: Drink the water. Yeah) So then they go and do it. What a risk they took to get him that water. And it was such a risk that it felt too holy, this water, bought at too high a price for David to just guzzle it down.

Nicole (14:01):

Yeah. (Sharon: So) That was interesting.

Sharon (14:03):

Good grief. He’s thirsty. He wanted it. Instead he tried to show them, I valued the sacrifice so much that I’m gonna offer this water to God because it’s holy water now. (Nicole: Wow) You could’ve died because I whined, you know, about the water at the well. And I am not gonna drink it. You have made it too valuable for me.

Nicole (14:24):

Isn’t that sweet?

Sharon (14:25):

So not sure how the men felt about that.

Nicole (14:27):

I know. Like, dude, just drink the water.

Sharon (14:29):

Yeah. We just risked our lives for you.

Nicole (14:34):

But his heart, his intent was, I think, obvious, hopefully to those three.

Sharon (14:37):

Yes.

Nicole (14:38):

Who were like, Why aren’t you drinking the water?

Sharon (14:40):

I know it, I know it. But he, it was his way of saying, Whoa, you just broke through an enemy occupied territory to get me a cup of water. You guys are amazing. (Nicole: Yeah) And God, do you see this water? It is so precious. I offer it to you. So interesting.

Nicole (14:59):

It’s so hard to cultivate, you know, in ourselves this attitude of self-sacrifice. It’s not a natural one, you know?

Sharon (15:05):

No, it is really not.

Nicole (15:05):

It is definitely not because we think, Oh, well thanks I was thirsty. Thanks for bringing it to me. You know? And especially in our current culture, I feel like it’s all about ourselves and what we can do for ourselves.

Sharon (15:14):

It is. Mm-hmm.

Nicole (15:15):

I listened to a podcast recently that was talking about CS Lewis’s life. And I love CS Lewis.

Sharon (15:21):

I do too.

Nicole (15:21):

And he lived his life, according to this phrase. He said, ‘Love: ‘for your benefit at my expense.’

Sharon (15:28):

Ooh, say that one more time.

Nicole (15:30):

Love: for your benefit at my expense.

Sharon (15:32):

Oh, I like that.

Nicole (15:33):

So love is for your benefit at my expense. And he never said it super a lot. But his stepson said that this is how he lived his life. So if we can truly live that way, I think we could really grow in that noble attitude. Thinking about love for others is, it’s at my expense, but it’s for others’ benefit. (Sharon: Right) And that’s what those three men showed David.

Sharon (15:53):

Yeah. At their expense, perhaps the expense of their lives.

Nicole (15:56):

Right.

Sharon (15:57):

Yeah. And love is looking at the other, not at ourselves, and what will benefit them.

Nicole (16:03):

And what it’ll cost us, like, well, what would it cost me? No, just love, it will be at my expense.

Sharon (16:07):

Right. Right. Yeah. Yeah. And we have, you’re right. In today’s culture, it’s the opposite. It’s all about, I need to look out for me. (Nicole: Yes) I need to remove negative people outta my life. Right? And I do understand that there’s a time when people can hurt you so badly that you have to get a little distance so that you’re capable of loving them again.

Nicole (16:28):

Oh yes. It’s good to have healthy boundaries that you and God set together.

Sharon (16:30):

Right, right. But, but, but we can become very, very selfish. (Nicole: Mm-hmm) And we can make our circle very small. Only those that make me feel good. (Nicole: Yep) Right? Sometimes the people we need in our lives don’t always make us feel good.

Nicole (16:43):

Yes. It’s that, the rubbing against, the iron sharpening iron kinda thing.

Sharon (16:47):

Yes, it is.

Nicole (16:47):

Like if no one ever challenges you or irritates you, you’re never gonna learn to be patient.

Sharon (16:51):

Right.

Nicole (16:51):

It’s like, Oh, curses.

Sharon (16:52):

Yes. And how in the world can you mother an infant if you don’t believe in, ‘for your benefit at my expense’?

Nicole (16:58):

Oh, for sure.

Sharon (16:59):

I mean, who signs up for getting up at 2:00 AM and then 2:30 cause the infant’s hungry again?

Nicole (17:05):

And then at four, cause they pooped.

Sharon (17:07):

Then at four because they pooped. Exactly. Exactly. No, we don’t, but we do it for their benefit. (Nicole: Mmm) And we recognize there’s an expense to us. Oh Nicole, that is so good. I really, really like that. And that’s nobility. Nicole: Mm-hmm) When we lay aside our own interests for the interests of others.

Nicole (17:23):

Yeah.

Sharon (17:24):

And honestly, if we don’t all, husband and wife, do that in a marital relationship? (It) Ain’t gonna work.

Nicole (17:30):

Nope.

Sharon (17:31):

We have to, all the time, love for their benefit at our expense.

Nicole (17:35):

Right.

Sharon (17:35):

And understand that they’re doing the same thing most of the time, even if we don’t recognize it.

Nicole (17:39):

Right. It’s giving them the benefit of the doubt. And some grace.

Sharon (17:41):

Oh my goodness. You know what? Ray the other day said something that made me realize that he’s been putting up with something I didn’t know he was putting up with.

Nicole (17:47):

Oh, no.

Sharon (17:47):

When I listen to podcasts in the morning and I’m ironing for him and I’m making his little lunch, I also have the coffee maker going and I have the tea water boiling. (Nicole: Yeah) So my hearing gets distorted with background noise. (Nicole: Oh yeah) So I crank, I crank up the podcast like full blast. And he said the other day, Yeah, like when I’m in the shower and I have the bathroom door closed and the bedroom door closed and I’m still listening to Sharon’s podcast with her.

Nicole (18:14):

Oh my goodness.

Sharon (18:15):

And he hates noise in the morning.

Nicole (18:16):

He likes that hour of quiet.

Sharon (18:18):

He does.

Nicole (18:18):

Oh my word.

Sharon (18:19):

He never told me that. (Nicole: Oh) So all this time he has loved me cause he knows I love my podcasts, by enduring lots of noise in the morning.

Nicole (18:29):

Oh, what a sweetheart.

Sharon (18:30):

See. Yeah. So a lot of times I feel like we don’t even know what our spouses are doing.

Nicole (18:35):

Oh, yeah.

Sharon (18:35):

What they endure for our sakes. So I turned it down today. It wasn’t as loud this morning.

Nicole (18:41):

Get some little headphones.

Sharon (18:42):

I do need headphones. I kind of got the message. Yeah. So, okay, moving on. Our last passage has to do with one of David’s first desires upon becoming king. We have skipped all over kingdom come today, but at this particular moment, he’s mourned Saul and Jonathan. (Nicole: Mm-hmm) He’s actually had a lot of infighting because he didn’t just become king instantly. There was another little uprising and somebody else wanted (Nicole: Oh yeah) somebody from Saul’s line to become king.

Nicole (19:13):

Yeah.

Sharon (19:13):

But he wins, he becomes king. So now he’s finally king. He’s king. And this is one of the first things he desires when he becomes king. (Njicole: Hmmm). So I’m gonna read portions of 2 Samuel 7, so you get the basics. And I’m skipping around a lot, but hopefully it sounds coherent. “When King David was settled in his palace and the Lord had given him rest from all the surrounding enemies, the king summoned Nathan the prophet. Look, David said, I’m living in a beautiful cedar palace and the Ark of God is out there in a tent. Nathan replied to the king, Well go ahead and do whatever you have in mind for the Lord is with you. But that same night, the Lord said to Nathan, Go and tell my servant David, this is what the Lord has declared. Are you the one to build a house for me to live in? Now go and say to my servant, David, this is what the Lord of Heaven’s armies has declared. I took you from tending sheep in the pasture and selected you to be the leader of my people, Israel. I’ve been with you wherever you have gone and I’ve destroyed all your enemies before your eyes. Now I will make your name as famous as anyone who has ever lived on the earth. Furthermore, the Lord declares that he will make a house for you, a dynasty of kings for when you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will raise up one of your descendants, your own offspring, and I will make his kingdom strong. And he is the one who will build a house, a temple for my name, and I will secure his royal throne forever. I will be his father. He will be my son. If he sins, I will correct and discipline him with the rod like any father would do. But, my favor will not be taken from him as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from your sight, your house and your kingdom will continue before me for all time. Your throne will be secure forever. Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and prayed, Who am I? Oh, sovereign Lord. And what is my family that you have brought me this far? And now sovereign Lord, in addition to everything else, you speak of giving your servant a lasting dynasty. Do you deal with everyone this way? Oh, sovereign Lord, what more can I say to you? You know what your servant is really like sovereign Lord. Because of your promise and according to your will, you have done all these great things and have made them known to your servant.” Oh my goodness Nicole. Wow. We just heard about Jesus in this passage.

Nicole (21:42):

Yeah, absolutely.

Sharon (21:43):

Because Jesus came from that line of David.

Nicole (21:44):

Yes. Oh that’s true.

Sharon (21:46):

Yeah.

Nicole (21:47):

That’s so fun.

Sharon (21:47):

So here David wants to do the noble thing. (Nicole: Yeah) He wants to build the temple.

Nicole (21:50):

Build the temple. Yeah.

Sharon (21:51):

And God says, No, no, your son’s gonna do that.

Nicole (21:56):

That’s so neat.

Sharon (21:57):

So yeah. So what stands out to you the most about this?

Nicole (22:00):

Well, I love, there’s so much in here. It’s like, Oh, this is cool too. I love that when the Lord is telling him ‘your son is going to build this temple’, he also tells him that he will not take his favor from him like he did with Saul.

Sharon (22:12):

Yeah, yeah.

Nicole (22:12):

I wonder if David was so close to Saul and he watched his downfall and his fall from grace that must have been a little bit terrifying to see. And now that he’s the king, you know, I don’t know, I think it was a beautiful, like confirmation from the Lord, like a promise from God, this is not going to happen.

Sharon (22:30):

A reassurance.

Nicole (22:30):

A reassurance, yeah. That’s what I’m looking for.

Sharon (22:32):

So guess what, even if Solomon, well he doesn’t know it’s Solomon at this point, but even if your son messes up, I won’t withdraw my favor.

Nicole (22:37):

I think that’s so sweet that he gave David that promise.

Sharon (22:39):

Forever.

Nicole (22:39):

That comfort. (Sharon: Yeah) That’s a long, that’s a good promise.

Sharon (22:42):

That’s, I mean that’s why David’s like, he sits down. It’s so funny and David goes and sits before the Lord. It’s funny, how the different stances are, this is a side note, but you know, sometimes you lift your arms in prayer, sometimes you fall on your face. (Nicole: Mm-hmm) David’s just sitting there. I think he just probably collapsed to the chair.

Nicole (22:57):

Dumbfounded. Like what?

Sharon (22:57):

What? Who am I that you’re doing this for me? What is this?

Nicole (23:01):

I love his response.

Sharon (23:03):

Yeah. So God was obviously, I think, incredibly pleased that David wanted to build a house for him.

Nicole (23:08):

Yes. It seems like it. He’s blessing his line and giving him his dynasty, (Sharon: Yeah, yeah!) this little shepherd boy.

Sharon (23:13):

Right. But he didn’t let David, in parts that I left out because that was just such a really long passage, David was a man of war and God didn’t want a man of war with lot of blood on his hands to build his temple.

Nicole (23:25):

Oh, that’s interesting.

Sharon (23:25):

A place of peace. And Solomon had less battles. (Nicole: Mm-hmm) He really did. The kingdom was incredibly united under Solomon.

Nicole (23:32):

Probably a result of David’s battles.

Sharon (23:34):

Probably because of David’s little battles. So Solomon also had the time and the peace (Nicole: Yes) to work on this fabulous temple, which is, you know, one of the wonders of the world. It was so gorgeous, that David would not have had. (Nicole: Yeah) So there were a lot of reasons why God said no.

Nicole (23:48):

Right.

Sharon (23:49):

But the noble heart part is that David, Okay, David, poor David, you know, who gets told as a kid but then has decades running away.

Nicole (23:59):

Right.

Sharon (24:00):

Then even when Saul dies and he does all this noble stuff and sang songs for Saul.

Nicole (24:04):

Oh, yeah. Nobody recognized it.

Sharon (24:05):

Even then, he still has to fight to become king. (Nicole: Yeah) As soon as there’s peace, does David think about himself? Oh, that would be no. His first thought is, God, I wanna build something beautiful for you. This is what I want. I’m appalled that your Ark of the Covenant, the thing that has your Ten Commandments, the place where your presence dwells is in this tent still. This is just wrong. So again, love at the benefit of others (Nicole: Mm-hmm) at the expense of yourself. David wanted to benefit his God.

Nicole (24:39):

He did.

Sharon (24:39):

He wanted to build him a pretty place.

Nicole (24:41):

He did. And he still had that grateful heart too. (Sharon: Yeah) Because he said, Well, look at me in this beautiful palace and your Ark is out there in a tent. (Sharon: Yeah) He still kept that grateful heart as well.

Sharon (24:50):

He did. He did. He didn’t go, Okay, so now how many chariots can I buy? (Nicole: Right) Right? And I think I wanna renovate the palace. Saul did okay, but you know?

Nicole (24:59):

I don’t like these draperies.

Sharon (25:00):

Right. None of that. It was all about God. Still!

Nicole (25:05):

Yeah.

Sharon (25:05):

David is just amazing. He really is. I’m so grateful for that. The nobility that put others ahead of himself (Nicole: Mm-hmm) over and over again. (Nicole: Yeah) I need to be more noble Nicole, cause I can be so selfish sometimes with my own personal time. I think one of my hardest non-noble things, confession time here. Let me just confess a little bit. I value Selah times a lot and I don’t think that’s wrong. I think we all need times of rest, obviously, Sweet Selah Ministries is all about you need times of rest.

Nicole (25:37):

Right.

Sharon (25:38):

But when I’m interrupted and it’s, you know, not my fault. I plan a time and it just gets cut short. I can feel so resentful instead of receiving it, you know? Jesus, when crowds were waiting for him and he thought he was gonna rest, he wasn’t like, would you just leave me alone?

Nicole (25:56):

Oh, I know.

Sharon (25:57):

He had compassion.

Nicole (25:59):

He was so good at viewing the interruptions as like the main mission.

Sharon (26:02):

Yes.

Nicole (26:03):

I think for me, I’m always like, this is what I have to do. And then those interruptions come and I assume those are bad. Like no to interruptions. (Sharon: Mm-hmm) But I think Jesus’ whole ministry was interruptions. It was the person popping up in the crowd. The person grabbing his robe, the woman running cause her son had died. His whole, most of his ministry

Sharon (26:19):

Was interruptions!

Nicole (26:20):

Sidetracks that he did not say, Go away. I’m doing my father’s business. I’m going to the cross. He stopped and he saw each one of those.

Sharon (26:27):

He did. He did. And he received it as God’s will. (Nicole: Yes) And really, if we had that first 10 minutes, at least with God in the morning, and we give our day to him, (Nicole: Yes) We have to believe that what he allows in, comes with a purpose.

Nicole (26:42):

Right.

Sharon (26:43):

Right? We have to receive it.

Nicole (26:43):

That’s the task for today. Yeah.

Sharon (26:43):

Yeah. Instead of going, Wait a second.

Nicole (26:47):

I planned this.

Sharon (26:49):

Right.

Nicole (26:49):

And you interrupted my plans.

Sharon (26:51):

Oh, I know. And yet you see time and time again that Jesus schedules wilderness times. (Nicole: Mm-hmm) Jesus schedules times alone. So I don’t think it’s bad.

Nicole (26:58):

Right.

Sharon (26:59):

But when God interrupts a Sweet Selah time,

Nicole (27:02):

It must be a little important.

Sharon (27:04):

Perhaps he has a reason. Yes. You reschedule it, but you do receive it. So (Nicole: Absolutely) this is where I need to grow in nobility. Just receiving the interruptions, rejoicing when I get quiet, being happy. I actually never feel guilty about quiet. I’m like, you let me do this. You say come and rest. Oh baby, I’m rested.

Nicole (27:24):

Right. I’m there.

Sharon (27:25):

It’s so good. But, receiving interruptions more so. Anyways.

Nicole (27:30):

I could echo that with my kiddos as a mama, you know, the little interruptions that get overwhelming.

Sharon (27:33):

Right, right. Just to receive.

Nicole (27:35):

Having a noble heart. Oh, I’m here. Let me love you.

Sharon (27:36):

Yeah. To the benefit of others. Thank you, C.S. Lewis and thank you, Nicole. That was so good. (Nicole: A good one) Well, let us pray. We all need noble hearts and it is hard to look at others’ needs as well as our own. So, Oh Lord, how I thank you for the lessons today. Father, thank you that David, instead of letting offended-ness rule his heart with Saul, did the noble thing and mourned a death instead of gloating. Father, help us even with people we consider enemies or just cruel or not nice, help us to value them as a person made in your image. God, help us to have noble hearts towards all of your people. The ones that are easy to love, the ones that are incredibly difficult to love. And Father, help us to think of others’ needs and what would benefit them as well as our own. Lord, give us opportunities to see this acted out this week to receive what you allow in for your good purposes, Lord. Help us to seek rest times, but not demand them. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Nicole (28:53):

Amen. Thank you for joining us on this journey to understand how to have a heart that pleases God. I love the many ways David valued honor and commitment. We would be so pleased if you would bless us with a review to help our podcast be seen or a donation to help us continue sharing. You can become a Podcast Partner and receive a monthly email from us, plus our big thanks. Just find us @SweetSelah.org/podcast for more information and please join us next week for episode 90, The Rebellious Heart. Uh-Oh. Sounds like we’re going to move from David’s noble heart to the time in his life when his heart turned cold toward God. Let’s study together next week and until then, may God bless you with a noble heart.

Speaker 1 (29:36):

We are so glad you stopped for a while with us. The Sweet Selah Moments Podcast is a cooperative production of Word Radio and Sweet Selah Ministries. More information about this podcast can be found @SweetSelah.org. Thank you for joining us.