Pictured: “The 2000-Yard Stare” by Thomas Calloway “Tom” Lea, III, oil on canvas (1944).
In peace, sons bury their fathers. In war, fathers bury their sons. –Herodotus.
King David was the commander-in-chief of a kingdom at war. Saul’s kingdom had been one of drama, intrigue, and Saul’s obsessive quest to murder David. David had better intentions, but the bloodshed was not that different.
David swore he would not lay a hand on Saul. But when Saul died, a young man brought to David Saul’s crown and bracelet and falsely claimed to have killed Saul himself, thinking David would reward him. He did not. “Why were you not afraid to raise your hand against God’s anointed? … Thy blood be upon thy head” 2 Samuel 1:14-16. David had the man killed.
David was soon crowned king over the tribe of Judah, but the military commander Abner created support among the other tribes for Saul’s son Ish-Bosheth. King Ish-Bosheth reigned in Israel two years while King David reigned only in Judah, 2 Samuel 2:10.
Then Ish-Bosheth accused Abner of sleeping with one of Saul’s concubines. Abner was so offended he withdrew his support for Saul and began supporting David. But Joab killed Abner (2 Samuel 3:27) to avenge the death of his brother whom Abner had killed in self-defense, (2 Samuel 2:23). David mourned Abner and though he chose not to punish Joab at the time—probably hoping to bring peace in the ranks and in the nation—David did force Joab to publicly mourn the man he murdered: “Rend your clothes and dress in sackcloth and mourn for Abner,” 2 Samuel 3:31. Years later, King Solomon had Joab killed, 1 Kings 2:31-34.
Following immediately on the heels of Abner’s murder, two men struck down Saul’s son, King Ish-Bosheth. They killed Ish-Bosheth in his bed, cut off his head, and brought it to David, no doubt expecting a reward. David rebuked the men for “killing a righteous man in his own house,” then David had them killed, 2 Samuel 4:11-12.
David’s fame and even his reign began in battle. His first step toward becoming king was when he ran toward Goliath, slung a stone, then cut the giant’s head off with his own sword. Blood would stain David’s kingdom from that day forward. David fought battle after battle after battle. Now one knows how much blood he spilled or how often he saw the light of life extinguished in the eyes of a warrior he had struck down. No one knows how many men David killed personally. And David’s armies surely killed thousands.
Years later God told David he was not the man to build the temple. Why not? Because David was a man of bloodshed.
Yes, David was a man after God’s own heart.
Yes, God forgave his many failures.
Yes, David wrote 73 of the 150 psalms in the Bible.
He was a composer, a musician, a worship leader, and an amazing Biblical author. David was even an ancestor of Jesus Christ, the “Son of David.”
But David was not the man to build the temple.
“God said unto me, ‘Thou shalt not build an house for my name, because thou hast been a man of war, and hast shed blood’” 1 Chronicles 28:2-3.
David’s entire career, his entire life was war. God called him to fight and he made David remarkably good at it. Moreover, David may never have obeyed God more fully than he did while at the head of his army. He obeyed.
Yet God himself said, “You have shed much blood and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name.” Instead, God chose Solomon to build the temple. King Solomon was a man of peace. Why was Solomon able to be a man of peace? Because David had won all the battles and subdued every enemy.
Solomon’s successful peace was the result of David’s successful wars. But the temple is a place of peace (Isaiah 56:7), just as Jesus is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).
David the warrior-king yielded his kingdom to Solomon the oracle and empire-builder. Once Israel was secure in its own borders and its enemies no longer a threat, Solomon could focus on his building campaign. Solomon built not only the temple, but a wall around Jerusalem, a royal palace, and more. “I built myself houses … vineyards … gardens and orchards … pools of water … I had great possessions of great and small cattle and silver and gold and the peculiar treasures of kings” Ecclesiastes 2:4-8.
War and peace are often generational cycles. Those who fought the world wars of the 20th century suffered all kinds of privations, rationing, doing without. The generations that followed have witnessed what may be the greatest time of prosperity and economic growth in the history of the world. That pattern is not unusual.
Human societies can direct their energies toward war, or they can direct their energies toward everything else.
War is sometimes necessary to defeat a great evil. But only peace can bring the blessings most people hope for so desperately—blessings such as food, safety, security, liberty, property, and rewarding work.
The Bible is a complex, sophisticated text. While God sometimes calls his people into courageous battles for a good cause, God clearly considers peace the more important virtue.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God” Matthew 5:9.
God, give us the wisdom and courage to face the wars we must fight. And give us the gift of peacemaking leaders and lives freed from the crippling costs of war.
ΑΩ
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