The shock of David's fall

The Books of Chronicles are not interested in David's almost fatal flaw: his adultery with Bathsheba or the murder of her husband Uria, his failure to correct his son Amnon, who raped his daughter Thamar, or his son Absolom who killed Amnon in revenge. They do not describe Absolom's rebellion against, nor how David was forced to flee from Jerusalem while Absolom forced himself on his wives and concubines in public, or the civil war that followed. 

But that does not mean that these events did not shatter the Levites in the tent sanctuary of Jerusalem. People had to flee or chose the side of Absolom. The Levites who remained to take care of the sanctuary had to hide their pain for the new regime. How could this have happened? God had promised David to build his dynasty, if he sons would remain faithful. Then his son would build a magnificent temple for the LORD, and they would sing God's praises. But now that dream was shattered.

David's response

David was aware of his sins and shortcomings. He chose to flee and put his fate in God's hands. Perhaps he did so on Jeduthun's advice, who was considered extremely wise. As David left the city, people called him names and cursed him. But he restrained himself.

Psalm 39
For the choir director. Upon Jeduthun. A psalm of David.

I had told myself: I must control myself
and guard my tongue from sin,
restrain my mouth with a muzzle
among people without God or law.

And so I said nothing, not a word,
I remained silent and found no relief,
I felt ever more intense pain.
It burned inside me,
my sighs ignited a fire
and my tongue began to speak:

"Let me know my end, O LORD,
the measure of my days,
let me know how fleeting I am.
You have made my days a handbreadth long,
my life is nothing in your eyes,
no more than air is the existence of a human being,
no more than a shadow is his life's path,
no more than air is what he restlessly pursues,
he gathers and does not know to whom it will fall."

What then can I expect, Lord?
My hope is placed in you alone.
Free me from all my sins,
spare me the scorn of fools.

I said nothing, did not open my mouth,
for it was You who did all this to me.

Stop tormenting me any longer,
I am succumbing to the blows of your hand.
You chastise man as punishment for his sin,
You attack his treasures like a moth attacks a garment,
man is no more than air. sela
Hear my prayer, O Lord,
listen to my cry for help,
do not be deaf to my sorrow,
for I am a stranger, a guest with you,
as were my ancestors.
Turn your punishing gaze away from me,
then I will still experience joy
before I depart and am no more.

Jeduthun's response

Jeduthun, or Ethan for short, cannot understand how a faithful God could have let this all happen. Psalm 89 starts polite, but ends in bitter reproaches against God.

Psalm 89
An artful song by Ethan the Ezrahite.

I will sing of your love forever, O Lord,
and testify to your faithfulness from generation to generation.
I declare that your love endures forever,
and your faithfulness is established in heaven.

"I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
I have sworn to my servant David:
I will establish your dynasty forever,
I will maintain your throne for generation after generation." 

(...)

Faithfulness surrounds You like a cloak.
You rule over the towering sea—
when its waves rise, you calm them.
You crushed and pierced Rahab,
scattering your enemies with your mighty arm.
The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth;
you founded the world and all that is in it.
The north and the south, you created them;
Tabor and Hermon sing your name.

(...)

We thank the LORD our shield,
the Holy One of Israel our king.
Once you spoke in a vision
to your faithful ones and said:

"I have offered help to a hero,
a boy from the people exalted.
In David I found a servant,
I anointed him with holy oil.

(...)

My faithfulness and my love accompany him,
through my name he will rise in stature.
I will place his left hand on the sea,
his right hand on the river.
He will call to me, "You are my father,
my God, the rock that saves me!"
I will make him my firstborn,
the highest of the kings of the earth.
My love will always protect him,
my covenant with him is firm.

I will maintain his dynasty forever,
his throne as long as the heavens exist.
If his sons turn away from my law,
do not live according to my precepts,
violate my laws, do not obey my commands,
then I will punish them for their crimes,
punish their sins with blows.

But I will not take away my love from him,
nor break my faithfulness to him,
I will not violate my covenant, nor revoke my words.
Once I have sworn by my holiness,
I will never break my word to David.
His dynasty will live on forever,
his throne will stand before me like the sun,
like the moon that endures forever,
a faithful witness in the heavens." 

Yet you have rejected and forsaken him,
poured out your wrath upon your anointed one,
despised the covenant with your servant,
trampled his crown and desecrated it.

You have demolished the walls of his city,
broken down all his strongholds,
passersby have robbed him,
neighboring nations have mocked him.

You have given his opponents the upper hand,
his enemies rejoice,
You have robbed his sword of its sharpness,
You have not kept him standing in battle.

You have extinguished his splendor,
overthrown his throne,
shortened the days of his youth,
covered him with shame.

How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself forever,
will the fire of your anger burn?
Remember me and my fleeting existence.
How insignificant you have made man!
Is there anyone who will not see death,
who will escape the power of the grave?

Where is your love of old, Lord,
did you not swear allegiance to David?
Remember, Lord, that your servants are mocked,
that I suffer the scorn of many nations.
Your enemies, Lord, mock me,
they mock your anointed one wherever he goes.
Praise the Lord forever.

Amen, amen.

Heman's response

Perphaps the darkest psalm in the Bible is written by Heman, Jeduthun's friend and colleague.

Psalm 88
A song, a psalm of the Korahites. For the choir director. To the tune of The Reed Pipe.
An antiphonal song, an artful song by the Ezrachite Heman.

LORD, God, my savior, I call to You, I cry out, day and night.
Let my prayer come before you, listen to my cry,
I am afflicted by calamities,
my life is approaching the realm of the dead.

I belong to those who have gone down to the grave,
I am like a man at the end of his strength,
I am like a nameless dead man, like a fallen soldier in a mass grave,
whom You no longer remember, torn from Your hand.

You have laid me in the pit, in the darkness of the deep,
your wrath weighs heavily upon me, your waves wash over me.
You have alienated my acquaintances from me,
I evoke horror in them, I am enclosed and see no way out.

My eyes are dim with misery, I call to you, LORD, every day,
and stretch out my hands to you.

Do you perform miracles among the dead, do ghosts rise up to praise you? 
Is your love mentioned in the grave, or your faithfulness in the abyss?
Do they know in the darkness of your wonders,
or of your benefits in the land of oblivion?

Therefore I call upon you for help, LORD,
every morning I approach you with my prayer.
Why, LORD, do you reject me
and hide your face from me?

I am weakened, in mortal danger from my youth,
bewildered, I must endure your wrath.
The heat of your anger overwhelms me,
your terrors leave me speechless,
they surround me like water, day after day,
they close in on me from all sides.

You have alienated my dearest friends from me,
my only companion is darkness.

Reflections 

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