And he brought out the people that were in it, and cut them with saws, and with harrows of iron, and with axes. Even so dealt David with all the cities of the children of Ammon. And David and all the people returned to Jerusalem. 1 Chronicles 20:3 King James Version
King James vs. New King James
I need to digress a bit before we start. I typically study from both the King James and the New King James versions of the Bible simultaneously. I do this because on occasion the two texts disagree on the translations of the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts. While I have yet to find an instance where one contradicts the other on critical doctrine, reading them together does serve to gain an improved comprehension of God’s message. I raise the issue now because today’s versions clash ever-so-slightly.
You have the KJV above. In it where it is recorded that King David ‘cut’ the enemy, the NKJV cites that he ‘put them to work.’ I’m not going to be (overly) dogmatic about it, but I believe the Hebrew translation jives more with these people being done-in rather then put to work, which is good because that position lends itself well to the rest of today’s devotion. : )
Excessive Cruelty
The killing of people by saw, pick, and ax is a cruel overreaction on King David’s part and it prompts us to ask, “Why so cruel Dave?” It would help us to recall that David did this deed right after he committed adultery with Bathsheba (and murdered her husband Uriah) and before he confessed those sins to the Lord. The realty is that these un-confessed sins caused David to react excessively. In other words, his secret transgressions facilitated brutality that exceeded that which was deemed appropriate for mortal combat.
How Can We Make Such a Claim?
We can take David’s own actions to make our case. Do you remember when Nathan the prophet confronted David with the tale (an allegory actually) regarding a man who stole another man’s lamb? What was David’s reaction?
So David’s anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this shall surely die! And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity.” 2 Samuel 12:5-7
“Um, David, the penalty for ‘lamb-theft’ is not capital punishment.”
Isn’t it ironic that the penalty for David’s sin was death?
The excessive behavior David displayed is the exact same thing we do when we are in sin. Essentially it’s the act of turning the spotlight off of ourselves and onto another for the purpose of gaining an appearance of righteousness and of course for concealing the thing(s) we are guilty of. Nobody ever sees the man behind the spotlight, but the sinner will risk stepping from behind the light to proclaim, “I am the one who identified and dealt judiciously with this scoundrel!” Truly, a light should go on when we witness such behavior.
What’s Our Recourse?
Confession. That’s what David did. It didn’t mean that there weren’t consequences for his actions, but it did mean that God forgave him. If we find ourselves behaving excessively in any manner, it is a good indication that we are concealing a sin. Ask the Lord to help you identify that sin and own up to it. Confess it and you will be forgiven.
The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings. Jeremiah 17:9-10
These ramblings are typically (but not always) a byproduct inspired by God through my personal Bible study at SearchLight with Pastor Jon Courson and with my pastor at Calvary Chapel Coastlands.
He Dwells -- The B'log in My Eye 