2 Samuel 15:19-30: a reflection

19Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, “Why do you also go with us? Return, and stay with the king; for you are a foreigner and also an exile. Return to your own place. 20Whereas you came but yesterday, should I today make you go up and down with us, since I go where I may? Return, and take back your brothers. Mercy and truth be with you.” 21Ittai answered the king and said, “As the LORD lives, and as my lord the king lives, surely in what place my lord the king is, whether for death or for life, your servant will be there also.” 22David said to Ittai, “Go and pass over.” Ittai the Gittite passed over, and all his men, and all the little ones who were with him. 23All the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over. The king also himself passed over the brook Kidron, and all the people passed over toward the way of the wilderness. 24Behold, Zadok also came, and all the Levites with him, bearing the ark of the covenant of God; and they set down God’s ark; and Abiathar went up until all the people finished passing out of the city. 25The king said to Zadok, “Carry God’s ark back into the city. If I find favor in the LORD’s eyes, he will bring me again, and show me both it and his habitation; 26but if he says, ‘I have no delight in you,’ behold, here I am. Let him do to me as seems good to him.” 27The king said also to Zadok the priest, “Aren’t you a seer? Return into the city in peace, and your two sons with you, Ahimaaz your son and Jonathan the son of Abiathar. 28Behold, I will stay at the fords of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.” 29Zadok therefore and Abiathar carried God’s ark to Jerusalem again; and they stayed there. 30David went up by the ascent of the Mount of Olives, and wept as he went up; and he had his head covered and went barefoot. All the people who were with him each covered his head, and they went up, weeping as they went up.

As David flees Jerusalem before his rebel son Absalom, he does something remarkable. The priests bring the ark of God to go with him; but David sends it back into the city, saying, If I find favor in the LORD's eyes, he will bring me again, and show me both it and his habitation; but if he says, I have no delight in you, here I am, let him do to me as seems good to him. In the depths of his loss and danger, David does not presume on God, or try to force God's hand; he submits to God's will, whatever it may be.

Notice David's submission to God's will in his adversity. He was fleeing, stripped of his throne, in danger of his life; and he might have clutched the ark as a talisman, or presumed that God must rescue him. Instead he sent the ark back and left the outcome to God: if God delights in me, he will bring me back; but if not, let him do as seems good to him. He did not presume to dictate the outcome, but submitted to whatever God willed, trusting God even as he wept and fled. His trust was not that God must give him what he wanted, but that God would do what was good.

That submission to God's will in adversity is worth learning, for in our own troubles we can presume to dictate to God what he must do. When we are in loss or danger, we can demand that God rescue us on our terms, or presume that he must give us the outcome we want. But David, in his adversity, submitted to God's will, saying, let him do to me as seems good to him. When you are in trouble, do not presume to dictate to God the outcome you demand; submit to his will, trusting that he will do what is good, even if it is not what you would choose. Say with David, in your adversity, here I am; let him do as seems good to him, trusting God's will rather than demanding your own, and leaving the outcome in his hands, as David sent back the ark and left his fate to the God he trusted even as he wept and fled.

Lord, as David fled Jerusalem before his rebel son Absalom, he did something remarkable. The priests brought the ark to go with him; but David sent it back, saying, if I find favor in the LORD's eyes, he will bring me again; but if he says, I have no delight in you, here I am, let him do to me as seems good to him. In the depths of his loss and danger, David did not presume on you, or try to force your hand; he submitted to your will. Show me David's submission to your will in his adversity. He was fleeing, stripped of his throne, in danger of his life; and he might have clutched the ark as a talisman, or presumed that you must rescue him. Instead he left the outcome to you. He did not presume to dictate the outcome, but submitted to whatever you willed, trusting you even as he wept and fled. His trust was not that you must give him what he wanted, but that you would do what was good. Help me learn that submission, for in my own troubles I can presume to dictate to you what you must do. When I am in loss or danger, I can demand that you rescue me on my terms, or presume that you must give me the outcome I want. But David submitted to your will, saying, let him do to me as seems good to him. When I am in trouble, keep me from presuming to dictate the outcome I demand; help me submit to your will, trusting that you will do what is good, even if it is not what I would choose. Help me say with David, here I am; let him do as seems good to him, leaving the outcome in your hands, Lord.