The Cruelty of David

1 Samuel 27

⁷  Now the time that David dwelt in the country of the Philistines was one full year and four months.
⁸  And David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. For those nations were the inhabitants of the land from of old, as you go to Shur, even as far as the land of Egypt.
⁹  Whenever David attacked the land, he left neither man nor woman alive, but took away the sheep, the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the apparel, and returned and came to Achish.

Note:  David, this great man of God, takes no prisoners.  How do I feel about that?

This guy is supposed to be an example to us.

I feel very uncomfortable about this, and there are several other passages like this in the Bible.  For all the sublime vision and promise of Scripture, there is much that is disturbing and hard to stomach, and this is one of them.  David, this champion of God (who later murdered a loyal subordinate in order to avoid the discovery of his affair (was Bathsheba actually complicit or was she forced?  I think it is a valid question.) is living as an outlaw, hunted by King Saul and he works for the Philistines.  He is involved in tribal raids, claiming that he is attacking Israeli tribes and he kills all the men and women in order to make sure that his Philistine boss doesn't learn that he isn't killing Israelis, but he is killing people.  He's taking no prisoners.

A little information about the tribes he attached.

I looked up some information on the tribes so attacked and found that the Geshurites (kingdom of Geshur) literally dwelt in the midst of Israel, being one the tribes that the half-tribe of Manasseh was supposed to remove from the promised land but failed.  David would actually marry a princess of this tribe, so he becomes a relative of sorts later. 

The tribe of the Girzites was a city-state on a steep hill that was strategically important.  They were also know for worshipping Baal and Ashtaroth.

Finally there was the Amalekites, who attacked Israel soon after they finished their wanderings and were cursed by God.  Read it for yourself in

            Deuteronomy 25:17-19:  "Remember what the Amalekites did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt.  When you were weary and worn out, they met you on your journey and attacked all who were lagging behind; they had no fear of God.  When the Lord your God gives you rest from all the enemies around you in the land he is giving you to possess as an inheritance, you shall blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven.  Do not forget!"

There is a side to Scripture that depicts humanity as fallen and God as a God of justice and wrath.  It's not comfortable     

We find here the disturbing idea that there are people groups against whom the Lord works in wrath and judgment.  Ultimately there will be followers of Jesus of every nation (people group) but not every people group is in the Lord’s favor.  In fact, the world at large is under a curse and judgment (cf. Matthew 28:19; Hebrews 10:26-29).  In the Book of Romans death still reigned even before the Law through God did not hold people accountable to the Law (Romans 5:12-14).  There was, before the Law, a great separation between the God of life and this world full of death, and all of us are included in that world.  The Lord Jesus does not help us with this.  He, the Lord of all, said that we should not fear people who can destroy the body, but fear Him who can send both body and soul into hell.  That’s worse than killing whole villages (Matthew 10:28)

But it makes grace all the more precious.

Sometimes we emphasize the love of God to the extent that we ignore the justice and wrath against a sinful, fallen Creation.  They are not popular topics but if we ignore them the grace of God becomes saccharine and we fail to appreciate it.  The promise of inclusion into the Kingdom of Christ is all the more wonderful when set against a stark backdrop that the world is at enmity with God, and separated from the same.  In the midst of all this (and I am still uncomfortable with it) I find the promise of 1 Peter 2:9-10 to be all the more precious and encouraging.  It says this:

"But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy."

There are still parts of the Bible (which I believe is inspired from beginning to end, so I have to deal with all of it) that make my feel uncomfortable and even threatened.  I still struggle with David and similar parts of Scripture, but I find the grace of God in Jesus Christ precious beyond compare, and cherish the promises such as the one in 1 Peter all the more in my struggle.