SITTING IN JUDGMENT - 2 Samuel 6:16-23 As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she despised him in her heart. They brought the ark of the LORD and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the LORD. After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD Almighty. Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each person in the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women. And all the people went to their homes. When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would! David said to Michal, It was before the LORD, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the LORDs people Israel - I will celebrate before the LORD. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor. And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death. David was overjoyed at the success the Lord had given him. He was delighted to finally bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. He danced in the streets. He sang for joy. But to at least one person, he looked pretty silly. As a matter of fact, to Michal (Sauls daughter and one of Davids wives), David had made a fool of himself. Obviously, Michal was not tuned in to the Spirit of God. All she saw was this man who had become king over all of Israel dancing around in the streets, and in her opinion, making a complete fool of himself. Michal was probably also jealous of the way the young women were looking at David. After all, he was a gorgeous man, and in the limited amount of clothing he was wearing, he might possibly have aroused a few prurient thoughts in the young girls. But Michals sarcasm backfired on her. She remained childless until her death - apparently not because she was barren, but because David got so angry with her that he avoided her bed from that day forward. She didnt understand that David was not trying to impress her or the other young women. That thought was furthest from his mind. His entire focus was to praise God and to honor him with singing and dancing. Are we like Michal? Do we sit in judgment of those around us, not looking at what their focus might be? Do we only see how silly they look in our eyes, but neglect to see what they are doing for God? And then do we get angry when others judge us, not taking the time to see the reason for our actions? One word of caution... a favorite verse for many people to quote is Matthew 7:1, Do not judge,... What they fail to do is to read on in that passage and understand what Jesus was saying. Verses 2-5 say, For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brothers eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, Let me take the speck out of your eye, when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brothers eye. In other words, do not judge others if what youre doing is just as bad or worse than what theyre doing! If you do judge others, be prepared to be judged by the same standards you use to judge. Quite simply, its okay to be discerning - to judge others. If we didnt, we could never follow all of the many warnings given to us in scripture like these... Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheeps clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. Matthew 7:15 If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector. Matthew 18:15-17 Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces. Matthew 7:6 But the judgment we use in situations like these must be tempered with Gods wisdom and His righteousness, and the discernment given to us by the Holy Spirit. When we judge as Michal did - without considering anything but the surface picture, colored by our prejudices - then we suffer the consequences outlined in Matthew 7. Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Matthew 7:1-2
Posted on: Thu, 14 Nov 2013 19:33:37 +0000
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