Sunday, June 22, 2014

Adversity & Betrayal

My student friend asked me to look at a passage for him in 1 Kings 1,17ff where David in his last days with his sons fighting for the throne had this to say of his life in God, "the God who delivered me out of all my adversity." Why one would wonder for one beloved of God and a man after God's heart, David had to face so much adversity, not only before he became king but also after taking rule over Israel? Perhaps it is precisely that God's favour and love upon David that caused other less spiritual persons to detest the one beloved by God. It is said Saul feared David when he knew the Lord was with David. Hence, the very fact of our Christian existence in Christ and that Christ is with us is sufficient cause for the enemies to hate and persecute the Lord's chosen ones.
David must have faced great betrayal, from Joab his uncle and advisor cum Army chief but Psalm 55 might have been penned as a result of David's sense of betrayal, someone his equal, someone his senior, someone he respected, someone whose words he trusted could ultimately stab David at his back and chose to go against David's explicit commands and wishes. Jesus was betrayed by one of the Twelve, given away with a kiss, a kiss of welcome and acceptance has turned into a kiss of betrayal, a kiss of death. Have you felt betrayed before?

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