Do You Care What God Thinks?

“And the king said unto Zadok, Carry back the ark of God into the city: if I shall find favor in the eyes of the LORD, He will bring me again, and shew me both it, and His habitation:  But if He thus say, I have no delight in thee; behold, here am I, let Him do to me as seemeth good unto Him.”  I Samuel 15:25-26

King David was certainly a man who cared what God thought.  David’s son, Absalom, decided that he was better suited to be king over Israel and set out to destroy his own father.  To make matters worse, the people of Israel were beginning to side with Absalom.  I have often wondered why people continue to vote for politicians who do not have the best interests of the people at heart but are more concerned about power and getting wealthy.  Apparently, that is nothing new for it has occurred all down through the pages of time.  Absalom even sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, and, at a certain time, the announcement would be spread across the land that Absalom was now the king of Israel and would be headquartered in Hebron.  The people would likely think that David had died or given up the throne for some unknown reason.  Absalom pretended that he was dependent upon the LORD.

When David heard that the people were beginning to follow Absalom, he feared that Absalom would try and take Jerusalem by force.  He called for an evacuation of the city’s residents, and many fled with David.  He did not want to make Jerusalem a war zone and not knowing how many of his men would desert and join Absalom, the previous strong and courageous leader lost the desire to fight, especially against his own son.  David and those who traveled with him left in a hurry and went to an undisclosed location which was a good distance from Jerusalem.  The people wept bitterly as they journeyed not knowing what the future held.  This flight was emotionally overwhelming to all but especially to David.  It was also a big “hit” to his ego.  He had been a leader who rose to great heights only to lose his power and prestige to a son who hated him.  David was now an object of pity to those who had once praised him.

Zadok was a priest who served as a “right-hand man” to Abiathar, the high priest.  One of his main duties was oversight of the Ark of the Covenant, which was prepared for moving from the tent that had been erected for it, taken a short distance, and set down until everyone had passed out of Jerusalem.  However, David had second thoughts about moving the Ark.  He didn’t really want it removed from Jerusalem because he considered the Holy City to be the rightful place for God’s presence as symbolized by the Ark.  He ordered Zadok to take the Ark back to Jerusalem.  David then stated that if God was still favoring him as king over Israel, then God would allow him to return, claim the throne and have the presence of the Ark near to him.

But what if God was not pleased with him?  If that was the case, then David was prepared to accept whatever God desired to do to him.  He knew that he had displeased the LORD in the past, committing adultery, ordering Bathsheba’s husband’s death, not disciplining his children as he should have, and other things that he did which brought shame to him and his family, but he was still a man of humility and one who never worshiped false gods.

David asked Zadok if he was a “seer”, not a fortune teller or a medium of the occult, but one who could look at situations and circumstances and contemplate the best position to take on a matter, in other words, a man of wisdom.  David had all confidence in Zadok and wasn’t afraid to send him back to Jerusalem with the Ark.  He said that he and all the other people would wait in the wilderness until they received word that it was safe to return to the Holy City.  Zadok and Abiathar returned the Ark of the Covenant of God to Jerusalem and remained there.  David and his entourage continued on their journey, climbing Mt. Olivet, the same mountain from which Jesus ascended back to His Father in heaven and upon which He will return in His second coming.  David and all the people were in a deep state of mourning and wept continuously.

Fast forward to today.  How many people really care about what God thinks?  Not many, I am afraid.  If the majority of the world’s population cared about the thoughts, words, and promises of the Lord, wouldn’t things be different?  Even though David made a lot of mistakes, some very serious and completely against God’s standards of righteousness, his overall life was dedicated to serving the LORD.  He never turned away from the LORD and served other gods.  I am sure he greatly regretted doing those things which displeased God, and he did repent, was forgiven, and was promised that his descendants would sit on the throne of Israel forever.  God would not make that promise to someone who did not care what God thought.  If we really care about what God thinks about us, then we will desire to do what is pleasing to Him.  We spend way too much time worrying about what other people think about us when the only One whose opinion counts is the Lord Jesus Christ.