1 Kings Chapter 1: Not Going Against God's Will

Verse 1: 

When King David was very old, he could not keep warm even when they put covers over him.

◇ David's era is drawing to a close. No one can stop the passage of time. Even those with the power to bring down a bird in flight cannot escape it. Gathering human experience and wisdom to try to stop the flow of time is futile. It may be possible to slow it down a bit, but it cannot be stopped.

David's servants tried to stop David's body from cooling (dying) by bringing in a young woman. They chose the most beautiful and young woman in Israel to attend to David. This attendance was not meant to help with the king's chores. It was to share a bed and press bodies together to warm David's cooling body. However, David did other things but did not share a bed. David, who must have known the intentions of his servants, acted differently from their intentions.

Why did he do that? Some people say the purpose of having a young maiden attend to him was not simply to warm his body through bed-sharing. Others say David was so frail that he was too weak to share a bed.

Was it really for these reasons? Or was it his intention to follow God's will until the end? Could it have stemmed from a heart that acknowledged and agreed that life belongs to God?

When the son he gained through adultery with Bathsheba was dying, David fasted and prayed for his son. But when his son died, he bathed, changed his clothes, and ate. He did not show signs of grief. When his servants, who found his behavior strange, asked him about it, David answered as follows.

He answered, "While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, 'Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live.' But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me." (2 Samuel 12:22-23)

Humans can use experience and wisdom. They can fast and plead with God. However, they cannot go against God's will and plan. Isn't a life that conforms to and follows God's plan, like David's, beautiful?

♧ God, make me one who knows Your will and plan and obeys! Do not let me go against You with my experience and wisdom! Holy Spirit, be with me!