THE BOOK OF SAMUEL PART II

DAVID

Saul reaped what he sowed, having a dishonorable death, and now I will examine the course of David, who is a type of the church that carries the will of God.

David began his life with God at a young age with two great successes, especially the second. He killed a lion and a bear that attacked the sheep he was tending (1 Samuel 17:34,36) and then he killed the Philistine giant Goliath who was terrorizing the people of Israel. If David had begun his reign immediately after Samuel anointed him, then we would probably have a repetition of the story with Saul (Psalm 73:3-6). David would potentially see God as his servant, who hastens to fulfill his every desire. Saul's long pursuit to kill David, and without cause, kept David grounded and matured him.

David said before Jonathan in 1 Samuel 20:1 “What have I done? what is mine iniquity? and what is my sin before thy father, that he seeketh my life?" This is a lesson for all of us. God's laws do not automatically apply to people's lives, meaning, if they obey there is a blessing, if they sin there is a curse. The righteous people could be given a hard time by God in order to mold them a character. Unlike David, Solomon and Paul do not seem to have been disciplined by God before starting their work as king and apostle respectively. But God made both men conscious of their weaknesses. Solomon felt unable to reign until the Lord visited him in his sleep. Paul probably thought he knew everything about the Lord at the time he was persecuting the saints, and was even instructed by a brilliant teacher, Gamaliel. When the Lord visited him, Paul faced reality that he knew little about him, since he was persecuting His people and anointed teachers.

I will begin with a general analysis of David's character and works which differ to those of Saul. David showed stability in his character and behavior from the time he was Saul's servant until the end of his life and reign. He did not show two faces like Saul. David's character is described by God himself in his two visits to Solomon.

1 Kings 3:14: “And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.”

1 Kings 9:4: “And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments:”

The two verses define a righteous man who loves the Lord and love his neighbor, because these are the two commandments that fulfill the law of the Lord. That is exactly what God sees, the life, heart and character and not a formal confession of faith in God, the Father and Jesus. Saul never stopped confessing his faith in God but he walked in the way of iniquity. He served the devil and God hated him and rejected him. Love of God is not measured by feelings and beliefs of man, but by obedience. This message is particularly seen in the teachings of Jesus and in all the writings of John in the New Testament. David is a type of the church that does the will of God, and we see that the church is founded on a ground of obedience and not just correct teachings. Another great summary of David's life is in 2 Samuel 8:15. “And David reigned over all Israel; and David executed judgment and justice unto all his people”.

David did not avoid mistakes, and adultery and murder were his worst moments. But if we examine his whole life, his mistakes were not many and his repentance each time was genuine and never hypocritical.

David, like Saul, developed on knowledge of God that the prophet Samuel brought to the surface in Israel. Saul had a faulty religious understanding of God. David, on the contrary, is the man who brought logic to the things of God, and operated with His wisdom. It’s the same wisdom, Samuel has shown, but it is presented to us in much more detail in the description of the life and deeds of David.

David married at least 8 wives and Solomon 700, but God's perfect will from the creation of Adam and Eve onwards, was for one man to have one wife. If we exclude his personal life, David walked according to the teachings of Jesus Christ. David had put into practice the words of Jesus "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). David showed graceful behavior towards Saul, whose long-time goal was to kill David. I make a special mention of 1 Samuel 26:7-10 where David did not succumb to the temptation of the words of his servant Abishai to kill Saul when opportunity arose. He did not kill him because he was "the Lord's anointed" as he said, and he added in his answer to Abishai that God will judge Saul. David called Saul "the Lord's anointed" even after Saul's death. (2 Samuel 1:14). The question is whether David's attitude was correct, because Saul ceased to be "the Lord's anointed", and became or aspired to become a murderer of the Lord's anointed. I cannot say for sure what David had in mind when he said that, if Saul was the man whom God had anointed king in the past, and his past counted in David's eyes.

David took the right decisions. He let God be the judge of Saul. It wouldn’t be good for David to ascend the throne by establishing a reputation of killing the previous king to begin with. God himself was waiting for Saul to turn away from sin and walk the way of righteousness even until the time he sought the advice of a necromancer. Although he rejected the kingdom of Saul, he had never rejected his soul because of his previous life as the Lord's anointed one (1 Chronicles 10:14). David also showed that he learned his lesson from the Lord in the previous incident where he attempted to take revenge on Nabal for his unacceptable behavior, but the Lord prevented him through Nabal's wife (1 Samuel 25). As Romans 12:19 reminds us “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord”.

David was certainly a man hearing to wisdom (Proverbs 9:9, 12:15, 15:5, 17:10, 19:25). David did the right thing when he did not react to the curses of Shimei (2 Samuel 16:5-14) and again he did not succumb to the temptation of Abishai's words to kill him. When David prevailed after the rebellion of his son Absalom and was restored as a rightful ruler of the kingdom, Shimei went and repented before David for his behavior, which was probably a false repentance because of fear (2 Samuel 19:18-23). David again resisted Abishai's proposal to kill him. “And David said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah, that ye should this day be adversaries unto me? shall there any man be put to death this day in Israel? for do not I know that I am this day king over Israel?” (2 Samuel 19:22). This particular day was the day of his restoration as king. It can be compared with Saul's response in 1 Samuel 11:13 “And Saul said, There shall not a man be put to death this day: for to day the Lord hath wrought salvation in Israel”.  It was one of Saul's last good moments which is timed before his reign even began (1 Samuel 11:15). David's similar response is chronologically toward the end of his rule and life, and gives us the message of the stability of David's course in the way of righteousness of the Lord.

Unlike Saul, David is never seen cursing a man. There’s a response that looks like a curse, but if we pay closer attention to it, it isn’t. It is David's reaction when he learned that Joab sinned by killing an innocent (2 Samuel 3:29). He described potential judgments of the Lord for Joab's sin and did not decide a specific judgment himself. The motives of his words were right, not a result of hatred, anger or revenge “I and my kingdom are guiltless before the Lord for ever from the blood of Abner the son of Ner: Let it rest on the head of Joab, and on all his father's house; and let there not fail from the house of Joab one that hath an issue, or that is a leper, or that leaneth on a staff, or that falleth on the sword, or that lacketh bread” (2 Samuel 3:28,29). In Samuel 21:1 it is confirmed that David's concern was not unreal, but was justified. Then God had brought famine for three years in Israel in the days David for an old sin of Saul and his house. They killed the Gibeonites to whom Israel was bound by oath not to touch them. This was done in the days of David and not of Saul, though David had no participation in the offense. The danger of David paying for the sin of Joab who shed innocent blood, was real. Joab held an important position in the kingdom of Israel.

David in 2 Samuel 3:28,29 separated his position from the sin of Joab, representing not only himself but also his people.  Therefore he prevented the possibility that the people of Israel would face God’s judgment for the grave sin of Joab. In the same way, Joshua and the people of Israel had to separate their position from Achan before God, so that God would be with them and bless them. Unbeknownst to Joshua and the rest of the Israelites, Achan sinned by having in his possession a Babylonian garment and gold and silver. Israel paid for Achan's sin with defeat at the battle of Ai (Joshua 7).

The laws of the Lord seem paradoxical, for a nation to be judged for a known or unknown sin of individuals. God never acts without reason. His laws teach a responsible attitude of a nation on the matter of sin, even when the sin is of their ancestors or their leaders. A nation is urged to acknowledge the sins of the past and not make excuses out of them or blame others. The inhabitants of a country learn to think collectively as a nation and not each for himself. The salvation of the soul is a personal matter, but the welfare of the nation is also a result of a collective effort that includes abiding to God’s laws. God's judgment upon a nation, forces it to correct itself and turn away from its evil ways. It also teaches a nation of the necessity to elect officials based on character before anything else. A nation’s welfare and protection from dangers depends on obedience to God’s commandments. Ezra, Nehemiah, Jeremiah and Daniel repented through prayer to the Lord for the sins of the people of Israel, even though they themselves did not participate in them and were righteous before God (Ezra 9:6-15, Nehemiah 1:4-11, 9:33-38, Jeremiah 14:20-22, Lamentations 3:40-42, Daniel 9:4-20). They asked God to forgive them, reverse his judgment and bless them.

Similar problems can occur in the church. There could be a pastor who is not anointed by God, and the worst thing is that he and his elders could preach a gospel blasphemous to God. God is not going to honor the ministry of this man or men, and the flock could possibly pay the price with the lack of God's protection in their lives. The Lord can give newcomers in the church certain protection until they grow in the knowledge of him. On the other hand he expects them to use the knowledge from the Bible and practice judgement otherwise after a certain period of time, the believers are on their own.

Brethren have to separate themselves from believers who walk disorderly (2 Thessaloniians 3:6-15). Paul wrote "Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men's sins: keep thyself pure” (1 Timothy 5:22). It confirms that accepting a wicked man as a brother also means sharing in his sins. 2 John 1:10,11 says “If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.”

A prevalent wrong message in Protestantism, and a dangerous one, is that the believer must show tolerance to the imperfections of the church. There is no understanding that imperfections can lead church members down the road to destruction, and they can lose their souls as well. The church must be perfect, keeping at bay foreign teachings and practices that are not of God. It is of supreme importance that ministers have to be men of God, for God to be present in that church. The church has to be perfect to be able to stand among her enemies. For one imperfection Joshua was defeated at Ai, Moses did not enter the promised land and Lot's wife became a pillar of salt.

Saul is a type of the church on the wrong track, and I can hardly find faults in Saul that are not prevalent throughout Christianity. God himself said that he withdrew his mercy from Saul, even if he was previously his anointed king. (2 Samuel 7:15, 1 Chronicles 17:13). “But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee.” What if Saul was the pastor of a church? By what logic would God show mercy to churches that are on a path not of God?

David, as a type of a shepherd, showed the importance of being in unity with God, when Israel was struck by three consecutive years of famine. David's kingdom was expected to be blessed from God because of the king's righteousness. The fact that the famine was unexpected in David's reign, and the duration of the famine, made David wonder if it was a judgment of God and then he looked to God for the discovery of its causes. If David tried to find out the causes of the famine with his reason, he would have never succeeded. The famine happened because the house of Saul in the distant past killed the Gibeonites. This proves how important it is for a church to be in communication with God and in unity with him, even if the believers love God with all their hearts. David showed in the midst of calamity, that he is a true shepherd of sheep who leans on God and not on his wisdom. It represents a type of the Church that is submitted to God’s will and is in unity with the head Jesus Christ. In the church of Christ, the ministries, especially of the pastor, are genuine and not in name only.

There was one issue that David always inquired of the Lord about, and that was the impending war against the Philistines. It is worth mentioning again the incident in 2 Samuel 5:17-25, repeated in 1 Chronicles 14:9-17. “The Philistines also came and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim. And David enquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go up to the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into mine hand? And the Lord said unto David, Go up: for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into thine hand”. Then we have a repetition of the same scene. “And the Philistines came up yet again, and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim. And when David enquired of the Lord, he said, Thou shalt not go up; but fetch a compass behind them, and come upon them over against the mulberry trees. And let it be, when thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt bestir thyself: for then shall the Lord go out before thee, to smite the host of the Philistines.”

At this point it is seen, how necessary the dependence of the church is, in the Lord's instruction to deal with her enemies. God said two opposite things to David about a very similar situation. Prophet Samuel never declared a war against the Philistines, and he was never behind the Israelites decisions to fight them.

One thing to observe before David became a king is whether he made the right choices to escape from Saul. His one mistake was to lie to the priests. He told them Saul had sent him for a job and not that he was pursuing him to kill him (1 Samuel 21:2,8). If he had told them the truth, perhaps the priests would have taken measures of protection under the direction of the Lord and not be caught off guard when Saul ordered their slaughter.

Soon afterwords, “And David arose and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath”. (1 Samuel 21:10). David continued to make mistakes, pretending to be mad before Achish, the king of Gath but to no avail. Achish did not accept him. David relied on the Lord, but perhaps in most cases he had no choice but to ask the Lord with the Urim and Thummim that was on the ephod of priest Abiathar. (1 Samuel 23:9, 30:7). This gave him a disadvantage, The Lord's answers were a yes or a no, and he certainly would have wanted to know something more about the matter of persecution from Saul.

I cannot know what caused David to leave Naioth where he was with Samuel. There he was safe. There was no shortage of prophecies in that place, but it is not reported to us whether David consulted the Lord (1 Samuel 19:18-24,20:1). In 1 Samuel 22:5 he accepted the instruction of the prophet Gad to leave the land of Moab where he was staying and go back to the land of Judah. At this point many questions arise. The choice to stay in the land of Moab and later to live among Israel's enemies, the Philistines, may have been a mistake.

In the second instance, David made a good choice, going straight to King Achish of Wu, approaching him for the second time (1 Samuel 21:10-15, 27:1-3). King Achish seemed to be a good man. When David pretended to be mad, Achish did not mock him, as many others would have done in his position, and did not accept him for the right reason (1 Samuel 21:14,15). When David lived near him, Achish treated him the right way.

A weakness of Achish is shown to us. He wished that David would be his servant forever. Achish was a Philistine, he is a type of leader in a church of false Christianity, who differs from other Philistines in that he really believes in God, but desires power and desires the believers to be his servants. It is a church built on a gospel that is not of God. Love of authority over the love of the flock becomes its permanent practice. Nevertheless, we don’t see any other signs of corruption in Achish. David's decision to stay at Gath makes perfect sense. "And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul shall despair of me, to seek me any more in any coast of Israel: so shall I escape out of his hand” (1 Samuel 27:1). But it is not certain that his reasoning was the will of God. Previously the Lord told David to go to the land of Judah (1 Samuel 22:5) and this would almost place him in the hands of his enemy. The protection of the Lord does not mean that whatever his chosen one David did, he would be safe. One mistake by David could cost him his life.

Urijah, the son of Shemaiah of Kirjathjearim,  prophesied in the name of the Lord against the land of Judah. The king of Judah Jehoiakim sought to kill him for that and Urijah fled to Egypt for his safety. It was a very logical decision but it didn't help him. Jehoiakim sent men to Egypt, and then we read  “And they fetched forth Urijah out of Egypt, and brought him unto Jehoiakim the king; who slew him with the sword, and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people.” Sometimes decisions based on common sense are not the correct ones, and believers must always depend on God for guidance (Proverbs 14:12).

David was not lacking in wisdom as we see in 1 Samuel 18:5,14,30 and 2 Samuel 14:20 and this helped him in his judgment as we see in many incidents. On both occasions when David saved Saul's life, he knew that Saul would soon break his promises and kill him, so he rightly did not trust him (2 Samuel 24,26). Gad would later become David's personal seer (1 Samuel 24:11) and perhaps David did not ask him to remain with him from the time he first approached him in 1 Samuel 22:5. Based on the available information, you can only guess whether David's decisions were the correct ones. A comparison could be made with the story of Elijah. Jezebel was ruling behind the scenes over the land of Israel and not only. She also had agents in the neighboring lands. When Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to tell him that she was sworn to kill him (1 Kings 19:2), Elijah asked the Lord for the matter, closing with the words "and they seek my life, to take it away” (1 Kings 19:10,14).

Earlier, when Elijah was again wanted by Jezebel and Ahab, God told Elijah to go and dwell in Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon (1 Kings 17:8,9). But now that Elijah was in danger more than ever, God did not take him out of the land of Israel for safety. In 2 King 2:1-5 we see Elijah moving without problem between Gilgal, Bethel and Jericho. Bethel which means "house of God”, was a very expected place for Elijah to visit.

David found himself wandering in the wilderness of Parah, until he took the decision to dwell with the Philistines. David allied himself with the enemies of his enemy, and in 1 Samuel 27:8-12 we see that he fought their wars. King Achish, whom he served, regardless of personal character and conduct, was a Philistine, Israel's enemy. Ultimately, David's experience with the Philistines was unexceptional, but that is not a given. Samson acted recklessly with the Philistines and they put out his eyes (Judges 16:21). David never asked God to take Saul's life, a request that would be against God's will. When the Lord visited Solomon in his sleep, told him what he appreciated in him "Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment” (1 Kings 3:11).

David refused to take Saul's life when he had the opportunity, because he was the anointed of the Lord, adding "David said furthermore, As the Lord liveth, the Lord shall smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into battle, and perish” (1 Samuel 26:10). When David saw that God was slow to judge Saul, as if he were indifferent, began to lose patience and wished that he was part of the enemy who would kill him in the battlefield. He first promised Achish to fight on the side of the Philistines against Israel (1 Samuel 28:1,2). When Achish announced to him that the commanders of the Philistines had decided that David should not fight with them against Israel, David instead of keeping silent and thanking God for getting him out of such a difficult position miraculously, he insisted on fighting against Israel (1 Samuel 29). Achish was adamant, and David did not fight against his own nation, which would make the people of Israel lose respect for him and it would ruin the potential to be a king of Israel. If he went up against Israel he would have bitterly regretted it.

If we analyze David's deeper state of mind, he was scandalized by Saul, but even more he was scandalized with God. Saul was usurping the kingdom despite the fact the Lord rejected him as a king. Saul was breaking his commandments. For years the righteous God instead of blessing David who was obedient and cursing Saul, He seemed to have been doing the opposite. Saul was blessed and David lived a bad life on the run. David managed to escape from Saul and found peace and probably a good life in Moab "Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed” (Jeremiah 48:11).

In 1 Samuel 22:3-5. God interrupted his rest by sending him the message to go back to Judah, only to find himself persecuted by Saul once again. “And the prophet Gad said unto David, Abide not in the hold; depart, and get thee into the land of Judah. Then David departed, and came into the forest of Hareth” (1 Samuel 22:5). David sowed good by becoming a blessing to the people of Keilah when he freed them from the Philistines, and his reward was to learn directly from the Lord that Saul would come to Keilah to look for him, and the people of Keilah would deliver him and his men to Saul (1 Samuel 23:1-12).

From the time David obeyed the Lord and returned to Judah, in the 22nd chapter until the end of the 26th chapter, almost every good thing he did, the righteous God returned it to him with a bad situation. Instead of seeing Saul die at the hands of the Lord, the 85 priests of the Lord died at the hands of Saul (1 Samuel 22:6-23). Then the prophet Samuel died (1 Samuel 25:1) and he was daily in danger to be next. David’s life before he became king at the age of 30 is essentially a repetition of Joseph's life before he became Pharaoh's right-hand man in Egypt, coincidentally also at the age 30. Both of them were simple servants and also masters of people in their lives. In David's case his training from God was so irritating that could make any normal person resent God.

The resentment toward God, when his elect go to pieces, is a sin, but it is not something incomprehensible in the eyes of God. Israel's greatest prophet, John the Baptist was indignant with Jesus because when he was ministering, John was in prison without a cause. Just the fact that the incident of John being scandalized is mentioned in the gospels, is indicative of the Lord's understanding of the mental state of God's children. Even God’s great people were after all, human beings. David's grievance against the Lord does not seem to have started with his consenting to Achish to fight his own nation, throwing away the kingship given to him by the Lord as well as the the law of Moses. It had begun with his decision to dwell with the Philistines. David was consistent in having good judgment throughout his life with the exception of his family issues, so it is impossible that his judgment was clouded in 1 Samuel 27:1. He did not seek direction from the Lord, not because he was confident that he was doing the right thing, but because he resented God, knowingly making a mistake. In a desperate move he allied himself with the enemies of God's people. I will present here an alternative interpretation of the events. When a desperate David went to live with the Philistines, he could possibly be doing exactly what God wanted him to do. There may have been reasons it was God’s will that are not clear to us, including learning about the enemies of Israel from the inside. David’s insistence later on to fight and destroy the Israelites, which would make it impossible for him to reign over them if things were to change one day, was purely a desperate move. The Lord didn’t reproach, disapprove or reject David after his last choices. Instead, soon afterwards, when the Philistines went to war against Israel, God brought David back close to Him. Unlike what happened to Saul, when David asked for God's guidance, God answered immediately (1 Samuel 30:7,8). Previously it says "David encouraged himself in the Lord his God” (1 Samuel 30:6). God sees people's behavior but above all he sees the motives of the heart behind disobedience. David almost rebelled against God, but did so out of desperation when God crushed him mentally as he had planned. God was the author of David's despair. It was despair that led him to the Philistines, so it would be unfair to leave him there unprotected. David remained in the land of the Philistines a year and four months (1 Samuel 27:7) and yet no conspiracy was ever attempted against his life even though he was a prominent Israelite, and one of the enemies of the Philistines. David's life was never in danger and God miraculously delivered him from the obligation to fight with them, against the Israelites.  It is certain that God gave David the same protection that He had given Jacob “He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye” (Deuteronomy 32:10).

It is noteworthy that Jacob was not perfect in choices and actions when he was in the wilderness, from his flight from Esau onwards, and he made mistakes. The mistakes did not cost him because he didn’t stop loving God "and there was no strange god with him” (Deuteronomy 32:12 ).

David's anger at God was a sin. However it was not the result of hatred, but of a feeling of injustice and abandonment. There is a great difference in God's eyes when despair leads to sin, and when sin is the result of pride against God, as in the case of Saul. Saul was rejected by God when he sacrificed because his sacrifice was not the result of desperation or ignorance, but of pride. Saul was committing the worst of sins, pride, seeking all ministries and all authority for himself, marginalizing in the process all the anointed and elect of the Lord. Jonah refused to go preach repentance to Nineveh and save it, but the Lord not only did not reject his ministry as a prophet, but He did not take his no for an answer. Jonah saw it as an injustice to save a city living in wickedness, but the God of justice knew better. Both Jonah and David were by no means guilty of hatred against God. They did not break God’s greatest commandment. A man who loves truth and justice and loves his neighbor is impossible to hate God, because God is truth, justice and love.

David throughout his life gave lessons of good manners, with the notable exception of his dark moments of adultery and murder, to cover up his difficult situation. He showed why he was the chosen one of God's heart. He was perfect as a servant to his masters, Saul and Achish, even if the former was ungrateful. He was perfect as a king to his subjects, and as a master to his servants. This character is evident in the incident in 1 Samuel 30:10-15. His servants brought him an exhausted Egyptian, the servant of an Amalekite and he took care of him "And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins: and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him: for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights. And David said unto him, To whom belongest thou? and whence art thou?… (1 Samuel 30:12,13). According to the parable of Jesus in Matthew 25:31-46 these are the things that take you to heaven and not the “(Saul:) I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord thy God….. and Saul worshipped the Lord” (1 Samuel 15:30,31). Jesus sent an important message in Matthew 7:21 “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven”. This determines the salvation of the soul, the love of the neighbor. The parable of the good Samaritan is nothing but a repetition of the help David gave the Egyptian servant, and it should be noted that he took care of him and then asked who he was. In the end it turned out that the Egyptian’s appearance in the field was God's gift to David. In the same way, Abraham and Lot entertained strangers who, without knowing it, were sent by the Lord. “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares” (Hebrews 13:2).

When Saul died in the battle with the Philistines, changes happened very quickly in David's life, and he finally experienced the happiness he desired. God put him through strict discipline in the third decade of his life, at a very good age, but gave him forty years of blessed and happy adulthood that every man would desire. He started this life at the age of 30. (2 Samuel 5:4). He had a sad period of time in his reign, but he was paying for his mistakes. The mistakes were not only adultery and murder, but also raising spoiled children without ever giving them discipline in their lives. When the death of Jonathan and Saul was announced, he mourned for both, and his reaction was rather exaggerated for the latter. Saul was his enemy, and God had said to David "I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul” (2 Samuel 12:7). David is going too far in praises in 2 Samuel 1:23,24, that contradict Samuel's prophecies about Saul's bad reign (1 Samuel 8:11-18). It looks like typical hypocrisy of a political leader, but David was never criticized by God for such a flaw. David showed more emotion than he should have, in a repetition of Samuel’s lamentation. “And the Lord said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons” (1 Samuel 16:1).

Even in the case of Saul, David did not appear as a man who is carried away by his emotions, which is a trap for both the daily life of the people and the life of the church. David affirms that he has always been in his right mind at 2 Samuel 9:1, saying “… Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may shew him kindness for Jonathan's sake?” David would bless the house of Saul, specifically Mephibosheth for Jonathan's sake and not for Saul's sake, although he had sworn to both of them on this matter (1 Samuel 24:22). When he was persecuted by Saul, he showed a clear mind and never believed Saul's tearful repentance (1 Samuel 24:22, 26:11, 27:1). David received the flattery of his would-be servants, the Amalekites (2 Samuel 1:1-16) and Rechab and Baanah (2 Samuel 4:8-12) who killed Saul and his son Ishbosheth, supposedly for David’s sake. David instead of showing them gratitude, ordered their execution. They didn’t count as his servants, based on the confession of allegiance, and their rivalry with his enemies. Accordingly, the authentic Church of Christ accepts as its members, people who obey His commandments and not men who show loyalty to the elders and accept their ministry. David, with the Spirit of God in him, rejected an Amalekite servant, and Saul with a worldly spirit accepted an Edomite servant. Both servants were enemies of God. In a continuation of the story, the commander of David's army, Joab, avenged his brother Asahel's murder by killing the perpetrator Abner in cold blood.

Abner was no saint. He resisted David's reign by making Saul's son Ishbosheth the king of Israel. Nonetheless he killed Ashiel in self-defense and after a warning (2 Samuel 3). David did the right thing and separated his position from Abner's murder, mourning his death and fasting, a move his people greatly appreciated (2 Samuel 3:35,36). Joab is the most problematic class of people to read their minds and associate with. While the Bible distinguishes between the wicked and the righteous, Joab appears to be somewhere in the middle. He took revenge by shedding innocent blood. As David put it "Died Abner as a fool dieth?” (2 Samuel 3:33). Even more unjustifiably, Joab killed Amasa in cold blood (2 Samuel 20:9,10). It was controversial that Joab killed Absalom, the son of David, in defiance of David’s command not to kill him. On the surface, Joab appeared to repeat his earlier actions, but I believe that he served as a savior to Israel that day, and certainly he did not kill an innocent man as before. The bad side of David's character was the unlimited emotionalism he had for his sons, even if his sons were the most wicked among the people of Israel. Joab, with the unquestionable wisdom of God, reprimanded David for this behavior when he saw him mourning Absalom (19:1-7). I comment how interesting is David's instruction to Solomon about Joab, saying, “Moreover thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet.” He didn’t include Absalom as a victim of Joab’s crimes and would be very unlikely he was ignorant how his son died until the end of his life.

It doesn't matter if Absalom was David's son. He was a transgressor of the law of Moses to a very serious degree. His behavior included rebellion of a son against his father, and rebellion against a king anointed by the Lord. He was more than deserving the death penalty. Solomon at the beginning of his reign, put Adonijah and Joab to death, both men guilty of lesser sins than Absalom. Adonijah was Solomon’s brother. By today's standards David would be discredited as an enemy of democracy and Absalom the legitimate popular leader of Israel.

Joab's contradictory character is seen when he shows true devotion to David in 2 Samuel 12:27,28 “And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbah, and have taken the city of waters. Now therefore gather the rest of the people together, and encamp against the city, and take it: lest I take the city, and it be called after my name.” Later in the incident of 2 Samuel 24 which is also described in 1 Chronicles 21, David sinned by ordering Joab to count his people and Joab stood firm in doing God’s will by showing David his sin.

David insisted and Joab counted the people, but Joab didn’t count Levi and Benjamin among them, because the king's word was an abomination to Joab (1 Chronicles 21:6). Joab's actions end badly when he helped Adonijah become king of Israel illegally, while it was known from earlier prophecies that God destined Solomon to be king (1 Kings 1:7). In 1 Kings 2:28 it is shown how contradictory was Joab’s behavior, he would be committed to do the right thing or sin without regret before the Lord “Then tidings came to Joab: for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he turned not after Absalom”.  The main problem with Joab was his insatiable ambition. He did not love the Lord with all his soul, especially when ambition was in the way. Joab did not hesitate to become a judge in the place of God. He avenged his brother's death and wanted Adonijah to reign instead of Solomon. It should also be noted that the other man who helped Adonijah attempt to seize the throne illegally was the priest Abiathar. David in the past used Abiathar's ephod to inquire of the Lord, and in this way the Lord honored Abiathar's ministry at the same time. Solomon removed the ministry of priesthood from Abiathar (1 Kings 2:26,27) and it is understandable that this was God’s will after his sin. The cutting off of the priests from the house of Eli, to which Abiathar belonged, was foretold by Samuel in a prophecy (1 Samuel 2:31-35). Abiathar's sin was responsible for the punishment of Abiathar and not the content of a prophecy from God. Prophecies are fulfilled in God's time and not in man's time.

In 2 Samuel 2:1 David asks the Lord if he should go to one of the cities of Judah and to which one. The Lord sent him to Hebron. In Hebron, the men of Judah anointed him king, and there he reigned for 7 years and 6 months (2 Samuel 5:5). It is an indicative example, the ministry in the Church must be placed under the direction of the Lord. God knows what the members of his church should do. If they begin to do what seems right in their eyes, as the Israelites did in the period of the judges (Judges 17:6, 21:25) then the prosperity and spiritual condition of the Church is in jeopardy. It is the one instance that David asks God's direction for something other than the dealing with the Philistines.

The beginning of second book of Samuel offers a comparison between the house of David and the house of Saul with new facts. "Now there was long war between the house of Saul and the house of David: but David waxed stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul waxed weaker and weaker” (2 Samuel 3:1). This was happening when David resided at Hebron, a place chosen by the Lord, and reigned from there for 7 years and 6 months (2 Samuel 5:5).

The phrase house of Saul refers to a later period after Saul's death, with a particular representative being his son Ishbosheth, who reigned 2 years in Israel. David's kingdom was only Judah's, but when  Ishbosheth was out of the way with his murder, David moved from Hebron to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 5:6).

He conquered the land of Jerusalem from the Jebusites and took the strong fortress of Zion, which was called the city of David. (2 Samuel 5:7-9). David reigned over all Israel from Jerusalem, for 33 years.

The two years of Ishbosheth’s reign is symbolically a summary of Saul's history. Samuel brings forth real teaching to Israel. The house of David and the house of Saul are built upon this foundation, but the latter house is led astray by ambition, and takes the road of apostasy. This is followed by the strengthening of the house of David and the decline of the house of Saul. The swan song of the latter is the move of Jonathan's son Mephibosheth to the house of David.

The decline of the house of Saul is accompanied by the domination of the house of David in Jerusalem, the capture of the strong fortress of Zion and the return of the ark of the covenant. Symbolically it is the reappearance of the truth, true Christian teaching that is accompanied by the building of the church on this foundation. It’s a church that knows God and doesn’t investigate randomly the truth among the teachings of men. The church on a good foundation is new, therefore it must first pass a test, that is, overcome the obstacle of its bad self. It has to prevail spiritually and not by worldly methods, against the part of it that is in apostasy. The trial, in terms of time, is long "Now there was long war between the house of Saul and the house of David …” (2 Samuel 3:1).

When the church that submits to the will of God, triumphs with the disintegration of its renegade part, then God will honor the Church by being actively present in it. At that point the Church will disprove in practice the sneering comments of Christians in name only, symbolized with the Jebusites. They mock the Church for believing in vain false teachings that don’t produce any fruit. The Jebusites told David that the lame and the blind would stand in the way when David attempts to enter Jerusalem. If in the light of new doctrine, serious diseases are not healed (blind, lame), then the Church will be disregarded as another form of Christianity, a denomination like all other denominations. But the Church will overcome this test because the Lord will honor it with his presence as its head and fortress. Jerusalem in the Bible symbolizes the true Church of Jesus Christ regardless of spiritual condition, and Zion again symbolizes the church, but unlike Jerusalem, the emphasis lies on the Lord the God of the Church and not its members. With God declaring himself present in Zion, the Church prospers "And David went on, and grew great, and the Lord God of hosts was with him (2 Samuel 5:10).

The return of the ark of God in chapter 6 is the appearance of fruit in the life of the church, because the Church put the truth to practice. It’s the teaching that now is confirmed to be the true because of its fruit. In 2 Samuel 6:1-15, David carries the ark of the covenant from Baale of Judah to Jerusalem. Saul never dealt with the ark. It was in the house of Abinadab before the appearance of Saul (1 Samuel 7:1,2) until the time of David's command to take it from there (2 Samuel 6:2). The ark is a type of the truth applied. David and Saul knew what the truth was, they were aware of sound doctrine. The difference is that David practiced it, but Saul merely professed faith in it, and his works negated his faith. Saul was a follower of the truth but he did not walk in it, choosing the path of iniquity. On the return of the ark, in an unfortunate incident, the priest Uzzah put his hand on the ark, because the oxen that carried it shook it. God was angry about his disrespect and immediately killed him (2 Samuel 6:7). Uzzah's action does not appear to have been evil-intentioned because it was done spontaneously when the ark was shaken. But he broke a law of the Lord that warned of death to anyone who touched holy things (Numbers 4:15). It was a critical time when David's reign began in the place of the Lord's choice, Jerusalem. God sacrificed a man to remind David and the people of Israel that he is no one's property and is still the Lord of their lives and of the kingdom of Israel, whom all must fear. God had just delivered David's kingdom from external and internal enemies (Philistines and house of Saul) and a new life of prosperity would begin, with the risk that the Israelites and especially David would feel God at their feet and not on the throne in heaven. God prevented the sense of entitlement in David and the people of Israel, reminding them that everything works under of his own will. It’s important to note, that this message is included in the Lord’s Prayer “Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).

When Israelites brought the ark from Israel to the battlefield with the Philistines, they saw the ark and by extension God, as a property that would bless them. Now that the ark was following the reverse route towards Jerusalem, God reversed and canceled the original false message, showing that He honors with his blessing the  obedience of men. Man is not blessed because of ownership of the truth. A deeper message is addressed to the Church. Believers cannot lock God in a holy building called a church, and expect God to be present in the church blessing them. It doesn’t work that way and you don’t go to the church to meet the Lord either. This is not the meaning of the congregation.

The ark's placement in Obededom’s house and the blessing of his house serves as a confirmation to David that there was nothing wrong with him but with Uzzah in the eyes of the Lord. In the house of Obededom, it was their obedience that counted, not the possession of a sacred object (2 Samuel 6:11,12). In false Christianity the idea prevails that holy objects bring blessing or healing. Touching such an object brought instant death to Uzzah contradicting this view which leads to idolatry. Obedience to the Lord and walking in his commandments brings blessing and nothing else. In the next incident, the ark of the Lord finally came to the city of David, David danced with all his might, and his wife Michal despised him for his supposed indecent behavior. She said “How glorious was the king of Israel to day, who uncovered himself to day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself” (2 Samuel 6:20). Michal was wrong and David was right. David did not dance to show off to his people, but he danced before God, as is confirmed in verse 14 “And David danced before the Lord with all his might”. If the information "before the Lord" was missing, Michal could be right. The word “uncovered” (himself) that Michal repeats twice is misinterpreted as David was naked. She meant it in the sense of shame. David was wearing a linen ephod, so there is no question of actual nudity and lack of decency. In 2 Samuel 6:23. David gave a good definition of the God-given freedom that man has, the freedom in Christ "And I will yet be more vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight: and of the maidservants which thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in honour.”

David showed the exact opposite of futility and he did what he felt, regardless of whether others liked it or not. Freedom is God-given when it does not infringe on the rights and liberties of others. When one's freedom oppresses others, then it is not freedom, and God expresses many times in the New Testament the serious violation of the second great commandment with the word disrespectful - the exact translation from Greek. English Bibles translate it as wicked men. Michal represents the religious type of solemnity, that is, man must show obedience to God with his body language, with his facial expression, with the dress code and in the worst case scenario by submitting to futile rules such as "don't watch movies, don't listen to worldly music, don't dance, don't joke and don't have fun." Her legalism puts her in the same camp as Saul who wanted to perform sacrifices and ceremonies. Incidentally Michal was Saul’s younger daughter. 2 Samuel 6:23 is the final confirmation that Michal sinned and not David "Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death”.

David represented reason, knowing that God sees the heart and not the surface. What believers must understand is that Christian life is the normal life of man in society, and in this society he has to keep himself upright and honest. What does David's dance have to do with "love your neighbor as yourself" or "honor your father and mother"? Some may assume that his dancing was a violation of the great commandment, showing disrespect to the Lord. This is not true. The Lord is the truth, the love and the light. What does David's dance have to do with lies, injustice, hatred and darkness? David showed in 2 Samuel 6:22 that he was completely free from religious rules and submitted himself only to the commandments of the Lord. Social rules of conduct don’t fall in the category legalism and they are good thing in a nation, if they are in accordance with the commandments of the Lord.

David showed that he had a correct knowledge of the Lord in another incident with the ark. When David was a fugitive to escape the hands of his son Absalom, the Levites brought the ark to David. David ordered it to be returned to Zion saying “And the king said unto Zadok, Carry back the ark of God into the city: if I shall find favour 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”  (2 Samuel 15:25,26) The Levites again saw God as property because David was his anointed one. Instead David had a good picture of fellowship with God; he is at His mercy according to his obedience alone. The grace of God is not the result of David being the Lord's anointed king or if he has the ark with him wherever he goes, or if he has the Levites with him. Repentance would bring him into fellowship with God and not the ark. The disciple Judas had Jesus Christ with him for three years and had no benefit from his presence, or his teaching.

In 2 Samuel 7:2 David submits to a religious idea, expressing a desire to build a temple for the Lord. The Lord answered through the prophet Nathan that he does not dwell in any house (2 Samuel 7:5-7). However, he accepted David's decision, and told him that his son Solomon would build it. God forms new plans based on believers' deviations from his perfect will (2 Chronicles 6:5-7). David and Solomon were the Lord's chosen kings, but until the time of Samuel, God's will was that Israel should have no king. David sinned grievously when he committed adultery with Bathsheba, but God ultimately chose her out of all David's wives to bear Solomon. He accepted the building of a temple but not to dwell in it, and Solomon knew it “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?“ (1 Kings 8:27). The temple served other plans for God. Dwelling in it was not among them. The idea of ​​God’s presence in a church is one of the common errors of false Christianity. What really happens is that the Father and Jesus are in heaven, and their Spirit is everywhere.

In 2 Samuel 7:18-29 and in 2 Samuel 22, David gives praise to the Lord. David represents a man's relationship with the God that has a logical meaning. The two prayers of praise were not made out of religious custom, but were made after the beautiful words that God said to David through Nathan in the first, and on the day when God delivered him from the hands of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul in the second. They were spontaneous expressions of gratitude and love to God and not based on rules and custom. There was a freedom of expression in David's relationship with God at unplanned moments, as if it were the relationship between two friends or partners. David is a type of the Church that stays away from formalism as plenty of evidence in his story shows.

In 2 Samuel 8:15, David's righteousness is confirmed among his people. In 2 Samuel chapter 9, once again we see David's mercy to his neighbor, by taking care of Jonathan's son, Mephibosheth. In chapter 11 David commits adultery with Bathsheba resulting in an unwanted pregnancy, and he deviously sends her husband, Uriah to his death. God shows in this case that he is a just judge and not respecter of persons. He doesn’t give David a special treatment regardless of David’s conduct, just because he is God’s anointed one. One of God’s judgments was “and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun” (2 Samuel 12:11). David, when he was old, seems to have been alone without wives, although he was married to at least eight of them. The Bible doesn't say what happened, but apparently, God's decision had been fulfilled. David's servants found him a concubine to care for him, and their relationship was platonic.

Another important judgment announced by the Lord was "Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife” (2 Samuel 12:10). This was largely fulfilled with the works and death of his sons Amnon and Absalom. When Bathsheba gave birth, the infant was very sick and died on the seventh day, according to the Lord's judgment for David's sin.

An interesting deed of David is described by his servants "Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread” (2 Samuel 12:21). David again brings common sense to the things of God. He made a good use of fasting, hoping that it would reverse the judgment of the Lord, and when he saw that God didn’t listen and the child died, he asked for bread to eat (2 Samuel 12:22,23). His servants represented the religious mentality that institutionalizes the Christian life without considering whether there is common sense behind the ordinances.

David continues with the same mentality when he wanted to derail the plans of the rebel of his kingdom, Absalom. The son of David had the very wise Ahithophel as his adviser. He prayed “O Lord, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.” (2 Samuel 15:31) and then he sent Hushai the Archite to Jerusalem in the hope of defeating the counsel of Ahithophel (2 Samuel 15:34), as he did (2 Samuel 17:1-14). Hope in God does not mean that all situations will be automatically fixed directly from heaven. Perhaps half the answer to David’s  prayer was the appearance of his friend Hushai, and the other half of the answer was tricking Absalom and all men of Israel into favoring Hushai's advice over Ahithophel's. God was not expected to make Ahithophel a fool the moment he was going to express his opinion, because these things don’t happen. "And the counsel of Ahithophel, which he counselled in those days, was as if a man had enquired at the oracle of God …” (2 Samuel 16:23).

David in a difficult moment was dependent on the Lord. King Asa of Judah acted in the opposite way. "And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the Lord, but to the physicians” (2 Chronicles 16:12). Asa overlooked the Lord by placing his hope directly in the doctors for his healing, which never came. David in his example lives the reality of life without giving up his faith and hope in God. On the contrary, Asa is a realist in life but without hoping in God who has control over his health. The other wrong end that the church should avoid is fatalism, with the expectations that God will provide, without the need for the believers to do anything.

David had one great flaw. He exercised great wisdom in his reign and in his dealings with others, but he was foolish in his behavior towards his children. In his family, his sentimentality overshadowed his judgment and he never disciplined his children even if they committed the most serious crimes. This seems to have been a lifelong pattern because his sons of Absalom, Adonijah and Amnon were very spoiled. Solomon may have been an exception because of his mother's upbringing and not his father's.

Amnon raped his sister Tamar, and David, and although David was angry, said nothing to him. When Amnon was killed by his brother Absalom, David mourned for him every day (2 Samuel 13:37). He said nothing to Absalom about his action. When Absalom died, paying the price for his ruthless crimes, David mourned with such words "O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!” It’s incredible that he calls Absalom his son, never mind the rest. Then, it was his other son’s turn. “Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king: and he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him” (1 Kings 1:5). His father did not bother to ask him why he did so (2 Kings 1:5,6). If the priest Abiathar was worthy of death, (1 Kings 2:26) as was Sheba son of Bikri (2 Samuel 20), then the three sons of David were certainly worthy of death and yet their father worshiped them as if they were the most precious thing in the world. It was unthinkable for him to speak ill of them. David reaped what he sowed and his sons were a plague in his life, although God favored him and did not see the death of his third son Adonijah which happened immediately after his own.

Three stories show how much damage false rumors can do. What applies to Israel, also applies to the field of ​​the Church. The devil can use this scheme to hurt the Church. The members of the church should keep an open mind and be careful not to believe everything they hear.

In 2 Samuel 13:30, news came to David that Absalom had killed all the king's sons and not just Amnon. In 2 Samuel 16:3 Mephibosheth’s servant, Ziba told a nasty lie to David, that his master was planning to usurp the kingdom of Israel because it rightfully belonged to the house of Saul. In 2 Samuel 16:7,8 Shimei was cursing David for shedding blood in the household of Saul to take the kingdom. It is probably a story he was spreading to other Israelites. The truth was the exact opposite, that David never laid a hand against the house of Saul. On the contrary he was a benefactor of the house of Saul and he has been a faithful servant to Saul himself in his earlier years. In all three cases David was wise not to panic and react in a wrong way that would have cost him.

The story of Ahimaaz son of the priest Zadok (2 Samuel 18:22-30) who rushed to take news to David without really having news, is indicative of the immaturity of some members of the church in the infant stage, who show special zeal to serve the Lord without being ready. Ahimaaz was also a man who brought only good news (2 Samuel 18:27). It happens to believers that are in an infant state in certain Christian churches, that have been given the wrong idea that God has only good things for believers.

In 2 Samuel 19:41-43 the men of Israel and the men of Judah quarrel among themselves over who is closest to David. It reminds us of the similar problem faced by the Corinthian church "Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?” (1 Corinthians 1:12,13).

When David ordered the registration of his people, he was a type of shepherd who measured his glory according to the size of his flock. It was an unexpected attitude from David because the closer you are to God, the more vain it becomes in your eyes to count the members of the church. But the Lord wanted David to commit the sin so that the people of Israel would be judged for their disobedience (2 Samuel 24:1). God wanted to judge the people of Israel for their sins, but the righteousness and integrity of their leader David was an obstacle. God punished the sin of David by sending a plague. 70,000 people died as a result.

David made burnt offerings and peace offerings. The same act of making burnt offerings and peace offerings brought a curse upon Saul when he did them himself, and a blessing on the people of Israel when David did them. Motives differed a hundred percent. Saul did it for himself and David did it for his people. In contrast to Saul, David followed God's instructions to stop the plague (1 Chronicles 21:18). David again seems to be the one who serves his people and not himself and is under God's guidance to solve problems.

The harmonious cooperation of a pastor and a prophet in the church is also seen in David’s story. Gad was David's personal prophet (2 Samuel 24:11). God divides ministries in his Church and does not appoint one person to do them all. This is what Saul sought, he is the type of minister in the church that wants to accumulate all ministries in his name. David's attitude to Araunah was commendable when he insisted on giving full compensation for his threshing floor where he would build an altar and give offerings (2 Samuel 24:21-25, 1 Chronicles 21:22-24). He is a type of shepherd or elder of the church who refrains from opportunism, like getting rich in the name of God and demanding gifts from the flock, even if it is for the common good.