“Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year. And David sought the face of the Lord. And the Lord said, ‘There is bloodguilt on Saul and on his house, because he put the Gibeonites to death’.”  (ESV)

In my house, we have a wooden box labeled “STUFF.” It sits at the base of the stairs, and it is where all the randomness collects that belongs upstairs. It mostly consists of forgotten toys or scattered playset parts. When the "STUFF” box needs to be emptied, I give a warning, and my children know that things remaining in that box will find their way to the donation pile.  

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One of my children takes special ownership of that box, while the others seem not to care in the least. She often complains of unfairness when she alone is putting things away. I remind her she needs only to put away the things that she cares about; however, the issue remains, as she cares about everything. She often ends up putting away items that are not hers. Is this fair? Maybe not, but she chooses to take responsibility for all the things in that box.  

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In today’s Scripture, David inherits some unsavory leftovers from Saul’s reign that had nothing to do with him. God establishes that a wrong had been committed, and now the King of Israel must atone for (or make right) the wrongdoing. Even though David was not king when this wrong was committed, David humbly accepts his responsibility to handle the situation.  

I am not going to pretend that some of the stories in the Old Testament do not make me cringe a little. I often have trouble seeing the bigger picture God has preserved for us to learn from as I get hung up on details. As we read on, we find that the responsibility David takes includes some details that are a little hard to swallow, like him taking the lives of some of Saul’s descendants. But if we set aside the particulars for a moment and zoom out to a bigger picture, we see David attempting to find a solution to a problem presented to him by the God he loves. Although it would come at a cost, David desired a right relationship with God. Like my child who consistently puts away every item in our “STUFF” box, even when it is not hers, David tries to clean up Saul’s mess out of this desire for he and his nation to be right with God.  

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Do you have a “STUFF” box? Is there a mess you are attempting to clean up to keep the peace in the workplace or in your home? How is your attitude while completing such tasks? Right in the middle of our verse today we see the words, “And David sought the face of the Lord.” I don’t know about you, but when something seems unfair, or grossly disproportionate, I admit my heart does not always gravitate initially to seeking the face of the Lord. I may sulk or let God know “that’s not fair!” Usually, I do find my way around to seeking God, but it may or may not be my first response.  

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David is referred to as “a man after God’s own heart.” While we read in Scripture of his failings, we also know he didn’t mince words but let God know exactly how he was feeling in about every situation. We see David continually seeking the face of God because he desired a real relationship with God and the intimacy that a right relationship brings.

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Do you know who else walked in an unfair calling? Jesus – talk about grossly disproportionate! He cleaned up mine and everyone else’s messes for all eternity, and he did not make ANY mess. Yet, he also sought his Father in the Garden before the cross. When we find ourselves wallowing in unfairness, we can instead choose to praise God that he has already cleaned up our messes.  

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Does your heart, like David, desire a right relationship with God? Are you seeking his face in all you do? Most of us will never be in David’s situation, singlehandedly attempting to make an inherited wrong right, and thank God we also never have to go through what Jesus endured. But we can, like David and Jesus, seek the face of the Lord in any situation we face today.  

God, we are beyond grateful Jesus atoned for our sin and cleaned up our mess, so we do not have to make it right to have a relationship with you. We also thank you for the example you have given us in David. When we read his story, we are aware that he, like us, was not perfect, but we find so much grace here because he sought after you and desired a relationship with you. We know you want our hearts too. Help us, God, to seek you in all we do. I know you are faithful to grow us into who you meant us to be. Amen.