But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to David’s rescue; he struck the Philistine down and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, saying, “Never again will you go out with us to battle, so that the lamp of Israel will not be extinguished.” – 2 Samuel 21:17

Today's Scripture Reading (September 28, 2022): 2 Samuel 21

I am getting old. Don’t get me wrong; I don’t always feel like it. To be honest, some days, I get up and feel like I am half my age. But then I try to do something that would not have been a problem in my youth and find out that it is beyond my ability. And I wonder where the time went. I know I am not as strong as I once was. I was never fast, but I have slowed down even more. I am not as flexible as I once was. Sometimes my mind thinks I can still play on the defensive line of an American Football Game, but my body knows the truth. Those days are long behind me.

David went out to fight the Philistines with his army. It is likely that he still felt the sharp pain of that time when he didn’t go to war with his army and instead found himself in trouble with Bathsheba. After that time, David accompanied his men when they went into battle. And this fight is no different.

But the problem is that David is getting older. The King is now seventy, and his death is not that far in the future, probably less than a year. He may believe he is a young warrior who can fight with his troops, but his body would disagree. Luckily for David, Abishai is there to save his King when he finds himself in trouble.

As far as his men are concerned, David has become a liability in the field. His value is now a symbol of the nation. No one wants to be responsible for allowing the King to die in battle. They believe David has become the light by which the country has been guided. And to lose that light would be to plunge the nation into deep darkness. And so, he is asked, in future battles, to stay home. Let the younger soldiers have their time to shine as David once had. It is a hard request for any of us to hear, and it might have been even harder on David, who had made his reputation on the battlefield. John Trapp (1601-1669), an English Anglican Bible Commentator, argues that the body will not drown in water as long as the head stays above the waves. It is only when the head sinks below the waves that the body finds itself in trouble, and death draws near. David was the head of the nation, and the army of Israel could not imagine an Israel where he was not the head. They would survive without him, but they didn’t want to hasten that moment any quicker than it needed to come.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 22