[Note: This message was a sermon I once gave on Psalm 141, a particularly favored psalm of mine that I have also quoted in other contexts [1].]

Introduction

Imagine yourself as a king, or as a leader of a nation, or a pastor, the leader of a church congregation, or as a supervisor or employer. For the purposes of this exercise it is only necessary to picture yourself as someone in a position of authority. Now imagine that someone who you consider under you critiques you harshly. What should your response be to this less than flattering portrayal? What does the Bible say about it? During the brief time available this afternoon I will seek to at least provide some guidelines for the answer to this question.

For those people looking for a title for this message, I have entitled this sermonette “Let The Righteous Strike Me.” Today we are going to look at the issue of handling less than friendly comments made to authority figures by less powerful people. While this is a broad topic, I have chosen to narrow it down to specifically look at David and how he dealt with less than politic advice from righteous, if blunt-spoken, friends. The reason I have chosen David is because he is a rare character in the Bible whose theoretical views and practical application are there to see from the pages of the Bible. For this reason we will look at both today.

David’s Theoretical Views

We can find David’s theoretical views on handling less than polite comments from others in an unusual place. Let us turn to Psalm 141:5. In Psalm 141:5, David states that: “Let the righteous strike me; it shall be a kindness. And let him rebuke me; it shall be as excellent oil; Let my head not refuse it. For still my prayer is against the deeds of the wicked.” Unlike many leaders today, David recognized that one should not blame the messenger for the harshness of the message. This understanding led him to take good advice, even when the advice must have come with stinging and rebuking words.

The inspiration for this particular message came from some of my web browsing on sites that advocate accountability in the Church of God community. While many people are offended by blunt truth, someone who is truly godly (as David was), and truly humble will take criticism and recognize the kernel of truth within it. Criticism seldom comes in palatable forms, but when the righteous criticize there is truth to be found it. It behooves us to understand that in our own lives.

David’s Practical Application

It is one thing to advocate the smiting of the righteous, as David did. However, one has to determine whether someone actually lives up to that claim or not. In this case, we are fortunate that David did live up to his pronouncement. To maintain the property of brevity, we will look at two important examples, both of them involving the Prophet Nathan. We will see in the following two examples, one an issue of morality and the other an issue of God’s will, a prophet who is blunt spoken and politically incorrect. We will also see, however, a servant of God that does not value others for how they flatter him, but on how honest and faithful to God they are.

The first such example takes place in 2 Samuel 12. We will read the first fifteen verses of the chapter, which show the blunt spoken prophet Nathan delivering a message that David did not want to hear concerning his sin with Bathsheba, but heard patiently and repented as a result of. Beginning in verse one: “Then the Lord sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him: “There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds. But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had brought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom; and it was like a daughter to him. And a traveler came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come ot him; but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” In these first four verses we see Nathan presenting an allegory that David would understand without being aware of the parallels to his own action concerning Bathsheba. The stirring message had the desired effect. Continuing in verses five and six: “So David’s anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this shall surely die! And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity.” David recognized the sin of the man in the story, but did not realize the full importance of the story yet. At this point, however, the straight talking prophet delivers the stunning blow: “Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus said the Lord God of Israel: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more! Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon. Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.'” Interestingly enough, this happened during Absolom’s rebellion, in 2 Samuel 16:21-22.

At this point, David could have ordered Nathan killed, but instead he recognized the truth in the blunt prophet’s words. David replies confessionally: “So David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”” Nathan replies with the final verdict of God on the matter: “And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child who is born to you shall surely die.” Then Nathan departed to his own house.” In the following verses, David’s son did die after a week of life. Also, David paid fourfold for the death of Urijah the Hittite, with the death of his unnamed Son, Amnon (who raped his half-sister Tamar and was killed by Absalom), Absalom, and Adonijah. However, despite this grim news David accepted personal responsibility for his actions, and did not heap any abuse or punishment on the bearer of bad news. I wonder how many leaders today would do likewise.

The second example of how David dealt with bad news from the prophet Nathan is contained in 1 Chronicles 17. We will read the first eighteen verses of this chapter to demonstrate how David reacted to disappointment concerning the construction of the temple. Beginning in 1 Chronicles 17:1: “Now it came to pass, when David was dwelling in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under tent curtains.” In the previous chapter David had brought the ark to Jerusalem, and he wanted to house it in a matter in which it was worthy. At first Nathan was supportive: “Then Nathan said to David, “Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you.” However, that night Nathan found out from God that this was not exactly the case in this matter: “But it happened that night that the word of God came to Nathan, saying, “Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: “You shall not build Me a house to dwell in. For I have not dwelt in a house since the time that I brought up Israel, even to this day, but have gone from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle to another. Wherever I have moved about with all Israel, have I ever spoken a word to any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people, saying, ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?'”‘ Now therefore, thus you shall say to My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people Israel. And I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a name like the name of the great men who are on the earth. Moreover, I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more; nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore, as previously, since the time that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel. Also I will subdue all your enemies. Furthermore, I tell you that the Lord will build you a house. And it shall be, when your days are fulfilled, when you must go to be with your fathers, that I will set up your seed after you, who will be of your sons; and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build Me a house, and I will establish his throne forever. I will be his Father, and he shall be My son; and I will not take My mercy away from him, as I took it from him who was before you. And I will establish him in My house and in My kingdom forever; and his throne shall be established forever.”‘” As we see in the following verse, Nathan faithfully told David the message: “According to all these words and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.”

These words must have been painful for David to hear on the one hand, because God forbade him from building the temple. However, the message was not all bad. God promised to set up a physical dynasty after him that would rule, as it indeed did. Also, there were spiritual blessings, for parts of the blessing can only be taken as referring to Christ, who is the Son of God and who will reign forever. David wisely chose to focus on the positives of the unconditional covenant rather than the disappointment of not being able to build the temple. In the following three verses, we find David humble and thankful for the blessings graciously given by God: “Then King David went in and sat before the Lord; and he said: “Who am I, O Lord God? And what is my house, that You have brought me this far? And yet this was a small thing in Your sight, O God; and You have also spoken of Your servant’s house for a great while to come, and have regarded me according to the rank of a man of high degree, O Lord god. What more can David say to You for the honor of Your servant? For You know Your servant.” We know from scripture that David was a man after God’s own heart. From 1 Chronicles 28:2 we know that David instructed the temple to be built by Solomon after his death. We know also from Luke 3:31 that David named a son Nathan, presumably after the prophet. Obviously David lived up to his statement that the rebuke of the righteous was oil that his head did not refuse.

Lessons For Us Today

What can we learn from these examples, though? In the closing part of my message I will seek to briefly explore some ways in which we can be as David in this matter. For simplicity, we can consider three lessons, though I am sure one could come up with more if time permitted. First, we should make a conscious effort to be more responsive to constructive criticism. It is a difficult matter to tell the difference between gratuitous abuse and useful advice, but we should seek to glean what truth we can get from the harsh and unkind sayings of others. We should be reflective enough about our own sins and weaknesses to recognize when someone speaks the truth about our worst qualities. This is true both individually and collectively. Second, when someone presents us with outright sin, we like David should be repentant and should not try to take vengeance on the bearer of the message. This is true no matter who delivers the message. Even if someone who is considered an inferior delivers a harsh message that exposes unpleasant facts, we should be prepared to face up to it without seeking to censure the person who blows the whistle. We cannot confuse blunt honesty with insubordination and rebellion. Third, when we are presented with mixed news that disrupts our plans, we should focus on the positive and thank God for the blessings He has given, rather than curse the opportunities God will not let us do, for His own purposes. These may seem simple, but often the simplest things are the most difficult to do. If we do these things, then we can honestly say like David: Let the righteous strike me, it shall be a blessing.

[1] https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2011/01/09/a-bloggers-hymn-a-meditation-on-psalm-141/