A weary king: The secret to true effectiveness in God’s service
2 Sam 21:15-22
Tim Keller was a well-known American pastor and preacher who started Redeemer Presbyterian Church, an inner-city congregation in New York that experienced exponential growth leading to several other ministries. Keller was a gifted teacher, who understood and engaged with the culture in a way that made sense to the non-Christian, urban professionals whom he ministered amongst. He had vision, drive and gifting, yet Collin Hansen describes in his book how he lacked managerial skills and as the church grew into a more complex organisation, he struggled to cope and was failing. Yet, as Hansen points out, a key thing about Keller was his humility. He acknowledged his deficiencies, his people pleasing and his tendency to avoid conflict and was willing to call in help for jobs that he could not do well. In other words, people were impressed with his character.[1]
The weary king
In the four small vignettes from the period of war with the Philistines, we meet a David who was similarly lacking in some ways. If the previous reading described how power could cause great harm (Saul’s sin) and how that power could also undo harm (through atonement), our current section deals with weakness. It is in fact shocking to read that David was weary and almost killed (2 Sam 21:15). Was he becoming tired in old age or has he never been particularly strong physically? Although our passage gives no theological commentary, the bare details invite us to reflect on what made David an outstanding leader. Despite our impression of him as a great warrior, his victory over Goliath was not about strength or military prowess but reliance on the Lord (1 Sam 17:45). Likewise, the earlier accounts of the Philistine wars show David seeking God’s guidance about military strategy (2 Sam 5:19-20, 23-25). The king was successful not because of exceptional physical strength but because he trusted the Lord.
No one can do it alone
In fact, what emerges from the dry details of these short, almost list-like descriptions is the lesson that no leader is sufficient in himself alone. In all four incidents, someone other than David strikes the enemy down (twice David’s nephews do so – 2 Sam 21:17, 21 and twice some other of his soldiers – 2 Sam 21:18-19). Yet, his men recognise the king’s unique leadership qualities in other respects (he is ‘the lamp of Israel’, their guiding light; 2 Sam 21:17), so that he must be protected to do the task he is gifted at. While we do not read of the king’s answer, we know from elsewhere that he was humble enough to listen to his men (cf. 2 Sam 18:3-4). This also highlights the principle that we are all needed in God’s kingdom, called to different tasks and to faithfulness in those.
Strength in weakness
Leadership or any kind of service, however, is not purely about talent. In fact, giftedness without godly character leads to moral disaster. As Keller notes, ‘This is a major reason why so many of the most successful ministers have a moral failure or lapse. Their prodigious gifts have masked the lack of grace operations at work in their lives [i.e. that we live by God’s grace]’.[2] In other words, we see again the principle that is like a scarlet thread through Scripture that we are strong even when we are weak because true strength comes from trusting the Lord and His strength. If we rely on Him in godliness that makes up for our deficiencies and God can still use us. To quote Keller again,
You may not have strong public-speaking gifts, but if you are godly, your wisdom and love and courage will make you an interesting preacher. You may not have strong pastoral or counselling gifts (e.g., you may be very shy or introverted), but if you are godly, your wisdom and love and courage will enable you to comfort and guide people. You may not have strong leadership gifts (e.g., you may be disorganized or cautious by nature), but if you are godly, your wisdom and love and courage will mean that people will respect and follow you.[3]
Whether in leadership or in other roles, may we trust the Lord in our weaknesses and look to His strength in our weakness.
[1] Collin Hansen, Timothy Keller: His Spiritual and Intellectual Formation (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Reflective, 2023), 211-14.
[2] Timothy Keller, Preaching: Communicating Faith in an Age of Skepticism (Penguin, 2015), 195-96.
[3] Ibid., 196.
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