Week 3

Today’s Readings:

Psalm 34 and 1 Samuel 21:10-15, 22:1-2

That Don’t Look Right….

Have you ever watched a movie that was way better than you expected? I'm part of a movie club with some friends. It's like a book club, but it's for films. Recently, someone suggested we watch Metropolis (1927). It's a black-and-white silent film over an hour long, so a few of us weren't excited. But as we watched, I was surprised by how captivating it was. The camera work was clever, the music added depth, and the story and acting were entertaining. I had judged the movie before giving it a chance, but I felt something entirely different by the end.

David's situation is a bit like that. His experience in 1 Samuel 21 doesn't match what he writes in Psalm 34 at all. He was in a desperate situation—on the run from Saul, seeking refuge with the priests at Nob, which eventually cost them their lives. In this week's reading, David ends up in enemy territory, forced to act insane just to survive. Yet, in Psalm 34, which he writes during this time, David starts by saying:

"I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise will always be on my lips. I will glory in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice." (Psalm 34:1-2)

What?! David is surrounded by hostile Philistines, carrying the sword of their fallen champion, Goliath, and still being hunted by Saul. But instead of focusing on his fear, David praises God. One thing I've come to admire about David is how he filters his emotions through his faith. David doesn't judge movies by their trailers—he sets his focus on God's ability to deliver him.

Slobbering Shame

However, let's not sugarcoat this: David was terrified, and his actions show it. He pretended to be insane to avoid getting killed. At the moment, David wasn't praising with his lips but foaming at the mouth. The desperation of David led him to insanity. Many wouldn't exactly call that "a portrait of faith." But it's easy to judge a situation you are not in.

Growing up in church culture, I often saw certain people labeled as "sinners"—the drug addicted, gang members, unwed mothers, alcoholics. They were rarely seen as individuals with their own stories but as people defined by shame. This story with David is all about shame, too.

The only option David had was to receive protection from an enemy. Please understand my point: I am not condoning self-destructive behavior. But I am saying that it isn't constructive to add "what I would've done" on top of someone else's situation. You don't know if that addiction started as a way of coping with past trauma, just as much as I didn't know I would enjoy watching a silent film solely based on the trailer. In Psalm 34:5, David wrote

"Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame."

But in that moment, David was drooling on himself—something considered shameful for an Israelite man. So, which is it?

The Next Step

We can all learn from David's visit to Gath that having faith sometimes means taking the next available step while trusting in God's goodness. On the inside, David trusted God, even if he looked like a madman outwardly. Psalm 34 talks about how God delivers the brokenhearted and cares for the crushed in spirit (v. 18). Healing takes time and grace.

After David escaped, he ended up hiding in a cave. Despite everything, David still trusted God had anointed him king, even while hiding in a cave. The "movie ending" we might expect would be an army of strong, shiny warriors rallying to his side, vowing to avenge him. But in reality, 1 Samuel 22:2 says it was ordinary people who were struggling and weighed down by shame who came to David. He didn't judge them; he led them because he understood what it was like to project faith in desperate times.

Dive Deeper

"Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly." "When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife." (Matthew‬ ‭21:‭19,24)

Joseph, Mary's soon-to-be husband, also found himself in a tough situation. He was a faithful Jewish man, a skilled craftsman in Nazareth, and everything seemed on the surface to be perfect, how things should be. But Matthew 1:18 says that Mary was "found to be with child" one day. Some scholars think that this word means it became harder for Mary to hide she was pregnant. To the people in their town, this was a massive scandal. According to the law, Mary could have been punished, possibly even killed. What the townspeople saw as shame was really the beginning of their salvation.  

It must have been difficult for Joseph to consider divorcing Mary. He just wanted to protect her from disgrace. But then God intervened. An angel appeared to Joseph in a dream, revealing the truth about what was really happening under the surface. God gave Joseph the faith to believe even though he couldn't see. Joseph believed and obeyed, even though people likely thought he was crazy for standing by Mary.

Joseph's faith didn't come from how things looked on the surface but from trusting what God was doing underneath. Like David in the cave, Joseph focused on God's bigger plan, even when it didn't make sense to those around him.