Passage Read: Psalm 67-70
Meditation Verses: 69:6-9
Thought
This is David's own experience, yet it also fits Jesus. David's enemies were many, and they had no real cause, but what they accused David of stuck more than the truth, so that even what he did not steal, he had to restore. He was not without fault; God knows all his failings. But one thing that was true is that he loved the Lord more than anything else and it made him strange even to God own family. It was that more than anything else that made him a target, that invited men to hate him and seek all kinds of excuses to condemn him. Even his own family distanced themselves from him. He feared that others who loved God would also be ashamed of him or suffer reproach because of him. But his love for God and His house was affirmed and rewarded by God with an eternal promise for his own house, fulfilled in Jesus. God delighted in David's zeal for Him, which brought David no little grief. Those who hated God also became his enemies.
Application
It is sad that true love for God, deep love for God, can produce so much backlash. Certainly those who hate God will attack those who love Him. But it is also possible that others who love God, but not as much, may be embarrassed by those whose zeal for God's house consumes them. I wonder what it would be like to actually meet Jesus and hear Him speak of God and life. Would I be embarrassed by Him? Would He be "over the top" in my eyes? Would I hesitate to hang too close with Him for fear of being identified with Him and also counted a weirdo? Would I be ashamed of my lukewarmness and attack or repent? Because apparently loving God as much as David or Jesus makes people uncomfortable, even my own family members, perhaps even also regular church members. Jesus isn't socially acceptable, and neither will I be if I let zeal for God's house consume me, if I zealously seek to follow and teach what God teaches and cleanse His house of all its impurities.