I Am servant
I recently had the opportunity to hear my son speak to a group of people on the subject of identity in Christ Jesus. Selfishly I will say that it made this father’s heart glad to hear his son proclaim truth out of the Word of God. As my son was speaking, the Spirit reminded me of a verse that I recently read from 2 Samuel.
The verse describes a moment during King David’s flight from Jerusalem as his son, Absalom, took control of Israel’s throne. From my perspective, I could not readily connect the verses' subject with the discussion on identity. But God, in His mercy, has revealed what He wants said.
While David and those faithful to the king fled Jerusalem, they encountered a man named Shimei. This man was a descendant of David’s predecessor, King Saul. Shimei did not hold back his feelings for David. Instead he unleashed curses from the moment he saw the fleeing king. He also threw stones at David and his servants. The amount of bitterness this man had toward David was significant and the vitriol he unleashed was unchecked.
It seems that Abishai, David’s nephew and one of his able military leaders, had enough of the stones and curses. He requested that the king allow him to remove the curser’s head. To which David replied, “leave him alone, and let him curse, for the Lord has told him to. It may be that the Lord will look on the wrong done to me, and the Lord will repay me with good for his cursing today.” (vs 11b - 12)
David was king of Israel. He was not only the king. He was the divinely chosen king. God Almighty had chosen David and, through Samuel the prophet, had appointed him king at an early age. Saul, the king David replaced, was selected by the people of Israel. David was the king that God chose to correct their erroneous selection. David truly had a divine right to the throne of Israel. Had David so instructed, Shimei would have most definitely had his head removed without consequence to David or his kingship.
David was king. But it never crossed David’s mind to express his kingly identity in the situation with Shimei. In fact, it took one of his faithful followers to point out the truth that Shimei had no right to curse the king. David didn’t see it the same way.
David’s posture in this passage reminds me of another appointed King who was spat on, cursed, beaten, bruised and eventually killed by people who had no right to do so. This King was also selected by God Almighty and the title granted to Him was King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He was and forever will be the King Eternal. But, just like David, while unjustly persecuted, Jesus chose to identify with something greater than His kingly title. Instead of declaring kingship and destroying all of humanity, He “emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant”. Thank you, Jesus!
David, and Jesus Himself, show us a very important aspect of identity in God’s kingdom. We, as believers, are identified as “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation”. This identity is not self proclaimed, but rather it is declared over us by God. Just as David was heavenly ordained as king over the nation of Israel, so too are we, whom God both “foreknew” and “predestined”, ordained servants of the Most High. That is our identity. But how are we to carry such an identity?
Too often God’s declaration over His beloved is used for selfish purposes. The title granted to the believer is used far too frequently to secure the presumed rights of the believer, rather than being used to serve the One with the authority to make the declaration in the first place. Shimei’s cursing of David and Jesus’ crucifixion by those whom He created shows us something much deeper about identity in Christ Jesus.
We are children of God. We are the beloved, adopted into the family of our loving Creator. Absolutely nothing can separate us from this selection. Understanding this truth should not only cause us to live boldly under God’s banner of love. It should also reveal to us the truth that even in persecution, when we humbly serve our Lord, God’s purposes are accomplished for His glory and to His name. David did not refuse to take his kingly privileges under Shimei’s curses because he enjoyed being pelted with stones and cursed. He did so because he identified humbly as a servant of God. The God who had both the right and the ability to allow curses and to rebuke them. David understood that it was up to God, and God alone. Likewise, Jesus humbly served through the destruction of His physical body. Certainly not because He thought it was fun, but rather for the purpose of accomplishing the will of the Father, who He served. It was up to God.