On March 24, 2020, officials placed my city and surrounding area under lock down, and ordered that everyone was “to remain at home except for activities ‘essential to the health and safety’ of themselves, family members or friends.”
As of June 1, the order has begun to lift, and life is starting to get back to normal. Church services are still an issue since we still need to avoid groups of more than 10 people, and because singing could mean the potential expulsion of droplets that could infect other people. It is a good time to find some practical results learned from the lock down. These ideas are common sense, but anything we can apply to a scriptural basis helps to keep our faith strong. Even in the midst of less than optimal circumstances, there are things that can help us to be better Christians. It is an opportunity to investigate similar circumstances from a Biblical perspective.
There are no biological stories where quarantines happened in the bible. There are stories of sieges, like at the battle of Jericho. However, I am interested in a story line where a person was detained for a season, and had to follow rules according to an official. The story of Saul and David provides an example, so I sought lessons learned that apply to my lock down. Here is what I found.
In 1 Samuel 18, we learn that David’s story began with a friendship, but this led to Saul imposing a lock down on David. “After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. 2 From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return home to his family.”
With any change in living circumstance, it means we have to adjust and learn to live with our new situation. David’s friendship with Jonathan meant that David received help from Jonathan. When we have limited access to the outside world, help from friends can allow us to thrive.
Practical Lesson 1
Strive to do well while we remain limited. In 1 Samuel 18 5 Whatever mission Saul sent him on, David was so successful that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the troops, and Saul’s officers as well.
Given a mission with the Lord on our side, while striving to be our best, we can remain a noteworthy ambassador for God. As we do what is right, follow God, and do our best, people will naturally want to respond to the aid rendered, no matter how limited we may be. I am not saying ‘God rewards Christians’. I am saying that a godly response is received well by the people around us.
Of course, we need to be on guard when we have limitations. Day to day, we need to protect ourselves. In terms of the quarantine, the rules have been 1) Frequent washing of hands, 2) Do not contaminate your face 3) Avoid people who are ill. I have learned a secondary lesson in the midst of these imposed limitations: While we may be doing well in our limitations. we need to be cautious of what is imposed by politicians and officials. Some states have governors and mayors who extended the lock down, out of personal interest which is not in keeping with data or evidence to the contrary.
In our story with David, Saul became increasingly paranoid about David . For David, 14 In everything he did he had great success, because the Lord was with him. 15 When Saul saw how successful he was, he was afraid of him (1 Samuel 18). We can make a case for saying David’s rules of lock down were similar to ours: 1) ‘Keep your hands clean’ (= Don’t do anything that would soil his image) 2) Avoid things that contaminate (=Avoid things that make him look bad in front of Saul) 3) Stay away from Saul (=Who was increasingly mentally ill).
Practical lesson 2
Practical lesson 3
Expect difficulties through unknown agendas In 1 Samuel 18, beginning at verse 20, we begin to see that Saul has less than honorable intentions for David as David seeks to may Saul’s daughter. Similarly, we can not expect officials and other people’s fairness from people looking after a specific agenda.
Saul ok’s the marriage to Michal with a condition which he did not expect David to achieve. In 1 Samuel 18 25 Saul replied, “Say to David, ‘The king wants no other price for the bride than a hundred Philistine foreskins, to take revenge on his enemies.’” Saul’s plan was to have David fall by the hands of the Philistines.
This task was so difficult that David had to be know Saul was against him. A lot was at stake: 1) Killing 100 Philistines could result in David’s death from any 1 of them. 2) Retrieving 100 foreskins is a grisly task no person would ever want to do. 3) A reply of ‘No thanks’, would mean no marriage and David would be seen as a person who cannot do what is asked of him. Surprisingly, David did all this willingly.
26 When the attendants told David these things, he was pleased to become the king’s son-in-law. So before the allotted time elapsed, 27 David took his men with him and went out and killed two hundred Philistines and brought back their foreskins. They counted out the full number to the king so that David might become the king’s son-in-law. Then Saul gave him his daughter Michal in marriage.
From this we learn that difficulties come in every human agenda. I am sure there are many people like me that yearn for a good life to be handed to me. After all, I am a Christian. I deserve it.
But wait — I do not deserve good things to be handed to me, and I do not expect it. After all, humanity has something that is not good – in our core. I am human. How can something (me) that is not good at the core, have a relation to someone that is completely good? David was willing to go the extra mile to assure the dowry Saul required was paid.
God paid a dowry also. For those who accept Jesus, we become a body of believers that is also known as the bride of Christ. God paid for humanity to accept Him by having Jesus die on the cross as a payment for our sin — that bad core in all of us.
In the face of Saul’s ‘bad’ agenda, David’s actions were meant for good. His response took some work, and he exceeded expectations.
