Discernment

 DEVOTION

2^ND SAMUEL

DISCERNMENT

2 Sam 14:9-17

9 But the woman from Tekoa said to him, "My lord the king, let the blame rest on me and on my father's family, and let the king and his throne be without guilt." 10 The king replied, "If anyone says anything to you, bring him to me, and he will not bother you again." 11 She said, "Then let the king invoke the LORD his God to prevent the avenger of blood from adding to the destruction, so that my son will not be destroyed." "As surely as the LORD lives," he said, "not one hair of your son's head will fall to the ground." 12 Then the woman said, "Let your servant speak a word to my lord the king." "Speak," he replied. 13 The woman said, "Why then have you devised a thing like this against the people of God? When the king says this, does he not convict himself, for the king has not brought back his banished son? 14 Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But God does not take away life; instead, he devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him. 15 "And now I have come to say this to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. Your servant thought, 'I will speak to the king; perhaps he will do what his servant asks. 16 Perhaps the king will agree to deliver his servant from the hand of the man who is trying to cut off both me and my son from the inheritance God gave us.' 17 "And now your servant says, 'May the word of my lord the king bring me rest, for my lord the king is like an angel of God in discerning good and evil. May the LORD your God be with you.'"

NIV

Although all that this woman said was from the mouth of Joab, which we will see that David finally figured out, there is something in this narrative that she said to David that is simply not true. This woman told David that he is like an angel of God, discerning good from evil. In some sense, we should be able to discern evil from good, but only because of the indwelling Holy Spirit, gifting us with discernment. When we think of the testimony of God regarding all mankind before the flood, that their hearts were bent toward evil all the time, how can that be any different in the time of David, and for that matter, in the present age? We believers would not agree that our hearts are bent toward evil all the time, but we also cannot say that our hearts are bent toward God all the time. If we even think that we never have any evil or sinful thoughts or deeds within us, we would be just like the Pharisees, filled with self-righteousness, pride, and hypocrisy. Sometimes we might try to appear all holy and righteous in front of other believers, for who wants to admit to having any unrighteous thoughts or deeds. We have heard people criticize certain government officials for not being transparent, yet we wonder just how transparent we are with each other. David was praised for being able to discern good from evil, but we must praise the Lord for giving us that ability, although sometimes we might blur the line between the two. The  Apostle Paul was more honest about his not just blurring the line, but right out crossing it when he testified that what he wants to do, he does not, and what he does not want to do, he does. Let us always be open to the discernment of the Spirit concerning our hearts and minds, that we might have an honest assessment within.