Treasures, Kings, and Tiny Things

June 15, 1997

1 Samuel 15:7 "(The) Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart."

2 Corinthians 4:7 "We have this treasure in jars of clay..."

It is father's day today. I thought I might connect that fact with some aspects of the scriptures we have been reading recently; scriptures about treasures in earthen jars, and mustard seed small beginnings and also a story about a father named Jesse and a son named David.

I might begin with an item from Ann Landers' column titled, "A Gentle Reminder Not to Forget Father." It goes like this:

When I was

• four years old: "My daddy can do anything.
• five years old: "My daddy knows a whole lot.
• six years old: "My dad is smarter than your dad.
• eight years old: "My dad doesn't know exactly everything.
• ten years old: "In the olden days when my dad grew up, things sure were different.
• twelve years old: "Oh, well, naturally, dad doesn't know anything about that. He is too old to remember his childhood.
• fourteen years old: "Don't pay any attention to my dad. He is so old-fashioned.
• twenty-one years old: "Him? My Lord, he's hopelessly out of date.
• twenty-five years old: "Dad knows a little bit about it, but then he should because he has been around so long.
• thirty years old: "Maybe we should ask dad what he thinks. After all, he's had a lot of experience.
• thirty-five years old: "I'm not doing a single thing until I talk to dad.
• forty years old: "I wonder how dad would have handled it. He was so wise and had a world of experience.
• fifty years old: "I'd give anything if dad were here now so I could talk this over with him. Too bad I didn't appreciate how smart he was. I could have learned a lot from him.

I don't know, quite frankly, how to "fit" Father's Day into the scripture's message. I do believe that dads are often in the key position to mold lives for better or for worse. Our children are like the potential of mustard seed growth. Every parent deals with unimaginable potential.

"Years ago during the early days of the New York Herald Tribune, the same cartoon ran every year on February 12. Two men are shown meeting in a snowy wilderness road setting. One is astride a horse as the other man greets him, asking what news in the village. The horseman reports that the local squire has left for Washington to see Madison sworn in, and that he has heard that Napoleon has captured most of Spain. Then he asks the man on foot, "What's new out here, neighbor?"

"Nuthin' a tall, nuthin' a tall, 'cept fer a new baby down t'Tom Lincoln's. Nuthin' ever happens out here."

"The seed is planted, the smallest seed."

Leaving a strictly-Father's -Day approach to the texts this morning, the story of the choosing/anointing of David by Samuel has highlighted two verses for me:

I Samuel 5:7 "(The) Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." and 2 Corinthians 4:7 "We have this treasure in jars of clay..." (from the lesson two weeks ago.)

The story of David, Israel's greatest king, of how he was chosen and anointed and lived out his ambition invites comparison and contrast with the story of the king that was actually in power at the time. I am tempted just to sketch out the two stories side-by-side and let them stand on their own, and maybe I will.

God sent the old prophet Samuel looking for a new king. He specifically sent him to Bethlehem (and that's significant!) to look among the eight sons of a wealthy farmer named Jesse.

The youngest son was not even present during the ceremonial part of the visit. But God made it very plain that this was the man he wanted. Then the words of the text: "MORTALS look on the outward appearance! GOD looks on the heart!" David had the heart for being a king!

Some years before this same prophet had gone looking for Saul. Saul, too, had had the oil of anointing poured over his head. Saul had shown signs of great humility. But he had failed his stress-tests along the way. He was shown to be a king that cared more for the outward appearance than he did for the integroty of his heart.

Both these men had tests along the way to assuming full power of their offices. Early on in his reign, Saul was supposed to take part in what amounted to a public coronation ceremony, complete with the blessing of God through his prophet Samuel.      But when Samuel was late, Saul was impatient and took over the role of blesser as well as blessee. He took sacred calling upon himself to the danger of his soul. And when Samuel challenged him about it, Saul's response was, "Let's keep up appearances! What will the people think?"

David, on the other hand, was anointed in secret long before Saul's reign was over. David knew God's hand was on him. But on more than one occasion David had opportunity to kill Saul and take his destiny in his own hands, but each time he absolutely refused. David was ambitious, but the ambition was subject to his primary concern: being right with God!

Saul had a way of turning his conquests into profit for himself. He was supposed to be a servant of God, Instead he served his own interests. When he was told to utterly destroy the bitter enemies of God, the Amalekites, Saul destroyed everything cheap and worthless, but saved out the best of the sheep and cattle for himself. Once again, when Samuel challenged him, Saul said, "Let's keep upappearances! It is the people's fault!" But sadly, Saul also said said, "God has departed from me, and does not answer me any more!"

One of the saddest scenes in all the Bible is that of Saul the night before he died a suicide on a hill in northern Israel. Saul, taller by a head than the men he commanded, now lying full length on the floor before the Witch of Endor, trying to get a word from God any way that he could. Saul cared more for the appearance than for the substance, and he died an empty shell of a king.

These were no doubt great sins Saul had committed. But other kings later sinned, but found forgiveness. The thing was, Saul cared more about appearance than heart reality.

And so it was during the later years of Saul's reign that God began looking, as it were, for a man who cared more about the reality of who he was than he did about what people thought he might be. That is where the key text from that passage makes sense in any contrast of Saul and David:

"Human beings look on the outward appearance; God looks on the heart!"

Across the years after David became king he, too, failed more than once, and suffered because of his sins. But God did not take away his kingdom, and God called David 'a man after his own heart.' What was the difference?

The difference was integrity. David somehow had a personal trust in a God who cared. Psalm 23 reflects that trust. And so David dared to wait for God's timing in personal ambition. When he had opportunity to take Saul's life he refused. David could wait for God.

David dared to be honest with himself. We all can stumble, and we all can blind ouselves at times to our own faults. We can become our own enemies. But David never played games with God. His Psalms reflect many moods. Sometimes it almost seems that David is impatient with God. But David also asks God to show him, David, who he really is.

And when sin came, and David failed, instead of grabbing the prophet's cloak and saying, "Let's put a good show on before the people!" as Saul had done, David said to Nathan, who had taken Samuel's place, "I have sinned!" And the great 51st Psalm reflects the cry of true repentance. God forgives sin when we cry to him from our hearts.

Conclusion:

We either learn to value the treasure— or we glorify the vessel. Kings or peasants, or for that matter, churches or denominations.

A church or an institution can DIE while trying to keep up appearances. The treasure of any church fellowship is IMMANUEL, God-is-with-us-!, and when we get more interested in keeping the vessel than keeping the treasure we miss our central purpose.

Pray for our denomination this week. Like every other Christian fellowship, Nazarenes face changes on every facet of the human experience— social, economic, inter- and intra-racial tensions, power struggles between good people who think their assignment is all-important— that's only facts of life.

But this week the absolutely latest technology will proclaim the gospel in San Antonio, and many thousands of us will be there. I believe we still have the treasure of God's Presence with us. We need to remind ourselves again that the treasure of our Zion has been the challenge to holy living— it is GOD-WITH-US!

490 O to Be Like Thee