Forgiveness seen through David

Forgiveness Defined: “act of excusing or pardoning others in spite of their shortcomings, errors.”

God’s original design for this world was a perfect world with perfect relationships with Him. Meaning that forgiveness would not have been needed. The mere fact that sin exists is the reason that forgiveness exists and is needed. Sin deserves punishment because it is against the character of God. Forgiveness was made possible through the Lord's grace and mercy and by what he did on the cross for our sins. The forgiveness that took place on the cross was the pardoning of all of our sins. Romans 5:8 says, “but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” A perfect man stepped in and took on the punishment of our sins, thus creating the need for forgiveness in our lives. Ever since Adam and Eve’s fall, sin has been in this world making forgiveness, grace, and mercy a necessity for a right relationship with the Lord.

In this post we will look at the Hebrew definition of forgiveness. The Old Testament was written in Hebrew so while looking at Old Testament stories I like to keep the Hebrew language in mind when understanding what the Lord is teaching us.

In Hebrew the word for forgiveness is “nasa” which translates “the taking away, forgiveness or pardon of sin.” A verse that uses this form of forgiveness is Numbers 14:18, ‘The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.” This verse is Moses describing the attributes of God. We see here that one of God’s attributes is forgiveness which is the pardoning of sins. This is especially important because up to this point Jesus had not yet come to earth and yet the Lord is described as being forgiving. So if we don't yet have the example of Jesus dying on a cross for our forgiveness, where in the Old Testament do we see the Lord's forgiveness being enacted?

David's story and his struggle with Saul is a great example of forgiveness in the Old Testament. Saul was the first chosen King of Israel, but he becomes jealous of David’s popularity and military success and he chooses to basically do as much as he could to kill David. David however as we know has found favor by the Lord. David was always under the Lord’s protection despite being hunted by Saul. In 1 Samuel 19, we see the marks of true friendship. In verses 1-7, Jonathan, Saul's son, pleads for his father not to kill his friend David and while the father agrees not to harm David we see in verses 9-11 the Lord allows for a “harmful spirit” to come upon Saul and he again plans to kill David. Moving to chapter 20, Jonathan then realizes his father is not letting up and plans to enact his anger on David. Jonathan goes against his own father to warn his friend and protect his friend.

While on the run from Saul, David is given the opportunity to be released from a life on the run. In chapter 24:1-7 David is hiding in a place where Saul enters to use the bathroom. There David cuts off a piece of Saul’s robe to show him that he had the chance to kill him but didn't. Here we already see the effects of forgiveness on a person. David in his mercy showed Saul forgiveness despite Saul not asking for it. In verse 5, it says that David’s heart was struck, he recognized that the Lord anointed Saul as King and that it wasn't his place to give him judgment. As much as David wanted to be set free from this burden, he chose to listen to the voice of the Lord and spare Saul’s life.

I know that when someone hurts me, the last thing I want to do is forgive. Sometimes I want to seek out my own revenge. I want so badly sometimes for the person who hurt me to hurt in the same way that I've been hurt. We see here that other people's judgment and consequences are not for us to decide. Judgment is not for us to give out, but the Lord and only the Lord. This is the reason David's heart was so struck, Saul was not only trying to kill him, but was putting a strain on a friendship to where he couldn't see his friend anymore. And he was given the opportunity to end it all, but David chose to forgive and show Mercy.

A couple of chapters later David is put in another opportunity to end all the distress by killing Saul, but chooses again to spare his life. While with Abishai, they found Saul's camp where he was sleeping and left vulnerable. David commands Abishai to not kill him but instead take a couple of things from near his head to show how close they were to his head and could have killed him but chose not to. In verse 10 David shows so much strength in his forgiveness. He says, “As the Lord lives, the Lord will strike him, or his day will come to die, or he will go down in battle and perish.” David's response shows what forgiveness should look like for us all. It's the act of pardoning someone who has wronged us, and leaving it in the Lord’s hands.

There is someone in my life who hurt my family and I, and as a family we have had to learn to forgive them. I remember how hard that was when I initially felt the conviction to forgive them. I struggled with the idea of forgiving them and not telling them exactly how much they hurt me. In my mind I couldn't get closure until they knew EXACTLY how much they hurt me. David also did not have the chance to explain or show Saul the hurt and turmoil that he was causing. Instead showed him mercy and forgiveness and surrendered the outcome completely to the Lord. Because we live in a fallen world we may never get that apology or closure that we desire so much, but that's not what forgiveness is. Christ illustrated forgiveness on the cross, by dying for the sins of those who didn’t seek reconciliation, and didn't offer up an apology. Christ died knowing that there will be people who will never repent for what they have done. We must show forgiveness not expecting anything in return, and we can still find comfort by surrendering it to the Lord.