Ignore the Mocking and Sneering

Everyone who sees me mocks me. They sneer and shake their heads, saying, “Is this the one who relies on the Lord? Then let the Lord save him! If the Lord loves him so much, let the Lord rescue him!”

Ps 22, 7 & 8, NIV

In Psalm 22, David records the times when others mocked and sneered at him. However, nowhere in the Old Testament are the actual words documented. In fact, when John wrote his gospel, he explicitly stated that, “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” (John 21: 25, NIV) So it is not surprising that not all of David’s words are recorded in the Bible.

If we read the 1st Book of Samuel, we see that Saul is Israel’s first king, but by the 15th chapter, he had already been rejected by God, and in the 16th chapter, Samuel anointed David to be king (though he was still a young shepherd living with his father, Jesse). Interestingly, in Chapter 17, when we read about the fight between Goliath and David, we instinctively knew that David would win, as he had just been anointed by the prophet Samuel.

David did indeed win the fight, and at the end of chapter seventeen, with the Philistine camp plundered, Abner, the Commander of Saul’s army, brought David, still holding Goliath’s head, and introduced him to King Saul.

What follows can only be seen as an exaggeration by the people; whatever mission Saul sent him on, David was so successful that the people began to chant, “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.” To put it mildly, “Saul was very angry.” From that moment, this young upstart was now a target for Saul. Saul sent him to the front line twice with a promise of marriage to Saul’s daughters. But when David was challenged to bring him a hundred Philistine foreskins as the price of marrying the king’s daughter, he rose to the challenge and killed not one hundred but two hundred Philistine men. David was now Saul’s son-in-law.

Now that he was part of the Royal household and living in the royal house, it was easy for Saul to target David. On one occasion, Saul himself threw a spear at David but missed. David climbed out of a window and escaped, but he was now on the run. Despite being on the run, he was still expected to attend a New Moon festival, and it was at this point that Jonathan, Saul’s son, realised that his father was serious about killing David.

David, fleeing from the king, escapes to Gath, and the servants of King Achish remind the king that David was renowned as the slayer of the ten thousand. The problem is that Gath was in Philistine territory, and the Philistines wouldn’t take too kindly to the person who had killed their own kinsmen. David would again be a target. David “pretended to be insane in their presence; and while he was in their hands he acted like a madman, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard. Achish said to his servants, “Look at the man! He is insane! Why bring him to me?” David was now a target of both Saul and Achish, but he escaped again and regained his freedom.

You can imagine that David would be desperate, and while he was feigning madness, his Philistine captors would be mocking and sneering at him. “Is this the one who relies on the Lord? Then let the Lord save him! If the Lord loves him so much, let the Lord rescue him!” They may have mocked and sneered, but he did escape because he was anointed to become King.

Moving forward to the time when David was king, and into the 2nd Book of Samuel, we encounter a period in David’s family life that is truly tragic. David had several sons and daughters. Amnon, David’s first son, forced himself onto his sister Tamar. Despite Tamar’s protests, Amnon committed incest with Tamar. However, Amnon’s brother, Absalom, was so outraged that he killed Amnon, then fled to safety.

David grieved not only for Amnon but also for Absalom, and after several years, Absalom returned home to David. However, Absalom’s bad behaviour continued, and his ego got the better of him. For several years, he went to the city gate and counselled those seeking advice. As a result, he felt that the people loved him. Eventually, he disregarded the fact that his father was still on the throne and went to Hebron, where he declared himself king.

Despite having established his kingdom, David fled and allowed Absalom to enter Jerusalem as king. As David fled, some of Saul’s family clan came out and showed their true colours. As King David approached Bahurim, a man from the same clan as Saul’s family came out from there. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and he cursed as he came out. He pelted David and all the king’s officials with stones, though all the troops and the special guard were on David’s right and left. As he cursed, Shimei said, “Get out, get out, you murderer, you scoundrel! The Lord has repaid you for all the blood you shed in the household of Saul, in whose place you have reigned. The Lord has given the kingdom into the hands of your son Absalom. You have come to ruin because you are a murderer!” Despite David being the true king, Shimei mocked and sneered at him. In addition to these two incidents, there are several other times when David was at a low point and could have been mocked and sneered at.

A thousand years later, Jesus Christ was ministering in Galilee, Judea, and Samaria. The religious leaders of the time were furious because Jesus didn’t hold back in his condemnation of them. They had Jesus Christ arrested. “The men who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating him. They blindfolded him and demanded, “Prophesy! Who hit you?” And they said many other insulting things to him.” (Luke 22: 63-65, NIV) When Jesus was presented before the governor, the mocking continued. “The governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.” (Matt 27: 27 to 31, NIV) Even on the cross, there was no let up. “Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.” (Matt 27: 39 to 44, NIV)

You can see that Jesus Christ clearly fulfilled the words of David in Ps 22. Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecy when he was arrested, charged by the religious leaders of the day, and while he was on the cross dying for all mankind, including those who arrested and punished him as a criminal, even though he did no wrong.

Now here is where the rubber hits the road, what does this mean for you and me in the 21st century? I believe the following applies to us:

David killed the giant Philistine Goliath. However, today, our battle is not with flesh and blood but “for we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” (Eph 6: 12, NIV) As a Christian, we are not fighting another human being. Our fight is with Satan and his demons in the heavenly realm. We don't need a sword or a gun; our defence is with the Word of God, the Bible.

Just as David fled from Saul and from the Philistines, we also have to flee. We don't have to flee from anyone, but we have to flee from sexual immorality and from idolatry. Next, Timothy wrote that, “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But you, man of God, flee from all this.” (1 Tim 6: 10 & 11, NIV). Don’t love money, love God. Later, he wrote to Timothy that we are to “flee the evil desires of youth.” (2 Tim 2: 22, NIV)

David eventually became king, but we should have no desire to lord it over others. We are to place Jesus Christ as our King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Instead of lording over others, we are to submit to one another and be humble. Paul wrote, “You know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the service of the Lord’s people. I urge you, brothers and sisters, to submit to such people and to everyone who joins in the work and labours at it.” (1 Cor 16: 15 & 16, NIV) We are to submit to those who are working for the Lord. We are to submit to Christ, since He is King of our lives. And finally, we are to submit to our earthly rulers, where submission does not challenge our faith in Christ. We are to be humble, just as Christ, the Son of God, humbled Himself and took on the form of a human being. He humbled Himself and died on a cross for you and me. We are to follow Jesus Christ’s example in our relationships with one another. “Have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death even death on a cross!” (Phil 2: 5 to 8, NIV)