From the pulpit
of the First Baptist Church in America
The Season of Lent
March 19, 2006
"Wanting the Impossible"
(II Samuel 23:13-17)
Dr. Dan Ivins, preaching

Our text shows a different side of David. Not the glorious king, or powerful military leader, or handsome womanizer. David is homesick, feeling a lonely kind of pain -- wishing for something beyond his reach. When Saul fell on his sword in battle, that made David the new king on the block. And he was growing weary of the responsibility that goes with the territory of leadership.
Just a quick glance and he’s longing for yesterday, thirsting for the familiar. When the present is too hard to face, we turn to the past, and the simple life. But David had mastered difficult challenges before, warding off wild animals with his hands and Goliath with a sling. Now he’s a king. No longer a lad. The boss not a shepherd – carrying lots of weighty decisions around on his shoulders.

The Philistines sensed his vulnerability and tried to sock it to him, before he got established. That evening David surveyed the situation. Outnumbered by the enemy, he gazed at the flickering fires of his foes in the darkness ... then it struck him! Beyond the entrenched enemy lines, was the friendly hillside of his youth -- the lights of Bethlehem glowing in the distance. The contrast got to him. Bethlehem on one side, David on the other, Philistines in between.

That’s when he began to talk to himself: “Oh that somebody would get me a drink from Bethlehem’s gate...” What I’d give for a taste of that water! Where he grew up. The place of a thousand memories. For a moment there, out under the mid-Eastern stars, he was a ruddy-faced kid again. Staring across the valley, David the king was “lost in the 50's tonight.”

Wanting the impossible makes you lose focus. Because you get so preoccupied with yesterday, that you’re oblivious to what’s happening today. Though right under his nose, David didn’t notice his warriors had a surprise for him! Because their ears were tuned to his heart: “The 3 mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem’s gate, and brought it to David.” Whew!

The next thing David knew, he’s standing there with a cup in his hands! We don’t know how long he cherished the water. But he was deeply touched by their bravery. And the sacrifice it took to get it. That it came at great peril to the lives of people he valued. David was stunned at the dedication of his men who retrieved this priceless gift.

But David had a surprise of his own for them. After he graciously accepted the water, he poured it out on the ground as a sacrifice to God! So the soldiers startled David by their allegiance to him. And David gave them a jolt because of his fidelity to God!

“‘Far be it from me, Lord, that I should do this. Shall I drink the blood of these men who risked their lives?’ So he would not drink it.” The softer side of David. Funny things happen to water in the Bible. Moses struck a rock in the wilderness and out came water. At a wedding in Cana, Jesus changed water into wine. Here in II Samuel, David turns water into blood, because blood is thicker than water.

Several things stand out to me in this story. First is David's longing to go back; to be out from under the demanding duties he now faced; to be young again. Tired of kinging and warring. Surely there’s more here than a mere drink of water. It was a deep yearning. That sudden glimpse of the hills of Bethlehem brought back a wave of memories of his youth.

Those easy days stood in marked contrast to the life David had thrust upon him as a soldier. After awhile that stuff gets old – the chaos, the pressure to do whatever it takes to win, watching your friends die; no let up. So David wants to go back home.

I wonder if any of us have shared his longing? All it took was a peek over the horizon and David wanted the impossible; just to have his life back the way once was. It’s understandable, if you’ve made mistakes. Maybe his desire for retreat was to undo something. This time he’d treat Bathsheba and Uriah differently.

To go back to Bethlehem, is to have a chance to live those things over and avoid the lapses next time. Think of the wrongs we might correct. Next time we’ll get it right! Or it could be a longing for those days when life was simple, when it seemed like you had all the time in the world. When you took your health for granted, and drive at night; and go places. Do the fun things you wanted to do. When you won big victories. David enjoyed days like that, when his assignment was not a complex nation to manage, but a flock of sheep to watch. Seeing the hillside reminded him of those days. David was tired of being tired.

David coveted the days before he was king; when he was only a shepherd. When we carried a staff not a sword. No controversial decisions to make. No relational land mines that blow up in your face. Kinging is different from shepherding. Because there are complications, and far-reaching consequences; unending strain. And the adversaries are always there -- somebody who wants your job, but without the responsibility.

I’m guessing everybody understands what David was feeling. Those bent over from the expectations of others; the loss of health or your mate, having to do a lot with a little. When these moments come upon us its natural to crave a former existence: "Just to have a drink of water that comes from the well at Bethlehem's gate!" But the odds were against it. It didn't look like David would ever slake his thirst with Bethlehem water. Reality set in on his fantasizing. The way was obstructed; because something stood between him and his hometown. The enemy troops denied him access. That happens all too frequently doesn’t it?

If you’ve been blocked from something you want or someone you love you can empathize with David. As we reflect back on the Bethlehem days of our lives, I know we’d like to recapture something of the life we once knew. But we’re stymied by forces forbidding us passage. For David it was the Philistines. What stands between us and our we desires? The loss of our health? Fear of the unknown? Some unwise choices we've made? Or the passing of years taking it's inevitable toll. Vision wanes, steps wobble, friends die, time accelerates, space shrinks. We let go of our belongings; down-size. There’s an unnerving relentlessness about it. Eventually, we’re all driven more and more into ourselves. Living guarantees it. Because “aging is like a roll of toilet paper – the more you use it -- the faster it goes!” Maybe David couldn’t go back. But his seasoned veterans could. While David dreamed, three mighty men dared! Disregarding the danger, they courageously broke through the camp, drew out the water, and brought it to the king. This is the surprise of the story.

On the one hand is the gate barred by opposition, causing sadness, and frustration. But there’s also the breakthrough to the well, with courage, ingenuity, and devotion. We ought to be familiar with both impulses -- the feeling that there is no chance to get what we want. "I wish I could but I can’t." But also the determination that it can be done if we try. "He deserves this so we must."

How we need people to believe in us when others don’t! That’s one thing we can do as fellow church members at First Baptist – believe in each other. You hear a lot about believing in God around churches. But don’t we also need to believe in one another? You haven’t lived long enough if you’ve never done what David did, and wanted to go back to yesterday. But David’s generals wanted to go back so badly that they were willing to go forward! Even if it meant losing their illusions and fear of the unknown, because of that craving of somebody they cared for, that seems insurmountable.

This is the deepest kind of allegiance that’s willing to sacrifice one's life. "’Far be it from me, Lord, that I should drink this water. Shall I drink the blood of the men who went at risk of their lives?’ Therefore, he wouldn’t drink it.” Can you believe it? David wanted something hard to come by. Against all odds. But when he got it, he wouldn't take it! Once the gift of water/blood was placed in his hands, and the impossible had been realized, he didn't just guzzle it down. David was a better man than that. No, for him, the blood/water was too sacred to drink No wonder David had the respect of his men!

He had a genuine appreciation for what he was given that came at great risk from others. And his refusal was matched only by his resolve to give it back to God. Give me a church with loyal risk-takers and courageous carers and we can make a difference in Providence! The Good News is, God is still offering the possibility of new life. "The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." So the impossible is not as impossible as it seems, because of the one who is “the same yesterday, today, and forever,” you can be a child again--a child of God! "For as many as received him, he gave them the power to become ... children of God." Believe that, and the impossible will have come true in your life!