Why was King David so eager to see his enemies get killed?

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selenah

Guest
#1
#1
I was reading some of the Psalms, and King David always seemed to be asking God to revenge his enemies. Was David being unmerciful and unloving to his enemies? Why did he say stuff like this.

Psalm 5:8-10
Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face. For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue. Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee.
 
VW

VW

Banned
#2
Dec 22, 2009
4,579
9
0
#2
selenah said:
I was reading some of the Psalms, and King David always seemed to be asking God to revenge his enemies. Was David being unmerciful and unloving to his enemies? Why did he say stuff like this.

Psalm 5:8-10
Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face. For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue. Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee.
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The people that David was praying against were those who should have been his companions and allies, but who were instead his enemies secretly. They laid traps for him, and when he had trouble, they took joy in his distress.
 
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girlaftergod

Guest
#3
#3
Well basically we pray for relief and let God's will be done. Meaning leaving it into God's hands. I know David had mishaps as we all do. But I also remember him not going after the first king just because God placed him there. Even if the king didn't do the will of God, David still knew God placed him there. I remember this lady at work that I thought of as a serpent. She attacked one of the coworkers at a time and all the customers behind their backs spreading rumors. She was a poisonous rumor mill. I would pray to God to remove her even if He got her hired somewhere else with a better job. But He left her there for years. And I was sad. Cause she knew I didn't care for her much so I got the ribbing the most from her. But in the end I got to see the customers get wind of her lies and they started mouthing to her. So in the end it was like her getting her own poison. Not sure if this is what David asked. But I'm sure he asked for God to willfully remove his enemies and help him out. God works in mysterious ways but sometimes you get to witness the why of them.
 
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contemplative

Banned
#4
Jan 21, 2011
148
2
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#4
selenah said:
I was reading some of the Psalms, and King David always seemed to be asking God to revenge his enemies. Was David being unmerciful and unloving to his enemies? Why did he say stuff like this.
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Because he was human, I think, and anybody in a position of leadership, even if it's a kindergarten classroom, has wondered if the world wouldn't be a little better off without some folks. Heck, anyone who has ever gotten behind the steering wheel of a car has probably had similar thoughts, though perhaps not written in verse and set to song. The higher the responsibility, the higher the stress. The higher the stress, the more willing a person is to consider death as a feasible solution.

The fact that it's in the Bible isn't necessarily an endorsement, though. It's important to know that people, even those who have some sort of relationship with God, have these sorts of thoughts. If the Bible discussed only examples of niceness, we would probably feel a lot more alone in our own experiences of rage. I've always been comforted that David felt the need to complain to God when he felt God wasn't near.

David seems more real that those whose relationship with God is nothing but smiles.
 
loveschild

loveschild

Banned
#5
May 21, 2009
3,955
25
0
#5
selenah said:
I was reading some of the Psalms, and King David always seemed to be asking God to revenge his enemies. Was David being unmerciful and unloving to his enemies? Why did he say stuff like this.

Psalm 5:8-10
Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face. For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue. Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee.
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They were people with demons in them. Today we can use these verses to fight off Satan. Since we no longer pray for people to die.
 
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Laodicea

Guest
#6
#6
Deuteronomy 9:4-5
(4) Speak not thou in thine heart, after that the LORD thy God hath cast them out from before thee, saying, For my righteousness the LORD hath brought me in to possess this land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD doth drive them out from before thee.
(5) Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the word which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
 
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giantone

Guest
#7
#7
One thing about king David that I always thought stood out was the enemies that he refused to kill, like king Saul, King Saul kept on trying to kill him over and over and over but David wouldn't lay a hand on him. Also a man named Nabal who really did David wrong but Nabal's wife talked sense into David and David knew it was wrong for him to take revenge.

I think the other people David killed were not over revenge but it was in war and killing in war is different and alright.
 
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Thanson1975

Guest
#8
#8
giantone said:
One thing about king David that I always thought stood out was the enemies that he refused to kill, like king Saul, King Saul kept on trying to kill him over and over and over but David wouldn't lay a hand on him. Also a man named Nabal who really did David wrong but Nabal's wife talked sense into David and David knew it was wrong for him to take revenge.

I think the other people David killed were not over revenge but it was in war and killing in war is different and alright.
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Agreed...
Read 1 Samuel 24. You will see that David had the option to kill King Saul, but instead cut a piece of Saul's robe instead of killing him. Then in 8-20 Saul actually realizes that David is of king material and that the Lord has chosen him.
 
Dude653

Dude653

Senior Member
#9
Mar 19, 2011
12,312
1,039
113
#9
uhh,,, because they were trying to kill him... sounds like a good reason to me
 
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