“And David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, and wept as he went, and his head was covered and he walked barefoot.”

~2 Samuel 15:30

In 2 Samuel 1, David wept and mourned over the loss of lives of Saul, the king of Israel, and Jonathan, his beloved friend. When David’s infant son was dying in 2 Samuel 12, David mourned and fasted in hopes that God would have mercy and spare the child. David is certainly no stranger to lament, as the psalms testify. But the grief in 2 Samuel 15 has a different tone. Here we see grief marked by deep humility and remorse. A king and renowned warrior walking barefoot like one being taken into captivity is a striking picture of self-humiliation. David, now a fugitive from his own son, shows through his posture here that his words in Psalm 51:4 are true: “Against You, You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You are justified when You speak and blameless when You judge.”

In David’s confession and prayer of Psalm 51, he also recognizes that it is only with a “broken and contrite heart” that one can make sacrifices that are acceptable to the Lord. It is interesting to consider that we see the broken and contrite heart in David only after he walks away from everything else that defined him. This is not unlike Jesus’ encounter with the rich young ruler in Matthew 19—“If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

When Jesus made the same invitation to “Come” in Matthew 11:28, He also included a promise of rest. It is only when we listen to His voice and humbly walk away from all of our proud accomplishments, titles, and possessions that we might enter into His rest. Hebrews also speaks of God’s rest, urging us to respond to God’s invitation swiftly so that we don’t come short of entering God’s rest:

“Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called ‘Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin…Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience.”

~Hebrews 3:12-13; 4:11

A humbled and repentant David was able to experience God’s rest, even while the consequences of his sin were still playing out. In both Psalm 3 and 4, which are prayers associated with the circumstances surrounding David’s escape from Absalom, David speaks of rest. “In peace I will both lie down and sleep,” he says, “For You alone, O Lord, make me to dwell in safety.” (Psalm 4:8)

Are you in need of rest today? Come humbly to the Lord, confessing your sin and recognizing where you have become like a captive and see if He doesn’t graciously offer you safety and rest just as He promises.