Voids of the Heart
There are many things that can be gathered just by observing the bits and pieces of information which are gleaned from the scriptures. These fragments often reveal what is occurring “behind-the-scenes” in the bible narrative. One such case is that of David and the indications that he was dealing with “voids-of-the-heart” created by abuse he experienced during his developmental years.
Often times such “voids” can cause a person to get closer to God just as David experienced loneliness and sought the Lord in his childhood while tending the sheep. The closest that David had with God is revealed in the Psalms that David wrote.
Psalm 28:1 (NASB95)
1 To You, O LORD, I call; My rock, do not be deaf to me, For if You are silent to me, I will become like those who go down to the pit.
David yearned for God’s presence and God’s communication and if God was silent to him then he would be like those who go down into the pit of hell and are eternally separated from God. This was David’s greatest fear to lost the presence of God and have God stop speaking to him.
It was the void of his heart that caused David to press into God and get close to God since he had no other human to turn to in his youth or comfort. In fact there is scriptural evidence that David was rejected by his elder brothers and suffered abuse as the lowest man within the so-called “pecking-order” that existed within his family. It is not surprising that David began to walk with God and look to God for his comfort during his difficult childhood. So in this since this void resulted in good when David directed his loneliness toward God and sought God as his first place and his only source of comfort.
Rejection of David
1 Samuel 16:10-11 (NIV)
10 Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The LORD has not chosen these.”
11 So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered, “but he is tending the sheep.” Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.”
God sent the Prophet Samuel to anoint one of the sons of Jessie as the next king of Israel but the family did not even bother to have David attend the meeting. This implies that they did not even consider him worthy to be even considered as an option for becoming a king. But after all of the older sons of Jessie passed before Samuel, the Prophet said that none of them was chosen by God. Samuel then asked if this was all the sons that Jessie had. It was at this time that Jessie said that there was yet the youngest David who was away tending the sheep. Again, this implies that David was not even considered worthy of any consideration within that family. This type of attitude really caused the wounds in David’s heart which resulted in David pressing into God as a youth (when he had no humans on earth to comfort him). In this sense, the void did a good service for David in that it caused David to seek the Lord and walk with God as his only comfort on earth.
Correct Response to the Voids
The principle to be seen here is that how a person deals with these voids will determine if they will excel in life or be ruined by their own destructive behavior (which is caused by these same voids). It is therefore the response to the void that can either make or break a person.
David’s Rejection
1 Samuel 17:28 (NIV)
28 When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.”
Eliab, the eldest son of Jessie disdained his youngest brother David before all of the men present by saying, “Why did you leave those few sheep in the desert?” This means that the brothers of David considered him as not even worthy to tend a full-flock but only a few sheep because his brothers considered David as being “useless” and “incapable” of handling any more than just a few sheep. This was a degrading insult given before all of the men that were present in the army and who heard these things spoken to David. These words spoken by Eliab (David’s eldest brother) were something that was commonplace occurrence in the family of Jessie. In fact, this sort of thing was spoken daily to David by all of his six older brothers who were all seeking to have someone else to “peck-on” as they all pecked on each other like a chicken-pecking order. David was at the bottom of this pecking order with all those above him dishing out abuse and rejection upon him. It was this ill-treatment that caused “voids” in the heart of David. This is what caused David to press into God as a youth when his loneliness was met by God during this hard-time of his life.
Insecurity of Not Accepting Royal Offer
1 Samuel 17:25 (NASB95)
25 The men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who is coming up? Surely he is coming up to defy Israel. And it will be that the king will enrich the man who kills him with great riches and will give him his daughter and make his father’s house free in Israel.”
King Saul made an offer that if any man would kill the giant, this man would be enriched greatly and the King would give him his daughter in marriage and make his household (free from taxes) in Israel.
These things belonged by right to any man who would defeat the giant who defied the armies of Israel.
1 Samuel 17:27–30 (NASB95)
27 The people answered him in accord with this word, saying, “Thus it will be done for the man who kills him.”
28 Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger burned against David and he said, “Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your insolence and the wickedness of your heart; for you have come down in order to see the battle.”
29 But David said, “What have I done now? Was it not just a question?”
30 Then he turned away from him to another and said the same thing; and the people answered the same thing as before.
David told the people that whoever would destroy this giant would have great rewards. It was his right to receive what was offered if David killed the giant. But the eldest brother of David got angry that he was speaking to the troops in such a bold manner and so he disdained David in contemptuous manner.
1 Samuel 17:32–37 (NASB95)
32 David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail on account of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”
33 Then Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth while he has been a warrior from his youth.”
34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant was tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock,
35 I went out after him and attacked him, and rescued it from his mouth; and when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and struck him and killed him.
36 “Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted the armies of the living God.”
37 And David said, “The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and may the LORD be with you.”
David walked with God as a youth and used his faith to go against both a lion and a bear and killed these beasts with only his staff in his hand. God had delivered the lion and bear into the hand of David and so also God would deliver the giant into David’s hand.
1 Samuel 17:48–51 (NASB95)
48 Then it happened when the Philistine rose and came and drew near to meet David, that David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine.
49 And David put his hand into his bag and took from it a stone and slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead. And the stone sank into his forehead, so that he fell on his face to the ground.
50 Thus David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and he struck the Philistine and killed him; but there was no sword in David’s hand.
51 Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.
David then killed the giant by faith in God using only a sling and a stone (without the use of armor or military weapons of any kind). David had accomplished just what King Saul had wanted and therefore it was David’s right to receive the wealth and marriage to the king’s daughter and the life-time tax exemption for his family.
David’s Insecurity Revealed by his Own Words
1 Samuel 18:17–18 (NASB95)
17 Then Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter Merab; I will give her to you as a wife, only be a valiant man for me and fight the LORD’S battles.” For Saul thought, “My hand shall not be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him.”
18 But David said to Saul, “Who am I, and what is my life or my father’s family in Israel, that I should be the king’s son-in-law?”
David was supposed to have received the King’s daughter as wife right after killing the giant. But later King Saul was again offering his daughter as a reward for David engaging in more battles against the Philistines. Here we see the insecurity of David revealed when he said, “Who am I, and what is my life or my father’s family in Israel, that I should be the king’s son-in-law?” David did not think he was worthy to receive what was already promised to him after he had already killed the giant. The king’s daughter was then offered a second time to David because he failed to take her as wife right after killing the giant.
1 Samuel 18:19 (NASB95)
19 So it came about at the time when Merab, Saul’s daughter, should have been given to David, that she was given to Adriel the Meholathite for a wife.
It seems to be because of the insecurity of David that he did not take what was already offered to him after he killed the giant. Then later the same offer was again made for him to become the king’s son-in-law if he would fight the king’s battles. But David responded with his insecurity that he was unworthy. So Saul gave his eldest daughter Merab to another man in marriage instead of David.
This begs the question, “What caused David to be so insecure as to not take what was already offered to him?” Again, this can be seen in the way that David’s family had rejected during his youth which caused David to have voids in his heart. It was these “insecurities” that resulted in him feeling unworthy of receiving the great rewards offered to him by the king.
Insecurity and Voids of the Heart Opened David to Downfall
It is interesting that during David’s youth, he used his voids within to draw closer to God by pouring all of his loneliness upon the Lord. David made God is best friend as it seemed he has no human friend on earth during his developmental years. It was a good thing to allow loneliness to drive a man closer to God, however later in life, the same voids also opened David up to the weakness of falling into the sin sexual immorality.
2 Samuel 11:2–5 (NASB95)
2 Now when evening came David arose from his bed and walked around on the roof of the king’s house, and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful in appearance.
3 So David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?”
4 David sent messengers and took her, and when she came to him, he lay with her; and when she had purified herself from her uncleanness, she returned to her house.
5 The woman conceived; and she sent and told David, and said, “I am pregnant.”
David’s temptation with Bathsheba poses some difficult questions. Why was David tempted by this married woman when David already had some of the most beautiful women within his harem? Also why was a woman bathing on her rooftop in clear view of the palace? There is a suggestion here that Bathsheba was intentionally trying to seduce King David (possibly seeking to gain an increased social standing if she could become one of his wives)?
Herein, comes this issue again of the voids of David’s heart which were present since his childhood. He had the correct response in his youth when he used those voids and loneliness to draw closer to God. But now the same voids proved his own downfall.
Deep within David there was still a void of wanting to receive human acceptance. Now before him was a great temptation of a beautiful woman who was actively trying to seduce him. This can be really flattering “especially if a man is over age fifty” and a young beautiful woman shows interest in him. It is these “voids of the heart” that can cause men to make the most irrational decisions. Again, why would David take the wife of another man when he had so many beautiful wives of his own?
2 Samuel 12:1–12 (NASB95)
1 Then the LORD sent Nathan to David. And he came to him and said, “There were two men in one city, the one rich and the other poor.
2 “The rich man had a great many flocks and herds.
3 “But the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb Which he bought and nourished; And it grew up together with him and his children. It would eat of his bread and drink of his cup and lie in his bosom, And was like a daughter to him.
4 “Now a traveler came to the rich man, And he was unwilling to take from his own flock or his own herd, To prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him; Rather he took the poor man’s ewe lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”
5 Then David’s anger burned greatly against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the LORD lives, surely the man who has done this deserves to die.
6 “He must make restitution for the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing and had no compassion.”
7 Nathan then said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘It is I who anointed you king over Israel and it is I who delivered you from the hand of Saul.
8 ‘I also gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your care, and I gave you the house of Israel and Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added to you many more things like these!
9 ‘Why have you despised the word of the LORD by doing evil in His sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the sons of Ammon.
10 ‘Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’
11 “Thus says the LORD, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you from your own household; I will even take your wives before your eyes and give them to your companion, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight.
12 ‘Indeed you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and under the sun.’ ”
Nathan the Prophet came and rebuked David for his sin of immorality with Bathsheba by comparing him to a rich man who had many flocks and herds but stole the only sheep of a poor man. David did the same with stealing the wife of another man and even having this man killed secretly by intrigue. It was because of this sin that David would experience heartache for the rest of his life as his own sons would plot to kill him and steal his throne. It was because of this sin that Joab his military commander lost respect for David and later even supported the second coup attempt made by one of the sons of David against David’s throne. Again, what would cause a man to sacrifice everything for something as trivial as sexual immorality and even commit murder to cover up his crime?
Compulsive Behavior Caused by Voids of the Heart
David seeking acceptance caused him to be open to the seduction of a married woman. He should have directed his loneliness and void of seeking human acceptance toward God (as he did in his youth) because only God can fill such voids. This was opposite of Joseph in Egypt who ran from temptation and refused to yield to it (even though Joseph also had suffered much rejection from his jealous brothers who sold him into Egypt as a slave).
Genesis 39:6–20 (NIV)
6 So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Now Joseph was well-built and handsome,
7 and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!”
8 But he refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care.
9 No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”
10 And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.
11 One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside.
12 She caught him by his cloak and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.
13 When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house,
14 she called her household servants. “Look,” she said to them, “this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us! He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed.
15 When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”
16 She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home.
17 Then she told him this story: “That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me.
18 But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”
19 When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is how your slave treated me,” he burned with anger.
20 Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison,
Joseph was a young man and his master’s wife worked hard to seduce him for sexual immorality but Joseph refused her advances and fled from her. Joseph told her clearly that he could not commit this great evil and sin against God! Joseph was a foreigner in Egypt and separated from his loving father back home and was lonely. But Joseph did what was right and placed his loneliness upon God and allowed God to satisfy the voids in his heart caused by the rejection and betrayal of his wicked brothers. Joseph did not fall for the temptation as David did with Bathsheba. It is common for men to have voids in their hearts but they are not to seek to fulfill such voids in unrighteous manner. People with voids can be susceptible to temptation in certain areas (such as adultery). But if they will seek God alone to fill those voids they can remain pure as Joseph did in Egypt when he kept himself separated to God.
Voids in Heart Can Trigger Compulsive Behavior
I know a North Korean woman who escaped from that oppressive country and is now living in South Korea. While she was still living in North Korea, she suffered unspeakable hardship and hunger and even witnessed close relatives die of starvation. She managed to survive the ordeal and was able to escape before the country was sealed off entirely. But the distress and constant hunger she suffered created voids in her heart that resulted in compulsive behavior. This woman would constantly be trying to hoard food and was fearful to even thrown away waste food and would even try to save food that was left over on plates of people who did not finish that food. She was rebuked her repeatedly about hoarding food but it was a big struggle to stop this compulsive behavior. It is voids of the heart that can cause people to develop various kinds of compulsive behavior.
See the link “Idols of the Heart” for more details.