If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, they are conceited and understand nothing.
Summary: The Bible often provides illustrations for the things that it teaches. In this case, we can turn to King David for a vivid illustration of Paul’s point.
This passage reminds me of a story in the Old Testament about one of King David’s sons, Absalom. The background for the story is David’s own sin when he slept with Bathsheba and had her husband, Uriah the Hittite, killed in battle.
As part of the fallout of that sin, Absalom’s sister, Tamar, is raped by another one of David’s sons, Amnon. (Keep in mind that David had several wives. Tamar and Amnon were half-brother and half-sister.) Absalom’s response to the rape of his sister was not immediate, but eventually he arranged Amnon’s death.
You can imagine the complications that arose for King David.
After killing Amnon, Absalom fled to a country up north called Geshur. This was the country of his mother’s birth. He likely would have been received as royalty there, so he stayed there and might have spent the rest of his life there except for one thing: David missed his son. He loved both of them, Absalom and Amnon, but at some level, he understood the death of Amnon, and in his heart, he had forgiven Absalom (2 Samuel 14:1).
When Absalom eventually returned from his self-imposed exile, he won back the king’s favor (2 Samuel 14:33) and then, “in the course of time,” set about trying to steal the entire kingdom from his father (2 Samuel 15:1-6).
How does all of this relate to our passage from Paul’s letter to Timothy?
If King David had adhered to the law strictly, he would have avoided all of the problems that followed.
If he had kept away from Bathsheba, none of this would have happened.
If he had dealt with Amnon when he first heard about the rape, things would have changed.
If he had refused to be swayed into allowing Absalom to come home, Absalom would never have had the opportunity to steal the kingdom.
Was David conceited?
In a way, yes. It was a vain conceit that led to adultery, and the conceit of putting his feelings before the law that led to the near-loss of the kingdom.
Did David understand what he was doing?
If you read the entire story (2 Samuel 11-19), it is easy to conclude that if David had understood, he would never have allowed things to get that far.
One thing we can learn from David’s example is that godly teaching is not always easy, but it is always right.
Application: Read the Bible … every day.
Food for Thought: The Bible is an old book. Why should we trust God’s Word as a guide in our lives today?
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