Save me, O God, by Your name, and vindicate me by Your strength. Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth. (Psalm 54:1-2)
There is a principle addressed in Deuteronomy which says, if a slave escaped his master and came to another for refuge, that person is not to turn the slave back over to his master — that would be regarded as oppressive. Instead the slave “may dwell with you in your midst, in the place which he chooses within one of your gates, where it seems best to him” (Deuteronomy 23:15-16). In our world, the application of this command would be: if a supervisor is treating an employee unfairly, the employee might appeal to a higher authority. If that proves unsatisfactory, they could appeal to the highest authority in the company, but if that proves to be unfruitful, to whom could they complain? At that point, their options are strictly limited.
David found himself in such a predicament; Saul was the king and, therefore, no other person was available to David to whom he could lodge a grievance. His only option was the King of Kings, the God of Israel, which is why he prayed, “Save me, O God, by Your name (authority).” If God would be so concerned for the welfare of a slave that He gave Moses instructions to afford that slave an opportunity for refuge and reprieve, would He not also have consideration for those, like David, who were the innocent victims of another kind of oppression? And in this particular case, the innocent victim was the one God Himself had ordained to lead His people as king.
None of us have been anointed to be kings over others but, as believers, we have all been anointed as sons and daughters of the King. We are His ambassadors and witnesses, not to mention His own special treasures, meaning that, when we are the victims of oppression, we can appeal directly to Him. And when we do, we believe that He will hear us. And if we don’t experience an immediate reprieve, like David, we must continue to trust in His deliverance as we continually praise His name, for He is good.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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