This sounds like a strange little story. David had been fighting battles and may have been thirsty, and so he asked for a drink of water. But the water he asked for needed to come from a well which was about 40 kilometres away. Three men were willing to go and get this water for David. Getting this water would have been difficult, not only because it was a long walk, but also because they had to walk through the enemies’ lands. It would have been a very difficult journey. But these three men made this journey and took the water back to David.

But when they got to David, he refused to drink this water. At first this seems very ungrateful. After these men risked their lives to get this water, David refused to drink it and poured it out. But the Bible tells us that David poured it out to the Lord, so it was not just an aimless, ungrateful pouring out of the water.

David understood the effort these men had gone to. He even called the water their blood. He knew that they were willing to die for him in getting this water. This shows their godly devotion and godly service to their king. These men were delighted to serve the Lord’s anointed king.

So, when David poured out the water to the Lord, it was like he was making a sacrifice of thanks to the Lord. The water was too precious to drink. These men had risked their lives for it, so David used it and offered it to the Lord.

This story points ahead to Jesus Christ. He didn’t just need to walk 40 kilometres through enemy land to save us, but he needed to suffer hellish agony on the cross for us. And he did that for us. What a great King we have — Jesus Christ himself. How do we serve this King? Are we willing to use each moment of every day serving him? Are you willing to make sacrifices to serve this King?

Reflection with your child:

What are some sacrifices you may need to make to serve this King?

Source: Sermon by Rev. H. Alkema