Naked and Ashamed

2 Samuel 10:5

When they told David, he sent to meet them, because the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, “Wait at Jericho until your beards have grown and then return.

So many men avoid coming to church because of the shame on their lives. Somewhere in their past they have been exposed to embarrassment and they can’t come back to face the king because of their shame. The shame doesn’t necessarily have to do with anything sexually but men just don’t like to have their butts exposed for everybody to see. Sometime when we are unemployed, arrested, or publicly ridiculed, as many men are in church through male bashing sermons, it makes us not want to come back to face the King because of the shame on our lives.

David had sent some of his dignitaries out to console a neighboring king. He was a new King whose father had died. His father had shown kindness to David when he was on the run from Saul, so David wanted to show kindness to his son. When the men David sent got there, the leaders of Ammon convinced the new King that David was up to no good. They said he was just spying out the land to take it himself. So they took the men David sent and shaved off half their beards and tore their clothes so that their bare butts were exposed. They publicly humiliated these men.

Their beards were a sign of their manhood. It took a man time to grow their beards. Every man during that time had beards. It separated men from boys and men from women. Now these men felt less than men because the enemy took away half of their masculine identity. What is it that the enemy has taken away from you that threatens your identity? For some of us, we use our ability to work as our identity for manhood. For some of us it’s a car. For some it’s money. This recession has made a lot of men feel less than a man. The humiliation these men felt having half their beards shaved is equivalent to us going into a barbershop only to have our enemies forcefully move our barbers out of the way and cut half our hair off and send us back to work. Somebody has taken away half of my identity and I feel Naked.

The thing that was probably worse than the beards was when they tore their garments to expose their buttocks. This had a sexual innuendo. This made them feel less than a man as if they could be violated at any time. There is a saying amongst men that says, I was #$% out like Scout! These men were scouts for the King and the enemy tore away their covering so that they were @#$ out! Now I know that was extreme but the reality is that this is exactly how some men feel during this recession. They are butt out! Some men can’t get back to the king because they are afraid that what is behind them will be exposed. They would rather stay out there than for everybody to see their butts out. When you can’t provide for your family you feel butt out! When your past mistakes are readily accessible to everybody you feel butt out!

Some men are ashamed because of their sexual past, some are ashamed because they have been violated, some are ashamed because they were doing their job and as a reward they were publicly disgraced. Now many of us are stranded between where God sent us and where we need to return but we can’t because of the shame on our lives. How do I get back?

1. Wait on the King. After King David heard about their shame he sent to meet them. When you are butt out and half of who you were is gone, the King will meet you half way. He is not ashamed of you and you don’t need to be ashamed of him.

2. Stay in Jericho until your beard grows back. Jericho was out of the enemy’s territory and not far from Jerusalem. It was a place for the men to recover. Church is your Jericho. Get back there so that you can heal, so that your hair can grow back, so that God can restore some dignity back to you. Your manhood is not your job, your clothes, or what you drive but you still need to come to Jericho so you can be restored.

3. Return to Jerusalem. After you have been restored and dealt with your shame, God wants you to come back and serve the King. God will give you back your job after you return from your shame. We’ve all been butt out before but God is able to cover you and give you back your dignity.

Dear God, thank you for covering me when I felt exposed and ashamed. It was you who came to me when I was too ashamed to come back to you. Thank you for giving me my dignity back. Now I'm ready to serve you with all that I am. Thank you for coming to meet me in my shame.

In Jesus Name.

Amen.