War with the Philistines
There was war again between the Philistines and Israel, and David went down together with his servants, and they fought against the Philistines. And David grew weary. And Ishbi-benob, one of the descendants of the giants, whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of bronze, and who was armed with a new sword, thought to kill David. But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid and attacked the Philistine and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, “You shall no longer go out with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel.”
Retirement is a tough decision. In our country the R-word conjures all kinds of meaning for people. Some can’t wait and do the R-thing as early as possible. Others never want to R and continue to work to the very end of life. We have numbers in our heads that are like magic to people. When they hit the magic number they can R. There is really no guidelines in scripture for retirement. Moses did write this to the Levitical priest:
Numbers 8:23-26 (ESV)
And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “This applies to the Levites: from twenty-five years old and upward they shall come to do duty in the service of the tent of meeting. And from the age of fifty years they shall withdraw from the duty of the service and serve no more. They minister to their brothers in the tent of meeting by keeping guard, but they shall do no service. Thus shall you do to the Levites in assigning their duties.”
Retirement, as we see it today, is primarily a US thought process that was started around the 1950s. Mostly because of necessity, most people, in most nations, did not think of the R approach. They had to work. In most countries, in most ages, families would move into the homes of each other and the younger family members would take care of the older members. In the New Testament the widows were first to be taken care of by their family and then, absent family, the church.
In the above passage we read the first steps to King David’s retirement. There are two elements that we should note:
1. David demonstrated a weakness and could no longer do the job to the standard needed for others. This might be a good indication that it is time to step down from your work.
2. Others began to speak to King David and were looking out for his safety (and their safety). The counsel from others impacted David’s decision to no longer go out to war. It was time for him to put up the sword.
There comes a time when the product of the work and the safety of those around you should dictate your decisions about work. Perhaps that is a better indicator of when to R than simply a day, date, or time on the calendar of life. David worked until he could no longer work. He was giving of himself right to the end when he could give no more. It is interesting that after these verses we read about all those that surrounded David. His team is listed in the following verses. Perhaps this is another indicator of when you should take the dive into the R-world. When you no longer affective and you are creating unsafe conditions AND you have prepared those around you to step up and fill in the gap.
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