“King David grew old, the years took their toll, and he couldn’t get warm even when they covered him with bedclothes. His servants said to him, ‘Let us try to find a young virgin for my lord the king. She can wait on the king and be a companion for him, and she can lie next to you, so that my lord the king will get some heat.’”-1 Kings 1:1-2
Verse 2 speaks of a condition called hypothermia.
It’s the inability of one’s body to generate a sufficient amount of heat when one becomes older.
It’s quite common amongst senior folks and can be caused by a variety of conditions.
So what David was experiencing wasn’t unusual.
And the solution to provide a young, healthy body to transfer heat to David’s body was also not an unusual remedy.
It was actually a standard medical practice in those days.
The writings of Josephus also attest to this procedure.
However, the fact that a beautiful young lady (named Avishag) was procured for David can lead to a misunderstanding that something erotic was going on here or something.
That’s not the case at all.
Again, this was a medical procedure, homies.
Simply piling blankets on top of David wouldn’t do the trick.
Why?
His core body temperature was too low at this time.
So the solution was to have a warm body snuggle up to David, which would allow a metabolic transfer, so to speak.
The hope was that the now sedentary David would gain heat and energy from the youthful body.
This idea that energy and heat can be transferred from one body to another is central to Oriental medicine.
This leads us to today’s takeaway.
And it’s also central to a principle taught in Torah.
Scripture teaches us that both holiness and uncleanness are contagious and can be spread via physical touch.
And as we just learned, heat and energy can also be transferred from one person to another.
In other words, proximity is power.
If that’s the case, then shouldn’t you take great care to guard who or what you allow to come into close contact with you?
Ya feeling me here?
If you are around toxic people, don’t underestimate how dangerous they can be to your spiritual and mental health.
But I’m not just talking about people.
I’m talking about the books you read, the music you listen to, and the types of conversations you choose to participate in or not.
Carefully filter what your eyes, ears, heck, carefully filter what all your five senses are exposed to.
And by doing so, you will protect the well-being of your soul.
Ya feel me here?
Done.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“Bad company corrupts good character.”
1 Corinthians 15:33
“Walk with the wise and become wise.
A companion of fools suffers harm.”
1 Corinthians 15:33
“Do not be misled by appearances.
Judge carefully what influences your heart.”
John 7:24
“Keep watch over your heart carefully.
From it flow the issues of life.”
Mark 7:21-23
“Let no corrupt word leave your mouth.
Speak what builds others up instead.”
Ephesians 4:29
“Test everything carefully;
hold fast what’s good.
Abstain from every form of evil.“
1 Thessalonians 5:21-22
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