Character Studies #5 - David Part 1

Part 1: “David – From Shepherd to King”

Photos in God’s Album Series

—King David— 

INTRODUCTION:

David is perhaps the best-known character of the Bible, save Jesus of Nazareth. In Scripture his name stands alone. By that I mean he is the only one with that name in the Old or New Testaments. His name typifies the unique place he has as ancestor, forerunner, and foreshadower of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

There are 58 New Testament references to David, including the often-repeated title given to Jesus – “Son of David.” Paul states that Jesus is “descended from David according to the flesh” (Romans 1:3), while Jesus himself is recorded by John as saying, “I am the Root and Offspring of David” (Revelation 22:16). 

TRANSITION:
When we look back to the Old Testament to learn about this person who occupies a position of such prominence in the lineage of our Lord and the purposes of God, the material is abundant and rich. The story of David is found between 1 Samuel 16 and 1 Kings 2, with much of the material paralleled in 1 Chronicles 2-29. 

The great-grandson of Ruth and Boaz, David, was the youngest of eight brothers (cf. 1 Samuel 16:6-13; 17:12ff). He was brought up to be a shepherd. In this occupation he learned courage and self-reliance which served him well later in life. In those lonely times watching over his sheep David also honed his musical skills on the flute and harp, composing and singing songs to comfort the sheep but also in praise to God. David was remarkable in many ways but one of those was his love for God, even from a young age. He had a tender heart for God and that did not go unnoticed by the Lord. 

On the throne of Israel at that time was King Saul, the first king in their history. He was a loose cannon of a man, with many good qualities but also with many bad ones. Because of his disobedience to God and his disregard of Samuel’s leadership, God rejected Saul and through the prophet told the king that his days were numbered, that He was going to replace Saul with a man “after His own heart.” As it happened, that man was young David, a lad of only 16 years. In Chapter 16 we have the story of how God revealed His will and choice of David from among the sons of Jesse. 

NOTES on the Text:

I never cease to be amazed at how God orchestrates events. Later in that same chapter we learn that after the Spirit of the Lord departed from him, Saul was subject to bouts of depression and times when he would be terrorized by “an evil spirit from the Lord” (1 Samuel 16:14-15). The only thing that seemed to calm his nerves was sweet music. That’s when someone in Saul’s court stepped up and gave a suggestion. Verse 18 says, “Then one of the young men answered and said, ‘Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse, the Bethlehemite who is a skillful musician, a mighty man of valor, a warrior, one prudent in speech, and a handsome man; and the Lord is with him.” 

So, in no time at all David found himself with a new job in the palace playing music for King Saul. Verse 21 says, “Then David came to Saul and attended him, and Saul loved him greatly; and he [David] became his armor bearer.” Then we read in verse 23: “So, it came about whenever the evil spirit from God came to Saul, David would take the harp and play it with his hand; and Saul would be refreshed and be well, and the evil spirit would depart from him.”   

I find this story so interesting and ironic. Here we find David serving the very man he knows he will one day replace as king, yet apparently, he never let on that he had even the tiniest inkling. But Samuel knew, and Jesse and his other sons knew. But David was a humble young man, confident to wait on the Lord for His perfect timing. David was content to serve his King and his country and trust God for the rest. 

At first this situation went well. Saul was very pleased with David. But then came the incident in 1 Samual 17 when David rose to prominence because of his valor and spiritual indignation over the taunts and insults of the Philistines and their champion, Goliath, a courageous but big-mouthed warrior who according to 17:4 stood 9½ feet tall (“6 cubits and a span” = 6 x 1.5 feet plus six inches). 

As David observed the scene that had been repeated day after day, we read in 17:26 that David spoke to the soldiers who were standing there with him listening to Goliath’s insults, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine, and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should taunt the armies of the Living God.” What a guy! 

Now look at verses 36-37 – “Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. ³⁷ The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.” So, David marched down onto the field of battle where he squared up against that giant, Goliath. David was filled with righteous indignation over what had been happening, and he was filled with zeal for the reputation of the God of Israel. He was confident that the Lord was with him and would give him the victory over this giant. 

Goliath felt insulted that Israel would send out a boy to fight him and he complained vociferously, but David responded with these words found in 17:45-47 – “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. ⁴⁶ This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. ⁴⁷ All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give all of you into our hands.”

And that is exactly what happened. Israel won a great victory that day. However, that day also marked a change in the attitude of Saul toward David. For the next 14 years Saul would do everything in his power to kill David because you see, the people of Israel gave all the credit for that victory to David and not to Saul, and Saul was green with jealousy and murderous envy. Look at 18:5-9 – “Whatever mission Saul sent him on, David was so successful that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the troops, and Saul’s officers as well. ⁶ When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with timbrels and lyres. ⁷ As they danced, they sang: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.” ⁸ Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased him greatly. “They have credited David with tens of thousands,” he thought, “but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?” ⁹ And from that time on Saul kept a close eye on David.” 

Already unstable mentally and emotionally, this sent Saul over the edge and for the next 14 years David never had a moment of peace when he could just relax. He always had to be looking over his shoulder knowing that there was a price on his head. 

Oh sure, in public Saul made nice and tried to seem like he was David’s best buddy. He even gave his daughter, Michal, to David in marriage. But this whole business was really a “honey-trap” set up by Saul to try to get David killed. [Read 17:17-29]. But it later backfired on Saul, when Michal saved David’s life from the hand of Saul (cf. 19:11-17). 

One wonderful part of this story was the friendship between David and Saul’s son, Jonathan. That friendship began in the aftermath of David killing Goliath (cf. 17:57 – 18:4). 

The next stages in the story of David are marked by a constant flight from the relentless pursuit of Saul. No resting place was safe for very long. No one was allowed to shelter or feed him and his men under penalty of death. A sad part of this story is found in 1 Samuel 22:6-23. This will give you an idea of just how evil and unhinged Saul had become. 

The Bible nowhere glosses over the sins or character defects of the children of God. Paul tells us in Romans 15:4, “Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction.” It is part of the task of Scripture to warn us by examples, as well as to encourage us. David was a remarkable man, a “man after God’s own heart,” but still a man nevertheless, and a sinner like the rest of us. He was far from perfect, and as he got older, he began making some very foolish decisions and rookie mistakes that could have been avoided if he had consulted the Lord ahead of time. In our next study (Part 2) we will look deeper into the last half of his life and some of those sins and mistakes that ended up costing him dearly and breaking his heart, not to mention staining his legacy. 

But for now, let’s bask in the glow of observing a young David, full of love for God, full of courage and zeal for God’s reputation. To this day, the Jews look back at David with pride and affection as the establisher of their kingdom. And from a theological perspective, it is upon David’s throne that Jesus Christ, the Messiah of Israel will one day sit to judge the nations. Despite his mistakes and his sins, he never lost his love for God and his willingness to repent and turn back to God after he strayed. He was a limping shepherd, a wounded warrior, a king with feet of clay, but still a man after God’s own heart. 

CONCLUSION:

TRIUMPHS in David’s life and reign:

1.    God anointed David to become King of Israel when he was a boy of only 16 years. Shortly after that he defeated Goliath, married King Saul’s daughter, Michal, was befriended by the Crown Prince, Jonathan, King Saul’s son, and became a hero in Saul’s army (1 Samuel 16:1-13; 17:1-58; 18:20-30). Everything was coming up roses, so to speak.

2.    At the age of 30 David became King of Judah and then King of the united 12 tribes of Israel (2 Samuel 2:4; 5:1-5).

3.    David conquered Jerusalem, a Jebusite city, and made it into his capital (2 Sam. 5:6-10).

4.    David brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem from Kiriath-Jearim where it had been stored throughout Saul’s reign (2 Samuel 6:12-19; 1 Chronicles 15:25 - 16:3).

5.    God made a covenant with David promising that his throne will last forever. We refer to this as the “Davidic Covenant.” (2 Samuel 7:8-16; 1 Chron. 17:4-27; 2 Chron. 13:5).

6.    David defeated the Philistines after a long, bitter history of warfare (2 Samuel 8:1).

7.    God called David “a man after His own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14). When David sinned, he always repented and returned to God. He completely committed himself to the will of God, and as God’s “beloved” (the meaning of David’s name) God used him to perform mighty acts for the sake of Israel. Scripture says David could boast that he stood “blameless” before God (2 Samuel 22:24-26).

8.    David and his armies defeated Moab, Ammon, and Syria, bringing lasting peace to Israel (2 Samuel 8:2 - 10:19).

9.    To save his people from the judgment of a deadly plague, David offered to sacrifice himself and to relinquish God’s covenant promise that his throne would endure forever (2 Samuel 24:10-17; 1 Chronicles 21:1-5).

10. David received a frightening vision on Mt. Moriah and divine instructions through the prophet, Gad, David’s close advisor, to build God’s sacrificial altar there. David obeyed and God called back the plague (2 Samuel 24:18-25; 1 Chronicles 21:18-28).

11. God gave David plans for the Temple; he added music to the daily liturgy and organized the service schedule for the Levites and priests (1 Chronicles 16:1-42; chaps. 23-25; 28:11-19).

12. David anointed his son, Solomon, King of Israel (1 Kings 1:28-40). It was the beginning of the Davidic dynasty that reached fulfilment in Christ the King (Matthew 1:1; 1 Timothy 6:14-15).