A Man After God’s Own Heart

Do you ever wonder at the Bible’s stories of David?  We love David as the giant killer and “sweet singer of Israel,” but are appalled by the adultery, the murder, and scandalous acts.  David is such a mystery and there is much to be learned about the ways of God with him.

“A man after God’s own heart” is the enviable title that the Bible twice accords David (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22).  We might wonder how Scripture might give David such acclaim.  And who among us would not want to be written over our lives what Scripture wrote over his? “For David, after he had served the purposes of God in his generation died” (Acts 13:36)!

The importance of David’s story is seen in how much attention the Bible gives him.  The Old Testament devotes 14 chapters to Abraham, 14 to Joseph, 11 to Jacob, and 10 to Elijah, yet devotes 66 chapters to David.  He is mentioned more than 1,100 times in the Bible, more even than our Savior.  It might be argued that David is the second most important person in the Bible, second only to Jesus Christ, who wore the title “the Son of David.”

History remembers David as a great nation-builder, consolidating 12 loosely organized tribes into a powerful nation that won every battle under David’s command.  He conquered the Jebusite/Canaanite stronghold of Jerusalem, making it the capital of a kingdom stretching from the River of Egypt (Wadi el-Arish) to the Euphrates.  David was passionate about worship, bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem and providing for singers and musicians to lead in the worship of the Lord.  David was Israel’s greatest psalmist having written at least 73 of the psalms in our Bibles.  C. S. Lewis described David’s Psalm 19 as “one of the greatest lyrics in the world.”

Although the Bible presents David as sometimes behaving heroically, it does not gloss over his sins and weaknesses.  Eugene Peterson describes David’s complex, checkered life:

“This is perhaps the place to note that the story of David isn’t a person whose actions we are inspired to imitate.  In the company of David, we don’t feel inadequate because we know we could never do that well.  Just the opposite: in the company of David we find someone who doesn’t quit, doesn’t withdraw from God.  David isn’t an ideal life but an actual life.  We imaginatively enter the company of David not to improve morals but to deepen our sense of human reality; this is what happens in the grand enterprise of being human.”  (Eugene Peterson, Leap Over a Wall)

One can never tire of learning about David or God’s love for him.  I hope you are able to join us for these classes as we explore the actual life of David, so beloved of the Lord.

Tim Smith