-1 Samuel 16:7
Our church’s young adult group has been studying characters in the Old Testament and seeing how they point to Jesus in a series we titled “Shadows”. We have covered quite a few characters already, which you probably know if you’ve been following my blog in the past weeks. Last Friday we studied David, which was quite a challenge because his story is very long in the Bible. As usual, I will only cover the events that I believe are important in relation to the “Shadows” theme.
David is undoubtedly one of the most significant figures in the Bible. He is often mentioned, even in the New Testament, because of his kingship over Israel. However, when David was a boy, no one really knew who he was. Before David was king, a man named Saul was king over Israel. He was exactly who you would expect a king to be- tall, handsome, and strong. Despite these qualities, he was not a great king. He constantly went against God’s will, so God decided to anoint a new king for Israel.
A prophet named Samuel (who the book of Samuel is named after) is called by God to anoint a new king. He goes to a man named Jesse, and God tells him to look for a king among Jesse’s sons. Samuel looks at the first son, and thinks that he must be the one that God will choose, because he is tall, handsome, and strong. However, God rejects him. In fact, seven of Jesse’s sons are rejected by God. Samuel is confused, and asks Jesse if he has any other sons. Jesse tells Samuel that he indeed has one more son, the youngest, David. God tells Samuel to anoint David, saying that he is the one who will become king over Israel.
The next part of David’s life is one of my favorite stories in the Bible. It is the famous story of David and Goliath. The Israelites are waring with the Philistines, and an enormous man called Goliath comes out and challenges someone to fight him one on one. Of course, the Israelites are terrified, and no one wants to fight this huge warrior. David comes to the Israelite camp one day, and hears Goliath mocking the Israelites and God. David asks why no one has come to fight Goliath, since he is mocking the name of God. David then tells Saul (who was still king of Israel) that he will fight Goliath. Saul agrees, and sends David to fight Goliath. Goliath is offended that such a young and small boy came to fight him, and mocks David. David’s response to Goliath’s mocking is one of the greatest replies that I have ever read. I cannot give it justice by paraphrasing, so I will just write it word for word.
“David said to the Philistine, ‘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. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll 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. 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 (1 Samuel 17:45-47 ).’”
David defeats Goliath, through the help of God’s spirit. Saul comes to fear David, and even pursues David to kill him. He fails, and eventually takes his own life. Long story short, David becomes king, and is able to defeat many armies because God was always on his side. David sought God’s will throughout his life, which is why he is known as “the man after God’s heart”. David wasn’t always perfect though, as we will see.
One day when Israel is battling in a war, David goes up to the rooftop of his palace. Instead of joining the war as he should, he stayed in the comfort of his palace. On the roof, he sees a woman named Bathsheba, and he sleeps with her. The problem is, she was already married to a man named Uriah. Bathsheba becomes pregnant, which causes David to panic. He tries to convince Uriah to come home from war, and to sleep with his wife, in hopes that Uriah thinks the child is his. Uriah is so loyal to the army that he refuses to rest while the army is at war. David then decides to have Uriah killed by sending him to the front of the battleground, where Uriah dies quickly. Here we see that David’s life had major ups and downs.
David’s story is much more involved, but I would have to write many posts just to cover it all. I will stop here, and change gears to talk about how David is a shadow of Jesus. David was someone who was chosen by God to be king, despite not having the qualities that people thought a king should have. In the same way, Jesus is King, despite not having the qualities that people wanted the Messiah to have. In fact, in many ways, Jesus was the opposite of what the people wanted Him to be. He loved sinners, embraced the broken, and opposed the religious leaders. David was chosen to be king because he sought after God’s heart. Jesus is King because he has God’s heart.
David was able to defeat Goliath with a sling and a stone. No one thought that David could defeat Goliath, and in reality, David should have been destroyed. However, David was able to defeat Israel’s biggest enemy in a way no one thought he could. In a similar manner, no one believed that Jesus could defeat Satan. Jesus looked weak, and incapable of being the Savior the Israelites needed. However, Jesus defeated Satan in a way that no one expected- dying on a cross.
David was a great king, because he followed God’s heart. However, David still had many shortcomings. He took Bathsheba as his own, and killed Uriah in the process. However, David recognized his sin, and repented before God. When David failed, he always repented for his sins. Jesus is the greatest king, because He has God’s heart. Unlike David, Jesus never fell short, and never sinned. Also, David is dead. He is no longer king over Israel. However, Jesus is still alive, and He reigns as King over us. He is the eternal King that we so desperately need. David’s failures were covered by the righteousness of Jesus Christ, and our sins are covered as well.
Below are some questions that I hope helps us to reflect on this discussion.
1. Am I seeking after God’s heart in my life?
2. Do I focus on outward appearance or on the heart?
3. When I sin against God, do I repent and turn back to Him?
4. Do I believe that Jesus is my King? How does this affect my life?
5. Do I believe that Jesus’ death on the cross was enough to defeat sin and death?
-Smart
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